5k Race Report, and a Book Recommendation?

Swim: 14k

Bike: 1 hour, on my new bars :)

Run: 37 miles

            The forecast was not looking great, and I still needed to qualify for NCCAAs in the 5k. Thursday night I looked through the performance list to see who was going to be there. I remembered racing against Kris, from Franklin, earlier in the year, and I decided to Facebook him to come up with a race plan. Going into the race I knew Kris had run fast, and I needed to run solid, so trading off every 400m seemed like a good plan to me. I also knew my teammate Ross would be trying to run the same splits as me, so we were going to have a good group. Turns out, Kris was supposed to be pacing his teammate through 2 miles @ :75/400m, so that worked even better. Ross and I could just latch on, and not have to do any work—score!

            Friday we traveled to Rose-Hulman for their Twilight meet. Sure enough, it was cold (40s) with 16mph winds. The past few years it has always been raining, storming, windy, cold, or a mixture of all the above. Last weekend was windy and I was hoping the meet would be calm weather…but it wasn’t. Before the running events started, coach asked Ross and me if we were still running or if we made an “exit strategy” for the race. What’s this “exit strategy” he spoke of? I’m healthy, and able to run: I was going to run and qualify. I was mentally prepared, the pacemaker was ready, it was time to go!

            About an hour before the start of the race, Ross and I began out warm up. We confirmed the race strategy, and planned what we would do if things did not go as planned. We like to plan…Okay, I like to plan. :)

            As we were taking our sweats off, the weather decided it wanted to make the race a little more challenging…it started sleeting! April 19^th in Indiana, and it is sleeting. Gotta love it. At that point I didn’t even care, I was ready to race. They lined us up by number, and the gun went off. There was a stud that took off from the start and never looked back. He went on to run 14:5X…solo. As for the rest of us, we settled into a pack pretty quickly. I knew Kris was the pacer, so I settled in behind him and two other guys and turned my brain off.  I don’t remember 400m splits, but I know I was feeling great. I just had to follow the person ahead of me. We came through the mile in 5:05, which was a little slower than what I wanted, but that’s okay. It felt like a warm-up mile. After hearing the mile split, Kris picked it up and we started running :73. We came through the 2 mile @ 9:57 (4:52 mile). I knew this is where I would have to start working since Kris was stepping off the track, and now there was only one guy ahead of me in the pack. Our next 400m was :74, which was slower than I wanted, so I took over. 1400m to go and I was now leading the chase pack. My next 3 400m splits were :73, :72, :71 to come through 3 miles in 14:48 (4:50mile). I ended up closing the last 200m in :33 to run 15:22.09, a 12second PR. Couldn’t have done it without the help of our awesome pacesetter, and all of my teammates cheering spread around the track. Thanks, y’all!

The best part of the Twilight Meet...the pie afterward!

            I qualified for NCCAAs, so I don’t have to worry about that anymore. I also felt pretty good after the race, and I feel that I have much more to give in my next few races. I said I wanted to go sub 15:00 this year, and I believe it is still possible. I probably have 2 5ks left of my college career, and I fully believe sub 15 is in the cards.

            Also, I read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, and it is now easily one of my favorite books…ever. It’s a children’s (well more like teen) book that I had to read for my Cross Cultural Children’s Lit class, and it is completely awesome. It’s a real book, with real thoughts and feelings. The author writes in the exact tone a teenage boy would think. It’s funny, it’s sad, it’s awkward, and it’s great. There is pain, and there is hope. It gives insight to life on an Indian Reservation, and the struggles that go along with it, through the eyes of a young boy. Honestly, if you have the time, you NEED to read this book! And if you do read it, let me know what you think!

Have a great week, y’all. Good luck to all the track teams out there that are gearing up for conference meets this weekend!

The Update of the Month...Since I Was Lazy

Swim: not much, but got back into it last week...

Bike: None…after the getting hit by a car 3 weeks ago

Run: A lot!

