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Haven and I having a blast racing in the 2008 Bailey's Doggie Dash.
Since I began running almost five years ago I've participated in 25 races (including 3 adventure races) but surprisingly only three events have been repeats. Twice each I've run the Grand Rapids Marathon and the Irish Jig 5K, and now I can add Bailey's Doggie Dash to the list for the fourth time!
My first ever organized race was the 2005 edition of the Doggie Dash and it's been an annual staple for Haven and I ever since. Why? You'll be hard pressed to find more fun packed into a 5K!
Haven poses as Amanda takes advantage of beautiful photography settings.
Haven has always been a fast runner - after all, she's a dog! They're born to run, even the lazy ones. :) My training over the years has helped me keep up with her and our Doggie Dash results show a favorable trend:
2005 Bailey's Doggie Dash - 24:39 - 10th overall, 1st/1 age group
2006 Bailey's Doggie Dash - 22:42 - 5th overall, 1st/4 age group
2007 Bailey's Doggie Dash - 20:17 - 3rd overall, 2nd/3 age group
(A note about the age groups... Yes, I "won" my age group in 2005 by being the only runner in it! Although technically I'll never truly win my age group as long as Joel Bierling and his dog Anubis are here - they've won the Doggie Dash outright every year since 2004, and Joel is my age. In fact the top three humans in 2007 were all 31 years old!)
The one and only Bailey, the "assistant race director" of Bailey's Doggie Dash.
Could Haven and I continue to improve in 2008? Sadly, no - I am still recovering from a lingering hamstring injury and knew going into the event that I would not be able to run near full speed, but Haven didn't get the memo...
We lined up behind the chalk line with "START" scrawled on the pavement - part of the appeal of this race is how casual and old-school it is - and Haven immediately began screaming in excitement! Just like before last year's race - she knew exactly what was going on and just couldn't wait to get going.
Krista Durham heard Haven (who couldn't?) and walked over to say hi as I tried to buckle the Ruff Wear Roamer leash around my waist. Krista and Ron discovered the Doggie Dash - and indirectly their dog Kasey - last year thanks to my blog! In 2007 Ron won his age group but this year was Krista's turn and she assured me that she was no threat to win an award.
Race director Kevin Sweeney "barks" out final instructions before the start of Bailey's Doggie Dash.
Photo courtesy of Jim Falk, Kent County Parks Foundation. The race is held at Wabasis Park in Kent County, and 100% of the entry fees are donated to the Foundation.
Finally we were off! As you can see in the photo below, even though I was trying to go easy Haven was definitely in afterburner. The pack began to thin out a bit when suddenly a Golden Retriever whizzed past... off leash! I heard a woman behind me calling for her dog but it was having too much fun! I stopped a couple times to try and snag its leash but without luck; however, the dog was soon back in hand.
Haven launches us off to a quick start - who do you think is having more fun?
Heading up the first hill from the boat launch a young Husky mix kept trying to play with Haven, but Haven wasn't here for games - she wanted to catch the lady in front of us! To Haven's chagrin I instead struck up a conversation with Neil, the owner of the playful Isla. This was Neil's 4th or 5th Doggie Dash but the 1st for recently-adopted Isla - in previous years Neil had to borrow his daughter's dog!
Going downhill pulled away from Neil and Isla and Haven settled in behind a woman and her Irish Setter, who was also using a hands-free leash like us. We followed about half a mile, reaching the 1-mile mark where I realized I'd forgotten to start my watch! I started it here and based on my finish time, was able to deduce later that Haven and I posted an 8:16 first mile, faster than I've run in a long time.
Neil Bierling and Isla work their way up a hill.
Once again it was a downhill section that allowed us to pass a runner and Haven and it made the turn onto the wooded trail section of the course. With nobody in sight ahead or behind us, Haven must've realized the sudden privacy - she stopped for some "business"! Fortunately I carried a couple Business Bags in my pocket and cleared the trail of landmines, but then had to carry the live ordnance until we found a trash can! When all was said and done it was almost a one minute delay.
A few dogs and people passed us during the pit stop and I must've subconsciously accelerated a bit - we ran the second mile at a 9:05 pace including the poop delay, but by this point Haven was finally growing tired of giving my pace a free ride. The leash went slack and I was on my own!
Surprisingly I felt pretty good but I didn't let the slow pace fool me into thinking I was fit enough for anything faster. We jogged through the campground where a camping family was watching with their dog. They asked me about race and I ran backwards a few steps as I explained the basics before Haven coaxed me onwards.
Haven and I cresting the final hill and still having fun.
At long last the final uphill was in sight and we did our best to maintain momentum. Along this stretch of road Amanda was lurking on the shoulder to snap some photos with the amazing fall colors in the background. Every year the Doggie Dash has seen great weather - clear, sunny, cool, and leaves every color but green.
Cresting the hill I noticed that Neil and Isla weren't far behind, so Haven and I made sure we didn't get lazy as we chugged towards the finish line. Woo hoo! Yep, it's an old-school event - no chip timing here. A volunteer ripped the perforated tab from my bib number while another wrote down my time on a clipboard. 26:59 was written by my number, probably my slowest 5K ever but also among the most enjoyable!
Juanita Stasik and Lance working hard - well, one of them is working hard. :)
The last mile clocked about 8:45 - not having Haven's help really exposed my slowness! We hung out at the finish to watch some other folks finish, including a couple of my friends from work. Juanita Stasik and her yellow lab Lance were running their second Doggie Dash after discovering the event in 2007.
Bob Fry and Monty make their way to the finish. Monty was glad for the cool, 45-degree weather!
