2012 Trolley Run 4 Mile race recap - 4/29/12

That's not exactly what you want to run in...
Normally, it would have been enough to turn me off for a race.
Cold
Wind
Rain

Luckily we had my mom covering the kids so Em and I could go run the Trolley Run.  If it was a 5k... it might not have happened.  Thankfully they had the extra 0.9 miles to get us to 4 miles.  It's a big race here in Kansas City and it's kind of a big deal.

With so much going on in life, I need to pick and choose what events I invest the time I subtract from home, kids, wife, family and friends my "free time" in.  Normally I wouldn't race an event less than a 10k since most training runs are 5 miles or more.  I mean, I can torture myself in rain and cold for free around my house any day!

But, it was a rare occasion where my wife and I could run a race at the same time.  So, off we went!


___________________________________________________________________
I had my goals...
Run fast
Not injure myself
Run sub 30 minutes


___________________________________________________________________ 
I accomplished my goals
Knee, good to go. Rest of my body, none the worse for wear.

In racing this event, it was short enough that recovery wasn't a big deal to make an impact on my training schedule.  So no need for extra rest afterwards.  It served as a good excuse for a "tempo" run and ran as hard as possible.  But, it wasn't an "A" race and I wasn't into running so hard to make myself puke.


___________________________________________________________________
Lets look at the numbers.
4 miles
26:24 for a 6:36 pace.  Not too shabby.
With so much going on, I didn't really have a chance to check out how I had done in the past.  Out of the now 5 times I have ran this race on the exact same course, this was the fastest.  2006 was second at 29:44.

Not too bad to shave 3 minutes off from 6 years ago for a dude with a gimpy knee, 2 kids and 3 dogs.

It's been a blessed year running wise.  Topped the 5k, 10k, 4 mile and half marathon PR's across the board.  I hate to say it, but running slow for long runs and staying religious with no-fun speed work has been paying dividends.

Could also be the SIX Nutrition and Puma Bolt Faas 400's...?  People love the yellow kicks and my wife can always find me!  I'm not saying, I'm just saying.

Check out the Garmin info.  Pretty consistent with pace, pegged the heart rate and you have to LOVE seeing the elevation being a sloping line to the finish.

Next up, Running with the Cows half marathon!

Last minute 2012 Trolley Run preview

Things are pretty hectic these days, so I didn't get a chance to write up a race preview for the 2012 Trolley Run.

It's a pretty well known 4 mile run in these parts.  It's mostly downhill and many runners look to get a PR year after year.  I think I've run this race around 5 or  times.  I'd look at my past race results, but it's not handy and too close to bed time!

It's going to be a change from the half marathons of late.  I ran my long 10 mile run Friday to get that in the bank so I'm not missing out on miles.  This will be a nice all out pace for a threshold run tomorrow.

I'm pretty much planning on going all out as long as the knee shows no issues.

I've raced a 26 minute Trolley Run in the past and I signed up for the red bib group, which means you are suppose to be able to run it in 30 minutes or less.  Hopefully, that won't be a problem.

What's also a nice change is the wifey coming along.  Very rarely with kids and life do we get a chance to race the same race.  My mom's watching the kids and we are on!

See you at the finish line!

Upcoming Kansas City Running events

Featured Race

Running With The Cows

Half Marathon and 5K

227th and Metcalf

Bucyrus, KS

Saturday, May 12 @ 7:30am

Find out what's got everyone so excited! Sign up for the third annual Running With The Cows event and you will run on a serene asphalt course over rolling hills, breathing the freshest air you've ever breathed. There are cheering volunteers all along the course and an incredible spread of food awaiting your return.  This event benefits the Queen of the Holy Rosary Wea School and every participant in the Kids Run, 5K and half marathon will receive a Running with the Cows COWBELL! The top three finishers in the 5K and half marathon in each age group receive medals and all half marathon finishers receive a medal for completing the race.  Click here for more information or to register.

Coming Events

  

Special Olympics Pay It Forward Midnight Run 5K Run/Walk

Tomahawk Creek Parkway between College and 119th St. in Leawood, KS

Friday, April 27 @ 11:59pm

If you are looking for a new 5K PR, this is the race for you! The flat and flat course along scenic Tomahawk Creek Parkway and the midnight start time makes this a unique event that you won't want to miss.  Help support Special Olympics and sign up today!

