Race Report: Corporate 5K w/CDWS

WOW! This was the biggest race I've ever run! Last Thursday night (6:45 pm) me and a team from work ran the Corporate 5K. We had a group of 9 running it, 7 co-workers and my parents, and we had a blast. I'm actually really impressed with how well I did considering I was dodging people the entire time.

My Garmin says I ran it in 34:45. My clock time (not chip-timed) was closer to 44 minutes because it took us almost 10 minutes to cross the start line. I ran most of the race and just stopped for 1 minute after mile 1 and 2 and at the water stops.

My dad was actually behind me the whole race and caught up to me just before the 3 mile mark. I tried to keep up with him but I just didn't have it in me, so he finished just before me. There went my one chance to beat him in a race! =P

Jason ran with a flip cam taped to his bike helmet and recorded the whole thing, so he should have some footage up someday from that as well as all the still photos.

After the race, everyone came back to our place for pizza and beer and to relive the event. We watched Jason's footage and looked at all the pics. Everyone had a great time and I'm so glad we did this and had 2 team members run their first 5k!


Stats:

• garmin - 3.16 in 34:45
• clock - 43:50
• mile 1 - 11:04 (clearly started out too fast)
• mile 2 - 11:36 (faded a bit; this is where most of the walking happened I think)
• mile 3 - 10:33 (found my 2nd wind and tried to beat dad)
• finish - 9:40 (1:31 - gave it all I had to try to beat dad, but it was just not enough)

Many more race photos on flickr.

Running Gadgets

How can I resist participating in today's TIART when the topic is Running Technology Tips? :)

I'm a geek and love data, so of course I use gadgets on most of my workouts--not just running, but biking too and sometimes even walking! I just love to be able to log every mile and see my progress. Below is a list of the gadgets I use now, or have in the past, and how they help me train.

iPod:

When I started running, I used the Couch to 5K podcasts to get me through it. Once I finished the program, I ran with my ipod listening to music. That didn't last long. One day I yanked off my headphones out of my ears halfway through a run because I could hear them moving in my ears and I couldn't stand it. I thought I'd never be able to run without music, especially for long runs, but I went out and did it and loved it. I found that I was able to pay better attention to my body and concentrate on my breathing when I had nothing to distract me. Now I rarely run with music unless I am on a treadmill or in a funk and need to mix things up.

Mapmyrun / Google Maps:

Before I bought the Garmin, I still craved to know my millage, so I always mapped my runs and figured out my pace with a plain ol' watch. I've used various sites, but I think they are all based on Google.

Garmin 305:

Once I knew I was serious about this running thing--and because I got a tip of the Garmin 305 being on sale--I made the leap and never looked back. I love the instant feedback and analyzing the data after every run. I also love the virtual partner feature, even though I've only used it a few times, but it is neat to have someone to run against :) I also love it because it makes using run/walk intervals a piece of cake.

Every now and then I'll run without it and just enjoy it, but this is rare. Even if I don't care about my pace and don't look at the watch much while running, I almost always have it just so I can accurately log the run afterwards.

During my 1st half marathon, the Garmin refused to aquire a signal and I actually ran it without it. Jason was shocked when at mile 3 I threw my arm warmers, gloves and Garmin at him because he knew my obsession with this gadget and the data it provided me. Amazingly enough, I was not bothered by this and I think I had a better experience for it.

Dailymile:

This is my latest obsession, er ... I mean find and where I currently log all my workouts. Even though I do not post here as often as I used to, I post there daily. So if you don't see a post here for a while, you can check my dailymile profile for an update. The site is much more than just a blog; it also provides social networking for support from other athletes, and I've made some great friends there.

Twitter:

I also post about my runs/rides and woes on twitter. I've met several local runners there, as well as some from other locations. It is nice to get support from those who can relate to not just running in general but to running in Orlando and our schizophrenic weather. A few of these I've met in person, and I know I'll eventually meet the others.

iPhone:

After I bought the race ready LD fitness shorts with pockets, I started running with my phone. This is mostly for safety reasons and in case I get lost (it has happened). During my 2 half marathons, I used the phone to tweet my splits and other highlights. It was nice to have live snippets recorded that I could use to remind me of the race and turn into a full race report.

