Hospital Hill Run Half Marathon - RR

What: Hospital Hill Run Half Marathon
When: Saturday, June 4, 2011
Where: Crown Center, Kansas City, MO
Temp: 80F at the start / 86F at the finish
Finish Time: 2:03:43 (New CR by almost 20 minutes)

I wasn't quite sure how this race would go. I ran the Amy Thompson Run 8K on Memorial Day and my left knee acted up at around the 3.5 mile point. I've run a total of a little of 25 miles leading up to this race and the whole time my knee felt a little "off", but it wasn't sore. I rested the last 2 days and hoped for the best. On Friday evening my knee felt sore walking upstairs, so I focused on foam rolling last night.

I decided to set 3 goals for the race. First goal - have fun and finish upright; Stretch goal - finish under 2:05:00; dream goal - finish under 2 hours.

The morning went well, my legs felt good, and I was ready to run. I decided to say the heck with it and line up near the 2:00 pace group and go for my dream goal.



Facing the starting line


Facing backward from the line

This course was slightly changed from last year, but the change was adding a steeper hill in the first couple of miles. They also had all the distances start at the same time this year. To be honest, I didn't like the mass start.

The first 2 miles were done at an average pace of roughly 9:38/mile. I started off slow to manage the hills and then started to pick up the pace on the downhills. At roughly the 3.5 mile point, I felt a twinge in the same knee that acted up on Monday. I started to think that this might be a very long race. I decide to take it easy on the uphills and push on the downhills, and see what my knee was going to do. By Mile 4, I had reached the 9:09/mile average.

I really don't remember much about the individual miles other than the oppressive heat and humidity. I do remember that up until Mile 11, I maintained an average pace between 9:07 and 9:16. That all changed during Mile 11. The heat finally started to take it's toll on me and I felt on the verge of heat stress. My HR barely dropped during my walk breaks so I probably walked from the 10.5 - 11.5 mile point. It was all uphill during that point and I didn't want to push myself to the point of exhaustion, or at least I didn't want to take any chances.

During that walk break I decided that I would still try for finishing under 2:05. I figured that if I could average a 9:50 mile for the last 1.6 miles, I had a decent shot. I picked up running again and went for it. I could see the 2:05 pacer way up in the distance and it gave me the motivation I needed to push a bit harder. I was running up a gentle incline, but knew I had a decent downhill awaiting me, but there was also one more steep hill remaining during Mile 13. I paid close attention to how I was feeling an resolved that if I felt there was potential for heat stress, I would walk the rest of the way; thankfully, that never happened. Outside of my downhill kick at the end, Mile 13 was my fastest mile.

After finishing, I drank some water, partook in the free ART, ate some good BBQ, and had my 2 free beers. While drinking the beer I chatted with a great gal and just relaxed. Of course, the clouds rolled in and it felt cooler after the race than it did before the race. Granted, it was still around 88F. All in all, it was a great race and I'm glad I decided to run it.

If interested, you can view my scattered split times after the rest of the photos.

Now for the rest of the pictures.

Mile 1:

Near the start of the mile.


Following the 2:00 pacer.


A little over 1/2 way through Mile 1.


You can see the Sprint Center up near the stoplight on the right.


Closer view of the sprint center.


Nearing the end of Mile 1.

Mile 2:


Near the start of Mile 2.


About 3/4 through Mile 2.

Mile 3:


About 1/4 through Mile 3.


About 3/4 through Mile 3.


Near the end of Mile 3.

Mile 4:


Near the start of Mile 4.


About 1/2 through Mile 4.


A little further


A little further.


The end of Mile 4.

Mile 6:


Near the end of Mile 6.

Mile 8:


About 3/4 through. I had to post a blurry picture. :)


A little further.

Mile 9:


About 3/4 through Mile 9.

I didn't take any photos after Mile 9, but I did get a picture of the shirt/medal after I made it home.



My knee is a tad sore, but not bad at all. Now as promised, my splits:

Mile 1: 9:30
Mile 2: 9:45
Mile 3: 8:54
Mile 4: 8:28
Mile 5: 8:55
Mile 6: 9:50
Mile 7: 9:07
Mile 8: 9:23
Mile 9: 8:27
Mile 10: 9:15
Mile 11: 11:58
Mile 12: 11:17
Mile 13: 7:47
.1 at a 6:13.

