My Last Hurrah! - Pear Blossom 10 Miler - 2012

The biggest road race of the year in the Rogue Valley came and went last weekend with the 36th running of the Pear Blossom 10 Miler. Hey, why are all the fruit tree flower races 10 miles long? The Cherry Blossom in DC, the Pear Blossom in Medford? Anyway, since this was to be my last race in the valley with my move to Washington coming two weeks later, I wanted to put it out there and feel good about having raced hard and giving it my all, especially in the masters division, for which there was even a cash prize on the line.

Also, my friends Louis LeBlanc and Bria Wetsch were travelling down from Portland to stay with us and for Bria to race. From discussions with Louis, Bria’s coach, and from racing with her in two half-marathons last year, I knew that Bria and I were fairly evenly matched and that we would likely work together for the first part. In my mind, it always helps to have someone there to work with in the early stages of a big and longer race. So, it was important to me that I take this race pretty seriously.

Going into the race we (Bria and I) thought we knew what to expect as far as competition and race conditions. For me, it was a battle of the local masters runners and I would be chasing Bob Julian and Neil Olsen. For Bria, based on the race confirmations, she looked like the favorite. Somewhat surprisingly, last year’s winner Marci Klimek was not listed among the entrants. Imagine our surprise when, as we were doing our final strides, my training partners Mercy Ray (who just won the 5k) and Bree Ray ran up and told us that Marci was here and was running. Alrighty then, there will be a race for the ladies after all.

Start of the Pear Blossom 10 Miler with all the wannabes crowding the starting line.

The gun went off and I settled into my target pace of 5:45-5:50 for the first mile. But for some reason it didn’t feel very comfortable. I kept checking my Garmin to see if it was off, but I was pretty sure it was correct. Oh well, I just worked on staying relaxed. Bria pulled in next to me and we ran along picking off the posers that go out fast and fold up after the first couple of miles. Right away we eyed Marci about 30 meters ahead.

Clicking along, Bria and I slowly worked our way closer to Marci until we were only 10 meters back going up the hill at the turn around for the first time. It was my plan to run relaxed and stay conservative for the first half and then go for broke once I got over the hill on the way back. But as I usually do, I attacked the uphill and leaned into the downhill. As we got over the hill and made the turn around, I surged and got right on Marci’s heels. Unfortunately Bria wasn’t able to go with me.

Bria Wetsch and I working our way up the hill at four and a half miles in.

Up the hill again we were hit with a bit of a head wind as I ran along side Marci for a few strides but kept digging in and moved ahead. Right after passing her she did the smart thing and immediately tucked in behind me. But I was having none of that and surged hard to open it up as I thought to myself, “sorry, but I’m got going to make this easy for you and help you beat my friend.” Marci, if by some odd chance you read this, no hard feelings. I’ve never met you and it’s not personal. It’s just that I protect my friends and want to help and not hinder them when and where I can. I think you’d understand.

I should note that by this time I knew Bob Julian was way ahead and long gone. At the turn around I did the normal thing and surveyed who was close by behind me who I knew was a masters competitor or at least looked like one. I was surprised to see Neil Olsen behind me by around 20 seconds, but he wasn’t that far back and who knows how his race was going, I only knew that he was tough and he was close by and we still had 5 more miles to run.

Coming down the hill the last time I dug in and dropped my pace to around 5:45, passing about 3 guys. Nobody around me was going with me and I was gaining on the bodies in front of me. As much as I wanted to know how the ladies race would unfold, I had my own race to run and I kept pushing harder. With 3 miles to go I closed in on my own personal cheering section with Bree and Mercy Ray screaming loudly from the side of the road. It was like running through Wellesley College at the Boston Marathon. I could hear and see them from 100 meters away. That gave me a great shot of adrenaline and I dug in some more as we curved around for the long 3 mile straightaway into the finish.

I could hear a few folks hanging on behind me, but only one person caught me the last half of the race, and it was Neil Olsen. Neil pulled up next to me with 2 miles to go and then a step or two ahead. I tucked in behind, not so much to draft, since there breeze was minor here, but to get pulled along or more accurately to try and hang on for dear life. Clearly Neil was running faster than me, I was pushing hard and dropping the pace and he caught and passed me, which nobody else did. I hung in that spot for almost a mile until we got to the Black Bird, the infamous icon marking one mile to go in the race. But Neil just pulled away.

The infamous Black Bird, icon of Pear Blossom racing pain.

We both kept gaining on a guy in front of us and passed him with about 400 meters to go, but the gap between Neil and I got bigger. As we came into the thicker spectators near the finish I reminded myself that this was it, this was my last race in the valley. I also said to myself, “dammit, you have speed and you have a kick, use it. It won’t hurt any more, you are already hurting, just flip that damn switch. You know Neil is an ultra-marathoner, he can’t have a kick (I have no idea if he did or not, this is just me talking to myself), you race on the track for god’s sake, sprint!” We rounded the corner with about 150 meters to the finish and Neil was ahead by 30-40 meters. I took off, and I sprinted…..and I sprinted. I was closing the gap but I was going to run out of road, I pushed harder and just made it by half a stride right at the line. As I crossed the line I heard the announcer say my name and something or other, but I don’t know what it was, I was just determined to catch him.

Relief after crossing the finish line with the best sprint I could muster.

