Race Weekend #2

This past weekend was the second of my half Marathons over the last 8 days. The Canada Army Run
is a big event - about 8500 half-marathoners and over 10,000 5k runners. I would expect that there was likely more registered for the 5K but it was wet and cold early so maybe a few stayed away.

The race was great - I ran the half marathon and Tika ran the 5k. It was crowded, a bit windy, very cool and I did get wet from the occasional shower but I still managed a good run finishing just 2 minutes off the weekend before at 1:46:41. Tika also had a great run - consistent throughout her entire race and finishing in 30:30.

What made the weekend even better was getting to spend time with Tika while staying with our friends Malcolm and Lynne. Myself and Tika spent Sunday at the race, then she had us go to a great little restaurant on Gladstone called Pressed, where we had lunch with a couple of friends of friends, Nadia and Dennis. After lunch we did some shopping and then headed back to Malcolm and Lynne's so I could cook dinner. We had some great meals with the Browns and always great conversations.

There are a few pictures from the weekend - some of the official race photos and then some taken by my friend Tracy who also ran the half Marathon. You can see the pictures here.

If you need more than pictures there were raise videos at the finish.

Check out 34:55 in the video. I was wearing a yellow/orange long sleeve, black hat and had a red coat on my right hip.

And in this one you can just get a glimpse of Tika at 33:03 you will see a girl in a black top and pink tights all the way to the right on the screen - she is coming up to the finish and she crosses a couple of seconds later next to a guy in a yellow shirt

I may do one or two more races before the year ends but likely will be shorter ones just to have some fun.

First of Back-to-back Weekend Races

Yesterday was the second running of the Navy-Air Force Half Marathon and my second running of it. It was a great day for a run - in the 50s and a bit cloudy to start and then clearing off.

This is not a big race - not sure why. It is in a great running town, a few weeks before Marine Corps, so a good training race, a flat course and through the memorials and into Rock Creek park. I guess I should not complain as I do not have to dodge people but this should be an 8-10 thousand person race. Now they do also have a 5 miler that seems to have done greater attendance.

For me this is a great run. Now this year we basically did a reverse of last year, which I personally did not like as much but it is like saying I don't like milk chocolate as much as dark chocolate - it is all chocolate and yummy. Like the chocolate this was still a great run. I had lots of great people to pace against and setting the wounded warriors racing and running is fantastic.

I did end up with another PR, both for the course and for the distance, which is always a bonus - so the getting older and faster is still holding up :-). Official time 1:44:10. I cannot wait to run it again next year. But before I look to 2014 - next week it's the Canadian Army Half in Ottawa. I hope the weather is as good as it was yesterday.

The Brutal Race Weekend

So it may have been the new kind of race, it being my first trail race; it may have been that the temperatures were in the high 70s to low 80s with high humidity; or it may have been that this was my 3rd weekend in a row racing but it was a looooooong day Sunday morning.

If you have been reading you will see that this is the 3rd weekend in a row that I have raced - a hilly half in Fredericksburg two weeks ago and, a nice flat 10K in Ottawa - but both I did personal bests in - Fredericksburg for the race and Ottawa for the distance. Yesterday was the North Face Endurance Half Marathon. Well it was called a half but everyone I spoke with had it at over 14 miles - but we all ran the same course so all the runners were even.

The weekend started out well - I stopped by North Face in Georgetown between meetings and picked
up my race packet - including a nice new shirt and some SmartWool running socks. It was actually really good since with the new clearance on the Jeep street parking is more critical in Georgetown and I found some right away. Saturday was an easy day and Sunday I woke at 5:30 to make sure I was all fueled with protein and carbs - Canadian Bacon, Waffles and banana for breakfast and snacks as I headed to the race start.

The race seemed very well organized until the announcer stated that we would pick up a water bottle at the first aid stop at about 2.5 miles but it would not have water until we filled it at the second stop which was supposed to be at mile 8.5. REALLY - 8.5 miles without water other than what we carried - and most people planned based on the aid stations being equipped. Well after some quick work they rectified that and we had water in our water bottles at the first stop.

The course itself was a good course - very scenic. Well not that you saw that since if you looked anywhere but down and two feet in front of you you were face planting after hitting a root or rock - I know - I did it when I looked up to see if I could find a place to pass. I had to look for places to pass as we had about 2-1/2 to 3 miles of anything but single track - and it was truly single track. Thankfully the start was mostly on wider trails so I moved ahead a bit over the first 2.5 - 3 miles but even in those first 3 miles we hit single track where it became obvious that this race would be dictated by how big a crowd was in front of you.

The Course and Elevation Profile

Once we got into the continuous single track there were lots of obstacles - some small that would catch feet and some very large that require clambering, jumping, wading or scrambling up muddy embankments. Of course that plus the inability to pass made it near impossible to get and set a pace. At mile 5 I was thinking about that - how to set a pace - but after 10 miles of climbing, jumping, falling, scrambling and sprinting where I could I realized that this was called Endurance for a reason.

