Monday, May 31, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Great Harvest 5K: Race Recap
The 4th race in the Grand Prix series and 3rd for me.
3 hard workouts in the previous week with Paul M. leading up to this race which seemed to be a bit much for me.
Parked my car at the library and jogged the mile to the Piper Glen Shopper Center to get my # and chip. Ran back to the car for more warm up and ran into B-Mac with a new do!(rockin'). Warmed up a little with him and then I saw Paul with headphones on! He goes..."Stephen...I'm crankin' Bon Jovi!" Jon Bongiovi is from Sayerville (NJ) and I'm from Florham Park (NJ) so we got the Jersey connection and Paul is grew up about a mile from Motspur Park west of London (how cool is that?).
Make my way to the start and we got: Issacs, Compton, Shue, Kinley, C'Ford, and what really stood out for me was how strong the women's field looked (including but not limited to: Rogers, CaitCris, John, Walther and Nedlo...
Gun goes off (actually it was a guy from the bread company with the apron on who does the standard routine of "r, s, go!"...I had heard that the first mile was tough so I took it very conservative (maybe too as I hit 5:46), and then it hit me that I needed to start getting after it and press the pace.
I look over on the far side of the road and there is Megan Hovis and how can I resist not giving her a "High Five?" back on the gas as I move up from 45th to 9th place. After I passed Chad C., we quasi decide to work with each other(I think). Hit the 2nd mile in 5:29 (11:15). Made sure that I acknowledged every runner that I saw. Chad had a little more than me at the end. Nice race for him.
10th overall in 17:31...
Top 10 men: Kinley, Compton, Mainwaring, MacMahon, Harris, Issacs, Arreola, Crockford, Poindexter, Spada
Top 5 women: Nedlo, Chrisman, Rogers, Crockford, John
Ran back to the car and went home, had oatmeal and took my son back to the finish (we parked in the shopping center because I was dressed like a civilian and I did wonder if I was going to get a ticket). My son and I got muffins at Great Harvest (gotta support the sponsors) and then went to the awards. Mainwaring wondered what the heck I was doing there...
Got to talk to some of the usual suspects. John Compton gave me his whole race in detail and said he gave JoKin a battle for 2 miles and then tried to surge up a hill yet it was actually Jo that did the surgin'...I received a recap from Billy as well...
See you at the Tiger...
3 hard workouts in the previous week with Paul M. leading up to this race which seemed to be a bit much for me.
Parked my car at the library and jogged the mile to the Piper Glen Shopper Center to get my # and chip. Ran back to the car for more warm up and ran into B-Mac with a new do!(rockin'). Warmed up a little with him and then I saw Paul with headphones on! He goes..."Stephen...I'm crankin' Bon Jovi!" Jon Bongiovi is from Sayerville (NJ) and I'm from Florham Park (NJ) so we got the Jersey connection and Paul is grew up about a mile from Motspur Park west of London (how cool is that?).
Make my way to the start and we got: Issacs, Compton, Shue, Kinley, C'Ford, and what really stood out for me was how strong the women's field looked (including but not limited to: Rogers, CaitCris, John, Walther and Nedlo...
Gun goes off (actually it was a guy from the bread company with the apron on who does the standard routine of "r, s, go!"...I had heard that the first mile was tough so I took it very conservative (maybe too as I hit 5:46), and then it hit me that I needed to start getting after it and press the pace.
I look over on the far side of the road and there is Megan Hovis and how can I resist not giving her a "High Five?" back on the gas as I move up from 45th to 9th place. After I passed Chad C., we quasi decide to work with each other(I think). Hit the 2nd mile in 5:29 (11:15). Made sure that I acknowledged every runner that I saw. Chad had a little more than me at the end. Nice race for him.
10th overall in 17:31...
Top 10 men: Kinley, Compton, Mainwaring, MacMahon, Harris, Issacs, Arreola, Crockford, Poindexter, Spada
Top 5 women: Nedlo, Chrisman, Rogers, Crockford, John
Ran back to the car and went home, had oatmeal and took my son back to the finish (we parked in the shopping center because I was dressed like a civilian and I did wonder if I was going to get a ticket). My son and I got muffins at Great Harvest (gotta support the sponsors) and then went to the awards. Mainwaring wondered what the heck I was doing there...
Got to talk to some of the usual suspects. John Compton gave me his whole race in detail and said he gave JoKin a battle for 2 miles and then tried to surge up a hill yet it was actually Jo that did the surgin'...I received a recap from Billy as well...
See you at the Tiger...
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Ritzenhein sets AR for 5000 meters!
I know that this happened in August of '09 (Zurich) and as I was watching it today during lunch, the last 2 laps had me in tears! The way in which Dathan ran his last 5 laps faster than everyone in that high class field was captured brilliantly by the announcer, Tim Hutchings (one of my favorites). If it is inspiration that you seek, check out the video of this race on "you tube" by simply googling "Dathan Ritzenhein"...enjoy!
