Father's Day 5k - Race Report

Coming off his first ever race, Jake really wanted to do a 5k and he was looking at doing the Father's Day 5k, which was the following weekend after the Bellin 10k.  I wasn't doing anything, other than working, so I figured what the hell, why not.  So we both registered a few days later and just like that we were doing another race.  The Father's Day 5k was put on by the local YMCA and used to be a 5k and a 10k run in July, but this year, they made a few changes and now offer just a 5k and run it a month earlier.

Training for This Race

I did no specific training for this race as I honestly didn't even have time to do any actually training.  I just did some very relaxed paced runs during the days leading up to the 5k, just to shake out the soreness and keep me fresh.

Prerace

I did a small trade at work to get out a half an hour early, just to make sure I was able to get to the race on time.  So after work, I headed over to Jake's house, picked him up and we were off to the race.  The race started and finished at Appleton North High School, so I was able to take advantage of their track and warmed up on the track.

Nutrition Plan

An hour before the race, I took my usual Anti-Fatigue Caps, Endurance Aminos, and then took my Fully Charged about 10 minutes before the start of the race.

Miles 0-3.1

As soon as the race started I knew I had a chance to win the race outright.  But I was a little surprised with the pace during the first 400 meters or so.  The start of races always takes off like a bat out of hell, but for whatever reason, this race seemed to start like a 100 meter gold medal race.  And in the front of the pack were two younger guys.  After the first 100 meters or so, I got right into my grove and just waited for everyone else to just blow up from starting too hard.  But oddly enough the two guys who pushed the initial pace were holding on.  I began to think maybe I would only be able to come away with a 2nd or 3rd place finish.  But, I told myself just control what I can and just run my own race and let's see what happens.  After the first half mile, I passed one of the two leaders and the overall leader was still a bit ahead of me.  Part of me wondered if this kid was for real, or just pushing himself to the limits until he implodes.  Sure enough, just after the first mile, the leader's pace probably cut in half and I passed right by him.  I was now in the lead.  My goal now, was to keep pushing as hard as I could and see if I can not only hold on for the win, but come away with a new 5k PR.  After the 2nd mile, I was feeling really good.  Like way better than I anticipated feeling.  I decided to push just a little bit harder for the final mile.  The final tenth of a mile finished on the track, so once I was on the track and just put the pedal to the metal.  I finished 1st overall with a new 5k PR of 17:28, 14 seconds faster than my fastest ever 5k.

Post Race

After I finished, I stuck around to cheer on Jake as he finished.  Jake finished in just under 23 minutes, which was over a minute faster than his goal time was.  We then shared a post race beer as we waited for the awards ceremony.  My award was a nice runner statue.  Jake just missed placing in his age group by a few seconds, but still took 4th in his age group.  We stuck around just long enough to learn that neither of us won the $700 grill raffle and then headed home so I could get some sleep before going back to work.

What's on Tap

I still have no clue what is truly on tap for me.  I might do the Madison Marathon in early November....or I might not.  I may do a half marathon in August....or I might not.  I might do a few more 5k's throughout the remainder of summer as part of the Titletown Wellness Race Series for a chance to win some tickets to a Packer Game in December.  But, I do know one thing, I'll keep running to try and "run the year" for my second year in a row.

Sole Burner 5k - Race Report

Like most of my races lately, I registered for the 2017 Sole Burner 5k within a couple weeks of the race. Not that I didn't intend on running the race, but like most races, it fell in the middle of my work rotation, meaning I would have to work the night before and the night after. I have also been training for the Bellin 10k later in June, so I figured a 5k wouldn't hurt and would actually fit nicely into my training. Also, the Sole Burner has been a long standing event in downtown Appleton for many years and benefits the American Cancer Society. This year, many friends, family, and coworkers throughout Outagamie County put together a "team" to raise money for a couple of law enforcement family members effected by cancer. So it wasn't hard to convince me to run a race with some friends from work and my girls were also running the children's run for a teacher who lost her life to cancer some years back.
　

Training for This Race

As I just mentioned above, I was really using this race as a training race for the Bellin 10k, which I was currently focusing on. And this race fell just a couple weekends after the half marathon. So, my training for the Bellin was just getting started.

Prerace

Prerace...what prerace? I ended up getting stuck at work later than I was supposed to, which is totally the nature of the beast in law enforcement, so you learn to just expect a wrench in the plan. But, I ended up getting out just with enough time to bust ass to Appleton and park about a mile from the start line, run to the race site as my warmup. After getting to City Park, I got there just early enough to watch my two oldest daughters run in the children's run. After the children's run, I had a few spare minutes to do a final warm up.

Nutrition Plan

My only nutrition plan for shorter races is to take a couple Hammer Anti-Fatigue Caps with a couple Hammer Endurance Aminos about an hour before the race takes off. I then take a serving of Fully Charged by Hammer Nutrition roughly 15 minutes before the event.

Miles 0-3.1

My ultimate goal for the race was just run my best effort. Mentally, I wasn't fully in the race. I obviously wanted to PR, but had a pretty good feeling that just wasn't going to happen. First off the Sole Burner is notorious for a steep hill at around mile 2.75 or so. But, with any race and with any runner, every race you enter you have the hope for a new PR. But, ultimately, I just wanted to get in a good, strong effort to judge were my short distance fitness was at to get an idea of what I could expect at the Bellin 10k. Once the race took off, I was actually feeling pretty good and found a groove early on. The Sole Burner is a pretty popular 5k, with about 2,500 participants. It has a lot of high end runners and I had estimated, that if I were able to run a sub 18 minute 5k, I should be able to place in the top 5 or so. So, realistically, I had no expectation of winning. After the first mile, I was in about 10-15th place. Right were I wanted to be. I continued to stay in about this position for the next mile. As the race continued, I passed a few overly ambitious runners who took off out of the gate too fast. But, now with 2 miles down, I keyed in on a guy ahead of me by about 400m and made it goal to catch him and finish ahead of him.  I continued to push and as we approached the hill I spoke about which is also known as the Hill of Hope, I decided to burn my last match and push hard up the hill.  It was at this point in the race that I passed the guy I just mentioned.  By the time I got to the top of the hill I was spent, but could see the finish line.  I tried to just hang on for the last quarter mile.  As I came to the finish line I saw the race clock showing 17:30's and thought, "holy shit!?"  I finished 9th overall and 3rd in the Male 30-39 age group in 17:46.

