TMNR with the Brooks Beasts TC (6/2/2014)

The Monday Night Run this week was simply awesome! Seattle's very own Brooks Beasts Track Club came out to run with our group and just hang out while answering any questions we might have. Before we set out on our run around Green Lake, the Brooks Beasts coach Danny Mackey lead our group through their daily activation exercise routine. These activation exercises only take a few minutes and are used to get key muscle groups firing before you set out on a run.

Coach Danny Mackey explaining the Brooks Beasts pre-run activation exercises.
Photo credit thanks to Daniel Julian.

We split up into smaller groups to practice. Above, group being lead by Brooks Beast Katie Mackey.
Photo credit thanks to Daniel Julian.

After completing these exercises we set out on an easy 4-mile "Soapbox Loop" run around Green Lake. I fell in stride with the two Brooks Beasts runners Riley Masters and Cas Loxom. They both recently won their respective heats at the Payton Jordan Invite at Stanford University in early May. Cas ran the 800 Meter Section 1 event in a time of 1:48.38 while Riley ran in the 1500 Meter Section 1 event with a time of 3:38.42. A couple of my fellow Green Lake Track Club friends joined up with our group and the miles flew by as the two professionals talked to us about racing advice and strategy.

Throughout the run, while talking with Riley and Cas, I also paid attention to their running form and stride. It was impressive. They made the 6:40 pace we were holding look absolutely easy (which of course it was for them), as if they were simply floating across the ground. They had the running form that comes out of putting in a lot of quality miles day to day.

Was able to take a picture with Brooks Beasts Cas Loxom, Katie Mackey, and Erica Moore.
Photo credit thanks to Daniel Julian.

In what seemed like no time at all, we finished up the run and was able to pick up a Brooks Beast t-shirt and take a couple photos with some of the Beasts and fellow TMNR/GLTC friends!

Photo with TMNR + Green Lake Track Club friends.
Photo credit thanks to Daniel Julian.

The Brooks Beasts t-shirts ran out quickly but Karsten (a Super Jock n' Jill employee) said he knew the Beasts and graciously gave me the one he snagged. It was even in my size too! Thanks man!

Brooks Beasts t-shirt!

Definitely a fun night and I am looking forward to running with them again. 

You can find out more about the Brooks Beasts at:

http://www.brooksrunning.com/en_us/brooks-beasts-track-club

You can also follow them as they compete at events throughout the year on Flotrack.

Cougar Mountain 5 Mile Race Recap

The 2014 Cougar Mountain Trail Run Series has started! I absolutely love these races and appreciate the opportunity to balance out my road racing and get out on the trails. My boss at work originally introduced me to this series back in 2012 and it has turned into a definite favorite of mine that I look forward to each year.

The series is jointly hosted by the Seattle Running Club and Northwest Trail Runs and takes place on the second Saturday of every month between May and August. Each month offers a number of distances runners can choose from.

May: 5 Mile or 10 Mile
June: 8 Mile, 14 Mile, or 5k
July: 10 Mile, 20 Mile, or 5k
August: 14 Mile, 26 Mile, or 5k

To start off this series, I chose the 5 Mile distance with the hope of improving on my time from last two years. A little history recap of my previous two Cougar Mountain 5 Mile performances:

2012: 41:02 (42nd Overall)
2013: 38:45.2 (10th Overall)
2014: You will have to read on to find out.

The race was set to start at 9:00 a.m. so I arrived a little before 8:00 a.m. I grabbed my racing bib and timing chip and set out along a gravel road called "Clay Pit Road" adjacent to the starting area and began to warm up. At first I felt miserable but after about 20 minutes I started feeling pretty good. By the time I started in on some strides I felt ready to fly. I headed to the starting line with about five minutes remaining and met up with my boss and another coworker who were also running the race. I asked my boss about the trail conditions as he runs the Cougar Mountain trails frequently. It had been raining pretty heavily the days leading up to the race and he confirmed that the trails were super muddy. I set my watch and recited a mantra I learned from Erin of Jasyoga: (Breathe in: I am, breathe out: Here now).

5 mile and 10 mile course routes.