Truth be told, I would probably have sprinted that hard regardless of who it was in front of me. It wasn’t just because it was someone who I knew was in my age group and I respected as one of the best masters runners in the Rogue Valley, but that most certainly helped. But one of my new year’s resolutions this year was to never give up at the end of a race and if there was someone to catch or race I had to try to beat them no matter what. Neil just happened to be the target this time.

My final time was 58:31 and I was the 11^th runner across the line. I figured I got second in the masters race and was feeling pretty good about that. At the finish I turned and watched to see how the women’s race unfolded. Sure enough Marci came around the corner 1^st and won the race with Bria only about 20 seconds behind. I later learned that Bria did catch Marci and run with her for a bit, but in the end Marci was stronger over the last couple of miles.

Later that day, when checking the race results online, I was shocked to learn that I actually finished 12^th overall and was the 3^rd masters male. It seems that, even though I crossed the finish line ahead of Neil and had a gun time one second faster than his, he had a chip time that was 1:20 faster than me. What? I may not have gotten “chicked” in this race but I got “chipped”! Apparently, Neil missed the start by over a minute and had to run like hell to catch up, which explains why he was behind me at the turn around. I’ll admit that it annoyed me to think that I sprinted my ass off to try and beat someone only to show up behind them in the results because of a difference in chip timing. I mean, come on. I crossed the line ahead of them didn’t I? At first I thought there must be an error with the timing system, but then after reflecting on it, I had to admit that, no, Neil is really that fast (and faster than me) and he had to have absolutely hauled ass running through and past all those people to get back up towards the front. That is simply amazing when you think about it. So, hats off to him for an amazing run.

Now that the race is all over it makes me chuckle that, in a way, I screwed myself out of the $100 for first masters runner, since I informed Bob Julian a couple of days before the race that there was actually $100 being awarded for the first masters runners who were USATF-Oregon members. Apparently Bob had let his membership lapse and with the news of a cash prize smartly renewed that day. And as I expected, Bob ran a fantastic race and went home $100 richer! However, with the age-old conflict in official results for chip time versus gun time, it would have been interesting to see how the USATF-Oregon folks would have handled it if Bob had not renewed his membership. Without Bob in the mix, and based on gun time I would have been the first masters runner, but based on chip time, Neil Olsen would have been first (assuming his USATF membership was up to date too). In the past, USATF has been pretty clear about the rules, stating that races are about competition, and are won by the first person across the line and not necessarily by the person with the fastest time. For this reason, they recommend that race directors clearly state that awards will be given based on gun time, but as we all know, most races and race directors these days (Pear Blossom included) do not clearly articulate such details for the benefit of the participants, nor does USATF-Oregon clearly state that on their Long Distance Running Blog which announces the Grand Prix Series prize money.

I should emphasize that in my writing about this, I in no way harbor any ill feelings towards any of the folks I race against. Bob is a friend and a training partner, and Neil is one of the best masters runners in the valley against which I was always going to try my hardest. For me, it is part of finding the pleasure in running through being competitive. I simply see these guys as my peers and my rivals, in the best sense of those words, and maybe if I really get lucky, one day I will triumph!

Prefontaine Masters Classic - Coos Bay, Oregon

I recently ran my first track meet of 2012, opting to tackle the 5000 meter distance at the second annual Prefontaine Masters Classic in Coos Bay, Oregon. Since I am hoping to race on the track a fair amount this year it was time to get things started and lace up the spikes. The thing is, the last time I raced that far on the track was 1988, nearly 25 years ago! Nevertheless, I was mentally and physically ready.

Coos Bay is not really in the neighborhood of Ashland, Oregon where I currently live, and since one of my car pool mates was racing the rarely run 10,000 meters at nine that morning, we opted to drive over the day before. In this case, we consisted of me and Team Sting-Ray, namely Suzanne Ray, running the 10000m, and Mercy Ray, running the 5000m. This was a special race for Suzanne since she was at the tail end of the women's 55-59 age group (turning 60 the next month) and it was a rare opportunity for a masters 10000m race on the track. Moreover, this was her last chance to break the Oregon state age group record in that event.

Mike Fenelli, Jeanette Groesz, and

Suzanne Ray ready to roll in the masters 10000 meters.

Come start time Saturday morning, Suzanne lined up with two other runners to bravely run in circles 25 times. Her companions on the track were Jeanette Groesz of Portland, who was also running for a Oregon State age group record in the 60-64 division and Michael Fanelli who travelled from San Francisco to the meet. The weather for these three was perfect with cool temperatures, virtually no wind and overcast skies.

Suzanne Ray all smiles as she guts her way to

a new state of Oregon 55-59 age group record in the 10000 meters.

As expected, Suzanne accomplished her goal and demolished the old women's 55-59 state record by over 5 minutes, running 43:01.29. If anyone is unsure just how fast this really is, here are a few comparisons to consider. In the 2011 world rankings for her age group at 10000m on the track, this time would have put Suzanne at 8th in the world and the third American. If you bump it up one age group to 60-64, which Suzanne will soon move into and be running in one months from the time of this race, her ranking for 2011 would have been number 2. Second best in the entire WORLD for that age group. All I can say is Wow, I'm honored to be able to know and run with Suzanne and to share some of the fun of seeing such great performances happen.

Jeanette Groesz bringing it home for another

state of Oregon 60-64 age group record in the 10000 meters.

Suzanne wasn't the only record setter in the race as Jeanette Groesz also put a new mark in the books for the women's 60-64 age group finishing in 46:55.52.