Blog:

Finally, there is this blog; but more on that next week :)

30 Minutes of Non-Stop Running

Even though I am a huge advocate of the Galloway run-walk method, I still want to be able to run shorter distances of at least 3 miles without walking. I even walk during 5K races because I can run much faster when I take walk breaks, and I'm forever in search of a new PR =).

Since I don't want my body to forget what it feels like to run without walking, and because I want to increase how far and fast I can run without walking, I started adding a 30-minute non-stop run to my weekly routine 3 weeks ago. I am starting slow since I am technically building back up from an injury, but I'm already seeing improvements in just those 3 runs.

Below is a comparison of each 30 minute run. Click on the linked date to read the details of each run at my dailymile log.

date	distance	avg pace	mile 1 pace	mile 2 pace	finish pace
3/24	2.37	12:39	12:56	12:20	11:55
4/1	2.55	11:47	12:12	11:58	10:33
4/6	2.65	11:21	12:01	11:26	10:12

Race Report: Windermere Run Among the Lakes 5K 2009

Let's get the results out of the way:

• net time: 34:28 (watch)
• chip time: 35:32 (aka clock time -- seriously, why bother with a chip time if you aren't going to give me the net time?)
• gender: 183 / 396
• overall: 388 / 663

My dad and Jason also ran this race, and Jason got a huge PR. He beat my dad for the first time and finished in 26:21 (an 8:29 pace). His previous PR was 32:22 on January 24th.That's 6 minutes in 2.5 months!  Dad ran a sub-10 pace and finished in 29:37. Mom was home recovering from surgery and could not make an appearance.

I forgot how tired legs get running on hard-packed sand. This is a beautiful course, but not one you do for speed. Nevertheless, this was a great race for me because it was a rematch of the 1st 5K I ever ran almost 1 year ago on April 12, 2008. I had lofty goals for running a sub-34 or even something close to 33, but that's because I foolishly underestimated the toll the course would have on my poor legs. I either blocked it out from last year's race, or (more likely) I didn't notice as much because I was a new runner and I mostly walked it. Anyway, on with the report.

The weather was perfect: we had a nice breeze the whole time and didn't feel too humid. I started close to the back to ensure I did not go out too fast. I had done the math and knew what pace I needed to average and even how fast I had to run the run intervals (I used 5:1), but I forgot to use the lap feature to actually see my average pace while I was running the intervals.

When we finally started, it took us forever to get moving. The start had us go through the finishing chute, so we couldn't really start running until we got out of that. My first run interval was really slow at 11:30 because of being herded via the chute and dodging walkers (yes I know I am one). I made up for it in the 2nd interval and clocked the first mile at 11:13.

My pace was slower than anticipated, but I still thought I could make up the time. I pushed harder in the next 2 intervals and clocked the 2nd mile at 10:57. I was getting closer to my target pace, but my legs were getting really tired and it was starting to get warmer. I walked an extra 10 seconds after the water stop since I had not been able to regulate my breathing while drinking water. It was getting harder to push my pace, but I pressed on. Mile 3 was a tad slower at 11:01 and it took me 1:17 to cover the last .15 and cross the finish.

I am still extremely pleased with my performance because ...

1. I still ran a sub-35 5K, by my watch but I'm going with this time because it is absurd not to give us net times if we have chips and it did take me over a minute to cross the start since I lined up in the back to ensure I did not start out too fast.
2. I shaved off 10:10 from last year's time, also recorded by my watch because it was not even chipped time then, so at least this is an equivalent comparison.
3. I only walked for about 5 minutes total. At last year's race, I only ran 14 minutes since I was doing week 2, day 2 of coach to 5k and had only been running for less than 3 weeks.

Maybe I'll run it again next year and by then I'll be able to run the whole thing in under 30 miniutes ;)