This past Saturday I ran in the HNI 5k run from the waterfront in downtown Muscatine. This is a very flat course and everyone's times were fast.
There were 164 entries, some of which were walkers. I ended up finishing 22nd overall and took 2nd in my age bracket. My time was 21:01, which was a PB or PR(personal best/personal record) for this distance. I averaged 6:46 per mile. My next best time was the Hayes Hustle back in April, where my time was 21:59.
I have 3 weeks before my next race, which will be the Wildcat Den trail run.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Du State Du Duathlon-Loud Thunder Park
Yesterday I competed in my second duathlon this year and this was my second year to do the Du State Du. The weather was ominous with the weather channel predicting a 70% chance of thunderstorms all day. Even with the bad weather forecast we had 131 participants.
This race comprises a 2 mile run, a 15 mile bike ride and then the 2 mile run again. The transition area is used for the changeover. During the first transition your running shoes are taken off and biking shoes put on as well as your helmet. Then you take the bike off the rack that is provided and run out to the transition starting place and get on your bike. This is reversed during the second transition. Last year my times were 0:59 and 0:49 respectively for the two transitions. This year I shaved a little off and had 0:36 and 0:40, which gave a 0:32 second improvement overall.
I also improved in my running all so slightly. Last year my times were 13:47 and 14:40 for the two running legs. This year I had 13:25 and 14:59. Adding these together my running improved by :03 seconds.
Then there was the biking leg, which I didn't really want to talk about. Last year my time was 44:21 (average 19.9 mph). This year I did a disappointing 46:13 (19.1 mph). For me the wind this year was a big factor. It was blowing out of the south at 11-13 mph. I also had a bad leg cramp (right calf) during my last hill ascent about 2 miles from the finish line. I had to slow up to work the cramp out and this cost me some precious time.
Overall my time last year was 1:14:31. This year it was 1:15:55, which was 84 seconds slower. It was still good enough to get me 2nd place (same as last year). Even if I had rode as well as last year I still couldn't have caught the first place finisher (from Sterling, IL) in my age group. He was nearly 6 minutes ahead of me and finished 10th overall. I ended up finishing 32nd overall. Another factor in my slower times was not being fully recovered from my 5k race that I did the day before.
Well the rain held off for most of the finishers and began in earnest as we were gathering for the award ceremony and lunch.
This race comprises a 2 mile run, a 15 mile bike ride and then the 2 mile run again. The transition area is used for the changeover. During the first transition your running shoes are taken off and biking shoes put on as well as your helmet. Then you take the bike off the rack that is provided and run out to the transition starting place and get on your bike. This is reversed during the second transition. Last year my times were 0:59 and 0:49 respectively for the two transitions. This year I shaved a little off and had 0:36 and 0:40, which gave a 0:32 second improvement overall.
I also improved in my running all so slightly. Last year my times were 13:47 and 14:40 for the two running legs. This year I had 13:25 and 14:59. Adding these together my running improved by :03 seconds.
Then there was the biking leg, which I didn't really want to talk about. Last year my time was 44:21 (average 19.9 mph). This year I did a disappointing 46:13 (19.1 mph). For me the wind this year was a big factor. It was blowing out of the south at 11-13 mph. I also had a bad leg cramp (right calf) during my last hill ascent about 2 miles from the finish line. I had to slow up to work the cramp out and this cost me some precious time.
Overall my time last year was 1:14:31. This year it was 1:15:55, which was 84 seconds slower. It was still good enough to get me 2nd place (same as last year). Even if I had rode as well as last year I still couldn't have caught the first place finisher (from Sterling, IL) in my age group. He was nearly 6 minutes ahead of me and finished 10th overall. I ended up finishing 32nd overall. Another factor in my slower times was not being fully recovered from my 5k race that I did the day before.
Well the rain held off for most of the finishers and began in earnest as we were gathering for the award ceremony and lunch.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Watermelon Stampede 5k
Race announcer Del Web-calling out times of finishers.I ran my first Watermelon Stampede 5k in Muscatine on Saturday morning. This picture shows the final 100 yards making our way down to the YMCA.
They also had a 10k race for those looking for a longer run. The humidity was 65-70% and the temp was in the high 60's, which made for a sticky-warm run. They had a little over 300 participants. I finished 1st in my age group, but wasn't pleased with my time. I ran the race in 22:17, which is 18 seconds above my best time on the Hayes Hustle back in April. My body doesn't perform as well in the warmer temperatures. My split times were 7:10 and 14:20 at mile 1 and 2 and I ended up with a 7:10 minute average for the 3.107 mile race. There were 9 entries in my age bracket.
Recording times for participants finishing race.I would be running/biking the Du State Du the next day and after the exertion on Saturday, would see how that effected my race times on Sunday.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Training For 5K's
After returning from RAGBRAI, I have been doing less and less bike riding and more and more running. I have three races coming up in about two weeks.
I installed the aero-bars on my bike and have been doing short-very intense rides in the low-aero-dynamic position. Most of these rides are 10 miles or less. Then on the same day I have been doing a 3 mile run at a 8-minute per mile pace. I am going to try and keep this training up for the 7 to 10 days before I start to slow down and taper for the races.
I installed the aero-bars on my bike and have been doing short-very intense rides in the low-aero-dynamic position. Most of these rides are 10 miles or less. Then on the same day I have been doing a 3 mile run at a 8-minute per mile pace. I am going to try and keep this training up for the 7 to 10 days before I start to slow down and taper for the races.
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