Making his first Doggie Dash appearance was Bob Fry and his Pomeranian mix Monty. Bob is one the guys I run with at work during lunch (when my leg is healthy) and a former Boston Marathoner. Notice that "50" on his shirt - I'll bet that he and I were the only two runners wearing shirts from a 50-mile ultramarathon! Monty probably took as many steps in this 5K as Bob does in a 50K!
Now it was time for the treats - dog biscuits for Haven and Halloween candy for me! Race director Kevin Sweeney sure knows how to dish out a post-race spread! He also knows how to organize a smooth event - low tech, low stress, high class and high fun!
Haven is in full-on begging mode, explaining in dog language why she deserves yet another biscuit!
Once all the runners and walkers had finished it was time for the awards. First up were the door prizes and I finally won! The loot was a hand-made blanket - I've been pining for one of those hand-made dog beds and blankets that are given out each year.
The little wizard, winner of the Bailey's Choice costume award.
Next were the costume winners as chosen by local meteorologist Peter Chan - many great outfits but there was a certain charm about the winner - a little wizard. And finally the running awards... Once again Joel Bierling and Anubis won overall but he had to pass a high school cross country runner on the last hill to earn his victory! If that kid is back next year, Joel and Anubis are in trouble. A girl from the same high school took a close 2nd overall for women, too!
I should mention that trophies are handed out for the people and engraved bowls for the dogs! Three deep in each age group, so there's a lot of hardware going home. Neil and Isla won their age group as did Bob and Monty! However Bob had already headed home, so after the awards I got their trophies and dropped them off with Bob at work. He has two other dogs besides Monty and he thinks they'll be jealous of Monty's engraved bowl.
Not to be outdone by our co-worker, Juanita and Lance went home with some hardware, too! They finished 3rd in her age group, a task made easier by arriving on time. Last year Juanita took a wrong turn while driving to the park and started the race 10 minutes late! Apparently she still had so much fun that she came back for more.
Krista Durham and Kasey try to shrug off their award after promising at the start to not win one. ;)
Remember Krista's promise that Kasey wasn't going to win anything? Wrong - they placed 3rd in their age group! Kasey is 2-for-2 with trophies and now has more than either of his owners. Ron had his own race the next day - the Grand Rapids Marathon as his first 26.2 and he rocked it with a 3:37! Wow.
Finally it was time for my age group and... nothing. Lots of guys in their 30s can run faster than gimpy me, so poor Haven had to endure the shame of no engraved bowl this year. But hey, we won a blanket!
Haven relaxes on our door prize, an evidently comfy hand-made blanket.
Even though it's only a 20-minute drive home, Haven slept the entire way - she was one worn-out pup. We posed for our photo in front of the burning bush in what has become a post-race tradition, then went inside to indulge in more treats. As if Bailey's Doggie Dash wasn't enough of a treat already!
The traditional post-race photo - we'll be back in 2009!
Who's having more fun, the guy or the dog?
My favorite race of the year is Bailey’s Doggie Dash 5K, a cross-country run for owners and their dogs to benefit the Kent County Parks Foundation. It’s not a large race, usually drawing around 50 participants, but it’s very well organized and one of the best races around where you can run with your dog.
Haven and I first ran the Doggie Dash in 2005 as my first ever organized running event since high school. That year we finished 10th overall in 24:39 and won my age group by virtue of being the only one in my age group (after they pulled out the overall winner, who had tied the course record in 18:17). In 2006 we improved to 5th overall, dropping nearly two minutes off our time with a 22:42 finish and winning the age group, this time a “large” group of four runners. How would Haven and I fare this year?
Just last week I set a post-high-school 5K PR of 20:56 in the Harvest Hustle so I knew I was better prepared to keep up with Haven in this year’s Doggie Dash. But I also had a plan to use canicross tactics - rather than hold Haven’s leash in my hand, I instead tied it to a belt around my waist so Haven could help pull me along. Haven and I trained in this setup for a few weeks before the race to make sure we both felt comfortable. I learned that it was necessary to have some form of shock absorption so I clamped an automobile tie-down bungee between Haven’s harness and the leash - it worked like a dream.
Haven and I enjoying the perfect pre-race weather.
Saturday morning arrived bringing perfect weather - mid 40’s, clear blue sky, and near-peak fall colors that yielded some stunning photos by Amanda. The Doggie Dash sports a Halloween theme with a dog costume contest judged by the local weatherman Peter Chan and registration SWAG handed out in trick-or-treat jack-o-lanterns.
The "Collie Flowers", contestants for the Bailey's Choice costume prize, are as adorable as they are obedient!
While taking Haven for a warm-up jog a guy came up to me and asked "Is that Haven?" Turns out he recognized us (or rather, my dog!) from reading my blog. If that wasn't amazing enough, Ron Durham told me that he and his wife Krista decided to adopt their dog Kacey in part because of reading about my blogged adventures running with Haven and Beacon!
This is Haven's 3rd Doggie Dash, so she knows when we're about to start and she can't contain her excitement!
I think Haven remembers previous races - when everyone began lining up for the start this year one guy took off on a warm-up jog and Haven must’ve thought the race had begun. Haven started screaming in anticipation as I tried to calm her down - it was so cute and she was getting lots of smiles from the crowd.
GO! The start of the 2007 Bailey's Doggie Dash.
At last it was “Ready, set, GO!” and we were off! Race director Kevin Sweeney pedaled a mountain bike ahead of the lead runner to give his dog something to chase, a very keen idea. Haven bolted full steam ahead and we quickly settled into fifth position. One of the most difficult sections of the course was the beginning because it was downhill and paved - with Haven full of energy dragging me downhill, it was all my legs could do to simply not let me fall flat on my face! My feet and legs took quite a pounding right off the bat.
