Jailbreak 5k - Race Report

If you remember from last year, The Jailbreak Marathon 5k was a race that has become a "regular" on my race schedule.  This year was the 7th running of this local, small town race and the 3rd time for me.  It is put on by The Waushara County Crime Stoppers and the Waushara County Sheriff's Office.  Not only do they hold a 5k race, but also a half marathon, full marathon, and a 1 mile kids fun run.  By far, the 5k is their most popular event.  In addition to the 4 events, they also hold what is called the Bloodhound Challenge.  This is what they consider a "race within the race."  This is not an additional event, but an additional event which coincides with the 5k run.  The Bloodhound Challenge is a competition for law enforcement personnel.  All that is needed to do, is notify the race officials the morning of the race, that you'd like to participate in the Bloodhound Challenge and they will mark down your bib number.  I have been fortunate enough to take the Bloodhound Challenge title the past two years in a row.  It has become an expectation that I show up on race day to defend my title - especially within my own department.  At last year's Jailbreak 5k, I was lucky enough to take first overall on my way to my second Bloodhound title.  My goals going into the race were to finish with a time around 17:30 (5:38/mile pace).  No doubt, it was an ambitious goal.  Especially considering my 5k personal record came at last years race with a time of 17:49, but I would be happy with anything under 17:49.

Training Plan

Just like my last race report, I had not specifically trained for this race at all.  I was simply running it to support the race and to run as the previous year's winner of the Bloodhound Challenge.  My training plan is totally centered on one specific goal - running a sub 3 hour marathon at the Cellcom Green Bay Marathon on May 18th.  The only workout I made adjustments to leading up to the 5k was my weekly mile repeats workout.  Instead of doing 6x1 mile sprints, I did brick intervals.  I started with a 2 mile warm up and did 3 sets of 15 minutes on an indoor cycle followed with a single mile sprint on a treadmill around a 5:50-6:00/mile.  After my 3 sets, I did an easy mile cool down.  Other than that adjustment, my training schedule was my typical marathon training week.  On Saturday I did my weekly long run, this week was a 24 mile run.  On Tuesday, I did my weekly Marathon Goal Pace workout.  I started with a two mile warm up and then did 3 sets of 4 miles all at my goal race pace of 6:50/mile pace.  I then finished with a 2 mile cool down.  I was scheduled to swim for an hour on Friday morning, but was unable to make it to the pool due to being held over at work until nearly 11am which made for a 13 hour shift (10pm-11am).

Day/Night Before

As I just got done saying, I was held over from my Thursday night shift until 11am on Friday morning.  So, instead of getting in my morning swim, I opted to just go home and get ready for work Friday night and ready for the race on Saturday and get some sleep.  Friday night was a busy night at work, but I was lucky and got out on time.  I ate my usual packed food during work that night.  After work, I got changed and got on the road to head to Wautoma.  I drank a cup of coffee along with some green tea on the way there.  Surprisingly, I was feeling pretty awake and alert for working the night before.  

Getting to the Start Line

I ended up getting to Wautoma around 7:30am, an hour and a half before the start of the race.  So, needless to say, I was plenty early.  I picked up my bib and race packet, which consisted of a water bottle and a really nice long sleeve t-shirt, along with your typical pamphlets for other area races.  I had bib number 394.  After getting my goodie bag, I headed right back to my car to stay in the warmth.  It was a cool spring morning, with temperatures around 38* and a strong North wind.  Not knowing exactly what the morning would feel like when I packed my clothes, all I had to wear was my short (short short) running shorts and a dry-wicking t-shirt.  I did not pack gloves, or an optional long sleeve t-shirt.  I stayed in my warm car while the marathon and half marathon started (8:00am and 8:30am, respectively).  At 8:00 I ate my Hammer Bar to top off my glycogen stores since I had not eaten since 4:30am while at work.  Around 8:15 I took, my Race Caps Supreme, Mito Caps, and Anti-Fatigue Caps.  Around 8:25 I headed out into the brisk morning air to start my warm up.  My warm up was pretty simple, I just ran around a large country sized "block" and did some dynamic stretching after the first mile and ended with about 3/4 mile of strides.  After my warm up was complete, I made a quick stop at the car to ditch my warm up jacket and put on my race bib and make my way to the start line.

