So far this has been the fall of progress. Or, maybe, a return to form.
Yesterday, as part of small-town Minster, Ohio's annual Oktoberfest, I ran their 10k in a new road PR of 30:12.5. As a testament to how competitive the race was, I only finished 7th (the winner finished in 28:33).
Coming off of base training this summer, I've seen: a solid 10k win in 31:10 (faster than my time from last year's Thanksgiving Day Race), a runner-up 30-second PR at Hudy (my old PR was from 2011), and most recently a road PR in the 10k (my previous PR was 30:40 from 2011), which is a full minute faster than a month ago and is near-equivalent to the sub-30 times I was running on the track in college (track times are almost always faster than road race times).
It's been a few years, but my training finally seems to be clicking and I'm seeing the results.
As for the race yesterday, I had cautiously optimistic hopes going into it. I pushed too hard in training last Friday-Saturday-Sunday (culminating in a death march 20-miler that I should have called off early), which left me feeling like garbage the rest of the week. I had to take Tuesday off to recover, and then just did mostly easy jogging for the rest of the week. I didn't start feeling back to normal until this past Friday and Saturday, so it looks like my legs came around just in time for the race. But still, how I'd perform in a race was very much in doubt.
The atmosphere of the event was incredible. They bill this as one of the fastest 10ks in the Midwest, and they're not kidding. In addition to the usual Kenyan suspects, all of the top regional runners show up -- from Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, Toledo, Cleveland -- making for a highly competitive run. With the fall weather and the variety of regional club teams, it seemed reminiscent of cross country. Everyone there took their race seriously. Even the people not running for win or place approached the event as a race instead of a run -- everyone arrived early, did a warm-up jog, strides, donned their jersey of choice...all the usual things reserved for only the elite handful at most road races; instead, here seemingly everyone approached the race as just that: a race. It was refreshing to be a part of that sort of atmosphere, where most of the participants genuinely cared about maximizing their performance.
But anyway, I'm getting preachy. When the gun went off, everyone went nuts. I mean, like, crazy fast. In road races there are always a handful of people going out fast, but this was seemingly everyone. Like I said, a cross country atmosphere. The lead pack of six went through the mile in 4:30. I went through at the tail end of the chase pack in 4:40 and was panicking because that's way too fast. But what can you do? Either run alone, into the wind, and let everyone else go; or go out too hard, tuck into the pack, and ride it out until it breaks up. When you're running for place, the latter is definitely the better choice.
Our pack stayed intact through the two mile (9:40) and then the 5k (15:10), until one of the runners threw in a surge and broke us up. At this point we had turned away from a nasty head/crosswind, so that allowed us to string out and start moving. I tried to stay with the leaders of the surge, but couldn't manage to be closer than 10-15 meters behind.
As a testament to how stupid fast the race started (and where I'm at in my training right now) I actually felt better in mile 5 than mile 2. This makes sense, as I've been doing a lot of endurance-base work (aerobic threshold, lactate threshold, hills, etc) and very little (read: none) 10k specific work. I don't think I've run a mile faster than 4:50 yet in this training block, so going out in 4:40 was a bit of a shock to the system. Hence why I was panicking in the second mile, but rolling in the fifth.
By this point I could see one or two runners coming back off the lead pack, and I think I ended up catching one of them going into the last mile.
In the final mile I wasn't going to catch anyone, so now it was all about finishing for time. So I ended up 7th in 30:12 (and, as a nice bonus, came home with $50).
Yesterday, as part of small-town Minster, Ohio's annual Oktoberfest, I ran their 10k in a new road PR of 30:12.5. As a testament to how competitive the race was, I only finished 7th (the winner finished in 28:33).
Coming off of base training this summer, I've seen: a solid 10k win in 31:10 (faster than my time from last year's Thanksgiving Day Race), a runner-up 30-second PR at Hudy (my old PR was from 2011), and most recently a road PR in the 10k (my previous PR was 30:40 from 2011), which is a full minute faster than a month ago and is near-equivalent to the sub-30 times I was running on the track in college (track times are almost always faster than road race times).
It's been a few years, but my training finally seems to be clicking and I'm seeing the results.
