Duck Dash 5k - May 19, 2007 - New PR - 20:14

Finished 4th overall. Temperature was 50 degrees, perfect for running a PR.

Young Life Jasper Jog - May 12, 2007 - 9th overall

Big Brothers Big Sisters 5K MASH Race - 3rd overall

Ran a race last weekend that was close to home. Finished 3rd overall with an official time of 20:42. First mile was 6:16. I didn't get to start on the front line. Instead I had two people in front of me. About 30 seconds into the race I was 3rd, and that's where I stayed.

The race was well run. Results were up on Monday. Pictures were up on Wednesday.

5k for Cancer Research, Canton, GA - New PR

A new 5k PR, by 45 seconds! 20:15. I am sixteen seconds from a sub-20 minute 5k, which has been a far off goal since I started running races.

Today's race was run by the same people as the Thanksgiving race. The website didn't work, the results are not published, and there wasn't a lot of competition. I think the winner was at 19:18, and I came in second at 20:15. When the race started I quickly went to second place, and I knew it was a matter of time until people started passing me, as they usually do. However, I kept up strong, without any issues. I was pushing it, not to the max, but comfortably fast.

I finished second in the race, which is a PR. My first mile was under 6 minutes, which is also a PR. Some of the people that 3-6 months ago used to pass me around mile 1 didn't catch up to me today.

Very good race day for me! Average pace was 6:32/mile.

Making Strides for the Extension 5k

On April 7th I did a 5k in Marietta. I planned to skip racing this Saturday, since the temps were to be in the 20's with windchills in the high teens. But on Friday afternoon I realized I had to race. I took the previous weekend off since there wasn't a race within 50 miles, and couldn't stand to take 2 weeks off in a row, even if it meant running another cold race. I've run my share of cold races in 2007 - the Jan 20, Feb 10, and Feb 17 races were in the 20-29 degree range.

I was dressed appropriately and breathing during the race was fine. I decided not to "thug it out" too much in this race, but I was very happy with my mile 1 time: 6:21. Mile 2 was around 13:45 so I had a 7+ second mile. In mile 3 I sped up and finished in 21:21. This time breakdown is typical for me.

I didn't run too hard, and still had my second fastest time. I placed 15th overall and 2nd in my age group. Received a plaque.

So far in awards I have 3 first place, 5 second place, and 1 third place.

Spring Chicken Run 5k - March 24 - New PR 21:00

I did a 5k in Powder Springs on Saturday March 24th. It was much warmer this week, but not too hot for fast running. I started at the front, and took off very quickly at the start. It was a hilly out-and-back. My first mile was in 6:13, and the second took 7:02 (went down and then back up a big hill for this mile), so my last 1.1 was somewhere in the mid to high 6's.

My overall time was 21:00. This is 49 seconds faster than the PR I set last month. Average pace was 6:46/mile, where my previous best was 7:02/mile. Finished 12th place overall, and was second in my age group.

-Dennis

Hustle for Hope 5k - March 17, 2007

I did the Hustle for Hope 5k in Rome today. Finished 13th overall and 2nd in my age group. My time was 22:08, which is my second best 5k time. This was an out-and-back along the river. The temp was 34 (with a "feels like" of 25) with wind, and you felt the "feels like" 25 and the wind. My hands were numb through the entire race, when in cold races they usually warm up after about a mile. The standing around before and after and the race itself took a lot out of me today.

I started out fast for me. At the first mile mark they called out 6:21. I usually do 6:40-7:00. I may have done faster before, but sometimes they don't have mile callers, and I didn't always have my Garmin. This is my fastest 1st mile that I know of. In this race I forget to start my Garmin until about 30-45-maybe 60 seconds after the start, so I didn't bother logging laps or looking at it during the race. I concentrated more on keeping my position, and looking out for the halfway point where I could turnaround.

I let a few people pass me after the first mile (I think 4), and finished strong. The average pace was 7:08, so my last mile was probably around 7:45-8.

As of late, since I know I start out faster than I should, I really pay attention to my 1st mile time, and of course the total 5k time. I haven't been one to pace myself. I've overheard other runners say that they'll take the 1st half conservative, and depending on how they feel at that point they'll decide whether they'll go all out or not. Sounds like a smart plan, but it's just not how I'm wired. With my age you'd think I'd learn, but running races is more of a recent thing for me.

Chattahoochee Road Runners 10k - New PR

On Saturday March 3rd I participated in the Chattahoochee Road Race 10k. This was a bit far from my house. A little farther than I prefer to go, but the pain of not going would have outweighed the pleasure of going (Thanks Tony Robbins). Plus everyone was going to be there - the Foothills club, most of the ATC competitive team, and maybe some surprises (ZAP Fitness was a no-show, but Joseph Chirlee was there and won).

I got out of bed at 5:05am, got ready, and decided I wanted to hear some specific music for the long ride down, so I burned a CD. Good call there. Left the house at 5:44am, and got there at 6:35am. At that time there was plenty of parking and no line to get my race number.