3.1 Mile Run

As just about every single other runner out there does, as everyone started lining up at the start line, I began eyeing up everyone to pick out any possible competition.  I honestly thought, that there was no one that would be able to hang with me.  Yes, I realize that sounds arrogant and conceded, but, that was honestly what I was thinking as I looked around me.  At 9:00 sharp, the race started.  I started out in front and did my best to hang on and keep the lead the entire race.  I was feeling really good right off the bat.  After making a few turns we were heading south with the wind at our backs.  We were approaching a "T" intersection and I was surprised to hear footsteps which sounded like they were right on my ass.  I heard the footsteps the entire race up to this point.  I honestly thought, there is no way this dude can hang with me - he is just another dude who is going out way to fast and will undoubtedly blow up around mile 2...if not earlier.  As we approached the "T" intersection I looked back and asked if he knew which way we were supposed to go.  I was not certain if we were to make a left hand turn or continue straight.  Yea, yea, I know....You'd think that with this being my third running of the Jailbreak 5k, you'd think I would know the course.  The guy behind me said he had no clue which way to go.  I thought we were to go straight.  As we got to the intersection, we saw arrows in the road that pointed to the left.  There were several arrows, but there were also 2 other races.  We continued straight.  At this point we had both slowed our pace greatly.  We heard a guy behind us yelling "GO LEFT!  GO LEFT!"  I immediately thought, "OH F____!"  We turned around and started back on the correct course.  The two of us didn't loose any positions, just time.  The two of us had already built a considerable lead over the remainder of the field.  I don't know how close or far behind me this dude was before the missed turn, but he was dead even with me at this point.  We continued to push each other along the race course, which I lead majority of.  As we hit the 2.5 mile mark he made the move that I was unable to counter.  He had a gear that I was unable to match.  He was about 5 seconds ahead of me at the 3 mile mark.  After he initially passed me, my plan was to hang on close enough to hopefully pass him in the last 100-200 yards, hoping he would be running on empty.  That ended up not happening.  He had a strong push at the end that I was unable to match.  I did make up a little bit of ground during the last 100-200 yards, but was just unable to make the final pass.  I finished with a time of 17:42.0 and he finished in 17:38.2.  I took 2nd overall and first in the Bloodhound Challenge.  A result that I was very happy with.  Even with a missed turn, I set a new 5k PR by 6 seconds!

Jailbreak 5k Garmin Details

Post Race

Unfortunately I was all alone at the race this year.  So after the race I chatted with the kid that beat me for a while and then grabbed a couple of bananas and hung out for a while to watch the remainder of the 5k finishers and also was able to watch the first overall half marathon finisher cross the finish line.  After about 45 minutes, I grabbed a quick picture with the race director with the Bloodhound Challenge plaque and I was on my way back home to get some sleep as I had to work Saturday night again.

Other Notes

Ok, here is your fair warning.  This is going to be my section were I reason with you as to how and why I believe my adjusted 5k time is 17:25 and NOT 17:42.0.  With that being said, if you really don't give a shit, feel free to skip over this section and just tell yourself that I'm full of shit.  Alrighty...Based on my Garmin data (follow the link above), my total time was 17:41.0, a complete second shorter then my official race time of 17:42.0.  My final distance was 3.18 miles with a final average pace of 5:34/mile.  Based on the mapping function on Garmin, I figured that the missed turn added 0.06 miles to my race and a total of 23 seconds.  Now, the way I came up with these numbers is simply figuring my time and distance were I would have initiated the turn and then figuring the time and distance were I theoretically would have completed the turn, based on my positioning during my missed turn.  I figure that it would have most likely taken about 3-5 seconds and about 0.01 miles to complete the distance that was not accounted for meaning I most likely can figure the missed turn cost me about 18-20 seconds - which would leave me with a hypothetical 5k time of 17:22-17:24.  To corroborate my hypothesis, here is another way to calculate a hypothetical race time.  According to my Garmin I averaged a 5:34/mile pace over the course of the 3.18 distance (including the slowed pace during the missed turn).  According to my Garmin data, the total distance covered in 2012 was 3.11 miles and 3.13 miles in 2013.  So even using the longer of the two distances (3.13 miles), that would assume I ran an additional 0.05 miles due to the missed turn (exactly what my predicted distance was based on my GPS data).  Now, if you assume the average pace of 5:34/mile over the course of the 3.18 miles, and calculate a final race time over the course of 3.13 miles (5:34 x 3.13) would leave a hypothetical race time of 17:25 5k.  So based on these two calculated hypothetical race times, I think it is safe to assume that if I had not been a complete dumbass and missed the left hand turn, I would have finished with a race time of 17:25 (or there about).  A whole 5 seconds faster then my ambitious race goal of 17:30!  Hoo-RAH!