After watching these great performances in the morning, I was antsy to get my race started. Unfortunately, over the ensuing couple of hours the weather went from nearly ideal to a little warm and sunny, to overcast with a strong breeze on the curve off the 200 m starting line.

Early in the race, head down into the wind.

I got off to a reasonable start with my goal of clicking off 80 second laps to bring me home in 16:40 or better. But from the get go I was just a tad off pace at 81-82 seconds and was feeling myself lag each time I turned into the wind. Knowing I was going to be all alone out there, I put my head down, literally and figuratively and tried to focus on my form and breathing. In that regard, I really feel good about the race and felt like I was running smoothly and on my toes the whole way.

Trying to stay relaxed and keep

my breathing controlled as I continued to roll along.

My training partner Mercy Ray was also in the race and our pre-race plan should we both execute our individual races as we had hoped was that I should not see her until I am coming down the final straight away. Unfortunately it was not Mercy's day and she developed some breathing issues that slowed her in second half of the race. But she stuck it out and I came by her right as I hit the bell. Since Mercy was running in second (they combined the men's and women's heats) and I was passing her, I had just lapped the entire field. Once again (see my previous blog post) I was on a solo run.

Rounding the curve with about 500 meters to go.

In the end, I clicked off laps in the 81 to 83 second range going through 1600 at 5:25 and 3200 at 10:57. I slowed a bit in the last mile, but did keep my form and even managed to muster a sort of finishing kick, albeit, with no one to match it against. The final time was 17:03.67, a bit off the goal of 16:40, but all things considered, a satisfying solo effort that I am happy with. I am happy because I stayed focused, in spite of very little to focus on, I kept my form comfortable and fluid and smooth (trying to channel the form of some of the smooth runners out there like Evan Jager and Galen Rupp and Jordan MacNamara), and was not ideal conditions with the wind for setting records. It wasn't the PR I was chasing, but it wasn't very far from my PR on the roads of 16:55. The time will come and this was a good step towards making that happen.

Oh, and since this was my first 5000m on the track in many moons, it was also the first time I raced that far in spikes in a long time as well. I was sure my achilles would be shredded afterwards, but much to my surprise my new Nike Matumbos did great and I was not especially sore (more than I am after any race). I was worried about that considering my plans to race on the track more this year. I won't declare victory over my chronic achilles tendinosis, but I will say that I think I have managed to find away to train and race with it.

Bringing it home to the finish.

Since this was the Prefontaine Masters Classic track and field meet named in honor of Coos Bay’s most famous runner, Steve Prefontaine, it was only fitting that Steve’s mother Elfriede Prefontaine was the guest of honor. Mercy Ray and I were lucky enough to get our photo taken with her.

Matt and Mercy with Elfriede Prefontaine.

Also, since Pre was the theme of the day and we were in Coos Bay, it was only fitting that we should make a pilgrimage to his house and stop for a photo on our way out of town. Fortunately one of great folks from Coos Bay that we met at the meet kindly gave us directions.

At the home in which Steve Prefontaine grew up in Coos Bay.

My First Win and Realizations About Running In the Front

Like many competitive runners, I’ve convinced myself that at least once I wanted to be able to win a road race outright. To be the first one across the line is the ultimate accomplishment in this whole racing thing, isn’t it? In my mind, if it was ever to happen, it would most likely occur in some short and small local race like a 5k where I might have a really good day and the local speedsters might have stayed away. I never expected it would happen in something like a half marathon, but it did. Yes, for the first time ever (hopefully not the last) I actually won a race. Not just my age group or the overall masters division, but the whole damn race….and it wasn’t a 5k, or even a 10k, it was a half marathon. In many ways, I’m still kind of shocked.

The man in black, heads down around mile 2 of the half marathon.

Here’s how it went down at the Rogue River Half Marathon. I ran this race last year and had a pretty good result, finishing third overall, and running a very satisfying time of 1:17:54 at a time of the year where I had been mostly working on getting in some quality mileage and weekly tempo runs. The course the year before run on the roads along the south side of the Rogue River and was pancake flat on out and back loop with little wind, perfect for running fast times. Also, in 2011, I had some company for the first half of the race with a small pack of guys hanging together at 6:00 per mile pace. After the turn around last year, I took off dropping the guys in the pack and running for home on my own.

This year, everything was a little different. Instead of the flat road course, we ran on the north side of the river mostly on the newly paved bike path that winds along into and through Valley of the Rogues State Park before hopping out onto the roads for the middle four miles of the race. In addition to the somewhat winding nature of the route, we also had a cross country-style stretch (twice as an out and back) across a grassy section of the park. Also, the weather was a bit spottier this year with a chilly breeze from the northwest and patches of sun and rain throughout the day. In fact, it was raining pretty hard on me when I drove to the race, but lucky for us, the sun periodically poked out and it never opened up during the race.

Before the race I spotted last year’s winner Tyler Davis, and commented to my training partner Mercy Ray that there’s today winner. However, in chatting with Tyler and also his father Mike before the race, I learned Tyler wasn’t racing and was recovering from an illness and races from the previous two weekends. Looking around at the rest of the potential “competition” at the start, it was hard to say who might win. As usual there was a good group of quick high schoolers warming up who were probably running the 5k, but I couldn’t be sure. Other than that, nobody I recognized really stood out, so I thought, maybe I could do better than last year’s third place showing. Hmmm, this could be interesting. The one person in the race I knew that could beat me easily was my friend Bob Julian, but on this day he was pacing his friend Scott, so in all likelihood, he wouldn’t be breathing down my neck, or more accurately, someone for me to chase.

