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Poudre Canyon

07 Sunday May 2017

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Marathons, Running

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

2017 Colorado Marathon, race results

IMG_0788

A marathon is a long run.  Don’t bother fact checking that, unless you intend to run one.  In my experience, it’s also true that the miles in the second half of the event are longer than the first thirteen miles, if measured by time rather than distance.  That was true today as the 70° heat eventually caught up to me.  Still, I had a good run.  This photo of me and Karen was taken in the Cubby Room at Bisetti’s Ristorante.  We went for Italian and for some reason got sat in their most romantic setting.  It’s a private room with a fireplace.  Yes, I drink wine the night before a marathon.  You never know when it’s going to be your last.

20 miles smile

Marathons can also make for a long day.  I boarded a bus from the Hilton Fort Collins at 4:30am this morning to ride up Poudre Canyon for the 6:30am start of the 2017 Colorado Marathon.  My Weather Channel app said the race would begin at about 54°.  That was from the night before, I didn’t have a signal in the canyon.  Other people were showing 60°.  Not ideal for running a marathon.  Surprisingly, I’m still smiling in this photo at 20 miles.

20 miles barn

My buddy Chris drove out to Fort Collins to take these photos.  Can’t thank him enough.  This one is the same spot, at 20 miles.  You can see the cloud cover helped to mitigate the heat.  I ran the first half at a 7:30 pace.  Pretty fast considering I train between 8 and 9 minutes per mile, depending on the distance.  I knew this was from a combination of the nearly 1% negative grade and running with others.  This had me well ahead of my target time of a 3:50 finish.

21 miles

My pace dropped to 8 minute miles for the 3rd 10K, miles 14 to 20, still really decent.  This accomplished one of my biggest goals, which was to run the third quarter of this marathon strong.  The heat got to me right after this photo though.  You can see the fatigue setting in.  I ended up vomiting three times in mile 22, which began my slow down.  You could say I vomited a 9:30 pace for mile 22.

23 miles

Before I succumbed to the heat, I was on pace to easily qualify for Boston, and was feeling excited.  Running ten pounds over my weight from the last few years, I wasn’t expecting to run this fast.  But I slowed down to a 10:30 pace for miles 23 and 24, then an 11:30 pace for the final two miles.  After getting sick, I began to stop at the aid stations for a half minute to not only drink additional fluids, but to pour several cups of water over my head.  Seemed like the smart thing to do.  Not sure I would have finished if I didn’t stop for water.  I train with my heart rate under 150 beats per minute; the combination of this heat and my early pace gave me an average heart rate of 177 bpm.  Not used to that.

kick

I did finish, fairly exhausted and with a bit of cramping afterward.  It was good to have Chris and Karen there to help me recover.  Not sure if I’ll be able to train for marathons in the near future, now that I commute to Denver for my new job, but I’d like to run this puppy again.  Great course.  Just need to get lucky with the weather.  I thought my bib number, 537, all primes, would work some magic, but weather rules in marathons.  I’m happy with this one though.  Great run overall.  Finished at 3:42 and took second for my age.  As I was passing an Indian kid, about 20 years old, earlier in the race, he said to me in a strong, rhythmic accent, “Wow, do you mind sir, telling me your age?”  Told him I’m 55 and he said something else about being impressed.  Not sure what he saw.  My hat would have been covering my gray hair.  Apparently I look old from the neck up.

finish

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Colder Bolder 2015

05 Saturday Dec 2015

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

5K, CU campus, evol burritos, race results

finishTo run the Colder Bolder, CU students merely have to roll out of bed, gear up, and stroll over to the Balch Field House.  This 5K race is on their campus and chock full of college kids, including some members of the CU Cross Country team.  It’s a fast race.  But it’s also run in 12 heats, every few minutes, based on a 2 minute range from your Bolder Boulder finish time for all times under 64 minutes.  I’m slated to run in the second heat with runners who finished the Bolder Boulder between 42 and 44 minutes.  I like the novelty of an invitational, but I think I mostly register for the hat.

Less than three dozen runners are queued up in my heat.  Three or four women.  So there’s my race goal, beat the women.  They are more than half my age and fast, or they wouldn’t be in this heat, but beating them is possible theoretically.  I know from experience that I’ll likely finish in the second half of this heat, but targeting the women might help me to sneak into the top half.  Based on past results, the women will finish in the middle of the pack.  Predicated on spotting ponytails, my race strategy is more art than science.

I’m also battling injury.  I confirmed yesterday with my Chiropractor that I have high hamstring strains in both legs.  I injured them in the Jamestown Hill Climb in early October and the pain has progressed to where I can barely walk or even sit after a run.  Since daylight savings ended, I’ve mostly run every other day.  I haven’t run since Tuesday this week.  I suspect I will need to take off six weeks or so to fully recover.  Good thing it’s winter.  Before I surrender to recovery though, I have one more race to run.  My Chiropractor frowned upon me racing today, but I’m going out in a blaze of glory.  Although I might avoid a final kick.  Sprinting will hurt for sure.  Afterward if not immediately.  I warmed up a good two miles and honestly, my confidence doesn’t have me feeling certain I’ll even finish this race, let alone challenge those girls.  But with my toe on the starting line, I’m committed now.

This course starts downhill the first half mile.  That’s unfortunate for me because I start out slow and can’t take advantage of it.  I begin in nearly last place but start to pass other runners as we turn up hill again at the half mile point.  I’m not breathing hard but have limited range of motion and little power in my legs.  Still, I cross the first mile in 6:43.  About what I wanted to run.  This gives me confidence.  My breathing is easy the rest of the race, but I just can’t power up my legs.  I try to surge on the downhills but don’t get much speed there either.  I hit the second mile in 7:15 and pass one girl.  She’s maybe 11 years old.  Ninety percent of these runners are between 18 and 25.  I coast from here and run the final mile in 7:17.  To plan, to avoid further injury, I cool down the last half mile rather than kick.  No point in making things worse.  Time to begin the healing process.  I finish in 21:51, about 2 minutes slower than I ran the first 3 miles of last weekend’s 4 mile Turkey Trot.

evol

Glad I ran though because this is a fun event.  It’s actually quite large, well over 1000 runners.  Possibly more photographers than in the Bolder Boulder.  And I love Evol burritos, which they supply all-you-can eat.  I eat two and sip an Oscar Blues IPA before 8:30am, while half the campus is still in bed.

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Willamette River

26 Thursday Nov 2015

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

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Tags

race results, Turkey Trot Eugene

campbells mahoneys

I didn’t expect my first run in Eugene to be a race.  But here I am, in yet another race, the Turkey Trot Eugene, in the city referred to as Track Town U.S.A.  A 4 mile race along the Willamette River bike path.  Chad registered Brit, Ellie and me along with himself, his daughter Rachel and his son Collier, thinking we’d want to work up a sweat before feasting later.

Campbells

The weather could not be more perfect.  About 30° at the start, no wind and full sun.  I run a brisk 2 mile warmup and feel comfortable running in just shorts and a single long sleeve t-shirt.  I time the warmup well as my heart rate is still elevated at the start and I run the first mile in 6:16.  I’ve never run this fast for a 5K (3.1 mile) race.  I figure this is partly due to the cold temperature and maybe the lower elevation, but also because I’m excited.  Eugene is the most storied distance running town in the country.  They invented the jogging craze in the ’70s.  And this is a Pac-12 town – home to the University of Oregon Ducks.  I’m obligated by my alma mater CU to represent and I’m in race mode.

