Sunday, May 27, 2007
I ran this 5K which was originally scheduled the same weekend as the Boston Marathon. The race was delayed then due to severe weather.
I used this race simply as a speed drill in preparation for the 5 mile race next weekend. Friday we did a hard tempo run and Saturday we ran an easy 10.3 miles so I was running this race with tired legs.
Weather was warm with temps in low 70's and roughly 70% humidity making it the first warm race of the year.
Goal was to break 20 minutes and see if I could pull it out with the limited training I had done.
Split times are as follows:
Mile 1) 6:07
Mile 2) 6:34
Mile 3) 6:35
.1) 0:39
Total time was 19:57 for a 6:25 pace. I finished 3rd in age group with roughly 200 runners for the race.
I was pleased with my time all things considering and hope to be around 32 to 32:30 on the 5 miler next week.
Enjoy the day everyone.
I used this race simply as a speed drill in preparation for the 5 mile race next weekend. Friday we did a hard tempo run and Saturday we ran an easy 10.3 miles so I was running this race with tired legs.
Weather was warm with temps in low 70's and roughly 70% humidity making it the first warm race of the year.
Goal was to break 20 minutes and see if I could pull it out with the limited training I had done.
Split times are as follows:
Mile 1) 6:07
Mile 2) 6:34
Mile 3) 6:35
.1) 0:39
Total time was 19:57 for a 6:25 pace. I finished 3rd in age group with roughly 200 runners for the race.
I was pleased with my time all things considering and hope to be around 32 to 32:30 on the 5 miler next week.
Enjoy the day everyone.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Wednesday Speedwork
Last night I ran in a 5K that is put on weekly by the running club I
joined on Long Island. It was really wet and a bit windy but just a
real joy to run in (it was warm enough thankfully). They do the full
thing, anyone can run, issue age group ribbons and have water and
snacks at the end.
My goal was just to run 2 miles to warm up, do the 3.1 miles at 10K
pace (about 77% effort) and then a 2 mile cool down. I am still
getting my legs back and didn't want to push it to hard.
My splits were real consistent for a change. 1st mile was 6:32,
followed by splits of 6:36 and mile 3 at 6:37 and :39 for the
remaining .1 Total time was 20:24 for avg pace of 6:34. Overall was
8th out of roughly 55 who showed (weather kept the numbers down I
suspect) and 2nd in age group.
I met some of the runners who are on the club racing team and they
were nice folks. The Grand Prix series is based on team performance
against other teams and each age group earns points. I should be able
to contribute to the team with consistent top 5 age group placements.
The guy who won the age group ran 20:03 and was his PR. After I
congratulated him he did ask what my normal times were. After I
explained for target races I will be typically in the low to mid 19's
he said he look forward to the competition. So do I!
Enjoy the day.
Last night I ran in a 5K that is put on weekly by the running club I
joined on Long Island. It was really wet and a bit windy but just a
real joy to run in (it was warm enough thankfully). They do the full
thing, anyone can run, issue age group ribbons and have water and
snacks at the end.
My goal was just to run 2 miles to warm up, do the 3.1 miles at 10K
pace (about 77% effort) and then a 2 mile cool down. I am still
getting my legs back and didn't want to push it to hard.
My splits were real consistent for a change. 1st mile was 6:32,
followed by splits of 6:36 and mile 3 at 6:37 and :39 for the
remaining .1 Total time was 20:24 for avg pace of 6:34. Overall was
8th out of roughly 55 who showed (weather kept the numbers down I
suspect) and 2nd in age group.
I met some of the runners who are on the club racing team and they
were nice folks. The Grand Prix series is based on team performance
against other teams and each age group earns points. I should be able
to contribute to the team with consistent top 5 age group placements.
The guy who won the age group ran 20:03 and was his PR. After I
congratulated him he did ask what my normal times were. After I
explained for target races I will be typically in the low to mid 19's
he said he look forward to the competition. So do I!
Enjoy the day.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Race for Brain Cancer Cure 5k
Today I decided to do the above mentioned race even though I knew my speed would be typical sloth time for me. I still need a few weeks to recover from the Flying Pig so I approached this as more of a tempo run to start shaking the legs loose again in preparation for 5K training.
The race was beautiful, 75 but windy and was right on the board walk at Jones Beach on Long Island.
Did my usual 2 mile warm up and then prep for the race.
Splits are as follows:
Mile 1) 6:14
Mile 2) 6:35
Last 1.16) 6:57
Total time was 20:54 on a 3.16 mile course for an average pace of 6:37.
Distance was long I had 3.16 miles, others were closer to 3.2 miles with all of our GPS.
Overall I was 10th out of roughly 200 who participated in it, 3rd in the age group but 2nd for hardware in the Male 40-49 age group (I don't particularly like 10 year age groups but still manage to place)
The race director was the daughter whose father has recently passed away from brain cancer. She showed great poise, did a great job on the race and I was honored to provide my support and money to her cause. I always enjoy doing races that support a family or medical research.
