Tag Archives: 5K

Running, Sports

#140 – Orlando United 5K

5km VirtMuch like the shootings in Paris last year, the shootings in Orlando hit me hard.  Orlando is the city of my birth, and frankly, it was once again on home turf.

A day or so after the attack, I got wind of a race being held in Orlando to help raise funds to help folks in the area who were affected by this awful event.  That was June 15th.

In just about 24 hours, all the “live event” spots — 1300 of them — were sold.  Fortunately, they also had a virtual leg to this race, and I quickly signed up.  So did about 2000 other people.  I’ve never heard of an impromptu race going from concept to sell-out so quickly.  It certainly props up my faith in humanity, and once again, makes me proud to count myself as a part of the running community.

Yesterday was hot here in Da Lou.  Really hot.  I know the map below says 90°, but what I saw was closer to 95° with a heat index close to 105°.  Frankly, it was stupid to be out in that, but I knew I needed to get this one done, so out I went.

Pretty quickly, I knew the heat was on me, and I realized I was gonna finish, but it’d be ugly.  On my way out of the neighborhood, I came across a neighbor who is a much better runner than me.  He told me he only made it two miles before having to head for home.  That didn’t bode well for me!

The route I’ve been enjoying lately has started to undergo some construction, so I played around with my route a bit.  Yesterday probably wasn’t the best day to do that.  And, by the time I’d gone a couple of kilometers, my dogs were barking, with the sense that I was growing a blister on the back of my right heel.  This has been an ongoing problem over the last couple of weeks, and I haven’t yet been able to track down what’s causing it all of a sudden.

I slogged through my route, and worked through the pain, coming closer and closer to the end of my route.  As I turned back into the neighborhood, that same neighbor was driving out of the neighborhood, and stopped to talk.  I told him how far I’d gone, and was I pleased that I was able to keep my feet on the street longer than him.

As it ends up, I probably shouldn’t have done this run yesterday.  The sun really affected me, sapping my energy for the rest of the day, and having some significant physical impact from all that heat.  Normally, I feel great after a run, but yesterday wasn’t one of those days.

Still, I got it done, muscling through the discomfort and the sweaty St. Louis summer day.  I’m proud that I have found the mental strength to learn how to pound through conditions like these — that’s not to be confused with the wisdom, however, to be smart about getting out there in the first place!!!!

This event was sponsored by Final Mile Race Management and benefitted the One Orlando Fund.  Last I heard, over $110,000 was raised by this event for the fund.

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Running, Sports

#139 – All American 5k

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This race is billed as “St. Louis’ Fastest 5K!”  I get why… there’s a bunch of downhill grades as the race starts in Kirkwood, travels through Glenwood, and finishes in Webster Groves.  And it was fast.

Today's Objective!
Today’s Objective!

My splits in the first two kilometers were way under 10min/km, which is my yardstick for good, bad or ugly paces.  As it ends up, three of my four splits were sub-10, the last one was ten on the nose, and the the split that included the water stop was just over ten.  Really good race for me.

This course meanders roughly east, with the river lying many, many miles in the distance.  But, with that gentle grade toward the river comes some gentle uphill chugs to earn those beautiful downhill gliding opportunities.  The gentle hills are in the second half of the run, which is why my first two splits were so fast.  There were definitely times where I had some fast sprints in the second half of the race, but the uphills slowed me down.

This race course runs through some nice, old neighborhoods, and there’s always folks outside, cheering us on.  One couple was sitting in their driveway, enjoying their coffee, and I noticed their sprinkler was on, feeding their lawn.  I shouted “Can I run through your sprinkler?”  They cracked up, and said sure, and I proceeded to make aircraft wings out of my arms, and ran dead center across their lawn (and their neighbors).  Folks in the race behind me were cheering, and I suspect I wouldn’t be the only person to take that little detour.

Another thing that was interesting was a couple that passed me about four kilometers into the race.  The guy had a race-style bag on his back, with a loud stereo of some kind in it.  There was this giant Caribbean sound emanating… and they were dancing and skipping!  I was behind them most of the last kilometer, and they carried that groove to the end.  I was blown away!!!

Flying!
Flying!

I got toward the finish line, and could see that the clock was about to cross fifty minutes.  I knew I wasn’t near fifty, as it took me almost two minutes from the time race started until I crossed the finish line, but there’s still that crazy mental thing that happens with finish lines and timing.  I looked up, and the clock was at 49:47.  The announcer was cheering on folks to finish ahead of the clock crossing fifty, and I kicked in some kind of crazy afterburner.  I ran faster than I think I’ve ever run, and crossed at about 49:58.  🙂

Finished!
Finished!

