The victorious (from left: Brenda (mom), Steve (dad), Jeff (me), Susan (fiancee), Kelley (sister), and Sarah (fiancees friend)...Tina and Byron absent)
Saturday was my first race of the season. It wasn't my first tri, only about 4 weeks until that comes along, but it was my first race none the less. The event was the Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon/Mini-marathon. I competed in the mini (which is half distance) along with a number of family and friends. This event holds a special place for me since it was the event that spurred me to get in shape in high school. It's also the first time I've done it since graduating high school, so I was excited going in. To add to that, my entire immediate family (mom, dad, and sister) along with my fiancee, her friend, my aunt, and my cousin were all participating. It was the first half-marathon for my mom, fiancee, her friend, and my cousin, so definately a big day.
We arrived at the start line probably 15 minutes early. We parked a ways away, so I warmed up along the walk to the start. My fiancee and her friend had to use the restroom (along with about 1/3 of the participants), so they got in one of the many porto-potty lines. Unfortunately the lines weren't moving very quickly, so the race actually started before they were able to use the restroom. Some of our group took off at the actual start, but it was chip-timed, so no big deal for being late as far as that goes. I waited around to make sure my fiancee met up with my mom since they were planning on run/walking together, and the rest of us still at the start began our individual journies.
I crossed the start line about 11.5 minutes after the gun and began making my way through the crowds to try and find some space to run my own pace since I obviously was not going to be running with people of my speed after letting them all get a substantial head start. After making a variety of football maneuvers, off road cuts, and short speed bursts I passed the 1st mile marker. The clock read 20:00. Since I had no idea how late I was to the start line I estimated I ran about an 8.5-9 min first mile...slow for where I wanted to be and I was still in a crowd. This was a little frustrating, but my energy was high and I kept on bobbing and weaving for the next mile and worked my pace down to about 8:15. At mile 2, we enter Iroquois Park, where the hills portion of the run takes place. People were beginning to string out, so it looked like a good time to get back some of my lost time before hitting the hills and settling into my goal pace.
I pushed the next 1/2 mile before getting comfortable and tackling the hills. I felt very strong through the entire park, but was still happy to be exitting them just before mile 6. From my previous experiences with the course, I knew the rest of the course was wide open and flat, so I pushed the pace a little more. At the next water stop, I grabbed some water and carried it with me to just past the mile 7 marker where I took the PowerGel I brought along in my pocket. I didn't feel like I would need it at the time, but since this was a C race in my triathlon training schedule, I figured I'd practice taking in nutrition at a regular interval whether I felt like I needed a boost or not. I was also hitting every water stop (6 total) and grabbing a bottle every opportunity. I kept cruising along taking in the sights of the spectators and the city, took a little cut through Churchill Downs (a new addition to the course since the last time I'd run it) and before I knew it I was at mile 10, still feeling great.
Somewhere in the 10th mile, where I usually start to feel the fatigue a strange thing happened. I don't know if it was the gel and consistent nutrition, the fact that triathlon training has me in better shape than I ever was in high school, or some combination of other factors...but all of a sudden I caught my second wind. I felt great, so great in fact that I headed over the the side of the course and gave a couple high-fives to spectators and picked up the pace again. At this point I knew I was ahead of my original goal pace, so hitting it wouldn't be a problem. I continued to cruise and said good-bye to the marathoners wishing them luck as their route split off just after mile 12. I then kicked it up 1 final notch and started my finishing kick. I probably ran about a 6:30 last mile.
I crossed the line and didn't feel totally drained, everything had gone as I had hoped...it was a great day for me, so now I could prepare to receive all my other family members and friends still working their way to the finish. I wasn't sure of my time, but knew I reached my goal, so wasn't worried. I headed around to watch others finish. Not too long after me, my dad crossed. He broke 2hrs, so was much faster than he hinted that he would be. My cousin Byron, who had just gotten into running over the winter came next, much faster than we expected. He had done a 10 miler about a month earlier in about 11 min per mile pace, and managed to cut out over a minute each mile for the mini...an impressive perrformance. After him came my Aunt Tina and my sister. They both have done it before, so are basically old pros here (my sister has done it 11 times in fact, almost half as long as she's been alive). Then Susan's friend, Sarah, followed. In the confusion of bodies around the finish line, we were having some difficulty reuniting but were slowly coming together. I went back around to see more finishers and look for my aunt and sister, when I saw my mom and fiancee heading to the finish line, about 10 minutes faster than I expected them. It was a successful morning for all of us. Very exciting start to the season.
So, now for some numbers:
My goal: 1:45:00
Actual: 1:42:42 (7:50 pace), 670/9700+ overall, not too bad
Family and friends:
Steve (my dad): 1:58:45
Byron (cousin): 2:08:45
Kelley (sister): 2:09:25
Tina (aunt): 2:08:56
Sarah (fiancee's friend): 2:37:52
Susan (fiancee): 2:47:27
Brenda (my mom): 2:47:27
Pretty sweet...and we all celebrated with victory beers that evening (or wine for my mom).