Speaking of great races with phenomenal finishes, check out the final of the men's 10,000m from Sydney (2000). I have it on tape from Bud Greenspan's collection and I never get tired of it!
While checking out my e-mail messages this morning after a fabulous 11 mile Miner's Run with the crue (Motley), I received a nice follow up e-mail from Weldon Johnson (of Let's run.com fame)...very cool!
Hat's off to Solinsky, Eaton, Derrick, Gay, Blood, Acosta and everyone else who has preformed so well recently...
Speaking of great races with phenomenal finishes, check out the final of the men's 10,000m from Sydney (2000). I have it on tape from Bud Greenspan's collection and I never get tired of it!
While checking out my e-mail messages this morning after a fabulous 11 mile Miner's Run with the crue (Motley), I received a nice follow up e-mail from Weldon Johnson (of Let's run.com fame)...very cool!
Hat's off to Solinsky, Eaton, Derrick, Gay, Blood, Acosta and everyone else who has preformed so well recently...
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Tempo @ Micky D's...
Check this out! Overslept, got up at 6:20am and made it to McAlpine at 6:29am (God's honest truth!), Aaron, AJ and Paul were gracious enough to wait for me. I did a couple of small loops around the parking lot (warm up?) and then we were off!
6 miles in 34:49 and then a 1 mile recovery and then a mile in 5:39 and I was back at my car. The workout was awesome. We all got out well and then Paul made a break from us at around 2, and Aaron was nice enough to hang around me, then he put a gap on me and I was able to get back to him and I kept going past him and made it to the turnaround and then stayed strong to the 2 mile mark (6 miles in 34:49 and 34:13 for Paul I believe), and Aaron was just a tick behind me. A 1 mile recovery followed and then 1 mile back to the lot in 5:39 and Paul was there at the finish to cheer me in, and I turned around and there was Aaron. It was nice that Aaron and AJ came out and joined us. I'll do just an easy 8 at McAlpine tomorrow morning because we're getting after it on Monday...
6 miles in 34:49 and then a 1 mile recovery and then a mile in 5:39 and I was back at my car. The workout was awesome. We all got out well and then Paul made a break from us at around 2, and Aaron was nice enough to hang around me, then he put a gap on me and I was able to get back to him and I kept going past him and made it to the turnaround and then stayed strong to the 2 mile mark (6 miles in 34:49 and 34:13 for Paul I believe), and Aaron was just a tick behind me. A 1 mile recovery followed and then 1 mile back to the lot in 5:39 and Paul was there at the finish to cheer me in, and I turned around and there was Aaron. It was nice that Aaron and AJ came out and joined us. I'll do just an easy 8 at McAlpine tomorrow morning because we're getting after it on Monday...
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
RMFY Twilight 5K Race Recap
This was the 3rd race in the RFYL Grand Prix series and 2nd for me.
I parked at the Dowd Y so that I could make my break after the race (mother in law in town). I ran the mile over to packet pickup on Tyron (bib and chip), and then went outside to meet Billy for our warm up. No Billy, no worries. I ran the course easy and felt ok. Actually, I was really tired from the day and the week. And that was fine.
Although it was a night race and I always run at 5:30am, there was electricity in the air and on the streets of uptown Charlotte last Friday night!
It was a different cast of characters from Skyline...and no short on talent. Maybe a top 10? Steve Shonts (50) said something to me about what Masters were there (uh, my mindset is overall). I spotted Kinley, Paul, Aaron and Brian on the sidelines, and scores more getting ready to get after it. I felt confident and fit (albeit tired). When I saw Paul, he was giddy (and it was because there was a Budic sighting) and he had his flats on! Purser and Shue, Rogers and Bor...
After the baby joggers went off, I went over to Tim Rhodes (sponsor) and thanked him as I always try to do. 2 signs of the cross and the gun went off!
The first mile was flat and straight and into a head wind and I failed to latch on to the pack in front of me. It simply was not my pace. All of the runners of similar ability were in that pack and I saw Budic just hangin' out! I was working hard and breathing heavy and with a good attitude. When Budic left the pack, I started to work my way up. One by one, I started going by each one of those pack members. Froelick, Purser, Shue, Arreola, etc. and going after Budic. This took me all the way to past the 2nd mile.
First mile was 5:31 and the 2nd mile was 5:29 as I hit the 2 mile mark at 11 minutes. That was ok, however, we still had that 3rd mile to contend with.
From the gun I could feel that my form just wasn't relaxed and it really became accentuated during the 3rd mile. Going up the hill during that 3rd mile, Lat went by me (which usually doesn't happen), and I went with him a little bit and not really (he would finish 3 seconds in front of me).
As I made the left hand turn for the long straight for the finish, the crowd support was fantastic and yet I thought that they could not all be cheering for me. Sure enough, Alejandro was trying to catch me and on this night I would have none of that. He was extremely gracious afterwards.
Although the race started at 7pm, I made it HOME by 7:44pm! Quick shower and a nice dinner with the family. Well of course I kept checking my BlackBerry to see the results (I've resigned myself to the fact that no one is going to call me...Ha!). Top 10?...I was hoping...10th overall @ 17:23!