Once again, this was a fun race.  Last year, the morning was full of electrical storms, and rain through the whole course.  Today was cloudless and hot, more than ten degrees hotter than last year.  Even with that dramatic difference in conditions (to the worse, for me), I was only 45 seconds slower than last year.  I’ll take that.  🙂

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Running, Sports

#138 – Father’s Day Virtual 5k

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5kmYesterday, I knew I needed to get out before the heat got too bad, and I had a virtual race burning a hole in my pocket.  This race was supposed to be run today, but I had a “live” race that I’d signed up for, so this Father’s Day race got an early slot on my calendar.

Da Lou has been sweltering awful for the last week.  I thought if I got out early in the day, I’d beat the heat.  Unfortunately, my plans didn’t quite go like that, and it was closer to lunch before I headed out.  As you can see in the image of the race course, it was 84°, which is still in the melt me into a puddle range for me.

I got going on this new course that I’ve discovered.  It’s all sidewalks, with no major road crossings, and is pleasant enough, even with the heat, due to a pretty fair number of trees around.  That’s probably the only thing that kept me from deteriorating into a puddle o’ goo.

And then there was the lemonade.

Wren Trail, which is the big east-wester on my course, has a bunch little neighborhoods that back up to it, and on one of those, there were some kinds with a lemonade stand.  Brilliant!  Hot day, captive audience on the trail, and some ingenuity.  I bought my cup for 50¢ (along with a little tip — I don’t carry change when I run), and guzzled it down.  It wasn’t the tangiest lemonade I’d ever had, but it was there, and so was I… a match made in heaven!

There’s not much to talk about typically for these virtual events, but in this case, the key takeaway is that kids really should be manning lemonade stands during the summer on running routes.  It makes the run so much nicer!!!

This event benefitted the National Park Service.

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Running, Sports

#137 – We Run for Flint 5k

5kmYesterday, I woke to the news from Orlando, and yet another apparent reminder that evil lives among us.  I needed to put some miles under my feet, and put this out of my mind for a while.

I’d had this event on my calendar for a while.  I love running topical events, especially when there’s a charitable leg to them.  There’s something about looking at my medal shelf, and seeing reminders of not just my successes, but also events in the public eye.  This race, of course, brings focus to the awful situation in Flint MI.

Once again, it was hot.  There was some promise of pop-up thunderstorms with the heat, so I waited as long as I could before finally heading out into the neighborhood around 7pm.  The rain never came, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.  It was hot, and I was well on the path to becoming a puddle.

I took the same route as I used on Friday.  I’m growing to like it.  There’s just enough shade to make these sweltering days a little more bearable, and the distance is just about exactly what I need for a 5km distance.

Much like Friday night, there was nothing spectacular about my walk.  However, I did a lot of reflection on the day’s events, and tried to get my head around why something as senseless as a massacre could happen in the city of my birth.

This event benefitted the Catholic Charities of Flint.

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Running, Sports

#136 – Freedom Run 5K

5kmFriday night, I decided I needed to put some miles under my feet, so I headed out into the late spring swelter.  It was well over 90° — despite what Garmin says! — and was miserable.  I chose a flat neighborhood course that was right around 5km, with a little extra to get my distance in.

Did I mention it was hot?

As I’ve mentioned many times, I melt in the heat, and when it’s above 90°, the chances of me doing anything closely resembling “running” quickly approach zero.  I walked.  Slowly.  But I got out there, and put some miles in the books.

As this was a virtual race, there’s not much to say about it.  So let’s talk headphones.  🙂

For years, I have used Bose earbuds for my runs.  I love the feel and the sound… but not the cord.  I’ve tried a variety of wireless earbuds, trying to find something that works well with my gear, and can stand up to my sweaty self.  I’m sure some of those sounded amazing, but I had all kinds of trouble getting anything to fit in my ear as well as my trusty corded Bose.

A couple of months ago, I broke down and put some Beats Powerbeats2, and was pretty well blown away by the fit.  They actually fit in my ear holes, and stayed in place.  In fairness, they have hooks that go over the ear, which is a little interesting as those compete with the earpieces of my glasses.  Not a huge thing.

I do wish the sound was a little better with them, though.  I know that earbuds are gonna struggle with good sound reproduction — there’s just not enough room in them to make “big sound” possible.  It’s a trade off, and for the convenience of cordless sound, I’m cool with that.

Last week, after years of my lamenting Bose not having wireless earbuds, Bose announced a set.  Grrrr.