Click here for more information or to sign up.

Drum Run 5K Run/Walk

Shawnee Mission East High School

Prairie Village, KS

Saturday, April 28 @ 9:00am

This third annual 5K Run/Walk benefits the drum line at Cristo Rey School and has a tree lined course that winds through the residential neighborhood south and west of SM East High School.  Support high school kids helping high school kids through this event!

Click here for more information or to sign up.

Spring Into Fitness 5K Run/Walk and One Mile Family Fun Run

MidAmerica Nazarene University

Olathe, Kansas

Saturday, April 28 @ 8am

Help support this new 5K Run/Walk that will raise funds to support wellness grants in Kansas schools that promote wellness initiatives.  Run on the MidAmerica Nazarene University campus, this event also includes a one mile family fun run/walk.

Click here for more information or to sign up.

Triumph Over Tragedy 5K Run/Walk benefiting the Kelly Lynn Lutz Foundation

Garmin World Headquarters Campus

1200 E. 151st Street Olathe, Kansas

Saturday, May 6 @ 8am

Join us for this third annual event and support the KLL Memorial Scholarship Fund, which was established to help kids who have lost a parent to cancer pursue and attain their dreams of a college education.  

Click here for more information or to sign up.

Run to Remember 5K Run/Walk to benefit Ride 4 Cops

Lawrence Police Department

4820 Bob Billings Parkway Lawrence, Kansas 

Saturday, May 6 @ 7:30am

The inaugural Run to Remember 5K benefits the Ride4Cops Fund, supporting  the Kansas Chapter of the Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.) and the Douglas County Valor Awards Program.

Click here for more information or to sign up. 

Girls on the Run 5K Run/Walk

Belgian Bottoms Business Park

Riverside, Missouri

Saturday, May 19 @ 9am

Join us for this annual 5K run/walk and help hundreds of area middle school girls from throughout the metropolitan area celebrate their completion of their 10 week program that focuses on building self-esteem and improving emotional and physical health.

Click here for more information or to sign up. 

Outpacing Melanoma 5K Run/Walk

Corporate Woods

Overland Park, Kansas

Sunday, May 20 @ 8am

Corporate Woods provides a beautiful setting for this inaugural event that will fund research and increase public awareness in the local community by promoting early detection, screening, and prevention in the fight against melanoma, an often neglected disease and the most deadly form of skin cancer.

Click here for more information or to sign up.

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5k's around Lawrence, Kansas

From KC Running Company - Join Us For One of These 

Upcoming Lawrence Races

 The Lawrence race calendar is full of Spring 2012 running events!  Sign up today and be a part of the fun at one or more of these upcoming events:

  

May 5 @ 8am - Red Shoe Walk/Willow Run

The Red Shoe Walk/Willow Run event challenges women, children and especially men to run in the 5K or walk a mile as a symbol of their support for survivors of domestic violence. Participants have the option of either running the 5K on a predetermined route on Clinton Lake Trails or walking a mile, which will take place on the path around the Arboretum. All walkers are encouraged to complete the mile in women's shoes. Proceeds from this event benefit The Willow Domestic Violence Center.  Click here for more information or to sign up.

 May 6 @ 7:30am - Run to Remember 5K in Lawrence

The inaugural Run to Remember 5K benefits the Ride4Cops Fund, supporting  the Kansas Chapter of the Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.) and the Douglas County Valor Awards Program.   The race starts and finishes at the Lawrence Police Department on 4820 Bob Billings Parkway in Lawrence.  Get more information or sign up by clicking here.

  

May 26 @ 8:00am - Stop Gap 5K in Lawrence

Sign up for this new 5K run/walk benefiting StopGap Inc., a nonprofit organization located in Lawrence that was created to assist youth between the ages of 15-21 who are aging-out of foster care in Douglas County in claiming ownership of their life to become successful individuals. Sign up here to learn more about the event, starting and finishing at Haskell Indian Nations University for $20.

Click and Browse a full selection of kids sale and kids clearance items at Quiksilver.com!