I hope you enjoyed the RR.

Eric

Amy Thompson Run 8K RR

*WARNING* After the RR I will have pictures of a red-tailed hawk, some of which showing it eating a squirrel.
*WARNING*

What: Amy Thompson Run 8K
When: May 30, 2011
Where: Loose Park, Kansas City, MO
Finish Time: 41:35 (unofficial)

Pre-race:Since I had decided not to "race" the 8K, I figured I would do a long warm-up and ended up running a 4 mile warm-up run finishing about 25-30 minutes before the race. I realize that's a bit too early to finish a real warm-up, but since I didn't plan on racing, I was fine with it.

After about 5-10 minutes of stretching I walked around and snapped some pictures (mostly of the red-tail hawk).


Picture of the finish area.


Picture of the finishing hill.  It's not bad, but still noticeable.


Picture of the starting area.

I decided to line up about 10 minutes prior to race time.


Facing the start (Yes I am a master of the obvious).


Facing behind me.

A prayer was said, the National Anthem was sung, and we were off. Miles 1-3 were uneventful and I was averaging right around a 8:00 and feeling comfortable. To keep this a bit shorter, I will let the pics tell the story.

Mile 1:

Early in the mile.


Roughly 2/3 through Mile 1.

Mile 2:


Start of Mile 2.


A few moments later.


A little more than 3/4 through Mile 2.

Mile 3:


Start of Mile 3.


Near the end of Mile 3.

Mile 4:

Mile 4 started off well, but about 1/2 way through the mile, my left knee started getting a dull ache so I walked for a bit. I would pick it up after about 30 seconds and run until the dull ache returned. The ache wasn't my ITB, but right around the front of the knee. Even with the walk breaks, I finished the mile in about 8:33.


Approaching the 5K clock.

Mile 5:

I didn't take any more photos while running, as for some reason, I tend not to take photos during forced walk breaks. Mile 5 was more of the same as Mile 4. I walked probably 1/3 of Mile 5. I decided to play it safe and make sure my knee was fine. I walked some of the inclines and ran most of the downhills. My last walk break was at about the 4.5 mile point. I decided I wanted to finish strong and started to pick up my pace. I started my kick when I reached the bottom the hill, turned the corner, and started going up the last hill to the finish. About 0.2 miles from the finish a young whippersnapper, OK he was probably early 20s, started to sprint past me. This kicked in my competitive juices and I sprinted with him. It was neck and neck and the crowd was cheering us on. According to my Garmin, my kick going uphill was at 13 MPH. I really don't know who won, as it would have been a photo finish. I think I cleared all the mats first since he pulled up and didn't run through. We congratulated each other on a great finish and he said he was just trying to keep up with me.

I walked around, partook in some of the post-race food, and then went back to cheer in the other runners. I ended up snapping a picture of the group of soldiers (Army) from Ft. Riley, KS that ran in formation.



I then snapped some pictures of the post-run festivities.


The food area.


KC Wolf (Chiefs Mascot since 1989)

After the pictures, I stopped at the booth for free ART and had about a 15 minute session.

That's it for the RR, thanks to everyone who read all the way through. Now for the pictures of the red-tailed hawk. Feel free to avert your eyes if your squeamish.




















I hope everyone enjoyed the pictures. I just wish I had my good camera so the pictures of the RTH would have been better.

Eric.

Sabates Eye Care Trolley Run - Race Report

What: Sabates Eye Care Trolley Run
Distance: 4 miles
Where: Kansas City, MO
When: April 17, 2011
Goals: Main - Sub-30; Stretch - Sub-28
Finish Time: 27:35
AG: 60/524
OA: 377/8418
SEXPL: 339/3511

Race Week:

To say that my week leading up to the race was hectic is a huge understatement. I travelled to TX for work and put in 70 hours walking the railroad wearing my steel-toe boots. Needless to say, it was an exhausting week. I didn't get in anywhere near the running miles I was hoping for, but I did at least find some time to run.