From the word go and the first step off the line of the start, I was in the lead. I purposefully went out a little quick since in the past I’ve been too slow of a starter. Plus I wanted to get out ahead of the masses in the first mile where the course is very winding and rolling on the bike path. There were two ladies leading the race on bicycles who surged ahead a good 50-100 meters and pretty much stayed up there for the whole race, which, on one hand was great. Up at the front with them leading the way, there was almost no way to go off course, plus the route was well marked and pretty simple. I thought a few folks might there to run with for the first part of the race as folks settle into their race, but it wasn’t to be. I was alone and was going to stay alone until the finish line.

Heading for home with about a mile and a half to go accompanied by

my trusty pacer and drill instructor Mercy Ray

Well, that is not really true, because I was fortunate to have the company and support of Mercy for the last part of the race. After having raced and won the women’s overall division in the 5k, Mercy ran back to meet me at the 10 mile mark to run in with me for a few miles before going back to run in with her mother Suzanne (who, at age 59 finished as the 2^nd female overall in the half marathon). It was great to see Mercy at that time since I was starting to get pretty tired and having been out there for an hour with no one to talk to, I was getting sort of lonely.

That was one of the most unexpected surprises to me, how alone I felt running at the front. Plus, even though I snuck a peak back on some of the tight turns to see where the next runners were, I was still running scared, thinking someone must be coming to catch me. In actuality, I didn’t like leading that way and for that long. I am so accustomed to chasing some body and having someone else to key off, I didn’t really enjoy running up front. Admittedly, it made me nervous and it didn't feel comfortable.

However, one thing that I thought was really neat and I had never experienced before was how supportive the other runners were when I made the turn around and was running back towards the finish. So many folks, up front, in the middle and in the back of the race yelled things like “nice job, way to good, and looking great”. I really was touched and tried to say something back or give then a thumbs up. That was one of the most memorable parts of the race.

Running behind me in second for the entire race was a small group of guys, including John Leuthold, Scott and Bob Julian doing his pacing duties, all a bunch of fellow local masters runners. With about a mile to go in the race, Mercy tried to play head games with me and told me the Bob Julian had made a break from the group and was coming on strong. Aw, crap. She knew that this was probably the one thing that could really scare me at this point. I was tired, but still running well enough, but if Bob was digging deep and close enough he could potentially catch me. But I knew Mercy too, and she’s crafty. I said, “That sure would suck if he caught me. You wouldn’t lie to me would you?” “Oh, of course I wouldn’t” she said, and “he’s breaking away”. “Oh great” I thought, "time to dig in", but I didn’t let myself look back over my shoulder and just kept on plugging away. If he was going to catch me, I was going to make him earn it. Bob was strong than me, but at the very end of longer race coming down to a kick, we might be a good match. Of course, this was all a complete farce and Bob was not breaking away and nobody was closing in to catch me, I had nearly a half a mile lead at that point.

Coming in to the finish I pushed hard up the final hill and ran strong though the line. The crowd was, of course, very small with just under 100 runners in the half marathon and about 75 in the 5k, but they gave me a nice cheer and applause. And I think I finished with a smile on my face, at the very least I was smiling inside, knowing I had accomplished another of my running goals, and in a half marathon no less. Who would have ever predicted that!

As for the stats, my finishing time was 1:19:00, almost 3 minutes ahead of 2^nd place with my first and last miles the fastest of the day at 5:55 and most of the miles in the middle run at a very consistent 6:03 to 6:07 mile pace.

Keeping it Honest – The Benefits of Good Training Partners

I’ve recently been reflecting on the value of having training partners. As my running has progressed over the last five or six years from running just to get in shape and try a marathon upward to competing on the track and the roads, I’ve gone from doing all my running alone to having someone to run with nearly every day. Do I have a preference between going solo or running with other people? Well, yes and no. I don’t mind running alone, bopping along to the beat from my headphones, and sometimes look forward to the time alone lost in my own thoughts or mindlessness. But when it comes time for a workout, it is pretty hard to beat the help, camaraderie, and satisfaction of having others to share the work and the pain and the reward of getting through a long and hard session of mile repeats or intervals on the track

Scheduling runs and workouts with others also has the important side effect of keeping one accountable. If other people are willing to drag their butts out of bed for a cold early morning run or a hard workout on the track on a wet and windy day, you really don’t have a good excuse to bail on them or the plans. And almost always, that is a good thing. Many a day have I thanked my training partners for the run or workout, knowing that without them being there and my obligation to them, I probably would have done something easier that day or cut the workout short. On those grumbling mornings where it would have been nice to just sleep in a little later or put it off until later that day or even tomorrow, I am always glad I showed up once we’ve started the run.

When I lived in Washington DC I did all of my runs by myself and in many ways at that time in my life, that was probably for the best. I wasn’t training to race that hard just yet and I was usually burning off a lot of work stress on those solo runs. So, in hind sight, I might not have been a good training partner anyway. Upon moving to Portland I fell into a great group of folks I met through the Team Red Lizard running club with a subset of that group, essentially forming our own training clique with Louis LeBlanc, Bill Mattis, David Embree and Albert Lam. That was the perfect thing for me. I was ramping up my training and desire to compete, I had nearly limitless flexibility for running and training, and I was running with a small group of guys that were roughly my same age and ability and had an equal passion for the sport and training hard. Amongst the Portland training group I usually found myself as a willing workhorse who was happy to let others plan the workouts. On occasion I gladly served as the pace setter or domestique for key marathon workouts of others in the group. We all benefitted from working together and we all got stronger.