Time does fly and words of wisdom from Ferris Bueller

Add a wife, some kids and some dogs and suddenly time flies
Seems like last month I was a arrogant 24 year old racing my first on-road duathlon with no real clue of strategy or training plan.

Now, I'm worried about pace on a long run, hill repeats on the bike and squeezing every last drop of productivity out of any workout I can squeeze in between dirty diapers, sleeping and work.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying, but I'm just saying.

Just remember the immortal words of Ferris Bueller, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

Lets stop and look around at last week's training numbers...
BIKING - 64 miles - I wanted more but that's what I was able to get in
RUNNING - 16.2 miles - it included the Kansas Half marathon, so I limited running to be ready for the 13.1 last Sunday
SWIMMING - 2180 yards - I only got one swim in sadly
TOTAL MILES - 83.4 - ok miles wise, but looking for more
TOTAL TIME -  08:12

In reality, I'm looking for double digit training time, but that's life.  More important things take precedence sometimes.  I can't also ignore my inability to get out of bed for AM workouts these days.  I'm not sure what the deal is... if I just screwed up the habit of getting up early, my body is needing more rest or our new bed is so comfortable that I just can't get up.  Sometimes I didn't even realize the alarm went off until after an hour of hitting snooze.

So far I have been able to get 2 AM workouts in, so hopefully the trend is swinging back.

2012 Kansas Half Marathon Race Report - 4/22/12

It was a race for the ages...
The cards were stacked against me.  Raging winds, thunder, lightening and torrential rains all added up to the sum total of an EPIC half marathon.

Not really.

It was a little chilly, like 40's at the race start.  But, some clouds, some sun and a little running.

It's not very often that I find myself thinking about a half marathon as a ho-hum race that wasn't really a big deal.  Don't take me wrong, I'm not being egotistical.  It's not like I raced it it sub 1:20 or got podium overall.  Heck, I was 16th in my age group.  But, it served the purpose.

____________________________________________________________________
I had goals...
1. Don't hurt myself.
2. Finish the race as part of the Heartland 39.3 series.
3. Use it for more training than racing.
4. Have a good time.

____________________________________________________________________ 

Mind your training, save you it will...
My cycling could use some improvement, but my running is a bright spot.

Even though I was running at an average of 156 heart rate, it felt somewhat effortless.  Maybe it was the cramped sidewalk out and back portion and trying not to run into people that distracted me.  Maybe it was racing around Lawrence, the old stomping ground.  Maybe it was the oatmeal for dinner the night before.  Or, maybe it was some quality training and a spot on race plan and nutrition plan.

____________________________________________________________________
I ate some power blasts...
I'm not selling Powerbar, but those energy blasts seem to be working.  I ate most of the blasts 45 minutes out from the start and then cut off solids.  I was then on Push Endurance mixed with G2 for the race.

I did have to pee like a race horse before and 3 miles into the race.  I would have probably been 2 minutes faster of not for a port-a-potty stop.  Oh well.  Like I said, I wasn't going for a PR since this course had some nice hills and I raced pretty hard last weekend.  No need to kill the legs.  Plus, I wanted to get back to the heart rate training for long runs.  I was a little above my window, but that's what happens when you are surrounded by runners running a race...

____________________________________________________________________
I finished and went home...
It was as little fanfare as I have ever had after a race.  My friend I rode to Lawrence with and I grabbed some post race refreshments, looked at each other and said, "well, lets go."  Off we went for home.

Overall it was a quick race.  I left my Garmin on bike mode by accident, so I had time and distance, but no pacing info.  So, I was running by heart rate and PRE.  I didn't really know what my pace was and it felt pretty good.  I don't recall a half marathon going by so fast.

At least on the uphill in the wind I picked up the 1:45 pace group and tucked in behind a tall string bean and a stocky muscle head.  It was nice while they broke the wind and I rode the draft.  I need to remember that for next time.  Too bad drafting on bikes are a no-no.  =)

Another high point were the arm warmers from North Face Endurance Challenge last year.  I've used them for bike rides and not running.  It was great! They kept me from freezing, but since they were only on my arms, I didn't overheat with multiple layers of shirts.  Perfect.  I'm putting that in the vault for next time.

