Pictures from my Lakefront Run during Bike the Drive

I did my long run today and little did I know it, but it was also the morning for Bike the Drive. It was nice to run along Lake Shore Drive and not hear the roar of engines and smell car exhaust. It was also a picture perfect day for a run. I bumped into Lauren who was running the other direction, so I turned around, and we were able to run and chat for about a quarter mile. The Lakefront Trail was mostly bike-free since pretty much anyone on a bike was riding on LSD.

Me and the Bikers

Cruisin' along Belmont Harbor

"Empty" Trail

Lakefront Dandelion Field

Wavin' at my Camera

Got to run with Lauren for a little while

Biker taking a break

Dandelion and Skyline

View from North Ave. bridge

Another View from the Bridge

I ended up running/walking/picture taking for 15 miles in just over two hours (for 8:06/mile). It would be nice if "Bike the Drive" was every weekend. Hopefully these mild morning temps stay around for awhile (like through August)! :)

My Summer Race Schedule

Good news! I am still running. However, I am going to physical therapy tomorrow to work on my ankle/PF issues. My main goal from PT is to learn some strengthening exercises for my plantar fasciitis. If I happen to get some relief from the sessions as well that would be a bonus.

My Wurst Track Club workout last week (number of attendees: 1)

In years past, around this time of the year, I would get a nice break to heal from my injuries because I would stop racing from mid-June until late August mostly due to not wanting to run in the high temps. However, there are now more and more fun summer races, so it is harder to sit on the chaise lounge sipping a Mai Tai waiting for fall race season to start. If I do run summer races, I want to keep my focus on getting in PR shape for the Chicago Marathon in October, so I don't want to overdo it with too much summer speed, however I figure as long as I try and play it smart and not kill myself (i.e. get put in injury jail) during June and July, maybe I can have some fun and fast shorter races. So, I came up with a list of races that I am either registered for or strongly considering running:

My (potential) summer race schedule:

1. Roselle Run for the Roses 5k 6/1/14 (May run) I would run this one mainly to try and score some CARA points for my running team - Bootleg Runners Coalition. However, since it's only a 5k, it will be a popular race and lots of speedy runners will be there, so I may not place too high. The trek all the way out to the burbs for 19.5 minutes of running might not be worth the effort for a single point or two.
2. 13.1 Half Marathon 6/7/14 (Registered) also a CARA race. I ran this last year after winning a free entry, and as luck would have it, I won another entry this year! I initially had some lofty goals of besting my 2014 Indy Mini Marathon time of 1:29, but since I have not had much mileage lately, I may use it as a fast training run and just be happy with a 1:30 to 1:35 instead.
3. Run for the Stars 5k 6/14/14 (May run) I may trek out to the 'burbs to run this 5k with my dad. I would not taper for this one = purely be for fun.
4. Dennis Krzykowski Memorial 5K Run 7/4/14 (May run) I've run this four years in a row and am looking forward to the fifth installment. It's in Wisconsin and there are plenty of brats grilling and there is a raffle afterwards for cases of Wisconsin beer. Another draw to this race is that there is a massive uphill over the last half mile. Completely a lung buster, but it's unlike any 5k I've run in Illinois.
5. Rock and Roll Half Marathon Chicago 7/20/14 (Registered) Despite being held in the late July heat, this is my favorite half marathon, since the course winds its way through downtown Chicago. I had an absolute blast last year running with Xaarlin and Sara.

After that, I am going to keep August open to focus all of my attention on Chicago Marathon training. My goal for August will be to try to pound out as many PR marathon pace miles as possible. I may throw in the Chicago Half Marathon in September as a tune-up race. 

Anyone else have any fun races planned for the summer?

Indianapolis 500 Festival Mini Marathon 2014 Race Recap

I believe this was my sixth running of the Indy Mini Marathon. It is the largest half marathon in the country and it's the home of my half PR set way back in 2010. There was a time when I would train all winter almost solely for this half marathon. I would do bunches of 15 mile long runs and once a week run half marathon specific track workouts that built my speed for 13.1. But since then I've discovered full marathons, and shifted my winter training to marathon workouts and thus my half times have suffered. This year, however, I did not plan a spring marathon since I was dealing with an injury December through February. Once I was better, I targeted my training specifically for this race over the last eight weeks.