Next we slogged through a scenic wide-open lawn that was saturated with water and then up a short road to a wooded picnic area. Just before reaching the one-mile marker Haven and I passed two racers who were fading after a quick start. 20 yards ahead was a guy who looked way faster than me but I sped up a bit to keep close to him so that Haven would have someone to chase.
Race director Kevin Sweeney serves as a rabbit on wheels for the dogs at the front of the pack.
She loved it, almost too much! Whenever we rounded a bend Haven tried to cut the corner inside the course flags - she wanted to intercept the runner we were chasing. I repeatedly had to remind Haven to follow the rules but she didn’t want to hear it. Every turn we’d lose 5-10 feet on the guy ahead of us since I’d have slow up to pull Haven outside the marker flags, but then we’d hustle to regain the lost ground.
At the 1 mile mark I was shocked to see 6:20 on my watch! Haven was definitely doing her part and it was fun to still have the leader in sight although I knew it wouldn’t last. Down a slight hill the course turned off into a wooded section of singletrack for a 1/4 mile before heading out and around the beach playground. Here Haven kept trying to stop for a drink in the large puddles of water pooling in the sand. I obliged her at one of them and she tried to lie down in the water to cool off! Sorry Haven but we have to finish the race first!
After the beach we ran along a dirt road and then onto a paved loop that carried us through the park’s campground. We were still close to the #2 runner at the 2 mile mark - our second mile was run at a 6:30 pace! I was getting pretty excited but I also knew that one or both of us were going to hit the wall soon.
It wound up being Haven; shortly after the second mile we started losing contact with the guy ahead of us as Haven no longer had the energy to pull my weight. Running is hard when my dog isn’t helping! Haven and I ran side-by-side for the next half mile as her leash was now slack - she was just trotting but I was trying to run as hard as I could. Dogs were born to run; humans, not so much.
Notice the slack leash and exhausted human - sailing ain't as smooth without my canine tugboat!
With about half a mile to go as we approached a long hill Haven began to fall behind. Going up the hill we reversed roles as I found myself trying to pull Haven along! I tried yelling “RABBITS!!” to her, a word that usually gets her all spooled up (she LOVES to chase rabbits) but she was to tired to care. Finally at the top of the hill we had just a 1/4 mile to go and I still couldn’t get her to pull even with me.
Even though I knew we were losing time quickly, this wasn’t my race - Haven was every bit a part of this effort and it wouldn’t be fair to speed up and drag her to the finish. I did keep the pace fast enough to maintain some tension - I figured I might as well help her out a bit without pulling so hard as to bunch the harness up around her head.
Haven and I cruising down the home stretch.
Finally in the last 100 yard grassy home stretch I tried another “RABBITS!!” but Haven was done, so we maintained our pace to the finish for a very satisfying 3rd place overall. Better yet was our time... 20:17! That was the second-fastest 5K I’ve ever run in my life, even though I had some help. My high school PR was 20:08 and my next-best teenage run was 21:13. Haven is my hero!
Seriously, Haven was the hardest-working dog at the race. Both runners who finished ahead of us had humans that were much more fit than I am while their greyhound-mix dogs were running alongside on a slack leash; i.e. the guys who beat us did so without the canine assistance that I needed. Some other dogs behind us were certainly pulling their owners, but at 195 pounds I was probably the heaviest human cargo to be mushed by any dog. Those greyhounds couldn’t have outrun Haven if I were dragging them down!
Ron Durham and Kasey at the finish, proving that running with dogs is fun!
Post-race food was great - bagels, cookies, candy and cider for the humans and water and doggie biscuits for the canines. Naturally Haven got to eat first before I took a crack at the goodies as we watched the rest of the field finish with the song “Who Let the Dogs Out” blaring on repeat over the loudspeakers.
After everyone finished we were treated to a demonstration of frisbee dogs by Pawsitive Vybe’s professional dog trainers Apryl Lea and Ron Sutton. Spectacular show! Six dogs (IIRC) displayed their talents and some of them were insanely good leapers and blazing runners.
Apryl Lea shows off the amazing frisbee skills of one of her dogs.
Following the frisbee demo was the awards ceremony. Some very nice handmade dog beds were raffled off and for the third year in a row, I didn’t win one. One guy that did win a bed and a free pair of shoes was Ron! This was on top of him and Kacey winning his age group. I have a feeling they might make the drive from the east side of Michigan to run again next year. :)
Despite our 3rd place overall finish Haven and I wound up taking 2nd in my age group as the guy we’d been chasing for two miles is in my bracket. In fact the overall winner Joel Bierling - who also won in 2005 and 2006 - is in my age group, too, so technically I was 3rd overall and 3rd in my age group. Men 30-35 were representin’ at the Doggie Dash!
Haven and I at home showing off our hardware.
There was no way I could’ve caught either of those fast runners, but in retrospect I probably could’ve helped Haven and I get a faster time if I’d managed Haven’s workload more effectively. For the first mile there was nothing I could do but hang on for the ride, but mile 1.5 through 2.0 I should’ve quickened my pace a tad to ease the drag on Haven; that way she may have sustained her energy long enough to keep the both of us on the tail of the #2 finisher for another half mile until finally running the last half mile with a slack leash and not having to pull her.
Nevertheless, we ran an awesome race, had a ton of fun, and we’re already looking forward to the 2008 Doggie Dash!
For the full race report, see the article in my Why Run? blog.
For a video my wife took of me at the finish, visit my personal blog.