Moving to Ashland presented me with a new challenge of moving in the midst of a hard training period and finding new folks to run with. As first I was on my own, with the exception of the weekly group runs from the local running store. Eventually I reconnected with Holly Hight, a Portland acquaintance and past Hood to Coast teammate, and had someone to run with who was close in ability and interested in training hard. Through word of mouth (thanks to Holly) and other introductions in the small running community in Ashland, I met additional folks to run with, namely Bree Ray, Mercy Ray, Maggie Donovan, Jenn Shelton and Bob Julian. Interestingly, until starting to run some with Bob Julian late in the fall of last year in preparation for Club XC, my Ashland training partners have all been female. This was not by design, but more by accident, in that I simply haven’t found other guys, outside of Bob, who are running these kinds of speeds and interested in training this way. Recently I’ve met a few more guys who are interested in joining the fray, pending recovery from injury and the variances of work schedules and family commitments. In comparison to my place in the training group in Portland, in Ashland I have found myself in the position of planning the workouts and more or less running at the front with the ladies pushing me from behind. Of course, when I get to run with Bob it is a different story and I’m working my ass off to hang off his shoulder. Now if I could only recruit a domestique of my own….

One of the challenges of a being a training group is finding your place and having the right mix ability-wise. Being in the middle is probably the best place to be, since you always have someone better than you to chase and there is someone behind you pushing you as well. But even if you are always running in front, you are working to stay on pace and pull others along, as long as you are working hard enough. Being too far off the back or running with folks who are simply much better than you is probably the least desirable place to be in a group and one in which you are likely to push yourself too hard to soon to stick with your faster compatriots. Thankfully, I have not yet been in such a position.

Sadly, I’ll probably be moving again soon and will have to leave my current training partners behind and look for a new set of running buddies. Fortunately, for me, that is part of the fun of this whole competitive running adventure, meeting new people, hanging on to earlier friendships, running in new places, and finding new training challenges. Where ever that next places is, hopefully it has a nice track and nearby trails and I can find some willing fools who also like to repeatedly run really fast circles on a track or down the road.

New Year’s Resolutions and Performance Goals

As the year nears its end it is that time when I reflect on last year and start to make plans for what and how I want to run in 2012. All in all, 2011 was a very good year for me and my running. I trained harder than I have ever run before. I was able to be competitive in nearly all my races and I ran personal bests in all the distances I raced. In fact, I even ran lifetime bests in the 5k and 10k, racing to times faster than I was able to pull together as a teenager over 20 years. From the 5k, to the 10k to the half marathon to the marathon, I ran better than ever.

The loot from racing in 2011!

One personal goal I have set, which I first achieved last year, is to be able to place in the top three in my age group in every race I run. With the exception of the “big ones” which are the USATF masters championship races (Twin Cities Marathon, Club Cross Country), I was able to pull this off, never placing below third in the 40-45 or 40-49 age division. My friend Joe Dudman has correctly pointed out that it is kind of weak to relegate oneself to racing within one’s age group when we are still able to mix it up somewhat against all competitors regardless of age. Of course, Joe is correct; however, I will continue to measure my performances and competitiveness in part by my relative place among my peers. At the very least, I will continue to be happy to be rewarded for running well as a kind of consolation prize or a reward for the hard work it took me to get there.

With such improvements this year, one might ask if I was happy and satisfied with these times and races? And like most competitive runners, I would have to say yes and no. Of course I am very happy to be running faster than last year or even as fast as I ever have, but in many ways that was the plan and I knew I could do it if I stayed healthy. At this time last year, I wrote down a number of admittedly ambitious time goals I wanted to hit for the year on the track and the roads. Sadly, I did not run in any track meets in 2011, so all those targets were left untried. Likewise, I was not able to find a mile race on the road at the right time in my racing and training, so I never took a crack at that time, but I did race the 5k, 10k, half marathon and marathon on the roads and did pretty well against these goals.

Track

200m: 25.0

400m: 56.0

800m: 2:04.00

Mile: 4:40.00

5000m: 16:30

Roads

Mile: 4:45

5k: 16:45

10k: 35:00 DONE - Scandia Run 34:56

Half-Marathon: 1:18:00 DONE - Rogue River Half Marathon 1:17:54

Marathon: 2:45

In the 5k I came oh so close, getting down to 16:55 and breaking through the sub-17 barrier. In 2012 the 5k will be a major focus of my racing efforts as I try to bring that time down below 16:30 and as close to 16 flat as I can muster. In the 10k, I nailed my goal of 35 flat with a 34:56 on a pancake flat course. Like the 5k, in 2012, I plan to put extra attention on running even faster in the 10k and am setting my target at 34 flat.

The half marathon was pretty good to me in 2011 as I never raced the distance before. I accomplished this goal from the get go in my very first race of the year. In my three attempts at this distance, I progressively dropped my time from 1:17: 54, to 1;17:31, to 1:16:33 at the Foot Traffic Flat Half. Although we now know that the course was short at the Flat Half, but we don’t know just how short. I’m still going to call that my PR, since based on my effort that day, I think it still would have been PR on an accurate course. Plus, calling this my PR makes me work that much harder to run a faster PR.

