Got over to the race around 8pm last night and it was packed! I didn't do this run last year but looking at the results they had around 500 runners and this year had 800 pre registered.
Well, I would say they had close to a 1000 runners last night easily. I moved to the start line a little earlier so I could get a good spot at the front to avoid the traffic jamming. We waited a few minutes and then it was time for the countdown.
The gun went off and we were off. The first part of this course is slightly downhill and then goes uphill for a little then levels off and turns right into a new business complex called ICAR. Once you make that right hand turn it is all downhill for the next mile or so and then you turn around and come back. Yes, that means the last 2 plus miles, for the most part was all up hill with the exception of short level off and downhill section right near the finish.
So, I took off and when we hit the first hill I had no problems. When I reached the top I was really winded and just seem to be struggling. It was very humid and I was already drenched but I was thinking I never get this winded this quickly and then I glanced at my Garmin and noticed I was running a 6:55 pace...OUCH. No wonder I was hurting and had to slow down. I quickly slowed to about a 7:50 then eventually settled in around 8:00 pace. The downhill was great and I tried to take advantage and go as fast as I could knowing full well my pace would slow coming back up. The pic on the right is just after I crossed the finish line.
Made the turn around and headed up the climb. What makes this hill very difficult is not only is it steep but it just keeps going on and on. As I was running up the hill I passed two folks tossing their dinner and to be honest I was close to joining them. Hills are bad enough but add in the humidity and it just plain sucks. I wanted to stop and walk a few times but I stayed strong and was able to push my way without stopping. Once you crested the hill it leveled off and then a slight downhill before you hit the next hill straight up to the finish. Yes, the finish line was right on a small hill. When I neared the finish line I looked down and to my amazement I was still seeing sub 27 min. So I went into high gear and gave it everything I had, literally! Hit the finish line at 26:58 (8:36 pace). I'm happy to hold a sub 9 min pace on a course like that especially since I haven't been running nearly that much in the past few weeks. In fact, I think I can PR that course if I ran it again.:)
Gracie wanted to take a pic of Mommy and Daddy after the race. One frustrating note about the race. I went down to pick up my packet a little after 5pm. Got my packet and shirt and took back off to the house. When I got home I went through the packet which was filled with the typical race packet junk. I never thought twice when I didn't see a race chip. In fact out of all the races I've done only two have used chips so it wasn't a second thought not to have one. When I crossed the finish line I was pissed to see people taking their chips off. I received no chip which means my time was not recorded! Nothing I can do now but just be frustrated. Glad I decided to wear my Garmin! Oh well!
I will say this about the course, it was the toughest 5k course I've run. Besides the hills the humidity made things very difficult. Overall it was a great night and a lot of fun and for a great cause. We had a blast!
My weight this morning came in at 204 for an all time cutting low. I'm now very close to my sub 200 goal and the weight is just falling off. I am going to make one change to my marathon plan. I'm going to move my quads/calves workout from Tuesday to Thursday. That makes more sense since Friday is a rest day and Saturday is cross training. The quad workouts will be very light anyway.
Hope everyone has a great Monday morning! - Jason
28 comments:
I hate that picture! =o) However, I'm proud of you! Even the giraffe-legged people who finished 15-16 minutes were screaming about those hills! The guy who barfed in front of me said it all without a word. LOL!
Great job on the race!
That is a great pace!
Great race! and great time. sounds like it was a blast - even with no chip. races that finish uphill are tough. i think pretty soon you'll be holding that 6:55 pace throughout. ;) congrats.
Wow, great job on the sub-27-minute 5K! What an awesome achievement!!!
That stinks about the timing chip!! I would have been pissed!!!
I was pissed and still feeling a little angry even now!
That really is a bummer about the chip, especially since you rocked the course. No sense worrying about it. The shirt and bib are cool. I like that the bib isn't just a generic white one.
Serious congrats for the 204!
Not having the race chip would piss anyone off... even me!!! Sounds like your garmin saved the day.Yippeeee.
Awesome job on killing the hills.
Congrats on the race and the fast time! That was not an easy run with the course and conditions and you rocked it! Good pics and way to go on the weight loss. Have a good week.