*** For a race report with photos, visit my Why Run? blog ***
What is more fun than running a race? Running a race with my dogs! This morning I was joined by Haven and Beacon for the 1st annual Healthy Paws Healthy Cause Fun Run, a 4-mile event for dogs and their people. I've done two 5Ks with Haven before, but I've never attempted a race while being hitched to both of my wannabe sled dogs! This should be interesting...
The event was organized by the Cascade Hospital for Animals with proceeds to benefit Mackenzie's Animal Sanctuary. There were no age groups, awards, or even official results - it's just what it says, a "fun run" to get folks out enjoying the morning with their dogs. Over 80 people signed up, not bad for the first ever event. The race director I recognized (via her dog!) as Dr. Happel, the runner that I barely out-kicked at the finish of the 2006 Bailey's Doggie Dash (if you follow the link, she's in the orange shirt in the photos on the bottom row of the page).
Going into this race I wasn't planning to run all out; rather, I wanted to maintain a tempo pace as best I could but primarily just have fun with Haven and Beacon. Since most participants were planning to walk, I lined up near the front; there were about 7 runners ahead of me. Dogs and people were still milling about - in fact, one lady was petting Haven - when the race director shouted out "Five seconds!" And we're off!
The guy at the front broke free quickly and Haven and Beacon decided to chase him - hard! I had no choice but to join their pursuit and within 100 yards of the start we had passed everyone except the leader! It turns out that only eight people were running; the rest were walkers. I pulled alongside the front guy and we sheepishly confided that it felt rather weird to be leading a race. We kept looking back for a while, assuming that some fast runners would blow by us.
We chatted for the first mile where I learned that his dog - weimaraner named Bailey (not the one from Bailey's Doggie Dash) - was five years old, just a year old than my two pups. She loves the water and behaves well on a leash; so well in fact that the guy (funny how I know his dog's name but never learned his!) had the handle of his flexi-lead in his shorts pocket the whole time. If I tried that with my dogs they'd rip my shorts right off me!
With Haven and Beacon leading the way we cruised past the first mile marker in 6:45, a very fast pace for me. The course then ascended a moderate hill and Bailey's owner exlaimed "Uh oh Bailey, daddy's not feeling too good!" and sure enough, he began to fall back as my dogs pulled me upward. Going down the hill my feet were burning - I realized that I hadn't tied my shoelaces tight enough and the soles of my feet were sliding along the bed of my shoe.
Mile two was the beginning of an undulating portion of the course, most of which was run on paved pedestrian paths. With nobody to chase, Haven and Beacon slowed their pace and were no longer pulling me up the hills. Around mile 2.5 Bailey and her owner caught up with us and we ran side-by-side for the next half mile. This time we didn't say anything as we all needed to conserve our oxygen.
Somehow I must've programmed my dogs for a 5K distance (maybe they read my blog?) because soon after we passed the third mile marker (in 21:50, not bad!) they slowed waaaay down. Bailey and her runner kept their momentum going and pulled steadily away from us as I was forced to drag Haven and Beacon forward! Those lazy dogs. :) Finally they realized I wasn't going to stop and they ran beside me the rest of the way.
We passed some pedestrians going the opposite way to relayed to me that the guy ahead of me "was very concerned that I would catch him", but I told them he had nothing to worry about. Not only were my dogs worn out, I was out of energy as well and we struggled most of the last mile. After passing Amanda with her camera, we finally reached the finish line! Sure enough Bailey had won and Haven and Beacon shared second place just one minute behind in 30:29. It was about five minutes until the next runners began showing up. Walkers continued to trickle into the finish for the next hour.
The organizers thought of everything, providing water (for both humans and canines), bagels, bananas, donuts, and dog treats for the finishers. Haven and Beacon eagerly helped themselves to some water while I shared a banana with Haven. After eating my peanut-covered donut, the dogs both got some treats and then finally I remembered to drink some water myself. Once we got home Amanda had the three of us pose for the obligatory post-race photo, all sporting our event t-shirt and bandanas. Haven and Beacon are now fast asleep at my feet. :) What a fun race!
Today was the 30th running of the Riverbank Run in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The main event is the 25K, which serves as the national championship for that distance and naturally draws some very fast runners. I, however, ran the 5K in my quest to beat my 5K PR from high school, a 20:08.
You couldn't ask for better weather - when the starting horn sounded, the air was 52 degrees under mostly cloudy skies. The weather coupled with the 30th anniversary of the race drew record field participation in all of the events: 25K run, 25K wheelchair, 25K hand-cycle, 5K run, and 5K walk. If my memory serves, the announcer stated that there were about 6000 entrants for the 25K and almost 5000 folks doing 5K, plus 20,000+ spectators!
At 7:50 the wheelchair race started; at 7:55 it was the hand-cyclers' turn. Standing way at the back in the 5K corral a block up the street, I wasn't able to watch them start but I clapped anyway as the announcer kicked them off. At 8:00 sharp the crowd went nuts as the horn blasted off the 25K runners and the street in front of me slowly emptied. It took six full minutes for the 25K field to clear the start line! Finally the 5K legion marched forward and I took my place at the 7:00 min/mile pace sign. Very helpfully, the race organizers set up markers so that runners can start among others of similar speed. My goal was to beat my last race time of 21:07, a 6:49 pace, so I figured I'd be OK starting with the 7:00 folks. I didn't want to line up any further ahead because the 6:00 pace group was the first one!
Finally the clock ticked down to 8:10 and the horn sounded for our start! Right away it was clear that not everyone heeded the pace alignment and I had to pass countless runners in very crowded conditions. The course began on a 4-lane downtown street and it was flowing thick with striding bodies. I thought about mshobe and the difficulty he had weaving among traffic in his Chicago Marathon. It definitely slows you down! Within the first mile I was boxed in at least half a dozen times and forced to slow down and maneuver.