Chad

Chad doesn’t need motivation.  He just does everything with gusto.  Here he is crossing the Greenway Bridge near the end of the race.  He might be in a hurry to get back because he’s responsible for starting the turkey.

 

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Collier runs in close behind Chad.  I miss his photo because my glasses are fogged over.  The girls come in running together.

 

I slow down after my first fast mile to a 6:43 pace.  Not exactly slow for me but enough to catch my breath.  I find myself in a race after 2 miles with a guy who looks about my age.  We cross the Willamette River here on the Defazio Bridge and head back toward the start on our 4 mile loop.  The trees tower along the river, letting me know I’m in Orgeon.  Leaves as big as backyards float down onto the trail while fog steams up from the river.  This is one of the prettiest courses I’ve ever run, so perfectly fall.

I feel great, running in the shadow of Prefontaine.  I race to the end with a 6:27 mile 3 and 6:25 4th mile for a 26:03 final time and 3rd place in my age division.  Eugene is as competitive as Boulder.  The Campbells are prepping dinner now and we expect Matt and Ashley to drive down from Portland any minute to join us along with Karen’s parents who are up from Austin.  Happy Thanksgiving.

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Fast Fall Run

14 Saturday Nov 2015

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

10K, Longmont Turkey Trot, race results

Paris Family

The prettiest family in Prospect showed up in force to run this year’s Longmont Turkey Trot – the Paris-Hendershots.  Joey ran a 7 minute pace in the 2 mile event.  Half my neighborhood was out running either the 2 mile or 10K today.  The weather started out cool, in the 40°s, but warmed up quickly with no wind and full sun.  Times were fast with such ideal running conditions.

Jabe

Coach Jabe ran the full 10K, lighting up the course in fashionable green.  Keith and I warmed up with a mile before starting out.  I’d have warmed up with 2 or 3 miles if planning for a fast start, but I was just looking for a good workout.  I was hoping to run a couple of fast miles in the middle, but surprised myself by running a fairly constant pace.  The course isn’t the most exciting.  It’s a lollipop design that begins running north up a half mile stem, then runs clockwise around a square with one mile long sides, before returning back south down the stem.  All through mostly flat farmland.

winners

I ran my first 4 miles in 6:58, 6:57, 6:55 and 6:50.  Almost perfect consistency while marginally improving.  That faster 4th mile taxed me a bit and I slowed down to 7:01 on my 5th mile, while running 6:59 for my final 6th mile.  I doubt I’ve ever run a more consistent pace.  I finished in 43:13, just 3 seconds slower than this year’s Bolder Boulder – yet more consistency for my only two 10Ks in 2015.  Abbie and I both took 3rd in our respective age divisions.  A nice morning on a perfect fall day.

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Brewfest

03 Tuesday Nov 2015

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

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Left Hand Brewery, race results, Shoes and Brews, Sole Mates 5K

sole mates 5KThe French have their wine.  Russians have their vodka, the Brits their gin.  Runners have beer.  We think of it more as a food source than hydration, but like the libational cultures listed above, we drink it mostly for its communal properties. Say what you will of Colorado’s highly cultivated strains of indica and sativa, before the Internet and Facebook, beer invented social.  So it should come as no surprise that this morning’s Sole Mates 5K and Brewfest actually began last night during the race packet pickup at Shoes & Brews.

If you don’t already know this, life is better with beer.  Beer is better with friends.  And beer with running is a dream team. That Ashlee and Colin decided to open up a specialty running shoe store with a taproom surprised no one in Longmont. They think they were so clever. I think they were idiots for not doing it sooner.  Imagine walking into a pub where absolutely everyone is dressed like a runner, sports an unusually small ass, and even smells like a runner. No pretentious bullshit in this taproom, unless maybe you start discussing patrons’ times on the 800 meter beer board.

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Ask yourself, how many packet pickups have you attended in a taproom?  Oftentimes they are arranged along with a vendor expo, sort of like walking through the gift shop at the end of a Disney ride.  But a taproom loaded with runners?  And the next day’s race isn’t scheduled until late morning at 10am?  This is the genius of Ashlee and Colin.  Karen joined me in the taproom since we picked up my race packet on our way to dinner.  She was happy to discover they also serve a Chardonnay.  I drank the one beer they brew onsite – a Lumbersexual Flann-Ale.  Think an Urban Woodsman meets Northern Brewer.  Tastes and smells like a musky hipster sleeping in your malt room on a cold winter’s day.  I stole that description from their menu.  Karen and I continued on to dinner, meeting up with Brit and Ellie at Tortugas.  Then Chris and Renee showed up and joined us.  After dinner, we gathered with more friends at 2020 in our neighborhood.  At some point I switched from beer to wine, but I don’t think that challenges my metaphor for this weekend’s race.

Ed

This 5K runs from the Left Hand Brewery on Boston Ave., to the Shoes & Brews Taproom.  And they are pitching it as a brewfest.  Despite the cool 40° weather, well over 300 runners line up.  Good call as there is little wind and full sun.  If I were running farther than 3 miles, I wouldn’t bother with tights.  But I do wear running tights, a long-sleeved Under Armor jersey and running hat.  Feels perfect.  Chris and his daughter Julia took these pictures as they volunteered as road marshals around the 2 mile point.

Keith

Either they didn’t do the math or they didn’t care about squeezing 300 plus runners onto a hike & bike trail, but Keith and I weren’t able to start anywhere close to the line.  This forces us to run slow the first half mile and I can’t complain.  I end up running a PR 19:54 – a 6:25 pace – and took first for my age group.  The slow start no doubt contributed.  I wasn’t even tired at the end, even though I finished strong.  Warming up with a slow start and gradually increasing your speed results in the best running experience.  I’m surprised I was able to do so well with such an exceptionally slow start.  I didn’t wear my Garmin and wish I knew my mile splits.  Doesn’t matter, felt great.

keith kick

Not sure if Keith ran a PR but he ran well too.  That’s Longs Peak in the background above as Keith kicks it in.  That’s assuming you’re even looking at Keith and not that girl’s glutes.  I consider well-formed runners more art than sport.  Susan seemed to enjoy her run along with Abbie and Heather.  Those are all the friends and neighbors I saw.  It doesn’t take long to finish 3.1 miles and by 10:30am, we’re all gathered in the Shoes & Brews parking lot listening to live music and drinking tap beer.  I begin with a couple of Introvert Session IPAs 4.8% ABV from Left Hand Brewery.  Before long, I’m drinking their Milk Stout Nitro 6% ABV.  It’s not nearly noon and I’m lit up like a firefly.  Fortunately I’m not driving as we leave for lunch.

abbie and susan

Abbie is on the left and Susan the right in the above photo.  Abbie ran with her sister-in-law Erin.  We lunch at yet another brewpub – Longs Peak Pub & Taphouse, where I quaff a couple of F.Y.I.P.As.  Yes, that stands for Fuck Your IPAs.  It’s an adult menu.  I miss the initial joke but somehow I get served water in a kids cup and so they think it’s funny to continue serving me in kids cups.  I seem okay with it.

