Orlando Free Group Runs/Rides & Race Schedules

For those of you who live near the Orlando area, below is a list of free group runs and rides in the area, as well as where you can find listings of upcoming races.

Since I keep sending out this information to friends, I thought I'd keep it in an updated post on my blog for my own reference and for any others who live in the Orlando area who are looking for running or riding buddies. If you have any to add, please comment and I'll update this post.

I also maintain a Google Calendar of upcoming Races & Group Runs/Rides that you can subscribe to. It is not an exhaustive list of all events, but it's a good place to start or if you want to join me for a run/ride/race.

Running Groups / Group Runs

• Orlando Women Runners Meetup
• Orlando Runners Meetup
• Orlando Runners Club
• O2H3 (run hash)
  
• Tri & Run
• Track Shack Training Programs (not free)

Cycling Groups / Group Rides

• Central Florida Trail Bladers & Bikers (CFTB^2) Meetup
• Orlando Bike and Social Club Meetup
• South Orlando Cyclist Meetup
• Florida Free Wheelers
• Orlando Bike-O Psychos (bike hash)
• Let's Ride - Mountain Bikes and More Meetup

Triathlon Groups

• Central FL Trek Womens Triathlon Training Meetup
• Orlando Run / Swim / Aquathlon / Triathlon Meetup

Race Listings

• Running
• Track Shack Running Events
• ORC Calendar
• Fleet Feet Orlando
  

• Multi-sport Events
  
• Buttar
• Sommer Sports
• State of Mind Sports
• TriFind Rece Search
• Faces of Courage Triathlon Series (reverse Tri w/pool swim)

Bike Shops

(most of these also have a list of local rides/events)

• Kyle's Bike Shop
• Retro City Cycles
• Orange Cycle Orlando
• David's World Cycle
• Loco Motion

Non-stop 5k in 34:29!

I ran a sub-35 5k with no breaks: 3.11 miles in 34:29 at 11:05 average pace! I'm so excited! To be honest, I don't think I've ever run a truly non-stop 5K race before, because I always took at least 1 short break at water stops. I did run the distance non-stop when I finished C25K, but it took me over 40 minutes. The weather cooperated so I was able to run outside at Lake Eola. It was actually cool when I started, though the humidity was evident by the end of the run.

I ran against my Garmin's virtual partner (GVP), which I set to run 5K in 35 minutes. As you can see from the mostly negative splits below, I started slow (though slightly faster than Monday) and held back letting the GVP get ahead of me for the first 2 miles. I steadily increased my speed throughout the run and started to gain on the GVP after mile 2. With .6 to go, I passed the GVP and beat it by 30 seconds.

Splits (pace)

11:49
11:07
10:26
12:00 (.12 in 1:29) -- not sure how that happen as I felt I was still going strong.

I was afraid that some of the soreness from yesterday's hard indoor bike ride would be a problem, but I didn't feel sore once I started running -- I do use different muscles when running vs biking. My right knee felt a little tight when I finished, but I did a few yoga movies and it seems to be fine now. Just to be safe, I'll do Yoga for the Knees tonight or tomorrow morning.

This time is a little over 1 minute slower than my 5K PR of 33:12, which I ran using 5:1 intervals. However, I am confident that with a little practice I can get a new 5K PR with no walk breaks.

Race Report: Jim Payne 5k

Yesterday afternoon, Jason and I ran the Jim Payne Blue Ribbon Run for the Kids 5K in Sanford. Time-wise, this was my worse 5K in 8 months -- 2008.09.13: Autumn Rock n Run 5K - 38:08 (chip) -- but I made the best of it and had a blast catching up with friends pre & post race.

Since it worked so well at the last 5k, we went for a 1 mile slow run to warm-up before the race. I ran the mile non-stop in 11 minutes, which felt like a comfortable pace. In retrospect, this probably hindered my performance rather than help it since it was so hot that my muscles were surely warm enough already.

Despite lining up in the back, I went out too fast and finished mile 1 in 10:30 (even with 2 walk breaks). I knew I was in trouble since this was the pace I hoped to average and there was no way I was going to keep it up in that heat. Sure enough, I bonked at the halfway point and couldn't recover.

At the one water stop (there should have been more), I threw water on my head and shirt, which I never do. I had a cramp and felt a bit ill, and I decided that my health was more important than any goal. I knew my goal of running sub-33 was probably out of reach anyway, and I didn't want to kill myself for nothing, so I walked most of the 2nd half of the race with bursts of running thrown in here and there, but I just couldn't sustain it. My cramp wouldn't let up and my legs felt heavy. I am sure the pretzel we shared before the race didn't help.

I finished in 37:14 for a pace of 11:58 -- at least I ran a sub-12 pace ;) Here are my awful positive splits pace:

10:30
11:30
13:48
11:03 (.13 in 1:28)

Surprisingly, I am at peace with the results and not really disappointed with this race because I made a conscious decision to walk and not push it. Had I pushed myself and not achieved my goal, I would have felt worse physically and been disappointed. I just chucked it up to a bad day and moved on.

