The race itself is run from the Solutions Recovery Center in Oshkosh. All proceeds of the event go towards several not for profit organizations that help recovering addicts or agencies which work to deter drug and alcohol use. Being a law enforcement officer, I found it compelling to chose this race over some other races in the month of September, as I deal with many of these problems every day.
Training for This Race
Let's keep this simple....I have not been training at all this year. I have been doing random "stuff" most days. I have not run longer than 8 miles in a few months, and often just take a rest day if life is particularly busy. I have not followed any sort of formal plan and usually find myself planning my exercising around my life, opposed to planning my life around my exercise.Prerace
As I mentioned above, I had to work the night before from 8:00pm-6:30am. I was lucky enough to get a decent nap on Friday afternoon knowing it was going to be a long night and an even longer morning on Saturday. After work, I rushed to get ready and get on the road as quickly as I could, knowing my time would be limited. I still needed to get my race packet and I wanted to get in some sort of warm up before the race. I made decent time and arrived at the race site around 7:15am. There was no line to get my race packet and bib, which was nice. After pinning my bib to my shirt, I was out to start my traditional warm up. I did all my usual drills, including, pick ups, lunges, high leg kicks, and leg swings. After I felt good to go, I made my way back to the start area and just hung out. The weather that morning was damn near perfect, with temperatures around 50F, clear skies, and maybe a slight wind, if any.Nutrition Plan
I had no plan for my race day nutrition, other than to not eat for the 3-4 hours before the race. I last ate a hot dog and brat around 4:00am and that was it. I took a few sips of water on the drive down to Oshkosh, but felt pretty good, so I wasn't too concerned about taking in calories or liquids. I took 2 Hammer Anti-Fatigue Caps at 7:00am and that was it. I wanted to bring along some Hammer Energy Surge tablets for during the race, but honestly completely forgot and left them in the car. :(
Equipment
Road ID Elite3.1 Mile Run (18:06)
As I do at the start line of any other race, I scoped out the competition while I waited for the race to start. First off, I kind of knew going in that this would be a smaller race (based on participation) and figured there probably wouldn't be too many competitive runners. My estimation was correct - there were not many other runners who would be running around my projected pace. Most of the people I recognized or chatted with before the race started would be running with a goal time of around 20:00. Knowing this, I figured I would start the race easy and really focus on getting faster as the race progressed. So after the race started, as about 98% of the runners do, many of the guys around me took off like a bat out of hell. I just let them go and started pretty relaxed and allowed my body to find a comfortable pace for the first half of the 5k. After the first quarter of a mile or so, all of the runners who sprinted out of the chute were now behind me and I was in the lead. By the first mile, I had built up a significant lead. I started thinking to myself that there was no need to really push hard for the second mile and opted to ease up during the second mile and save a little bit for the final mile. The majority of the race was run through Menominee Park in Oshkosh, along Lake Winnebago. As I said before, the weather was perfect, which made the scenery just that much better. It was rather easy to focus on the lake and the views instead of how I was feeling. After the second mile marker, I decided to push just a little harder and then cruised the rest of the way to the finish line. I came across in just over 18:00, over a minute and half ahead of second place. I was kind of upset, but I forgot to change the settings on my Garmin watch to "run mode" and discovered I had left it in "bike mode" during the race. Because of this, I have no mile split data to look at to see if I indeed ran negative splits throughout the whole race.Post Race
Immediately after finishing the race, I hung around the finish line to congratulate the next few runners to come across the line. After that, all I wanted to do was go home and go to bed. I felt obligated to stay for the awards ceremony as the overall winner, so that is what I did. I tried to kill time by talking to random people about the race and running and the weather and frankly, whatever came to mind. After about an hour and a half of killing time, I received my award as the overall winner of the race. I really hope I do not come across conceited or arrogant during the award ceremony, but honestly I just wish they would hand out the awards and we would get on with the day. Personally I do not like getting in front of others to accept the award. I feel like I am no different from anyone else and I would rather not be "shown off" or highlighted. I do understand that many other people see the awards ceremony as an opportunity to celebrate their achievements, but I guess, I just like to celebrate achievements with friends and family instead of individually. Nearly right after getting my award I split to get to bed!
What's on Tap
The rest of the month will continue to be much like the past 8 months, doing what I feel like doing, when I feel like doing it. My next race will most likely be the Freaky 5k in Appleton on Halloween, October 31st. After that, I currently have 2 November races on the schedule with the Turkey Trot in Appleton, on Thanksgiving and the Noodleini in De Pere a few days afterward. I currently do not have a December race yet, but you would be fooling yourself if I would screw over this stupid goal of mine in the final month of the year. So I promise you, that I will find a damn race!On another note, yesterday (September 13th) was Ironman Wisconsin down in Madison, WI. It was two years ago that I was lucky enough to cross the finish line and forever be called an Ironman. It seems like every year since then, I have followed the race from home. While tracking friends and acquaintances, I'd be lying if I said I don't get motivated and excited about doing the race again. The way things are going with my life, career, and family, it is looking like I will get that opportunity to again take a crack at an Ironman race in 2017, just two more years! What that means for me, is that after I finish this stupid goal in December, I will take some time to regroup and recharge, then start focusing on building a strong base in 2016 to be in my best shape yet for 2017!
Thanks, as always, for reading!
Cheers!
