26 posts tagged “running”

Woke up around 5:30am on my own, not by an alarm clock. That is happening more and more as I get older. I asked Doreen if she wanted to go to the race this morning. I didn't expect her to say yes because it was so early. However, she wanted to go. We were up and on the road a little after 6:00am.

We drove down using Doreen's parents GPS. It worked well, but I still like our original one. I went for a quick 1.5 mile warm up run and then waited for the start. This friendly guy talked a bit, saying his son-in-law is the race director. He said he would see me at mile two, at what he called "heart break hill."  Oh boy. I said I hope to see him between 13 and 14 minutes. He said he was going to give out the time as runners went by.

I lined up quite a bit from the back. The start was a little slow. I started to pass people. It was a much larger race than the last few I have been in. The Unity 5K had 76 people, the Brunswick 5K had 158, and the Gardiner 5 Miler had 56. This one had 270. After I got home, I loaded the race information my Garmin recorded into a program to give me elevation changes. The course had two nice big hills. One in the beginning, and the next one in the end. Even though mile one had a nice incline, it also had some down hills, making the entire mile lose 44 feet in elevation. I finished mile one in 6:42. My goal was sub 21 minutes, around 6:44 pace, so I thought I was doing good.

Mile two had such a huge hill! (How huge was it?) It started at the end of mile one, but didn't end until the beginning of mile two. I thought the volunteer was going to be positioned at the top of the hill. However, he was right in the middle of it. He called the two mile split and said it was 13:35. My Garmin indicated I covered mile two in 6:49 - so I recorded the two mile split as 13:31.

I wasn't too happy with the mile two split giver volunteer, thinking he ought to have been at the top of the hill, but he was at the two mile point so now that I am thinking more clearly it wasn't really his fault. According to my Garmin, mile three lost 126 feet, and the last .1 miles gained 47 feet. I am not sure about the numbers. The total net loss of 79 feet (126 - 47) is probably right, but I think mile three didn't have that much down hill, nor did the last .1 mile have that much up hill. My Garmin reads 6:55 for mile three and 42 seconds for the last tenth of a mile.

The total comes to a sort of aggravating 21:08. I would much rather see less than 21 minutes, but this course had those tough up hills. I think a flatter course would give me 20:40 or less without much difficulty.

Here are the results of the race: http://www.mainetrackclub.com/moxie08.html

I hope my next race will be the Breakaway 5K in Old Orchard Beach. I have not run that one, but it is advertised as fast!

Thanks for reading.

Today was the 29th time the Gardiner 5 Mile road race was held. I have done it every year since 2002, so this is my sixth time. I am not in PR shape, but wanted a challenge/plan that would make it interesting. Here was the plan: Run mile one in 7:30; mile two in 7:25; three - 7:20; mile four 7:15; and the last mile in 7:10. I added up all those times, and the total comes to 36:40. My time actually ended up being 36:37! Sounds pretty good, but the mile splits were not what I was shooting for.

I started close to the front, even though the first mile was supposed to be the slowest. During the first 1/4 or so mile, I kept checking my Garmin for the pace. It read between 6:30 and 7:00 minutes per mile: so much for my plan. The problem I had was getting passed by many people! It got to the point I felt very few people were behind me. By the middle of the first mile, though, I started to pass people.  I slowed up a bit, finishing mile one in 7:15 -- 15 seconds faster than my goal. I should not have started so close to the front.

Mile one was mostly over gravel roads. Mile two starts where the gravel ends, and is pretty straight - down past Quimby field (where Little League to Babe Ruth baseball is played.) I felt good and continued to pass (or re-pass) runners. My goal was to run mile two in 7:25 - getting there in 14:55. Mile two was actually covered in 7:09, and the time read 14:24; too fast by 34 seconds.

Mile three was pretty much the same. I still felt strong, and continued to run hard. By this time the field was spread out. There was no one left to pass. The race is two loops - each 2.5 miles long. In the middle of mile three the first loop ends. I ran strong, not taking the offered water. I kept running and arrived at mile three with a time of 21:27, for a mile split of 7:03. My goal was to get to mile three in 22:15, covering that mile in 7:20.

