Strider Bear Creek 10K/20K
Steve Sheppard told me two things I needed to try to do for the 20K this morning. One was to take a stab at the course record for male masters (1:27 something) and the other was to save something for the 1/2 marathon next Sunday. I hope he'll settle for one out of two.
Steve had told me that this race was open to anyone who wanted to do it so I talked my running partner Brian King into coming out, even though he's not a Strider (yet). Brian and I did the 16.2 miles Friday night at a pretty aggressive pace so I don't think we were at 100% this morning but not too far from it. I took an ice bath Friday night so the legs were recovered. But even though the temperature wasn't too bad this morning it was very humid, making breathing more of a challange. Oh well, breathing is overrated, right?
Brian and I started off together, along with Çhip Maxa, who was targeting a 7 minute pace. Chip had a Garmin and told us early on that we were running under 6:40 but it felt fine to Brian and I. Chip warned us though about mile 3 - very hilly. At one point Chip said he was going to drop back but I don't think he ever did. He was with us at the 3.1 mile turnaround (20:26) and actually pulled ahead of us on the return back to the 10K turnaround. I couldn't answer and was actually starting to struggle in miles 4 and 5. But Brian was still there with me and we soldiered on. By the time we got to the 10K turnaround Chip was about 15 or 20 seconds in front of us. The 2nd 5K was 20:20 so we'd recovered a bit and I was feeling better.
The first mile going back out was a 6:36 I think and I told Brian I felt like I could hold that pace for a while. He jokingly said, "I'm glad you can!". But Brian stayed with me through to the 3.1 mile (15K) turnaround, which we hit in 1:01:25, and 20:39 for the 3rd 5K. Chip was well out in front of us now, and clearly not in danger of being caught by us, barring a total collapse. Somewhere in the 1st mile of the final 5K I started to pull away from Brian just a bit and was feeling pretty good, all things considered. I just needed some flat course to try to make tracks and get back on the good side of oxygen debt. Somewhere in the second mile Brian caught up to me. I hadn't slowed down but he told me that he had to surge because he was afraid that if he lost touch with me he'd be in trouble in no-man's land.
With less than 1/2 a mile to go I started to pick up the pace a bit and Brian drifted back ever so slightly. But somewhere just past the marker indicating .2 miles to go, Brian kicked and got just past me. I was fine with this. Brian is a 60 second 400 meter guy so I knew if we got into a sprint for the finish I'd lose anyway. So I set my sights on the back of Brian's shirt and hung on. I had known that we weren't going to catch Chip, and I had given up hope of beating the course record but I was still targeting a 1:22 something. I couldn't see my total time very well and was too focused on maintaining pace to worry about it so I really didn't know where I was at, other than the 1:01 at the 15K mark. I had missed a couple of mile markers so was running blind. I clicked a split at the 1-mile-to-go mark, just so I could later look back and see what my final mile was. I knew I had the masters course record in the bag but didn't know much else.
As the race clock came into view I saw it change from 1:20 to 1:21. As I got closer I realized I'd be close to the course record afterall. Actually, it wasn't the course record anymore. Chip Maxa was already in and I knew he'd have gone 1:20 something. But nevertheless, I did my best to make 1:21:37 and that's what I saw as I came through the finish. Officially it was a 1:21:38 (1:21:37 on my watch) but close enough since it's no onger the course record anyway. My final 5K was 20:12, the best of the four, and my final mile was 6:16.
Sorry Steve, I didn't save anything for Sunday, but I've got a light week scheduled (after hitting 61.25 miles this week). I'll be ready.
Total distance: 12.4 miles (+ about .6 warmup), 1:21:37 (6:35 pace).
Steve had told me that this race was open to anyone who wanted to do it so I talked my running partner Brian King into coming out, even though he's not a Strider (yet). Brian and I did the 16.2 miles Friday night at a pretty aggressive pace so I don't think we were at 100% this morning but not too far from it. I took an ice bath Friday night so the legs were recovered. But even though the temperature wasn't too bad this morning it was very humid, making breathing more of a challange. Oh well, breathing is overrated, right?
Brian and I started off together, along with Çhip Maxa, who was targeting a 7 minute pace. Chip had a Garmin and told us early on that we were running under 6:40 but it felt fine to Brian and I. Chip warned us though about mile 3 - very hilly. At one point Chip said he was going to drop back but I don't think he ever did. He was with us at the 3.1 mile turnaround (20:26) and actually pulled ahead of us on the return back to the 10K turnaround. I couldn't answer and was actually starting to struggle in miles 4 and 5. But Brian was still there with me and we soldiered on. By the time we got to the 10K turnaround Chip was about 15 or 20 seconds in front of us. The 2nd 5K was 20:20 so we'd recovered a bit and I was feeling better.
The first mile going back out was a 6:36 I think and I told Brian I felt like I could hold that pace for a while. He jokingly said, "I'm glad you can!". But Brian stayed with me through to the 3.1 mile (15K) turnaround, which we hit in 1:01:25, and 20:39 for the 3rd 5K. Chip was well out in front of us now, and clearly not in danger of being caught by us, barring a total collapse. Somewhere in the 1st mile of the final 5K I started to pull away from Brian just a bit and was feeling pretty good, all things considered. I just needed some flat course to try to make tracks and get back on the good side of oxygen debt. Somewhere in the second mile Brian caught up to me. I hadn't slowed down but he told me that he had to surge because he was afraid that if he lost touch with me he'd be in trouble in no-man's land.
With less than 1/2 a mile to go I started to pick up the pace a bit and Brian drifted back ever so slightly. But somewhere just past the marker indicating .2 miles to go, Brian kicked and got just past me. I was fine with this. Brian is a 60 second 400 meter guy so I knew if we got into a sprint for the finish I'd lose anyway. So I set my sights on the back of Brian's shirt and hung on. I had known that we weren't going to catch Chip, and I had given up hope of beating the course record but I was still targeting a 1:22 something. I couldn't see my total time very well and was too focused on maintaining pace to worry about it so I really didn't know where I was at, other than the 1:01 at the 15K mark. I had missed a couple of mile markers so was running blind. I clicked a split at the 1-mile-to-go mark, just so I could later look back and see what my final mile was. I knew I had the masters course record in the bag but didn't know much else.
As the race clock came into view I saw it change from 1:20 to 1:21. As I got closer I realized I'd be close to the course record afterall. Actually, it wasn't the course record anymore. Chip Maxa was already in and I knew he'd have gone 1:20 something. But nevertheless, I did my best to make 1:21:37 and that's what I saw as I came through the finish. Officially it was a 1:21:38 (1:21:37 on my watch) but close enough since it's no onger the course record anyway. My final 5K was 20:12, the best of the four, and my final mile was 6:16.
Sorry Steve, I didn't save anything for Sunday, but I've got a light week scheduled (after hitting 61.25 miles this week). I'll be ready.
Total distance: 12.4 miles (+ about .6 warmup), 1:21:37 (6:35 pace).
posted by Lance Collins at 3:33 PM
2 Comments:
Great report! (and great race)
I'll be at the finish line on Sunday handing out metals w/ cub scouts and other kids. Finish Strong!!
Brilliant running this morning by Lance, Brian, Chip and a host of others. You raised the bar high for the master mens record; that'll get you announced at the start of the race for years, I reckon!
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