IMG_2624

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South Platte River

18 Sunday Oct 2015

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Marathons, Running

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Denver Marathon, race results

logoI trained this summer with the intensity and focus of an obsessive-compulsive with Asperger Syndrome.  Friends and family questioned my sanity.  I sweated out ten pounds in the High Plains heat of July and August.  My end goal was the Boulder Marathon.  I was satisfied with that run, it was my best marathon from the ten I have run since 2010.  Call me greedy, but I just can’t let all that training go without squeezing in another run – and today is the Denver Marathon.  I know my training is no guarantee of a good marathon, two of those previous ten went horribly wrong.  I hit the proverbial wall in the Austin 2011 and Steamboat 2013 marathons and took over 4 hours to finish.  I developed arthritis in my symphysis pubis from the Denver 2010 race.  I think about all my previous marathons, good and bad, as I ride the shuttle to the race start at Adams County Fairgrounds.  Marathons can be brutal, but I feel good about this one.

It’s not enough that the Denver Marathon is run at a mile high in altitude.  This year’s course is entirely uphill from start to finish.  I was initially irritated by this as I only learned of the course change after registration.  I’m maintaining some optimism now after more careful study of the elevation chart.  It only rises a little over 200 feet, maybe 600 feet total elevation gain, over 26 miles.  With the exception of what appears to be a sizable hill after 9 miles, I probably won’t even visually notice the incline.  Hope my heart rate is equally blind.

The major difference over previous years is that rather than running through beautiful and classic old Denver parks and neighborhoods, this year’s course runs upstream along the South Platte River – from Brighton to Downtown Denver.  The marathon will launch from a section of trail termed the Colorado Front Range Trail – part of a proposed 876 mile path stretching from Wyoming to New Mexico.  Despite the cynicism that accompanies age, I’m hoping for a picturesque, fall-colored, riverfront experience.  On paper, the 18 mile South Platte River Trail flows through significant industrial parks and waste treatment facilities.  It might be more aptly named the Commerce City Marathon.

I left my iPhone at home so I won’t have any photos.  Just as well I show the Denver Marathon logo to note that this will be the final Denver Marathon, at least for the Rock and Roll series.  They can’t get approval for the requisite road closures.  They’ll continue to run the Half.  I start out feeling good and on pace.  My goal is to run under 3:30.    My first 10K is nearly perfect at 47:50 – about a 7:50 pace.  I maintain this for the half, again running almost perfectly to plan at 1:45 with an 8 minute pace overall.  Problem is, I start to feel fatigue at 10 miles. I run miles 9, 10 and 11 at 7:53, 7:51, and 7:50 respectively, but slow down to 8:13 for both miles 12 and 13.  And this is where the wheels begin to fall off.  I slow down to 9 minute miles by mile 16, and the 3:30 pace sign passes me.

I begin running a 10 minute pace by mile 18, slowing down eventually to a 13 minute pace after mile 20.  I walk parts of the final 10K and finish in 4:05.  My 3rd worst time ever and my 3rd marathon over 4 hours.  The fun was over by the half way point and finishing was pure hell.  My legs, specifically my glutes, had zero power after 13 miles.  I feared this in the back of my mind because my runs have been like this for the last two weeks.  I might have strained my glutes in the Jamestown Hill Climb.  I’m pretty disappointed but happy I finished.  I don’t take these marathons for granted.  You can be in the best shape ever and run a poor marathon.  I know that.

I suspect strained muscles as my biggest issue, but there could have been others.  My age division ran horribly.  My Boulder time would have finished 3rd here.  I still finished 17th which is hard to believe.  The winner barely broke 3:30.  So maybe it was the heat.  It warmed up into the 70°s and the course had no shade whatsoever.  General consensus from talking to others afterward is that this course sucked.  It felt so long running out in the farmland north of Denver.  Things hardly improved in Denver.  Pipes spewing industrial waste into the South Platte were pervasive.  And the smell running past the treatment plant was disgusting.  This course essentially ran through Denver’s toilet.  The South Platte Trail running through Downtown wasn’t exactly spectacular either.  Denver’s urban trail system is awesome, but this course wasn’t the showcase.

Maybe I’m being bitter because I had a bad run.  Or a bad second half.  But then there was the idiot lady who walked in front of me with a metal suitcase at the 26 mile sign without looking.  I hit her suitcase hard.  Still can’t believe I didn’t go down, but it was a momentum killer for sure.  There was no kick after that.

Might take some time off from running to heal.  Absolutely everything hurts so much right now.  I might be burned out on running.  Winter sports are calling me.  When I think I can do stairs again, I’m going to check out my snowshoe and snowboard gear in the basement.

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Coal Creek Trail

11 Sunday Oct 2015

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Louisville Trail Half Marathon, race results

startI lived in Louisville during the mid ’90s.  I always considered it more of a suburb of Boulder than Denver.  I appreciated their ample hike and bike trails but never ran on this particular trail along Coal Creek.  Of course, that was back when I could count my annual runs on one hand.  I get out a little more often nowadays.  I’m out here this morning at Louisville Community Park to run the Louisville Trail Half Marathon on the Coal Creek Trail.  Karen captures this first photo here about 100 yards after the start.

4 milesThis second photo is the same spot but on the return from the first 4 mile loop.  That’s 44 year old Grant Nesbitt running on my heels, where he remains the entire race, finishing 22 seconds behind me.  There’s a 10K and 5K sharing the course with a different configuration, but the half itself is a decent size with 180 runners.  Being a fall race in Boulder County, I expect it to be competitive.  It is as I find myself behind 20 runners by this point, and it’s a large gap between me and number 20.  I run my first three miles in 7:17, 7:18, and 7:19.  I’m happy for the steady pace but had a loosely defined race plan of starting out at an 8 minute pace.  I’m not looking at my Garmin, it’s in my pocket, but I know I’m running too fast because I’m in oxygen debt.  I consider slowing down but the sound of Grant’s footsteps has me in race mode.

4 miles farmThis photo is just a few steps past the previous, and captures the typical landscape view.  This trail is really nice.  It’s mostly groomed cinder with a bit of cement near bridges.  Since I’ll be running the Denver Marathon next Sunday, this is just a training run for me.  Being a race with other runners, I do expect to run somewhat harder than I might working out by myself.  That’s the point of registering for these events – a good workout – but shoot, this pace is fast for me.  I run mile 4 in 7:05 and mile 5 in 7:06.  I know I’ll slow down eventually and that’s fine.  Just looking for a good distance workout.

kick 1Immediately after the 5th mile, the course’s one big hill begins.  And it’s fairly sizable, about a 400 foot rise over a quarter mile.  The far side drops in half the distance.  I pass one runner on the ascent and another on the descent.  I’m surprised because they were out of view for the last couple of miles.  This slows my 6th mile down to 7:27, I figured at the time, since I wasn’t checking my Garmin, that I slowed down to an 8:30 pace for the rest of the run.  Instead I run 7:17 for mile 7, 7:32 for mile 8 and  7:47 for mile 9.  The photos above and below are on the final kick.

kick 2I get passed by 55 year old Chris Levine at mile 9.  I can tell by his gray hair that he’s about my age.  I really don’t feel like racing, I just want to coast in – so I let him go.  I end up passing him back though as we return over the massive hill, which slows me down on mile 10 to 8:03.  Chris is slowed down from some cramping.  I keep this pace to the finish running mile 11 in 8:20 and mile 12 in 8:19.  The course ends up just short of 13 miles but my final stretch is at a 7:40 pace.