As you can see from the above map, the race started with a 400 meter sprint around a grass field. Well, that morning it was no longer a grass field but rather a marsh swamp ground. My feet were sinking about 6 inches and I hadn't even reached the first corner before my feet were soaked and I had added what felt like a pound of water weight to my feet. So, for the next mile or so I was kept company by the consistent rhythmic companion: slosh-y slosh-y slosh-y slosh-y. I did not let this slow me down. Both the stretch of Clay Pit Road and the last mile and a half were wide and dry, so I planned on making the most of those sections. My road racing and track workouts kicked into gear and my body responded easily as I picked up the pace and flew past a large number of runners who I didn't attempt to pass in the field. I flew through the first mile in a pace of 6:50, knowing that the first and most significant climb of the course (Lost Beagle Trail) would be coming up in another half mile. 

Starting off the race with a 400 meter run around a marsh!

Lost Beagle. The climb. The pain. The badonk. I definitely was reminded how much hills require the badonk. I was also reminded how weak and lacking mine was by the 8:35 second mile split. Mental note: add more hill workouts to weekly routine... check! As bad as that sounds, it was far worse for most of those around me and  track workouts has started to help teach my body to recover faster and transition between gears more smoothly. I was able to push the pace immediately after cresting Lost Beagle Trail, transitioning from a 10:00 pace to a 6:46 pace in a matter of seconds. At this point, there were two distinct front waves. I had kept track of four runners in the lead group who had pulled ahead of us and I was left with a pack of about 8 runners.

The section between the 2.5 and 3.5 mile mark was definitely the most frustrating part of the race for me. I felt like I was in an aerobic running state. My breathing wasn't labored even at the 6:46 pace I was holding, and my legs felt light. The problem was the trails. As promised, every couple meters there would be a mud pit which promised to provide a one-way ticket onto my ass. This wasn't exactly a problem on the flat and straight sections, but proved to be a nightmare when combined with a switchback turn or a steep downhill gradient. I will be the first to admit that trail racing is completely different game from racing on the streets and that I just don't have the trail running experience to handle the turns and downhills in those conditions. This held me back to the point where about four runners pushed past me. When I crested the second and final uphill climb on Mine Shaft Trail, I once transitioned into 6:05 pace and passed a runner who had overtaken me in the previous mile. As I said, I knew the last mile and a half was more or less flat and dry and oh did I stick to my strategy and take advantage of that. I sped up to a freaking 5:55 pace and flew past yet another runner. I passed a small fence which told me I had about 800 meters to go and my mind went into my track workout state. Just another 800 meter repeat. I cleared the last 800 meters in 2:35 and flew past the last two runners who had passed me earlier in the third mile. My final mile split came out at 5:50 which clocked me in at an official time of 37:10 which put me 5th overall!

I bet the camera guy's boss told him to take a picture of the runner with the most painful expression. Job accomplished sir.

Race Results: http://www.seattlerunningclub.org/Events/Cougar/cougar5-10mi14.html

Post Race lessons and updates:

1. Work on the badonk.

2. Track workouts are freaking amazing. Adding track workouts to my weekly routine has proven invaluable. Seriously. With all the speeding up and slowing down throughout the race, it actually felt like a 37 minute track workout session of repeats. With hills though...

3. I have been steadily increasing my mileage with my sights set on the Seattle Half Marathon in the fall. For the past month I have been increasing my mileage with quality miles in long runs and speed work/tempo sessions with the Green Lake Track Club. As a result, I have had to skip a number of 5k races that were on my calendar to allow my body to safely adjust to the increased intensity. As of writing this, the next race I plan to run is the Fremont 5k on June 6th.

Top Pot Doughnut Dash 5k Race Recap

Oh Top Pot Doughnuts how I love you! They also host an annual 5k race at Green Lake with a $500 prize purse to the male and female winners. Now many of you may have read about the prize purse of the Boston Marathon or the NYC Marathon, but remember that the winner of this small 5k event is usually finishing around 15 minutes... $500 for 15 minutes is a pretty sweet deal if you ask me. Well this results in a lot of fast local runners (especially Club Northwest) competing at this event and provides a great opportunity to see some serious running talent from around the Seattle area. 

