Tag: running

St. Patty’s 5K

I lined up for Saturday’s Sharin’ O’ The Green 5K hoping not to have a blow out. Not my shoes, and not folding in the stretch, I was concerned about holding my breakfast and yesterday’s meals in my intestine. This was my first bicarb (sodium bicarbonate) race experiment and I lived to tell the tale.

Other than some casual ski races in January and February, on the schedule for fitness more than competition, I had only raced once since November and that was 9 weeks ago. However, I needed a rust buster and test effort for the upcoming WMA cross country event this month. I also got my hands on some Maurten bicarb, which is all the rage this year, but like anything new in running that shows success it’s hard to get. Fortunately, one of my friends knows people in the company and was able to get package with four treatments.

Last week I listened to the Physiology of Endurance Running Podcast (they’re nerdy but it’s really good), and their recent interview with Dr. Andy Sparks a researcher who did much of the work on sodium bicarbonate in sport over the past decade. He’s now a research manager with Maurten. In that interview he told tales of their earlier research where athletes had massive diarrheal outbursts or upset stomachs after taking bicarb. But that was before they developed an encapsulated formula that releases the bicarbonate in your intestine, and at a slower rate, rather than your stomach. The issue is the acids in the stomach don’t mix well with the base in the bicarbonate, and that often leads to an upset digestive system.

For years researchers athletes and coaches have recognized the sodium bicarbonate can buffer the exercise induced acidosis in blood and muscles, but the trick was to find a way to get enough into an athlete’s system while not causing digestive upset. However, recently Dr. Sparks and others have shown that encapsulating the bicarbonate and taking it with a carbohydrate gel product, it can be consumed by athletes while not resulting in digestive issues. Indeed it appears to allow greater endurance by buffering the blood.

The trick is that you need to follow the protocol. It’s pretty simple. Eat a light meal a few hours ahead of your exercise (or race), two hours before mix the gel caplets into 200 ml of water, and then a couple of minutes later add in the encapsulated bicarb, mix and then slurp down the tasteless gel in one bout but without chewing the bicarb.

How did it go?

Saturday’s Race

We decided to drive the 80-90 minutes to Fort Collins on Saturday morning, rather than stay in a hotel overnight. I was a little nervous about the bicarb protocol and timing it right while we were enroute, but decided to go ahead with the idea that we would stop about half way there, 2 hours ahead of the race.

After 45 minutes of driving we pulled off and stopped at a service station where I mixed the goop, waited 5 minutes and gulped it down without gagging anything and spilling only a half teaspoon. Two hours to race time.

We arrived in Fort Collins about an hour ahead of the race where I picked up my bib and set about with the warm up. I had planned on 3 miles, but with porta john lines (especially important on this day!) I got in 2 miles with some drills, a short tempo, and some strides. We lined up and everyone one seemed to converge at once, and I could only get as far up as the 4th row, with 30 or 40 people ahead of me in a field that did not look deep.

The plan was to run about 6:08-6:10 over the first mile and then see how it would go on the bike path over the final two miles. My goal was run about 19:00 for the 5K, which age grades to about 88 %.

20 meters into the race, and slightly boxed, in you can see my hat and sunglasses between numbers 288 and 694.

We blasted out of the start and some from behind shot ahead. The pace over the first few hundred meters was faster than I had wanted (sub 6) so I eased up a little. I split the mile in about 6:02, which was a little fast. My breathing was okay.

We had a bit of a headwind as we turned onto the bike path just after one mile. I tucked into a large pack of about 10 runners and found myself near the front of the group. It was a little unnerving to hear so many footsteps right on my heals. I braked a few times because the leaders of the group slowed a bit, and also eased up once, at about half way because a guy was breathing so heavily, practically in my ear. That was a distraction and either I could pick it up and get a gap or slow a bit and run behind him for a bit.

On the bike path, about 2 km into the race.

I fell back to about 4th or 5th in that pack, trying to keep focused and in contact. By 2 miles I had moved back up some and the pack was dissipating by then. We split in about 12:10, so a 6:08 second mile. That felt about right and it felt like I could run about 19-flat or under if I could hang on.

However, I started to get the feeling that I might need to go to the bathroom. Hold on! Less than a mile to go. I got gassed (tired) at 2.5 and slowed down for a few hundred meters. Two runners went by quickly. They were younger and closed under 6:00 for the last mile. Then two more went by, but they were not moving as fast and I was able to maintain a better pace, about 5 meters behind them. We popped off the river and over a bridge at about 2.8 miles, and I was back onto 6:00-6:10 pace for the stretch. Over the last 200 or 250 m, just before the 3 mile marker (3 miles in 18:28), I threw down all I could and had a strong kick (5:40 pace). I passed those two and pulled away by 4 or 5 seconds. Officially finishing 19:17, but I think that was a little long. And my watch had me closer to 19:05+/-.

Finishing kick!

My intestines were okay, but I did seek the nearest bathroom within 2-3 minutes after crossing the line. No upsets or accidents. All was good.

Post-Hoc

This is why we do rust busters. I think my fitness is there, but the pacing was not perfect (see pace chart). The finish was crazy fast, however, and that’s encouraging.

Pace chart from Saturday’s 5K. Note the quick start. The big dip at 2.1 miles was actually going under a double bridge. Ideally I would have liked to hold about 6:10 pace from 2.3 to 3 miles, and hopefully can find that gear when we have the bigger races.

I finished top 20 and won my age group, and pretty much achieved my pre-race goals.

Age grade was 87% for the full time for 5K, if you consider that the course seemed long (3.16 miles) it was over 88%. I probably hit that first mile a bit too fast, maybe 5 or 6 seconds, and that’s why struggled some over the 3rd mile.

Age group winners at Saturday’s 5K in Fort Collins.

What about the bicarb? I think there is something there, that was my best kick in a 5K in a long time. Usually I drop a few seconds in pace, maybe 10-15 seconds per mile under the overall pace, but this was 30+ seconds, and I felt I could have gone another 100-150 meters at this sprint effort, instead of feeling utterly spent when crossing the line. So I am encouraged.

Masters 8K Cross Country Championship

Last weekend I traveled for the USATF masters 8K cross country championships in Lubbock, TX. I find racing in December or January to be difficult. I’m usually sort of burned out in December from the previous 8 or 9 months of training and racing and January is too early to have enough base behind you to feel that competitive. And forget about feeling sharp.

Our team has not traveled much in recent years. In fact we went for almost a year and a half, from June 2023 to November 2024, without fielding a full team. Injuries, burnout, lack of interest, and maybe personality differences all played into this.

But to Lubbock we went, with an age group team of four runners. Travel this past weekend was dicey and many athletes and clubs were not able to make it. Only about half of the entrants actually lined up to race. Although the fields were small, there was good competition in both the open and masters races.

We made it. Men’s team ventured to Lubbock for the masters championships. Many teams were snowed out.

It was windy on race day, 45 degrees F with sustained winds averaging nearly 20 mph, with stronger gusts. The wind was out of the west, which meant we would have a cross wind most of the way, with some short stretches of tailwind and about a km total of direct headwind on the 2.5 loop course.

Wicked winds whipping from the west.

The route was two and a half loops on a mostly flat former golf course that has been converted into a college cross country course. There were a couple of small rollers each loop and couple short steep bunker-type hills. It was real cross country and the wind added an extra challenge.

Course layout for 8K masters championship race in Lubbock, TX.

As we lined up the officials yelled at us like we were in middle school, “no more run outs! Line up behind the boxes!” And then “What don’t you understand about behind the boxes!!!?” And we were off, I sprinted about 70 meters before settling in.

Crazy hair day! (photo by USATF)

I run by feel in xc and don’t look at my splits much, but ran hoping to run about 6:15 for the first mile and see what I had. On the first loop (just under 1 mile) I felt better than expected and ran with a third pack (with the leaders way out in front at 5:00 pace, and a second pack of about 5-6 runners only 10-15 seconds ahead of us). I did check my watch that one time and it had 6:12.

