Running of the Green 7k 2010

My a capella group Cool Shooz performed at the 2010 Harmony Sweepstakes Regional Tournament the night of Saturday, March 13. A good time was had by all as we sang as the last of 7 a capella groups (including one from Utah and one from Texas--it really WAS a regional competition!). We even won several awards, including Audience Favorite and Best Show Performance, as well as Joe winning Best Soloist for our rendition of "Come Together" by The Beatles.

I was pretty excited by this, and hoped that my mojo would continue working until the next morning, when I was going to run the Running of the Green Lucky 7k in downtown Denver. This was actually going to be a pretty key race for me. It was at this race in 2009 that I had a major racing breakthrough: thanks to an article Coach David of Runner's Edge of the Rockies had emailed (called, appropriately enough, "Breakthrough Racing"), I shifted my focus and efforts and pulled off a huge course PR. And for the next year, I PR'd at every distance I ran--sometimes more than once! What better way to cap off such a fantastic year of running, I thought, than to do it again at this year's Running of the Green?

Each year I've run this race (including in 2008, when I had to drop out thanks to some careless oaf who trod on my right foot less than a mile into it), the weather has been beautiful. Sunny skies, cool but not cold, perfect race weather really. Not this year. As though mocking my sunny and upbeat disposition (to say nothing of the beautiful weather they'd supplied on Saturday), the Weather Gods conspired to create a day of cloudy skies that threatened rain or even snow, chilly temperatures, and a brisk wind. Of course, ever the optimist, I dressed in my trademark blue shorts and custom-made running shirt--although a small practical voice did insist that I throw tights and a jacket into the car.

Another surprise was the sheer volume of people present at this year's race. Apparently the event had sold out and people were being turned away at race-day registration. I didn't really think too much about it, though, figuring that I'd put myself close enough to the front that it wouldn't present a problem. I put the crowd out of my mind and focused on my strategy ("Run fast at the beginning, run fast in the middle, and run fast at the end!") while Coach David led us on an easy warmup jog. I took advantage of that time to go over my body, looking for any aches, pains, or issues that might cause me trouble. I found none. I was ready and confident that I'd have a good race, crowd or no crowd, chill or no chill!

But when I put myself into the crowd, I made the mistake of going back too far. There were hundreds of people between me and the starting line (as compared with last year, when there were maybe 30). When the gun went off, I inched forward v-e-r-y slowly with the massive crowd. When I finally reached the starting line I was able to break into a sort of half-hearted jog, because the crowd had not yet begun to thin out. Complicating things still further was the fact that the finish line banner, barely 100 yards past the start (this was new, by the way), was sagging down, creating an odd bottleneck for the crowd. Once I was past that, I was able to start my race; but I'd lost precious minutes up to that point. As the course turned onto 17th and then onto Market, I dodged and weaved through the crowd, looking for openings where I could and surging through only to be forced to slow down until another opening presented itself. In retrospect this was probably a mistake, as I burned precious energy on these spurts.

When the course turned onto 20th I was able to move into the open and pick up some speed. 20th St rolls up and down a few times before ramping up and crossing over the highway. I actually enjoy this part of the course. I have fun pushing up the hills and coasting down, increasing my leg turnover and letting gravity do the rest. I set my eyes on a landmark at or near the top of the hill and focus all my energy on pulling myself towards it. And, the crowd having finally thinned out after about 4/5 of the way through that first mile, I had been able to pick up some speed and move my way forward through the pack. As I turned onto Central, I felt I was hitting my stride. My energy was high, my legs felt strong, and my effort (without looking at my actual pace) felt on target.

I finished the first mile in 8 minutes and 31 seconds, more than a minute slower than I'd planned on, thanks to that enormous crowd and very slow start. I knew I wouldn't be able to make up that much time, and that my dreams of a massive PR were essentially gone. But I still felt confident that I could have a very strong race; and even if a PR wasn't in the cards, I'd go down swinging. The crowd had thinned out somewhat, and as I completed the second mile I continued to pull ahead of other runners. That second mile is mostly uphill, which again I seem to enjoy. I finished it in 8 minutes and 6 seconds.

According to the "Breakthrough Racing" article, the midpoint of a run is the time to increase intensity, to really start a push to the finish. If done right, this is the part of the race where you can make up for some lost time. I increased my effort at this point, helped in no small part by the general downhill angle of that third mile. But something was wrong. Even though I'd been steadily increasing my speed since breaking out of the throng of runners, even though I'd been consistently passing other racers, even though I had energy to spare.....I'd lost...something. I wasn't sure what it was, exactly, but I'd lost it. I wasn't going to PR. I slowed to a brisk walk through the water stop at 3.8, and gave myself an extra 10 or 15 seconds recovery time after that, hoping to find.....whatever it was I didn't have any more. Finally, spurred on more by the seventh or eighth runner to pass me rather than any inner discovery, I began to run again.

I pulled myself over the highway crossing and back onto 20th street. Having finished mile 3 in 7:48, I'd reached the point at which, last year, I'd realized I was going to PR in a big way. And although I knew that wasn't going to happen this time, I still felt that I could push my pace harder. I was still feeling strong and knew I was making good time. I reached back to last year's race and found the excited but serene energy I'd had, and channeled that into my legs for the push up the last hill before turning onto Wazee. From there out, the course would be flat as it wound through the streets of LoDo. I focused all my attention and energy on pushing harder, getting ready to make my final push in the last half mile.

I finished mile 4 in 7 minutes, 31 seconds. With just over a quarter mile to go, I tuned out everything but the back of the runner in front of me. With determination, I closed the gap and moved past him, then reset my sights on the next one. In this methodical fashion, I moved my way up through the pack, turning onto 15th and then back onto Wazee. As I made that final turn and saw the finish line, I zeroed all my attention to that low-hanging banner. I was already running as fast as I could, but for that last block and a half I dug deeper and found the last bit of energy and inspiration (and determination) that I could, and used it to force my legs to move even faster. They obeyed, and I crossed the finish line at 34:47. This was not a PR--I missed that by 58 seconds--but it was a good race, a solid race, and about as fast a race as I could run under the circumstances. Of course, if I'd set myself closer to the front.....but if "ifs" and "buts" were candy and nuts, etc.

This may be the part where you're expecting me to get all philosophical, and say that I've learned a valuable lesson. That I was so caught up in my own successes over the past year that I'd figured another PR was inevitable, and forgot that there were things that happened that were beyond my control (i.e. the weather), and other things I could have done differently or better (seeding myself closer to the start, not taking as long a break in the middle). You might be expecting that, and I could easily go that way because there's some truth to it. But I'm not disappointed in my results (well, maybe a little. It's the first race of the year that I haven't PR'd). I had a good race and a fun time. As with any race, there are positive and negative elements that I can take and learn from, to improve my performance at the next one. Because that's what I try to do. Sure, I have fun at my races, but part of the fun for me--a big part, as I'm discovering--is being able to consistently improve, even if that means walking away from a race with a lesson instead of a new PR.

Well how about that.....I got philosophical after all. Thanks for reading!

Official Time: 34:47
Total Races: 3
YTD Race Miles: 40.4
YTD Total Miles: 250.8
Sunday's high according to KDEN Almanac: 39 degrees Fahrenheit(!)