Lessons for Future Events

Nothing new learned here, to be honest.  I have gotten into a pretty comfortable routine with 5k's and feel pretty comfortable running them with little to no rest/taper or any specific preparations.  I feel comfortable using 5k's as a good tempo workout or speed workout in the middle of a typical training load.

What's Next

As of today (Sunday), there are 20 days until the Cellcom Green Bay Marathon.  I have one more long and easy run of 20 miles which is tomorrow.  I also have a final marathon goal pace workout on May 4th, which will consist of 3 sets of 5 miles done at or below my goal pace of 6:50/mile.  I have been consistently running these workouts around the 6:30-6:45/mile pace, leaving me pretty confident with running a sub 3 hour marathon in Green Bay.  I am determined and motivated to make my dream a reality this year and will lay it all out there on race day!  

Being a Cop

If you are a regular follower of my blog, you may already know this.  But, if you are new, or just a casual reader, I am a full time Patrol Officer.  If you would have told me 4 or 5 years ago that I would be employed full time as a cop, I would have told you that you were full of crap.  I never even considered going into law enforcement when I was researching careers and colleges.  Honestly, as soon as I learned that there was such a thing as an "Exercise and Sports Science" degree, I stopped searching and just knew that was what I wanted to pursue.  As I was attending UW - La Crosse, I think I considered about a half dozen (if not more) different careers either at UWL or another university or tech school.  I debated becoming an electrician apprentice, electrical engineer, fire fighter, physical therapist, and various other engineer and electrical type fields.  I even officially changed my major from fitness, to physical education, and then finally to sports management which I ultimately graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in.  It's not that I was ever not interested in health and fitness, but more that I was just never 100% sold that it was what I wanted to do for a career.  After graduation, I was hired as the Health and Fitness Coordinator for the Neenah-Menasha YMCA.  I was thrilled to actually find a full time job in the health and fitness field so close to home.  After about a year or so of working there, I had a feeling that I could do more, that I was unfulfilled, if you will.  I once again, started looking else where for possible employment, both in the health and fitness field and in anything else I felt was qualified for.  Then, in 2009, Sarah was told that her hours were going to be cut in half.  She would be going from 80 hours on a pay check to 40.  Ouch, that one hurt.  We had just started a family and Maya wasn't even a year old.  We tried cutting expenses anyway we could.  We gave up cable, put loans on hold, and tried finding short cuts financially anywhere we could.  That was when Sarah and I decided that I should consider looking for a new job, to help our family financially.

Sarah found a job opening at Fox Valley Metro Police Department and their major requirement was just 60 college credits.  I applied on a whim, thinking what's the worst that could happen.  I then applied for the City of Appleton Police Department a week or two later.  If you have never gone through a hiring process for a police department, let me enlighten you.  They are long....very long, and often times include 6 or more steps along the way, and they eliminate candidates along the way after each and every step.  Some of the typical steps include a written test, physical agility tests, a panel interview, an interview with the Chief, an interview with the community's Police and Fire Commission, a psychology evaluation, and sometimes even a polygraph test.  Often times a single hiring process can take up to 6 months or more.  So, as you can see, saying they're stressful is an understatement.  While I was in the middle of both processes, I chose to participate in each agency's "Ride-Along" program to see exactly what I was considering getting myself into.  Turns out, I fell in love with the idea of becoming a cop.  I would get to help people, protect others, serve my community, be outside, and interact with people each and every day.  I did a total of 3 ride-alongs, 2 with Appleton PD, and one with FV Metro PD.  After each and every ride-along, I was convinced I would be happy working as a law enforcement officer.  As each of the processes went on, I made it to the final step for Metro, the Police and Fire Commission Interview.  I was in the final four, but ultimately was not selected.  For Appleton, I made it through the first 3 stages and again ultimately was not selected.  I met with the Chief of Fox Valley Metro to discuss why I was not selected and what I could have done differently.  Turns out, what held me back in both processes was that I was not already certified - I was not certified by the State of Wisconsin as a Law Enforcement Officer.  Basically, I did not have a degree in criminal justice and I had not attended a Police Academy.  It was at this point where Sarah and I had many long conversations discussing my future.

Sarah and I agreed that I would take a leap of faith and put myself through the Academy at a local Technical College.  Just as the general hiring processes for individual agencies is competitive, so too is the application process for the Law Enforcement Academy.  The local college hosts 4 individual Academy classes a year, each with about 25-30 students.  About 20 or so of those spots are already spoken for by area agencies wishing to send new hires or current employees through, leaving just 5-10 spots for the general public, which is why they have a separate application process.  Luckily I was selected on my first attempt at going through the Academy and just like that I was "all in."  I quit as the Health and Fitness Coordinator at the YMCA and I cashed out my entire retirement account, which wasn't a lot of money, but literally just enough to pay for the Academy.  There was no turning back.