Into the subsequent 2 mile loops I worried a bit that my early pace had been too hot. Our pack started breaking up by 1.5 miles and the second pack was still up by 5 or 6 seconds. Dan, my main age group competitor had just pulled ahead of that pack.

Decision time, hold steady and hang on, or surge to catch that pack.

I did the latter throwing in my fastest little stretch of the day, hitting sub 6 pace for a bit. I was a little gassed by the time I caught them, but that was just when we turned into the wind for a grinding 400 m stretch straight into it. We slowed way down, and I stutter-stepped a few times, biding my time and trying to catch my breath. We turned north and with a favorable cross-wind picked up the pace again.

I stayed with this group for the next two miles. Dan was only 15-20 seconds up in no-man’s land but I didn’t have the desire or grit to chase him down. On the windy stretch just after 4 miles, we slowed way down again as the wind tore at us. As we rounded turn over a bunker I took off an one of the runners from a different age group went with me. He went off in a sprint. I picked it up gradually over the last km and sprinted home. 15th place and 2nd in my age group. I got 2nd in age grading, and our team won by default because our rivals could not make the trip.

Age group winners, a bit squinty.

It was a good weekend and feeling so much better after feeling off for a few weeks was a pleasant surprise.

My next big race will be in late March, another 8K xc event (world masters) but I will do some xc ski races along the way (more casually than running) and probably a 5k-8K tune up road race in Feb or March. I’m not 100 percent certain, because I have done it two years in a row, but I think I’ll do the masters grand prix (best 5 races in the 8 race series) again.

Postscript: Controversy from Letsrun

You expect nothing but garbage and controversy on the website LetsRun.com and they rarely if ever disappoint. There is currently a thread on the site decrying the lack of participation at this championship. Indeed, it may have been the least attended ever. Only 156 runners (101 men, 55 women) in three divisions for each (Under 20, Open, and Masters) lined up and participated in the event. Last year there were 447 participating in Richmond, VA. Last year was a qualifying race for the World Cross Country Championships and World Junior Championships. So that was a big difference. Nevertheless, recall that half the field did not make the trip due to weather cancellations. So instead of the numbers down by 2/3, it’s closer to 1/3. That’s still a big hit, but factor in the remote location of Lubbock compared to Richmond, VA, and the fact that there is no championship qualification this year the difference is understandable.

Tell that to Letsrun! Those apes will moan, bitch, and caterwaul over anything and everything. Morons.

Update and a Training Race

Post-Marathon Recovery

My post-marathon recovery has been middle of the road, there were no setbacks and it hasn’t dragged on but there has not been a fitness boost. I find it interesting how some people come out of a marathon supercharged and they set huge 5K or 10K PBs in the weeks immediately following a marathon training block and race. That has never happened to me. Only once or twice have I felt decent within a month after a marathon. That just shows how everyone has their own physical and mental response to the long event.

Weeks 1, 2, 3: Recovery with a Big R

I took off a few days of running or aerobic activity other than walking the dog a few times a day. Then I cycled for a couple days. Ran on Day 6 post-marathon, so I had reasonable, but not extensive break. I got in about 14 miles in that first week.

Fortunately we got some early snowfall (in fact much of it while were away in Indianapolis for the marathon) and I was able to incorporate some cross country skiing for cross training (and for its own effect), with three days of skiing in November and now twice a week in December.

The air is thin at 9000 feet but it’s refreshing.

I rolled back into running on the second week back, with 43 miles of easy running and a short ski outing at Breckenridge. On the third week I put in 49 miles of running plus a 15 km ski at Frisco, my old stomping grounds (ca. 1986-87). I did my first tempo effort, just a short 15 or so minutes of effort at 6:50 pace or so on trails on the day before Thanksgiving.

I did have a bit of Turkey Trot FOMO, I kind of wanted to do a race on Thanksgiving but knew I was not mentally or physically ready to line up after a long 2024 campaign. Skiing that day was a good alternative. No traffic no crowds on Thanksgiving day.

Weeks 4, 5: Some Volume

I got my volume mojo back in December with a couple decent weeks. However, workout quality has been lagging.

Over the first week of December I ran 50 miles and got in two ski days of about 28 km (2.2 hours) for a weekly sum of just over 9 hours. I did a double threshold on the 4th. The AM part was actually a pretty stiff session with 4X 1 mile averaging about 6:30. That’s more mid-season level for me but I went with it. The PM part was a pretty mild 8x 30 second surge/30 second recovery on a gravel path. That day gave me some confidence so I signed up for a 5K for December 15.

The second week of the month (week 5 post-marathon) was more of the same, although truthfully I don’t think I felt as well as on the previous week. I did 43 miles of running and two ski outings of 12 and 21 km for a total of 9.3 hours.

My double threshold on Tuesday was a bit of a weather bust because we got several inches of snow overnight. I had to cut an AM treadmill session short when after 2X 6 min reps (plan was 4X) a guy with a cold lined up right next to me (3 feet away, no social distancing there!) so I bailed. And the second workout later in the day was supposed to be 8X 2 min at CV effort with a 1 minute recovery. But with the ice on the path it was 6X 2, 1X 3 and a fartlek within a fartlek because I had to slow down on the icy/snowy patches and then speed up on the dry stretches.

Running-wise the rest of the week was easy, but I did that 21 km of skiing on Thursday.

Training Race

On Sunday I signed up for the Ugly Sweater 5K in Denver. Silly theme, but overall it’s a well-managed race. Shoutout to Derek and Jessica for their series (although I miss the Winter Distance Series at Hudson Garden). Washington Park in South Denver is probably the best place in the entire city for a 5K to 10K road race. It’s almost flat. No traffic. And the road is wide enough to accommodate thousands of participants.

I kind of worked through this one, but was hoping to finish well under 20 minutes for 5K and to take home an age group award. It ended up being mixed on those goals.

The day was about as perfect as you can get here in December. It was cold overnight, and I was freezing on my 2+ mile warm up at about 30 degrees. But by 8:45 it had warmed up to the mid-30s and with full sunshine and no wind to speak of I suddenly felt overdressed with tights, double shirt, beanie and gloves. With 10 minutes to go I stripped off my tights and tossed the gloves and decided to be lightly dressed.

The plan was to go out in about 6:20-30 and then bring it down from there. I didn’t really stick to the plan.

I lined up in about the 4th row, should have been farther back. We started and I was almost immediately swallowed up by another dozen or two runners. I checked my watch at about 200 meters in, and saw that I was running at about 5:40/mile pace. Way too fast. So I eased up, and some more runners went around me. I tried to settle in. Checking again at about a half mile and it was still 6:10 pace. Still too fast. So I eased up some more. However, by then the damage had been done.

Start of the race, you can see my red cap between #1127 and the guy in the white singlet. Yeah, too far up at the start.

I split the mile at about 6:15 and decided to just hang onto the current effort for as long as I could. A pack of about 5 or 6 runners had formed about 20 meters ahead. Otherwise I was in sort of a no mans land as we headed north through the park. And that’s pretty much where I stayed the rest of the way. Breathing was a bit hard, I passed one young runner who was obviously overdressed in a sweater and Christmas pajama pants and a Santa hat. I just hung behind that pack through half way and 2 miles (12:46). There are two small hills before the lap (2.2 miles) and I kind of eased up on those, falling behind that pack a bit. Over the last hill just before the lap I tried to gradually increase my pace. I caught one runner, a younger woman. And we had ourselves a duel for the rest of the way.

End of mile 2, feeling the pain cave.

Felt that I was just hanging on with about a half mile to go, as we were lapping the back of the pack walkers on the west side of the park. I surged with about 600 to go, pulling ahead of my female competitor, but immediately felt that in my lungs so let up and she passed again. I hung back about 5 meters and then threw in a final surge with 300 to go. That didn’t last either and she passed me back before the final turn (150 to go). From then on I just tried to hold form and not throw up.

A final kick.

Final result: 20:11 for 3.16 miles, the course was a little long, probably off by 60 or 70 meters. I’ll split the difference between my Garmin and official time and call it 20:00.