I am sure everyone knows what is coming. My plan/goal was to finish this race in 36:40. I finished the race in 36:37. However, at the end of mile three I was 48 seconds faster than I planned to be. Well, mile four was the culprit. I slowed during this mile. Somewhere around 3.25 to 3.5 miles a fellow pulled up next to me. He was a guy that looked to be real fast, and I think he was taking it easy. I decided to run with him. After 100 to 200 yards, I checked my Garmin and it read 5:50 something pace. I think he sped up. It wiped me out. I said "thanks - good job" and slowed up. He said "thank you" and kept running. (We are polite!) At the end of mile four the time was 29:05. Even though part of that mile was spent at sub six minute pace, I covered the whole thing in 7:38. My plan was to finish mile four in 29:30, so I still was ahead of my plan - by 25 seconds now.

One mile to go, and it went by in 7:32, to get me to the end in 36:37 - three seconds faster than planned. It would be interesting to see how much I would have had left for the last couple miles in I had run as I set out to do. Maybe someday I will figure it out, but I could not do it in this race.

Thanks for reading. I am not really sure when my next race will be.

Good running all.

Results: http://www.coolrunning.com/bin/res_load/res_print.cgi?r=08/me/Jun21_Gardin_set1.shtml

20:51 was the time of today's race. I am happy. The last race was 21:01 at the Unity College Spring 5K April 19. It is only ten seconds faster, but 20:51 sounds a lot better than 21:01.

I got in line to pick up my race packet. The lady handed it to me and said, "Did you get such a low number because you are fast?" My bib number turned out to be "2."  I explained it was probably because I was registered early, but thought she made a funny joke. Thanks Troy - this was the last of the races you got me for Christmas last year. The other ones were the 10 Mile Mid Winter Classic Cape Elizabeth February 3 and the Portland Irish Road Rover 5K March 9.

I found a corner in the large room where registration was happening, and pinned the bib on my shirt. A couple minutes later, a fellow racer asked, "Did you come in second place last year?" Ho! Ho! Thanks buddy! I thought. That was one happy moment. I must look fast! Hee Hee. I explained how my brother registered me for this race as a Christmas present, and thought I was probably the second person to register, but definitely will not be the second person to finish.

I then went for a 13-minute run to warm up. Not on purpose, but that was the number of minutes it ended up being. It was a rainy day. I lined up to start the race. A fellow made a witty pre-race speech, a neat bagpipe band played a song, and the race started with a cop car speeding off with its siren blasting. The Brunswick Police Department organized the race, honoring police forces everywhere.

My goal was to run 20:59 or better - which was around 6:45 pace. My plan was to run hard, speed up if I noticed my Garmin showed a slower than 6:45 pace, and slow up if I saw something faster than 6:45. More often I had to pick the pace up. A few times I saw 6:30's, but felt good so kept running hard.

Mile one went by in 6:48. Mile two was 6:41. Mile three - 6:47. The last .1 miles were in 35 seconds. Covering 3.1 miles in 20:51 comes out to just under 6:44 minutes per mile. I am happy, and hope to get faster at upcoming races.

Here is the link to the results: http://www.mainetrackclub.com/hotpursuit08.html. I came in first place in my age group. Unfortunately, I left before the rewards were given out. I wish I had not left. I find it discouraging when winners do not hang around to claim their recognition.

Thanks for reading. My next race is June 21, the Gardiner 5 Mile Road Race.

Lots of crazy stuff happened before this 5K. I emailed Troy a few of the details as they were happening. He said he would tell "his version" of the pre-race story if I didn't. So, to spoil Troy's fun, here it is  :)

The week before this 5K, I made an unexpected trip for work. From Sunday April 13 to Thursday April 17 I was in Broomfield, Colorado. It is very close to Denver. I took a class about a new software package I will be using at work.

I  was looking forward to running out there. The elevation is around 6,000 feet. My normal runs are around 200 feet. However, I wasn't able to do much other than go to class. Not too busy, just exhausted. First, Steven had a function at school Friday before my flight. After the play/talent show that we all went to, Steven went to a cast party. He was supposed to be home between 10:00pm and 11:00pm, but got lost on his way home! He should have had the gps. He kept calling the house giving landmarks, and hoping we would recognize where he was. I kept telling him to turn left. I was half asleep giving this "great" fatherly advice. He made it home around 1:00am or so. Needless to say Doreen, Steven, or I did not get much sleep that night.

