Decatur, AL
June 28, 2008
Official Results from River City Runners
On Tuesday the 24th I was absolutely not going to race this weekend. I had run 20 races this season to date, including 19 races in the last 16 weeks. My legs were really just tired and I thought that I needed a break from racing for a few weeks to get the spring back in my step. The spring that I have not felt since late February. Then Laura convinced some NOBO runners to race at Spirit of America in Decatur. When she registered online she asked me if I was going. Reluctantly I said yes. Really though, who was I fooling? Despite anything I say, I was always going to race. I just needed to think that I wasn't, if just for a few days.
I have officially stopped looking at the weather for summer races in Alabama. I just plan on 75-80 degrees by the start and bright sunshine with a hint of humidity. That was pretty much the same for this race.
This was a stagger start based on 2006 WMA (World Masters Association) age grade tables. Basically the older and more female age groups started first and then every minute started another group of runners. I would start in the last group (M18-34) 20 minutes behind the first group. The concept is to start apart and finish together, as opposed to starting together and finishing apart. Then awards are given at the finish to the top 10 male and top 10 female runners.
We watched all of the fast guys in there 40's and 50's and all females head out in front of us. The gap to the open class of females was 6 minutes, which would be impossible to make up in 5 miles, especially on Emily and Linda. Finally we started out on a grassy loop around the Point Mallard Soccer field. I had Tyrone Harris and Jason Reneau in my bracket, so that would give me some people to chase for a mile or so.
The first mile was on the grass and part on the road and came in at 5:51. Footing wasn't great on the field and the grass was slightly wet. I really liked the concept of getting to see new runners that I had not run with before. Also it was motivating to turn on the jets and pass as well. I felt decent, but I wasn't sure if I would be able to hold this pace in the heat, but I was going to push it and hold on as long as I could. I was running shirtless in this race and was dripping sweat right from the start. It was very, very hot.
The second mile was on the road with a slight incline and timed at a 5:53. I was still passing people left and right which pushed me to run harder and harder. If I could only have people to pass the entire race I would be able to hold on. This was about the time that I saw Laura and a few other runners that I knew. Everyone seemed to look pretty strong for this stage in the race. This was about the last time that I saw Jason, as he was about to enter the woods ahead of me.
The third mile was half on the road and half on the trail and timed at a 6:03 (2:58 on the road and 3:05 on the trail). I grabbed water in this mile, taking a small drink and dumping a small amount on the back of my neck to cool down. I knew that there would only be one more chance for water and in this heat, I knew that I needed a little dash. The trail was very winding and difficult to maintain a constant speed. There were still runners ahead of me who started early that I had to pass and it was not impossible, but strenuous to pass on the trail. Everyone wants to run the shortest distance, which means a straight line and often times I would have to take corners wide or having to slow down to pass people as they ran together or were in packs. I may have been able to hold onto the sub six minute pace had the course been out and back, but with this narrow 4' wide winding trail, I knew that it was not going to happen.
The fourth mile was all on the winding trail and run in the shade. I ran a 6:08 (3:02 and 3:08) and I started to struggle a bit. I was feeling sick to my stomach and really had no choice but to slow down if I wanted to be able to finish strong. There were fewer and fewer runners that I passed now. The ones that were still ahead might very well stay ahead of me. I had no idea what position I was in, as I really couldn't see more than to the next corner. The fatigue was setting in here and I looked at my watch 100 times from mile 3.6 to mile 4.0. I just couldn't believe how slowly the time was ticking by.
The fifth and final mile was still on the trail and except for a few times that the trail ended and ran out onto the road, was similar in nature to mile 4. I only passed maybe a half dozen people in this last mile, including Dogman around the 4.5 mile mark. I think that he started a few minutes ahead of me, but I am not sure how many. After a 3:06 first half mile, I really dropped the hammer and started to cruise in. I could see two runners in the far distance and I thought that they were male. Did I need to pass them to make the top 10? I had no idea. Since that was the case, I had not choice to push and see what would happen. I ran a 2:40 last half mile split (though the last mile measured only 0.96 miles) and as I made the last climb up a small hill at the end, the 2 male runners in front of me finished. I haven't seen the results, but they were maybe 5 seconds ahead of me.
As soon as I got to the end of the chute, Jon Elmore told me that I just missed the award level, which was the top 10 male runners. The two older guys in front of me were 9 and 10. If I had a full 5 miles (0.04 miles more) I would have passed them easily and been in the award bracket. It's not all about the awards, but the were nice wooden awards with engraving and race details. River City Runners usually goes all out and this was no different. For pure superficial reasons, it is nice to put something on the mantel to remember the race by. As it stands, I will have this race report and my bib number.
In the end I was the 5th fastest runner overall of 185 total at 29:45 and finished 11th male with the adjusted handicap starting. In true scoring, I would have taken 1st in M30-39 with Jason being pulled out of the age group as he was in the top 3.
Top 10 by time
Place Name Age Sex Time Net Time
1 Tyrone Harris 28 M 0:47:23 0:27:23
2 George Dewitt 49 M 0:44:29 0:28:29
3 Jason Reneau 32 M 0:48:55 0:28:55
4 Nathan Lewis 17 M 0:48:11 0:29:11
5 Eric Charette 32 M 0:49:46 0:29:46
6 Josh Long 29 M 0:50:22 0:30:22
7 Marty Clarke 46 M 0:48:25 0:31:25
8 Emily Hardin 24 F 0:46:03 0:32:03
9 Mathew Dunn 15 M 0:50:19 0:32:19
10 Barry Ege 55 M 0:47:34 0:32:34
My monthly mileage is looking to be about 310 miles with 3 quality runs per week. I don't think that this is too much, but maybe with a few less junk miles on non-quality days, I'd be in a little better shape.
We did about a 5 mile cool down with Linda, Andy, Joey and Emily and Wayne Heckler running with me. We basically retraced the course but at 50% the speed:) It was nice to get to know Emily better and for her to meet Ultra Wayne.
Thanks for Eric Schotz, Jon Elmore and the rest of the River City Runners for putting on a fine event. As always it was well coordinated and they had cookies at the end which I love to snack on with my Endurox Recovery Drink:)
In the future, I'd like to see this race run similar with a small change. It would be nice to stagger start runners based on their 12 previous month best 5k time. Then I would be running against other 5k runners in the 17:45 +/- 15 to 30 second range. This way you would run with other runners (male, female, all ages) that are the same speed. This would produce a truly spectacular finish as I think everyone would come in at the same time. You would be running the whole race next to people who are the same pace. You wouldn't really have to pass anyone, if they ran close to their 5k time, then you would all finish at the same time.
Future plans include taking a race break this coming weekend and trying to run a fast 10k in Crystal Falls, MI at the Run Your Bass Off race.