Nevertheless, I believe that’s my slowest time in a 5K road race (about equal to the training race I did in September, but that was a definite tempo-type effort, this was a more of a concerted race effort.

It was slow but I am not disappointed. It was about what I could expect for five weeks after a marathon. An 83% age grade at 5200′ elevation. (3rd overall in age grading). I’m not going to complain. I enjoyed the morning and appreciate the race management and work that went on to host this late season event.

Return to Indy Monumental Marathon

November 9

Background and Training

This was my fifth attempt to get on the five decades sub-3 marathons (aka 5D/S3) list. In my past I ran 2:34 in the 1980s, 2:44 during 1990s, 2:54 in the 00s, and 2:58 in 2018. The attempts the 2020s have been 3:02, 3:00, 3:01, 3:05.

Otherwise, this was a big year of racing with a 25K and two half marathons on the docket. I knew going in, that it would be a big ask to fit in a late year marathon.

In August I ran the world masters half marathon in Europe, got sick on the return, and it took a couple of weeks to get my legs back. Going back to the first week of September mileage was 50, 57, 70, 70, 61, 70, 64, 70, 68, and taper weeks of 36 and 31 miles. I got in four decent long runs of 19, 20, 22, and 20 miles, and a mid-long run of 11-13 on most of those weeks.  The long runs included progression efforts to marathon pace or just a little over, and most of the mid-long runs had tempo or threshold workouts.

The Race, How Did it Go?

I carbo-loaded a bit more than usual on Friday, but not too extreme. And for the race I had Maurten 160 in a handheld for the first 50 minutes and after that used Maurten gel every 30 minutes (so 480 calories for the race). That was about all I could take in.

After some delays I cut it close and got into the starting corral just minutes before the start.

The first 4-5 miles of this race are very crowded. We hit the first few miles a bit slower than race pace and the 5 mile split was in the 34:30s. Through 10 miles I felt heavy from the carbo loading, but not terrible. I kept clicking off 6:55s or so and was 68:40s for 10 miles. Then I fell into a funk, and was questioning whether I should continue with this return to sub 3 quest, and also wondering if I could maintain or increase pace, to keep o the sub 3 quest. That was not a good headspace.

We passed the half, a bit off pace and then 15 miles n 1:44, and knew that sub 3 was no longer on the table. I just resolved to keep on the pace for as long as I could.

My mantra for the day was to live in the mile, and that’s what I tried to re-focus on. And I also thought about resilience. The mostly the downhill 19th mile felt great! And I held the momentum for another mile. But then my pace fell off 7:05 -7:10s and the battle became less about time and more about just finishing. Came through 20 miles in 2:18. 10K to go. Once we got back onto the city streets after about 21 miles I focused by making it from stoplight to stoplight and that helped keep my head in the game.

The last few miles weren’t terrible, nor were they great. I could not ratchet my pace down to sub 6:50, that just wasn’t in the tank. But 7:05-7:10 was sustainable.

My wife and son (he’d just finished the half) were on the side of the course with about a half km to go, before the last couple of turns. With less than a quarter go however, my little toe blew up (ended up being a popped blister, and I’m certain to lose another toenail), so I had sort of a sprint-hobble over the last bit of the course, crossing in 3:03.

Post-race

I grabbed some food and got my medal and made my way to the gear tents, but soon after getting my bag I got nauseous and started throwing up. That only lasted for a minute or so, but it felt longer. Then I felt better. Lolled around the area for an hour or so until we all reconvened. Enjoyed some good meals later in the day a couple of beers in the evening.

With family, M&M who both set PBs in Indy!

Relaxing after the race.

Post Hoc, What worked and What Didn’t?

I’ll give the training block a mixed review. I did get an adequate amount of mileage, with long runs and workouts, but an 8-week marathon-specific build may not have been enough. However, I did have solid a summer HM block preceding that but it was hard to come back from a peak week (in August) in just a couple of months.

Fueling and hydration went okay. I did not bonk or cramp. That was more gels than I’m used to, but still it was less than some are now recommending.

My mental prep and attitude? Also mixed. I was probably less nervous for this race than any marathon I have done, going back 40+ years. That’s good. But I have never felt so off in the middle of a race—that time between 10 and 15 or so miles, I when I was questioning whether I should do any more of these, in particular another sub 3 attempt. Fortunately, I was able to pull out of that and get back into the mindset of just being in the mile.

The Future?

I don’t know. No doubt I enjoy distances, say 25K and under (down to about 5K) more than I do the marathon. What does that tell you? I would at least like to get NYC done to complete the North American WMM tour. And my son and daughter-in-law are already talking about doing Berlin someday. But breaking 3 again? Has that ship sailed?

Taper and Masters Cross Country

I finished my eight week marathon-specific block the other week without too much travail. Most importantly I got in the long runs, including three 20+ milers, and averaged 60-70 mile weeks mostly on single workouts. That’s one difference between this block and those in recent years where I did a fair amount of doubling on non-long run days. Then it was easier to do some doubles due to my work schedule. Now I don’t have to be concerned with that.

I would have liked to have had some extra weeks to prepare following the WMAs, but that would have meant running a different marathon (Philadelphia or CIM). I think/hope Indianapolis will be a good choice for 2024.

I didn’t get in any marquee workouts, but think that’s okay. Although most workouts were B or B- the 1:24 half marathon last month was perfect for preparation and as a fitness test. I’ll go with it.

That’s the good part. The first week of taper wasn’t so great, although the week did end okay.

I did my last long run a week ago Friday, 20 miles with a progression after about 8 miles, closing the last 3 in the mid-low 7s (approaching marathon effort on tired legs). However, the next week of mostly easy running, with one day off for recovery, were just blah. It was the worst I had felt all year. Every run started at 9:30 to 10+ minute pace and I was never able to shake out of feeling overtired, and slow, like 20 seconds per mile slower for easy pace (8:30s-50s), although my heart rate was kind of high (small caveat, dog ate my chest strap so using the watch band). I even cut back miles on some days, which didn’t seem to help.

I went into Saturday’s race feeling rather bleak. Home races are actually harder mentally than traveling, because here you have a target on your back and you don’t know who is going to come out of the woodwork.

Plus, there were some bigger implications for the Masters Grand Prix Standings. I was in 4th place overall, needed a finish to move into third (that’d be easy enough, just 5K), to win I would need an all out victory. Not likely with the hottest masters runner on the circuit now (named USATF Athlete of the Week recently, for setting the national record in the 1500 m and 1 mile). A second place would put me in a three-way tie for first, with final standings to be decided by tie-breakers (specifically head to head competition during the year and number of victories on the eight race circuit).

So yeah, I was feeling some pressure.

USATF Masters 5K XC Championships

My last two outings on this course were a disaster, including the 2022 championships, where came into the race with a head cold and faded to 6th place (healthy I think I would have been 2nd). And last year’s regional championship was even worse, coming off of the marathon four weeks earlier I just wasn’t ready to run hard. So that made me a little nervous.

Boulder Flatirons from the race venue, Harlow Platts Park.

Competition would be good, with four of the top five runners in my age group competing. However, at the last minute one of the runners had to scratch because his flight was cancelled. That was a bummer–although he had been saying that he was gunning for me (gulp!) I was also looking forward to a showdown on home turf. So make that three of the top five.

I drove the half hour to the park in Boulder, feeling a little nervous. 5Ks at altitude are always tough, and cross country 5Ks are all the more difficult. Add in the competition, the standings, and team bragging rights. I didn’t quite get butterflies (like I did in Sweden over the summer) but my chest was tight on the drive up.

Warm up was so-so. Just a slow jog for about 20 minutes and by the time I got my spikes on and found my teammates for a last minute check-in (we cut it close!), we were lined up. I only got in one 50 meter stride out, and maybe 30 meters on the way back.

Gentlemen check your watches.

The Race

After the last minute check in scramble we lined up, the starter gave a couple of quick instructions and without even a ready (or to your marks), the gun fired!