Goal(s):

So, what would be my race goal? Well, based on my Ravenswood Run 5k finishing time from last week, the McMillan calculator put my fitness at just above a 1 hour 30 minutes for a half marathon. So:

 "A" goal was go sub-1:30.

 "B" goal would be to go sub 1:33 (especially if the conditions on race day weren't favorable)

I knew that in Minis past, I would run about 13.30 miles for the race, so I would need to get close to a 6:45 average mile pace to go sub-1:30. I wanted to start conservatively, since I saw that we would have a slight headwind for the first third of the race and a tailwind for the last third. So I targeted a 7:20, 7:10 start with a progressive drop in pace to around 6:30/mile over the last few miles. The main thing was to have confidence that I would run some fast finishing miles, so that I could relax and run a few early, slow miles.

Pre-Race:

Indianapolis is less than a three hour drive from Chicago, but it is in the Eastern time zone, which is an hour ahead of Chicago time. So, waking up at the hotel at 4:45 ET am to get ready for the race meant that my body thought it was 3:45 am. I downed a cup of coffee, along with a peanut butter bagel and a banana. I packed my race bag and drove from the hotel to the race. I found a $10 spot about four blocks from the start line. I used the ample facilities, and checked my bag. Recently, the race instituted wave starts (15 minute apart). In races past, when everyone started at the same time, thousands and thousands of runners would mill about pre-race in the park adjacent to the corrals. However, this year it seemed only like a few hundred were milling around. This is probably due to the fact that some of the later start waves did not start for another hour and those runners had not even arrived yet.

Pre-race hanging out. Where is everyone?

I made my way to corral "B" which closed at 7:30 am. Then we had to wait about 18 minutes for the race to start. During those 18 minutes, I realized the conditions were near perfect, that I felt fantastic, and that I would almost without a doubt be able to hit my "A" goal. The one caveat would be to start conservatively. If I did that I told myself my race goal would be mine for the taking. The National Anthem was sung, the wheelchairs started, and we were off to the roar of the engines (over the loudspeakers)!

Time to play: "WHERE'S PETE B?"

Picture of me crossing the line at the start of the race.
(Hint: See guy with white hat at the tip of the red arrow).

The Race:

Miles 1 through 3:  I headed across the start line at 7:48:26 am (see pic above). Then headed by the Indianapolis Zoo and people in animal costumes waved. I believe there was an actual elephant that they brought near a fence to watch the race too. I looked at my watch and noticed I was going too fast, so I slowed down. A preacher was proselytizing and several kick-ass bands were jamming along the course. I flashed them the devil horns. I felt fantastic. 7:03/mile

Having fun during mile one!

Miles 4 through 6: These are some laid back miles through industrial areas. The wind was in our faces for most of the time, so per the plan, I did not push it. I kept reminding myself to leave something for the tailwind at the end. We passed a two-steppin' dance troupe! 6:44/mile

Miles 7 through 9: We entered the Indianapolis Motor Speedway by running down a steep ramp. Since it was steeply downhill, I put on a small speed exhibition and whizzed by a dude with headphones on. I think I must have startled him because he shouted something like "hey! hey!". Sorry dude that you couldn't hear my footfalls behind you! Anyway, this is the coolest part of the course - needless to say. The race track is pretty flat on the straightaways, but banked on the turns. Fortunately, if you ran low enough around the inside lane, it was not too bad on the ankles. Some people kissed the "Yard of Bricks" as they made their way toward Turn One. We left the course and headed back to the city and ran by a group of square dancers! 6:41/mile

Making my way around the Indy 500 track

Miles 10 through 12: I started doing mental calculations on what I needed to run for the last few miles to reach a sub-1:30. I figured that I needed something around 7:00/miles for the remainder and I would be okay. I did an endurance check and felt confident (barring a sudden injury or shift of wind direction) that I would easily be able to do sub 7:00s. The wind was a tailwind, so I picked up my pace and focused on pounding out the last few miles with conviction. 6:33/mile

