2013 Cherry Blossom 10 miler - Washington, DC

So a day after the Red Shoe 5k in Ashburn, VA, we woke up around 4am to start getting ready for the Cherry Blossom 10 miler down in DC.  The plan was to drive to GWU, run two miles down to the start, then after the race, run back.  So we get down to GWU and change into our "throw away" clothes b/c the sun has not come up yet and it was in the upper 30's - kind chilly for us down in the south here.  So we make it down to the Washington monument after a brisk jog - probably ran to fast but we were cold as hell.  Hit the port-o-dumps as they were freshly laid out ready for the onslaught of 17k people.  This is a shot of me running to the port -o-dumps...

So after meandering around, stretching, and meeting up with Heather's friends its about 30 minutes to start time.  But of course, i have to piss so I make a run back to the porto pots and they are packed and I mean way packed...so I stand in line and say F it...head back to the yellow corral as I am BiB 1431...get to the correl and I still have to pee....I figured I was not going to be able to hold it a good 75 minutes so I did what any self-respecting runner in my situation would do  - yep piss the pants, its happened before and it probably won't be the last time...so after the kenyans and elite women take off, its our wave and were off.  The first few miles I was feeling good, not pushing the pace and keeping it somewhere in the mid 7's.  I really intended on jogging this one out at a 8 min pace but when the race started I figured I would try to beat my PR of 1:17 that I got back at the Army 10 a few years ago.    The race had us loop around rock creek parkway as well as a few other bridges and of course, the infamous Haynes point which was windy as hell by about mile 7.  I crossed the line at 1:13:06 and coming in 99th out of 933 in my age group (40-44).  By far my best 10 miler in sometime and I still feel I didn't not even come close to running my hardest.  This gives me hope that I can break 70 minutes some day.  However, I have the Manassas runway 5k next saturday and the Blue Ridge Marathon the week after...then its all trail running as I am getting ready for the North Face 50k.  Below is a snapshot of Heather and I before anyone had really shown up for the race:

Below are my stats from the race:

Location	Net Time	Clock Time	Pace	Pace Between	Time of Day
Start 10 Mile	00:00	0:43			7:31:46
Split 5 Mile	36:38	37:20	7:19		8:08:23
Split 10K	45:30	46:13	7:20	7:19	8:17:16
Finish 10 Mile	1:13:06	1:13:48	7:19	7:17	8:44:51

Funny thing was, my watch had me at 1:12:47 but the official time was 1:13:05 ???? Oh well, no biggie - the only time that actually matters to me is SUB 70 for a 10 miler.

Below is a breakdown of my splits:

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	1:12:47.2	10.00	7:17
1	7:22.3	1.00	7:22
2	7:18.5	1.00	7:18
3	7:14.8	1.00	7:15
4	7:04.5	1.00	7:05
5	7:18.0	1.00	7:18
6	7:17.6	1.00	7:18
7	7:25.1	1.00	7:25
8	7:27.6	1.00	7:28
9	7:17.9	1.00	7:18
10	7:00.8	1.00	7:01

Little Red Shoes (Sometimes It's Not about the PR)

Yesterday we ran the Red Shoe 5K as a family.  I really like this race.  It has a fun atmosphere, net downhill course, and benefits Ronald McDonald House DC Charities.  I ran it last year and tore up the course.  I thought I had a new 5K PR, but the course turned out to be short (by at least .2 miles) so it shows up as my best 5K time, but not really.  This race is also special because this is where the boys really got into running last year.  They have a great Kids' Race before the 5K and the boys came in first and second in that last year and decided that they wanted to start doing more races.  McDonald's also provides a lot of healthy post-race breakfast options like bagels, bananas, apple slices, granola, yogurt with berries, juices, and coffee (yes, I said McDonald's and healthy in the same sentence).

Enjoying the post-race breakfast

This year Zman was determined to do both the Kids' Race and 5K so of course Nickel had to do what his big brother was doing.  We arrived, and it was a little chilly.  We got our race numbers and tech t shirts which were nice blue shirts with the Red Shoe logo.  The kids warmed up with a short jog, and then it was time for the Kids' Race. 