Post Race

After the race, I hung out for a bit and chatted with some friends, but I didn't want to stick around too late as I had to get home to get some sleep before heading back to work later that night.  So, after about 15 minutes or so, I started jog back to where I parked and headed back home.　

What's on Tap

With the Sole Burner checked off, it was time to focus on the Bellin 10k.  I knew things were going in the right direction after I nearly set a PR after a night of working, nearly missing the race, and with the hills.  I did not have extremely high expectation for the Sole Burner for several reasons, but after I finished in 17:46, I knew I could do good things at the Bellin.

Chilly Chili 5k - Race Report

My main goal for 2015, no matter how silly, was to complete at least one race in each month of 2015.  So when I first started to plan out my year, I was able to plug races into my schedule for each month pretty easily.  That is for all months besides December.  For what ever reason there were no close races in December to choose from.  The race I ran last year in December was the Race for the Light in Oshkosh.  This year, the family and I were out of town visiting friends, so that race was out.  I found another race on December 12th, but I was stuck helping my sister-in-law move, so that race was out.  Even into late November, I wasn't sure what race I was going to be running in December.  But, when I found the Chilly Chili 5k in Fond du Lac, WI on December 31st, I was kind of forced to choose this race.  It was relatively close (50 minute drive), I didn't have to work, and it started at a decent time (3:30pm).  Plus at just $10 before 12/15/15 and $15 after, it was super affordable.  So, just like that I had found my December race!  In a way, running a race on New Year's Eve was kind of a neat way to not only put a close to my goal, but to put a close on the year as a whole.

Training for This Race

Throughout December, I really haven't changed the way the past 11 months have gone.  I've been taking life as it comes and getting in what I can, when I can.  I have been swimming more than I previously have.  Granted, it really didn't take much, but I did swim more, generally speaking.

Prerace

Nontraditional race times have always complicated things for me.  After you do a handful of races, you start to develop a routine.  You get into a comfort zone and habits that just work for yourself.  Now, when you have a race start at 3:30 in the afternoon opposed to a typical race start time of 7 or 8 in the morning, it makes things much different.  You need to think about what to eat and when to eat.  Typically, with morning races, I don't eat anything before and only drink coffee before hand.  So I wanted to replicate this the best I could for this race.  I woke up around 7am and pushed my breakfast back until around 10am and was going to try and just eat a really big breakfast that would keep me tied over until the race at 3:30pm.  I cooked up some eggs with mushrooms and spinach and cheese.  I then served them in a tortilla for a simple breakfast burrito.  I also had some dried cranberries.  Other than a cup of yogurt around 12:30, I was kept satiated all day.  Sarah was stuck at work all day, so I was also responsible for the girls.  Luckily, my father-in-law was off of work and willing to help with childcare so I would be able to run this race.  After lunch I dropped the girls off and was on the road to Fond du Lac by 1:30.  The race was run on the campus of Mairan University.  I got to the campus around 2:30 and first got my race bib.  For Christmas this year, I got a pair of Beats Studio Wireless headphones from Sarah and the girls.  I was most excited to use them during my warm ups before races.  My warm up for this race was one of the better warm ups I could recall.  I felt great.  I was excited and feeling good.  I was actually quite surprised that I was excited and pumped up to run.  I'll be honest, leading up to this race, I felt like I was just doing it because I had to and not because I wanted to.  But, it seemed that once I was there and had my "Prerace Motivation" playlist playing, it was getting me ready to run.  I ran about 2 miles during my warm up and was perfectly timed to get me to the start line about 5 minutes before the start.

Nutrition Plan

I brought along a "caveman" bar and a pack of almond butter in case I needed to top my stomach off during the drive down to Fond du Lac.  As it turned out, I didn't need to.  I brought along a water bottle with Hammer Nutrition Heed and sipped on that during my drive down.  At 2:30, I took my usual 2 capsules of Anti-Fatigue Caps and then just continued to sip on Heed before the race.

Equipment

Nike Zoom Streak LT2

PRO Compression Socks

Hammer Cycling Jacket

Garmin 910XT

Road ID Elite

3.1 Mile Run

 

As I usually do during the seconds before the race actually starts, I use that time to "eye up" the potential competition.  Once the race started, I found myself in the lead pack of 4 other runners.  One of the 4 others dropped off the pace after the first 800m or so.  The course was pretty clean, but were warned of snow and ice between miles 1.5 through 2.25 or so.  With this being my last race of the season and planning on taking some time off before I start training again, I had planned to just leave it all on the course.  So after the first 800m, I was in the pack of 3 other runners.  I decided I was going to stay on their heels for as long as I could and hope they pulled me to a new personal record.  As the race ran on, I felt as though our pace was pretty relaxed, so I just stayed relaxed and kept my eyes off of my watch.  The toughest part on the course was the corners.  You really had to stay focused and be aware of your footing as you couldn't just take a corner fast.  Other than the corning, the course really wasn't too bad as far as being snow/ice covered.  Running in a pack with 3 others made it really nice for drafting and tucking behind the group to help cut through the wind.  After the first 2 miles, the pace was kicked up a notch.  I did my best to keep pushing and stick with the leaders.  We dropped one of the other 3, leaving just 3 of us.  The leader pulled slightly ahead of me and the second place runner.  After making the last right hand turn before turning into the parking lot finish line, I decided to push the pace and see what would happen.  The guy ahead of me was able to answer and the two of us stayed neck and neck.  The final turn into the parking lot was very snowy and slushy.  I tried to make a move to pass the guy ahead of me at this corner, but just wasn't able to with fear of slipping and falling.  I ended up finishing literally just a second behind the second place finisher and about 10 seconds behind the overall winner.  My official time was 17:59, which I was very happy with.  I think if the course was clear and snow free, I possibly could have set a PR, but who knows, that may just be wishful thinking. 