Basically here is the quick rundown of my last few weeks:

March 2- UW Stevens Point — 15:34 5k

March 9- Lapped out at Clermont Draft Legal

March 22- WashU Mini Meet – 51.71 400m, 2:01.4 800m

March 27- Hit by car on a training ride

March 29- WashU Invite — dropped out of the 5k @ 2 miles

April 4- WashU Select — 4:05.5 1500m, 1:59.05 800m, :53 400m split

April 12-SLU Invite — 16:10 5k

March was a long, emotional, mentally draining month for me. I had 3 big races planned: SP, Clermont, WashU Invite. I knew it was going to take a lot of physical, emotional, and mental energy to perform well at all three of the races, but I had no doubt I could do it. After coming off a low in Clermont, I was determined to have a good outdoor track opener (and it went well) and run a fast 5k at the second meet. Unfortunately I was hit by a car, and had a nice trip to the ER 2 days before the race was supposed to happen. I already was very much mentally and emotionally invested into the WashU 5k, so I decided to race anyway. The pain was bad enough by mile 2 that I decided to drop out. Looking back on it, I probably should have sat that one out.

 (At least the view was good...)

Outdoor 5k #2 did not go any better. The conditions were not great for racing (steady 18-20mph winds), but once again, I wanted to run 15:15. After 200m I decided to take the race into my own hands and try to make it happen. I ended up coming through the mile in 4:52 (2 seconds faster than I needed to), but I started to slowly fall apart after that. The wind and cooler temps took a toll on me, and probably the fact that I tried to go at it alone, and I was swallowed up by the pack at mile 2 (5:07/10:00). My third mile was just ugly, as I ran 5:30, and closed the last 200m in :38 to finish in 16:10. Was it a smart race? No. Did I learn something? Sure.

 (New running shoes always make things better...right?)

This brings us to the interesting point of this post. I have always been an aggressive racer. This goes all the way back to 5^th and 6^th grade track meets. I have always been coached/taught “big risk, big reward” and I have never been afraid to risk it. If I feel I am in shape to run a certain time, I will go for it. Some may call it dumb, but it is what it is. I’ve always been more of a “I may have 9 bad races/blow ups, then on the 10^th race knock 30 seconds off a 5k” rather than a “2 seconds here, 3 seconds there” for 9 races and a solid season ending race. Is there a right or wrong way to race? I’m not sure. I don’t think I am a patient racer on the track, but in the tri it is usually a different story. I think I will just have to continue to try and find a balance that works.

Now, we are two weeks away from NCCAA (Christian Nationals) and I have qualified in the 400m, 800m, 1500m…but not the 5k. I will be running the 5k, again, this weekend to hit the qualifying standard since that is what I actually want to run at NCCAAs. This weekend will just be about hitting the standard, racing smart, and not worrying about a PR.  The Rose-Hulman Twilight is always a fun meet, so I am looking forward to it.

 (Greenville Mud Run 5k)

Switching gears, I am thankful that everybody I know that ran Boston is safe—I pray for the people and families affected by this horrific, senseless incident. I just don’t understand how anybody could do something like that!

Have a great week, Y’all :)

Sub 4:20 Miler, But Intimidated By the 1500m?

This is the video my first ever sub 4:20 mile. I ran 4:18.58 and set the Greenville College indoor mile record. Why am I posting this? Well, recently I have had a few people ask me for the video, but there are other reasons for posting. This is probably the best executed mile I have ever run.

They say, “What you think about, you bring about.” This weekend I am racing the 1500m at Washington University (well, SLU actually), but I have never really been a good 1500m runner. I love the indoor mile, but I really don’t care for the 1500m—although 109m less running actually sounds like it should be more fun! The NCCAA (Christian Nationals) qualifying standard is 4:09.5 and I have honestly never run the qualifying time before the meet—I have run 4:01 in the weeks after the meet, but that is after the fact. This year I would like to actually hit the standard the first time out so I don’t have to worry about it later. With the solid indoor season I had, and a good outdoor season opener, 4:09 should not be that difficult, but it will be a mental task. Running for 4 minutes is not the hard part…blocking out all the other "bad" 1500s I've run (and all the other crazy things that have happened in the past week) is the hard part . I am very much looking forward to the challenge.

