My Last Three 5K's

Since my last post on the CRBR I have run three 5K's, two of those with Stephanie's kids Lacey and Nathan.

The first of these 5K's was the Second Empire Classic 5K on April 17th 2011. This race was great as it included Stephanie's kids doing their first 5K. I'm not sure either had ever run more than a mile but they were game.

Here we all are pre race, who knows what we looking at:



On to the race. Nathan lined up at the front and took off. Lacey and I were a few rows back and ran together for the first 1/2 mile. Then I took off, well not really but it's cool to say. After about 1.5 miles I caught up with Nathan, the rabbit start and the VANS shoes were paying a price. We walked and ran together till about 2.5 mile marker and then I took off!. Before that we had passed Lacey, we were on opposite sides of Hillsborough St and we cheered her on, she wasn't happy but had the drive to push through to the end.

Me at the 1 mile point:



The finish, we all finished. I came in around 31 minutes, Nathan about 30 seconds later and Lacey came home just a tad over 40. I was happy and Stephanie was flat out beaming with her kids achievement. Nathan even got an award for his first race.

Lacey finishing her first 5K:



That award took a protest to get. See Nathan's shoes were bothering him and he took them off. Who knew the timing chip would not be seen if not within a two feet of the timing mat. Nathan had his shoes (and timer chip) on his hands, see pic.



When we were looking at the race results we realized that Nathan was not scored, and new if he was scored, he would have a third place finish in his age group. Well, we went to the scoring table and we pointed out the issue. They found his number on the manual timing sheet and Nathan had his third place finish in hand. Here he is with award:



Race number 2 was the Run for Hero's 5K on April 30th 2011. This was the second time I have run this race and this time I had my first sub 30 minute 5K as a goal.

When the race started I moved to the side and let the speed demons go by. Yes, I started near the front because there is no timer line at the start, just at the finish. We ran down the start hill, then up the start hill then rounded the corner for another down and up. At this point I wasn't so sure how this race would go as I was a little more gassed than I though I should be.

Even though I was gassed, I was now on the easy part of the course down Fayetteville St and Wilmington St. This is all flat to downhill for the next mile and a quarter. We then rounded a corner on the back side of Peace College and made our way onto Blount St. At this point it was all hill and I started to realize sub 30 probably was not going to happen even though I had a pace that was well within my goals. I passed the 2 mile marker at 18 minutes. All I needed was a 10 minute mile after doing two 9 minute miles. How hard could that be? Well to hard for me, I had nothing and even though I made it to the home stretch sorta running I walked the first part of the home stretch. I did run the last hundred meters and finished in a little over 31 minutes. I really blew the last mile but there is always another race were I will have a shot at sub 30 minutes.

Here is a pic of me when I was still flying lol:



After this race I was frustrated and decided to change a few things. First, I will run a fast mile every week, I started this before this race. So far I have done an 8:02 mile and several just a few seconds slower. Second, I will do a long run once a week or a race. Where will I do my long run? Well there is this 8 mile loop over at Umstead Park I did once back in August of 2010 but that is one hilly loop. Oh well, I need to push myself, that is the loop I will do. Well so far I have done that loop 2 times, the second time I shaved 7 minutes off my time from from my previous run of this loop.

Well back to my 5Ks. This time it was the Clayton 5K Road Race on May 14th 2011. Lacey and Nathan were having their shot at another 5K. As we soon found out this was a lot different than our last 5K together, there were hills and more hills, did I mention this race had hills? Also, I had my vibrams on, I had not run a 5K in them for 10 months.

The race started much like the last race with Lacey and Nathan. Nathan took off and Lacey and I ran together for a bit. After about a half mile the hills started and the first one was big but I chugged up it without much problem. Well then after a short reprieve another hill, a reprieve and another hill, and so on. The the water table, I still can't run and drink so I swished and spit. Just pass the water stand I passed Nathan asked him how things were going as I went by. The hills were having an effect on him but he was doing great. We rounded a corner and a long down hill, yes, finally some rest but a short lived one, I had to run back up it. On the way back up the hill I passed Lacey coming down the hill, she wasn't happy but she was doing great too. Well, I was still chugging along and feeling okay on this hilly course. The last mile was more up and down hills. I walked for 10 seconds 2 times and finished in 32 minutes. Slow but with the hills I was quite happy with myself. Nathan finished in 37 and Lacey in 40. The hills beat all 3 of us pretty good and Lacey did the hill course faster than the flat course, woohoo! Once again their mommy was super proud of them.

