Arvada Father's Day 5k 2012

PRAELUDIUM
Yesterday was the first run of the Runner's Edge summer session.  As always, I was excited to see so many friends before the run, and looked forward to a great summer running with them.  Before starting the run, of course I worked the crowd, saying Hi to friends that I'd not seen since the end of our spring session, a few weeks ago.  Instead of staying and socializing as I typically do after my run, immediately after finishing I had to jump in the car to get downtown to take care of some business.  Because of this, it wasn't until much later that day that I heard the tragic news:  one of my teammates, Mike Fontes, had been hit by a car on his return trip.  He was taken to a hospital but did not survive the injuries.  I was, of course, heartbroken to hear this.  Mike was a friend, and a good man and excellent example of the kind of runner I try to be:  social, friendly, supportive, always pushing himself to excel, yet humble.  I decided to dedicate my run at this year's Father's Day 5k to his memory.

I was somewhat disappointed to see, upon reviewing my race results spreadsheet (you don't have one?), that I haven't set a PR in a year.  Exactly a year, in fact:  the last PR I set was at 2011's Father's Day 5k.  And while I've had decent race times so far in 2012, none of them has been a world-beater.  I had definite hopes that this race would be, that I would finally find the speed I seem to have been missing so far all this year.

It was not to be.  I ran the first mile in 7:24, which would have been fine if I could have pushed myself faster for the rest of the race.  But I could not.  In fact, I fell apart immediately, and the second mile was 8:24.  I rallied a bit in the third mile (Metallica again, "All Nightmare Long"), which I ran in 8:03; but it wasn't enough to make up for that second mile, let alone the first.  At least my finishing kick was strong (of course it was, I had so much energy left).

So not my best race.  Slower even than my last 5k a month ago, and that was the day after a 22-mile run!  But it's okay:  every race is a learning experience, and I'm going to dedicate my summer (as I should have dedicated my spring) to getting my speed back.

Official Time: 24:58
YTD Race Miles: 56
YTD Total Miles: 665
Father/Son:  My dad and I both came in 14th in our respective divisions.  So, there's that.

POSTLUDIUM
In the days since Michael's tragic death, I have seen dozens upon dozens of supportive posts on Facebook for his grieving families, both actual and running, from members of those groups.  A memorial has appeared at the intersection where he was hit, consisting of running apparel and gear as well as letters and pictures dedicated to his memory (I myself made a small contribution earlier today).  It is a small but fitting tribute for a runner and a man who touched and inspired so many of his friends.  I am sorry that I did not know him better, but I feel that I have gotten to know him better through the comments I have seen from those who did know him well.  He was a good man; and as someone who has also lost a parent too young, my heart and prayers are with his grieving family.  Rest in Peace, Mike.  Long May You Run.

Casper Marathon 2012

For my first marathon since June of 2011, I chose to run 26.2 in Casper, Wyoming.  Finances had a large part to play in that decision--I figured a four-hour drive and two tanks of gas would be cheaper than a flight to just about anywhere.

I'd been watching the weather reports closely and with some concern for the past few days.  Temperatures for today were predicted to be in the 80s (which wouldn't happen until hopefully well after I was finished), with winds of up to 14mph (which might well happen during my race).  I was mildly worried because, as I've discussed before, I don't run well in the heat.  But as I've also discussed before, I run pretty well at altitude.  Since Casper is essentially the same elevation as Denver, I was counting on that working in my favor.

My (embarrassing) total lack of understanding of basic geography led to what turned out to be an entirely erroneous impression of the course.  In short, I thought there would be a lot of trees and a lot of shade.  I could not have been more wrong.  Nearly the entire course was open and exposed, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

And no wind.

My goal was to finish under 3 hours and 50 minutes.  Or at least, finish faster than 3:58, which was my PR time from Steamboat exactly one year ago.  That would mean setting a pretty aggressive pace; but I'd been training for that pace since January and had some really excellent long runs doing so.  In fact, all 3 of my 20+-mile runs had been just stellar.  So my confidence level going into the race was pretty high.  Once I got going, though, it dissolved pretty quickly.

I'm happy to say that I maintained my 3:50 pace pretty well for the first 5 miles, but then started to lose it.  I slowed a bit over the next 5 miles, to about 3:55 pace (obviously, those are marathon finish times, not minutes per mile).  But somehow, at mile 11, I completely fell apart.  I rallied a bit for the next couple of miles, but that was all I had.  The second half of my race saw me walking a lot, and saw my average per mile pace slip from sub-9 to between 11 and 13, with mile 23 coming in at 14 and a half minutes.

I had a four-and-a-half hour drive back after the race to dissect, analyze, and ultimately come to peace with today's race, and during that period I decided that I just started out too fast.  I'm not yet ready for a 3:50 marathon.  Or at least, not one without a lot more shade.  There are other things I could have done differently, or better.  But, as I discussed with another runner as we were trudging along mile 23, I still finished faster than all the folks who were behind me, plus everyone who was still on the couch at home.

Official Time: 4:33:51
YTD Race Miles: 52.9
YTD Total Miles: 636.9
Herd of Antelope: Sure, I'd heard of them.  But I didn't see any.  Not.  One.