It was a huge risk, who knew if I would find a job, let alone a job close to our house that we had just purchased a couple years prior to quitting my job....all with a 8 month old.  I applied to any and every job opening within a 60 mile radius of our home.  I was involved in about 3-5 or more hiring processes at any one given time.  I was hired as a part-time officer for the City of Omro Police Department while I was still attending the Academy, but continued to seek full time employment.  I continued to study and attend classes every day from 8-4pm and during that period I learned all about the constitution, criminal law, report writing, driving emergency vehicles, and was even pepper sprayed and tasered.  In August I graduated from the Academy, and began the training process with the Omro Police Department.  A short while later I was hired full time with the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office and officially started on November 1st, 2010.

Since becoming a patrol officer, I have experienced a lot.  I have seen things you don't want to hear about.  I have been on scene of incidents that look like something out of a horror movie.  I have been involved in some extremely stressful situations, all of which I am expected to remain cool, calm, and make careful, thought out decision.  Since becoming a cop, I have always thought that this job is the easiest, yet most difficult job out there.  The sad thing is, not too many people really realize what it takes to be a patrol officer.  I hear people say how stressful their day at work was, because, maybe they had to go through literally hundreds of emails, or got yelled at by an upset customer.  I often laugh to myself when I hear this.  Imagine going to work, and your first contact with a person is during a traffic stop.  You stop a vehicle for speeding, lets say 84mph in a 65 mph zone.  You issue them a citation and they complain to you and then call your supervisor and make up a story that you where verbally abusive, even though you remained calm and polite even while they ridiculed you and argued with you while you issued them their citation.  Your second contact is with a family who literally just lost a loved one unexpectedly.  Now, you have to investigate the death, all while consoling a family who is experiencing a tragic loss.  After you complete your assignment with the death investigation, you have a break, so you quickly type up or call in your report from the last incident.  As soon as you finish your report, you have a break and log out on a meal break to eat a lunch you packed.  But, shortly after you take your first bite of your sandwich a call comes in of a disturbance with a weapon and the suspect leaves the house with a gun threatening that if any cop attempts to stop him he will shoot them.  You throw your partially eaten sandwich back in your lunch pail and take off with your siren blaring and red and blue lights flashing.  Your weaving in and out of traffic driving with the utmost attention looking out for anyone who may not hear your siren or see your lights.  Your nervous, running various situations through your mind of what you're going to do if you find the car.  You briefly think about your family and then immediately go back to focusing on the situation at hand.  After about 5 minutes of high stress driving, you find a car matching the description.  You and another officer attempt to stop the vehicle.  Suddenly, you are giving commands to the driver of the vehicle all while you have your duty weapon pointed down range at the subject.  You and your partner safely take the subject into custody without incident and no one got hurt.  You put the subject in the back seat of your squad and bring them back to your department for an interview and the entire 15 minute drive, they yell at you, telling you how terrible of a person you are, calling you names you never dreamed of being called, saying things about your family, your kids, and there is nothing you can do about it.  After all, your a police officer, you should expect that, right?  You need to be respectful and caring, no matter what, right?  I mean, that is your job.  Turns out that you end up being forced to stay at work 3 hours after your normal quitting time and you miss your kids soccer game and by the time you get home your kids are in bed.  So you shower and go to bed yourself, just to get up early and do it all over again tomorrow.

Granted, that scenario may not truly be an everyday occurrence, but by no stretch of the imagination is that out of the ordinary.  Hell, it could even have been worse.  This kind of stuff happens literally every single day, in every single state, and in just about every single community.  Rarely do you hear of this stuff.  Why?  Honestly, because 99% of the time this stuff ends peacefully, without incident.  But sometimes it doesn't.  That's just the way it is.  Sometimes the subject is hurt, injured, and sometimes even killed.  Sometimes the police officer is hurt, injured, and sometimes killed.  It's part of the job, it's what we all signed up for.  Unfortunately, when these incidents don't go as planned, the media reports them.  That's when suddenly people are experts and know exactly what should have been done.  It's done everywhere, everyday.  The media and general public are suddenly arm chair quarterbacks.  They say things like, "If that where me, I would have _____."  Or, "The officers should have just ___________."  Or even, "There was no reason for that to happen like that, they could have __________."