Well this day was not over. We had to go to Scotty McCreery's (American Idol) hometown parade and concert. I was tired and going to this didn't help. I was a trooper till after the show, I will get back to this. The show itself was very good, the parade was goofy but people got to see Scotty and friends up close so it served it's purpose. Scotty seemed to be moved by the event and over joyed by his idol Josh Turner showing up to do a few songs with Scotty. Stephanie about went crazy when Josh appeared onstage, too funny.

Here is a pic of Scotty McCreery in the parade:



Here is a link to the show: http://www.wral.com/news/video/9596943/#/vid9596943

Almost forgot, the post concert line, well we stayed to the end because of Josh Turner and suffered with being a 1/4 mile back in line for the return bus ride to the satellite parking. I was not happy and pitched a fit. We discussed a few options that required a hefty walk and more waiting. In the end we just waited in line for over an our. Not the fun part but not the worst either.

Well that is it, see you at the next 5K in the Raleigh area.

Cooper River Bridge Run 10K

The Cooper River Bridge 10K is a race I have been looking forward to for a long time. Per Active.com it is one of the top 10K events in the United States. So back say, October of 2010 I signed up for it.

Now on to the race that went down on April 2, 2011. It all started with dropping my dog Rocco off at the kennel and then Stephanie and I hit the road on Friday. It took about 5 hours to get there. 95 is one exciting road! Anyway once we arrived in town the goal was to find parking and head over to the Race Expo.



The Expo was something new to me and I pretty much just wanted to get my packet and leave. Not so easy, my lady Stephanie was with me and there was way to much free stuff to be had. Once thru the crowd I got my bib 30189, wow that is a big number, they are usually in the hundreds. After bib pickup they funnel you off to the stage area in the building to get the packet. No XXL shirts left, oh well an XL it is, can only wear it once I guess, because it will shrink to toddler size soon. Now its Stephanie's show time, table to table, getting this and drinking that. Overall, it was plenty fun and I drank enough energy and protein drinks to get me thru the next days 10K.





Our Hotel, about 5 miles from race expo area:



Before race day though it was dinner time. Ended up at Outback under a freezer vent but dinner was good. Was going to try this pasta place (Frazoli's) but it was fast food pasta, drive thru and all, so went with the pre-race steak.

Race day here I come. I couldn't sleep for anything and was up at 12:45AM. I lay there till 4:00 AM and get up for good. Stephanie didn't like this. It was her vacation and this was way to early. I hit the road a little before 5 to find parking. Wow this is a breeze, the cops are not even in place and I parked in the same lot we did for the Expo, now time to get in line for my bus ride across the Copper River Bridge.

Me to early in the morning on race day:


The bus was easy enough. The loading spot was just outside the parking deck. I got in line and a local runner was quite chatty in line with me. He was a triathlete and had swam 2.4 miles under the bridge but never ran over the bridge in a race. Well this was my first time running over the bridge myself. Did I tell you this dude was chatty, he told me about every running event he has been in since birth in that 15 minute bus ride. Once on the Mt Pleasant's side of the bridge the bus dropped us off so we could walk the 3/4 miles to our start corral.

I found my corral some 2.5 hours before the race was to start and realized this was the beginning of a real long day. Anyway I hung out watching people, listening to people, and making a few trips to the many porto's while waiting for the race to start.



Its finally 8:00AM, let the race begin. Not so fast I'm in the H corral of a wave start. Each wave leaves every three minutes or so. As we work our way forward based on the walk and stop signs managed by our corral volunteers its finally our time to go. At this time close to 30 minutes have passed and the winners have crossed the finish line. Guess I will have to wait till next year to have a shot at victory lol. The announcer was trying to hype us up for a picture so we all had our hands in the air and screaming like we just don't care and we are off!



Finally down to the race. The first mile and 1/4 was flat and I was just weaving in and out of the really slow crowd and making as much time as I could before the bridge. Once on the bridge I realized this was not going to be easy, the bridge is a 4% uphill grade and it would stay that was until I passed the 3 mile marker. Well as you can guess I started to walk, but this killed my calves. So what to do, alternate between running and walking till I'm at the top. Since I was walking some I did take the time to snap a few pictures. Now at the 3 mile marker I see Beetle Juice with a bunch of skeletons chasing him. No this isn't a mirage, people wear costumes at this race. Well back to the race, I'm at the halfway point and now I get to go down hill, now this is fun but the 25mph wind is more prevalent now. I pick up the pace pretty good because I would like to be somewhat close to 1 hour finish time. A little after crossing mile 4 we are off the bridge.