I reached the first mile mark at 6:55 according to my watch, but in 6:05 according to the clock they had stationed there! No way was I running 6:05 and I knew it was wrong; however, two guys next to me saw that and said "Whoa we better slow down" and I felt bad for them. Just after this point a little high school girl got boxed in to the left of me; instead of slowing down she jumped to the right, cutting me off! I nearly came to a complete halt trying to avoid running her over. That ticked me off, and she became one of my "marks" - I wasn't going to let her get away!
At the halfway point there was an aid station with water but I just ran through - I don't need to risk choking when I can barely breathe and 5K is short enough to do without anyway. It was here that I finally passed the last of the "soccer boys". At the start in the 7:00 pace slot was a group of six boys wearing matching soccer uniforms that looked to be about 10-12 years old. I thought they were a bunch of punks, assuming they would run slowly but as a pack and clog up the start. Four of them were indeed slow, but two of them were fast enough that they stayed ahead of me for half the race! I was impressed.
Approaching the second mile mark I was still forced to maneuver occasionally around folks who were dropping off the pace, some of them even walking! I can understand if a couple folks maybe pulled a muscle or had stomach issues, but 95% of they were simply tired. It bugged me that so many people were running a pace way beyond their means, apparently just to impress their friends by starting out so fast? In fact, that little high school girl encountered two such dudes who slowed down and she elbowed her way between them!
Mile 2 finally showed up at 13:50 - good for a 6:55 second mile - and once again the race clock was off by a minute! It's a good thing I started my watch or I would've been very confused. Climbing a slight incline my "mark" was right next to me - she had never been farther than 20 feet ahead - and I picked this point to pass her. I never saw her again! Satisfaction, baby. Cresting the "hill" (it was only a baby hill) I used the slight downgrade to accelerate my pace knowing that I had less than a mile to go. Boy was I feeling like crap, though! I was so tempted to rest for a few seconds but my heart convinced my mind to shut up for the next five minutes. :)
Apparently my mind just shut off instead - I have no memory of passing the 3-mile marker and thus have no clue as to my split time there. I was just trying to run fast - the faster I ran, the sooner the pain would cease! The course turned a sharp corner, ran half a block and then turned again and suddenly the finish line was 100 yards away! I dumped my last drops of fuel into the afterburner and passed several folks. Then I had a decision to make... left or right? There were two finish line banners because of the huge crowd of runners, and I was pointed right at the posts between them. Fewer runners on the right, so I ran right. Official finish time was 21:26.
While I was desperately catching my breath beyond the finish line, a guy next to me puked! Ew. I moseyed ahead to the food table and grabbed a water bottle, a breakfast bar, a bagel and a yogurt, then found a sunny concrete step to sit on while I ate the breakfast I earned. Food tastes so good after a hard workout!
Although I felt good speed-wise, I didn't feel great. Maybe having to dodge all the other runners in tight quarters slowed me down some, but even without that I might not have topped my adult-era PR from the last race. I'm happy that I maintained my pace throughout despite feeling rather crummy for the last mile; my finish time equated to a 6:55 pace, same pace as each of the first two miles. My legs had more speed than at my last race, but I think with more injury-free time to train properly I can go faster. Always something to look forward to!
Looking at the results online I see that I finished 18/260 in my age group and 204/4867 overall - must be that all the fast runners were doing the 25K. Speaking of which, after I called Amanda to let her know the outcome (she woke up tired and decided to sleep in rather than fight with the crowds) I walked back along the 25K course and watched the finishers for about an hour. Some observations... The top runners all had great form, smooth and powerful. The next batch of runners - fast but not elite - was mixed with good form and a form I call the "leg beaters" who have a stride that seems wildly inefficient. Some look like they're swimming, others stair-climbing, some are leaned so far sideways it makes me dizzy. These folks have the stamina to be top runners but for whatever reason, aren't efficient with it.
I stopped at the mile 14 aid station (25K = 15.5M) to wait for some of the runners I know to come by so I could cheer them on. One of the aid station volunteers was a colleague on my project who sits right next to me at work! I wasn't aware that he'd be there. It's amazingly fun to watch a running race and I'm totally sold on volunteering at one sometime. One of the aid station dudes, rather than handing out cups of water, was splashing it on the runners! Most loved it but a few got annoyed. The faster folks are in general more serious - you can tell that they have a plan and they pretty much ignore the encouragement of spectators. Slower runners more often will turn their heads when a spectator shouts out some good vibes, and some of them are mentally lost in space. Here we were, 1.5 miles from the finish, and some were stopping to rest - not just walking, but stopping! Just keep moving, people.
Many runners were busy wrangling their earphone cords. One guy going very slowly suddenly sprinted through the aid station like Forrest Gump and then collapsed in a pile of jelly legs. Weird. Another guy was dressed head to toe in a Spider Man suit! I encouraged him to use his Spidey Sense. One lady was clearly struggling with a look of sheer pain on her face as she reached her arm forward to the lady right ahead of her. The woman in front must've been a friend, as she took the struggler's hand without even looking back and pulled her onward the way she might pull the leash of a stubborn dog! It was a nice show of companionship - clearly they were going to finish together. Less cool was the young woman who took a sip of water and then puked about six times before walking on. She was clearly upset and I wanted to tell her "Don't worry, you'll feel better now!" but she probably wasn't ready to hear that yet. :)
Finally after cheering on almost everyone I expected to recognize (yet somehow I missed a few of them), it was time to go home. What a fun event - both racing and spectating!
The Road End Trail Run is a 5-mile race in the Pinckney Recreation Area outside Ann Arbor, MI. This event is just the opening act for the Trail Marathon weekend; Road Ends runs on Saturday and Sunday hosts a trail marathon and half-marathon at the same location.