Stride for stride in the Rogue River Half Marathon in February.

I spent a lot of time focused on running a strong marathon in 2011 and am very happy with how it went, even if I didn’t meet the target I set a year ago or even the goal time on race day. As has been said by many before me, the marathon is tricky race to master and no matter how ready you think you are, it all has to come together that day and stay together for all 26.2 miles. I knew I was ready to run around 2:42 and went after it at the Twin Cities Marathon. For the most part I ran strong and smart, but as I wrote about in an earlier blog entry, I just ran out of gas. I am learning more every time I run a marathon and am getting closer to understanding my fueling and hydration needs.

I really don’t plan to focus my training on the marathon or half marathon in 2012 like I did in 2011, so I’m not putting any targets down on paper for those distances. Maybe in 2013 I will try to run another fast marathon, but for 2012, I’m taking a break from the marathon.

A pretty typical sight, me chasing Larry Merrifield and Bria Wetsch at mile 9 in the Eugene Half Marathon.

The other significant goal time for 2012 is in the mile or 1500 meters, where I would like to run as close to my life time PR as I can, which means running faster than I did in High School. If my memory is correct, my fastest High School mile was 4:35.

So, here they are, in writing (lord have mercy), my official 2012 racing goals -

Track

1500m: 4:19

Mile: 4:38

3000m: 9:20

5000m: 16:15

Road

Mile: 4:40

5k: 16:20

10k: 34:00

In short, 2012 will be more about speed and racing shorter distances than I attempted in 2011. As Long as I can stay healthy and get in the training, it should be another great adventure on the road and track.

Oh, and two more very important goal for 2012. I want to see the Bowerman Athletic Club masters men make the podium at the Club Cross Country championships and The Leapin Lizards defeat the Slug Hunters in the Hood to Coast Relay with me playing a significant role in both.

The End to a Great Year of Running - Club XC Championships

Last weekend I raced in the USATF Club XC Championships in Seattle. It was my last race of the year, but probably the one with the most competitive field. I was proud and fortunate to be able to run on the Bowerman Athletic Club’s (BAC) masters 40-49 year old team, a team of some of the very best masters men in Oregon. We pulled together 12 guys to form two teams of 6 broken into A and B teams where the first five runners score.

This was my first time running with a BAC team and I have to say, the BAC is a fun outfit to run for because they are serious about competing at the highest level, yet still maintain a sense of team camaraderie and encouragement. As teams go, they also do a good job of managing the logistics and organization. While it sure helps to have the sponsorship of Nike behind you, it still takes some dedicated individuals to pull it all together and take care of the details, which they do very well.

Team races are really a lot of fun, and like the Hood to Coast relay, draw the best out of people who have the support of their teammates and a little something more on the line than their own performance and personal satisfaction with a race well run.

Off with the gun at the Men's Masters 10k race start.

Knowing this was going to be my last race of the year, I put in a final block of hard training with my usual training partners, Mercy Ray and Bree Ray. In addition to the Ray sisters, we pulled together some workouts with other friends and teammates who would also be racing in Seattle, namely Bob Julian, Maggie Donavan, and Dave Engstrom. Doing these workouts together in the weeks before the race helped get us all excited and ready physically and mentally to race cross country. In addition to Bob Julian and I on the BAC masters team, Mercy and Bree and Maggie represented the Rogue Valley Runners women's open team and Dave ran with a Oregon Track Club masters team.

Coming through the second kilometer of the men's masters race.

On race day our two BAC men’s masters 40+ teams and a BAC men’s 50s team toed the line with over 350 masters men racers. The race was 10 kilometers, covering five laps of two kilometers each on a relatively flat grassy golf course. As cross country courses go, this was like a grass track, with a long start and finish straightaway and no real hills. My plan was to start out conservatively the first kilometer and slowly work my way up and try to kick hard at the end. For the most part that was exactly how I raced, covering the first mile in 5:39 then clicked off four more miles at 5:45 pace before slowing a bit on mile 6. Coming into the straight away to the finish I reminded myself this was the last race of the year and every point counts in cross country, so dig down and catch some of these guys in front of you, which I did. Nobody passed me in the last 400 meters and I caught at least 6 guys before the finish line.

Hanging on in the middle of the race.

In the end, I finished 114th in the men's masters race which put me at 75th in the 40-49 age group for team scoring. My time was 36:43 for 10k. Although it is cross country and actual distances are really not that relevant, my Garmin showed the final distance as 6.39 miles. And, yes I wore a Garmin, it is the watch I always wear. And no I was wasn't using it for pacing, I was there to race, but I do like to look at my stats afterwards.

Sporting the BAC black.

With about one kilometer left to run I heard a guy coming up on me breathing hard and rhythmically like an air compressor working in overdrive. As this heavy breather caught me, I realized it was my friend and fellow competitor Joe Dudman from Portland. At first I thought, what the heck was Joe doing behind me, but that thought passed quickly as I heard my brain say “Stick with him, go with Joe”. I managed to tuck in behind for about 100 meters, but Joe was pushing hard and I was just hanging on. Joe pulled away and kept it up to the end bettering me by 11 seconds.

Trying to hang onto Joe Dudman with 900 meters to go.