Post Race

Right after the race, I congratulated the other runners and then made my way indoors.  The weather for the race was darn near perfect.  The temperatures were in the mid 20's but there was a decent wind which made it feel colder than it actually was.  But once I was inside I warmed up quickly.  I was extremely surprised to see what the race organizers (Fond du Lac Running Club) had out for the post race spread.  As the race title (Chilly Chili 5k) implies, there was a ton of home made chili served up for the race participants.  Along with the chili was just about anything and everything anyone would want to add to their chili, including, noodles, crackers, cheese, chips, just about everything.  There was also a table full of home made holiday treats, such as chocolates, cookies, and other random treats.  In addition to the chili buffet and the treats, there was another table full of fruits, vegetables, hummus, sandwiches, and other various snack foods.  The post race spread was by far the best I have seen at any race.  Another unique thing about this race was the age group awards.  The race was broken down into larger age groups.  I fell into the Male 30-39 age group.  They awarded the top finisher in each age group.  I placed first in my age group and won a chili bowl...how cool is that!  I love the unique awards, so when I saw the age group awards were chili bowls, I thought it was pretty sweet.  It sure beats the hell out of cheap trophies.  After getting my age group award, I ducked out to get home and get showered to go out to our families New Year's parties.

What's on Tap

I'm going to save my year end wrap up for a separate post on here, so stay tuned for that.  But at this point the only thing I have planned and set in stone is taking a break from running, swimming, and biking for about a week or so.  I may get to the YMCA and do some strength training or get on an elliptical, but my one rule is no running, swimming, or biking.  I thought a couple weeks ago that I had my whole 2016 planned out, but the closer and closer it came, the more I second guessed my plans.  So at this point, I'm still in the planning stage of determining what the hell I'm going to be doing next season.  I know that I really missed having a structured plan to follow day in and day out, but at the same time, I enjoyed the flexibility of doing whatever I felt like doing.  So, I am trying to come up with a way to enjoy the best of both worlds.  In the next couple weeks, I am going to try and get on here and write up some posts on the following topics:

1. Top 10 Photos from 2015
2. 2015 Race Season in Review
3. 2016 Goals and Aspirations

But until then, thanks for reading and stay tuned for future posts soon!

Cheers!

Oh and I cannot forget to wish you and your families a great new year and I hope that 2016 is everything you hope for!

Noodleini 5k - Race Report

One of the more prominent providers of endurance races throughout central Wisconsin is Du Tri Run.  Every year, I participate in at least 2 or 3 of their events as my schedule allows.  It is just too convenient not to take advantage of these events.  This year, though, I registered for 5 events.  With Du Tri Run, when you register for 5 events, you get one free, pretty sweet if you ask me.  So, after my last Du Tri Run event, I took a look at all the remaining events and compared them to my work schedule.  There was only one race left in the calendar year that I was able to do....the Noodleini 5k/15k.  Simply put that is the only reason I signed up for this race.  I would have never even thought about racing just 3 days after a 5 mile Turkey Trot race had it not been free.  But, I can always afford free.  So here we are, a race right at the end of a holiday synonymous with gluttony....great.  On top of that, I found out about a week or two before the race, that my in-laws were hosting a small family Thanksgiving at their place on Saturday night...the night before the race...PERFECT!  <eye roll>

On top of the race being free, Du Tri Run also has what is called "The 5 Star Series."  Basically, you race in 5 races and add up the total of your age group finishing place and whoever has the fewest points at the end of the season, places 1st, and so on.  Then, at the end of the year, Du Tri Run hosts a banquet to honor the previous year.  In my previous 5 races, I have placed 1st in all but one, which I placed 3rd.  So I really wanted to change that 3 to a 1, which was another reason for wanting to race the Noodleini.

After having a successful (by my terms) race at the Turkey Trot just days before the Noodleini, I decided to enjoy myself Saturday night and just see what happens on Sunday.  If I drank too much and stayed up too late, and ended up feeling like shit Sunday morning, I'd skip it...I mean it was a free race, that I never really intended on racing in.  Or, if I woke up and felt "blah," I'd just suck it up buttercup, and just see what I could do with a hangover...I mean really...what's the worst that could happen....   

Training for This Race

On Friday after the Turkey Trot I was back in the pool for a mile swim.  It was nothing too difficult, but it wasn't a sluff-off session either.  Saturday, I was honestly too busy to workout even if I wanted to.  We were up early to get up north with my entire family for our annual tradition of cutting down our Christmas tree.  Then after getting back home, it was right over to my in-laws for the Thanksgiving dinner that I mention above.

Prerace

The night before the race was fun.  We wanted to change things up a bit from the traditional Thanksgiving meal of turkey and gravy with mashed potatoes and corn, etc, etc, etc.  So we planned a Mexican themed dinner with everything from fresh made guacamole, authentic Mexican stew, Tacos al Pastor, enchiladas...literally the whole nine yards.  I was in charged of the Tacos al Pastor, and if you know me, I don't half ass shit.  The tacos were a huge production.  It took me a few hours just to cook the meat at my in-laws house.  I started cooking around 4pm and it was no coincidence that was also the time I popped the top off of a cold Dos Equis lager.  It was so good...I knew I wasn't just having a couple. 

I kept myself in check though.  The dinner and evening was a lot of fun and the food was great.  We made it home after 10pm and was in bed shortly after midnight.  I set my alarm for 6am and really questioned what the hell I was thinking.  But, I actually woke up and got my ass out of bed around 6:30 and was out the door with my much need mug of coffee around 6:50.  The race started at 8am at De Pere West High School, which is only about a 20 minute drive from my house.  I got there with plenty of time to get my race bib and start warming up.  The weather was pretty much perfect, with temperatures in the upper 20's with just about no wind.  They also host a 15k race which starts prior to the 5k, with the 5k started about 5 minutes after the 15k start.  I was feeling pretty good, all things considered.  I definitely was not hung over and really at most was just a little tired.