Leading up to this race, the recovery from an achilles injury forced me to run just twice in the ten days prior to race day for a total of seven miles. Fortunately my conservatism paid off as my leg felt great on race day and I had no problems with any recurrence. Nevertheless, I was unsure how fast I could run given my lack of recent training and had difficultly coming up with a goal for the race. I had heard the course was quite hilly so I figured I'd be happy if I could maintain an 8:00 pace, i.e. finish the race in 40 minutes.
My dad, mom and Amanda were nice enough to come along as spectators, or maybe they just wanted to see me suffer! We hiked around the starting area and checked out some ducks and a loon out on Silver Lake using dad's binoculars. Finally it was time to assemble at the line and 259 folks packed together, eager to get moving so we could warm up! It was a cool, overcast morning at about 45 degrees. The race director informed us that mile markers 2 and 4 were quite accurate, but the markers for miles 1 and 3 were just "there for consistency". I chatted with a volunteer and a racer a bit while waiting and learned that the racer had just run the Boston Marathon two weeks earlier and the volunteer was going to do a 50-mile race in Colorado next week! Fun stuff.
Ready, set, GO!! We looped around a grassy area to thin the pack before converging on a narrow boardwalk through a marshy area. My plan was to run hard and see how long I could keep it up since I had no idea 1) what my fitness level was and 2) what my pace would be until two miles later. Initially I felt pretty good - one of the benefits of a long layoff is complete muscle recovery - and passed the 2-mile marker in 14:40, a 7:20 pace! My last 5K I ran at a 6:50 pace so maybe 7:20 over 5 miles is doable?
Maybe not... soon after the 2 mile mark I realized that my stride rate (e.g. steps per minute) was rather low, but when I tried to quicken up my leg turnover I was disappointed to learn that my legs wouldn't respond. Apparently this is one of the effects of the lost training time, that my leg speed just wasn't there. This hurt me on the flats since I couldn't accelerate and also on the hills because I couldn't "downshift" to maintain momentum going up.
The next two miles I was really hurting - my lungs felt OK and my legs weren't sore but I simply couldn't make my legs "go" - they felt "hollow" if that makes any sense. Halfway up a large hill I was actually forced to walk and felt rather embarrassed; after all, who am I to think I can run a 8:00 pace yet have to walk? At the top I found myself breathing rapidly as if at high altitude, yet within five seconds I was running again and feeling rather normal (at least, as normal as one can feel in a race). It seemed so silly that I had to walk up that hill yet could resume my race pace once at the top without a problem.
Less than a mile later on a smaller hill I had to walk again! Dang! Once again my lungs were fine once over the top so all I can reason is that my lack of training caused me to lose my running "power" - my stamina was there, my strength was there, but my legs wouldn't accelerate. This time I had a happier attitude while walking - I told myself that lots of runners both behind me and ahead of me had seen me walking up both hills, and I was going to beat most of them! So who cares if I walk? See you at the finish line, bubbas.
Finally I reached the 4-mile mark at 32:00... yikes! My last two miles had been at a 8:40 pace and now I had to run a 8:00 final mile to reach my 40-minute goal. I remained positive yet realized that this was going to be difficult - I had to push the pace and NOT LET UP for the next eight minutes. My legs still felt hollow and all I could fill them with was will power.
At long last I crested the final short hill and the finish line was in sight about 100 yards away; also in sight was another runner 30 yards ahead of me and I started my kick to chase him down. I quickly gained 10 yards on him but then he heard my labored breathing. My dad told me later that this guy looked over his shoulder and his eyes got wide; this guy had last passed me when I was walking up the second hill, so he must've been surprised to see me on his tail! He kicked into a sprint and all I could do was match his pace and wasn't able to overtake him.
That's OK - I was THRILLED because I finished in 39:45!! Somehow I toughed out a 7:45 final mile and the photos Amanda took really show the strain I was feeling. Boy oh boy. But as you can see in the last photo, it was all worth it and in fact quite satisfying to know that I wasn't at my best and I still managed a good run. Learning how my body responded to the injury recovery and lack of training was also quite enlightening. And of course, a post-race poppyseed muffin really hit the spot!
We stuck around for the award ceremony because I wanted to see who the winners were. The overall winner finished in under 29 minutes! Wow. Then they started awarding prizes to the top five runners in each age group. Names were called out and when they got to my age group I was stunned to hear the race director call my name! Holy cow, I finished 5th in my age group (out of 14) and won a coffee mug. Even though I know it's petty, it's still fun to win a prize at a race by actually being fast enough rather than a random drawing. :) Overall I finished 49th out of 259, and yes I'm quite pleased with that. Best of all, however, was being my 40 minute goal by running that last mile as hard as I did - nothing beats that feeling of achievement!
The Irish Jig 5K is a much larger event than I expected - almost 2500 runners! I'm sure St. Patrick's Day is part of the draw since it provides a good excuse for those who want to drink on a Saturday morning. It was COLD, too! This past week we saw temps in the 50s and 60s but it wouldn't last. While we had clear skies, a bright sun, and light wind to cheer us up, the 20-degree air wasn't exactly ideal. Of course, I wore shorts.
Several of my co-workers were there, most of whom I never was able to find among the huge crowd. I did get to talk to a few both before and after the race, however. A couple of them were my lunch-hour running buddies so we'll have a lot to talk about during Monday's run.