Then the next day's flight to Colorado:  I made it from Portland to Chicago without issue. However, the 188 seat plane from Chicago to Denver was switched to a 122 seat plane. Sixty people got bumped, and I was one of them. I was supposed to get to the Colorado hotel Sunday 6:00pm Denver time, but didn't arrive until Monday 2:00am Denver time. Two short sleeping nights wiped me out.

One thing I will say, the trip back April 17 was great. The Denver to NYC/Laguardia being one of the best flights I have ever been on. So there is the "pre race" story. It is complete, and anything Troy adds would just be his interesting sense of humor!

______________

I was curious to see how the trip to Colorado impacted this race. Would "sleep deprivation" and altitude training be a secret weapon to get great race times? I am not sure. I think I did very well, but not better than expected.

Doreen and I arrived in Unity a little after 8:00am. Mom and Dad were already there. Dad and I registered and started to warm up. As we were warming up we saw a strange site. A modified canoe was being pushed up a hill. It was modified with two wheels in the back, and a bicycle wheel and handlebars in the front. A college age lady was steering in the front. And one college age guy was struggling pushing it up the hill. Being helpful Dad and I zoomed up and helped push the canoe up the hill. That was a good workout. The college was having a "whatever-recycle-race" later that day, and the interesting canoe was in it.

The race started at 9:30am. I wanted to run hard, but conservative. I didn't want to blow up. I accomplished that goal. The first mile was covered in 6:38. My average heart rate was 166. Mile two came and went in 6:58, with an average heart rate of 181. Numbers for the last full mile (three): 6:52 and 184. The final .1 miles were covered in 33 seconds - a 5:30 pace and 187 AHR.

The total race was 21:01 for a 6:47 mile pace. My average heart rate was 180, and the highest it got was 188.

To improve I need to stop eating so much junk food, and start doing 5 X 1000K reps at 4:20 to 4:25 with one to two minute recovery.

Results are here http://www.unity.edu/NewsEvents/News/CakeWins08.aspx. Dad finished in an impressive 27:11.

This is the second slowest 5K I have run since I started in 2001. It was a nice effort though. The first mile was 7:21 with an average heart rate of 164. Mile two was also 7:21, and the heart rate went up to 184. I was able to speed up for mile three, doing that one in 7:18. Average heart rate was 188. Kind of funny: I thought that was my maximum heart rate!  My Garmin measured .152 miles to finish the race. I covered that in 1:04 (7:18 pace), and averaged 189 beats per minute. I feel good about being able to get my heart rate to that level, with out, well, dying  ...

It was a well run event. Lots of people in the race. I think I read over 600 were signed up. The results are not on-line yet. I lined up pretty well, not having to dodge too many at the start. Going up hills I noticed the pace on my Garmin read close to 8:00 minute miles a few times. One time, hurtling down a hill, I saw 5:55! I was able to pass people quite a bit. I ran about as hard as I could. Maybe a little left on the course, but not much.

Anyway ... the final time was an embarrassing 23:01. I say embarrassing, not because that is a horrible time, but last summer I ran several 20:xx, 5K's. It was very cold today, plus I am getting over a pretty bad head cold. I think if I run that effort in a couple months, I will be two or three minutes faster! That's my hope anyway.

Here's a picture I found. It's not pretty, but no one ever said running was!

Painful

One hour to kickoff! The New England Patriots play the New York Giants in Superbowl 42 in one hour. I hope they have a better game than I raced today. It wasn't bad, but I am not as fit as I was last October when I ran a half marathon.

Today I ran the Cape Elizabeth 10 Mile Mid Winter Classic. I ran it in 2005 where I set my 10 mile Pr of 1:15:09. My goal today was too optimistic. I thought I would try to beat 1:15:09, which would be a 7:30 or better pace. I raced a half marathon (13.1 miles) last October and ended up running a pace of 7:29.7709, so I thought maybe....

I started OK. Mile one was 7:25. It did not feel bad either. My heart rate shot up though. I have not been pushing my heart rate in training the last few weeks. At the end of long runs, I have been pushing and getting it to 165, my goal heart rate for this race. I need to run 4 to 5 miles at the pace consistently though, not just the two miles I have been running.