After my experience with the Seahawks 5k, it was nice to return to a smaller race of 1,446 runners. The start line for this race is right in front of my favorite running store Super Jock 'n Jill and is the same starting location for a lot of my weekly running routes. The race started at 8:30 and I arrived an hour before and started warming up. I recognized a number of runners from The Monday Night Run group and a few Super Jock n' Jill employees warming up as well. I stepped up to the starting with a little time to spare and repeated the following in my head for the next few minutes: "DON'T GO OUT TOO FAST!"

Guess who went out too fast? I don't understand it. I can mentally come to terms with this deceptively simple plan, but my body has the hardest time following it. It's like adrenaline and race nerves hooked up and produced a 5:41 first mile split love child and named it Pacing Strategy Disaster.

I found my "running pack" in the second mile, and held on for dear life as the adrenaline wore off. There were a few breakaways and a few who fell off but for the most part it felt like the majority of the pack was content to ride the second mile together at a steady 6:17 pace.

Two miles down and my watch showed an elapsed time of 11:58. I figure I had a shot at breaking 19:00 and turned up the pace ever so slightly (please remember I was kind of dying). I managed to pass a couple of runners from the pack I was in and I held a 6:13ish pace. I turned the final corner and flew past the finish line with an official time of 19:32.

Ugh. I really wanted to break 19:00. I am not quite sure why this race was harder for me than the Green Lake Gobble 5k or the Valentine's Day Dash 5k, but I will take this race with a serving of humble pie. I will remind myself that it is still about 30 seconds faster than when I ran this race last year and look ahead to the next race.

Jonathan Lafler and Megan Heuer win the 2014 Top Pot Doughnut Dash 5k!

Also thought I would include a snapshot of my GPS watch summary of the race. That first mile though...

Post race thoughts:

1. If I had a nickel for every time I circle back to that first mile... 
    ...I'd probably hire a pacer to keep me in check :).

2. Ran into a friend who coaches cross country/track at Nathan Hale High School and he was saying how hard it was to break his 5k PR from high school. Well folks, we talked a bit more and took the concept of the Master's division and Olympic B-Standard qualifying time and combined them to produce what I call the "old man PR B-standard". This beauty wipes the slate clean at 25 and allows you to go for personal PR glory once again. Awesome, right?

Seahawks 12k Race Recap (The 12th Man)

This weekend I ran in the Seahawks 12k (as you probably have guessed, I opted for the 5k event) and oh what an event it was. Let me start off by providing a little scope and perspective. Last year, the 2013 event had 1,998 5k finishers and 2,090 12k finishers for a total of 4,088 timed runners. This year’s 2014 event had 4,017 5k finishers and 4,044 12k finishers for a total of 8,061 timed runners. I am also pretty sure there were a number of individuals who didn’t wear their timing chips, and even more who ran as bandits. Basically, Seattle ran a race this weekend.

The 12k event was set to start at 9:00 a.m. and the 5k was set to follow at 9:20 a.m. Between the highway backup and parking a half mile away from the start area, it was 8:45 by the time I picked up my racing bib. Realizing I had about half the time I would like to warm up and prepare myself, I ran over to the gear check station to check my first bag. As I was walking toward the station, Suzanne (a woman I met waiting in the start line at the Mercer Island 5k) ran up to me. We briefly reminisced about the pain and glory of the Mercer Island 5k (she managed to grab 3^rd place in the women’s division) and we bonded over the mutual delight experience of getting beaten by 14 year old runners in that race. Before leaving, she imparted a word of advice to cut my warm-up shorter than usual and grab a spot at the front of the start line. Words I should have heeded more carefully.