And we’re off!

My goal on Saturday was to to hold steady throughout and not blow up as I had in 2022 and 2023. We were quickly off the line and I was actually near the front for 50 or 60 meters before settling in. My teammate Mark shot ahead and Adam passed me. The pace felt fast on the slight downhill and I did not want to blow it in the first kilometer. I just relaxed. And that my mantra through the first lap. Dan, the age group juggernaut had 50 meters on me within the first half km. So I’d be fighting for 2nd in the age group. The field wasn’t huge (80 runners, compared to 150 or so in 2022) so I was able to find a spot with breathing room early on.

The two lap course at Harlow Platts Park in Boulder.

I decided not to look at my watch, or to minimize it, in this race and run by feel. After the hectic first km we circled back along the lake. I could hear at least one runner close on my heels, breathing heavily. Mark and a half dozen runners were about 30 meters ahead and I sort of sensed that there were a fair number of runners just behind me, so I was leading what the third or fourth chase pack.

We approached the hill at about 1.4 km, and my goal was not to charge up it, to stay relaxed. Those ahead gained some ground and the runner behind pulled up alongside me momentarily. It was Ken, who I had to beat today in order to get that tie in the overall standings. He’s from sea level and I figured I could outrun him over the stretch, but at the same time he’s a very tough competitor and I did not want to leave it to the end. So the crest of the hill (it’s about 10 meters of climb over 130 meters) I made the sharp left and threw in a surge (not in energy so much as just letting gravity do its work), and with 50 or 60 meters I could tell that I had dropped him.

No more footsteps from behind on this day. It was just a matter of hanging on and keeping that pack in sight.

At half way I was tempted to look at my watch but decided otherwise, and for the last time told myself to relax. I soon caught Mark and that pack and figured this would be a good spot. Don’t let them go! I led a few of them for a bit, but dropped back a little by about 2 miles (circling back by the lake again). My breathing was decent, turnover, okay and I felt I could hold this. And did just that.

Mark pulled away on the final hill but I was able to regain it on the downhill. We ran alongside into the soccer field area (0.5K to go) and I was able to get a few steps as we routed around the fields, and had enough to throw down a strong kick to finish in just under 19:30.

Final meters USATF Masters National 5k XC Championship.

I ended up 2nd in the age group, a full minute behind Dan, who is on a record breaking spree. Our team won, fairly handily against our cross-town/cross-state rivals. This was our first team win in two years and first time actually fielding a team since June of 2023. That was all good.

Post hoc analysis. It all worked out. My splits were fairly even (accounting for hills) and I managed my output just about right.

Next up, the marathon this weekend.

Update and Masters Half Marathon Championships

I promise that one of these days I’ll be putting up more content on training philosophy and such. Not just race reports. Soon. Soon I hope.

WMA Recovery and Subsequent Training

It took me almost a month to recover from racing and traveling to Sweden in August. I got sick and that took a few days to get over, and then just felt fatigued for a few weeks. So my mileage took a dip in early September. Not ideal for fall marathon training.

Wait, what?

Training profile since early August, low mark after I got back from overseas and had to take a few days off to recover from travel.

Yeah, I’m doing a marathon in November, date and location TBA! The three main race goals for 2024 were to run the 25K in May and attempt the American Record for my age (check), run at World Masters and medal in at least one race, win the cross country team title, and get a second medal in the half marathon (two checks out of three isn’t terrible).

Since mid-September I have been hitting 60-70 mile weeks with consistency and feeling okay. It wasn’t until the last week of September that I actually felt right again. The primary focus has been to build the long runs (from 15-17 miles over the summer, to 19+ miles). I have to admit that do not really like the long run, and maybe that’s the issue with my difficulty to break 3 hours again at this late stage of my running career. Anything over 2 hours is challenging, and I’m not sure it’s supposed to be that way or not.

I listened to Steve Sisson’s podcast last year and he went on and on about how the long run is the epitome of the training week. I get a little nervous for the long runs, counting minutes for the first few miles, then I might feel good until about half way through before feeling tired, sore, and often a little nauseous from the energy gels and sloshing belly. I conclude the day by feeling like a blob. A hungry blob, but a blob nonetheless.

Anyway, in September I did long runs of 16,17, 19 miles and felt best on the last one, which was about 10 days before last week’s half marathon. In this time I have not done many workouts, other than some tempo and pace work on the mid-long runs (10-13 miles with 4-6 miles of faster running on those). Other days have been either recovery (5 to 7 miles easy) or endurance (8 to 10 miles) with a few strides thrown in there.

Last Saturday I did 22 miles in 3 hours. That was a grind, but then again not terrible either. I felt better in the second half than over the first, and ran a pretty solid negative split (sub 8s) over the last 90 minutes.

My legs haven’t felt great, i.e., snappy or fast, since mid-August. But that’s marathon training.

The goal, again, is sub 3 to join that rare club of five decades sub 3 (5DS3), of which only a dozen or so runners have ever done. Let’s go!

USATF Masters Half Marathon Championships (October 5)

At six weeks after the WMA half I felt fairly recovered from that effort. Going into the race I had four solid weeks of marathon training in the legs and I was feeling it. The plan was to taper that week, and run maybe 50 miles total including the race, but unfortunately my main competition pulled out due to an injury. On paper at least, it looked like I could win this one fairly easily. So I kept the mileage at ~10 miles a day through Wednesday, and just ran an easy 3+ on the course on Friday, so I’d be a little bit rested. I don’t know how much good that did.

The course wound through Fort Benjamin Harrison State Park, outside of Indianapolis. Race day was as good as it gets, mid-50s with a light breeze.

Half marathon course and part of the profile.

I expected the course to have two decent hills (of 80-90 feet) at about mile 3 and 10, but otherwise to be flat. The race profile showed that, but in reality bigger hills were more like 100 feet plus, and there were rollers the entire way, so instead of under 200 feet of vertical (fairly fast), it was more like 400 (and not terribly fast). That was okay, everyone had the same course and I generally do pretty well on hilly courses. I went in still thinking I could run under 1:24 and score an 90% age grade.

The Race

I knew from the very start that my legs weren’t feeling rested, there was no bounce in that first mile and the knowledge crept in that this might be a long day. The going was little tight through that first mile (which had six or seven sharp turns) but we strung out by the time we reached the rather long descent into the park itself. I was kind of leading a group of a dozen or so runners, including several in their 60s and two very fast masters women one 60+ and the other in her late 50s. We split the the mile in 6:22, which is about where I wanted to be, so I settled in through 5K (19:47). I was feeling okay through that point, and that was about it for feeling decent!

On the first big climb I fell back from the three or four leaders of that group, and could tell it wasn’t going to be a breakout day and that sub 1:24 (6:24 pace) would be tough to achieve. Nevertheless, I did fight back for a couple of miles, including a couple pretty decent drops and inclines on the four lane thoroughfare. They eventually pulled away, I thought I was slowing down, but that wasn’t the case. I was holding onto 6:20-6:25 pace but they sped up to 6:10 or so. Good on them. I ran much of the next 4 or 5 miles in my own private no-man’s land, although at about 8 or 9 we had a couple of spots where we switched back, and wow, there was quite a string of runners not far behind, and a big pack of 15 or so, going with the 1:25 pace group. At this point I was still on low or sub 1:24 pace (59:37 at 15K), but the big (1 mile long) hill, including a quarter mile at 10% grade called “Kill the Hill” was looming ahead.

A couple of runners caught up between miles 8 and 10 and we had a semi-pack strung out over 15 or 20 meters.

Knowing it would be a grind I eased up as soon as the grade increased a bit and held an easier stride until we reached Kill the Hill, where I shortened my steps and tried not to lose any more ground. I did not want more of those runners behind me to catch up and pass. I hung on but the damage was done with a 6:45 11th mile. There went sub 1:24.