2nd place awardI finish in 2nd place for the 50-59 year old division with a time of 1:37:23, and add another pint glass to my collection.  This is about the time I was expecting although I didn’t expect it to hurt quite this much.  The weather was hot for an October race, in the 60°s.  I run into Bob Kania afterward, a work colleague.  His wife ran the half.  Bob’s a few years older than me but he’s always been extremely fit and could pass for 10 years my junior.  In addition to being a good training run before next weekend’s marathon, this race reinforces for me the need to start out slow.  I’ll target an 8 minute pace for Denver next Sunday.

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Boulder Backroads Marathon 2015

19 Saturday Sep 2015

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Marathons, Running

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Boulder Backroads, Boulder Marathon, Boulder Res, Gadi, race results

Ed half 1This morning’s Boulder Marathon is what all my massive mileage training is about.  Over 600 miles in the heat of July and August.  Last weekend’s relay race over Georgia Pass has me feeling confident.  Although, working 13 hour days in New York all week and only exercising less than 60 minutes in aggregate on hotel aerobic machinery has me questioning my taper plan.  My legs should certainly be fresh.  Hopefully the unabated restaurant and bar calories will find purpose twenty miles from now.

Chris and I start out together the first half mile.  We’re both wearing shorts and tech t-shirts without gloves despite the 47° starting temperature.  It will warm up 1° per mile; we couldn’t ask for better weather.  Chris is running the half marathon and surges ahead of me in the first mile.  I’m not wearing my Garmin, it’s recording stats but in my pocket.  I’ll relate my mile splits here but I don’t know them while I run.  I run my first mile in 7:42.  The only bad start in a marathon is one that goes out too fast.  This is probably too fast but it is mostly downhill.  The next five miles are up hill.

Chris kick 1Still, my next four miles are in 7:23, 7:32, 7:49, and 7:49.  I watch Chris this whole time race about 200 meters ahead of me against two guys in blue and one in yellow.  There are less than 400 runners between the full and half marathons, so we’re completely spread out after two miles.  Chris drops the two blues before hitting Niwot Road at three miles and runs even with the yellow guy until five miles.  At this point, Chris surges and increases his lead over me to a quarter mile.  The yellow guy surges a couple of minutes after Chris, but never again reaches him.  Chris sees me after a goofy loop-back turn off Oxford Road and puts on a massive surge that takes him out of sight for me until I see him at the half finish.  This photo shows his kick near the end.

Chris kick 2Chris finishes 5th in his age division and 34th overall.  I think the half is more competitive than the full.  You get a sense of how fast Chris kicks in this finish photo based on how high his feet are off the ground. His 1:33 is a personal record.

I cross the half six minutes behind Chris in 1:39 – which is a good ten minutes faster than I expected. I see this time on a clock at the Boulder Rez.  This is surprisingly fast in a 7:30 pace but I feel strong.  I run much of the second 10K with Gadi, a runner who recently moved from Israel to obtain his Masters in Psycology at Naropa University in Boulder.  We talk much of the time but he finishes at the half.    I’m certain at this point I can run a second 13 miles, I feel that strong.  I do expect to slow down on the upcoming hills and do by a minute to an 8:30 pace as the third 10K gains elevation again.

Ed half 2

My legs become heavy on the final uphill mile, the 19th mile, but I pick my pace back up at twenty miles.  Some other runners begin to surge here, sensing the downward slope.  I don’t get into a race though because I know I won’t be able to hold it.  My goal all along has been to feel comfortable the entire race, which is why I don’t monitor my watch.  I pass a couple of runners on this final 10K and one passes me.  After 22 miles, the course turns off Niwot Road onto a trail along an irrigation ditch.  The gravel feels like hot coals under my tender feet.  This begins my slowdown as my stride significantly shortens.

I tend to describe bonking or hitting the wall in terms of running out of fuel, but this is how it feels.  All the muscles in my abdomen and upper legs begin to melt.  The heaviness and burning from lactic acid would be preferable to this sensation of vanishing body parts.  My slowing pace is like a dream where I’m running but moving in slow motion because I don’t have control.  I picture my blood cells moving into my muscles and stealing away without replenishing the lost proteins.  It’s a brutal scenario where momentum is only maintained by leaning forward and hoping my legs drop in front of me in time to catch my fall because I haven’t the ability to contract my thighs and lift my knees.  I don’t bonk necessarily here but slow down even more at mile 24.  This slowdown is more from heavy legs – not nearly as painful as hitting the wall.

Ed finishThe cheering crowd steers me toward the finish line like sirens to the rocks. I yank my Garmin from my pocket at the 26 mile sign and notice I’m close to a 3:30 Boston Qualifying time.  I didn’t plan on sprinting to the finish, but pick it up a bit anyway for the final quarter mile.  I cross in 3:30:05.  Five seconds off qualifying for Boston!  This doesn’t actually bother me though because I wasn’t trying to run this fast.  Even with my slowdown the final two miles, this marathon was everything I hoped it would be.  I felt great.  I’m totally satisfied.  I never bonked.  And my second half was only ten minutes slower than my first, not a bad margin.  Good enough for 12th place overall, although only 4th in my age division.  50 year olds are fast in Boulder.  I would have either won or taken second in just about every other age group.  I complete my day with a massage at 3pm, a steak dinner at 5, and I’m watching CU go into overtime against CSU.  Awesome day!

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Sunrise Stampede

20 Saturday Jun 2015

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

10K, cottonwood, Longmont Sunrise Stampede, race results, Shoes and Brews

leadville halfBeth (aka ShutUpAndRun) invited me to run the Leadville Heavy Half Marathon this weekend.  With over 3700 feet of elevation gain, who wouldn’t want to run that?  Here’s a photo of the organizers scooping the snow off the trail in preparation for the race.  They spent 6 hours per day for 6 days digging this four foot wide, two mile path to the summit.  They broke 6 shovels.  There seriously is a part of me that wanted to run this half marathon.  As much as I appreciate the invite, I instead chose to run local this weekend.  This will give me time to attend yet another graduation party.  I also planned to sneak in Jurassic World but my family couldn’t wait and we saw that Thursday night.  Epic Dinosaur movie – well done.

I don’t intend to race this 10K hard, but I am looking to get in a strong workout.  Occasionally I treat these races as premiere events, like the Bolder Boulder a few weeks ago.  Others I simply consider to be a good workout opportunity knowing that, by running with a group of people, I’ll run harder.  So I’m not looking to PR but hope to run about a 7:30 pace.  I run closer to an 8 minute pace in workouts alone.  Sometimes in these no-stress events, I find that I run quite strong after loosening up the first one or two miles.  I do hope to find some part of this run where I fall into race mode.  Running two or three miles at an uber elevated pace would be ideal.  Maybe the first two miles slow, the next three miles under 7, then cool down with an 8 minute mile.  That’s my plan as I warm up.

My concerns are that one, the Cottonwood pollen has been killing my breathing lately – literally choking me.  And two, I couldn’t find an elevation chart for this course.  Elevation charts are fairly critical for establishing pre-race plans in Colorado.  Altitude can make the smallest slopes feel like mountains.  But I can wing that by surging on down slopes when I notice them.  While I’m not familiar with running on these streets, I don’t expect any major hills.  This is very likely a faster course than the Bolder Boulder.  I run into Ashlee – of Shoes & Brews.  Colin and her are running the 10K.  She tells me this is about as hilly as the Bolder Boulder, mostly in the first half.  Although it will finish downhill so nothing like climbing up Folsom in the BB.  So maybe I’ll run the first half slow.  I guess I really don’t have a race plan.