Nutrition Plan

My nutrition plan was to just make it through the race.  I didn't eat anything prior and had no intentions of eating anything during.  I did take my usual 2 capsules of Hammer Anti-Fatigue Caps an hour prior to the race.

Equipment

Nike Zoom Streak LT2

PRO Compression Socks

Hammer Cycling Jacket

Garmin 910XT

Road ID Elite

3.1 Mile Run

The race got started to a rather shitty start, honestly, and there really wasn't anything I could (politely) do about it.  The entire front of the race start was littered with kids and slow runners who just wanted to be at the front for the start.  Nothing annoys me more, than people who want to be at the start line just to sprint the first quarter mile just to pull off to the side so they can walk and catch their breath.  Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled they are out there, trying to better themselves.  But, when they effect others, it just pisses me off.  But, like I said, there is really nothing I can do about it, other than physically push them off the start line to make room for myself, but I wasn't about to do that.  So I just sucked it up and tried to remain in control of what I could control.

Truthfully speaking, it really doesn't effect the race start that much, just enough to be a thorn in my side.  But once the gun went off, I did my best to get into my rhythm and dodge the kids and slower runners that I knew would just fade after the first couple hundred meters or so.  Once the wannabe's were behind me, there was about 4 or 5 guys in front of me.  I really thought a couple of them would fade putting me in the top 3, but knew I had plenty of time ahead of me to pick them off.  I just kept plugging away.  I was feeling surprisingly good....hell I was feeling great.  My cadence was damn near perfect, and I felt relaxed.  I couldn't believe it.  I was going on less than 6 hours of sleep and coming off a night of sucking down cervesas and tacos.

After the first couple miles, I hadn't passed any of the guys ahead of me.  I decided to take a chance and crank up my effort and try to catch up to at least one of the guys.  I really don't remember how many I passed, but I ended up finishing in 4th place overall and 1st in my age group.  I finished in 17:50!

Post Race

After finishing the race, I was so surprised with my finishing time.  It was by far my fastest 5k of the year.  I was only 9 seconds off of my 5k personal record!  I hadn't run a sub 18 minute 5k in a long time.  And now, here I was, after a night of no-no's I run my best race of the year???  If I had gone into this race with the attitude of I have to do everything right, and ate right, drank water, and got a good night sleep, who knows what would have happened?  Would I have run a PR?  Would I have run yet another 18+ minute 5k?  Who knows.  All I know, is I ran a great race and far passed my expectations.

I eventually made my way back into the high school for the age group awards.  The race is sponsored by Noodles and Company...hence the NOODLEini (duh).  Everyone got some free Noodle's mac and cheese along with a Rice Krispie treat.  I stuck around until I received my trophy for placing 1st in my age group, at which time I headed out to get back home and get ready to go to yet another (and last) family Thanksgiving meal.   

 

What's on Tap

 At the start of this post, I touched on the 5 Start Series.  I had thought I had all but wrapped up the Male 30-34 age group.  I jumped online to see if I could get some information about the banquet and the rankings.  As I jumped on the Du Tri Run website, I read a section on the 5 Star Series I don't recall ever seeing.  It was written in plan English...

New in 2015

To qualify for the 2015 Aurora BayCare Series you must complete a swim and a bike event.  Relays will be counted as one of the 5 events, but you will not get a score.

Yup....You must complete in a swim and bike event...i.e. a triathlon.  I only completed a duathon this past year....no triathlons.  I was slightly disappointed.  It's not like I intentionally avoided doing a triathlon and it's not like I probably would have placed 1st in my age group.  I honestly couldn't race in any of the scheduled triathlons through Du Tri Run due to my work schedule.  I literally had to work on each and every scheduled triathlon.  Oh well, I guess.  There ain't much of anything I can do, other than just be proud of how my year of racing has gone for me.

On tap, I have one and only one more race to complete to accomplish my goal of completing a race in each month of the year.  So far, through 11 months, I have completed in 13 (14 if you count the Santa Scamper).  I am eyeing up a New Year's Eve race in Fond du Lac.  Most likely, that will be the race I, literally and figuratively, close out the year with.  But, until then, thanks for reading!

Cheers!

Packers 5k - Race Report

I you happened to read my race report that I posted on Sunday, you know I had planned on running the Packers 5k on the Saturday following the Ripon Medical Center Triathlon. I chose to run this race for a few reasons. First and foremost, with the race happening on Saturday night, I was simply able to with my work schedule. Secondly, we participated in the Packers 1K Kid's Fun Run last year and had a lot of fun. Lastly, I knew that this race drew a large crowd for a hometown 5k and wanted to put my abilities to the test against some of the best runners in the state. Plus, the final quarter mile of the race are run on Lambeau Field and any opportunity to a lap around Lambeau Field is one you can't turn down!

Training for This Race

I am not going to keep writing the same thing section, so to keep this short and simple, I haven't been specifically training for any race this year at all. But, coming off of the RMC Triathlon and heading straight to the Dells after the race for a few days, all I did this week were a few 5 mile runs. On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, to be exact. Friday was a rest/recovery day and then Saturday was race day. Pretty simple.

Prerace

I have been working day shift this weeks rotation, which was been great for my personal life. It also allowed me to race in this race. I worked from 6:30-4:00pm on Saturday and I soon as I got home, I changed into my race clothes, and we loaded up the kids and hit the road. We honestly left too early, but personally, that's alright with me. I had no idea what to expect with parking for this event, but we were able to get a decent spot right in the stadium lot. We had tons of time to lounge around the stadium atrium for while before the start of the race. After sitting around the stadium for about an 45 minutes, I started my warm up. I got a great warm up in with dynamic stretches and strides. By the end of my 15 minute warm up I had a good sweat going and was feeling actually pretty good. The race start was extremely organized with 7 separate start corrals. I was in the first wave, which went off at 6:30. Sarah and the girls were in the "walkers with strollers" wave...wave 7. It turns out, I actually finished the race before she ever started. I found a good position on the start line and waited patiently for the race to start. It turns out they had three Green Bay Packers alumnus running the race as well. One of them was UW-La Crosse alumni, Bill Schroeder.