The 12k started on time at 9:00 a.m., but had to be divided into three waves of about 1,500 runners. The first wave took a fair amount of time to clear and I figured it would take at least another 10 minutes before the 5k runners could start to line up and when I looked over at the start line at 9:10, I saw a huge crowd still there and figured the last wave of the 12k still had to get under way. Nope. That was the 5k line.  I tried to get to the front but the volunteers directed me to the back of the line. I knew I had to be over half way back and I tried to see if I could somehow squeeze my way closer to the front. Nope. I looked around and realized I was surrounded by people with dogs, baby strollers and a dude with a giant 12^th Man flag. Nice! Well at this point I was thinking to myself that I pretty much had two choices. I could forget about time and just go with the flow of the people around me and join in on this middle pack “Seahawks Spirit Parade”… or I could attempt some sort of improvisational Matrix-meets-Fast-and-Furious dodging and weaving experience that would forever go down in the history books of Carl’s racing legacy. For all time. My decision came down to what Canadian rapper Drake so eloquently describes as: YOLO?...

Note the flag guy.

The race clock shows I started almost 28 minutes after the start of the 12k at 9:00 a.m.

So there I was, starting off at the front of wave three behind about 2,500 people. I had about 100 meters of open start space until I reached the back of wave two. And I met the wall. Zig-Zag, swerve, sidestep, speed up and slow down. I counted three times in the first mile that I actually had to stop for a couple seconds because the entire road was blocked by a line of people. I honestly don’t even remember looking at my watch or the scenery once in the first mile. I didn't think of pacing or plan my strategy for the second mile. I just focused on staying alive. After what seemed like eternity, my watch beeped signaling I had just cleared the first mile. When I looking down at my watch it read a 6:02 pace. What?! Not only had I kept a faster pace than I thought possible with all the shenanigans in the first mile, but it was at the pace I WISH I could hit at other races. I have mentioned in previous race recap blog posts that I have a recurring problem of going out too fast at races. Well ladies and gentlemen, after a year of searching and experimenting I have finally found the solution. Have your football team win the Superbowl and then seek out the guy holding the most ridiculously impractical flag standing next to the other runner with that multi-seat baby stroller! Lesson noted.

Found it!

Even though my first mile split was where I wanted it to be, the fact that I was never able to get my mind in the zone and plan how I wanted to attack the next mile took its toll in mile two. At about the the halfway mark, I reached the "eye of the storm" and found a 400 meter stretch of open space that had developed between the first and second waves. I used that opportunity to increase my pace to bring my second mile split in at 6:11.

Mile three was a down-and-back along a narrow two lane road. There were orange cones placed every 8-10 feet along the center median to help make sure runners stayed on their side of the lane (to the left of the cones) each way. At this point I had caught up with the majority of the first wave and the road was crowded in both lanes. The only open route was practically on top of the center line with the cones. When I was about halfway to the turnaround point I had a runner on my left and another right behind me. In other words, I had to either move straight ahead or to the right into oncoming runners. To my joy disbelief, some lovely oncoming individual decides she wants to "high five" the runner directly to my left across the orange cones. If you have been able to set up the mental image of this scenario correctly, you have probably realized this meant the equivalent to she was about to clothesline the s*** out of me. Awesome. Well she must have noticed my look of horror because she changed her mind at the last second. Second degree manslaughter charges avoided.

12th Man!

I looked down at my watch which showed I clocked in at 19:42. I grabbed some water and a banana from the finish area and stayed a little longer to watch some of the 12k runners come in. The results were posted online later that day and when I saw my name I couldn't stop smiling. No, I didn't get into the top 10 and no, it obviously wasn't a PR for me, but I did get 12th overall! That's right folks, I kid you not, I am literally the Seahawks 5k 12th Man! Coincidence or fate? For me, it was just another fun (if a bit crazy) race!

Post-Race thoughts/reminders:

1) Pretty happy to finally solve the problem of starting the race too fast.

2) PLEASE be careful when you high-five another runner...

3) Finally, most important of all: Good luck to all you running the Boston Marathon on Monday! Have an amazing race! Boston Strong!

Mercer Island 5k 2014 Race Recap

I’m back! Sorry for the lack of updates these past couple weeks. I was going to post a race recap of the Seattle Hot Chocolate Run but I ended up missing the race due to issues with my iphone alarm clock being reset when switching cell phone carriers… Yes, I was disappointed but it doesn’t help lingering on unfortunate events that were out of my control. To make up for it, I will be posting a three part blog series introducing the dominant running clubs/teams in the Seattle area, specifically the Brooks Beasts TC, the Oiselle Team, and Club Northwest. I was going to start off with the Brooks Beasts TC but will probably start off with Oiselle so I can discuss the recently announced new addition to their team: Kara Goucher! So keep an eye out for these updates over the next couple weeks!