I’d love to try a nice cordless set of Bose for my travels, but in reality, the Beats are doing the job, aren’t too uncomfortable, and will likely last me for at least a few seasons.  When they die, Bose will have their chance!

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Running, Sports

#134/135 – Hospital Hill 5k/10k

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5km10km
This weekend, I ran my third Hospital Hill race weekend (second time for the 5k/10k re-run.  Two years ago, I challenged The Hill, and it was one of the hardest races I’d done up to that time.  Last year, I did the re-run for the first time, and was just pummeled by the 5k.  The heat was crushing, and it was all I could do mentally to go back out on the course for the 10k the next morning.

I’ve run 100 events since last year’s Hospital Hill, and I was determined to not only be a little faster than last year, but to enjoy the experience.

Friday

I drove out to Kansas City Friday morning.  I-70 is a relatively quick, albeit kinda dull, drive between here and KC.  Three-and-a-half hours after leaving the house later, I was pulling into the Sheraton Crown Center.

This is the host hotel for Hospital Hill, and I’ve really come to enjoy my stays there — the expo is right there, and the race start/finish is just a couple of blocks away.  Perfect!

I checked in (early, even!), dropped off my stuff, and headed to the expo.  Specifically, I was looking for Lifespeed Sports, but unfortunately, they weren’t there this year.  However, there were plenty of races represented, and loads of vendors selling their wares.    Aside from picking up a buncha flyers for races I’ll probably never do, I really didn’t walk out with anything aside from my bibs and shirt for the event.

This race starts at 7pm, so I always have time to burn between packet pickup and race time.  Just hanging out in the room added to the tension of the upcoming race, but I did get to nap a bit, and I’m sure that wasn’t a bad thing.

I got myself together, and wandered downstairs and to the start line.  Like last year, there were loads of folks enjoying the pre-race festivities… stuff for kids, a great fountain, and some clouds.  Yes, clouds.  This was gonna be a night with cooler weather than last year!

We got corralled up, and in short order, we were released onto the course!  As I’ve mentioned before, the 5k course starts out with a ginormous hill, almost ¾km in length, and pointed kinda straight up.  I’d strategized that this year, I was gonna walk up the hills, and run the downhills and flats.  Previous years had seen me running up the hills — especially the first one — and burning myself out.

My plan worked pretty well, and I enjoyed churning through the course, running through sprinklers, speaking to anyone who’d listen, and generally making the best of my race.  I scooted back down the big hill, and continued my run to the finish line, finishing three minutes faster than last year.  Woot!

I gathered up my post-race goodies, including an ice cream sammich and a carton of chocolate milk.  Those are absolutely the best things ever post-race, and really oughta be required at every race!!!

I headed back to the hotel, grabbing some Jimmy John’s on the way, and changed back into street clothes.  One of the challenges with a race that starts at 7pm is that by the time you get settled down after dinner, it’s already at least 9pm, and the clock is already ticking down to wake-up time for Saturday’s 10k.

Saturday

Typically, I awoke before the alarm, and had time to kill — my favorite! — before heading down to the race site.  I nibbled a little breakfast, and headed down.

The scale of the Saturday race is enormous compared to the Friday race.  Saturday has both a 10k and half marathon, with about 3500 racers combined.  The field stretches for almost two blocks, all lined up by pace.  I’d placed myself at the back, knowing that I would be slow, slow, slow.

I started talking with three ladies — a mom and her grown daughters — that had also lined up near the “Walk” pace sign.  We chit-chatted a bit, and I found out that this was the youngest’s first official 10k.  It’s always fun to kill my nerves with some small talk, and frankly, the older I get, the more I hear my father’s voice in mine.  He never met a stranger, and I’m beginning to see that same trait in me.  Not bad for guy who was a total wallflower as a teen, eh?  🙂

The gun fired, and almost four minutes later, we crossed the start line.  As it ends up, these ladies were walking at the speed of my trot, so I eased into a walking stride, and continued talking with them.

And we talked, and talked, and talked.  Quickly, we were a mile in, and then two.  In fact, the course just seemed to melt behind us as we chattered about a little of everything.  In short order, we were headed down the final hill, aimed toward the finish line.  Suddenly, we all hit a big gear, and ran across the finish line in the same stride.  It was awesome!

That’s the first time I’d had someone to chat with through a race that long, and it really made a difference.  Obviously, I need to find me some folks to run and walk with.

It was a great weekend, and I nabbed three more medals for the wall — nothing wrong with that!  I survived the heat of Friday night, and had a great 10k race, meeting some new folks along the way.  It was a great race weekend!