Therein over the rolling last 2 miles I just kind of hung on, getting passed here and there by someone closing faster, but they were in the open race. My secondary goal with this race was to run strong but not dig too deeply–I did that in Sweden and will need to do that again next month in the marathon. I think I accomplished that. The 12th mile was a grind with a number of small hills and a net elevation increase (6:33). The last mile was out of the park and back onto city streets, smelling the finish, I could pick it up some and covered the last 1.1 at about 6:20 pace to finish in just under 1:24:30. 1st in age group and 89.5% age grade (2nd overall).

Maybe a little short of what I had wanted but still a good day, and haul (medals and cash). I went home pretty happy with the effort.

Moments after the finish, with Rick the 60-64 age group winner.

Masters Track and Field Championships

Short version, 2,500 mile road trip (minus side trips in California), nine days, two gold medals.

I think next time we’ll fly. A week ago Sunday we had a flat tire before even starting the trip, which cost us five hours and had to stay in a motel in Salt Lake City instead of camping in Nevada. And in the middle of the week our car battery died, thinking it was a starter or alternator we took the car into the shop. That cost $300. Driving all those miles in 100 degree temps wasn’t pleasant either.

Road Trip

I do appreciate the scenery, however, so here’s a few thousand words in pictures.

Utah canyon country.

Rainbow over Provo, Utah.

Egan Range, eastern Nevada.

Mt Wheeler National Park, Nevada.

Campsite sunrise near Truckee, California.

The Agony of Setting up the 4 X 800 Relay

Ahh the relay. For the past year almost, our team has talked about putting together an age group team that could challenge for the American club record of 11:22. That only requires a 2:50 per leg and on paper we had the runners to do it. Months ago we sent out signals, and I was appointed the de facto coordinator. I don’t think I did a great job at that for this event. However, our “team” ages 60-69 is more a confederation of runners without a lot of cohesion. And less so post 2020-21 pandemic. Just say that there are some personal and political differences in this team, and some aren’t afraid to verbally smash you in the mouth if you happen to disagree.

Not to mention, injuries and health. It’s hard to get four guys in our age group healthy enough to line up, and a track race is all the more risky.

I spent months encouraging an cajoling potential relay members and typically got mixed responses. Two of us were committed, one seemed to be ready if we had a team, a couple were injured or not interested, and one had been battling off and on injuries over the past year and had the attitude that if we are not going to set a record then the travel is not worth it. I even offered space at my brother-in-law’s place in Sacramento as a incentive. In the weeks leading up to the championships we seemed to have settled into a quartet of four capable runners who on paper could pull it off.

Creating a mental form chart, I figured I could run under 2:35 on a good day, Dan capable of matching that, maybe faster maybe a bit slower. Jack was hoping for 2:40-2:45 or so, and Bob sub 3. Adding those up our best case indicated maybe 10:50 for the four of us. Reasonable expectation without a blow up by one of us certainly put us comfortably in a sub 11:20 (for example, a more conservative estimate would put us at about 2:35, 2:40, 2:50, 3:00 for a 11:05, still well under the record).

We had a handoff practice a little over a week before the race and all seemed well. Shots were fired on the weekend, however, as one of our guys complained of a bad foot. He’d said he would run, but it would be some risk. We really needed a back up, but had none. Nevertheless, Tamara and left town on Sunday thinking we’d all be good.

I was looking forward to racing the relay on Thursday.

On Monday morning we had just driven into Nevada and I got a text. One of our guys was out. No explanation. Just that he wouldn’t make the trip. Cold feet or injured? I spent the morning texting, to see if we could pull together a make up team. It was so frustrating. I just don’t like the attitude that either you must set a record or forget about, especially at such a late hour. That is just poor etiquette.

I told our teammate with the bad foot to stay home and heal up. Wasn’t worth it for him to travel that far and risk further injury for a make up team.

Fortunately, we had other teammates in the 60-64 category and rest of us came together and made a team of our own teammates, with four guys in the 60-69 range, with a couple in their 70s as back ups. We wouldn’t get a record but we could score points and medal in the event.

By the time we arrived in Sacramento on Monday evening the on again off again relay was back on, although not the age group line up that we had spent months trying to put together. Come on guys, it should not be this difficult!

Brutally Hot Sacramento

The temperatures rose into the 100s each day that we were in Sacramento, which made for some challenging race conditions. The mornings were actually reasonable, 60-70s until about 9 or 10 AM most days. But the afternoons and evenings were brutal.

We arrived on Monday evening so I had two full days to rest from the long drive and to get in a couple final runs. On Tuesday I did a light workout on the track, 4X 1000 at 10K goal pace, followed by a couple of quick 200s to prime for Thursday’s relay, which would be held at about 3:30 or 4 PM on one of the hottest days of the year.

Relay Race Day

I got us signed up in the morning, and our main competition were two teams from the same club in California. I didn’t expect much because our replacements were doubling that day, and had other races in subsequent days and they said they wouldn’t be going all out. I figured that maybe we’d get a gentleman’s Silver Medal.

Other than actually figuring out who would run and our order, the biggest question was what time we’d go. We actually expected to race after 4 or 5 PM, because there would be some men’s and women’s heats before ours. I got to the venue just before 3 and my teammates were already heading toward the staging area! There would only be two heats, each with about a dozen teams.

We lined up at 3:30, and I would go first. Although this was just a make-up team and we were running for points I decided to go all out because, (A) I had some pent up energy from the team falling apart earlier in the week, and (B) for some redemption from the previous week’s disastrous 2:44. I felt I could run under 2:35 and the question was by how much.

It was 102 degrees at race time with a light wind on the homestretch.

At the gun I cut in a little too quickly and slowly into the curve, and found myself at second to last place. In the backstretch I moved into 5th place and the pace felt easy. One guy from SoCal was a few meters up and I tucked in behind him, planning to pass him after a lap. But he slowed more on the home stretch so I passed him at about 350 meters, crossing the lap in 79. It felt a lot easier than the 77 second first lap at altitude earlier in the month!

At the gun.

From there I just wound it up, picking up my pace as I took the second lap.

Saving my final kick for the last 80 or 90 meters. I did feel some tightness with about 20 meters to go, but handed it off to Bob with a nifty negative split of 79-74. I am more than happy with a 2:33!

15 meters to go!

Bob kept it rolling with a 2:55 and the other Bob (who had already run some sprint prelims on Thursday and had the finals on Friday) cruised in a 3:00, and Adam took the final leg in 3:14, holding off a late charge from SoCal, and ensuring a surprise age group win for us in 11:41!

On the screen.

The relay was a big success! The aftermath less so.

After we crossed the line, I milled around the finish area for a few minutes and enjoyed the moment with my teammates and competitors. Soon after Adam had finished however, I started coughing and gagging. It wouldn’t stop. This went on for about 10 minutes and I realized I wasn’t going to make it back to the car, let alone back to the house to get my inhaler, which I had left behind. I usually bring it, but forgot on Thursday. So some officials pointed me toward the medical tent at the end of the straightaway and I asked for some assistance.

It was a little embarrassing to have the EMTs drive in, take my pulse and O2 readings, check my breathing. But it was a relief to get a mist of albuterol and oxygen to calm the attack. This took about 20 or 30 minutes and I missed the celebration with my teammates.

My chest and throat were tight for the rest of the evening and overnight but I was otherwise okay. I ordered a new inhaler as soon as I got home this week.

Saturday the 10000 Meters

The 10K is more in my wheelhouse as a race distance, but I have only run two of these ever on the track (both in 1991, when I ran a 32:11). You don’t have hills and turns on the track, and the going is more smooth but it’s more mental than on the roads or in cross country.

I felt fine for the warm up but was concerned about the heat. It was already in the upper 70s when we lined up at about 8:40 (79 degrees according to Garmin) and it had to be 5 degrees warmer on the track, with the radiant heat from the previous day.

My plan was to run about 3:50-55 per km/6:10 per mile to finish under 38:30 and if I was having a good day under 38. Seemed fair enough based on recent workouts and races, and because I usually perform a little better at 10K than 5K. That was probably a little over-optimistic. My pacing was supposed to be over 6:10 for the first 1600, maybe as slow as 6:20s, and in hindsight I should have stuck with that.