Top 10 (men): 1- Kinley (sock God), 2- Bender (Kinley would have none of that), 3- Bailey, 4- Mainwaring (training partner), 5- Askey, 6- Isaacs, 7- Harris, 8- Budic (workout guru), 9- Purser (got me), 10- Spada (hangin' on)
Top 5 (women): 1- Rogers, 2- Walther, 3- Mercer, 4- Bakaltcheva, 5- John
1,900 runners...good turnout.
See you at GH...
I parked at the Dowd Y so that I could make my break after the race (mother in law in town). I ran the mile over to packet pickup on Tyron (bib and chip), and then went outside to meet Billy for our warm up. No Billy, no worries. I ran the course easy and felt ok. Actually, I was really tired from the day and the week. And that was fine.
Although it was a night race and I always run at 5:30am, there was electricity in the air and on the streets of uptown Charlotte last Friday night!
It was a different cast of characters from Skyline...and no short on talent. Maybe a top 10? Steve Shonts (50) said something to me about what Masters were there (uh, my mindset is overall). I spotted Kinley, Paul, Aaron and Brian on the sidelines, and scores more getting ready to get after it. I felt confident and fit (albeit tired). When I saw Paul, he was giddy (and it was because there was a Budic sighting) and he had his flats on! Purser and Shue, Rogers and Bor...
After the baby joggers went off, I went over to Tim Rhodes (sponsor) and thanked him as I always try to do. 2 signs of the cross and the gun went off!
The first mile was flat and straight and into a head wind and I failed to latch on to the pack in front of me. It simply was not my pace. All of the runners of similar ability were in that pack and I saw Budic just hangin' out! I was working hard and breathing heavy and with a good attitude. When Budic left the pack, I started to work my way up. One by one, I started going by each one of those pack members. Froelick, Purser, Shue, Arreola, etc. and going after Budic. This took me all the way to past the 2nd mile.
First mile was 5:31 and the 2nd mile was 5:29 as I hit the 2 mile mark at 11 minutes. That was ok, however, we still had that 3rd mile to contend with.
From the gun I could feel that my form just wasn't relaxed and it really became accentuated during the 3rd mile. Going up the hill during that 3rd mile, Lat went by me (which usually doesn't happen), and I went with him a little bit and not really (he would finish 3 seconds in front of me).
As I made the left hand turn for the long straight for the finish, the crowd support was fantastic and yet I thought that they could not all be cheering for me. Sure enough, Alejandro was trying to catch me and on this night I would have none of that. He was extremely gracious afterwards.
Although the race started at 7pm, I made it HOME by 7:44pm! Quick shower and a nice dinner with the family. Well of course I kept checking my BlackBerry to see the results (I've resigned myself to the fact that no one is going to call me...Ha!). Top 10?...I was hoping...10th overall @ 17:23!
Top 10 (men): 1- Kinley (sock God), 2- Bender (Kinley would have none of that), 3- Bailey, 4- Mainwaring (training partner), 5- Askey, 6- Isaacs, 7- Harris, 8- Budic (workout guru), 9- Purser (got me), 10- Spada (hangin' on)
Top 5 (women): 1- Rogers, 2- Walther, 3- Mercer, 4- Bakaltcheva, 5- John
1,900 runners...good turnout.
See you at GH...
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
"It was carnage!"
| ||||||
Monday, May 3, 2010
That was tough!
The following workout on Saturday came from Paul (by way of Tim Budic):
I ran 2 miles on my own and then met Paul, Billy and AJ (first workout with AJ) at McAlpine for a tough one! Another mile and a half warm up and then a 3 miler that I did in 17 minutes on the dot (and it was pretty close to all out/very hard) as I was 10-12 seconds back of Paul (no complaints there), and then an 800 meter recovery which I needed all of, and then a mile in 5:30, followed by another 800 meter recovery (again, I needed all of it), and finally another mile in 5:40 and then a mile back to the car (the girls were getting their hair done for the 1st communion mass). Very pleased with the effort, disappointed with the second mile that was 10 seconds slower than the previous, and very pleased with my assertiveness on the 3 mile tempo. Overall I give it a solid B! Great to have the guys out to share the pain with...
I ran 2 miles on my own and then met Paul, Billy and AJ (first workout with AJ) at McAlpine for a tough one! Another mile and a half warm up and then a 3 miler that I did in 17 minutes on the dot (and it was pretty close to all out/very hard) as I was 10-12 seconds back of Paul (no complaints there), and then an 800 meter recovery which I needed all of, and then a mile in 5:30, followed by another 800 meter recovery (again, I needed all of it), and finally another mile in 5:40 and then a mile back to the car (the girls were getting their hair done for the 1st communion mass). Very pleased with the effort, disappointed with the second mile that was 10 seconds slower than the previous, and very pleased with my assertiveness on the 3 mile tempo. Overall I give it a solid B! Great to have the guys out to share the pain with...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)