I hung around in the car for a bit and saw some people I knew around 7:30. I did some warmup running, and tried to get as close to starting line as I could. This year had about 1250 finishers. The start time was 8am. Even though I was close to the starting line, when the gun went off it still took me 11 seconds to reach it.

I ran an even race. My overall pace was 7:28/mile. Mile 1 was 7:22, Mile 2 was 14:48. I don't remember what mile 3 was, but the 5k was in the 23's. Mile 4 was a little under 30:00. I kept up the pace, particularly since the last 2 miles are downhill. Actually they are extremely downhill. Downhill running isn't my forte, and in races I usually lose a few spots on the downhills, where I may gain a spot or two on an uphill. However, in this race I knew there was about a 200 ft elevation drop in the last two miles. Even though this part of the course was new to me (this is the only part I hadn't run and driven), it was on. My Garmin was showing 5-something pace for the big downhill after about 4.5 miles. I forget what mile 5 split was. Usually I remember all splits, but I was in a zone for this race, and all I took note of was the fact that the splits were better than my previous bests.

I finished in 46:20. This is a PR for me. My previous PR was 48:03 on 1/1/07. This is definitely a great course for a PR, with the elevation loss between the start and finish. Although maybe not so good on my knees (so far I'm ok, but next week's running will tell).

I've broken through in the last week, with a 10k PR this week (103 seconds faster than my previous 10k PR) and a 5k PR last week (37 seconds faster than my previous 5k PR).

After the race I took the bus back to start, but didn't go to the awards. At home, I waited impatiently for the results to be posted on the website. I finished #326 of 1269. In my age group, I was 50 of 137.

Overall the race was great. Only thing is I would have liked to have the beginning at the starting line rather than just Gun time.

Did 5.1 miles outside yesterday.
Looking to do the Chattahoochee Road Runners 10k on Saturday: http://www.crrclub.com/racing.html

Run for the Son 5k - New PR

Did the "Run for the Son" 5k in Powder Springs today. Had a great race. This is a road race on Due West Rd and Old Mountain Rd. Blew away my old PR of 22:26 with a 21:49. Finished 15th overall, and 1st in my Age Group. There were about two hundred runners there, but I think most were doing the 10k.

Split times:
Mile 1: 6:55 [This 1 mile split time is about average for me.]
Mile 2: 13:48 (Mile 2 in 6:53) [My second fastest 2 mile split.]
Finish: 21:49 (Last 1.1 in 8:01 for 7:17 pace)
Overall Pace: 7:02

This may be the most evenly paced 5k I've run. Usually I start out way to fast and my 3rd mile is over a minute longer than the 1st mile. One thing that disguised it here is the fact that the first mile was pretty much uphill. With coming downhill on the second mile, I only beat it by 2 seconds. I kept it together for the last mile and after mile 1 nobody passed me and I didn't pass anyone else.

Even though it was about 20 degrees warmer than the previous two Saturdays, there were no shirtless wonders this time. Hopefully the results will be published. I recommend this race: good course, good crowd, and well run except for the 10 minute late start.

Records

Someone made fun of me at the Chattahoochee Challenge 10k a few weeks ago when I mentioned I keep a spreadsheet with every race and time. This is true. My first race was in Nov 2005, and I did only 2 races before June 2006, so there aren't that many rows. After I saw a Scott Jurek race log in Runners World a few months ago and posts on the the ATC website, I created a spreadsheet with a daily mileage log for 2007. In 2006 I knew how many miles I had run that week and the previous week, but never logged that data. That data is forgotten but I have the 2007 data.

ING Georgia Half-Marathon

I am registered for the ING Georgia Half-Marathon on Sunday March 25, 2007. This will be my first half-marathon, but this isn't the first time I signed up for a half. I paid for the ATC Atlanta half on Thanksgiving, but bailed out due to all the trouble of having to stay in Atlanta the night before, and having packet pickup the day before. Halfs make it more difficult with packet picket on days before race day. Usually halfs are far away, so going there twice is a pain. I can understand it though, due to the volume of runners.

I was also planning the half in Warner Robbins on Jan 13, but work got in the way.

Now we're less than a month away from the ING Georgia half, and I haven't been training according to the standard 12-16 week program. The most miles I've run in a day since I got serious in June 2006 is 7 miles. 7 miles! About half of the half marathon distance. I just don't enjoy running "slow", with slow being defined as anything less than 90% of what I think I can do. I definitely go for time and speed, rather than distance. If some asks how was your run, my response is focussed on the speed or time per mile, rather than how far I went.

I'm a member of the Foothills Running Club, which is at www.foothillsrunningclub.com A number of members are running the half, and I'm planning to run with the group. Finishing my first half will be an accomplishment to put in my running room (yes I have a running room).

-Dennis

Run for the Sun 5k

Tomorrow is the "Run for the Son" 5k in Powder Springs, GA. They are hosting a 10k as well, but I'm looking to run fast, and I don't won't to be 10k-sore the rest of the weekend. The event info is at www.burnthickory.com

Weight: 162 (All weights are first thing in the morning)