Official time : 01 : 43 : 17
Good for 175th overall, 16th in my age group.
Results are HERE.

____________________________________________________________________ 

The race was low key...
The Kansas Half Marathon is not as big as Rock the Parkway, but it had 2100 runners between the half and 5k.  It was by no means small, but it felt a little more down to earth.  It was more for the purist runners that enjoy a quality event without as much foo foo and fanfare.

They had  a start line, finishers chute, announcer, post race goodies, nice shirt and medal for finishers.  They goodie bags were quality and re-usable.  It was a practical event and well worth the price, especially if you got in for the $39.3 price early on.  You will not find a better half marathon event for less than $40 around KC.

Up next... the Trolley Run 4 miler.  Woo hoo!

Upcoming KC Events - May 5/6‏

Got nothing to do the weekend of May 5-6? Problem solved. Check out these great events across Kansas City that are fun for the whole family!

05/05/2012                                                                                 7:45 AM      Dragon Dash is a 5K and 1 Mile Fun Run which starts and ends at Corinth School. Community members of all ages along with athletes from across the region are welcome to enjoy the fun as well!   Location: Prairie Village, KS Entry Fee: $23 -5K  $12 -1 Mile  Great 5K and 1-mile courses through scenic neighborhoods of Old Leawood USATF certified 5K course with chip timing Entertainment along the course route with post-race entertainment featuring The North Johnson County All Stars at Corinth Elementary More family fun than ever before - kid's tent, professional photos with family and friend, emcee and more

05/05/2012                                                                              8:00AM The Kansas Heart & Sole Classic is a fun-filled event for all ages and includes a 5K Run/Walk, 10K Run, Tot Trot and Fun Run. The event benefits Special Olympics Kansas, a year-round program of sports training, education, and athletic competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Location: Olathe, KS Entry Fees: $20 through April 28     $25 May 4    $30 Race Day Race starts and finishes at the Johnson County Square in historic downtown Olathe. Refreshments provided by race sponsors will be available immediately following the events.The Kansas Heart & Sole Classic 10K is part of the Mid-America Running Association's Grand Prix Circuit and KC Track Club Spring Racing Series.

05/05/2012                                                                                          8:00AM Join us on May 5 as we run to provide the essentials for the students of Lee's Summit Elementary. The Summit Church has partnered with the school since 2003 and during that time has raised over $100,000 to assist students and teachers. Location: Lee's Summit, MO Entry Fee: 5K Run/Walk, 10K Run, or Sleep In -$28

05/05/2012                                                                                      9:00 AM Sign up now for the RUN NKC Schools 5K on Cinco de Mayo! The event benefits the North Kansas City Schools Education Foundation and PTAs/Booster Clubs at the district's elementary, middle and high schools.  Location: District Activities Complex adjacent to Staley High School -Kansas City, MO Entry Fee: $25 Adults           $15 Students 18 & under

05/05/2012                                                                                      9:00 AM Join The Global Orphan Project for a morning of fun and exercise at the third-annual GO Project Family 5K. Bring your family, invite your friends, or even form your own team to run (or walk) to help orphaned and abandoned children around the world. Location: Parkville, MO Entry Fee: $25 -5K ($30 after May 2nd)  $20 -2 Mile Walk ($25 after May 2nd) Enjoy breakfast by Chris Cakes and kids' activities immediately following the race. All participants will receive a t-shirt, ticket to the post-race breakfast, and race bag!

05/05/2012                                                                                        7:00 AM The Bombsuit 5K benefits the Wounded EOD Warrior Project and the Bombtech Memorial Fund. It will feature bomb technicians running a 5K in the bombsuit and a bomb technicians running a relay in the bomb suit. All runners are welcome to participate.  Location: Corporate Woods, Overland Park, KS Entry Fee: $30

05/06/2012                                                                                        8:00 AM Join us for our 8th Annual 5K run/walk to benefit Legal Aid of Western Missouri.   Location: Theis Park, Kansas City, MO Entry Fee: $30 Adults  $10 Children 13 & under

05/06/2012                                                                                        8:30 AM

5th Annual Dog Friendly 5K Fun Run and 1 Mile Walk to benefit the Northland Animal Welfare Society. 