This race benefitted Unbound, Heartstrings Community Foundation and the Love Fund for Children.

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Running, Sports

#132 – Honor Flight 5K

5km VirtAs I’ve written before, I’m a sucker for events benefitting patriotic causes, and this one, benefitting the Honor Flight Network, is as patriotic as they come.  If you don’t know who they are, check out their website, and their mission.

This was my first run since the St. Louis Triathlon last Sunday.  I know that it’s suggested to rest quite a bit after a long race — marathon, etc. — and I took that suggestion to also include the tri, which was my longest race of the year so far.

It’s really surprised me how little soreness I’ve had from the triathlon.  I was exhausted after the race, and felt that a little bit on Monday, but I really had no muscle soreness to speak of.  In fact, the only soreness I had was at the back of my head from where my noggin (ensconced in its bike helmet) tapped the ground in my stunning zero MPH bike wreck.  I was really expecting some upper body muscle stiffness to set in from the long swim, but that never materialized.

In truth, I really wasn’t feeling the run yesterday.  I’d intended to get up early, and get my feet on the street, but I didn’t sleep very well at all, taking a fair amount of coffee and breakfast to get me moving.  Unfortunately, by the time I got out the door, it was already 10am, and when running in Da Lou this time of the year, that means heat.

I melt in the heat.  Maybe not literally, but I feel like it.  My perfect running conditions are either rainy or temps around 40-50°, and yesterday had neither.  When I got on the Greenway, it was about 72°; when I hit the Jeep at the end of the run, the thermometer in read 83°.  Those are pretty extreme temperatures for me, and usually I don’t do well in them.

Despite the heat, this run felt pretty good.  It wasn’t the fastest I’ve ever run, but it was around average speed for me, and that’s a huge surprise, given the heat.  I had plenty of energy — and maybe that’s because I gave myself a good long rest after last weekend’s tri — and it helped make this a very comfortable run for me.

And that’s the reward.  On those days when it’s tough to get my feet pointed to the street, I’m usually rewarded with good runs, and a sense of accomplishment for having gotten myself out there.  Yesterday was no exception!

This weekend, we honor those fallen heroes who have helped keep our country safe and free.  Their sacrifice has made it possible to do what I do, and I can certainly honor their memory with a little fundraising to support our heroes.

This event benefitted Honor Flight Network.  From their website:  Honor Flight Network is a non-profit organization created solely to honor America’s veterans for all their sacrifices. We transport our heroes to Washington, D.C. to visit and reflect at their memorials. Top priority is given to the senior veterans – World War II survivors, along with those other veterans who may be terminally ill.

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Running, Sports

#130 – Heroes Always Memorial Run

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5km VirtToday was the last warmup before the inaugural St. Louis Triathlon on Sunday.  And, with a nice sunny day, it’s hard not to get out and enjoy it.

This was my first return to the Greenway in almost two weeks — two weeks filled with unseasonably cool weather, and a lot of rain.  For the Greenway, that meant that it was… well… green, as promised.

About three-quarters of the way through the run, I encountered the most wonderful scent.  I stopped, recognizing the smell, but not quite placing it.  I looked around and found it … honeysuckles!  It was like being a kid again.  When I was growing up, we’d pluck the bloom, pull the center from it, and put the tiny drop of nectar on our tongues.  I thought about doing that today, but elected instead to finish up, and get back to the Jeep.

I took it easy today, partly because it’d been a while since my last run, but also because I didn’t wanna risk injuring anything before Sunday’s event!  As it ends up, I kept a pretty regular pace, albeit not exactly blazing speed.  However, it was just a regular ol’ chug down the path, a little warm for me, but coming pretty easily.

This event honored the memories of David Bowie and Alan Rickman, and benefitted the Gastric Cancer Foundation.

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Running, Sports

#129 – Awaken the Fourth and Run 5k

5km VirtA few days ago was Star Wars Day.  May the Fourth be with you.  And also with you.

I’d had great intentions to run a ton last week.  We’d originally been slated to drive to Michigan for the Bernese Mountain Dog Specialty, with Bailey signed up to try to complete her herding title.  Unfortunately, she re-injured her back, and we were a no-go.  She’s better, although not quite herself, but definitely headed in the right direction.

With us mired in Da Lou, I wanted to run.  Bunches.  It was a great opportunity to catch up on some virtual races that I’d been piling up, and to finish off a Spring Challenge from the Moon Jogger folks.  So run I did… back and forth to Home Depot!  🙂

I ended up spending the first part of the week building a new desk for my home office.  It’s a impressive piece of redneck engineering, and has plenty of room for all my computerized toys and their attachments.  By the time the week had closed, I hadn’t run a single mile.