Nutrition Plan

Much like the "Training for This Race" section, I don't want to keep repeating myself from previous race reports. But, due to this being a short race, I have found that less is more.  I last ate at work around 1:00pm and it wasn't anything too complex, just some yogurt, veggies, and a salad with salmon.  On the way to the race, I sipped on a water bottle with one serving of Hammer Nutrition HEED (100 cal).  After that was gone I really didn't drink much of anything until the race.  I did take a few sips of water after my warm up just due to the heat.  It was going to be a hot race with temperatures right around 80*.  An hour before the start, I took my dose of 2 Hammer Anti-Fatigue Caps and then Hammer Energy Surge tablets as needed during the race.

Equipment

Nike Zoom Streak LT2

PRO Compression Socks

Nike Run Shorts

Hammer Running Singlet

Garmin 910XT

Road ID Elite

3.1 Mile Run (18:04)

When the race started I did my best to try and run a conservative first mile.  I knew that with the level of competition in this race, the leaders would be out of my league.  So, I didn't want to get caught up with the adrenaline of a race start and try to keep up with them.  My first mile split was 5:25, one of the fastest miles, I have run to date, that I can recall anyway.  I tried to gauge exactly how the rest of the race was going to go for me and how I was going to pace the final two miles.  After making the second right hand turn (right around mile 1) onto Morris Av, I saw what no runner likes seeing...especially during a race...a long and steady hill.  The hill wasn't anything challenging, but just enough to make it just that much more taxing on your lungs.  In addition of the hill, there was a slight head wind heading west as well.  I found a small group of runners that I could hang with and just tucked in behind them to try and break the wind.  It seemed to work pretty well, but unfortunately it did absolutely nothing for the hill.  My second mile was a slow 6:03.  After crossing the mile 2 mark, I kept telling myself that there is only 1 mile left and tried to dig deep and put up a strong final mile.  Most of the 3rd mile was down hill, but the best part of the final mile was the lap around the inside of Lambeau Field.  We entered in through a back garage area and ended up coming through the same tunnel as Aaron Rodgers and Clay Matthews.  Coming out that tunnel and seeing all the seats and hearing the loud music makes you forget all the struggles and pain you may be feeling at that point of the race.  They had the scoreboard screens on and set up to show the runners as they pasted by the north endzone.  It was neat to see yourself running on the screen.  They also opened up sections of the stadium for fans to come in and watch the runners complete their lap around the stadium.  I was surprised to see exactly how many people were in the stadium, it was a unique feeling.  After coming out of the stadium, you could see the finish line.  The finish line was also pretty cool as they had a large slab of artificial turf with a huge Packer's "G" on it.  The atmosphere of the race in general was so cool, from start to finish.  I was very impressed with the size of the crowds along the entire course.  I'm used to seeing no one along the course of 5k's, but this one was different.  There was an energy that came with this race.  It had the feeling of a Packer's home game mixed with a 5k....very cool.

Post Race

I finished the race in 18:04, not a PR, but definitely not a time I'm ashamed of.  I placed 4th out of 230 in my age group and 41st out of 5,159 runners overall.  After crossing the finish line, I was slightly disappointing they didn't have any post race memento...nothing.  How well...not like I don't have enough medals as it is.  I took a minute or two to try and catch my breath and then started walking the course backwards to try and find Sarah and the girls.  After walking the first half mile or so, I started to jog lightly as a cool down, of sorts.  I ended up finding them just after the 1 mile mark.  I walked the rest of the race with the girls.  I took the opportunity to teach Maya and Delaney about running.  We worked on running parts of the race which gave me a unique chance to run side by side with either Maya or Delaney.  As they approached Lambeau Field, I went to the finish line to watch them finish.  I was proud of both Maya and Delaney after the race.  Maya walk/ran the entire race by herself and Delaney walked at least 75% of the race by herself.  We decided that from now on, we are going to start registering Maya as a participant now that she can consistently finish a 5k by herself.  After the race it was straight home to get three little girls to bed as they were just exhausted.

What's on Tap

On the drive home from the race Sarah and I started talking about how disappointed I was that I didn't place in my age group.  We talked about where I was in my life, starting a new job, raising 3 kids, and trying to balance everything.  I mentioned how, my training has been non-existent this season, how I have been basically just "winging it."  She reminded me how that we talked about how this year was going to have to be a lax year with my training and racing.  She mentioned how we talked about this when I took a the new job and that after this season, I'll be able to get back into a more consistent training regime.  It made sense and in a way made me feel better about my finish.  I was only 20 seconds off of a PR and my times haven't really slipped much from when I was training consistently.  After my little reality check from Sarah, I was actually quite satisfied with my race.  An 18:04 5k for a working father of 3, really aint to shabby.

As far as my goal of finishing a race in every month in 2015, I have completed a total of 9 races so far in the 8 months of 2015.  Up next will either be the Waupaca Triathlon on August 15 or the Fox Cities Half Marathon on September 21st.  Either way, I will be doing the half marathon as my September race.  And yes, if you have been following along with my 2015 journey, that does mean that I am passing on racing for Team USA in the ITU World Championships in Chicago.  Fact is, I just can not justify the financial commitment to compete in that event.  It is just too much of a short notice on top of my lack of specific training.  I would not want to go into that big of an event just to cross the finish line.  I would have liked to commit a solid 3-6 months of dedicated training to the event to give it my all to see exactly how I stack up against the best in the world.  I am relatively young yet and feel I still have great things ahead for me and my racing career.  And, of course, I will never give up on my dream of qualifying for the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.

Thanks for reading!  Keep on keepin' on!!!

Jailbreak 5k - Race Report

This race has become a staple in my race schedule, regardless of my work schedule.  For one, this race is actually very well run and offers some very nice perks.  Second, it supports a great cause, the Waushara County Crime Stoppers.  And lastly, they offer a separate award class just for law enforcement officers, called the Bloodhound Challenge.  I have been fortunate enough to win the award the past 3 years.  I have been debating the idea of letting someone else win the award, but I guess I'm just not willing to give the award to someone else.  I want them to win the award away from me.  I think the only way I would forfeit the award to someone else, would be for extenuating circumstances were to prevent me from being at the race, such as a family obligation, or if my work schedule simply would not allow it.  This year, I was able to take Friday night off of work and get a good night sleep the night before and I was excited for the opportunity to claim the Bloodhound Challenge for a 4th year in a row.