I flew back to KC on Thursday and was supposed to arrive around 8:30; due to a plane swap in Dallas, I didn't make it back to KC until about midnight and didn't get home until 12:30ish. I managed to get about 4 hours of sleep before heading into the office on Friday. As you can imagine, I was exhausted. To top the week off, all day Friday and Saturday I had to deal with a migraine. I guess you could say that I didn't really have the best week leading up to the race.

Pre-Race:
I wake up about 2.5 hours before I have to leave to catch a shuttle to the starting area. I am still feeling tired, but at least the migraine has diminished to a dull throbbing at the base of my skull. I'm starting to think I might be able to have a decent race.

I check out the temp and see that it's about 45F so I decide to go with a pair of shorts and a sleeveless shirt.  It turned out to be the perfect choice.

I walked over to the shuttles at about 6:30 and made it to the starting area at around 7:00. At about 7:30 I head over to go line up in my corral. When you registered for the race, you were able to choose a wave based on your estimated finishing time. Since my 4 mile PR was sub-30 minutes, I was able to register for the red (first) wave. It felt weird being that close to the starting line in a race with a reported 11,000+ registrants.



Looking back from where I was lined up.

The Race:

After the National Anthem was sung it was time for the wheel chair participant to start. At that time I turned on my Garmin to see the "low battery" message. I was hoping it would at least last the first mile.

At about 7:45, the Red Wave started. I decided right then that I was going to go out and try for my stretch goal. I quickly realized that I started too far back when a 1/4 mile into it my pace was about 7:30. I start weaving in and out of people trying to find a clearing and eventually get the first mile done in 7:01.


Shortly after the race start


At about the 1/4 mile point


Roughly at the 1/2 mile point.

My Garmin is still going and since I was close to the needed pace, I decided to push a little more for Mile 2. Somehow I managed to get into a groove and finished mile 2 at a 6:44 pace.


about a 1/4 mile into Mile 2


About 3/4 through Mile 2.

I'm starting to feel the pace now and have my doubts that I can hold it until the finish. I decided to stay with the pace and see what happens. At about the 2.7 mile point, my Garmin dies. According to the data, I maintained a 6:44 pace up until this point. My mouth was getting very dry so I decided to grab some water at the upcoming aid station. I grabbed the water and walked about 5 steps to make sure I would be able to drink some of it. I get to the 3 mile marker and I'm starting to really struggle.


End of Mile 3/ start of Mile 4

Doubt starts to creep into my mind and I start thinking I can't hold the pace. The proverbial devil on the shoulder appears and convinces me to walk. After about 5 seconds I start to come to my senses, give that darn devil the finger and start running again. My breathing is really starting to struggle, I figure dealing with bad allergies all week didn't help matters any.

Instead of giving in to walking again, I pick up the pace. I resort back to my previous race strategy and pick out a "rabbit" to keep pace. With about a 1/3 mile to go, my rabbit notices that I'm there and picks up the pace. The race to the finish was ON! He was about 10' ahead of me so I dug deep and gave it all I had. The finish line comes into view and I see the first number is still a 27, this gives me even more motivation to hold my kick pace. The rabbit starts to slow and with about 50' to go I pass him. I run through the finish line as the clock reads about 27:40 and am completely exhausted. I walk slowly until I reach the last volunteer cutting off the chips. Thankfully I didn't have to put my foot on a small bucket, otherwise I probably would have fallen over.

Post Race:
After I caught my breath, I tried to find my rabbit to thank him, but he was already gone. I walked through the food area and grabbed a 1/2 banana, sm. chocolate milk, and some McDonalds Apple Dippers.

I decided to wait around for the award ceremony to see how fast the winners were and to see if I won the car (I didn't).


Walking to the food area


About midway through the crowd.


Looking back at the sea of people.


The top 3 women are on the right side. The lady in red was first female with a time of 20:16.


The top male finishers. All of the top 10 finished with a sub 5:00 pace. The guy in the blue jacket was the winner and finished with a 17:xx. I think they said he was just shy of a 4:30 pace.

I thank all of you who read to the finish and hope you enjoyed the RR and pics.