Miles 13 and 13.25 There was a long up-hill over a bridge for the final 1.25 miles, then a nice little downhill to flat ground which starts the mile long sprint to the finish. Over the loudspeakers they played Jim McKay announcing the end of a Indy 500 race from circa 1969: "He's going around the last turn and Andretti will win the 500 mile race!" By the large clock over the finish line, I saw that a sub-1:29 was not within reach, but I knew that I would go sub-1:30. I ran by the grandstands of cheering spectators and my race ended! 6:27/mile

Update:  Just found a video of my finish. I appear at the right of the screen at about 10:16 (I'm wearing a gray shirt and white hat). The "red clock" on the video says 1:29:15 I finish at about 1:29:29:

I stopped my Garmin after I crossed the finish line. A few seconds later, a man handed me a medal and said "This is a special medal for the top 500 finishers, congratulations!". I said thanks and  then looked down at my watch for my finishing time. 

Results:

Official Time: 1:29:13  ("A" Goal accomplished!)

Official Pace: 6:48/mile

Garmin Pace: 6:44/mile

Place Age Group: 12th out of 1,396

Place Overall: 351 out of 28,936

Analysis: Sweet negative split. It felt fantastic to set a goal and then simply nail it. An A+ race day!

Post Race: 

I walked down the finishers' chute and collected my second medal for finishing. I grabbed some snacks, got a photo with my medals and headed back to the hotel.

Post Race with my two medals

Near the finish line

The Future: Post-race, my legs feel like they have rebounded nicely. So after a couple of rest days, I will set my sights on training for the Chicago 13.1 Half Marathon which takes place in early June. I should be able to get in a couple of more high mileage weeks in until then. So if conditions are right, I'd like to shoot for a sub-1:28 half for that race.

2014 Ravenswood Run 5k Race Recap

The Ravenswood Run 5k took place this morning in my breathtakingly quaint neighborhood on the north side of Chicago. Mayor Rahm Emanuel was also on hand to cheer people on as the course winds its way near his house as well. Anyway, when I last posted, I had made a highly technical prediction that I would finish around 19 minutes. I had planned to break the race down into the following splits:

 6:20, 6:10, 6:00, 5:50

However, as the start time got closer and closer, the weather forecast - especially the wind (>25 mph gusts), was casting some doubts that I would be able to run that fast.

Pre-Race:
I woke up at 6 am for a two and a half mile shakeout run. I actually ran from my house to Lawrence and ran the last mile or so of the Ravenswood Run course. As I ran east on Lawrence - straight into the headwind coming unabated straight off of the lake - I knew that my hopes of a super fast kick were not realistic. I would just have to settle for a fast kick.

When I returned home, I had a cup of coffee, a bagel with peanut butter and a banana. My dad was ready to go, so at about 7:40 we ran over to the starting area. As I neared the starting line, I told myself that a decent plan B would be 6:30, 6:20, 6:10, 6:00 considering the conditions.

I had just enough time to do a couple of pickups as the announcer was calling the runners to the start corral. I positioned myself in the second row. The national anthem happened and then we were off!

Me (in orange) at the 2011 Ravenswood Run

The Race:
Mile 1: I started too far up in the corral and was immediately passed by about 50 runners. On the positive side I was way on the left hand side so I don't think I slowed anyone down. I glanced at my Garmin and saw I was running 6:00/pace, and knew that I had to slow down as the wind would be a factor for the last mile. So I dropped back a bit. Suddenly I saw Lynton and his dog who cheered me on. They were allegedly standing near Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel, but unfortunately, I did not see Mr. Mayor. 6:22/mile.

Mile 2: This mile was nice, because the wind was to our backs pretty much the entire time. I fought the urge to push the pace a little faster as I kept reminding myself that the final mile would be a killer as the big tailwind would turn into a mighty headwind.  6:12/mile.

Mile 3: This is the "showcase" mile of the race, because the course winds through the ultra-quaint Lincoln Square shopping area right in front of the Chicago Brauhaus and Gene's Sausage Shop. It is in this area that I spectated last year (see pictures here). Anyway, the tailwind was about to end as we made our way east onto Lawrence Ave. I muttered "here we go" and got a chuckle or two from nearby runners as no one was looking forward to this windy stretch. All I can say is that it is lucky I saved up a little juice for the final 3/4 mile as it was entirely into the wind. We got a little relief as we headed south onto Damen, but once we hit the homestretch on Wilson it was all headwind. 6:08/mile.