Mile two was 7:31. Still not bad. There were a lot of up hills in this race. I would not call it easy. It is more difficult than the October half marathon. Taking a look at the splits over the next three miles would make you think things were going fairly well: mile 3 - 7:36; mile 4 - 7:33; and mile 5 - 7:35. At five miles I had been running for 37:40. To meet my goal I would have to run the next five miles in 37:29.

Hmm.. maybe I should have tried harder. Funny how math works. I didn't realize I was that close. I remember seeing 37 minutes and something, and thinking I should be closer to 35 minutes. Oh well, I packed it in after five miles and ran the following: mile 6 - 8:18; mile 7 - 8:00; mile 8 - 8:21; mile 9 - 8:15; and mile 10 - 7:50. My Garmin actually had another 82 feet that it said I covered in 5.94 seconds. It comes out to a 6:23 pace - I would be excited to have that as a 5k pace.

I finished this race in 1:18:35 (7:51 pace). The first five miles were 37:40 (7:32 pace). The last five miles were 40:49 (8:10 pace)

My main goal this winter/spring is to run a 5K in 19:59 or better. Packing it in, and having something for another day was a good call. I feel I didn't hurt anything, and actually think the run was a nice tempo run, and a nice workout that will help me get the 19:59 or better 5K.

I wish the team that was on the shirt I was wearing was in the Superbowl. (Can you make it out?)  I am going to jinx a team, by making a prediction: I hope the Patriots win!!!!

10miler

Thanks Troy, Diane, Emma, and Griffen for the first Christmas gift race of 2008. The next one, and my next race, is the Irish Road Rover 5K, March 9!

Sunday, November 4, I ran the Manchester City Half Marathon. This is the first non-Maine race I have run since starting this blog.

It was a very interesting race. I finished in 1:48:32 (8:17 pace), ten minutes slower than my last half marathon one month ago. It had more hills than the October race, I gained a few pounds since then, and have not run as much. However, I "sand-bagged" a lot of this race. I had a “good time” in the sense that it was fun, but I could have run faster.

Dad also ran this race. I started with Dad, and toyed with the idea of running the whole race with him. He encouraged me to run it on my own. I stayed with him for the first mile or so. We covered it in 9:36. Dad said his ultimate goal was two hours, and if the whole 13.1 miles were run at the pace we covered mile one, the time would be 2:05:45. Dad ended the race in 2:16:20 for a 10:25 pace.

The first mile was fun. Troy got a few nice pictures of Dad and me together. Hopefully I can get a couple and post them, or maybe Troy will post them on his VOX page – hint hint :)

I thought the rest of the race was fascinating. I arrived at mile two at 17:51, passing quite a few people. It took 8:15 to cover mile two. Most people were running around 9:00 minute miles over the first two. I seemed to cruise by people until mile six. Here are interesting numbers:

Mile, Time I covered it, Average pace of other runners at that point

 1, 9:36, 9:36

Getting the elbow

 2, 8:15, 8:56

 3, 8:04, 8:38

 4, 7:54, 8:27

 5, 8:18, 8:25

 6, 7:35, 8:17

 7, 8:33, 8:19

 8, 8:03, 8:17

 9, 8:23, 8:18

Try'n to look pretty at mile 9

What you really looked like at mile 9

10, 7:57, 8:16

11, 8:10, 8:15

12, 8:28, 8:16

13, 7:56, 8:15

Dean's finish

Dean's flash-like finish

Mile seven was the first mile I ran slower than others. I was passing people every mile except seven, nine, and twelve! I like my Garmin Forerunner 305 watch, and the information it provides.

My next race will not be until next year!

Sunday, October 7, 2007 I ran the Sportshoe Center Maine Half Marathon (13.1 miles). It is the second half I have run. The first was five years ago in St John, Canada. I have been training fairly hard - see http://dhartley86.vox.com/library/post/year-to-date-training.html - and thought I was good for a nice time.

My three tier goals were 1) be satisfied to run faster than I did in that first half marathon in St. John, Canada (1:44:15). 2) be happy to get a 1:39:59 or better. 3) The final, ultimate, but perhaps slightly out of reach goal is to run faster than 7:30 minutes per mile (1:38:15.)

The couple days before the race were busy. Doreen and I took Friday as a vacation day, and got ready for the annual “Hartley Birthday Bash." There are many birthdays to celebrate at the end of September and beginning of October: Doreen, Steven, Emma, and Troy. Even Diane, whose birthday is in August, was given a birthday card. Griffin also got a gift, being lucky enough to be under five years old, and gets gifts just because he is so cute. To make things even more entertaining (and tricky to manage gasto-intestinal wise so close to a 13.1 mile race), we did our annual apple cider pressing day.

