The 2011 Race for the Cure race report

I really debated whether to enter the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5k this year. IMO, it's overpriced for a 5k (even if it is to support a worthwhile cause) and the race really seems secondary to their whole fund raising effort. And you have to pay an extra five bucks if you want a timing chip in the race. But with over 18,000 participants it is quite an event, although it feels a bit unorganized. Obviously, I ultimately decided to participate and went to the Red Coyote running store the Thursday before the race to enter.

I've been putting in a lot of miles recently, but hadn't really done any real speed work leading up to this race. I did go ahead and take one evening's run the week of the race to focus on running fast, putting in one sub-8 minute mile and four more miles between an 8 minute and 8:30 pace. I felt good that evening, so that was encouraging. Like the Midnight Streak in August though, I went into this race without a clearly defined goal...more of a "let's see what happens" attitude.

We got up early, got ready and headed to Bricktown. After finding a place to park (not easy) we headed toward the Bricktown Ballpark where the race begins and ends. As we walked I realized I had left my sunglasses in the car, but we had gone far enough that I didn't want to turn around and go back. As I was kind of stressing about that, it hit me that I had forgot to bring my Garmin GPS watch when we left the house. Now I was really stressed! I tend to keep a pretty close eye on my pace using my Garmin and have found it really valuable in races, mostly as a check on my early pace so I don't run myself out and end up with nothing left while still having a ways to go. I didn't even have a regular watch, so I had no way at all to check my splits. I would have to run this race totally by feel. I realized there was nothing I could do about it now, so I figured I'd just make the best of it and see how it went.

We got there early enough to cruise around the ballpark for a few minutes, picking up some of the swag being passed out by various groups. The temp was in the upper 50's and there was a pretty good breeze blowing, so it was a bit nippy. I wore shorts and a singlet, but also brought a light running jacket which I kept on until I was ready to go line up in the starting area.

With about 10 minutes until the gun, I gave the jacket to Peggy to keep for me then worked my way into the 8 minute pace group at the start. While waiting to start, I bounced on my toes trying to stay warm and considered asking one of the runners near me who had GPS watches if they were really planning on running an 8 minute pace, thinking if so, I'd follow them early. The races I've run previously have had some sort of leadup/countdown to the gun, but there was no warning on this day. As I stood there fiddling with my iPod BOOM, the gun went off! The crowd around me surged toward the starting line and I quickly popped my headphones in my ears and turned the iPod on as I shuffled toward the start.

As usual in a race, once I crossed the staring line I felt like everyone around me was going way too slow and I began weaving my way thru the crowd, trying to find some room to run. And, as usual, once I did that I thought I was probably running too fast now. I slowed myself a bit, but tried to keep the pace feeling a little uncomfortable so I knew I was going fast enough. After probably about a half mile, the course turned on to Lincoln and proceeded up a long hill. It was very reminiscent of the long hill toward the end of the Midnight Streak. Not exceptionally steep, but quite long, and you definitely knew you were running uphill. I tried to adjust my pace appropriately so I wouldn't kill myself early, but not slow down too much to hurt a good overall time.

Once we topped the hill, it leveled off and I picked up my pace a bit. Shortly after that I passed the 2k marker and the clock there read 10 minutes and something. I began trying to remember what the kilometer to mile ratio was. I couldn't recall, but I did decide I was on a pretty good pace. The course turned off of Lincoln heading West toward I-235 then turned back and wove thru the office parks between 235 and Lincoln. I kept the pace a bit uncomfortably quick but didn't feel like I was overdoing it.

After the course crossed back over 235 toward downtown I picked up my pace a bit more since I knew we had to be on the last mile. The race finishes coming down the steep Walnut bridge (you may recall the OKC Memorial Marathon went up that bridge early in the race). Last year, by the time we hit this point I was completely gassed, having gone out too fast and I ran down the bridge putting the brakes on all the way. This year I still felt pretty good and really let myself fly down the hill. Once you hit bottom of the hill you're left with about 200 yards of level straight away and I broke into a full sprint toward the finish line.

I crossed the finish and almost immediately spotted Peggy. I walked over toward her as I caught my breath. I was definitely tired, but felt better than I did when I finished the Midnight Streak in August. I felt like I had run a pretty good time, but wasn't sure it was my best. I told Peggy I forgot to look at the clock as I crossed the finish and she said it read 23-something when I finished. I was rather disbelieving of that and thought she must be mistaken.

We hung out at the ballpark for 30 minutes or so and collected a bit more swag before walking back to the car and after a bit of hassle found our way back to the highway and headed home. Once I got home, I checked onlineraceresults.com and was surprised to find they had already posted times. Then I was even more surprised to find Peggy had been correct and I had broken the 24 minute mark. By over 15 seconds!  I had run the race in 23:44 beating my previous 5k PR of 24:49 by over a minute!