Being a police officer is a thankless job.  I'm not complaining, I love what I do.  I know each and every day that I did what was right at the time in the situation that I was in.  It's not hard to see why most veteran cops are jaded.  They have been scrutinized, ridiculed, challenged nearly every day for 20 or 30 years, sometimes even more.  I'm not here saying that every single police officer is perfect, we aren't, hell, I'm not.  And don't even for a second try to tell me that you have never made a mistake while at work.  I also realize that there are some police officers out there that are rude, mean, and have poor priorities.  I know those cops exist, I've met them, I've seen them at trainings, I've been on calls with them.  I'm not saying every cop is the nicest person out there.  Fact is, there are jerks out there everywhere, I'm sure you have people at your work that are not nice people.

Personally, when I'm working, I make it a goal to try and change peoples' perception of cops.  Will I change everyone's view of us, absolutely not.  But, if I can make one person think, "hey, that was one of the nicest cops I've met," then I've met my goal.  No, this is not always easy, especially on days/nights when I'm tired from working one of the most stressful schedules known to man, stressed about issues from home, or on days/nights where it's been crazy busy and your hungry and can't even find time for a snack.  But, I do my best.  No, I am not out there looking to "get" anyone.  I do not "enjoy" bringing people to jail.  I do not "enjoy" issuing people hundred dollar citations.  I do, however, know that everyone makes decisions and for ever single decision a person makes, there are consequences to those decisions.  It is my job to enforce rules, to impose consequences to peoples actions.  I take my time, I do thorough investigations, I want to make sure the decision I make is the right decision, because I realize that each and every decision I make directly effects another person, sometimes very significantly.  Regardless of the situation I am making contact with a person, I treat them with respect, with dignity, and treat them like a person.  I do not talk down to them, I do not belittle them, I explain to them what I am doing and why I am doing it.  I owe it to the community that I work for.  So often people do not realize what being a cop is like - nor should they.  Some people have seen Law & Order, NYPD Blue, or say they watch the show Cops, so they know what it's like being a cop.  Truth is, there is so much more to it then what is depicted on TV.  We work odd schedules, we work a lot of weekends, holidays, nights, and work no matter what.  I am required to be at work regardless of the weather, no matter what event is going on, and most times, when the weather is at it's worse, or there is a tragic event, that is when I am expected to be working.  On top of working odd hours and at times when most folks are not, I am expected to be in court regardless of my work schedule, attend trainings regardless of my regular patrol schedule, and I am expected to be on the top of my game at all times.

So the next you have police contact, no matter the situation, say "thank you."  We are doing our best, I can guarantee it.  A simple thank you goes a long way - more then you can imagine.  All to often we are looked at as "bad."  How often do you hear (especially from parents), "if you don't behave, I'll have the police bring you jail."  Or something similar.  All this does is instill a perception that cops are bad, they take people away.  We are here to help.  We are here to protect.  We are here to serve you, the community.  Almost 100% of the time we are viewed as the bad guy until we are needed, then we are your everything, just to be forgotten immediately following the situation.  So, next time you see a cop on the side of the highway with their lights on, move over, slow down.  And the next time you see an officer walking their patrol area, or at a special event, say thank you, sure, they are there as their job, but they are also there for you, willing to do whatever it takes, even if that means sacrificing their own life so you can go home safely with your kids and family.

I'll wrap up this post with an excerpt from Lt. Col. Dave Grossman who is an internationally recognized scholar, author, soldier, and speaker who is one of the world's foremost experts in the field of human aggression and the roots of violence and violent crime. Col. Grossman is a West Point psychology professor, Professor of Military Science, and an Army Ranger.  About a year or two ago, I had the opportunity to listen to Lt. Col. Dave Grossman speak. During his presentation, which is geared toward soldiers and law enforcement personnel in the topic of the possibility of using deadly force. During his presentation he compared the role of a police officer to that of a sheepdog. Below is an excerpt from one of his books, On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs:

One Vietnam veteran, an old retired colonel, once said this to me: “Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident.” This is true. Remember, the murder rate is six per 100,000 per year, and the aggravated assault rate is four per 1,000 per year. What this means is that the vast majority of Americans are not inclined to hurt one another. 

Some estimates say that two million Americans are victims of violent crimes every year, a tragic, staggering number, perhaps an all-time record rate of violent crime. But there are almost 300 million Americans, which means that the odds of being a victim of violent crime is considerably less than one in a hundred on any given year. Furthermore, since many violent crimes are committed by repeat offenders, the actual number of violent citizens is considerably less than two million. 