Everything went well at the birthday/cider pressing party Saturday, and Sunday, Dad and I made it to Portland for the half marathon with time to spare. We did a quick five to ten minute warm up, got in line, and the race started with a startling cannon bang KABOOM!!

I wanted to run 7:30 pace or better right off the start, trying for my aggressive goal of running 7:29 or better miles. I told myself not to be upset if I start slow, though. The first mile was not bad. I was able to run unhampered by slow starters, scooting around a few, and being past by some. It went by in 7:36. A little slow, and to be honest I felt a little anxious about getting the aggressive goal.

I did not want to give up though, so pushed harder in mile two, hoping things would click. This is an out-and-back course, and the first and last two miles are around the “Back Cove.” I ran the marathon (26.2 miles) back in 2003, and remember how horrible it was running the last 15 – 20 minutes of the race looking out over the cove. It was depressing! This time I purposely kept looking out over the water, seeing as far as I could, telling myself “get use to this view. You are going to see it again a little over an hour from now. It ain’t going to look so pretty!”

Mile two went by in 7:21, and I was feeling stronger and better than mile one. Doing the mind game of looking over the water helped. Made me feel I was doing something to prepare for the end of the race. The next few miles were good: mile 3 - 7:32, mile 4 - 7:20, mile 5 - 7:22, and mile 6 - 7:35. I made it to mile six in 44 minutes 45 seconds. I felt like things were going well.

Some how I had shaken off the first couple of mile blues – the feeling that made me worry how well this race was going to go. I felt confident I could run the rest of the race at the same, or better pace. I pushed and ran the next several miles pretty fast (for me): mile 7 – 7:14, mile 8 – 7:29, mile 9 – 7:17, mile 10 – 7:25, and mile 11 – 7:25.

The only part of the race left now was the loop around Back Cove. Running a half marathon is much easier than running a marathon. I felt strong and had a lot of fun finishing this race. I ran very hard, and actually had an “I could have run this thing a lot harder” feeling at the end. Mile 12 was 7:14 and mile 13 was 7:16.

OK, now for a couple questions: First, did I achieve my ultimate goal of running the race at better than 7:29 pace? That would mean I would have to run the whole thing in 1 hour, 38 minutes, and 15 seconds – or less! When I stopped my watch, it read 1:38:19! Bummer – four seconds too slow. That comes out to exactly a 7:30 pace. The time on the course read 1 hour, 38 minutes, and over 30 seconds! No good. However, the chip time in the results (found here http://www.coolrunning.com/results/07/me/Oct7_Sports_set1.shtml) has 1:38:12 for a 7:29.7709 pace! Yes, I am going to say I obtained my aggressive goal – mission accomplished! (just barely)

Now for the second question, how did Dad do? He absolutely killed me this time. I finished in 135^th place (of 1,362 runners), 18 out of 40 in my 40 to 45 year old age group. Dad came in an outstanding time of 1:31:08 gun time (6:58 pace), 1:30:04  net time (6:52 pace). That was good for 63^rd place, and first of 13 in his age group! All I will say is congratulations Dad – good job! Next time you talk to him, ask him about this race J

I may run the Manchester City Half Marathon Sunday November 4. Not sure though – if not then the next race won’t be until April 2008!

Good running all.

20071007Halfmarathon

Note - my bib number 1038 was sort of my time 1:38!

I am a little late writing up this race report. Last Sunday I ran the Portland Trails 10K, but then went to a "Building GeoDatabase" course for work in Massachusetts. I think the title of the course sounds about as exciting as the actual course - pretty dry.

The race was a good one for me. I set a PR! I have had a good 2007 - setting a 5 mile PR, a 15K PR, and now this 10K. The 15K was the first one I had ever done, so that was easy. I have done a few 5 mile and 10 K road races though.

Portland has a pretty nice trail system in the fairly large city. Check them out here: www.trails.org.

PortlandTrails10K

1 comment

The next race is October 7, 2007 the "Sportshoe Center Maine Half-Marathon" http://www.mainemarathon.com/

Thanks for reading! I hope all is well.