After the Midnight Streak, I had been really proud of my time, but was also a bit disappointed, because at that time I felt like I may have just about reached my limit for a 5k. I was so spent at the finish of that race that I wasn't sure I could run one any faster. I felt at best I may be looking at shaving a few seconds off that time occasionally. And now I felt like I had blown it away. And I think I can still improve.

As I've mentioned before, after the extreme summer we had, I've been surprised this fall how much difference the cooler temperatures make when running. I think that was the biggest factor in my time in this race versus the Midnight Streak. However, I also think running without the GPS contributed quite a bit too. I suspect I ran the first couple of miles faster than I would have if I'd had the watch on and been tracking my pace. The biggest reason I now wish I'd had the watch on is that I would like to know what my splits were. My average pace for the race was 7:39/mile. I'm sure I didn't run the first two miles that fast, but I did probably run them under 8 minutes. And I probably ran the last mile close to 7:30.

Over the almost two years I've been running now, one truth I've seen is that you can almost always run harder and longer than you think you can...your mind is as much of a limiting factor as your body and physical ability are, if not more so.

New look for Mondo Marathon

If you're checking out the blog, I guess you noticed the new design. I took advantage of Google's Blogger layout tools and changed the look of our blog. Got some runners in the background now as well as some other subtle design changes. I like the new look...I guess I should since I picked it. As a side note, you can add your own background image rather than use one that Google provides, so if I come up with an appropriate running image...or if one of you have one you'd like to send my way, we can change it out.

Feedback on the new design is welcome.

The 2011 Memorial Marathon

Note: Like my SLC Half Marathon report, this took much longer to finish writing up than it should have, but finally, here it is for posterity. Hope everyone enjoys it.

Last year while Sue and I were in Salt Lake City for the SLC Marathon, I told Sherry, Curtis and Thais they needed to come to Oklahoma this year and we could all run in the OKC Memorial Marathon. Ever since I started running, I've almost felt obligated to run the Memorial at least once due to my personal connection to the OKC bombing. They all agreed that would be fun, and a good excuse for a family reunion so they would see if they could make it happen.

As last year progressed, more of the family got on board. Ross committed to it and it looked like Lyndsey, Kellen and maybe Ashley would also run in it. Then on Thanksgiving last November, Thais or Sue (I don't recall for sure) mentioned to Sarah and Johnny that they should start running and do the Memorial with the rest of us. And right after that Sarah and Johnny started running with the intention of doing the half marathon. Unfortunately, due to various reasons none of those "young" people were able to participate. However, one of the Foster kids, Luke, did end up running it (with virtually no training!) and Karla and Ryan Smith's daughter Chelsey made a last minute decision (with some urging from Sherry and Curtis) to join the fun too.

The reunion/race weekend began on Thursday, April 28th with the arrival of the non-Oklahoma residents. The next day most of us were able to meet at Zio's in Bricktown for a great lunch and visit. In addition to our race running family members (Karla, Ryan and Chelsey excepted), Lyndsey, Kellen, Ashley and Abbie also made it and we enjoyed a good lunch and visit.

Sherry, Luke, Dad, Thais and Sue at Zios.

After lunch, Dad, Thais, Sue, Sherry, Curtis, Luke and Peggy and I all walked over to the Cox Center where we met Ross to pick up our race packets and attend the pre-race Expo. We all quickly picked up our packets then headed to the Expo room. Ross looked around for a bit, but had to get back to work before long. The rest of us browsed the various vendors and spent some money. Curtis decided to check out the minimalist shoe movement and bought a pair of Vibram FiveFingers which he enjoyed wearing as much as possible the rest of the weekend. Finally, we all left to get a small jump on rush hour traffic as we headed home.

At the Cox Center to attend the Expo.

Saturday Sue, Thais, Sherry, Curtis and Luke got up early and headed out to the Arts Festival. A bit later, Peggy and I met them at the Academy store on the Northwest Expressway as Thais wanted to check out some cold weather running clothes since the forecast was looking down for the race on Sunday. We all met at Dad's house Saturday evening, joined by Karla, Ryan and Chelsey to have a pasta dinner. We all enjoyed a great meal and had a good visit. We spent a bit of time discussing the weather forecast and what appropriate clothing would be as well as making plans on where to meet downtown in the morning. Eventually, the gathering broke up so everyone could get to bed and, hopefully rest up for the race the next morning.