Training for This Race

Much like my race report for the Oshkosh 5k, I had no real specific training plan for the months leading up to the race.  With only 6 days between races, I really focused on recovery and staying fresh to maximize my odds of having a strong race.  On Monday I hit up the pool for an easy swim.  Tuesday was a hellish day, work-wise.  I ended up running all over the valley for various appointments and obligations, all on no sleep from working the night before.  I made Tuesday an off day and then an easy 4 and 3 mile run on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.  On Friday, I was back in the pool for another easy swim.

Prerace

I got to bed pretty early, around 9:30am and had my alarm set for 6:00am with plans of getting on the road around 6:30-6:45am.  Friday night, I did something I usually don't do on a night before a race...I had a beer....but only one!  Saturday morning came and I was up and out the door by 6:45.  I got to the race site at 7:50, which left me plenty of time to register and warm up before the 9:00am race start time.  At 8:00am, I ate a Chocolate Chip Hammer Bar along with 2 capsules of Hammer Anti-Fatigue Caps.  After allowing some time to pass, I started my warm up.  It was my usual warm up, consisting of a 5 minute jog to loosen up, followed by some twisting lunges, high leg kicks, followed by some more walking lunges.  I finished with another 5+ minute jog with some strides worked in.  I quickly switching into my race shoes, and made my way to the start line.

Nutrition Plan

My nutrition plan was simple, take in the Hammer Bar with the Anti-Fatigue Caps about an hour before the start of the race.  During the race, I bypassed all water stations, but started out with sucking on a Hammer Energy Surge when the race started.  I took in a second Energy Surge at the 2 mile mark to help give me the extra kick I needed during the final 400m.  

Gear/Equipment

Nike Zoom Streak LT2

Hammer Swiftwick Socks

Hammer Running Singlet

Hammer Arm Warmers

Garmin 910xt

Miles 0-3.1

 When the race started, I had very simply, yet specific goals.  One, to win the race and two, set a PR.  So when the race started I wanted to be in the lead, which I was.  The weather was similar to last weekend's race, with temperatures around 40* and 12mph winds out of the East (last week was 48* with winds 14mph out of Southeast).  After the first 400m, I heard a couple sets of footsteps close behind me.  At the 800m mark, a kid pulled along side me, it was the same kid that beat me last year with one hell of a final kick.  I immediately was determined to beat him this year.  I felt as though my fitness was were it needed to be to beat him.  Between miles 1 and 2 we were literally neck and neck.  At times we were running side by side.  At the turn around point (2.15 miles) it was on.  I feel as though we both knew one of us had to make a move to claim the lead.  Unfortunately, once again, it wasn't me that had any gas left in the tank to make the move.  At around 2.65 miles, he was in front and I knew that if I tried to stick with him, I'd surely crash and burn.  At this point, I just tried to do as much damage control and minimize his lead.  He beat me again, but I guess I had a small (very small) victory that day: this year I was only beat by 3 seconds, while last year he beat me by 4 seconds.  I placed 2nd overall, 1st in my age group (30-39), and once again was the 1st law enforcement officer to finish, reclaiming my title as the Bloodhound Challenge Champion!

Post Race

After the race, I was once again, left to sit by myself.  Sarah stayed back home with the kids as Maya had a flag football game, which I felt incredibly guilty for missing, especially after hearing that she scored her first ever touchdown!!!  I chatted with a few other 5k finishers to pass the time until the awards ceremony.  The Jailbreak Marathon, once again, held a great race, with one of my favorite post race atmospheres.  They are extremely supportive of the participants and the race organizers are truly there for the right reason - to raise money for a cause they believe in AND the participants!  On top of an extremely well run event, they offer a full post race buffet style meal (pulled pork and turkey, potato salad, and corn), along with really nice awards for both overall finishers and age group winners.  I realize that this race is run in the back woods of Wisconsin, but it really is worth the trip!

What's on Tap

As of now, I have yet another race next weekend.  This will be the first time I have run 3 races on back-to-back-to-back weekends.  So, once again, it's back to the game plan of maximizing recovery, while staying fresh and fast.  Next weekend I will be running the Neenah Duathlon (formally known as the Paper Discovery Duathlon).  This is one of my favorite multisport races as it is close to home, well run, and an enjoyable course.  The only hitch in my plan of maximizing recovery is a preplanned outing with some of my good friends from work on Friday night.  Normally, I avoid excessive alcohol for 1-2 weeks prior to any race and 4-6 weeks before any high priority race.  This will be my first time breaking this rule.  I will most likely keep myself in check, as I need to coach Maya's flag football team Saturday morning, but I'm sure I won't be 100% that morning.

As always, thank you for reading!

Cheers!

Oshkosh Marathon 5k - Race Report

I opted to add the Oshkosh Marathon 5k to my race schedule on whim.  I worked the weekend of the race and the start line is just down the street from my work, so it seemed like an easy add to my schedule.  I figured, I had nothing to lose and worst case scenario is I just run nice and easy, opposed to running hard and get an easy workout in.  Plus, the event is put on by Du Tri Run, who offer a race series style competition called the 5 Star Series.  I ran the Oshkosh Half Marathon last year so, I do have some experience with this event.  This year, the race organizers added a full marathon option which brought out even more people and media coverage from area news outlets.  There definitely was a new buzz around this race when comparing to last year's race.

Training for This Race

As I mentioned, this race was added a couple weeks ago, so obviously I was specifically following a training plan with this race in mind.   I had been sticking to my previous mentioned "Run Less, Run Faster," training plan.  My training has been going very well and I have been hitting all my marks in my training and have been staying healthy, which is by far most important.  Since my last race, I have been taking rest days as needed and have also been very flexible with my schedule as my family and/or work obligations dictate.  I have been much more flexible with my training and skipping workouts when I have to much more readily when compared to previous years.  I must admit that I have been stressing a lot less when it comes to my training than previous years and I think it has had a profound effect on my family life, as well as my personal stress levels.

