The Hat-trick

Having recently moved to Charleston, SC, finally recovering from plantar fasciitis in both feet, and revising a number of training plans for various racing goals, my 2011 racing season has begun. With little room to ride a bike between the traffic and the gutter in the low country, I’ve decided to forgo triathlons for the time being and concentrate on running. And being married to an accomplished ultra-runner helps a lot too… So for 2011 I’ve targeted a few races, the first of which was the Gate River Run 15k in Jacksonville, FL. Both Jordan and I had done this race twice before, running fairly competitive times when you consider the 15,000 starters. I’d placed in the top 10% the two previous times I’d raced (for which finishers are awarded a special hat), so my goal was to score a ‘hat-trick,’ placing top 10% for the third time in a row.

Having focused on more mileage with less intensity since rehabbing my feet, I had no idea what sort of performance I could put together. The distance wasn’t a worry, but I hadn’t run fast for this distance in over a year. Also, our recent move to the low-country has limited our hill training opportunities (though running the Ravenel Bridge is one of my favorite things about Charleston), so the Hart Bridge (locally known as ‘the Green Monster’) at mile 8 made me especially nervous.

The weather on race day was perfect: though we had to scrape ice off our windshield, the temperature and humidity were low enough to allow a fast race. My finishing time from last year allowed me to be seeded in the front most corral, right behind the pros, but my anxiety over starting out too hard pushed me to the back of the section. If my racing history was any indication, I would start out too hard, suffer in the middle, then finally calm down and gain some control over my pace for the last few miles.

After the ‘cannon’ (plagued with technical difficulties, the race director just said ‘go’), I tried to run smooth, keep control of my breathing, and not worry about the people passing me or pulling away. My split at mile 1 was 6:45, a full minute faster than I’d planned. I made a conscious decision to relax and slow down, and mile 2 was a 6:47. Not enough. Mile 3 was a 7:10; better, but my stomach was acting up and I’m sure the sounds I was making led fellow runners to believe I was about to lose my breakfast. In miles 4 to 7, I found a comfortable and consistent pace, clocking miles between 7:10 and 7:15. After that, the ‘Green Monster’ started to loom bigger, both in my mind and in the distance. My form was falling apart, and I planned to take a short walking break through the last aid station at the base of the bridge (an ultra-running trick I learned from Jordan), then again half-way up the incline. These brief pauses helped both mentally and physically, and I crossed the finish line less than minute slower than my two previous times, which was still fast enough for the prized ‘top 10% percent’ hat.

Now it remains to be seen how quickly I can recover from this effort; Jordan and I are planning to run a 50k together in late June, and if all goes well and I stay un-injured, my next goal is to better my marathon time this winter. We’ll see…

And now for something completely different

Yesterday Nathan and I each ran our third Gate River Run 15k. I grew up in awe of my parents as they trained for and ran this race when I was little, so it's always been a special one for me. For this reason, I was willing to make an exception to the typical type of race I run (~200 people on a trail). The River Run had about 15,000 finishers and is the national championship 15k--so it is by definition a big road race.

My training for this race was pretty minimal: I knew the mileage would be no issue and beyond that I just threw in a couple speed and hill workouts in the 2-3 weeks leading up to the race. I also competed in MUSC's Class of the Classes last weekend-representing the first year college of medicine by finishing towards the back of the pack in the 1 mile and 5k races. Beyond that, I was just going to wing it.

The morning of the race we woke up to ice on our windshield--on spring break in Florida! We arrived early and sat in the car shivering for awhile before jogging a mile or so. At the start, it was suddenly hot (okay, 50) but with all those people packed in the corrals I ended up tying my jacket around my waist before we even started moving. We had seeded positions based on our past times, but somehow there were still way too many people ahead of me and it took over a minute for me to cross the starting line.

Last year I went out too fast in this race and then slowed down at the end and I wanted to avoid that this year. I needn't have worried because I didn't have a choice of my own pace: I was constantly stuck behind people going far too slowly for their starting positions. As I weaved around folks, my first mile was 8:45 (10:03 including crossing the starting line). I was halfway through the race before I was able to set my own pace. I started working on chipping away at my overall pace, trying to get it down to sub 8 min overall. Since I was carrying my own water bottle, I didn't have to stop at the water stops except to slow down for the folks who were stopping in front of me. I also was able to keep well hydrated without making myself nauseous from gulping down water at the aid stations. I even ate 3 shot blocks during the race and I think this helped. I don't think I know how to race without them anymore!

For the next few miles I was so focused on keeping up my negative splits that I had forgotten about the big bridge at the end of the race until I got to mile seven. I started running up it and hit mile 8 about halfway through--this was my first mile mark reaching the sub 8 min mark for overall pace. It's not a very long hill (maybe half a mile? definitely shorter than the one in Charleston but also steeper) but it really hurt given the place it has in the race. Luckily they were blasting Marine Corps chants from the top to give us the extra boost we needed. After the top, it was a downhill of just under a mile and then .3 miles of flat to the finish. I felt like a had plenty of energy left so I passed a bunch of people in this last stretch. It was great to be able to finish a race still feeling so good.

My final chip time was 1:14:05 (just 2 seconds faster than last year) and I was 28th out of 757 in my age group. I also got a hat for being top 10% of female finishers (it was black this time). I was happy with these results but also frustrated because I still felt like I had a lot of energy left at the end and my legs haven't been sore at all since the race. My pace was probably better suited to a half-marathon. Apparently they are considering having a wave start next year which should help.

In spite of these frustrations, it was still a really fun race. The bands along the course were awesome and I got to have the experience of racing without ever really feeling bad. Nathan and I both enjoyed ourselves in Jacksonville (and got to see Aunt debi and Mimi) and are now relaxing in Clearwater with Grannie and Poppop. Nathan's race report will be up very soon!

--Jordan