Soaked in Sweat: A 5K Dynasty

[RPI-Fan]

Originally Posted by larrymcg421

Thanks, hoops! Yeah, I was so happy with that result. It was way beyond anything I had expected.

I'm doing mostly speed workouts this week since my next race is a 5K. This weekend I will be spending at a cabin in the North Georgia mountains with some friends. Plenty of nice places to run up there, but I've never run at altitude that high before, so it'll be interesting.

Not sure exactly what your elevation is, but since the highest peak in Georgia is on the order of 4,500 feet, I'd imagine you're staying below 3,000 feet. The effect on your exercise abilities should be negligible. See, e.g., Altitude.org | Football: FIFA World Cup 2010 (altitude exercise capacity at 4,000 feet is 97%).

[larrymcg421]

I've tried some different apps, including Endomondo, but the one I really like the most lately is Runkeeper. It has a nice variety of options, including the ability to set up a complex interval workout and to give you splits at more precise distances. The distance measuring seems to be better than MapMyRun. I will test it out on this week's 5K and if the distance is close to accurate, then I will dump MMR and use Runkeeper exclusively.

[larrymcg421]

Haunted Hustle 5K is tomorrow. Really excited for this one. The course is three flat one mile loops, mostly on grass. I'll be going out really aggressively and aiming for a sub 27 minute time.

The crazy thing is I'll actually be doing another 5K the very next day, the Aids Atlanta Walk and 5K Run. However that is a charity walk/run so I can jog that if need be. I'll be putting all my effort into the Haunted Hustle.

[larrymcg421]

October 15, 2011
Race Day
Haunted Hustle 5K

This was a really nice course, mostly flat as advertised and had a mixture of grass or dirt gravel paths. It was a nice change of pace from pounding the pavement.

I went out really aggressive as planned and crossed the first mile at 8:05. At that point I picked a couple people out that looked like they were running a nice even pace. I tried to stick with them as long as I could. My 2nd mile time was 16:37, more than a minute faster than my previous 2 mile time. I had a hard time holding on to them at the third mile and they eventually pulled away. This last mile was pretty painful, probably because I went out a bit too fast but I tried to hold on as best I could. When I hit the final straightaway and could see the clock reading 25:45, I found a final bit of energy and sprinted to the finish. Final time: 25:58!

I took more than two minutes off my previous 5K best!

Raw data:

Distance: 3.1 miles
Time: 25:58
Avg. Pace: 8:20 min/mi
Avg. Speed: 7.20 mph

[Dodgerchick]

That's freaking awesome Larry! You go with your bad self

[larrymcg421]

In preparation for my 10 mile race, I did a practice run on Saturday of 9.23 miles:

Distance: 9.23
Time: 1:31:38
Pace: 9:56 min/mi
Avg Speed: 6.04 mph

That's much much slower than I'm hoping to go in the race, but at least I managed to make the distance without stopping once. Also, it was a very hilly route, much more so than the course I'll be racing on Saturday. I'll do a couple days of speed work on Tuesday and Wednesday and then rest up for Saturday.

[larrymcg421]

Saturday, November 5th, 2011
Race Day
Run Around the Rock (10 Mile)

So this was a really difficult race. It is two 5 mile laps around Stone Mountain. I went out trying to maintain a 9 minute pace, but midway through the 3rd mile I had a really bad stitch in my side and an awful shoulder cramp. This slowed me down immensely and it just so happened to be right when the toughest hill was. The stitch and cramp eventually went away but it really slowed me down. For a while, I wasn't sure I'd be able to finish, but ironically I felt better during the second lap than I did on the first. I crossed the finish line for a time of 1:37:24. It's not as fast as I wanted, but it's the longest race I've done and I'm happy enough to have simply finished it.

Distance: 10 miles
Time: 1:37:24
Pace: 9:44/mi

Mile splits:

8:59

8:59

10:27

9:17

9:58

10:02

9:33

10:17

9:14

9:38

[Blackadar]

Resurrection!

I still hate running, but it's a necessary part of my workouts, so I'm back to it now that Spring is here. I ran my first 5ks last year (two of 'em) and I'm shooting for my first at the end of May of this year. Running is painful and boring to me. But I may have a secret weapon this year.

ZOMBIES, RUN!

It's an IPhone app that tells you a story as you run. I gave this a go for the first time this morning. It's dark, 5:20 AM and I'm let loose in a zombie filled city. That's a bit eerie for a zombie app.

So what is it?