Two guys in their 60s went out quickly in about 90 for their first lap and I held back some and was about 96. An age group rival was right on my heels, almost clipping them. That made me uncomfortable, and run a second or so per lap faster than I would have.

The two 60-64 guys already had a gap in the first kilometer.

I ended up running a string of 91s and 92s, and for 2 kilometers, my California shadow was right there. If I slowed he’d slow. So rather than stepping aside into lane 2 and letting him pass I just kept going. I think in a normal temperature (say 50s or low 60s instead of 80 or more) I would have been fine with the pace. Finally, after five laps he fell off the pace. The leader was running steady 90-91s, and had built about a 20 second lead, and second was less than 10 seconds up. I also tried to maintain my effort but started to worked to reel them in. I crossed 3200 in about 12:20, so effectively right on pace, although I was running by feel then and not focused on times and splits.

The sprayed us each lap at the beginning of the back stretch the cooling water felt nice but it was a brief respite from the heat because the water would mostly dry off by the time you rounded the track again.

Although the two leaders were not in my age group, I treated it like a race that I wanted to win outright. I caught the second runner at 5K. He fell back about 10 or 15 meters and it seemed like I was gaining on first. And so it went. The 1600 splits in the middle of the race were both at about 6:15.

There was a water table on the backstretch but it was in lane 4 and you had to veer out and slow down a little to get your drink. I went for my second drink at about 7000 meters and my competitor seized the moment and scooted past–quickly. By the time we came around for the next lap (I went to the table again to grab a cup to throw some water on my head and shoulders) he already had put on 15 meters.

With less than 3K to go, I had my own race wrapped up as I was coming up to lap the second and third place runners from my division–that was good, but they were not coming back as quickly as I would like, which meant that I was slowing up. The 5th 1600 would be the slowest of my day, I only ran about 6:27. Although I fell back some against the younger competitors, I lapped my age group rivals on the 21st lap–I had it in the bag and all I had to do was hold on.

Sweating it out over the final laps in Sacramento.

I maintained for a few more laps and then picked it up over the final two, crossing the line in a very hot 39:16, nearly 30 seconds slower than the younger runners. But I had lapped the rest of the field. So perhaps not as fast as I’d like, but I’ll take the win, but I am with winning my age division by more than two minutes.

Age group winners! Javier caught the leader Scott with just a couple meters to go to win the 60-64 age group and I came out ahead in the 65-69 category.

Rapid Fire Race Month

Following a big month with a peak in May (25K) and Bolder Boulder 10K just two weeks later I recovered and just trained though June with no cut backs or races, managing about 60 miles a week.

Racing would resume in July.

Normally I like have my races scattered so that I’m focused and not fatigued from training. However, this month I decided to do five races in a span of sixteen days, although the slate consisted of two 800s and two 5Ks and capped off with a track 10000 m. That’s a lot of races but only adding up to 21.6 km, it did not seem like over racing.

Firekracker 5K, July 4

For the third year in a row I returned to Fort Collins for this race. I had no breakthroughs in June but no break downs, just a routine month which counts as a win. I did four consecutive weeks with a double threshold day (early in the week), a second workout day that was either tempo or fartlek, and a long run. And I mixed in a little bit of speed work here and there to get ready for the 800.

I was looking forward for the trip back up to Fort Collins, but kind of fell into a funk a day or two before. I think it was allergies compounded with new contact lenses with a poor prescription. Not to mention I retired from work/career less than a week ahead of the race. And of course extensive political turmoil that if you look at it, was just plain upsetting.

We spent the night in Fort Collins, so we wouldn’t have to get up so early on Thursday. I woke up that day feeling way off, and decided that this would be a non-race and that I would just tempo the first mile and progress from there. Per usual with this race, the first half mile is hectic and crowded, with several sharp turns a lot of fast-starting runners, some with dogs. I don’t know why a race with close to 2,000 people should allow dogs on leashes. It’s dangerous.

Finally, by the time we hit the north side of the cemetery on La Porte Street, just before 1 mile, things had strung out enough to relax and find a stride. Despite feeling groggy all morning and a little bit out of body, right up to the start, I was pleasantly surprised split the mile in 6:20 feeling pretty good. It helped that we had an unseasonably cool morning at 53 degrees, instead of the more typical +/-70 F. So I started moving up and picked off a string of runners including the leading leashed dog runners.

The 2nd mile was even better, which I covered in 6:10 and a good rhythm. So I kept it going as we swept by City Park Lake and the Park itself, and I held it together over the final half mile. I didn’t want to dig too deep because I would be racing an 800 m in just 36 hours, so I quietly accelerated to the finish with a 6:04 final mile, to finish at about 6:10 pace. The time was just 3 or 4 seconds slower than 2022. That day I was a little disappointed, but two years later I’m not complaining about 2024.

Final 30 meters of the July 4th 5K.

Track Series 800 m

Just a day and a half later I found myself trying to be up for my first official 800 m race in 15 years, and one of just a few since my late 20s. I gave the event a shot as a newbie runner when I was a college freshman–way back in 1977–but the 800 was never my event.

Our club was trying to put together a relay for US Masters Track and Field Championships in a couple of weeks and I thought that even though I wouldn’t be fully recovered, it would be a good idea to line up and race at least once. I expected we would have two heats for the men’s division and the slower heat would be won in about 2:30 as it was in the first meet last month. That’d be a high-end mark and I hoped to be in the 2:32-2:35 range on Friday.

None of that worked out. The race only had a dozen runners, nine were under the age of 30 and all would run 2:15 or faster. There were three old guys, myself, my club teammate (and putative relay partner Dan), and a gentleman in his 70s. Dan wasn’t planning to run at all, but his partner is a race official who saw my name so she signed him up after the entry deadline had closed. I was a little but what? Dan has a very competitive do-or-die approach to racing, often closing his emails with “Strength and Honor” whatever that means. He also stated several times that he would not go to US nationals just to win, it was get the American record or stay home.

Dan’s attitudes and mine sometimes clash. I was a little nervous going in, knowing how he likes to race (lurking and stalking and making a move later in the race), and that if I have an off day he can run me down. I don’t like losing to anyone in my age group at local races, including Dan.

We did warm up together, and of course the race was delayed by some 40 minutes. We lined up on the outside of the waterfall start. The gun went off, and the field sprinted away in a matter of a few meters. I laughed a little.

It was my last laugh of the evening. I could feel Dan’s footsteps behind me, but chose to focus on finding the right pace (figuring a 38-39 first 200 would be a good start). The leaders had 40 meters on me on the backstretch and footsteps behind faded but I had no I idea by how much. I was running totally alone–just what I didn’t want, this race was supposed to be a calibration.

I came through the 400 in 77-78, some 15 to 20 seconds behind the leaders and (later I would learn) 6 or 7 seconds ahead of Dan. At that point I was feeling okay, and hoping that I could hold on for another lap at that pace. However, after rounding the curve, with 300 to go, my legs started to tighten up. I picked it up there (in hindsight should have kept the effort even for another 150 meters or so), and I sped down the backstretch for about 80 or 90 meters. But with 200 to go my legs and lungs really locked up and I was just jogging the curve (probably at 3:00 pace). With a 100 to go, I knew Dan would be coming on strong so I threw down one last surge which I held for about 50 meters. Then I locked up one final time. I was moving forward but not fast.

Mu goal time was out the window, I wouldn’t be near 2:40, let alone 2:32-35, but at least I was holding off my teammate/rival. Five meters to go I had it. Four, three, one more stride! Nope! He got me with a meter to go! To lead for 799 meters and to falter, that was a bit of a slap in the face. But I deserved it, not being 100% rested and I ran a poor race tactically. I congratulated Dan, and moved on.

Two meters to go, not looking good!

State Championship 5K

I took my lump of coal on that one, and set out for a good week of training leading up to the 5K.