My goal for this race was to get under 22:00, a goal I failed to reach in my last 5K. This wouldn't be easy, as my modern-day (i.e. after high school) PR for a 5K is a dog-assisted 22:42 last October. There was such a throng of runners that it took me 40 seconds to reach the start line! In the first mile I passed literally hundreds of runners, so while I may have started too far back I think the real problem was the slow runners starting from the front. I suppose they didn't know any better, but it was still a pain to weave past these folks.
I wanted to start out fast and see how long I could keep it up - I figured that if I crashed, at least I'd know my limits but no way was I going to start slow and finish with too much in the tank. I was hoping to get close to a 7:00 pace and was shocked when I passed the 1 mile mark in 6:50! Sweet.
Now I just have to maintain that pace... while it was certainly easier said than done, I was still able to hold a good pace. I was still passing people frequently, yet a few others passed me. For a while along this stretch I was following a young girl who must've been three feet tall! She was amazing - she couldn't have been older than 10 - wearing little pink sunglasses and a day-glow jacket that was probably necessary so that other runners wouldn't step on her! The course wound through a residential neighborhood with a fair amount of spectators, so I wonder what they though to see this bright little girl being chased by a guy twice her height wearing black. :)
Finally I passed the 2 mile mark at 13:50, which means I ran a 7:00 second mile. Not bad! Going up a slight hill I passed the little girl but just a minute later I was feeling TIRED. There aren't supposed to be any walls in short races but it felt like I was running through mud. One of the neighborly spectators was sitting in his driveway playing a well-known tune on his bagpipes! Awesome. I wanted to say something but I could barely breathe.
Actually it was all I could do to keep my pace up. If my attention lapsed for a minute I found myself unwittingly slowing down so I had to frequently remind myself to push the pace. I started looking for the 3 mile marker at around 15:00 - WAAAY too early but I was dying for the finish to be near. For inspiration I started thinking of my dogs and how excited they get when running - it kept my mind smiling rather than thinking about how much pain I was in!
I finally reached the 3 mile mark and looked at my watch, but I couldn't do the simple math to calculate my split and for the life of me I can't even remember what the time was. My mind was turning to mush. It was already a slight downhill at this point (thankfully) and I was picking up speed knowing that the finish was near. I rounded the last corner just 50 yards before the finish and kicked in the afterburner. Holy cow, doing that on a downhill can really make me go fast! My legs almost got away from me and my mental reaction time was so slow that I was afraid I'd crash into someone at the finish.
Almost there - just 50 yards from the finish line!
Luckily I squeaked into the chute without incident. Did I mention that my mind was completely gone? Amanda was photographing along that home stretch but I never saw her. At the finish I forgot to stop my watch and I never noticed the giant clock they have there, so I had no clue what my finish time was. Amanda thought she saw me cross at 21:47, which would be sweet if true. Unfortunately I had to wait until they posted the results online to know for sure.
The results are in - I finished in 21:07!!! Wow, that's much faster than I'd hoped. Before the race I would've predicted 21:45 to 22:15. Amazingly a 21:07 is a 6:49 pace, so I must've been pushing hard in that last mile. Needless to say I'm very pleased with my effort today. The results put me at 28/191 for my age group and 237/2488 overall.
That's almost enough for me to feel a bit fast, until I look at these guys below... Amanda got photos of the top four finishers and they all crossed the line under 15:00! Wow. The winner blazed in at 14:23!! Unreal. He finished 30 seconds after I crossed the 2 mile marker! Now those guys are FAST.
The overall winner in a time of 14:23!
These guys finished (left to right) 4th, 3rd and 2nd, all under 15:00!
My first race of the season is complete! This morning I ran the Heart and Sole 5K, finishing in 22:44. That time was good for 6/13 in my age group and 33/160 overall. Not bad, but I was hoping to finish under 22 minutes. I never really got into the groove during the race - I just felt slow and unable to speed up. Part of the problem was the trace amount of snow on the road - not enough to risk falling but enough to reduce traction a bit. Oh well - I'm planning to run another race in about a month and hopefully the weather will be warmer! It was 15 degrees for today's race.
The race runs part way around Reeds Lake in East Grand Rapids; you can find a rough map of the race course here (I say "rough" because I don't know exactly where the start/finish line was). The entire route runs along blocked-off residential roads with a few mild hills.
Amanda and I arrived plenty early and I warmed up a bit by running the first part of the course. I saw that Roger Bonga was there... Roger is a local endurance athlete who I met at the Cascade Winery where he works. He's a very nice guy and a very fast runner. I ran part of my warm up jog with him and he told me that he was planning to "run it easy" and finish in about 20 minutes - I wish I could run "easy" at that pace!
Ready set go! Enjoying the first few seconds of the race.
The race organizers were very no-nonsense. We got a "5 minutes to start!" warning, and the next thing we heard was "10 seconds!" No speeches, no instructions, nothing. At the starting line I placed myself among the middle of the pack but once we got going, I quickly passed a few dozen people. However, it took forever to feel settled at the pace I wanted; usually after a couple minutes I'm locked in and cruising, but today my stride didn't smooth out until around seven minutes into the race.
Occasionally running among us were local residents simply out for a morning jog. Aside from the finish line, there were two spectators and three volunteers out on the course. Unfortunately there really aren't any good highlights to this race.
Around 12 minutes along I starting feeling pretty good, but at around 15 minutes I felt totally dead. Luckily that only lasted a minute or so and after that I was just "race tired". I pushed hard for the last mile but it just didn't feel like I could accelerate. You can see how hard I was working in the photo as I approach the finish, and also how worn out I looked immediately afterwards. However, within 15 minutes I was feeling recovered! Apparently I didn't run fast enough...
Almost there! Pushing hard down the final stretch to the finish... and not smiling.