I ran into a ton of people I knew after the race from Orlando Women Runners, Orlando Runners Meetup Group, Orlando Runners Club, MarathonChris from twitter, as well as former coworker Kelly and her mom. After watching the awards, several of us had dinner and a great time at a Willow Tree.

Full Stats:

chip - 37:14
pace - 11:58.8
clock - 38:21
overall - 518 / 871
AG - 33
gender - 278/530

New Plan: No Marathon?

I'm thinking of not training for a marathon nor joining the Galloway training group this year. I love running with them, and I eventually want to run a full marathon, but I don't think this is the right time because:

1. I am a little burnt out of having a set running schedule and not being able to do anything Friday night because I have to get up so early Saturday mornings for a run.
   
   
2. If I train on my own (or with Jason or other local running groups/meet ups), I can run every other day and my long runs can be either Sat or Sun. It will be really liberating to set my own flexible schedule and run for the fun of it.
   
   
3. I've been and want to bike more, and I fear the added millage for the marathon and biking will leave me exhausted. So instead of training for a marathon, I think I'll enjoy it more if I train for some sprint/olympic duathlons, maybe a sprint triathlon, century rides, or even a half ironman duathlon!

With this in mine, here are my New Goals for 2009:

1. Improve my running pace and run a sub-30 5K by the end of the year.
2. Run 1-2 half marathons and get a new PR (and ideally sub-2:30).
   
3. Run 5K without walking (at whatever pace). I can probably do this now, but I haven't really tried in a while.
   
4. Complete a sprint duathlon.
5. Complete a sprint triathlon (maybe -- with a pool swim).
6. Complete an olympic duathlon.
7. Complete a half iron duathlon.
8. Complete a relay race with family.
   

These are some of the races I am considering, other than tons of 5Ks:

• June 28 - 1st Sprint Duathlon at Baldwin Park
• Aug 8 - Faces of Courage Reverse Sprint Triathlon
• Oct 11 - Long Beach Half Marathon
  
• Nov 8 - Miami Man Half Iron Duathlon
• Nov/Feb - Ragnar Relay

Of coure, this is all bound to change and I may decide at the 11th hour that I do want to do a marathon after all, but just making this decision for now is a huge load off.

Race Report: Run for the Trees 5K 2009

Last Saturday, I did the "Run for the Trees 5K" with mom, two of her friends, Jason and 3 co-workers:  Amy, Vanessa, and Victor. This was a great race that I got to share with some awesome people. I finished in 33:12,  a new PR, and was very close to running a sub-33 5K! Compared to last year's performance, my 3rd 5K ever, I ran it 9:45 faster! w00t!

CDWS Crew:
Victor, Me, Jason, Amy



Mom and her friends



Vanessa and her tree

Pre-Race Run:
Since I've technically been training for a 1/2 marathon on May 16 (though I've seen nixed this idea), I needed to get in some extra miles. I met some ladies from my Galloway group before the race at our usual spot, and ran 2 miles at an easy 12:25 pace to the race start. I intended to run a few laps around the track when we got there to keep my body warm until the start, but mom called asking for directions and took up the last 20 minutes until the race start. Nonetheless, the 2 mile warm up made a huge difference on my race performance and I need to find a way to warm up for at least 1-2 miles before every race.

Race:
This is a gorgeous course and the weather was great. I started out a little fast, but it didn't cost me too much (except my usual consistent negative splits) since I was already warmed up. I ran using 5:1 intervals and really tried to push myself. I was concerned I had started out too fast, so I slowed a little during the 2nd mile and that probably cost me that extra 13 seconds :) Oh well, there is always the next race ;) The Garmin logged the course a little long, so my actual pace was 10:24! I'm estatic that I broke a 10:30 pace!

Below are my (mostly) negative splits (pace):

• mile 1 - 10:34
• mile 2 - 10:50
• mile 3 - 10:13
• finish - 8:09 (.18 in 1:29)

Post-Race:
After the race, I walked 1.7 miles back to the start (it was a point-to-point race) instead of taking the shuttle. We were actually waiting for quite a while for Vanessa at the end and were getting worried because it had almost been an hour. She isn't that slow, so we worried something happened when we learned she was actually on her way back already :) After getting our trees (all finishers got a free young tree), we went to breakfast at Bikes, Beans, and Bordeaux. It was a great way to end an awesome morning.

Official stats:

• clock time - 34:05    
• chip - 33:12
• pace - 10:41
• overall - 671 / 1234
• age group -  55 / 107    
• gender - 315 / 747

• Jason - 25:13 - 8:06.9
• Victor - 26:29 - 8:31.3
• Amy - 34:59 - 11:15.5
• Mom - 39:23 - 12:40.3
• Vanessa - 40:08 - 12:54.8