Location: Zona Rosa, Kansas City, MO

Entry Fee: $30

This family friendly event includes entertainment, raffles, dog fashion show, demonstrations by trained dogs, pet adoptions through local rescue groups, clowns, face painting, shopping with pet related vendors and more. 

Kansas Half Marathon by @KCRunningCO preview

Another half marathon in less than a week!?  Yes, if you have been following the old blog here, I’ll be running my second half race in a week.  I ran Rock the Parkway half last Saturday and set a new PR.  This Sunday I will be running the Kansas Half in Lawrence.

This will be a different set of conditions than last Saturday.

1. I’m not really out to set a PR for a number of reasons.
2. I’m not tapering as much this week to stay on track for IMKS training.  I won’t have the engine and rest to try and push sub 7:30 minute miles for 13.1miles.
3. I need to recover from running so hard Saturday.  I have felt the effort in my workouts and there’s no need to push my body further and get injured or sick.
4. I’ve raced this race a few times in the past, but the course has changed significantly over the years.  I have never run the entire route this will be on, so I’m not up to speed with where I can make my moves to get a new PR.
5. I’m ready for a laid back race.  I’m shooting for 1:50 and to have a good time.

I wrote up a little more detailed preview of the course and event HERE.

It’s a part of the Heartland 39.3 race series, so I want to get a respectable time, but I know I’m not going to be in contention for winning money in the series or anything.

Time to lace up the Pumas, suck down SIX Nutrition and Push Endurance and get it on!

Kansas Half Marathon and 5k info

It's 

Kansas Half Marathon Week!

The weather is going to be beautiful Sunday and the crowd will the be biggest ever for the Kansas Half Marathon and 5K!  Check out the Participant Guide for information on:

Packet Pickup in Lenexa on Friday and in Lawrence on Saturday

Parking

Race day schedule of events

Aid stations and post race food and beverages

Pace teams

Course maps

The race day VIP package from The Summit

Post race Recovery Zone

Age group and overall awards

Results and photos from the event

www.kansashalfmarathon.com

The numbers game

I haven't posted on my training volume lately, so I thought I'd throw it out there...
With the races firing off these days with God's Country Du, Ruckus KC, Rock the Parkway and Kansas Half marathon this Sunday, my posts have been more centered on races, previews and recaps.

I thought it would be interesting to open the door on how I'm training while doing these events.

Mainly, I focus training around the A races.
Rock the Parkway Half Marathon
Kansas City Triathlon
IMKS 70.3
Maybe KC Marathon or NFEC 50K - not sure after IM KS.

The rest I treat similar to training runs.  I'll strive for my target volume for the week, but structure the workouts to have a small or rest day before an event.

Like last week, I spaced out my long bike ride for Friday morning and did a small trainer ride Saturday morning.  That way I was somewhat recovered from the long ride for the run Sunday.

Last week looked like this:
BIKING - 77.5 miles
RUNNING - 19.15 - includes half marathon race
SWIMMING - 5475 yards
TOTAL MILES - 99.8 - soooo close to 100...
TOTAL TIME - 08:33

While I'm happy with the miles, I would like to see double digits in time.  That would have been inflated if the half was at 77% heart rate pace.  That would have easily been 2 hours instead of 1:37.

I've also had my issues getting up for morning workouts.  It still gets pretty cool at night, so by the time the alarm goes off, you've been just under sheets to get to sleep in the warmth from the day and then freezing in the morning.  Makes me want to reach for the comforter and go back to sleep.  Sometimes I don't even remember the alarm going off until an hour later.

So, lunch has been my makeup time and I've fit in a few workouts in after kids go to bed.  It's not ideal, but I get the time in.






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Do we really need sports gels?

Why does everything have to be so complicated?  Balance work, family, religion and your personal goals among a few things in life.  For most of you reading EMT, some of your personal goals encompass triathlons, whether it be your first race or your 10th Ironman.  You can get lost in the minutia of clothing, bikes, mechanical equipment, GPS, heart rate, and everything that the sport entails.  Why should nutrition be any different, right?

Wrong.