Thus there is a paradox, and we must grasp both ends of the situation: We may well be in the most violent times in history, but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under extreme provocation. They are sheep. 

I mean nothing negative by calling them sheep. To me it is like the pretty, blue robin’s egg. Inside it is soft and gooey but someday it will grow into something wonderful. But the egg cannot survive without its hard blue shell. Police officers, soldiers and other warriors are like that shell, and someday the civilization they protect will grow into something wonderful. For now, though, they need warriors to protect them from the predators. 

“Then there are the wolves,” the old war veteran said, “and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy.” Do you believe there are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial. 

“Then there are sheepdogs,” he went on, “and I’m a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf.” Or, as a sign in one California law enforcement agency put it, “We intimidate those who intimidate others.” 

If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen: a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath--a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? Then you are a sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero’s path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed.

Oshkosh Half Marathon - Race Report

I have made it no secret that my ultimate goal for the marathon is running a sub 3 hour marathon, especially since qualifying for the Boston Marathon in 2010.  Ever since running the Boston Marathon in 2011, I have focused majority of my efforts toward triathlon.  This year is going to be different.  My main focus for the spring of 2014 is the Green Bay Marathon.  In preperation for the GB Marathon, I scheduled the Oshkosh Half Marathon as a race to gauge were my current fitness is.  I did not plan on treating this race as an "A" race, but a "B" race.  I definitely wanted to put up a fast time and do the best I could, but I honestly had no clue as to what type of time I was capable of.  The last half marathon I ran was in 2008 and I finished with a time of 1:38:43.  My latest marathon time was last year's Green Bay Marathon with a time of 3:10:32.  I often use McMillan Running (www.mcmillanrunning.com) to help predict race times and help set realistic, yet challenging goals.  I first put in a goal marathon time of 2:55:00 and according to their calculator I should theoretically be able to run a 1:23:09 half marathon.  So, just like that, I had determined a goal time for my first half marathon in nearly 6 years.  

Training Plan

My training plan has been geared around one goal in mind.  Running 26.2 miles in less then 3 hours - period.  That simple.....but it's always easier said then done.  Ever since running 30 miles on my 30th birthday, my training plan has focused on strictly prescribed pace workouts.  I have been doing mile repeats, goal marathon paced workouts, long runs, and tempo runs.  Each of these differing workouts have a specific goal pace.  My mile repeats have been done around 5:20/mile, long runs at an easy 7:45-8:00/mile, goal paced workouts are at or below 6:50/mile, and my tempo runs at 6:20/mile.  The days leading up the Oshkosh Half were far from being a taper.  The Saturday before I did an 8 mile run with 5 mile repeats, followed with a 14 mile goal marathon pace run on Monday.  On Thursday I had a track workout consisting of 6x400m sprints with a total mileage of 6 miles.  I took Friday off and then a short 2 mile run on Saturday.  I honestly felt really well on both Saturday and Sunday morning leading up to the race even with my higher training volume/intensity.

Day/Night Before

Saturday was a busy day/night for my family and I.  It started immediately after finishing my short 2 mile jaunt.  Sarah brought the three girls, with her parents, to a Breakfast with the Easter Bunny at the Local YMCA followed by an Easter Egg Hunt.  I left to get down to Oshkosh to pick up my race packet and then met up with the family shortly after their breakfast.  After the Easter Egg Hunt, we went to the grocery store for their annual "Bunny Hop."  It's nothing special, kind of a trick-or-treating style day but Easter Themed with the Easter Bunny.  When we finished making our rounds at the grocery store, we went to the same hospital Harper was born at to visit our good friends Pat and Melissa to see their new son, Connor.  We spent about 45 minutes visiting and then we returned home to get the kids down for an afternoon nap.  Later that evening we had plans to go out to dinner with the entire extended family from my dad's side to celebrate the birthday of my deceased grandfather.  This has been a tradition with my dad and his brothers and sisters for the past 10-15 (or more) years.  My dad came from a family of 12...yes, 12!  So, any time they are able to get most, if not all, together, its pretty special.  We went to a local supper club for dinner and I did my best to eat as close to the Whole30 rules as I could.  I drank water, had a salad with tomatoes and eggs and no dressing, and a broiled piece of haddock for dinner.  My only flaw with dinner was the cup of rice which was served as a side.  I figured it was my best option, and certainly better then the other options of white potatoes (fried, hashed, baked, etc.).  My biggest flaw was having 2 small squares of the cookie cake for my aunt's birthday.  Oh well, you need to enjoy life every now and again.  Don't worry, I won't dive into the number of beers I took down Friday night while playing Cards Against Humanity with my in-laws or the number of handfuls of M&M's that I ate with the beer.  :)  Either way, I was in bed and sleeping around 10pm with my alarms set for 4am.....ugh.