Going into race weekend my attitude wasn’t great, another rival had just turned 65 I figured I would be pressed in this one as I had been in the 800. However, that’s racing, and racing when you have good competition and a target on your back.

Race day dawned a lot warmer than in the Fort Collins race just nine days prior, by race time the temperature was in the mid 70s and climbing. With a number of solid competitors in the 60+ age division (no Dan this time), I resolved to go out competitively, but not too fast. We were off and I quickly settled into a 6:05-6:10 pace with two runners in their early 60s some 5 or 10 seconds up, and my new age group rival just behind me. The course is a sidewalk around a lake, so it’s fairly narrow. Just before the mile I passed the two age rivals, feeling solid, and I hit the mile in about 6:06 looking ahead and trying not to think about those in my wake. That split was quite a lot faster than the 6:20 I did in Fort Collins, but this course was flatter at the start. So I pressed on into mile 2. I only picked off a couple runners for the remainder of the race, primarily just holding my position.

2nd mile was 6:10 and the trail had a switchback with a mile to go, and there I could see that my age rivals were well behind. That gave me the rare opportunity to hold back a little bit on the final mile, which I ran in 6:15. I did kick it in over the last 150 m to finish in under 19 minutes for the first time at altitude since 2021. The course was said to be a little short, but close enough. Job done.

Making my way to the final stretch in the 5K.

Three races in nine days, two good 5Ks and a poor effort at 800. Would that be enough (or too much) to be ready for Nationals, which would start 1,200 miles of driving and only five days later?

Bolder Boulder 10K 2024

I think this was my 12th Bolder Boulder, going all the way back to 1983. I have run the race whenever I have been living in-state and able, but missed several times due to injury, illness, or travel. Never has this race been my season’s best–except maybe in 2000 when I just missed top 100 overall and I won my age division on perhaps the warmest Bolder Boulder ever.

After moving back to Colorado and settling, I had a good streak from 2016-2019, winning four age division titles in a row. Then the came Covid pandemic and they only held a virtual race in 2020 (ran 39:48 on the Platte River bike path) and a socially distanced time trial in 2021 (39:30). I was all set for the return in 2022 but came down with my own case of Covid, and missed the race while recovering.

My delayed return last year was kind of a mix. Just two weeks after setting an age group record at the Riverbank Run 25K in Michigan. I wasn’t fully recovered, and tapered. Still, I won my age division in 40:46, but for the first time I did not break 40 and earn a spot in the Sub 40 Club, in which they award you with a t-shirt and list you on the website.

I ran flat that day and finished behind runners I normally beat. This was my conclusion from 2023:

I just didn’t have my day. Next time, I’ll take recovery a bit more seriously and go light on Friday, Saturday rest, Sunday shakeout. Bolder Boulder is by far the biggest and most important road race in the state. People build their year around it, not just try to fit it in. I do plan to run the 25K again and will have a better roadmap to enter Bolder Boulder.

Recovery and Taper

Last year I rested a few days after the 25K and then built back up in the second week, hitting about 50 miles. I decided not to fully taper and did a light workout on Friday, and then ran 5 or 6 miles on Saturday and Sunday figuring I’d be fine for the Memorial Day 10K.

This time I flipped that around a little bit. I did a short shakeout on Sunday after the 25K, took Monday off, and then built up gradually through that first week of recovery, running 11 miles on Sunday. In the second week I just did a light fartlek on Wednesday and then tapered from there, resting completely on Saturday followed by a short 30 minute shakeout run on Sunday.
I felt better going in.

Race Morning

After so many years I have the Bolder Boulder logistics down pretty well. I park a community park less than a half mile from the start area, and the only trick is to get there early. But even then, with just a few cars in the parking lot at 5:30 AM, the bathroom line was 10 minutes long!

After chilling in the car for half an hour I started my warm up and met my friend Souhail, and we ran about a mile together and did some drills. We lined up into the A corral (maybe my last!?, it takes a 38 minute 10K or equivalent to get into that wave).

In the corral we bumped into elite runner Allie Ostrander, who I watched race as a high school cross country phenom in Alaska from 2011-2014 while I was coaching our sons for their team. She was dressed in street clothes, but was holding a camera and microphone. I struck up a quick conversation about the Alaska days and we compared Alaska vs. Colorado (much warmer and more sunshine here). Then she asked us a couple questions for her boyfriend The Athlete Special‘s vlog (check the 4:00 mark).

Countdown and Start

The Bolder Boulder is one of the largest races in the US and one of the biggest 10Ks in the world. This year some 48,000 people registered. In order to manage the huge crowd of runners and walkers the race is divided into about 100 waves of up to 500 runners each, starting from Wave A which starts at 6:50 AM to Wave WE, going off at at 9:19.

It’s a race for thousands and a huge party-get together for many thousands more. Bolder Boulder has one of the largest Memorial Day celebrations in the country and it’s a logistical wonder.

Bolder Boulder race start with tens of thousands of runners lining up (BB website)

With seconds to go a trumpet blew and we counted down. Lining up near the back of the wave, the horn blew and it took 10 seconds for me to cross the start line.

My goal was simple, run it in under 40 minutes , keep an even effort, and hopefully have enough after 5 or 5.5 miles to make that last tough uphill climb into Folsom stadium. I felt okay in that first mile, no mishaps, as I dialed into a sustainable effort. I crossed in 6:26-right on!

Early miles, hanging in there with my wave during the 2nd mile (but see Wave AA with blue bibs lurking in the background).

The course winds through a fairly even first mile (little elevation gain-loss), then turns west for a bit and north for the second and most of the third mile, and this is the where you have the biggest climbs. That is until that final half mile. It’s always long and grinding, and this year (2nd year in a row) maybe I pushed it a little too hard. I was trying to keep the same effort, but ended up a little fast at 6:20 (GAP 6:13) and ended up paying for it later.

Just before half way we had a nice downhill respite, and there was an aid station. I sidled over to the right side of the rode but the 3-4 runners right ahead grabbed the initial cups. Finally, about half way through the there was an opening and I reached for the cup, slowing a bit. Bam, I took an elbow or fist to my back. I uttered an audible What the Fuck, Slow down! As I grabbed my cup and took a swig. The guy barreled by like he was hell bent for eternity.

All I could do is glare.

Just after the aid station, the guy in yellow barreling to the finish line, I’m back to his right still kind of pissed off.

Fortunately, there were no other incidents. I just got increasingly tired with each mile but tried to focus on keeping the effort. I split half way at just about 20 minutes (didn’t get the split there), and through the rolling 4th mile. I split a 25:58. So a few seconds off but the 5th mile is downhill and fast.

Rolling through the 5th mile.

I hit mile 5 in 32:12, so a 6:14 for the downhill and fastest split of the day. A little mental math had me thinking that a 6:20 would do it, or a high 6:20s with a massive kick over the last 300 meters.

Would I have it?

Rounding the turn and hanging on near mile 5.

I had some confidence through 9K, although it seemed to take longer to get there after we had made the turn onto Folsom Avenue, which leads to the stadium for nearly a mile. This is always the toughest test for me. Over the last kilometer, specifically the 800 or so meters from the 9K banner until you enter the stadium, is always grueling and challenge.

Sometimes I can find a gear to grind up that hill into the stadium but this year I fell apart, at least according to Strava. As my pace slowed to 7:30s for those couple hundred meters. Entering the stadium I threw all I had into a kick, but even that was a bit sluggish until I reached the final turn.

Kicking it in!

I didn’t check my watch over the last mile–it’s kind of a thing as I prefer to just run and not focus on time and pace. I think that’s a reasonable habit but it does come back to nip me sometimes in races when I have a specific time goal.

I checked my watch. 40:08. Short of my goal to be the oldest ever to be in Club 40 at the Bolder Boulder (the oldest has been 64). I was a little disappointed, but don’t know how or where I could have squeezed those 9 seconds. Maybe a slightly slower 2nd mile (say another 6:26 on the uphill) would have left a little more energy for a faster closing stretch.