It only makes sense that nutrition is an important part of triathlons.  You need to supply the right energy to get you through a grueling event.  Maybe not as important for sprints and border line for olympic distances, but anything further than that, and nutrition becomes the 4th element of triathlon.  That doesn't mean you need a rocket science degree or you need to be a nutritional expert or hire one to get the right stuff.  There are plenty of opinions out there about what to take, when to take it and how much.

What there is also a lot of for nutrition is advertising.  GU recently inked a 2 year deal with Ironman events to be the official nutrition sponsor.  For all of you jumping up and down that your beloved GU will be on course now, lets think about it.  Do you really need that goop to get from start to finish or to reach that PR?  People use the gels to Big Macs to fuel them to the finish line.  What makes someone pick gels over chomps over a cheeseburger?  Everyone has their scientific testing and proof why their products work the best, and I'm sure it's all justified.  What makes it confusing is when you look at some of the recommendations and think about what your body can really take in, it doesn't add up.

Look at GU Energy.  From their recommendations, "Combine GU with Roctane Ultra Endurance Gel, GU Electrolyte Brew and GU Recovery Brew for the ultimate in sports hydration, fueling and recovery. Take one gel 15 minutes before training or competition and then one gel every 30-45 minutes during exercise. Drink Electrolyte Brew throughout your training or racing, and drink Recovery Brew within 30 minutes after you’ve stopped."  Holy crap (and that's what you may have to do if you take in that many calories).  If you add that up, possibly 200 calories in gel every hour mixed with 100 or more calories of Brew per hour.  That's 300 calories (and a lot of that is sugar), and if you check out the popular opinions on what the body can process per hour while racing, you get 150 to 200 calories for the average person.  Now, we all know we are all superior racing machines and better than average, but be real.  Most of us do not have the high metabolism to use all of those calories.  And where do that excess go?  It sits in your stomach and gut until your body decides it's time for it to go.  And there you are with a stomach ache or GI issues in the nearest port-a-potty.

Don't believe everything you read. Yes, you need nutrition during a long race.  Yes, you can use gels or whatever gets you through it.  But, don't think just because the WTC backs a brand or you see all of those used gel packets lining the aid stations that you need them as well.  Personally I've sworn off gels as all they seem to do is sit in my gut and make me want to gag when I woof them down (pre-race or during).  You can go with fluid nutrition, solid foods, gels, gummy bites or any combination, but more is not always better.

All of the endurance specific brands out there want your consumer dollar.  Some products are worth while and some you just don't need.  A lot of companies are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to convince YOU that you need THEIR products and lots of it.  I'm not saying boycott all gels or corporate brands, but if you can do your training and racing without some of them or following their recommended regimen, simple can't be a bad thing.

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2012 Rock the Parkway Half Marathon Race Report - 4/14/12 with @KCRunningCO

I wasn't sure how it was it was going to work out for 2012 Rock the Parkway Half Marathon...

From my preview post, my knee was finally getting over whatever it had going on, I had instituted heart rate training over the long runs and I ditched sports gels for training and racing.

My general race preview on Examiner.com is HERE.

________________________________________________________________
Pre-race was nothing too wild and crazy...
Em decided to stay home with the kiddos, so I was meeting a friend at his house and riding to ground zero.

Seeing that I'm not using sports gels any more, I needed to gauge the right breakfast amount and pre-race food.  I usually don't go too in to depth about my pre-race meals, but I thought it was noteworthy for later in the post that I ate the usual oatmeal and sipped Gatorade.  I also instituted using energy blasts from powerbar.  I ate 8 over the course of an hour from getting up to getting to my friends house and shut off food from an hour before race start.

In addition to my SIX Nutrition I used Push Endurance mixed with G2 in my water bottle belt for the race.  My training runs have had breaks at every 3 miles.  While the race had aid stations every 2ish miles, I needed my own hydration if I was on my own break schedule.  Important info for later!

One last pre-race item of note, the last port-a-potty stop was timed perfect.  Got out with 10 minutes left to start.  Found my spot with the pace group I wanted and warmed up / stretched and ready for the race with no worries.