Prerace

I worked Saturday night into Sunday.  Lately, my sleep has been absolute crap and that remained true for both Friday and Saturday.  I was a little nervous of where my energy levels were going to be come race time on Sunday morning.  I ended up getting out of work a half hour early to get to the race site early enough to get my race packet and have enough time to get a proper warm up in before the race.  After getting my race packet, I started my usual warm up routine of a short and easy run, followed with some walking lunges with a twist, some leg swings, and then some skips.  I finish it all up with another shorter run, where I now work in some short strides to just work on some quicker leg turnover.  After a good warm up, I made my way to the start line.  The weather was OK, not great, but definitely not terrible.  The temperatures were in the mid 40's with overcast skies, and a strong wind out of the west.  It was definitely the wind that concerned me with its impact on the race itself - but hey, everyone is going to have to deal with it.

Nutrition Plan

I packed a normal lunch while at work before, but I pushed everything ahead an hour or so from when I normally try to eat.  I then ate a Cranberry Hammer Bar at 5:50am (about an 1:10 before the race).  I also took a couple Hammer Anti-Fatigue Caps at this time.  Around mile 2, I took a single serving of Hammer Energy Surge to help the my final kick.  That was the extent of my "nutrition plan," as I took in no water or calories during the 5k itself.

Gear/Equipment

Nike Zoom Streak LT2
Hammer Swiftwick Socks
Hammer Short Sleeve Running Shirt
Garmin 910xt

Miles 0-3.1

All 3 events (5k, half marathon, marathon) started together at 7am.  So, knowing that there was going to be guys running all 3 events starting near me and starting out at various paces based on their personal race goals.  Keeping this in mind I really wanted to come out at a strong pace and try to stay near the lead, all while running my own race.  After the gun went off, I started at a strong pace, just as I wanted.  I was probably in the top 5 after the first 50 meters or so.  At about this time, a gentleman from behind me, came flying by at a much faster pace.  After the first 400m or so, I was in the top 4 of all runners including this younger guy (I'd guess in the 20-25 range) who was running significantly faster than any other runner.  I tried to ignore it, thinking to myself, there is NO WAY this guy can maintain that pace for the entire race and that I'm sure he'll fade after the first mile and I'll end up passing him soon.  If you're unfamiliar with races, its not uncommon by any means for someone who has no realistic chance of winning the race to come out of the start at a very unrealistic pace, just due to the excitement of the start of a race.  All 3 events ran on the same course for the first 0.75 miles and after the 5k turned off from the other two events, the guy in first place was about 200m in front of me and I was starting to debate whether or not he would slow down.  The way I figured, was if I were to try and catch him, I would, without a doubt, bonk and be unable to sustain that effort for the remaining 2+ miles.  I just told myself, have faith in my fitness and stick to my gut with the thought that he would eventually cave and fade back.  By mile 2, I had significantly closed the gap and was only about 25-50m behind him and the gap was closing at a significant rate.  I pushed a little harder at this point, not only because it was the final mile of the race, but because I knew I was going to pass the leader and put myself in first place.  Shortly after the 2 mile mark, I made my move and was officially leading the race.  Now, my goal shifted from catching the leader, to putting some time between the two of us and expanding the gap now into my favor.  The final 1200m of the race was by far the most difficult, as it was directly into the strong winds that I had mentioned.  But, by far, the most difficult section of the race was the final 400m.  The last quarter mile of the race was run directly into the wind along the banks of the Fox River.  I felt as though you were running in a wind tunnel.  The fact that it was the final few hundred meters of the race and you are running on empty giving it everything you've got surely did not help.  I was able to hold off the guy I passed and actually put some time between the two of us and won the 5k by about 30 seconds with a final time of 18:07.

Post Race

After the race, I simply just stuck around and hung out by myself and waited for the awards ceremony.  To kill some time, I cheered on the remaining 5k finishers as well as watched the top of the half marathon field come through the finish line.  The award for winning the 5k was nothing more than what the top 3 age group winners receive - a cheep stereotypical trophy.  If there is any complaint I have of events put on by Du Tri Run, it would be their less than stellar awards.  I often see my fellow endurance friends from across the country post pictures of some pretty unique trophies and awards, from bottles of wine, to unique hand crafted articles. 

What's on Tap

After returning home I took a look at my Garmin data from the race and saw that, according to my GPS data, the course was a little longer than 3.1 miles or 5,000m.  My watch had a total distance of 3.22 miles.  While hanging around after the race I talked to a few other runners and almost everyone had a distance over 3.1 miles.  Another guy said he had a distance of 3.19 miles.  Now, I totally expect a variance in the total distance and do not expect the distance to be 3.1 miles, but 3.22 miles is a little long by my book.  When I had finished I truly expected a better time, honestly even a PR (current PR of 17:49).  After seeing my time and that the course was a little long, I did a little math and came up with a potential 5k time of 17:33.  The whole reason I bring any of this up, is because it brings me to the reasons for my next scheduled race, the Jailbreak 5k.  This race is only a few days away, Saturday April 25th.  I was debating whether or not to run this event all together, but after putting up a strong race with a poorly represented time, I wanted to try it again at another 5k, one that I have had a lot of success at before.  In fact, this is the event where I set my current PR for the 5k.  So, that is what is on tap for me, another 5k, 6 days after the Oshkosh Marathon 5k.  Now, I just need to focus on recovering physically from this race, to allow myself to enter the Jailbreak 5k as fresh as possible.

Thanks for reading! 
Cheers!