Now off the bridge its just 2 more miles of flat running. The first section after the bridge was a water stand. To much traffic but managed to get a quick swig of liquid. I needed it to, had to run thru the hood, I had to step it up a bit. Eventually we hit mile 5 and another water hole, why? It caused a bottle neck as this was a switchback and narrower streets. This switchback took us from Meeting Street over to King Street. Running down King was pretty straight forward but I was tired as I have not been running 6 miles and I was hurting pretty good so I mixed in a few 30 second walks. The road narrowed even further and even walkers were getting in this slow pokes way as this was the last half mile and I was going to finish as strong as I could. Smile, quick picture, a little further and on a cut thru back to Meeting Street. Come on people you can run home from here. Finally rounded the corner onto meeting and I can see the finish. I try to kick it into high gear but not much left in the tank. Smile again for a finish picture and I'm done.

Where is the water:



Me sometime after the race:





Now they shuttle us down to the park and I'm wanting to get some water and find Stephanie. I had been texting her my mile location so maybe she could see me finish. She missed me but she tried. The crowd was insane, way to many people in the city block sized park. I finally, about 10 minutes after I finished, got a few bottles of water and began wondering around looking for Stephanie.

Some post race pictures, post race party I guess:





Eventually, probably 20 minutes after my finish I found her. We walked and talked and ate and watched the trophy presentation. The local cat (Bobby Mack) from The Raleigh Athlete's Foot that sold me my shoes that I was wearing finished 6th overall with a time of 29.18. He was 1st US citizen. Sorta cool eh?

My time details:
Bib FName LName City State Country Div Age SEX
30189 BILLY KIDD RALEIGH NC NC USA MALES 40-44 41 M
ChipTime ClockTime Overall SexPl DivPl Pace 1:11:20 1:40:48 19330 9949 1181 11:29

Well for the race that was it, the rest of the time Stephanie and I did the vacation thing till Sunday afternoon. Overall, this is a very well run event and I look forward to doing it again.

One of the tourist pics:



One more quick tidbit. Trying to find a paper at 3PM the day after the Cooper River Bridge Run is not an easy task. My suggestion is get one at your hotel early the next morning.

WooHoo my name was in that paper, that's me 9832 in the mens division:

St. Patty's Run Green 8K

The St. Patty's Run Green 8K in Raleigh, NC went down on March 5th, 2011 and I was in the middle of it all.

To start, running 5 miles is further than I usually go but I have run 10 miles before so I wasn't scared. Early Saturday my girlfriend Stephanie called and said she was out, she hurt her back really bad. Not a good way to start but she wished me well and I headed off to the race.

I arrived around 1 hour before the start and just basically hung out till the 3PM start. Once the gun sounded I slowly made it to the line, it took almost 45 seconds. Well I guess a win is out the door, no worries, I'm a slow poke anyway. Today I was feeling okay but I kept it on the slow side and I'm glad I did, this was a hilly course. Luckily none the hills were real long except for around mile 4 and I ran up most of them, which is good for me. I save my occasional walking to the flats. Other than the hills, this race was uneventful for me, except for almost getting run over by a speedster coming the other way at the first water table. Eventually, I made it to the home stretch and ran that 1/3 mile at a good clip and finished in 55 minutes. I was pretty happy with myself and finished close to my planned time.

The interesting part about this race was the people. For sure most wore green, many wore kilts, some even had beer cans hanging out in front of them. I guess they needed something to chase. No worries there, if you were of age there was a free beer waiting for you at the finish provided by Tir Na Nog. The best costume was the person dressed a leprechaun and another person as the pot of gold with a rainbow between them, they somehow ran the race that way. Yes, I beat them by 30 minutes or so lol. Back to that beer for a second, it sure had more effect than I thought, guess it was the exhaustion.

Overall, this was fun race and I'll see you at this race next year.


http://www.rungreen8k.com/


Here is a picture of me (852) in the final stretch, I think I'm the only person that sweats.



Next up is the Cooper River Bridge Run.

NHL All-Star Weekend

First off, I signed up for the NHL All-Star 5K back in December. Since then a few surprises came up. The race day of January 29, 2011 began to fill up with other activities.

Those activities included an awards banquet for the Second Empire Fall 2010 Grand Prix Series, were I entered enough races to get a free lunch. Second Stephanie's daughter school cheer team got an invite to cheer at the Raleigh Wide Open event to celebrate the NHL All-Star Weekend. The race and these two other events was going to make for a busy day.

On to the day at hand. We arrived at 8:30 to the RBC Center and picked up my timing chip, Stephanie took a few pictures and I attached my timer to my shoe. Where is the starting line? Oh yeah, almost forgot I picked picked up my packet the day before that had a cool medal, here is that medal.


Here I'm tie wrapping the timer onto my Newton's. It was 30 degrees and I'm in shorts!