________________________________________________________________
The race starts, and the experiment begins...
As I mentioned, trained with heart rate over long runs and that results in 9 to 9:30 minute miles.  I'm also going energy gel-less.  I'm relying on fluid calories for events less than 2 hours and using powerbar energy blasts for anything longer.

Luckily I found Jon, a local tri guy, at the start and paced him for the first 3 miles until my first pit stop.  He was shooting for 1:35 to 1:40, so if I was going to get a sub 1:40, I needed to have fast splits from the start.

After pit stop 1 for fluid, Jon was off.

It's interesting the people you find yourself surrounded by during a race.  Since I was off from the aid stations, I would pass people, they would pass me on my stops, and so it went.  I basically finished around the people I settled in with by mile 3.


________________________________________________________________
I'm not going to bore you with mile-by-mile reports and just skip to the end...
The highlights are:

1. The knee felt 95%.  It gave me some funky feelings towards the end, but I was pushing hard to PR the race.  I'm pretty confident I'm over the issues (pulled ligaments maybe???).  I just need to train smart and not push it back into an injury.  With that out of my mind, I was able to focus on trying to PR the distance.
2. There was no real bonk.  I had a rough spot with a new part of the course that had some long inclines, but I latched on to some faster runners that overtook me at mile 9.  They carried me to 11.5 with a pace that I needed to make the final 1.5 downhill push for a PR.
3. The downhill was awesome.  The weather was perfect for running, no wind, no rain, clouds, moderate temps... this all added up to the perfect opportunity.
4. I had played the entire race right to mile 11.5.  My nutrition was good, fluid intake was good, paced it right to have a shot.
5. As I poured everything out to the finish line, I knew I would PR, but I wanted to leave everything out there.
6. Official time was 1:37:30.  My previous PR was this course last year at 1:41.  Wiped that out by over 3 minutes and reached sub 1:40.  Mission accomplished.

________________________________________________________________
What I can take away from this race...
I know have more confidence with my current run training.  I can run 10 to 12 miles at 9 minute miles with speed and threshold work in the week and still run a sub 1:40 half marathon.  I know I can also make it without sports gels which was the bane of my existence last year with GI issues.  And, that stuff is just nasty.

From my Garmin data, I averaged a 167 heart rate and maxed at 183.

The interesting part is if my max heart rate from VO2 max testing is 179, I raced at 93% of my max heart rate.  Definitely in the red, if that is indeed my max heart rate.  Now, if you go with the 183 as max, then I'm at 91%.  Still high.  I'm surprised to have carried that over 13.1 miles.  Something doesn't add up.  But, that's the average.  There are peaks on hills and the last 1.5 miles I was redlining for sure.  I'll need to look into that more to see if I need to revamp my max and my training zones.

This was probably as perfect a race I have had. Aside from some sweet blisters and a toenail that is definitely lost, from my KU visor to my Puma Faas 400's, my gear and clothing caused no issues. From Push Endurance to SIX Nutrition, my stomach cooperated. It all came together and I got the most I could from my body for this race.

Now... if I can just bottle this up for the rest of the race season.

Cure the bumps and bruises

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@EpicDartmouth teams with @Perplexus1 to send Epic Perplexus

It's funny what you run into on the internet.

No, I'm not talking about the dark and creepy side, but the odd and interesting.

A while ago, you may recall I wrote about the Epic Dartmouth.  They have offered me a spot, however, if I cannot get enough partners, I won't be making the trek to Canada for the event.  It sounds like a fun Iron distance event!

But, while going back and forth with them about the event and helping spread the word here and there, they sent me their media package that should help spurn some more interest.

Oddly enough it contained the Epic Perplexus by @Perplexus1.

 

It's about the size of a bowling ball and really has nothing to do with triathlons, but it could possibly drive you nuts.  So, maybe it helps with mental preparedness?

The grab for the event is they each share EPIC as a part of their titles.
EPIC Dartmouth
EPIC Perplexus

Get it?

At any rate, I thought I'd post a few items they sent my way.

I really enjoyed the pamphlet for Tattoos.  Too bad it turned out to be a show and not a tattoo shop.  I was all pumped! Get the EPIC Dartmouth tattoo like the M-dot!

Enjoy the pictures.