Since I was on the B team, I knew I was not in the scoring for a possible podium finish for the BAC, but our A team had to be in the running for 2^nd or 3^rd. First place was sewn up easily by the men from the Atlanta Track Club, aided by the overall masters winner. In the end, they scored an impressive 22 points and walked away with first. The race for 2^nd and third was a little tighter, but in the end, the BAC A-Team finished fourth just one point away from a tie for 3^rd. Had we tied and gone to the score of the 6^th man BAC would have won the tie breaker. In fact, the depth of the BAC A and B squads was such that our B team, which I was the fourth runner, still finished 10^th in the team scoring and with the exception of the Atlanta Track winning team, our 6^th through 11^th (all the rest of our team) were the fastest performer for those relative team positions.

Bringing it home at the finish.

This race and running with the BAC team was a great finale to my best running year so far. I was able to run lifetime PRs in the 5k, 10k, and marathon and even run faster over 5k and 10k than I did many years ago in High School. I set what I thought at the time were ambitious time goals (16:45 5k, 35:00 10k, 1:18:00 half marathon, 2:45:00 marathon) at the beginning of the year, and while I only achieved two (sub-35 minute 10k, sub-1:18 half marathon), I came close in all and trained myself to a level of fitness that made them all a real possibility if not probable. Along the way, I found some great training partners in the Rogue Valley and hope to continue on the same upward trajectory. Although I am relatively new to being a competitive masters runner, having taken so many years off from running, I am still improving and waiting to find that point where aging catches up with improving performance. So far it hasn’t arrived. Until then, I’ll keep training even harder, and hopefully smarter, than last year, and see where I can take this.

Time to rest and set some new goals and challenges for 2012. See you at the races.

Twin Cities Medtronic Marathon Recap –2:46:38 - New PR!

My once a year marathon has come and gone and overall I am pleased with the result. How could I not be. I ran close to a four minute PR and was one of the first 100 runners to cross the finish line. Part of the enjoyment and decision to run the Twin Cities Marathon was knowing that I would have family and friends with me that weekend and on the course, since I grew up in Minnesota. True to my hope and expectations, my cheering section rivaled any out there on the course.

The race weekend started off with a couple of pleasant surprises when much to my surprise I ran into two of my cousins at the race expo whom I hadn’t seen in many years. First I spotted cousin Zach (which was easy as he towered over people with his 6’5’’ frame) and then I was spotted by cousin Tom. Zach was in town from Chicago and wasn’t running but was there to cheer on friends and family and Tom was running the 10 miler. To top it off, my whole family came to town to visit and cheer me on. On top of the good spirits of hanging out with my family, the weather was absolutely perfect for the entire weekend. I forgot how much I enjoyed the fall weather in Minnesota.

Race day started with few surprises as I got dropped off at the start by my brother-in-law Chris and I went through the usual pre-race rituals, like standing in the porta-potty line. Big marathons like Twin Cities are a funny thing for me because I really don’t even try to warm-up or even do any stretching beforehand. There just isn’t any room for us non-elites back in the corrals. So, I didn’t even bother to wiggle my way to the front of corral 1, instead, I used the first mile to warm up and let the fast starters get it out their system and get out of my way! Needless to say, my first mile of 6:33 was a bit off the target pace of 6:10 per mile, but it felt so slow as I settled into the target pace in the next few miles. In fact miles 2, 3, and 4 were the fastest of the day at 6:06, 6:03, and 6:04. However, that was the order of the day. I needed to get some quick miles in early as I knew I needed a time cushion heading into the hills of the last few miles. I probably wasn’t going to run negative splits this race and had to stay focused early on.

For this race I decided to wear a fuel belt with four 6-ounce bottles of raspberry flavored Gu Brew. I learned in the past that I did not get enough fuel and electrolytes from the aid stations and needed to bring my own and drink it all along the way. So, in spite of all the nasty things I have said in the past about folks strapping on their super hero belts, I had joined their unfashionable ranks. Not surprisingly, up at the front of the race where I was running nobody else was sporting such attire.

The race started more or less on time and we were off on the streets of downtown Minneapolis. While it was cool at the start, it wasn’t cold, but I still elected to start with gloves and arm sleeves. I was glad I did as we got blasted by a few wind tunnels that formed between the high rises in the first mile of the race. Right from the start and all the way to the finish there were spectators lining the course. At the start the race officials said there would be 300,000 people cheering us on the course. I’m guessing the number was even higher than that. It was really impressive and encouraging.

Rounding our way around the lakes in Minneapolis was actually pretty relaxing and I rolled through 5k and 10k more or less right on pace. In fact, based on a terrain adjusted pace chart, I was a little under at that point for a 2:42 finish. My left achilles tendon was already sore, but I knew it would be, otherwise, the legs felt great, my breathing was controlled and easy. Everything was going as planned.

Distance	Target Split	Actual Split	Pace	Projected Finish
5k	19:45	19:13	6:11	2:42:03
10k	38:40	38:23	6:10	2:41:50
Half	1:20:44	1:21:05	6:11	2:42:10
30k	1:54:31	1:55:58	6:13	2:42:59
20 miles	2:02:52	2:04:21	6:13	2:42:53
24 miles	2:28:10	2:31:53	6:20	2:45:48
Marathon	2:42:00	2:46:38	6:22	2:46:38

The second 10k was more of the same as the race began to thin out and the space between runners became a little greater. One neat thing about this race was that it was the USATF Masters Marathon Championships, so all the old farts (over 40) like me had age group numbers pinned to our backs as well as the normal race numbers on front. Personally, I liked being able to spot another masters runner ahead of me and try to reel them in or share a few words when passing or getting passed.