Well back to the race. I was lined up and they were rattling off some names and bib numbers for prizes and stuff, not mine so lets move on. Well the race started and right away I wasn't feeling to hot. On a good note though, the first mile was flat to downhill, that didn't hold for the second mile. We turned up into the parking lot on the side of Carter Finley Stadium and the hill began and didn't end till another mile had clicked by. On this hill I began to walk some, I know what a wuss. Well I am 250lb, not ideal for a runner but I give it solid go. On this hill a coworker passed me, I can't have that, so I picked it back up and maintained till the end. I beat the coworker by a minute and set my fastest 5K at 30:11. On a side note, my GPS had me at 29:57. I'm on my way to being respectable. Stephanie and I took a few pictures and visited the gift shop to get few things, and now, off to the next event. Here is a picture of me coming down the home stretch.


Well, before the next event it's shower and change time. The Second Empire is a nice Restaurant and it does include an awards presentation after all. We arrive, check in and find a table. Stephanie immediately likes this place and suggests we come there more often. That's okay as I like it too. We are seated with the old timers that are all in their 60's and still run 6 to 7 minute miles all day long. They were very nice people and gave me some good running tips that should help me obtain a little more speed and endurance. We all had a very nice dinner, grilled chicken with a light sauce, steamed broccoli and couscous, all very good. Now off to the awards.

I was pretty much a spectator here but it was cool to see. Our table mates were all winners. I did go home with a cool skull cap with the series logo on it. Kim Reynolds, Second Empire, all the race sponsors put on a very good running series. I look forward to doing it again. Off to event number three.

Luckily for us, all these events were spaced far enough apart that we could get to them all. After the banquet went to the car and changed clothes where all the world could see. No car wrecks caused no foul lol. Now to see Stephanie's daughter cheer. Sorta cool that there school got to cheer at such a big event for Raleigh, NC. Anyway their cheer was very good.

Well, except for a few other details I won't tell you about, that was the day. It was a busy day but a very fun day.

My dog Rocco and I

New Balance MT101 Review

Well this is my first product review and it will be pretty short.

I got into running January 2010 and pretty early on I became interested in minimalist running shoes. Soon after, I got a pair of Vibrams. I really like them, but wanted something a little more protective for the trail and longer distances. Well, I eventually found a shoe I dig. The New Balance MT101.

I have had my pair of New Balance MT101's for 3 months. I use them for trail runs over at Umstead Park the most, but I have raced in them a few times on the road and trail. Overall, these shoes feel great, they don't feel like lead weights as they are very light at 7.8 ounces, they are stable, they offer good support, and decent traction in a wide variety of conditions.

As for the negatives, the sole does wear fast if doing a lot of running on pavement.

If your interested in a great minimalist trail running shoe check out the New Balance MT101's.

Here is a picture:

The Krispy Kreme Challenge

Well Feb. 5, 2011 was the Krispy Kreme Challenge. If you don't already know this race, it is 4.77 miles of running with a stop in the middle to eat a dozen glazed doughnuts with a goal time of less than 1 hour.

Stephanie and I arrived at the race around 7:45am. I was dressed in my Steeler poncho, shorts and my New Balance 101's. Stephanie was spectating and dressed warm. It was raining and 35 degrees for the race, fun, fun, fun. There were 7500 people signed up but a few less showed up due to the weather. Anyway the race started at 8:30am, it took me 3 minutes just to make it to the start line. Once in the open I settled into a pretty good sub 10 minute pace that would keep me in the 20/20/20 plan. Well as I got within sight of Krispy Kreme the leaders were done eating and heading home, dang they eat fast. Once I made it to Krispy Kreme My problems started.

It started with a road block, well most seemed to be my pace and arrived at the doughnut stand at the same time. It seemed like it took 5 minutes to get past this bottle neck and get my doughnuts. I choose to eat 2 at a time till I made it thru the first 6. At this point the glaze was getting to me and I grabbed a cup of water. Now I'm down to 1 doughnut at a time, and having difficulty even taking a bite. I was not going to eat 12. Anyway some more water and I had 9 down. I thought to myself that there is no way for me to eat 3 single doughnuts so I smushed them together and nibbled my way thru. At this point I looked around and very few of us were still there. I went over to the challenger timer to get my split 54 minutes, it took me 30 minutes to eat the doughnuts but I ate them all. Knowing that the hour goal was out I took my time back, walking up one big hill, although most of the return trip to the Bell Tower on NC State campus was up hill. Surprisingly I had energy, guess a sugar high. Eventually I was done in 1 hour and 17 minutes.


Overall, it was a fun time and I look forward to next year and getting that doughnut eating time down to 5 or 10 minutes like the top finishers.

http://krispykremechallenge.com/

Pictures of the event can be found here:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/02/05/970446/first-look-krispy-kreme-challenge.html