Tera Moody at the 2013 race in front of the
 Chicago Brauhaus

Mile 3.15: I spotted two gentlemen ahead of me, and by the looks of their hair (or lack thereof) I decided that they were likely in my age group. So I snuck up behind them and in the final 200 yards "slammed down the hammer" and whizzed by them. In fact it turned out that they were in my AG!  5:16/mile.

Stats:

Official Finish Time: 19:29

Official Pace: 6:17/mile

Garmin Pace: 6:11/mile

Place Overall: 74th out of 3,334

Place Age Group: 4th out of 142

Analysis:
I missed my prediction by 19 seconds and missed placing in my age group by four seconds - oh well, it happens. Anyway, it turns out that saving up enough energy for the last windy mile paid off as it was my fastest mile.  However by not cutting the tangents properly - I ran 3.15 miles - thereby adding at least 15 seconds to my time. The old Ravenswood Run course had just 7 turns and this new course has 11. So, next time, I'll have to be more conscious of the turns. Also, props to my dad who finished 3rd in his age group!

I have a half marathon in 6 days, so to determine my half pace, I plugged a 19:29 5k into the McMillan Calculator. This yields just about a 1:30 half marathon time. So if I run a smart race next weekend, I am hoping to get a second or two under that number!

Post Race:
I grabbed some water and headed over to watch for other bloggers/friends to finish, I waved to Erica who was in the finishing chute. I then spotted Eric, who was running the last 100 yards and I yelled for him to kick it! Then I walked back over the course and bumped into Lynton again. We chatted for a minute or so, then I made my way back further. I spotted my dad and ran with him for a couple of minutes. Then I turned around and went further back and found fellow WRCE members Mo, Anne and Jennifer. I ran and chatted with them for a few minutes. I spotted a co-worker of mine a little further up in the pack and went over to say hi to him.

Wurst Runners (WRCE) post-race. (src: Anne).

I found my dad at the finish and we chatted with fellow WRCE members for a few more minutes. Then we left and ran a mile over to Julius Meinl for some post-race Austrian breakfast.

Austrian coffee at Julius Meinl

Next Up:
The Indy Mini Marathon in six days!

2014 Ravenswood Run 5k Race Time Prediction

I am super excited to be running the Ravenswood Run 5k on Sunday because it's:

1. Held in my neighborhood,
2. The home of my 5k PR 
3. A race I haven't run in three years
4. Held at a time (now) where I am starting to feel fast 

I'm feeling fast because not only do I have a few 40+ mile weeks under my belt, but at the end of those training runs, I have focused on pushing myself to finish fast. This has left me with speedy legs and the gut feeling like I could go sub-19. I decided that I should not leave my race prediction to gut instinct. So I decided, as I have with marathons past, to come up with a handy dandy race time predictor - this time for 5ks!

Race Predictor Methodology: I simply took my average mileage and average training paces in the weeks leading up to two past 5k events and compared them to my current training weeks:

Analysis: My nine week base mileage is lacking (31 miles vs. 41 miles) so I have to worry about my endurance. Speed-wise, I've been speedier the last 3 weeks (7:48 average) than in 2010 or 2012.

Conclusion: My low base mileage does not point to a PR performance - I won't be able to hold three sub-6 miles in a row. However, my speedier training over the last 3 weeks bodes well for at least a decent last half mile kick. I am estimating a 18:50 to 19:10 performance. I should reach this estimate if I do the following:

• Hold back in the first mile 
• Slowly lower the hammer over miles 2 to 2.6
• Slam the hammer down with a vengeance from 2.6 until I cross the line

In any case, I am excited to see what will really happen.

Pics from my April Snow Run

Since I didn't get much opportunity to run in the snow this winter, Mother Nature presented me with a nice gift this morning - a little April snowfall:

Waves near Belmont Harbor

Waves and Sun

Snow and Skyline

Skyline

I could not have been happier except if it had snowed on Sunday - then I could have done my long run in the snow! Anyway, it looks like I will get close to running 50 miles this week and then I'll taper a little over the next two weeks for my two races - Ravenswood 5k followed by the Indy Mini Half. I am hoping to start peaking fitness-wise for early June when I run the 13.1 Marathon (and perhaps one other race). Hoping to continue awhile with this injury-free running...