Sadly, when I finished there was nobody nearby that I could chase to the tape - I love sprinting out a contested finish but the nearest competitors were about 25 yards ahead and behind me. Speaking of my competitiveness, only two women finished ahead of me! :)
Recovering just after the finish... whew!
Race headquarters was at the nearby high school and I used the locker room there to change into street clothes since Amanda and I had to head directly to the Grand Rapids Museum for an adoption event, helping out Vicky's Pet Connection. Our foster dog Joyce was there along with two others. I'll leave it to Amanda to tell that story.
Trying to smile because I've just run 26.15 miles...
It's about time I wrote about my second-ever marathon! On Saturday, April 1 I ran the Martian Marathon in Dearborn Heights, MI. The location was quite convenient - Friday after work Amanda and I loaded up the dogs and drove to her parents' house in nearby Dearborn, where we spent the night. On the way there we stopped by the race expo and I picked up my bib number and timing chip for the race.
My first marathon (Grand Rapids Marathon in October 2005 - I still have to write about this one!) was a bit of a disaster. In that one I had a goal of 4:30 but wound up finishing at 5:34 after battling leg-locking cramps in my quads that forced me to walk 10 of the 26.2 miles!
This time my goal was again 4:30, hoping to avoid the cramps and dehydration of my first marathon. I had more experience behind me and I brought a certain strategy to this second attempt. My plan was to drink water at each aid station (every 1.5 to 2 miles) as my source of fluids. In addition, I carried a flask of energy gel from which I took a squeeze every 30 minutes to ensure I had some calories in my system to burn for energy. Because the gel has very few electrolytes and water has none, I also had a ziploc bag with electrolyte caps - essentially salt tablets with some potassium, too. I took one of those every hour.
My target pace was 9:30 minutes per mile, which would result in a 4:15 finish time. Most of my long training runs were at that pace and I figured it would be easier to slow up a little if need be rather than speed up. A 10:00 minute pace would put me at my goal of 4:30. This way I could run a 9:30 pace but walk at each aid station while drinking the water - I haven't yet learned how to drink from a cup while running and not completely choke!
The weather was overcast with a moderate west wind. The temperature at race start was a somewhat chilly 43 degrees, and it warmed up to 50 by the end of the race. The race course ran entirely along Hines Drive, heading out to the west, then backtracking for a few miles east before going west a little ways, then finally coming east again. This made for an interesting combination of headwinds and tailwinds!
At last the race was on! There was a clock at Mile 1 and I passed through at 9:30 - exactly on pace. The first several miles I was able to keep that pace, although for some reason my heart rate was in the 160-170 range; normally running a 9:30 pace would put me at 150-160, so I was a bit concerned. Did I get too cold waiting for the start? Was I simply nervous? I decided not to worry about it.
My nutrition plan needed a few tweaks, something I learned the hard way. At the second aid station it was time for my first gel hit, which I remember after drinking the water - now I had nothing with which to wash down the sticky gel! Next aid station I made sure to hit the gel before drinking the water. But then at the fourth aid station I forgot to take my electrolyte cap until after the water, forcing me to swallow the pill without anything to help wash it down. Every aid station after that went smoothly, however.
Around 6.5 miles all of the half-marathoners turned around while the full marathoners kept running straight ahead. Up until then the road had been packed with runners, but once past the half-marathon turn-around I suddenly found myself all alone! The vast majority were only doing the half! The course became pretty quiet, but I was feeling good. Things were going pretty well after the first hour of running, and in fact I was still on pace after two hours. I finally started feeling a bit tired around Mile 12, and I remember thinking that I wasn't even halfway done! But I kept running. A few times along the course Amanda was able to find a spectator spot and take a few photos of me - it was always nice to see her on the course.
Trouble finally caught up to me at Mile 17 - right at the mile marker as I checked my watch, my quads cramped up. I was bummed, but not terribly disappointed because the cramps weren't severe and I was able to keep running. However, I had to slow down a bit and every mile or so I had to take a 1/4 mile walking break to give my muscles a chance to recover a bit. Then at Mile 19 I hit the infamous wall. At least I suppose that's what the proverbial wall is supposed to feel like. I kept running, but I felt awful. I remember telling myself that I'll never run a marathon again, that I'll just stick to 5K's! My legs felt heavy, my head ached, and my vision became blurry. I pressed on.
At Mile 22 I suddenly felt great! Apparently I busted through that wall. I was still dog-tired but I was fairly comfortable and pain-free. For the first time since the cramps started I was able to run two miles non-stop. Then at Mile 24 my body's good mood started to wear off and I began to feel very fatigued. Not nearly as bad as I felt at Mile 19, though. Plus, I had just two miles to go and after all, what's a measly two miles to a marathoner? Well, they're pretty tough if they're the last two! The photo of me here was taken about 10 seconds before I crossed the finish line, and it's pretty clear how worn out I was even though I'm smiling (at least trying to smile) for the camera. My finishing time was 4:42. Not fast enough to beat my goal, but I was quite satisfied considering that spent nine miles dealing with cramps.
In retrospect I really enjoyed that race and I'm looking forward to running another marathon someday, and even my challenge to run a 50-mile race this year. You can certainly learn a lot about yourself during such epic events.
Amanda was at the finish line of course, but so were Mom and Dad! I had mentioned the race to them but I wasn't expecting them to be there. I wasn't able to be very entertaining - I could barely walk - but perhaps that was entertainment in itself! We walked over to the expo where there was some food, but I had zero appetite. I did say hi to Don Kern, the Grand Rapids Marathon director who ran this marathon - the 119th of his career! Just 117 to go for me to catch up, although I think he's at 121 by now. That guy is nuts. Then again, isn't that what my wife, my parents, and my in-laws all said about me for running a marathon in the first place?