Race for the Light - Race Report

I really had no intentions of doing any more races in 2014.  I thought I was done racing at least until 2015.  To be honest, I really haven't been doing much since the Whistle Stop Marathon back on October 11th.  Well, I take that back, I should say that I really haven't been doing much swimming/biking/running.  Because honestly, I have been doing a lot of stuffing my face with treats, candy, and beer - not that I am even remotely proud to admit it.  But, none-the-less, I have been in full-fledged off-season mode.  A couple weeks ago, I received an email at work about a local 5k in Oshkosh, WI, and our Sheriff's Office was looking for some people to run in it as part of a team.  I jumped at the opportunity as a way to get out the door for a race since it has been nearly two months since my last race.  The race is called Race for the Light and is run through the Oshkosh Celebration of Lights in Menominee Park.  The race was run in the evening, starting at 4:30pm.  That way, you get the opportunity to run through the park when it is fully illuminated with Christmas lights.  We have made it a family tradition over the past 3 years to bring the family and our parents to Celebration of Lights and then go out to dinner afterward.  We decided to use this race as a way to combine the lights with some good old fashion exercise.  I also wanted to try out something completely new during this race.  One of my impending Christmas gifts this year is going to be a Contour Roam2 action video camera.  Basically, it is the cheaper comparable version of a GoPro.  I ordered it from Amazon during Black Friday and wanted to try it out to see how it works during a race.  You can see the resulting video below.

Training for This Race

As I explained above, I have done more training similar to that of a lazy sack of potatoes.  Since the Whistle Stop Marathon (60 days), I have run a total of 146 miles.  In comparison, I ran 199 miles in the month of September alone (just 30 days).  So, to say that I actually "trained" for this race is just a lie.  I guess I did a couple runs to help prepare for running a hard 5k.  On the 27th, I did a 5 mile interval run consisting of 4x800m and then on the Wednesday before the race I did a shorter interval run with 4x400m sprints.  

Prerace

First off, the race started at 4:30pm...yup I said PM.  I hate afternoon races.  Well, actually, I don't mind racing in the evening, but I hate the preparations of racing in the evening.  It is something completely different.  Something I am not used to.  I work out in the mornings.  I train and race every morning.  So, when I'm asked to race in the evening, my entire "race day routine" is thrown out the window.  I was originally scheduled to work both Friday and Saturday, but after Sarah and I agreed to do the 5k, see the lights, we decided to make a full holiday weekend of it, so I took off Friday and Saturday.  We finished our Christmas Shopping and went to the Mall so our girls can see Santa.  It was a nice weekend.  On Saturday, I tried my best to avoid all cruddy foods, but still had a turkey sandwich on wheat bread for lunch and had a bowl of Cheerio's for breakfast.  I at least finished eating any meal by 1:00pm, about 3-3.5 hours before the start of the race.  We picked up my dad and were at the race start by 3:30 and picked up our race packets.  I was really pleased with the race shirt, which was a nice long sleeve t-shirt with a nice design.  An added bonus was the pair of running socks with the race logo on them!

Nutrition Plan

My nutrition plan was simply to stick with what works and try not to destroy my race with piss-poor nutrition throughout the day leading up to the start of the race.  I feel like I (kind of) stuck with my goal of eating decent before the race.  Then, an hour before the start of the race, I took, Hammer Anti-Fatigue Caps, Race Caps Supreme, and Mito Caps.

Gear/Equipment

New Balance 890v4

Nike Element Thermal Tight

Hammer Wind Cycling Jacket

My brand new Contour Roam2

Miles 0-3.1

My Splits

1 - 5:36

2 - 5:57

3 - 6:04

 

I truly had no clue what to expect with this race.  Obviously, my goal was hang with the leaders and contest for the win.  I had no clue if that was too ambitious or not.  As I mentioned above, I was participating in this race as part of the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office Team and part of that obligation was taking a team photo before the start of the race.  I didn't want to be a turd at the start of the race, but I really wanted to get in a decent warm up before the start of the race.  We ended up taking a team photo about 5-10 minutes before the start of the race...NOT conducive to a thorough warm up.  Immediately after our team photo, I darted out the door to get in a quick warm up.  I ended up getting in a 3-5 minute warm up, not great, but it was going to have to do.  I nearly missed the start of the race, but just made it to the start line in time.  I ended up way too far back for my liking at the start and was forced to duck and dodge between all the other racers in front of me.  I took off as fast as I could knowing I was starting behind the 8-ball.  After the first 400 meters or so, I knew I was in the top 6-8, but really couldn't tell.  By mile 1 I felt as though I was in the top 3 or 4, but knew I was running at a pace I couldn't sustain.  I did my best to hang on though.  By mile two I was breathing way too hard and because of that I knew I was going too hard.  I ended up losing 2 places, putting me in 5th or 6th in my mind.  My goal was to just hang on to where I was at this point.  I was able to hang onto my place and finished with a surprising 18:03 (5:49/mile) which was good enough for 6th place overall and 2nd in my age group of M30-39.  My video from the Contour Roam2 turned out pretty good.  Obviously, I sped it up about 8x faster, just to speed up the video from 18:00 to 3:00.  I think I just need to work on the positioning of the camera to focus more parallel to the horizon, because as you probably noticed, the video is angled up a bit too far. 

Post Race

After the race, my dad and I jogged the course backwards until we met up with Sarah and the girls.  Maya had been walking the entire distance to this point.  I started walking with Sarah and the girls and talked Maya into running the final 0.5-1 mile of the race.  She agreed to do it, and did pretty darn well for a 5 year old.  She finished under and hour, and I was thoroughly impressed.  After everyone had finished, we piled back into our car and then drove through the Celebration of Lights and stopped at The Elf's Workshop and to see Santa's Reindeer.  After checking out the light display, we stopped at a local Mexican restaurant for dinner and to watch the last half of the (terrible) Badger-Ohio State football game.  It was a great ending to a great day.

The Day in Music

For my second installment of my "Day in Music," I chose Run Run Rudolf by Brad Paisley & Steven Tyler.  Again, the goal of this section is to summarize the race in a single song, just for shits and giggles.  

What's on Tap

I'm going to leave this pretty open.  All I will say is that I have high aspirations for 2015 and will delve into my goals, resolutions, and hopes for a future post!  I will just say that my initial rough draft of my 2015 race schedule has me nearly as excited as I was going into my big Ironman year!

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!