Nevertheless, I won my age division for the 7th time, broke the single age record by more than a minute, and the age group record by 30 seconds. So I didn’t break 40 but have run faster than anyone else for age 65 and up. No complaints.

I’d like to be back for next year, and I think I can make another good attempt to break 40 minutes once again. The question is, do I go for another 25K record in Grand Rapids and try to circle back in 16 days, like I have these past two years, or go do the Bloomsday Race in Spokane and have a three week recovery? As long as things are going well I’ll make that decision next April.

Return to the Riverbank Run 25K

Among my big goals last year, was to set the American record for the 25K road race at the Amway Riverbank Run in Grand Rapids, MI. The other two were to win the overall age division at the USATF Master Grand Prix, and to run a sub 3. I got two of the three, but fell short at the Chicago Marathon in October.

Finishing last year’s Riverbank Run

This Was Not Supposed to be a Rebound Race

Although I did get the record at the Riverbank Run (by a full minute) it wasn’t a perfect day, with temperatures in the 60s, and I took a hard fall in the 2nd mile when another runner clipped my heel. I ran 1:40:39, and felt that I might have another minute with better conditions and no mishaps along the way. So last fall when I got a complimentary entry for winning my age group, I signed up immediately.

Everything training-wise was on track through March but at the end of the month I decided to try a new training system. The thought was that I could use the extra input from a professional coach instead of relying my own methods, which have worked but maybe I could squeeze out a little more. The results were less than perfect, three weeks into the program I felt overtrained and tweaked my hamstring. I was pretty disappointed to miss the USATF 10K championships at the end of April.

Fortunately, I healed up quickly and was only out for a week, and was able to cross train through most of it. Hopefully I didn’t miss much. However, I did feel off with the reduction in mileage and uncertainty of whether I would even be able to line up in Grand Rapids.

Travel Deja Vu

The logistics of this trip was almost a carbon copy to last year. We traveled on Thursday evening, which turned into Thursday night and just like last year the flight was delayed a couple of hours. We got into Grand Rapids after midnight and didn’t get to the hotel until well after 1 am. That wasn’t ideal, and I slept poorly, maybe getting 5 hours in before awakening.

We scouted the course in the morning, and I did a short shakeout run starting at John Ball Park, near the 3 mile point, and then visited the Lake Michigan shoreline at a county park about 45 minutes away.

Lake Michigan from Rosy Mound Natural Area

Wooded sand dunes at Rosy Mound Natural Area

We were really boring and even ate at the same restaurant that we did last year. It had good food, friendly service, and it was close to the hotel, so why not?

Even though I was tired all day, and wasn’t sure how much fitness I had lost over the past couple of weeks, I was encouraged by the weather which promised to have near perfect temperatures, with some wind. I set out to break 1:40 and to run a string of sub 20 minute 5Ks to accomplish that. The plan was go out and hold the pace for as long as I could.

Race Day

Fortunately, I slept well, as well as possible on the night of a big race, but did wake up frequently in the early morning hours.

The morning was cool and cloudy, threatening some rain which never really materialized, but it was also breezy with steady 7-12 mph winds coming from the northwest, and stronger gusts here and there–especially in the downtown area along the river and between the tall buildings.

I took an easy warm up, but it was intermittent because downtown was so crowded. Spent some minutes looking for the gear drop area, which I didn’t find (note to self–read the map/instructions even if you have been to the race before). So I ditched my gear bag under a bush near the finish. Jogged to the start area, and was shocked that we had just 2.5 minutes to start! (note to self, check your watch!)

It had started misting about 10 minutes before our start so I kept my arm warmers and gloves on. I wasn’t sure what the race would be like and hoped it wouldn’t rain the entire way.

In the days and hours before the race I was excited but more tempered than last year. I felt less pressure, like there was nothing to lose, but also less tested and unsure about my fitness. In 2023 I had already put up some good numbers by May topped of with a 92% age grade at the USATF masters 10 mile the previous month. This time I had not raced in 8 weeks, and was coming off a dinged hamstring which compromised training. Overall I was less psyched, but the day was good so I was ready to stick to the plan of sub 20 5Ks.

The Race

We were off and I found a groove and space right away. After that quick first turn onto the downhill toward the river, I checked my watch, which read 6:10 pace. So I let up a little. By a half mile I could tell the arm warmers wouldn’t be necessary so I pulled them off, and tossed them to Tamara, who was standing just short of the mile marker. Split 6:20 for mile 1. A little quick but with the net downhill, it was right on and I felt decent.

I found my pace in miles 2 and 3, and only checked splits at the mile markers. We ran by John Ball Park, where I did the shakeout on Friday, and I found the 5K marker on the road. Took my split there, which was 19:57, so right on. The effort felt typical for when I travel to sea level–fast (borderline too fast) but intuitively sustainable.

As we headed west out of the park and residential area to the more rural Butterworth Road I could see a large pack of 50 or so runners strung out some 20-40 seconds ahead, while I was more in a no-man’s land with a runner or two here and there, spaced 5 or 10 seconds apart. On the first hill (about 3.5 miles in) a couple groups of runners went by–I ran with them for a bit but, their pace seemed faster like low 6:20s instead of mid 6:20s. I did not want to flame out at 15K and chose to keep the effort even. With a headwind, this was the more conservative choice. On the top of the first hill a bystander said we were about in 100th place. (Looking back my guess was somewhere around 105th or 110th).

Still feeling fresh near mile 3 of the Riverbank Run.

The fifth mile had another long hill and a few rollers but the effort did not feel bad. Then we made a turn to the SW for a few miles with some long downhills. 10K split was 39:55. I guy who seemed to be close to my age pulled up and drafted off me for a bit, I dropped back and we ran side by side for a couple of miles. At an aid station at 8 miles I slowed to get my gel and he gapped me. Pulling away a few seconds a mile. Oh well.

I felt I was on that edge and we were barely half way into the race. Just before 9 miles we crossed the Grand River, going through a scream tunnel of sort. A local high school cheerleading squad. They had a lot of spirit was the noisiest part of the course.

Turning left on to the park drive it was quite the opposite. No fans, just quiet. Here y0u had to watch your footing. The road was fairly narrow and crowned, with a rumble strip in the middle, and it had lots of patched roadwork. Footing was best on toward middle the either side of the rumble strip. This is a nice stretch, it’s nearly flat, but its also a bit lonely. Crossed 15K in 59:44 and for the first time I felt decent about possibly breaking 1:40. I just needed to run 40:15 for 10K.

I passed one or two runners here, and maybe two or three passed me. The masters runner who had gone by was a good 20-30 seconds up. Still in the park at 20K, passed that maker in 1:19:49, so losing out on my little sub-goal of running each 5K split under 20. Mentally the 15-20K stretch is the most difficult part of the race. I was also feeling it physically and just tried to focus on little landmarks a minute or two ahead. Focus on that point, reach it, find another, repeat. Just after 20K we run back onto the newly paved road that leads into the city. It’s wide and smooth, much better footing and you can focus a bit more on pace and effort and think less ab0ut the surface.

They had a timing mat at the half, and I while I was feeling the pace it also felt sustainable. I could hold this for 2 more miles and still have a kick at the end. I passed a runner and encouraged him. A half mile later he came back and encouraged me. I mentioned that I was aiming for the record and he said “let’s do this!” and we ran together heading into the city. With about a mile to go there is a hill that climbs some 60 feet over a third of a mile, I anticipated it and ran within myself. My (right) hamstring started to cramp a bit (note the left was the one that acted up a couple weeks before), so I had to ease my pace until we made the turn and headed down. The tightness dissipated on the flat and down, but now we were running into a stiff headwind. I held on as best I could as my compatriot pulled away. So I was back on my own. However, I was able to increase my cadence and lengthen my stride as we wound through some twists and turns. I knew I had the record and was fairly certain I’d be under my goal of 1:40. Tamara was cheering at a corner, about 400 m from the finish and that also gave a boost.

Crossed the line in 1:39:50, running that last half mile or so at 6:12/mile pace. And that extra effort is what kept me under 1:40. A new American record!

After the race!