I warmup well enough so that I don’t go out too slowly.  This works as I go out a bit faster than expected with a 7:03 first mile.  At least it isn’t under 7 minutes.  The hills increase from here and I keep a steady pace, possibly slowing down a bit.  In fact, I do run slower as the second mile comes in at 7:12.  This feels comfortable and I hope to just keep this pace the rest of the course.  I’m running strong but well enough under my aerobic threshold.  I surge into a short downhill at 2.5 miles, near MacIntosh Lake, but start to cough hard from the Cottonwood.  This is exactly when I start to cough during my workouts.  It nearly stops me for a minute but I recover and take some water at an aid station.  I’m bummed because it slows me down as I am gaining momentum.  I complete the third mile in 7:28.  A good workout pace.

Into the fourth mile I start to race another runner.  I learn later that his name is PJ (40 year old Patrick Schrodt).  Although I might have him confused with 44 year old Bill Depaemelaere.  These young guys all look the same to me.  I catch him and we switch taking leads the rest of the race.  My fourth mile is almost identical to the third, at 7:32.  This is also a high point for the course and it’s mostly downhill from here. Just as I begin to unwind, I have to stop to retie my right shoe.  Dammit!   I lose a half minute for this.  I ordered some new shoes earlier this week online but they don’t arrive until Monday.  They will have speed laces, so I won’t run into this issue again.

I keep PJ in my sites and am close behind him.  Despite the shoe lace issue I run the fifth mile faster in 7:09.  I feel good, aided by the down slope.  I keep this pace for the final mile rather than cool down since it feels good.  I slow down marginally as we near the Longmont High School stadium because I don’t care to put on a kick.  Still, I pass PJ during this slow down.  He passes me back once we are on the track.  The course finishes with a quarter mile lap around the track.  PJ puts on a bit of a kick and finishes 30 meters ahead of me.  I’m content running behind another guy, but pass him with a kick of my own the last 100 meters.  I think I decided to kick past him because he looks my age with a gray crew cut.  And because I am barely breathing hard.  He had passed me the first half mile and it felt good to catch him.  I learn afterward his name is Paul Colvin and is 45 years old.

Sunrise StampedeI run my sixth mile in 6:58, the fastest pace of the entire run.  Surprising but then it is downhill vs uphill for the first mile.  I cross the finish line in 45:32 for 2nd place in my age group, which is about what I was hoping to run.  I run into Jill, one of my teammates from the Snowmass Trail Relay, at the finish.  She ran the two mile course with her daughter.  Her husband is still out running the 10K.  This photo captures PJ in the middle, and another guy, 43 yr old James Vardas, whom we passed back and forth throughout the run.  I think he’s the guy PJ kicked in with at the end.  The race results suggest I confused PJ with Bill.  This race was tougher than I anticipated.  Hot with no clouds, hilly, and strong competition.  Good way to start the morning.  Next is a graduation party for Ken Farmer’s son, Ben.  I expect good eats and beer.

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Bolder Boulder 2015

25 Monday May 2015

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

10K, Bolder Boulder, Memorial Day, race results


I’m so excited for today’s Bolder Boulder that I beat my 5am alarm out of bed.  I think I’m anxious because I missed this race last year.  And because I’m confident my conditioning has me set to PR at this distance.  I’m ready to race a 10K.  All my workouts since February have been leading up to this.

I set some aggressive goals for myself.  The first is to beat my 2013 BB time, which will result in a PR.  Second is to run under a 7 minute pace.  That’ll just look better on my Garmin stats site.  Third is that I’m projecting to run a 6:50 pace.  I think it’s attainable based on my 5K races and fast workouts.  Finally, I set a stretch goal that’s a bit inane.  I want to run close to my first Bolder Boulder time twenty-five years ago – 41:11.  A boy can dream.

Despite knowing I plan to push myself hard this morning, I’m not nervous at the starting line.  My stomach isn’t full of butterflies because it knows that my idea of hard, if run correctly, will keep me just under my anaerobic threshold.  My idea of racing is what track athletes would consider a hard workout where they push their AT or lactate threshold.  Because I hope to run my first mile in 6:50, I warm up before with some light jogging.  I get in a mile or two jogging from my car to the race start, and another mile off the starting line.

I fall into conversation with some forty year olds in my wave before we launch.  The age diversity in my AB wave is more varied than I expected.  I would have guessed younger, and there are several high school cross country teams in uniform.  Only about 10% women.  Bummer because I like to have something to look at.  Instead I make a game of looking for other men with larger guts than me.  I don’t find any.  Hmm.
The wheelchair division launches first, followed by two more waves, then mine.  I feel like I’m running on target and have aligned myself a full lane right of the curb.  This is to avoid slowing down behind the crush of runners at the first turn, which will be left.  Slowing down for crowds isn’t as critical in the early miles but I take the turn a bit wide anyway to maintain momentum.  I do the same with the next left hand turn which has us turned fully around now on 28th St.  My Garmin reads 6:44 for my first mile, although my official time is 6:51.  Either way, right on target.

I am pushing my AT with this pace though and don’t take the hill up Folsom as strong as I’d like.  My Garmin time for mile two is 6:53, which again is on target, but my official race pace scores 6:57.  The entire race has mile Garmin splits a good 5 seconds or more faster than my official times.  This is the problem with running big races, the crowd forces you to run more distance due to the necessary passing.

I surge aggressively into mile three before the grade steepens.  My race plan is to optimize fast sections by running them fast.  I pass a wall of 5 or 6 girls here wearing tutus.  Two of them pass me back a half mile later as we climb a hill.  Their tutus act as markers and are useful in crowded events.  I pass them again as we head downhill and complete mile three in 6:59.  Garmin time.  I don’t know the official times of course until after the race.  I expected mile three to be slower.  I studied my previous race splits, as well as others in my age division and the elites from earlier Bolder Boulders.  Every disciplined runner runs mile three the slowest of all six.  Mile five is typically their fastest.  Very few exceptions to this.  I feel sort of good knowing I run a similar pattern.  I based my race strategy on it.  Big data for runners.

With half the race behind me, I know a couple of things.  Key is that I know I’m comfortable at this pace.  I’m hovering just under my AT threshold and believe I’ll be able to keep my miles under 7 minutes.  The confidence from this counters the disappointment I feel from not being able to push harder up these hills.  They’re not huge hills, but man, they are just enough to keep me from unwinding a bit and passing more runners.  So the second thing I know is that I can’t speed up.  Not yet.  I hope I can for mile five.

I push myself a bit harder on mile four and run this in 6:55.  This is the high point of the course at 5391 foot Casey Hill, topping out at the intersection of 13th and High Streets about 50 meters into mile five.  This mile is all down hill and begins with the biggest drop of the course.  I’d like to leverage this down slope to gain momentum but use it instead to allow my heart rate to recover from the uphill.  I know the remaining mile is a slight downward slope and that I’ll be able to accelerate once my cardio drops back down.  Ideally, before I reach the left-hand turn onto Spruce.  Running fast down a steep grade isn’t as smart as on more shallow slopes unless you can maintain proper form.  It’s difficult to avoid landing on your heels down extreme slopes, and that jars your body with negative motion.  This hill isn’t exactly massive and a better runner could take it fast.  One runner does pass me here.  I could chase him if I weren’t so fatigued right now.  I use it for a micro recovery.