I don't want to reveal much of the story, but you're a "runner" for a walled off compound in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. Well, the app tells you the start of story and gets you moving. Then, usually after the end of a song, it tells you a little more of that story. Along the way, you'll pick up stuff - everything from a first aid kit to a sports bra (really?!?) - that you can use in the "town building" minigame after the run is over. The story is enough to get my mind off the agony of running for a bit, and the overall run seemed to pass faster even though I went a bit further than normal. It's very well done with high production values and sound effects.

Also, there's an option for a "zombie chase", which happened twice on my run. You have to pick up the pace or the zombies catch you - the penalty for which is losing your stuff. The first time I didn't know what to do, so I lost everything. The next time I kicked up the pace for 30 seconds and managed to evade the brain-eaters.

Ok, what I didn't like:

1. No shuffle option on the playlist. I shuffled it before I started the zombie app, so maybe I need to do that after I start the zombie app.

2. My songs were quiet. There was a noticeable difference in the volume between the songs and the app. Not sure why, but it was a bit irritating.

3. No run map after it was done. It said I did 2.98 miles in around 30 minutes, but I don't quite believe it and the GPS in the IPhone isn't reliable. IMap at least shows the path you took, so you know if the GPS went a bit haywire.

My next run probably won't be until next week - the lows here are projected to be in the high 30s (which coincides with my run times) the next few days and that's too damn cold to run. Today was about my cold limit (47 degrees), so I need it to warm back up again before I get back out there. But there's a little voice nagging me right now saying, "you can deal with 38 degrees Thursday morning, lets find out where this story goes". I guess that's a good thing.

[Blackadar]

I don't think anyone is reading this anymore, but so be it.

I only got to run 3 times or so and then my 12 year old son saw a banner for a 5k in our local town - sponsored by the YMCA. He wanted to do it. So, with little to no running done this spring, I headed out to a 5k last weekend. Just like all the other 5ks, it was painful. But I managed to break 30 minutes for the first time (29:12) and so I was quite happy with that performance. I figured I wouldn't beat my times from last year, so that was a bit of a shocker.

Oh, and my 12 year old? 26:55. Man, it sucks getting old.

We're both signed up for another at the end of May, which gives me 4 weeks to actually do a bit of training before I do it again. I won't be able to beat my son, but I'd be happy with beating 30 minutes again.

[Blackadar]

Did another 5k today. 27:22. I was astounded that I managed to run at that pace.

[hoopsguy]

Nice job, Blackadar. Almost 2 minutes better from last time seems like a pretty massive jump.

[Kodos]

I should really try to get into running again. Would probably help me break out of being stuck at 196 to 198 pounds, and would also give me some much-needed competition in my life.

[larrymcg421]

Congrats on your success, Blackadar.

Sorry I haven't written here in a while. The combination of school+work, then an injury, then dealing with the stress of unemployment, then full time schoolwork added up to not very much training over the last few months. However, at my current school (GSU) there is an awesome rec center that has an 1/8 mile indoor track. I have an hour in between classes every day, giving me the perfect opportunity to train when I have nothing else to do. The 1/8 mile track is also perfect for interval workouts, so I've been getting some really good sessions in this week.

I am running the Peachtree Road Race on July 4. It will be my first time doing the Peachtree and I'm really excited.

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by larrymcg421

Congrats on your success, Blackadar.

Sorry I haven't written here in a while. The combination of school+work, then an injury, then dealing with the stress of unemployment, then full time schoolwork added up to not very much training over the last few months. However, at my current school (GSU) there is an awesome rec center that has an 1/8 mile indoor track. I have an hour in between classes every day, giving me the perfect opportunity to train when I have nothing else to do. The 1/8 mile track is also perfect for interval workouts, so I've been getting some really good sessions in this week.

I am running the Peachtree Road Race on July 4. It will be my first time doing the Peachtree and I'm really excited.

Go for it, you speed demon!

Running a 10k in July in Atlanta is not my idea of fun, though.

[larrymcg421]

So the Peachtree Road Race is tomorrow. It will be my first time running it, so I'm pretty excited. I got a pretty good start wave of D thanks to my time at the Cartersville 10K. Not sure if I'm completely back yet, but last week I had a mostly terrific week of running, including a very nice 4 mile indoor run at a 9:15 pace.

The elevation profile for the Peachtree is mostly downhill for the first half and mostly uphill for the second half. At the 6K mark, there is a very steep hill called Cardiac Hill that sounds pretty intimidating. I'm going to aim for something like an 8:45 pace for the first half and 9:15 pace for the second half but we'll see how it goes. It's going to be verrrrry hot.