When I finally hit Algonkian Park I knew the finish and a glass of beer were not far away so I kept the pace and crossed at 2:24:21. I was a little disappointed at that point as I knew it was a solid 40 minutes slower than my best half and 36 minutes slower than just two weeks ago but now that I look back at it adding 36 minutes based on the extra mileage, the heat and humidity, and the course is nothing to be disappointed about. It turns out I placed 7th in my division of 35 runners and 130th overall in a field of 773 - a good day.

Now I will take a few weeks off from racing and maybe a week or two off from running at all - just to get recover a bit - my legs are advising me of that and my nipples are screaming for it. The next planned race is the Tely10 in Newfoundland at the end of July and I want to be ready to nail that!

2013 Marine Corps Half Marathon

Yesterday was the running of the 6th annual MC Half - and my second running of the race. It is a great race. Lots of Marines supporting the runners and lots of other volunteers. The people of Fredericksburg go all out, lining the streets and playing music from their houses that line the course. Last year I was a tiny bit disappointed as I wanted to finish under 1:50 but was 32 seconds shy of that goal. This year I had two great races under my belt, a strong Van Metre 5 miler and a strong Cherry Blossom, both where I set personal bests in those races so my goal was to get the 1:50.

For those that follow me you will know that my Personal Best for a half-marathon is just over 1:44. The Marine Corps Half is very different though. It is a hilly course. There are rolling hills all throughout and though they may be small there are lots of ups and downs and they are taxing. Then of course you have Hospital Hill, which everyone hears about and dreads, but those of us that have run it before know that Hospital Hill is followed by a short flat piece and then a climb up and over the highway that is even more taxing.

I woke early and had a good breakfast, Canadian bacon, toast and fruit and headed down to Fredericksburg. I arrived at the start line with about 10 minutes to spare after taking care of all my pre-race stuff - so I was set. I started fairly close to the front of the almost 6300 runners - I think it only took 38 seconds to get across the start line after the gun start. Oh I should clarify - the Marine version of a gun start is a Howitzer. I had planned to start hard and then relax a bit mid-race so I could be ready for the big hills near the end. My 10K split was under 50 minutes - about 8 min/mile. The next 5 K I ran at about 8:15 so I could relax a bit and fuel up for the hill. The next 5K covered the big hills and I kept that at under an 8:40 and finished the last mile plus at the 8:15 pace before I started the hills. It felt really good. The final finish time - 1:48:00 - a solid 2 minutes ahead of my goal.

Next up - NorthFace Trail half-marathon - in two weeks.

Official Results

The official results were posted for the Inaugural Navy-Air Force Half Marathon.

My finish time was 1:44:39 which was running at about a 8:00 min/mile pace, which was just a little bit slower than my last Cherry Blossom time. Overall I finished 296th out of 1723 runners.

I was very excited to see that I beat my goal of 1:45 after having missed my 1:50 goal at the last half marathon by only about 30 seconds.

One of the other cool things was that rather than giving out medals at the finish line they handed out Challenge Coins, which is a military tradition that started for members of units but has extended to recognition of special achievement within an unit. I now have 3 but this one is by far the most rewarding.

Bib and Challenge Coin

A Quick Race Report

This morning was the first Navy-Air Force half-marathon. The Navy has annually held a 5 miler about this time of year but this year they combined it with a half-marathon and with the Air Force banner as well. It was a fun race - relatively flat course running much the same geography as the Cherry Blossom 10 miler but adding a few miles up Rock Creek parkway.

My goal going in was to beat my Marine Corps half time. I had targeted 1:50 for the Marine Corps race but missed it by about half a minute. So this one I wanted to make sure I beat the 1:50 but given the flat course I thought I should target a bit faster so my dream goal was 1:45. So I was feeling great as I was passing through mile 12 on target for 1:45. In fact my gun time looked to be 1:44:44. My Garmin gave it at 1:44:34 so I will be anxious to see how I actually did. But either way - as the picture shows - I was happy.

Todays Race

Today was definitely an early morning - rising at 4 AM to head to Fredericksburg for the Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon.

It should be no surprise that logistically this race is well organized. They had arranged to use a commuter lot 3 miles from the race start and shuttled people there. When I made it to Warrenton at around 6 I was quickly able to get on a bus and head to the start in Fredericksburg - it was flawless.

The race itself was a good race - I had a plan and stuck to it ... mostly. The biggest part about this race is after running 10 miles you get to face the biggest hill. It only rises 150 feet but it does it in about a half mile. And then you get to face a couple of smaller hills. So needless to say the end of the race is brutal.

The weather was good at the start but was a bit warm by the end - but running through the old neighbourhoods of Fredericksburg is great. The people were all out cheering, kids high-fiving and lots of water and the occasional sprinkler.

I did not know how I would do on this race since I had a great Cherry Blossom but had not trained hard since then. I had a goal to finish with a pace under 8:30. Well I finished with a 8:26 pace finishing in 1:50:32 and putting me 780th of just over 6,000 finishers. I was pleased. The cold beer after helped too :-)