I slept fitfully that night and woke up at 3:30. I had my clock set for 4:30 and I tried to go back to sleep, but finally gave up and got up around 4:15. I pulled up the weather on my iPod and saw the temperature was 56 degrees. I stepped outside and thought it didn't feel bad at all and began to rethink my clothing plans. I woke Peggy up and she reminded me that the local news came on channel 5 at 5AM. I tuned that in at 5 and found the weather man assuring us that it would begin raining by the time the marathon was scheduled to begin at 6:30. He seemed really sure about it, so I went ahead and dressed for the colder temps I expected if it rained.

Peggy and I were ready fairly quickly and we left the house by 5:20. We made good time and, seeing the exits off of I-235 to downtown were already backed up, we went on down to 23rd Street and exited there, jogged over to Robinson and took that back toward downtown. As we drove down Robinson, some raindrops began hitting our windshield. We pulled over to park on Robinson around 10th Street. By now the rain was getting pretty steady so my worst fears about the weather appeared to be coming true.

We were pretty early so we decided to sit in the car for a bit before heading for the Journal Record building where we were all to meet. As we waited, Sherry called and said they were still on their way. She told me Thais and Sue were already there and they said the start had been delayed until 7:00 because of the lightning. Peggy and I stayed in the car until around 6:35 before we finally ventured out into the rain to head for the starting area. As we walked by the Methodist church at Robinson and 8th(?) Street, there was a gentleman telling people the church was open for people to use their restrooms and they had hot coffee available. We went ahead and ran in so I could use their bathroom. With that taken care of we ventured back out.

We got to the Journal Record building and headed down 6th Street, and saw the family in the parking garage across the street. We jumped in there and everyone took the opportunity to pose for a photo before the race started.

Before the fun begins!

After we took the photo, the girls headed to the starting line. Ross and I thought we should hang out in the garage as long as possible. So we ended up almost staying in there too long. As he, Curtis and I tried to get to our starting area the crowd on 6th Street leading in to Harvey was almost impassable. We squeezed thru the crowd and a small opening in the fences blocking Harvey off and finally got into the starting area just minutes before the gun went off.

The crowd slowly shuffled to the starting line and finally we crossed it and began a slow jog down the street. When course turned by Leadership Square, Curtis jumped up to the sidewalk to get around the crowd. Ross and I followed suit and soon we were running at a sub-8 minute pace sprinting around the crowd. We kept this up for the first mile or so before it thinned out enough to have a bit of room to run the pace you wanted and we slowed down some.

After the first couple of miles, Ross settled in to a fairly quick 8:30ish pace. This was a bit quicker than I felt comfortable with this early in the race (and I found out later Curtis agreed), but I really wanted to keep up with Ross as long as possible. I worried this would probably bite me late in the race but decided I'd just go with it and see what happens. We had what I thought were rather impressive splits on miles 3 thru 6: 8:44, 8:52, 8:19(!), and 8:21. Despite that pace and the miserable weather conditions I was still feeling pretty good at this point.

On the 7th mile I stopped for a bathroom break while Ross and Curtis kept going. It was a pretty quick stop (my Garmin said the 7th mile time was 9:45) and when I took off again, I kept a pretty fast pace thinking maybe I could catch back up with them. I ran mile 8 in 8:28, but I was beginning to feel the effects of the distance and effort. I also realized Ross and Curtis probably had at least a one minute lead on me from my stop so I slowed the pace a bit and when I came to the next watering station I walked thru it like I had done at all the water stations during the Route 66 marathon back in November.

This was the long straightaway down Classen. My legs were definitely getting pretty tired now, I was only on mile 9, my fingers were numb from the cold...I was beginning to feel a bit discouraged. I was thinking I didn't feel this tired at this point of the Route 66 so I was beginning to wonder how strong I would be able to finish. Then as I neared the turnoff from Classen I spotted Curtis up ahead! I pressed a bit in order to catch up with him.

Feeling the burn as I run down Classen.

When I caught him I asked him where Ross was. Curtis said he thought he was long gone. The pace had caught up with Curtis like it had with me and he said he had begun walking for a minute during each mile...a pretty good strategy, especially if your legs are crapping out on you. That sounded good to me, so I stayed with him, taking a couple of minute-long walk breaks.

When we came to another water station Curtis slowed to get a drink and I kept on going. Right after that I thought I saw Ross a hundred yards or so ahead. I looked back and could see Curtis not too far behind me. I kept the pace I had been going and slowly gained on Ross. When I got close I stepped on it and went flying by. I turned and waved as I passed him. As I passed I noticed he was jogging rather slowly (for him). I slowed down after I passed him and fully expected him to catch up with me momentarily. When I he didn't catch up with me after a minute I looked behind me but couldn't see him or Curtis.