The Mercer Island Half has three event options (four if you count the walking divison): 5k, 10k, Half Marathon (Half Marathon walk).  There were 931 5k finishers, 615 10k finishers, 268 Half Marathon walkers, and 2,028 Half Marathon finishers. 3,842 runners on Mercer Island is a lot of people for such a small area, but every aspect of the event was very well organized and the entire morning seemed to flow very smoothly with the races starting exactly on time. The 5k race start was set for 9:30 a.m. at the Mercer Island Community Center so I arrived a little before 8:00 a.m. to make sure I had plenty of time. The designated parking areas were about half a mile from the Mercer Island Community Center and they had shuttles to and from the parking zones to the start line. I stepped into one of the shuttles and realized I was the only one except for the driver. While we were waiting for a couple more runners to show up, the driver spoke up and said she really liked my Brooks racing flats and that she was a major Brooks fan. My inner voice was like “Hell ya Thunder and Lightning (don’t worry, I haven’t actually named my shoes... yet) are awesome and beautiful!” but I obviously kept my cool and responded with a simple “Thanks!”.

Fast forward half an hour and I was getting my pre-race warm-up on. My left hamstring had been bothering me for the past week so I modified my strides to try and focus on stabilizing the area. I was thankful that the weather was warmer than I thought it would be and I was able to warm up quicker than expected. 9:20 a.m. hits and I head over to the start line. The front is crowded by middle school and high school kids and I don’t feel like squeezing my way to the front so I find a spot a few rows back. The race soon gets under way and the front pack has been decided after about 800 meters in. The first half mile was pure downhill and flew by quickly. At this point I was in the front pack with about six other runners and the course navigator is on his bike just ahead of us. I, however, did not realize that he was an official course navigator (never having noticed one at a 5k race before… possibly because I am never in the front pack) and I am thinking to myself “who the h*** is this guy cutting off the front runners in the middle of the race course?!” Luckily, I didn’t say anything because a couple minutes later it all fell into place... “Oh… you are SUPPOSED to be here… Ooooh! You are making sure the front runner stays on course?” Well ok then, carry on sir. Eternal shame and dishonor avoided? Nice! The first mile split clocked in at 6:20 and we will leave the first mile at that.

The first mile was half downhill and half uphill. The second mile was a painful non-ending uphill along a bike path running parallel to I-90. At the beginning of the second mile, the front pack split even more. Two runners had pulled a ways ahead of me, and another runner and I had pulled ahead of the remaining three. Even with the uphill, I was able to hold a pretty steady pace and at about the halfway mark it was just me and another runner and I realized that I actually had a chance of hitting a top 3 spot. This gave me a mental boost and I pushed the pace up a gear. I could hear footsteps staying close behind me and when I looked down at my watch it showed I had just cleared mile two with a split of 6:31.

The Uphills!

The third mile was a battle. And more uphill (woohoo). At around the 2.5 mile mark we came on another uphill section and I made my final push. I knew there would be one more hill after this just before the finish line but felt I had enough left in me to maintain pace. The last 400 meters reconnects with the Half Marathon route but the race volunteers made sure the merging went smoothly. There were so many runners around me at this point that I lost track of the other 5k runner who had been keeping pace with me. I crossed the finish line with an official clock time of 20:10 and secured a third place finish. I don’t know what it was about the course but it definitely beat me. It almost reminds me of the Cougar Mountain 5k trail course. Anyways, I saw the first place finisher Tyler Tanta up ahead grabbing water and went up to shake his hand and congratulate him. Turns out he was 13. Also turns out I got a bro-hug instead. You know, the clasp hands and half hug? As a side question, if a runner-badass middle schooler bro-hugs you, does that mean you are still seen as “young” and “cool” to the middle/highschool population? Yes? Glad we agree.

After all the uphill running, when I hit the flat homestretch I felt like I was flying.