Today, I fixed that.

Ideally, a run celebrating Star Wars Day probably should be run on Star Wars Days, but I’m a bit of a maverick, and ran it fashionably late.  I returned to the Greenway, and put my feet to work.  Unfortunately, with the week escaping, so did the cool weather, and I ended up running in temps near 80° — far above my melting point.  It was hot and uncomfortable, and before I got to my turnaround point, it was obvious that I was growing a blister on the back of my right heel.  That really slowed me up, and put me in the “just ok” range of my finishing times.

Looking at the blister, I think I figured out what happened.  I was running with these really cool Swiftwick socks that I picked up in Chattanooga.  I’ve run with them a bunch.  They’re mid calf, and have the circle and stars from the Tennessee state flag on the back.  However, they also have a small logo on them that I think got sucked down into my shoe, and the knitting on that logo rubbed me the wrong way.

Tomorrow, I’d like to run again, but it’s gonna take a little bit of work to get me on the trail… lance the blister, and bandage it well.  Blecch!

This event benefitted the Make a Wish Foundation.

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Cycling, Running, Sports

#128 – Spring Duathlon

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As some of you know, I’m working toward participating in the inaugural St. Louis Triathlon, taking place just a month from now. At various times, I’ve been exuberant and confident; at others, terrified and cowering under my desk. 🙂 Yesterday, the race director of the event was at the grand opening of the newly moved Swim, Bike, Run shop on Clayton Road, and I thought I’d go meet him. Now, I’d exchanged messages with him a ton on Facebook, and I even became the poster child for the social media impact of this race, which he mentioned in a podcast a little while back (about 21 minutes into the podcast).  However, we’d never laid eyes on each other.

I walked up to him, introduced myself, and he told me he already knew who I was. Well, how ’bout that?!

We talked about the event, and he gave me some much needed advice about different parts of it, and even came in SBR to help me shop for goggles for the swim.  And as we chatted, it was obvious to me that I needed to string together some events.  I can run 5k, and I can cycle 20k — the swimming is still a bit of an unknown! — but I haven’t done them back-to-back.

Knowing I had some training ahead of me, I found a virtual 10k/5k duathlon, and figured I oughta sign up.

This morning, fueled by dreams of a successful triathlon, I headed out on my bike.  Now, one big difference between the race course and my neighborhood is flatness.  The race course for the triathlon is pretty dang flat.  My neighborhood is replete with hills, and I think I found most of ’em.  I’d ridden about 7.5km, was passing the house, and thought about just calling it done.  Somehow, I squelched that voice, and rode on, putting in a little over 10km in the saddle.

Upon getting back to the house, I transitioned from riding to running, doffing my helmet, getting some fuel for the road, and ensuring I had water.  Frankly, I was surprised how easy the first kilometer came.  And then the heat started to hit me.

I ambled around the neighborhood, and eventually ended up walking the middle part of my distance, peppered with a little running here and there.  Once again, I was at the house, about 3.5km into the run, and once again, the voices in my head were trying to convince me to just be done.  I knew, though, that if I did that, I’d regret it all day, and even if it was slow, I could get through it.  I plugged along.  And just like a dog getting a treat for doing the right thing, I was rewarded with some kind of weird second wind, and I was running the last kilometer, taking me home.

This was probably the hardest race I’ve done since Gasparilla in February.  The difference here was that not only did I have to overcome the course, but I had to overcome the noise in my noggin.  With me passing by the house, I had the means to bail on the race — something that would’ve harder to do in Tampa — but had to find the gumption not to.

Neither of my times were stunning — about 40mins for the 10km ride, and around 54min for the 5km run.  I suspect my splits for the ride in the triathlon will be better due to the flatter course.  So, extrapolating, let’s assume 30-40mins for the swim (those are estimates I’ve been given), 70mins for the 20k ride, and about 50min for the 5k run, and that puts me right around 2.5hrs for the triathlon course.   Anything under 3hrs is fine with me, and if it’s closer to 2hrs, so much the better.

I only had two real issues.  The first was with my Garmin.  I set it up for duathlon mode, but there was obvious operator error, and it stopped tracking me after the bike ride.  I’ll have to figure that out.  The other thing that was a surprise was how sore my hands were from the handlebars.  I’ve got nice, new cushioned cycling gloves but I suspect there’s something else afoot — perhaps goofy positioning on the bike.

So color me more convinced that the triathlon in a month’s time is really, really achievable!!!

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