In addition to planning to surge a faster pace on mile five, I also hope to run smart through the two S-curves as we hop from Spruce to Pearl, and again from Pearl to Walnut.  Running a straight line seems simple enough but is made complex when trapped behind a wall of slower runners.  In the second half of any race, surrendering momentum around a turn is a bigger sin than adding distance by taking it wide.  Maintaining momentum not only takes less energy than restarting the engines, it’s more of a sure thing.  Having to speed back up requires the mental toughness that for me, expired climbing Casey Hill.  Brains over brawn at this point, also known as experience.  With all that said though, most runners around me are running the same pace so I don’t find myself trapped behind any bottlenecks and complete mile five in 6:38.  A much faster pace but actually per plan.

The bulk of the crowd running with me down Walnut steers toward the right-hand curb.  They are optimizing their line for the eventual 90° turn right onto Folsom.  I remain oriented toward the left.  My thought is to maximize my momentum by starting wide left.  Traditionally, a barrier is erected where Walnut intersects Folsom, less than a full lane from the curb, that prompts braking for a surprisingly tight turn.  Losing momentum here is critical because it’s where anyone seriously competitive would be starting an early kick.  I know that once I slow down, I’m unlikely to speed back up again.  My path will consist of two 45° angles – I’ll hit the corner already halfway turned.  Only issue might be if I run a cross route into the right-hand runners streaming wide left onto Folsom.  If I run into traffic, I plan to assume the right of way.  I’m not entirely clear on the etiquette, but I feel momentum trumps runners hitting the brakes.  This might sound reckless but at least it’s a plan.  Those rattled runners on the right are accidents waiting to happen.  The only problem with this plan is that I’ve slowed down dramatically after that fast mile five and probably won’t impress anyone with my momentum into that upcoming turn.

I negotiate the turn fine and maintain a fairly decent pace along Folsom, not slowing down as much as I expected.  I must have recovered on my lazy stretch along Walnut before the turn.  This is the only part of the race so far that I haven’t run to plan.  I wanted to maintain the fifth mile pace all the way to Folsom.  Very few runners are passing me though.  This is when any one racing should turn on their early kick.  Likely everyone is saving their legs for after Boulder Creek, when the grade notably increases.

Climbing up Folsom after crossing Boulder Creek, I feel my heart rate begin to thump inside my chest, strong enough to launch an avalanche.  This gives me thoughts of my familial obligations, my life insurance policy, and my spotty church attendance.  I was recently talking to my buddy Dave about the issue (fear) I have running through this warning signal.  Running those 5Ks in Austin last February aided me to finally develop some speed in my legs.  Learning speed is half the battle.  Gaining comfort with a heart that’s ready to explode is another.  More interval training would have helped me adapt to running with a raging heart rate.  Along with hill repeats.  Too late for training now.  I slow down.

This is expected though, part of my 5th mile, early kick plan to leverage the fast course and sacrifice the slow course.  I might climb into the stadium at a snail’s pace, but no one is running fast on this hill.  Only one guy passes me running up into the stadium.  And a second sprints past me on his kick as we reach the top.  I discover a kick of my own and finish stronger than usual.  I ran mile six in 6:49 and cross the finish line in 43:09.

My initial reaction is of disappointment that I didn’t break 43 minutes.  Further reflection though has left me totally satisfied.  I’m not happy with those slower official mile splits, so I’m referencing my Garmin splits.  The difference is from running a tenth of a mile longer than a 10K due to crowds.  And missing my target by 9 seconds is nothing considering it’s a 40 plus minute 10K.  That is on target.  And my Garmin average pace is 6:51 – one second off my projection.  I’m even more impressed with my 6:38 fifth mile when I projected 6:40.  I ran this race as close to plan as possible.  I surged on downhills and placed 6th in my age division.  First time to break into the top ten for this event.  I’m good.

parachute dropThe kids had a good time as well.  Amy and Wendy walked with a half dozen girls and boys through the surprisingly sunny Boulder streets.  Although it’s raining now, the weather was ideal for running or walking this morning.  The atmosphere in Folsom Stadium is unbelievable.  Boulder is such a running community, we’re probably the only campus in NCAA sports to fill the seats with more fans for a running event than for football games.  Happy Memorial Day!

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Livermore

25 Saturday Apr 2015

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Beth Risdon, Eagles Nest Open Space, Endurance Race Series, Fort Collins Trail Half Marathon, Ken Risdon, race results

team shotEver been to Livermore?  First time for Keith and me.  Livermore sits up against the foothills about 25 minutes northwest of Fort Collins.  They have a post office and a church.  And a trailhead.  This town leads to the Red Feather Lakes which I’m told are gorgeous.  We meet Beth and Ken Risdon here for the Fort Collins Trail Half Marathon this morning.

Keith and I are running this to prep for a mountain trail relay in Snowmass, two weeks after the Bolder Boulder.  I’m also interested in running this for the hill workout to condition myself for the Bolder Boulder.  Mountain trails require training.  It’s a bad idea to go directly from street running to a trail race.  You need to shorten your stride and develop good footfall coordination.  This is my favorite running and I have a blast this morning.

yellow shirtThe first mile is a cruel wake up though.  When I begin to feel pain in my arms, I know I’ve started out too fast.  The course begins at 5900 feet, quickly drops about 50 feet, and then rises up to over 6000 feet by the first mile.  At this point, we leave the dirt road for a single track trail.  I run the first mile in 9:04, which was my plan target pace before I knew how steep this would be.  I probably should have run a 10 minute pace.

The move to the trail causes runners to speed up in order to position themselves.  There’s a bit of passing as we find our pace on the rolling hills.  I find I can take the downhills fast but am slower than some of the other runners on the inclines.  This girl in the yellow shirt and I pass each other incessantly over the first 8 miles.  She passes me up hill, I pass her downhill.  Through two miles of this roller coaster, I run mile 2 in 8:03 and mile 3 in 8:09.  Which is too fast.

BethI run mile 4 in 9:51 and mile 5 in 9:45, a much more sensible pace for my abilities. Even once the trail flattens out, which it never truly does, I find I’m unable to catch my breath the entire first half of the race.  I’m fine with this, even though I’m a bit worried that I started too fast, because that’s why I’m here.  I would never push myself this hard running solo.  I’m not trying to race necessarily but am looking for a good workout.  Miles 4 to 7 contain significant elevation gain.  This acts as nature’s governor to slow me down.

On a flat course, my miles 4 and 5 pace would be good enough for me to recover.  It’s not flat though and I continue to breathe like a banshee.  The 5th mile contains numerous water crossings, which I happen to like but the yellow shirt girl I’m mostly following slows down for them.  I don’t know if she’s being cautious or simply doesn’t want to get her shoes wet.  I’ve had plenty of opportunity to watch her footfalls by this time and can tell she’s a strong trail runner with good foot placement.  The difference perhaps between guys and girls.  I take the water full speed without regard for the consequences.

KeithMile 6 is tough.  I slow down to 11:11.  Tougher yet is the part of mile 7 that contains the turn around point.  A hill just before the turn is stupidly steep.  A total momentum stopper.  To be fair, runners have been walking everywhere on this course, including the first mile, but this begins the massive slowdown for many of them.  My yellow shirt companion begins walking here and I pass her.  Only to be passed back by her on the subsequent downhill after the turn.  She’s a badass racer.