I've got a testing week in 2 weeks to look forward to and May 18 is my first tri...feeling strong, antsy to race. More to come later
We arrived at the start line probably 15 minutes early. We parked a ways away, so I warmed up along the walk to the start. My fiancee and her friend had to use the restroom (along with about 1/3 of the participants), so they got in one of the many porto-potty lines. Unfortunately the lines weren't moving very quickly, so the race actually started before they were able to use the restroom. Some of our group took off at the actual start, but it was chip-timed, so no big deal for being late as far as that goes. I waited around to make sure my fiancee met up with my mom since they were planning on run/walking together, and the rest of us still at the start began our individual journies.
I crossed the start line about 11.5 minutes after the gun and began making my way through the crowds to try and find some space to run my own pace since I obviously was not going to be running with people of my speed after letting them all get a substantial head start. After making a variety of football maneuvers, off road cuts, and short speed bursts I passed the 1st mile marker. The clock read 20:00. Since I had no idea how late I was to the start line I estimated I ran about an 8.5-9 min first mile...slow for where I wanted to be and I was still in a crowd. This was a little frustrating, but my energy was high and I kept on bobbing and weaving for the next mile and worked my pace down to about 8:15. At mile 2, we enter Iroquois Park, where the hills portion of the run takes place. People were beginning to string out, so it looked like a good time to get back some of my lost time before hitting the hills and settling into my goal pace.
I pushed the next 1/2 mile before getting comfortable and tackling the hills. I felt very strong through the entire park, but was still happy to be exitting them just before mile 6. From my previous experiences with the course, I knew the rest of the course was wide open and flat, so I pushed the pace a little more. At the next water stop, I grabbed some water and carried it with me to just past the mile 7 marker where I took the PowerGel I brought along in my pocket. I didn't feel like I would need it at the time, but since this was a C race in my triathlon training schedule, I figured I'd practice taking in nutrition at a regular interval whether I felt like I needed a boost or not. I was also hitting every water stop (6 total) and grabbing a bottle every opportunity. I kept cruising along taking in the sights of the spectators and the city, took a little cut through Churchill Downs (a new addition to the course since the last time I'd run it) and before I knew it I was at mile 10, still feeling great.
Somewhere in the 10th mile, where I usually start to feel the fatigue a strange thing happened. I don't know if it was the gel and consistent nutrition, the fact that triathlon training has me in better shape than I ever was in high school, or some combination of other factors...but all of a sudden I caught my second wind. I felt great, so great in fact that I headed over the the side of the course and gave a couple high-fives to spectators and picked up the pace again. At this point I knew I was ahead of my original goal pace, so hitting it wouldn't be a problem. I continued to cruise and said good-bye to the marathoners wishing them luck as their route split off just after mile 12. I then kicked it up 1 final notch and started my finishing kick. I probably ran about a 6:30 last mile.
I crossed the line and didn't feel totally drained, everything had gone as I had hoped...it was a great day for me, so now I could prepare to receive all my other family members and friends still working their way to the finish. I wasn't sure of my time, but knew I reached my goal, so wasn't worried. I headed around to watch others finish. Not too long after me, my dad crossed. He broke 2hrs, so was much faster than he hinted that he would be. My cousin Byron, who had just gotten into running over the winter came next, much faster than we expected. He had done a 10 miler about a month earlier in about 11 min per mile pace, and managed to cut out over a minute each mile for the mini...an impressive perrformance. After him came my Aunt Tina and my sister. They both have done it before, so are basically old pros here (my sister has done it 11 times in fact, almost half as long as she's been alive). Then Susan's friend, Sarah, followed. In the confusion of bodies around the finish line, we were having some difficulty reuniting but were slowly coming together. I went back around to see more finishers and look for my aunt and sister, when I saw my mom and fiancee heading to the finish line, about 10 minutes faster than I expected them. It was a successful morning for all of us. Very exciting start to the season.
So, now for some numbers:
My goal: 1:45:00
Actual: 1:42:42 (7:50 pace), 670/9700+ overall, not too bad
Family and friends:
Steve (my dad): 1:58:45
Byron (cousin): 2:08:45
Kelley (sister): 2:09:25
Tina (aunt): 2:08:56
Sarah (fiancee's friend): 2:37:52
Susan (fiancee): 2:47:27
Brenda (my mom): 2:47:27
Pretty sweet...and we all celebrated with victory beers that evening (or wine for my mom).
I've got a testing week in 2 weeks to look forward to and May 18 is my first tri...feeling strong, antsy to race. More to come later
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