Notice how the other kids are posing for photos, but our two are ready to take off.

Zman took off and quickly took the lead and never gave it up.  Nickel was in pursuit and almost held off a late charge by a lot older kid.  I think the kid just got him at the line.  The boys were both really excited to have done so well in the Kids' Race again.

  Then it was time to line up for the 5K.  Zman took off because he was hoping to get a sub-30 and a new PR.  Nickel tried to keep up with him, but he couldn't quite stay with him.  Somewhere near the end of the first mile Nickel and I picked up another running buddy who was a 7 year old boy.  So Nickel had a lot of fun running with him.  I was trying to control my frustration with being in the back and having to take walk breaks.  I don't think Nickel really needed the walk breaks, but I'm trying not to push him so hard.  I wanted this run to be fun for him.  Finally I just relaxed into the fun of running with some enthusiastic kids and was motivating both of the kids to keep going.  When we got to the home stretch, Nickel pushed it hard to the finish and got a 36:19 (not his best, but I think he had a good time).  I also found out that Zman PR'd and got his sub-30 and that JD had won an age group award and placed top 5 males. 

Smiley happy runners

It was an exciting event for JD and the kids so I was having to control my disappointment that I didn't get to run the race for myself because I might have been able to place well in my age group.  I know that every race can't be a win or a PR so I have to do a better job of relaxing and enjoying the runs with the little ones and knowing that I'm setting them up for hopefully a lifelong love of the sport.

It was also really nice when the little boy who was running with us found me after the race and wanted me to meet his mom and was telling his mom about how much Nickel and I helped him to finish his first 5K.  So today I got a lot more out of the race than a PR could ever have given me.  Besides who can resist running with cuteness like this!

I should also note last weekend's race like triumph in that Nickel was the big winner in the egg roll at Three Fox Vineyards.

We also got a lot of eggs at the Potomac River Running Store's Saucony Hippity Hop Easter Egg  Fun Run and one of them had a $10 off card so a good week of running for us.

Finding our strong!

Red Shoe 5K - Ashburn, VA

After some tough training weeks where I have been averaging around 40 miles a week for the Blue Ridge Marathon on April 20th, 2013, I thought I would run the Red Shoe 5k.  Its a low key event and would be a nice warm-up to the Cherry Blossom that I am planning on running tomorrow.  So we arrive there around 7:30, pick up the bibs

 ...then back to the car because its was pretty cold outside. Here is a pic of us goofing around in the car:

 Of course, I had to hit the shitter a good 3 times before I felt completely empty....I think I get more nervous running 5k's than 50k's...I think it goes back to my cross country days in high school - don't really know.  After I check the stats, 398 people actually ran the race.  So before the race, they have the traditional kids race which Zach won, Nic was in second the whole way until some other boy snipped him at the end.

However, both were running the 5k with Heather and I so the congratulations were short lived.  So we all line up and I notice a lack of PR runners - usually, I roll up to a PR event and a van full of Kenyans with DC plates pull in with their track suits on to drop some 15 minute times on our ass but I didn't see anyone...or PR racing members except for this one woman who was decked in the latest PR racing shirt.  At the starting line, I am making some small talk about injuries, times, and bunch of other nonsense shit until they yell go.  Finally, we are off and I move into a nice 6 minute mile pace and hit the first mile at 6:18, not bad for no sprint work and all long/slow training runs...Mile two which always sucks for me is 6:36 and mile 3 comes not much better with 6:35...so I am heading to the finish line and I hear some woman yell out, "19:46, you can make it". So I am balls to the wall and hit the line at 20:02 thinking that was gun time,what was the actual chip time...come to find out, chip time was 20:00 - "are you shitting me"...oh well, came in first in my age group (40-49) and 6th out of 398...with a decent 6:27 mile average for the 3.1 miles.

Here is me getting my first place award:

yea, not a fast crowd...any other race, I would be in the 30's with that time, especially in our area.  Oh, and here is another shot compliments of the Ronald McDonald Facebook page:

So that is it, my new PR (post high school) is now 20:00.  Tomorrow is the Cherry Blossom 10 miler which should be run and will most likely just jog this one out as I am in taper mode at this point.