KenI stay on her heels and return to a 9:40 pace for mile 7.  We’re running much faster than that but this mile includes the steep up hill before the turn.  I run mile 8 in 7:19.  We’re in a strong race now, screaming down this mountain.  I lose yellow shirt though as we cross a stream and she slows down.  I don’t.  I continue to race down for as long as the trail drops.  I run mile 9 in 8:34 and mile 10 in 8:11.

Mile 11 begins an unrelenting climb back up the final hill.  I slow down to a 13:26 pace and for the first time walk a bit myself.  I encounter my buddy Torin on this hill.  I didn’t know he was here until I saw him ahead of me before the turn.  The middle four miles of this trail are actually double track which makes it easy to support runners in both directions.  I pass Torin for a moment but the competitive bastard takes me right back.  Neither of us are running fast just now but his slow is less slow than mine up hill.

2nd place winnersMile 12 is still mostly up hill but at less of a slope than previously and I run a 9:09 pace.  I also pass Torin here but not in a proud way.  His calves are cramping.  I know what this is like at the end of a race, extremely dispiriting.  I suspect Torin wanted to race me in.  I was looking forward to it myself.  The final mile is back down the dirt road and I unwind with a 7:30 pace, crossing the finish in 1:57:57.  Twenty minutes off my typical half marathon pace when running on flatter streets, but this beats my expectations.  I didn’t think I could break two hours on this course.  Beth and I both take second place in our respective age divisions.  Really tough course, but beautiful and highly recommended.

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Dripping Springs

07 Saturday Mar 2015

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Austin Marathon, CNBC, race results, Squawk Box, Star Wars, SWT, SXSW, Texas State, Twisted X 5K, Yacktman Asset Management

Twisted XIt’s not raining.  It’s not even cold.  It’s as if God plans on attending SWSX, so suddenly the weather improves.  I meet up with Kenneth Hausman in the Twisted X Brewery parking lot for a rematch from last Sunday.  This Texmex brewery and brew pub is located on the edge of Dripping Springs, on the way out toward Driftwood.  With Ken is his friend and neighbor, 45 year old Steve Yacktman.  Steve is prepping for a triathlon and is using this as a speed workout.  Steve also runs $30B of investments at Yacktman Asset Management.  He said, when he makes a mistake at work, it typically costs him over $100M.  Despite the large turnout and fast looking runners today, Steve smiles broadly and calmly on the starting line.  No pressure here.  This is a video of him on Squawkbox at CNBC.

Steve YacktmanWe line up just behind the runners who we expect might run a minute per mile faster than us.  We’re capable of averaging 7 minute miles.  My goal is 6:45 per mile.  I really want to PR before flying home tomorrow back to altitude.  That’s a 6:42 pace.  The first quarter mile is on a cow trail.  We expected pavement but apparently Twisted X had trouble with the permits.  I’m fine with this, I love trail running.  Grass and trails are slower though.

I start out running behind both Ken and Steve on the trail.  I pass Ken once we hit the street and start to run alongside Steve.  He pulls in front of me as we climb a monster hill.  This is just before the one mile marker, which we cross in 6:28.  I’m concerned because this is 20 seconds faster than my race plan, but it does help explain why I’m so winded.

3rd PlaceThe street doesn’t last long and we soon find ourselves back in a cow pasture.  I pass Steve around the half way point as his stomach begins to cramp.  I wish I could say it was because I sped up.  As we return to the street and run back down the huge hill, Ken passes me.  This is just at the two mile point.  I run this second mile in 6:42 which I consider excellent.  I’m on pace to PR.  Of course, I’d feel even better if Ken didn’t just pass me but I still feel strong and am able to stay close behind him.  I catch my breath running down the hill and run alongside Ken for the next half mile.

We’re both breathing hard with spit spraying out of our gaping mouths and snot flying out our nostrils.  We’re in a race.  Ken is five years older than me but the age division for this race is 50 to 59 and he’s not backing off.  The street turns to trail again for the final quarter mile and I’m able to shoot ahead of him.  I can’t wait until the last 100 yards to out sprint Ken because for one, I don’t know that I can.  And two, I might hurt myself sprinting.  My early kick pays off and I cross the finish line 3 seconds ahead of Ken in 20:28 – a personal record – having run 6:44 for my final mile.  My 6:36 pace is good enough for third place in my age division, 10th place overall.  Steve takes second place in the 40-49 group.  We win custom-made bottle openers – exactly what to expect from a Brewery.

GodspellThis will be my last Texas race for awhile.  My three weeks are coming to a close.  I saw some old friends, work colleagues and family.  I ate Thai for dinner last night, Pad Ped Gang Dang with Karen’s brother Steve and his wife Susan.  We watched their daughter Lucy in a church play Godspell, with her Grandparents.  That was fun.  And I met Chris Amaro for lunch Thursday.  He’s another running buddy from Texas State.  He graduated with a physics degree and went to work in Vegas for the Reagan Star Wars industry.  He works now as a physicist for the State of Texas Department of Health.  Chris was more into marathons at a younger age, running four in high school.  He last ran the Austin Marathon in 2007, but plans to train for another soon.  I come down every year to spend quality time with my mom but it’s nice to see other friends and family and get in some low altitude racing.  My next race might be the Bolder Boulder 10K at 5,400 feet.  Adios Texas.

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The Hills of Lakeway

01 Sunday Mar 2015

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

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Tags

Farmers Insurance, race results, runforapurpose 5K, SWT, Texas State, West Virginia Tech

Kenneth Hausman Kenneth Hausman is a college running buddy I met at Texas State.  Meeting up for this run is his idea.  He shows up in his Chariots of Fire sweats a half hour before the start and we warm up together.

There’s a reason they call it the Hills of Lakeway.  I might be from Colorado, but I typically train on an extremely flat trail.  This morning’s 5K has a couple hundred feet of elevation change in three miles.  Unbelievable.  The first two hundred yards are flat, then the course drops, sometimes steeply, for the next half mile.  Ken takes the lead from the start but we settle into a three man lead pack with twenty-four year old Jimmy Ivey.  Jimmy ran Cross Country for West Virginia Tech and works now as a diesel mechanic for Caterpillar in Austin.

Mostly downhill, we run the first mile in 6:38, almost identical to the start of my 5K yesterday in New Braunfels.  We chat the entire time, because Ken, an insurance agent and serial entrepreneur, is a talker.  Ken and I quiet down once we start up the next hill.  Jimmy continues talking and doesn’t appear to be breathing, so we sense we’re in trouble.  As the hill begins to steepen, Jimmy gains some separation.  A half mile later, he has 20 seconds on me.  I’m able to count this from where we turn around at the half way point.

I chase Jimmy after the turn as it’s downhill again, but he increases his lead.  I hit mile two in 7:08, again almost identical to yesterday despite the extreme hills.  Mile three though is brutal – a half mile climb.  I’m breathing like a race horse on the back stretch and lactic acid burns inside my thighs.  I’m not going to catch Jimmy, he continues to increase his lead.  I run mile three in 7:31 – a half minute slower than yesterday’s third mile.  I cross the line in 21:58, 39 seconds behind Jimmy.  For the second day in a row, I place second overall.  Always a bridesmaid.  Kenneth finishes a close third.