Dad's 5k PR and Other Stuff

March 11-17

Swim: 4640yds, 2 swims

Bike: 1:25, 1 ride

Run: 47 miles, 6 runs

Total: 8:23, 9 workouts

            It was a crazy week, but I didn’t get much training done. Hey, you’re only young once—may as well enjoy it while you can. I love training, but if I had to pick between going to swim at 6am, or sleep in, lay out on the beach all day, and stay out til midnight (so late, I know)…with that said, it was my highest run mileage week in quite some time!

          My Friend from Cocoa Beach

           Well, Monday I was enjoying my last day at the beach. We were at Cocoa Beach, and I actually enjoyed it more that Daytona Beach—it was warmer, and it seemed like a more relaxing place. Monday was also the first day of break that I felt like I could actually relax, and didn’t have to focus on racing, homework, or anything else. Tuesday, dad and I made the trip home to end our spring break adventure. I still managed to get my track workout in at Middle Tennessee State University!

 Woohoo! College Basketball!

            Thursday I went to the Nebraska and Purdue tournament game with my friend Matt. He is a huge Purdue fan, but as an Indiana fan, I had to root for Nebraska. Following the game we went to Joliet for a Thousand Foot Krutch concert. I forgot how good TFK is, and they put on an awesome show! I know, it sounds like I was having fun all day—which I was—but, I still did my tempo run in the morning. AND I swam…which may or may not have been my first day in the pool in a while.

 Somehow we're still friends after all these years.

            Finally, and most important, Sunday was my favorite day of spring break. Dad and I went to run a 5k, and I got to pace him through to a new PR. He had run 29:15 (9:24/mile) in August, and I had been bugging him to run another one sometime soon. He finally caved in and agreed to run a 5k on St Patrick’s Day. He swore before the race that he would run 27:00-28:00 and that is the fastest he could run. I have been watching his workouts and I knew he was 25:00-26:00 shape, but I let him pick the pace. Our first mile was 8:35, and dad was feeling good. I wanted him to pick it up just a little bit, but he said no. The course was an out and back. When we got to the turnaround I told dad we needed to pick it up a little bit. He said “k” and tucked in behind me to let me block the wind. Our 2^nd mile was 8:31. At this pace, I knew it was going to be a PR, but I wanted him to keep on pushing. When we had about 1200 m left I told dad we were going to try and pick it up. I noticed that he kept running farther and farther to the left, so I said, “run a straight line—why run more distance than you have to?” And dad replied with, “I’m running with my eyes closed so I can’t see how far I have left to go!” It took everything I had to not laugh at him. Our 3^rd mile was 8:12! The last 0.1 was :47 for a total of 26:05 (8:24/mile)! It was definitely a great day, and a confidence booster going into the Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon on April 6. I cannot wait to see how his first half marathon goes!

He looks fine 10 minutes after the 5k--we're running harder next time!

Song of the Week!

 

TFK with Matt and Me!

Did you race over St Patrick’s Day weekend? How did it go?

Bitter or Better

March 4-10

Swim: some

Bike: a bit

Run: yep

Total: too lazy to actually go back and look

It was a normal week…until Wednesday. On Wednesday, Dad and I took off down the road for Florida.  I was just in Daytona Beach in December, and I was not looking forward to the same ride—I knew it was a few hours longer than I wanted to be in a vehicle. Long story short, we stopped in Nashville on the way down so I could try one of the Fat Mo’s burgers…it was great. Anyway, we made it most of the way on Wednesday.

After a short drive on Thursday, we finally made it to Clermont. I went to the National Training Center to do a workout on the track, and dad was busy making friends with the coaches of the local 5k training group. After my run, I ended up talking to them for a little bit too, and found out one of them would be working the transition area on Saturday. (more on that later)

 Looks like a nice place to relax!

