Saturday, August 30, 2008

2008 Monte Sano Road Races

2008 Monte Sano Road Races 10k
Huntsville, AL
August 30, 2008
Official Results



Sometime just after 7:38 on May 26, 2008 I swore that I would never do two races on the same morning with little rest in between. That was just after finishing the Cotton Row 10k which has substantial elevation change. On that day, I would have 82 minutes of rest before running the 5k race. I felt horrible in between the races and struggled through the 5k, logging my worst road 5k in years, albeit on dead legs.

Somehow I had forgotten this resolution when I signed up for the Monte Sano Road Races. Why not take the race setup at Cotton Row and make it harder? Ok! The Monte Sano 10k starts at 8:00 am, is run on a more difficult course with more elevation change on the two loop course featuring two cone turn arounds on a gravel road. Then, if you are fast, you may get 50 minutes of rest before the start of the 5k, which runs just 1 loop of the 10k course. It sounds like a bad setup with disaster written all over it. Yet I still signed up and I still ran both races, despite trying to deny my attendance up until race day then swearing off the 5k before even finishing the 10k.

The Monte Sano Road races are the last two events in the HTC Gran Prix scoring system and I had slim hopes of garnering enough points to move up into the top three finishers. Despite a poor showing at the marathon (point wise) and missing a few easy-pointing earlier season races, I had come on strong in late spring and continued to get large amounts of points through the summer. I had to gain 100 points on the HTC president David Purinton in the standings top move into 3rd. I figured that I needed to have some sort of combination of major points for me and little to no points for David, all of which seemed doubtful. I knew that he was going to make it as Ben was running the 5k, so unless he fell down (hey, I didn't really push Brian Robinson down on High Trail this spring, despite rumors) I'd have no chance.

The 10k started with a fairly large field of 313. It was fairly stacked at the top with Jason, Donald, Lucas, Varick, George, Greg Foreman, Hot Rod, Brett, Francica, David, Shane, Mike Green and Candace. All contenders in their own right.

I decided to start out easy and not drop a 5:20 first mile like other middle distance races I had run lately. I would try to run even pace for the entire race. I started out with a 5:45 first mile as we left the lodge and ran out onto the gravel road, climbing the hill toward the ranger's house. I am not sure of position, but I think I was somewhere in the top 10. I was holding back a little, knowing that I had another race after this one to run as well. I held pretty true on the second mile, which included the cone turn around and ran a 5:53 mile. I was running with Todd and decided to make a move and pass him up on the fast downhill. I was chasing Jason and didn't want him to get out of site. I again held true at 5:48 on the third mile and same through the turn around at the lodge feeling pretty good. There were lots of people cheering and I heard Beth call out my name as I turned and went back out for another loop.

The second loop was all about staying even and not falling off too far, holding my position. I was in 6th overall and feeling good. My next 3 mile splits were 6:03, 6:03 and 6:02. I made one last push up the final hill and made the turn into the lodge. I sprinted to the finish and ended up running 37:01 for 5:57 pace. This was a great run compared with Cotton Row and A&M 10k races, which are generally thought of as harder races. In those events, I went 37:53 and 37:44. I had cut 7 seconds per mile off of A&M and 8 on CRR, in this warm day on a harder course.

Of the 313 starters, I finished 6th overall and 16 seconds behind Jason. Little did I know that he had run 10k of warm up beforehand! I was 2nd in M30-34.


2008 Monte Sano Road Races 5k
Huntsville, AL
August 30, 2008
Official Results



There were 491 starters in the 5k, which was 50 minutes after the end of the 5k. I went to change clothes and just cool down (body temperature), as I did no cool down run in between. I wanted to rest my legs.

The 5k draws lots of high school stars as school is in session and they have been training for this event. If I was fresh, I could contend for the top 3, but with 10k already on my legs, I would have to just hang on!

My first mile was all about easing back into race pace. I was in about 50th place at 1/2 mile, but would start to pick it up climbing the hill and running out on the gravel road. I logged a 6:05 first mile and chasing Jason again.

The second mile was nearly the same as the first, at 6:07, which included a fast downhill coming out of the woods. I had passed a ton of people going into the woods and coming out, dodging runners left and right.

At the water stop, I decided to get some quick fluids and stopped at the aid station near the ranger station for 4 or 5 seconds. No one was around me so it didn't affect position. Then I went out to the overlook and tried just to remain even.

Coming back toward the finish, I battled with a younger runner, taking turns with the lead. We traded a few times before I made a hard push past the hikers lot and up the final hill. Despite the time on my feet, I was still a good hill climber and knew that I could put some distance on him in this short quick uphill. My final mile was 5:59, which was great considering the aid station stop.

I made the final turn and snuck a quick look to make sure that I had built a safe lead coming into the finish. I ended up running 18:54, finishing 11th overall and 2nd in M30-34, again right behind Jason. This was a much better performance than my 5k at Cotton Row (which was also after the 10k, but with more rest).

This was an exhausting day to say the least. When the dust settled, I would earn 65 points for the 10k and another 65 points for the 5k, which displaced a lower point effort from the beginning of the year. This meant that I finished 4th in the Gran Prix standings, behind Jason, Donald and David. This was a move up from 14th place the year before. Overall I am very, very happy with this. I really look up to the guys that finish ahead of me as great runners, so to be amongst them feels pretty darn good.

Now it's time to start the 08-09 Gran Prix in the Open Men's standings, chasing Jason, as Donald and David move up to Master's men's. It should be an interesting year.