AwardsWe feel pretty good because not only did we both finish in the top three, but there are no other fifty year olds in the top 20.  We celebrate our demonstrated vitality with breakfast tacos at Rudy’s BBQ on 620 – a quarter mile past the 2222 intersection.  Another cold and wet race on a rainy Central Texas weekend.  Not bad running weather, although not comfortable for standing around afterward.  I’m showered, warm and dry now.  Kenneth is talking about another 5K next Saturday down in Kyle.

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New Braunfels

28 Saturday Feb 2015

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

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Tags

Friesenhaus, Guadalupe Brewing, race results, Sophienburg Museum

Guadalupe-Brewing

Very few drivers out on the road today before 6am.  Texas is frozen.  I drop Sandy off at Austin Bergstrom for an early flight easily enough.  My next target is New Braunfels to run a 5K and meet up with the Johnsons for the Braunfest beer tasting and lunch.  The drive though across Ben White to I35 is an icy death trap.  There are three major overpasses between the airport and the interstate.  Early responders are busy at all three bridges cleaning up catastrophic crashes.  I can’t imagine why anyone would drive faster than the 15 mph I’m doing across this ice, but these cars are totally smashed.  Multiple cars at the first two sites, just one at the overpass exit to I35.  Even at my slow speed, I’m in a controlled slide between the fire trucks, police cruisers, and wrecks.  Still, I make it safely to New Braunfels by 7am.

Only 68 runners line up for the race.  I might place.  The rain is holding back and 35° is not that unpleasant for running.  I layer two t-shirts and wear a ski cap along with gloves, and I’m comfortable.  Eight runners dart out ahead of me at the start.  After the first mile, only two remain ahead of me.  I’m stunned by my initial pace – 6:36 for mile one.  I hope, and actually expect, to run a 7 minute pace and did not want to start off this fast.

I catch Clay Coleman, the runner in second place, at the half way point.  He follows close behind as we head up a hill, but then fades.  Felix Acosta, the runner in first place is a good 20 seconds ahead of me and looks strong.  I focus on running my own pace and cross mile two with a 7:00 even mile.  I feel fairly strong myself but don’t want to race too hard.  I plan to run another 5K tomorrow.  Still, I make a move to close the gap and am able to close on the leader a bit.  My surge gives me a 6:54 final mile.  Felix finishes 15 seconds ahead of my 21:24.  He’s a bit younger than me and I’m happy finishing in second place.

I meet up an hour later with Ray and Letty for the beer tasting.  They’re feeling pretty good about their son recently being accepted into the UT School of Engineering.  They figure it was the billion hours their son put into his robotics club that got him in.  Oh, and he’s smart.  My favorite beer of the day might be the Hefeweizen from Guadalupe Brewing that was served post race with chicken wings.  After drinking our limit of beer before noon, we head over to the Friesenhaus for an authentic German lunch.  The waiters speak mostly German.  I order the Schleswig-Holstein Snitzel.  And more beer.  I’m going to need to run that 5K tomorrow.

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The Surge

06 Saturday Dec 2014

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

≈ 3 Comments

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Alex Leslie, Colder Bolder, race results

startToday is Brit’s 23rd birthday.  I celebrate by running the Colder Bolder 5K across the CU campus.  I invite Brit of course but she has to teach voice lessons this morning at Wildflower School of Voice.  Ellie was going to run with me but she’s been down and out all week with a brutal virus.  All my other running buddies are up in Fort Collins running the Jingle Bell run.  Just me and 1000 co-eds.

The race is nothing like last year, when only 1000 runners braved the negative temperatures.  This morning is a balmy 39° and there are 2000 of us.  I race in shorts.  I carry all my gear with me by wrapping my blue North Face jacket around my waist.

My initial race strategy was to run/walk with Ellie.  I employed the ellie strategy earlier this year at the Bolder Boulder, where we mostly walked.  Subsequently, I did not get an invitation to run in a specific wave for this event.  I am running in the Open division.  This turns out to be a plus and I intend to run in the Open division ongoing.  More runners make for more fun, even though they stagger waves by 90 seconds.  As a gentleman runner, I appreciate the later start.  With Ellie DNR, at home sick, I change up my strategy and decide to start out slow and see if I can’t run either mile two or three (ideally both) under a 7 minute pace.  I’ve run all three miles under 7 minutes per mile in a 5K last year.  That was a flatter course and I had better weather that day.  The CU campus is noticeably hillier than that course.

I can’t tell really if I start in the 7 minute per mile wave or 8 minute.  Feels like a good fit as we start running.  I let the initial surge pass me, running slow and steady the first half mile down Colorado.  As soon as we leave the street for the campus bike paths, it becomes obvious the 90 second waves are smart.  Bottlenecks would have been brutal otherwise.  My slow start strategy would have stayed slow if there wasn’t room to pass.  I put on my first surge after a half mile.  This is the lowest elevation of the entire course at 5325 feet.  This is also the steepest hill of the course, but relatively short.  From this point on, I mostly pass other runners, although in spurts.  I’m surprised to run my first mile in 7:08, because despite the varied strategy this is nearly the same time I ran last week for my first mile in the Prospect Turkey Trot.

Many of the runners I pass are college kids.  Passing them isn’t easy.  Oftentimes they match my surges, but eventually they yield.  Somewhere in the middle of the race, I get passed by an athlete running super smooth.  He’s decked out in CU gear and looks like he might be on their cross country team.  I follow after him.  For about ten seconds, then I fade.  Chasing him might hurt my overall time but racing him felt so good, it was worth it.

Alex LeslieI’m certain I run my second mile faster and I do marginally in 7:02.  I actually expected to run under 7 minutes.  I felt so fast at times but I wasn’t maintaining a steady pace.  The constant slopes on this course make holding a steady pace difficult.  I simply go with it and enjoy passing groups of runners when I feel like surging.  For some reason, breaking 7 minutes is important to me and I start my kick early, with a half mile to go.  From this point on, I run under a 7 minute pace.  I’m nearly sprinting as I enter the field house.  Sonofagun if a 19 year old doesn’t immediately pass me on a surge of his own.  I surged passed him earlier in the race and apparently he followed after me.

Alex Leslie, a student from Redmond Washington, passes me with just enough distance left in the run for me to chase after him.  Or perhaps he is leaving me just enough rope to hang myself.  As soon as I catch him, he surges again.  Doh!  We’re running out of runway but somehow I find another gear and catch back up to him yet again.  Alex seamlessly shifts into yet another gear of his own and surges across the finish line ahead of me.  This was maybe over a 100 yard stretch inside the field house.  I don’t mind Alex beating me, racing him was so much fun.  I of course gave him grief afterward for beating up on a 52 year old.  I feel even better now after having seen the race results.  I beat him (chip time) by 1 second.  We finish just under 22 minutes.  I learn in a text that my buddy Keith ran almost the exact same time for his Jingle Bell 5K in Fort Collins.

BritOn the way home, I stop off at Whole Foods to buy some KBCO CDs as Christmas gifts for my Texas relatives.  And I pick the girls up some mobile gear at Car Toys for the drive down to Austin.  The rest of the day is spent celebrating Brit’s birthday for reals.  Cake from the Romana Cake House.  Tea at the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse.  And finally a movie at Flatirons – Penguins of Madagascar.

Tomorrow, I start training again for another marathon in February.  I hope to run twenty miles.  I may have pulled a muscle sprinting after Alex.  I’ll see how it feels on tomorrow’s run.

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