I had a couple more post-race conversations. One with the second place finisher, Bret, and another with the guy I battled it out with for the entire second half of the race, Conrad. Both said they found the course on the difficult side which made me feel a little more confident after the complete a** kicking. I currently plan to run in the Seahawks 5k and Top Pot Doughnut Dash in April and I am excited to see what I can manage on these flatter courses.

Ideas/Suggestions:

I usually like to keep my running jacket/warm gear on while I go through my pre-race warm-up routine. However, it’s also nice to be able to check all your gear.

Bag/gear checking stations at races will take your bag/gear and place them into large plastic bags. They will usually identify your bag in one of three ways:

1. Writing your bib # on the side of the bag.

2. Applying a numbered sticker on the bag with another identically numbered sticker for you to place on your racing bib.

3. Taking a bag check tag from the corner of your racing bib which has your bib# marked on it and applying it to the bag.

Regardless of the identification method, they are continually trying to arrange and categorize the bags by event and bib # as new runners show up. It makes sense that finding a bag that was already checked will prove difficult since the ordering is continually changing all the way until race start (especially with staggered start times of multiple events).

Because of this, gear check stations often frown upon/won’t allow you to check a bag and then show up again 30 minutes later asking to throw additional gear into the same bag. Instead, it is much easier to just check your other gear (bag/phone/wallet/whatever you don’t need to warm up), go warm up, then return and check a second bag with just your jacket/warm up clothing. There is nothing wrong with checking a second bag! This saves the volunteers a lot of time searching when a lot of other runners are trying to check bags as well. After race bag pick-up is a much less stressful time for the gear check station since runners don’t need to get to the start line and finding two bags for you then will save both you and the volunteers a headache.

Respect the volunteers. They make these races possible!

Valentine's Day Dash 5k 2014 Recap

The Valentine’s Day Dash Love ‘em or Leave ‘em event is a pretty significant local 5k fun run. The attendance is considerably higher than your average Seattle 5k and it would be my first race of the new year. Suffice to say I was super excited for this race, especially when I learned that the race organizers were looking for “kissing booth managers”. Was this actually a thing? Were these mythical booths still alive in this modern age? And most importantly, would they would allow me to set up a MAP (Mono Awareness and Prevention) booth right next to it?…

The race start was set for 9:30 a.m. and started my warm up about an hour before. I am still experimenting with the whole pre-race warm up routine, particularly with the mix of light jogging and strides to both get my heart rate up and open my natural stride so that I can smoothly transition into a quick turnover and cadence at the start of the race. About 10 minutes into my warm up, I noticed a very fast and professional looking group of women in matching race kits executing warm up drills and realized it was a team of Oiselle runners. Oiselle is a local Seattle company that designs and sells women’s running apparel and also sponsors female runners (which include some big names such as Lauren Fleshman, Kate Grace, and Sarah Robinson). I’m not going to lie and say it wasn’t an intimidating sight, but it was so much more fun and cool to see than it was intimidating. The inner fanboy inside me was on Cloud 9, but I leashed that sucker and headed over to the start line.

Game time. First 400 meters out, the crowd started to thin and I started to find my stride. At about half a mile in my left quad felt like it was on the path to cramping and I decided to check my pace to feel it out and hope that it was just trying to adjust to the colder than usual temperature. After another quarter mile the feeling passed and I started to push myself again. Even holding back a bit, when I looked down at my watch it showed I had managed to run a 6:15 first mile split.

Although I was unable to find a kissing booth, there was no shortage of creative costumes.

The second mile has consistently been the toughest split for me at 5k races, both mentally and physically. My tendency to start off races too fast definitely takes its physical toll through the second mile. At the same time, I know that I still have a lot more distance left to cover and with the start-of-race adrenaline having worn off and no longer helping to numb the shock, I am reunited with my own thoughts which greet me with a world of discomfort and unpleasantness. You know the phrase “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” by William Congreve (yes, upon some noteworthy Wikipedia research I found out it is actually not a quote from William Shakespeare, although it is often mistakenly attributed to him)? Well, William clearly never met my brain after it has been ignored for the first mile of a 5k. Let me tell you, it comes back with an otherworldly vengeance… However, the second mile is where I fall back on the work and training I have put in every day. Getting out the door and putting in those miles every week. Trusting that those miles have made me a better runner and will see me through to the finish line. This allowed me to keep pace and finish the second mile split in 6:12.