The course was now going through the historic neighborhoods north of downtown. It was really getting to be a chore to maintain my pace and these neighborhoods are on the hilly side. I began walking up hills that any degree of steepness to them. I still had a couple of miles to go and I felt like I was really struggling now. My splits over the last three miles were 9:18, 9:11 and 9:23. That means when I was running I was still keeping a pretty good pace because I walked several times over these last few miles.

Finally I found myself on 13th Street, heading for Broadway. This helped me find the energy to press on with no more walk breaks since I knew the finish was down Broadway, not too far away. I made the turn onto Broadway and shortly, I saw the finish ahead. I began picking up my pace and finally, when I thought I could maintain it to the finish I began kicking it with everything I had left. Despite feeling like I my legs were totally wasted I managed a 7:44 pace over that last 10th of a mile! I stopped my Garmin as I crossed the finish, and when I looked at it I saw 1:59:34. Unbelievably I had broken two hours unofficially. This was a surprise to me because I felt so much worse and walked much more over the last couple of miles than I had during the Route 66 in November where I finished in 2:03.

Despite everything, Peggy got a shot of me about to finish.

I attempted to cover myself with the blanket I was handed when I finished and worked throught the crowds around the drinks and food tables for the finishers, trying to stay under their tarps to avoid being rained on. Within 5 minutes of finishing I was beginning to get cold, and after ten minutes I was really staring to shiver. Curtis spotted me and asked if I had seen Ross. He told me when he caught up with Ross, Ross told him he just had nothing left in his legs. We both began walking back toward the finish to see if we could spot him, but I gave up fighting the crowd pretty quickly.

I was now beginning to actually worry a bit about hypothermia as I was really getting cold and shivering pretty seriously. I managed to dial Peggy on my phone despite my frozen fingers and after a bit of difficulty we finally found each other. I asked her where the car was and she told me she had some bad news. We had a flat tire. Not what I wanted to hear! We began heading toward the car. As we worked our way up Broadway we ran into some familiar faces trying to hide from the rain.

Chelsey, Sue, Luke, Molly, Cara, Tayler and Sherry hide from the rain.

Peggy and I finally made it to the car and after a lot of warming up  and several warming-up-some-more breaks, I got the tire changed and we headed home. We had recorded most of channel 4's broadcast of the marathon, so we watched that Sunday afternoon and watched for official results to be posted online.

Every one of us had a good race...especially considering the miserable conditions. Here are all of our official chip times:

RJay: 1:59:31
Curtis: 2:01:50
Ross: 2:04:02
Sue: 2:21:28
Sherry: 2:21:36
Thais: 2:44:19
Luke: 2:24:01
Chelsey: 2:23:45

To top it off, I think everyone set a new PR. Of course, Ross, Thais, Luke and Chelsey did because it was the first half marathon for all of them. Maybe the bad weather played to all of our advantage as far as time went, i.e. the sooner you finished, the sooner you could get out of the cold and rain!

The following day, I met up with Sue, Sherry, Curtis, Thais and Carla and we ran around town a bit together, enjoying each other's company, finishing with a light supper in Bricktown. It was a great finish to a great weekend. The out-of-towners all tentatively planned on making it again next year, so we'll see how things shake out.

I can run for miles and miles

I've been increasing my miles slowly. I slacked on my weekday runs early in September...had a couple of weeks where I only ran once during the week, but I've been pushing my long run on the weekend up steadily. And I've managed to get a bit more on track with my weekday running over the past couple of weeks.

I ran 13 miles yesterday. The previous weekend I ran 12 miles. I felt good on that run until about the ten and a half mile mark when my legs suddenly felt really heavy and tired. I had to push to finish 12 that day. Then on my run yesterday I finished much stronger. I've been trying to keep my pace between 9:00 and 9:30/mile on my long runs since going out too fast will wear you out a lot quicker and a fast pace is also supposed to contribute to more soreness. I did a good job with that yesterday but pushed it hard over the last three miles, running them in 8:53, 8:47 then a strong last mile in 8:26. My legs were definitely tired, but felt much better than the previous weekend's run. And they are hardly sore at all today where last week they were pretty sore for a couple of days after my long run. So it looks like the slow increase is paying off as far as building up my endurance.

Despite that, I'm still undecided about entering the full marathon at the Route 66 this year though. I probably have just enough time left to get my long run up to 20 miles before a taper, but it's close. And I'm questioning whether I should be spending the money (an absolute minimum of $200 for entry fee, gas and food...and hotel?) for it that close to Christmas. If I decide not to do it at the Route 66, I'm still going to try to keep my mileage up pretty high so maybe I can find a marathon after Christmas to  run instead. We'll see how things go.