Heading into the halfway point, I was starting to feel a little more tired than I thought I would. Overall the legs felt loose and my breathing was not labored, but I my legs started to feel just a tad more flat than I was hoping for, since it was my strategy to really start to dig in when I reached the River Road on the Minneapolis side of the Mississippi River. Even with that flat feeling, I was still pretty much on pace and knew I had a big boost coming up in the 14^th mile. Team Matt made up of my sisters, brothers-in-law and nieces and nephews, was going to be there in full force, and true to form, they made some noise. I spied their green shirts about a block away, and could hear their cheers, cow bells, and whackers a half a block away. Running by one’s own personal cheering team like that really motivated me and beyond putting a smile on my face (I could still smile at that point) it lit a little fire under me too. Although I slowed a little to a 6:17 mile pace in the 14^th mile, in the next mile (with a small downhill to help) I sped up to 6:06 pace.

But then I really started to feel a little heavy in the legs. Crap. Up to about mile 16 I was still passing folks and only occasionally getting passed myself, but then that started to change. I tried to stay focused and thought about my ultra-marathon friends and how they talk about running though bad patches. Please, let this be a bad patch that I can run through. I knew I was lying to myself and that wasn’t going to happen, but I still did what I could to stay calm. One thing I did was focus on running the tangents along the River Road. It amazed me how much folks around me, folks I would describe as pretty fast and experienced racers, would run down the middle of the road. Not me, I’m cutting it as tight as I can. We have the whole road closed for us so let’s run it tight people!

By about 30k I was no longer on pace, but was still keeping it close to 6:20 pace; however, I knew I was not going to be finishing around 2:42 and would be lucky to hit 2:44. I still felt I could hang at close to this pace and nab a PR and I wanted to have a decent finish up Summit Avenue.

Crossing the Franklin Avenue Bridge and onto the St. Paul side of the river at 19 miles I literally felt myself lose a gear and at that point knew the second half of the race was going to look a lot different than the first half. I tried to keep my form smooth and light and keep moving forward but I was seriously starting to feel tired. Of course, I just ran a hard 20 miles and I should be tired, but I trained for this and was hoping and expecting to feel a bit fresher at this point. I was starting to feel like I was going backwards. People I passed earlier in the day were now coming by me looking strong and fast. Dang, that was supposed to be me looking strong and passing people at this point. Sigh.

As I fell off the pace after 19 miles my legs never tightened up, but they just had less and less pep. Also, I could feel the change in my face and sensed I was no longer as relaxed as I was earlier in the race. There were no smiles from me to the spectators as I trudged up the hill off of East River Road to Summit Avenue. I was moving into head down, grit the teeth territory counting off the miles to the finish and looking for anything to energize me.

I did catch a really nice compliment at mile 21 that wasn’t even shouted to me when I heard one spectator say to another “wow, that's a nice stride.” That made me feel happy since I sure didn't feel that good but I was trying to concentrate on holding my form together to propel me forward. Heading up Summit Avenue I looked ahead of me and saw nothing but hill. Of course, it really isn’t that steep, but it never really flattens out and at that point, any little hill looked like a big hill. I said to myself, “ give it a rest, you are from Ashland, you normally don’t even notice hills like these.”

Ticking off the miles I was looking forward to making it to mile 22, since Team Matt was planning to be waiting for me again. Right before I reached my posse, I caught and passed Wendy Terris from Milwaukie, Oregon, the only runner I recognized in the race. I said hello as I came by and kept on pushing. Then I came to Team Matt. Just like at mile 14, they really brought out a little more zip in my stride. I tossed my fuel belt and gloves to the team and focused on the runner in front of me. I’m not done, I still have some life left in me. Then just a block later I saw my cousin Tom, who came back after the finish of the ten miler, and his mom, my Aunt Mary Catherine , cheering their hearts out. I felt like a superstar!

At this point I stopped looking at my watch and just focused on running smoothly and trying to catch people in front of me. I knew I had one more big hill in mile 26 and then it was all downhill and I could stop. Once I got to that hill I actually attacked it, or at least I told myself I was attacking. I am sure that those watching couldn’t tell! Unfortunately, in almost the same instant I felt the twinge of a cramp in my left calf and right hamstring. I did my best to ignore them, I was so close to being done and wanted to finish hard down the hill to the finish line. Rounding the corner at the top of Summit Avenue and seeing the Capitol and the finish line a quarter of a mile ahead, I leaned into the downhill and dug in. Ahead I spied a poor victim to target. I can catch this guy, I’m a racer, racers finish hard. So I did, blowing by him in the last 30 meters. Sorry buddy, it may be a marathon, but it is still a race to me. I didn't see or hear them, but it was also comforting to know that my father and his partner Barbara, as well as the whole Team Matt contingent was cheering and waiting for me at the finish.

In the end, I finished in 2:46:38 for a PR by over 3 minutes. It wasn’t the time I had hoped or trained for and I still think I can run that target time, but I’ll take a nice PR as a concession prize. My other goals were to finish in the top 100 overall, which I did with a 96^th place finish and to be in the top 10 of my age group. I just missed that goal with an 11^th place finish in the men’s 40-44 age division.

I have decided that at this time the Twin Cities Marathon is my favorite marathon of the few (a whopping four) I have run so far and that is not because I ran a PR and I’m from Minnesota and biased. It was simply that well run, on a spectacular course with great spectators and great treatment of the runners. Maybe another will bump it from this pedestal some day, but I doubt it.