As for the race yesterday, I had cautiously optimistic hopes going into it. I pushed too hard in training last Friday-Saturday-Sunday (culminating in a death march 20-miler that I should have called off early), which left me feeling like garbage the rest of the week. I had to take Tuesday off to recover, and then just did mostly easy jogging for the rest of the week. I didn't start feeling back to normal until this past Friday and Saturday, so it looks like my legs came around just in time for the race. But still, how I'd perform in a race was very much in doubt.
The atmosphere of the event was incredible. They bill this as one of the fastest 10ks in the Midwest, and they're not kidding. In addition to the usual Kenyan suspects, all of the top regional runners show up -- from Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, Toledo, Cleveland -- making for a highly competitive run. With the fall weather and the variety of regional club teams, it seemed reminiscent of cross country. Everyone there took their race seriously. Even the people not running for win or place approached the event as a race instead of a run -- everyone arrived early, did a warm-up jog, strides, donned their jersey of choice...all the usual things reserved for only the elite handful at most road races; instead, here seemingly everyone approached the race as just that: a race. It was refreshing to be a part of that sort of atmosphere, where most of the participants genuinely cared about maximizing their performance.
But anyway, I'm getting preachy. When the gun went off, everyone went nuts. I mean, like, crazy fast. In road races there are always a handful of people going out fast, but this was seemingly everyone. Like I said, a cross country atmosphere. The lead pack of six went through the mile in 4:30. I went through at the tail end of the chase pack in 4:40 and was panicking because that's way too fast. But what can you do? Either run alone, into the wind, and let everyone else go; or go out too hard, tuck into the pack, and ride it out until it breaks up. When you're running for place, the latter is definitely the better choice.
Our pack stayed intact through the two mile (9:40) and then the 5k (15:10), until one of the runners threw in a surge and broke us up. At this point we had turned away from a nasty head/crosswind, so that allowed us to string out and start moving. I tried to stay with the leaders of the surge, but couldn't manage to be closer than 10-15 meters behind.
As a testament to how stupid fast the race started (and where I'm at in my training right now) I actually felt better in mile 5 than mile 2. This makes sense, as I've been doing a lot of endurance-base work (aerobic threshold, lactate threshold, hills, etc) and very little (read: none) 10k specific work. I don't think I've run a mile faster than 4:50 yet in this training block, so going out in 4:40 was a bit of a shock to the system. Hence why I was panicking in the second mile, but rolling in the fifth.
By this point I could see one or two runners coming back off the lead pack, and I think I ended up catching one of them going into the last mile.
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| One mile to go. |
Going into the race, I figured a reasonable expectation would be about 30:30...plus or minus 20 seconds. Finishing on the "minus 20 seconds" part of that was pretty cool. Not to mention that my time put me under the standard of 30:17 required for the USA Half Marathon Championship in Houston this January, which is a race I really want to do. If there is a place and time in the near future to qualify for the Olympic Trials, it's Houston.
Of course, what Oktoberfest race would be complete without the Oktoberfest? I refueled with a half gallon of beer and some fried chicken...ok, well I didn't drink an entire half gallon; we split it three ways between my fiancee and friends who also came and ran. If not for the chilly temperatures, I could have spent all day there, drinking beers and eating ridiculously large sandwiches. Add this event as another to make a tradition out of.
The results for this one can be a little tricky to find, so here's the link.
The next race on the schedule is the Indy Monumental Half Marathon. I have four full weeks before that one goes off, so hopefully I can still get in two weeks of quality high mileage before a gentle taper for the race. With the progress I've made so far this fall, I can't wait to see how Indy will go.
Of course, what Oktoberfest race would be complete without the Oktoberfest? I refueled with a half gallon of beer and some fried chicken...ok, well I didn't drink an entire half gallon; we split it three ways between my fiancee and friends who also came and ran. If not for the chilly temperatures, I could have spent all day there, drinking beers and eating ridiculously large sandwiches. Add this event as another to make a tradition out of.
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| Post-race meal. Yes, that's a half gallon of beer. It was delicious. |
The next race on the schedule is the Indy Monumental Half Marathon. I have four full weeks before that one goes off, so hopefully I can still get in two weeks of quality high mileage before a gentle taper for the race. With the progress I've made so far this fall, I can't wait to see how Indy will go.
Congratulations Tommy on a great race at the Oktoberfest! The Albers family cheered for you and hope to see you back next year! Good luck at Indy.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Minster was an awesome race and one of the coolest events I've done...I'm hoping to make it a yearly tradition.
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