Getting to the Start Line

Without fail, my alarms went off when I told them to...4am sharp.  I was tired, but excited to get my 2014 race season under way.  I finally got my butt out of bed around 4:15 and immediately poured a cup of coffee and ate my traditional prerace meal of boiled sweet potato topped with natural honey and almond butter.  The weather was at the front of my mind all week.  It had been forecasted to be a cold and wet weekend ever since the extended forecast came out.  Saturday was a cool and wet day and rained pretty much all day.  The forecast for Saturday morning called for temperatures near 40 and a 30-40% chance of showers.  That morning it was not raining when I woke up, but the roads and everything else was wet from all the overnight rain.  I immediately jumped onto Weather.com and saw that the rain had a chance of holding off until later in the morning.  Either way, there was little I was able to do about it, at least that's what I told myself.  After a little relaxing and stressing over the radar, I was on my way to Oshkosh (about a half hour drive south of my home) by 5:20.

After getting to Oshkosh, I eventually was able to find my friend Bob and hung out with him until about 15 minutes before the race.  At 6:15am I took my new standard pre-workout supplements from Hammer Nutrition; Race Caps Supreme, Mito Caps, and Anti-Fatigue Caps.  We stayed inside the convention center where the race was based out of to stay dry and warm.  Around 6:45am I started a brief warm up just to get the legs moving and to loosen up.  It was nothing what I would have liked, but hey, it was cold outside and I valued standing indoors in the warmth over being outside in the dreary weather.  By the time I got to the start line it was about 6:55 and I took an Energy Surge for a final boost of ATP just prior to the race starting.  After the National Anthem we receive a pre-race briefing in regards to the current course conditions following yesterdays rain.  No shocker, but there were parts of the course that were flooded, especially the sections that were located on the a trail section of the course along the river.
  

Miles 0-7

Immediately after starting the race, I decided I would make it a goal to go out and just run based on feel and try not to look at my watch for split times.  I wanted to do this because I honestly had no idea if a 1:23 half marathon would be way to hard for me or way to easy and I didn't want to ruin a race by crashing in the final 2-5 miles or by holding back for fear of crashing and burning.  Shortly after mile 1, I had realized that I had gone out way to fast.  My breathing was pretty labored and I knew I had to cut my pace or I would never be able to survive the final 12 miles.  I slowed my pace a bit, but it really wasn't until miles 4 or 5 that I really started to feel like I was at the right pace.  The first 4 miles were ironically the wettest.  This was the section of the race that was run along the lake and river that goes through the City of Oshkosh.  There were sections of the course that were under a good 3-6" of water that were completely unavoidable.  It was at these sections of the course that I tried to make my gait as wide and quick as possible to try and stay as dry as possible.

Miles 8-13.1

I continued to count down the miles to get to mile 10, because at that point I knew I would just have a 5k to the finish line.  Miles 8-10 were the worst miles, mentally.  I had no one in front of me to chase and no one behind me to push me.  I was lonely.  I tried to continuously assess my breathing, my gait, and my overall general feeling, wondering if I needed to slow down, or if I could pick up the pace based on how much of the race was left.  By time I got to mile 10, I was in a comfortable grove.  I knew I could hang on with just enough gas in the tank for a strong push on the final mile.  After the 10 mile mark, I took a final Hammer Nutrition Energy Surge for a little energy boost to get me to the finish line.  I continued to slowly pick up the pace until I passed the 12 mile mark.  It was at that point that I picked up the pace.  There was still no one visible in front of me, but I was able to see another guy behind me.  With about a quarter mile to the finish line I really opened up, I am not sure if it was adrenaline or the Energy Surge, but I felt like I had a whole other gear and pushed hard and finished with a final time of 1:24:31.

Oshkosh Half Marathon - Garmin Details

Post Race

After finishing I was very happy to see my wife and kids (as always) at the finish line and we spent some time chatting about the race and stuck around to watch Bob finish the race.  It was special to see my wife and kids at this race.   I could have been the fact that the weather was cruddy and my wife still lugged 3 girls all 4 and under out to the finish line by herself.  It could have been the fact that we are now a family of 3 with a one month old.  Or it could have been the fact that this was Harper's first ever race.  Either way, It seems like since the Ironman and having our third daughter my family has meant even more to me then before.  I am truly the luckiest guy out there and I wouldn't trade my life for anything.  Shortly after Bob finished, they held the awards ceremony.  I was fortunate enough to finish in 12th place overall and 2nd in my new age group of 30-34.  I was thrilled.  