Going into the third mile I realized I had fallen into a small pack of other runners. One guy in particular ran next to me for about half a mile and had a smile on his face the entire time. My facial expression must not have been pretty because at one point he even unclipped a water bottle from his belt and offered it to me with a concerned look. I politely declined but it struck me how this was just one of so many examples of what I love about the running community. Here was a fellow runner who was probably hurting as much as I was and still managed to stay classy and devote energy in the middle of his own race to offer me his water bottle. Props to you my friend. 

I was unable to find you after the race to shake your hand, but if you are reading this sir, your "bro's before racing woes" attitude was truly appreciated.

Half mile to go and I notice a couple of Oiselle runners I saw before the race fly past me. Like, full on sprint past me. I tried to tap into this enthusiasm of speedy energy and I found a little left to make a final push of my own. I came in with an official time of 19:10.

Post-race afterthoughts:

1.  Trust in the miles and workouts you put in each week. It may be unglamorous at times, but it will pay off.

2.  I think I will start taking closer note of what other runners are doing for their pre-race warm up to see if there are any particular exercises or patterns that I might want to incorporate into my own.

3.  Unfortunately, no mythical kissing booths were spotted at this event. Maybe next year.

Seattle Marathon 5k Recap

My last race of 2013 was the Seattle Marathon... 5k Santas vs. Superheroes. Sure, even I have to admit it would sound a bit more awesome if you left off that last part but I had focused on the 5k distance the entire year and wanted one more shot at a comparatively difficult 5k course which had given me trouble earlier in the year at the Susan G. Komen Race For the Cure (which is a nice way of saying that if I had attempted to run the full marathon, the scorecard would have read something like “Marathon: 1, Me: 1986 – 2013, RIP”). But enough of that, on to the race recap!

The Seattle Marathon 5k was held on November 29, which also turned out to be one very cold and windy weekend. The course started at 5^th Ave and Harrison by the Experience Music Project and after warming up with some light jogging and strides, I lined up at the the start.

FYI, the internal dialogue in my head at this moment went something along the lines of: "**** it's cold! Why did I choose the shorts/singlet combo this morning?!"

One area that I am constantly working to improve on is controlling my split times, especially at the start of a race. It is so easy to get lost in the energy of the crowd, and to unleash the built up adrenaline at the start. I have to make a very strong conscious effort to try to keep myself in check at the beginning of races, and even then I find that I usually start off faster than I probably should. This race was no different, and when the start gun went off I kicked it into high gear and ran the first mile split in 5:43.

The second part of the course was a down and back along 2nd Ave. It was a long gradual uphill/downhill and I did a decent job of making use of the downhill sections. One unexpected but very welcomed surprise was the words of encouragement from other runners when coming back up 2nd Ave. It gave me a little energy/morale boost which I gladly took. The fast first mile and uphill sections definitely took their toll, and I ran the second mile split in 6:26.

The final stretch of course included a nasty final uphill section, where I fell behind the 2nd place female runner. When racing a 5k, I set my gps watch to display distance traveled + instantaneous pace for the first two miles, then switch it over to display distance traveled + time elapsed for the final stretch. With about a half mile to go, I knew I was on track to just break 20 minutes and decided it was time for the final push as I rounded the corner of Mercer Street. I managed to maintain pace for the third mile and ran the third mile split in 6:24 and was pleased to see the gun time clock read 19:44.

I came out with a final official time of 19:40 which put me 1st in my age division and 14th overall. Not a PR time, but very satisfied considering the hills on this course.

A couple weeks later, I found a nice surprise waiting for me in the mail from the Seattle Marathon Association.

Lessons learned from this race:
- I still need to work on pacing at the start.
- Bring arm sleeves next time...

Also, a big thanks to my brother Allan for coming out to the race and biking to a number of intersections along the course and taking race photos. All photos above are credited to him.