Now for a nap, another short run this afternoon and a movie tonight.
Enjoy the day everyone.
Kurt
Today I decided to do the above mentioned race even though I knew my speed would be typical sloth time for me. I still need a few weeks to recover from the Flying Pig so I approached this as more of a tempo run to start shaking the legs loose again in preparation for 5K training.
The race was beautiful, 75 but windy and was right on the board walk at Jones Beach on Long Island.
Did my usual 2 mile warm up and then prep for the race.
Splits are as follows:
Mile 1) 6:14
Mile 2) 6:35
Last 1.16) 6:57
Total time was 20:54 on a 3.16 mile course for an average pace of 6:37.
Distance was long I had 3.16 miles, others were closer to 3.2 miles with all of our GPS.
Overall I was 10th out of roughly 200 who participated in it, 3rd in the age group but 2nd for hardware in the Male 40-49 age group (I don't particularly like 10 year age groups but still manage to place)
The race director was the daughter whose father has recently passed away from brain cancer. She showed great poise, did a great job on the race and I was honored to provide my support and money to her cause. I always enjoy doing races that support a family or medical research.
Now for a nap, another short run this afternoon and a movie tonight.
Enjoy the day everyone.
Kurt
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Flying Pig Pictures
Here are a few pictures from the weekend (Coach Tammy asked before for Pictures so here we go)
All in all a very good weekend.
Here are a few pictures from the weekend (Coach Tammy asked before for Pictures so here we go)
Here is my youngest and grand daughter at the expo and with a Flying Pig
Morning of the race we are all to chipper at 4:45 a.m. but how could you not be with this adorable little piggy?
My oldest and Grand daughter pretending to be awake and getting ready for the race. They look good (I have cute kids and grand daughter!)
Here I am at mile 4 and still enjoying the race.
Here is my son in law looking way to happy.
Here I am at mile 12 and form has gone to hell and not feeling good at all.
Post race celebration. Natalie decides the table is better than food and beer.
My youngest, Maddie, being a piggy and going for the chocolate cake.
All in all a very good weekend.
Monday, May 07, 2007
Sunday I ran my targeted race for the Spring and it was the Flying Pig Half marathon. First I would say it was one of the best weekends with an excellent course (challenging), great volunteers, a very slick expo and this weekend really wonderful weather.
I had almost all of my family with me including my son in law who was running his 1st half marathon.
The night before we met up with several runners from two different running groups including Mike R, Sid, Letty and BK. BK and I were going to compete against each other for a winner to receive a cheesecake. It was nice with 20 of us at dinner enjoying the pleasure of seeing these folks for the first time.
The only negative was I had left my asthma meds back in NY so I was running without them (it would come back to haunt me on the hills) and went 2 days without them.
Sunday morning my oldest drives my Son in Law, my grand daughter and myself over to the start area. I do an appropriate 1.5 mile warm up and run into BK in the Bengals Stadium while doing final stretches and potty break.
Right before the start I see Mike R (who was running the Full marathon) so with that the race starts.
I did a good job on the 1st 4 miles of keeping easy pacing around 6:45 - 6:50 min per mile pace. I had by Forerunner 305 but with all the bridges and buildings it wasn't accurate and the constant beeping was annoying me so I eventually turned it off. Mile 4 I was at 27:30 time saw my oldest daughter. Nice to see one friendly face at that point.
At mile 5 I finally saw all the hills BK had warned me about. This is where the lack of asthma meds really took their toll. As I begin to climb I felt my lungs just tightening up and of course the pace began to falter off rapidly. I kept expecting BK to catch me at any time as I reverted back to my sloth pace and was struggling to just breathe.
Finally mile 10 comes (no more uphills thankfully) and I knew that from here it was downhill and then flat. Mile 10 time was 1:11:50 or about 3 minutes off where I had hoped to be.
The downhill was nice and I picked up pace and started to catch some of the people who been passing me. I also knew somewhere behind me was BK and he was a strong finisher.
At mile 11.5 there is a sharp U turn and for the first time I was able to see who was behind me as I made the turn. I had run about 25 meters when I saw BK and I knew I just had about a 45 second lead on him and he was looking smooth and running well. I on the other hand was totally drained and every step was a struggle for me.
I kept just digging in and kept the mantra of cheesecake is mine if I win. I thought of what kind of cheesecake I would love to have and oreo vanilla swirl cheesecake or banana pumpkin were what I concluded on.
Finally I know I am coming around the bend to the end and with a .2 mile to go I begin to kick some and know that BK isn't going to catch me.
Final 5K I ran in 20:19 so I was okay with that portion (long downhill really helps!)