Jason, Just FYI.. the race chips were at the table right beside the shirt pickup. I think there was also a sign saying to pick them up. The people at the table with the shirts sent us over to get the chip, and we were asked on our way out of the shelter if we got it, as well.
Jason I'm super jealous! I wanted to run that race this weekend but I somehow sprained my foot as soon as I got back from Colombia so I haven't been able to do anything this last week. I'm going to try to get back into it this week.
And thanks for the comment on my blog! FYI I keep up with yours too but I'm usually a silent blog reader, I don't make many comments :)
I believe its the responsibility of the race organizers, workers, volunteers etc. to make SURE each person gets their chip, that's too bad you didn't get one, very disappointing!. BUT what a race you had!!! OMG! look at you sub-27! excellent Jason!
Sounds like a great race on a tough course. Sorry to hear about the MIA chip...
Congrats!
Mendy, FYI...well when I was there picking up my packet I walked over to the shirt table and they handed me my shirt I saw no chips. In fact one lady checked my bib I said I need a large shirt I looked around and headed out. By the way there was no table setup where they were handing out shirts.
The frustrating part nobody even said a word to me about a chip when signing for my packet or getting my shirt. I don't mean to beat a dead horse with this but it was very frustrating!
Jason, way to go!! Official time, smofficial time! You got your time. That's all the matters, and what a time it was too. You rocked, Dude!! After my second tri, let me give you a little advice on how to run faster. Leave your Garmin at home :-) Provided you have a chip of course :-) Knowing your pace seems to hold me back. I think it holds you back too. Think about it...
I was just telling you our experience, no harm meant at all. Guess I should have put some smiley's and whatnot to show that. Maybe it was just you were that we were there at different times, etc. They might not have had the table setup, etc. There was one when we went for sure. And we need to return the things now. Maybe we had nice enough volunteers to let us know and check if we got the chips, etc. while you may not... No big deal. Like others said, you got your time, with your Garmin.
No harm meant at all, & apologies if you took it as such.
Mendy,
Not angry with you...I'm glad you got your chip...even if you were a slacker and didn't run it!:):) (Notice smileys):)
Your right Wes! I almost left it at home! I'm getting better at not looking at it though.:)
Ashli! That's a great pic of the 2 of you. You look so happy in it!
Haha thanks Mendy! I think we were just laughing at Miss Thinks She's 25 trying to take pictures like a professional. =o)
Way to run Jason, that is an awesome run on a wild course. Forget about the chip problem you can work it out at the next race.
Congrats on a great finish. I'm proud of you as well. And your finish time is awesome! Glad you had enough reserve to pick up the pace toward the finish. About your official timing, I'd email the timekeepers, tell them of the missing chip, & ask them to put your time in their database. For your own race history sake. Finally, I love the shirt! Rock on!
AWESOME job!!!! Total BUMMER on the chip though. I'd be pretty peeved myself.
You and your wife look so cute together ;D That's a great pic!!
You're right... that last half the race uphill was awful. I had to stop a couple of times.
Stinks about the chip. They had the table setup next to the shirts when I picked my stuff up at around 6:30. I think they even made an announcement over the PA system leading up to the race about people not picking their chip up too.
Congrats on the run.
Have you tried contacting the race director and explaining the situation? Since you have what your chip time would have been, you could ask him or her to add you to the results. And certainly they should know about it, so that they can hopefully avoid similar problems next year. I'm glad you had your Garmin!
That totally sucks about the chip!! Grrr....
I am cracking up at Ashli's description of the giraffe-legged people. :>)
Awesome job on the race!! You rocked it!
Good job on the race. That last hill out of ICAR, though not particularly steep compared to others around here, seems to never ever ever ever ever....ever end. I would usually prefer short steep ones. By the way, I ran there Sunday out of guilt. I should have stayed home and had a margarita instead. :-p
Ugh, the humidity now is the worst!
Good job on the race. 6:55 pace?!?! I would have tossed my cookies for sure! ;)
That does suck about the chip. But you know how well you did!
Post a Comment