Other Notes

I was very happy with my time.  No, it wasn't the 1:23 I was shooting for, but really who knows if that was realistic.  Maybe if I had trained specifically for a half marathon and tapered and peaked for this race I could have run a 1:23, but I really don't care.  For me it isn't about this individual half.  It's about the Marathon, specially running that marathon in under 3 hours, and that race is now 33 days away.  I have been training hard for the marathon and ran this race in the heart of my training, so I am very pleased with my time of 1:24:31.  Plus, now when I input my official race time from this race into the McMillan Calculator, it predicts a theoretical marathon time 2:57:52.  Sure, I wouldn't mind a little cushion but that is a definite confidence boost.  A boost that I will take into the final month of my training.

Lessons for Future Events

There are few true lessons that I will pull from this race when it comes to the specifics of the race and strategies.  But I will say, this was the first race that I ran since strictly using Hammer Nutrition products and I will not change anytime soon.  This was also the first time I used Energy Surge and Anti-Fatigue Caps and I am extremely impressed with the results.  I can't wait to continue to use them in future races and triathlons.  I debated what I would eat or drink for my pre-race meal.  I have made a decent effort to eat a diet higher in fat and protein and lower in carbohydrates in an effort to become more fat adapted.  So, I debated drinking coffee with pure coconut milk in it was opposed to my traditional high carb meal that I ultimately ended up eating.  I think I will still eat my sweet potato before the Green Bay Marathon, but might experiment with just coffee and coconut milk for my triathlons and other races this summer.

What's Next

It's time to kick my training into high gear the next few weeks before my final taper before the marathon.  I am scheduled to take Monday off from training in an effort to properly recover before jumping back into pace specific workouts.  I have one more real long run on my schedule of 24 miles and then a final 20 miler before my taper.  I have 2 more goal marathon pace workouts and a couple of shorter, more intense runs on the schedule.  I also have the Jailbreak 5k coming up on April 26th, which has the Bloodhound Challenge for Law Enforcement Officers.  I have won it the past two years and have some high expectations to win it a third year in a row.  I will do my best, but like I say every year, it's only a matter of time before another quick person shows up and steals the traveling trophy from me.

Sauteed Sweet Potatoes with Apples

A couple of weeks ago, I spent a full week in a classroom for a Crises Intervention Team (CIT) training in Appleton.  For that week I followed a typical Monday through Friday, 8-4 schedule.  Every now and again, I get the opportunity to go a full week with this type of schedule, and I take full advantage of it when it comes around.  During this week, I had my alarm set at 4:45am so I could get up and get my workout in before each day of training.  Since finishing my Whole30 last month, I have been more aware of the damaging effects of grains on my digestive system.  In stead of my usual morning ritual of oatmeal, I have grown to love a concoction I came up with during my Whole30.  I ate this for my morning breakfast each day of my CIT training at the beginning of each class.  It was funny, the first day, before anyone really knew anyone, I just got some weird looks.  But on the second and third day, I got questioned as to what the hell I was eating.  My concoction is rather simple and takes about 10 minutes to whip up, plus it tastes as good warm as it does cold, so you can make it the night before and bring it with you when you're on the go.  It's just a single sweet potato with an apple, sautéed in butter topped with coconut flakes and cinnamon.  It is obviously not low carb, but it is sugar free and is relatively low on the glycemic index, meaning it will not rapidly spike your blood sugar.  Plus, cinnamon has a natural anti-inflammatory effect and has a positive effect on insulin and glucose, meaning it will help control your blood sugar levels, lessening the spike when consuming sugary/starchy foods.  One of my friends at work as also at the CIT training and he wanted to try my morning staple and asked me to make him a bowl for work some night, which I did.  After he tried it, he wanted the "recipe."  I laughed and told him, how simple it was, but insisted that I set him up with some directions.  So, I told him I'd put it on my blog....so here it is.

Ingredients:

1 Medium Sweet Potato Diced
1 Apple Diced (Gala, Pink Lady, Honey Crisp, or Similar)
1-2 Tbsp Grass Fed Butter or Ghee
1 Tbsp Cinnamon (or to taste)
2-3 Tbsp Unsweetened Coconut Flakes

Directions:

1. Saute sweet potato with the butter/ghee over medium-high heat.  Add apples and cook the two until soft.
2. During last 1-2 minutes of cooking stir in cinnamon and coconut flakes.