I finished 1:32:09 97th overall out of 5555 who completed the race, 88th male and 9th out of 246 in the male 45-49 age group. BK came in a minute behind me and we chatted briefly before I went to find my son in law. SIL finished in 1:46:54 and that was great for his first half.
It was a good weekend overall. I enjoyed the whole Pig experience. Today I hurt though!
Enjoy the day everyone.
Kurt
I had almost all of my family with me including my son in law who was running his 1st half marathon.
The night before we met up with several runners from two different running groups including Mike R, Sid, Letty and BK. BK and I were going to compete against each other for a winner to receive a cheesecake. It was nice with 20 of us at dinner enjoying the pleasure of seeing these folks for the first time.
The only negative was I had left my asthma meds back in NY so I was running without them (it would come back to haunt me on the hills) and went 2 days without them.
Sunday morning my oldest drives my Son in Law, my grand daughter and myself over to the start area. I do an appropriate 1.5 mile warm up and run into BK in the Bengals Stadium while doing final stretches and potty break.
Right before the start I see Mike R (who was running the Full marathon) so with that the race starts.
I did a good job on the 1st 4 miles of keeping easy pacing around 6:45 - 6:50 min per mile pace. I had by Forerunner 305 but with all the bridges and buildings it wasn't accurate and the constant beeping was annoying me so I eventually turned it off. Mile 4 I was at 27:30 time saw my oldest daughter. Nice to see one friendly face at that point.
At mile 5 I finally saw all the hills BK had warned me about. This is where the lack of asthma meds really took their toll. As I begin to climb I felt my lungs just tightening up and of course the pace began to falter off rapidly. I kept expecting BK to catch me at any time as I reverted back to my sloth pace and was struggling to just breathe.
Finally mile 10 comes (no more uphills thankfully) and I knew that from here it was downhill and then flat. Mile 10 time was 1:11:50 or about 3 minutes off where I had hoped to be.
The downhill was nice and I picked up pace and started to catch some of the people who been passing me. I also knew somewhere behind me was BK and he was a strong finisher.
At mile 11.5 there is a sharp U turn and for the first time I was able to see who was behind me as I made the turn. I had run about 25 meters when I saw BK and I knew I just had about a 45 second lead on him and he was looking smooth and running well. I on the other hand was totally drained and every step was a struggle for me.
I kept just digging in and kept the mantra of cheesecake is mine if I win. I thought of what kind of cheesecake I would love to have and oreo vanilla swirl cheesecake or banana pumpkin were what I concluded on.
Finally I know I am coming around the bend to the end and with a .2 mile to go I begin to kick some and know that BK isn't going to catch me.
Final 5K I ran in 20:19 so I was okay with that portion (long downhill really helps!)
I finished 1:32:09 97th overall out of 5555 who completed the race, 88th male and 9th out of 246 in the male 45-49 age group. BK came in a minute behind me and we chatted briefly before I went to find my son in law. SIL finished in 1:46:54 and that was great for his first half.
It was a good weekend overall. I enjoyed the whole Pig experience. Today I hurt though!
Enjoy the day everyone.
Kurt
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
I am not prepared.
I am running a half marathon on Sunday (Flying Pig) and have never gone into a targeted race feeling so un ready. My training has not gone well, the crazy hours at work and increase in asthma related issues aren't helping. But mostly mentally I am just not their yet. Typically when I start getting close to a target race all I do is live, breathe and die about the race. I drive everyone nuts. I become so focus that I am ready.
Running is as much mental as anything. I am racing a buddy of mine for a cheesecake. Normally that would be enough for anything and yet I am not fully motivated for it.
Of course I will have family their, several friends and the joy of my grand daughter. Not to mention I will be racing my son in law and totally showing him I may be older but still top racing dog in this family.
I am struggling with many changes in my life right now. Friends, family and life are a constant balancing.
On the good news I have a place for two months on the beach here in Long Island until my house that I am buying is ready for me to close on.
Enjoy the day everyone.
I am running a half marathon on Sunday (Flying Pig) and have never gone into a targeted race feeling so un ready. My training has not gone well, the crazy hours at work and increase in asthma related issues aren't helping. But mostly mentally I am just not their yet. Typically when I start getting close to a target race all I do is live, breathe and die about the race. I drive everyone nuts. I become so focus that I am ready.
Running is as much mental as anything. I am racing a buddy of mine for a cheesecake. Normally that would be enough for anything and yet I am not fully motivated for it.
Of course I will have family their, several friends and the joy of my grand daughter. Not to mention I will be racing my son in law and totally showing him I may be older but still top racing dog in this family.
I am struggling with many changes in my life right now. Friends, family and life are a constant balancing.
On the good news I have a place for two months on the beach here in Long Island until my house that I am buying is ready for me to close on.
Enjoy the day everyone.