Friday is where things go interesting. We went to the course in the afternoon to check things out—apparently everybody else had the same idea. I was quickly regretting not bringing a wetsuit. The water was a lovely 62 degrees at 1 in the afternoon, and I knew it was not going to be getting any warmer. Wonderful. I got in the water and do some swimming, and the water really didn’t feel that cold, and I felt like I had a decent feel for the water. Going into the race I wasn’t worried about the swim, and that just confirmed that I would be fine. After the swim, I went out for a couple loops on the bike course, just to make sure everything was working…it was! I was ready to go.

 It didn't seem so cold on Friday...

Friday night we had packet pick up, and a pre race meeting. I don’t think I was even slightly nervous for the race until they started discussing being lapped out. Going into the race I knew there was a chance that I could be lapped out, but I was confident enough in my swim ability that it wouldn’t happen. I know that I am not the strongest swimmer, but I had spent the last 4 months working on it, and I had seen big improvements in the pool. After the meeting was over, dad and I went for a quick dinner, then back to the hotel to relax.

Okay, race morning…it was cold in Florida! I think it was mid 40s when we got to the park around 6:15am. The first few minutes were spent parking, and unloading the truck. Then I did my 2 mile warm up jog just to get the legs moving. After that I spent about 20 minutes on the trainer at a pretty easy pace with a few pickups in there just to get the legs moving. After the ride, I got in line to get my chip. Everything was feeling good, and the check in process was simple. I set up transition, and had a few minutes to get down to the lake. I did a 10 minute swim warm up before they called us back to the beach to get our starting position. The 5-10 minutes we were standing out of the water seemed like 5 hours (remember I did not have a wetsuit on, and it was probably 48 degrees). We walked out into the calf deep water to take out starting position, and shortly late the gun went off.

This is the good part. Okay, so maybe it isn’t the good part. Water temp was 58-62 degrees depending on who you ask, but all I know is I was cold! I felt like I was swimming well, but apparently I was not. I exited the water in 15:13…I know I can swim better than that. But it is what it is. When I saw 15:00 on the clock I knew my day was done—I needed to be sub 13:30 to even have a chance at finishing…which I thought was a realistic goal going into the race. Oh well, I continued the run up to T1 and got on my bike.

 All by myself :(

At this point I knew there were a few guys maybe 25 seconds up, and a couple behind me. If I had any chance of surviving the bike I needed to catch that pack, but I knew it would not be easy. I could see that I only had maybe a minute on the lead pack when I was ½ way through my first lap…not good!  I was gaining on the pack ahead of me, but the lead pack was gaining on us! At the turnaround for lap 2 I could see that I had maybe 15 seconds on the lead group. Could I hold off the lead pack for another 2 laps? Most likely not. But I sure as hell was going to try. I ended up making a decent dent into the gap of the pack ahead of me, but got lapped out at lap 2. Was I upset? No. I was more embarrassed than anything, because I know I can do better! I just really shot myself in the foot with an awful swim—always bring the wetsuit! But the good news is my new friend, Jeremy from the NTC, was at the Transition area! So, at least I had somebody to talk to! Dad was busy volunteering out on the course!

For the next few hours I sat with Jeremy, and watched the pro races from the transition area. I got to pick the brain of somebody that works at the NTC. I got to soak up some good information. I got to see all the action up close. Draft legal racing really is pretty awesome to watch! It was pretty dang awesome to see all of the ITU pros flying by! After the race I even got to take a picture with Richard Murray!

So…Here are a few things I have come up with since race day.

1.  ALWAYS bring the wetsuit!

2.  Bitter or Better (I actually was wearing that shirt for a while after the race!)

            *It is not the end of the world.

            *Swim still needs A LOT of work—we’ll get there.

            *Just motivation to keep working on the weakness.

3. Draft legal racing is a new challenge. All racing is a challenge, but this really excites me.

            *I think it could be fun if I get that swim time down.

4. Clermont was still a good experience.

            *Let me know that my swim is still weaker than I though.

            *Good advice/tips talking with Jeremy.

            *Up close experience watching from transition area. 

            *Call me crazy, but I actually want to go back 

 (Top 3 Men) 

Now it is time to get ready for the track season! What is your next race?