My Running Status and the Ravenswood Run 5k

After running the Shamrock Shuffle last Sunday, I was pretty sore for the next few days and then I came down with a cold, so my running was limited last week. This unplanned "rest week" seems to have paid dividends because this week, I feel better and I have been able to run more miles with less effort than before.

On my morning run today

So since I am feeling better and optimistic health-wise, I have registered for the 2014 edition of the Ravenswood Run! The Ravenswood Run is in my neighborhood and is the home of my two fastest 5ks which are two seconds apart from each other (18:15 and 18:17). I am hoping to squeeze in enough miles in the next two weeks to allow me to have a minor "breakthrough" at the race. Based on my Shamrock Shuffle 8k time, the McMillan Calculator predicts I can run about a 19:30 5k. However, I am really going to shoot to break 19 minutes. Why? Because it's more fun to squeak under whole minutes than half minutes!

I have the Indy Mini (half) Marathon six days later, so I am going to be careful not to do too much speed training. My main concerns right now are to stay injury-free and to get my lung endurance peaking via more mileage. If I am successful on both fronts, I can look forward to at least more two half marathons this summer. The Ravenswood Run 5k will just have to be a tune-up this year.

Shamrock Shuffle 2014

Since I have been nursing an ankle injury for the better part of the last few months, I was only able to squeeze in four weeks of low-miles training for the Shamrock Shuffle. I got in a 40 mile week two weeks before the race which helped my endurance, but it also help set off some ankle pain  (too much, too soon?), so I took most of last week off from running to try and get healed up for the race. In any case, I still wanted to "race" the Shuffle and try and score some points for my team the Bootleg Runners Coalition. However with so many speedy teammates, I expected that my time would merely serve as a "backup" in case someone could not make it.

Pre Race
My neighbor Tad and I left for the race at about 7:20 and parked at our $14 spot just a quarter mile from the start line. Unfortunately, due to security concerns, they were only allowing runners entrance to Grant Park through a couple of access points. This took us about a mile of run/walking to get to. So, after checking my bag, I only had a few minutes for a real warm-up jog, before I made my way to the A corral to scout out other Bootleggers.

Once in the corral, I spotted fellow Bootleggers Lynton, Annabelle and Ken. After a brief chat and the national anthem - we were off.

The Race:
Mile 1: I was right behind Annabelle and half contemplated trying to run with her, but I thought the better of it as she is in Boston shape and I felt it better to run my own pace. This was a complete flashback to the 2013 Chicago Marathon, where I also ran behind Annabelle for a mile or so, later in the race. 6:35/Mile

Mile 2: I started feeling really good and started to push the pace a little too much. 6:20/Mile

Mile 3: I knew I was running too fast, so actually using my brain, I slowed down so I would have some energy for the homestretch. Flashbacks to the Hot Chocolate 2013. 6:36/Mile

Mile 4: Started to get winded but I knew I had enough energy to put this one away. 6:20/Mile.

Mile 4.97: One thing I have been doing regularly in training is using the stair climber, so hitting Mt. Roosevelt was slightly less painful than anticipated. However, when I got to the top, a guy running directly in front of me STOPPED! I put my arm out in front of me to deflect off of him and try and avoid a fall. I think he was winded by the climb, but decided to choose the exact spot where I was accelerating to recover. I had to swing to the outside to get clear of him costing me a couple of precious seconds.

Climbing Mt. Roosevelt

About to make the turn...

Way on the outside after almost falling

Anyway, with only daylight ahead of me, I sprinted down the hill towards the finish line where I heard Annabelle's name being called as a finisher. I also heard my name called as a member of the Bootleggers! Very cool. 6:19/Mile.

My Official Results

Analysis: It turns out this was my 2nd fastest 8k ever. I think I did quite well, considering my short training cycle. I also ran a somewhat sweet negative split. My next race is the Indy Mini (Half Marathon). I'm hoping that if I can run 6:30/mile for 5 miles, I should be able to run 7:00/mile for 13.1. In order to do this, I need to concentrate on endurance runs and very little on speed. Hopefully, this type of training should help my ankle stay relatively healthy. Also the BRC got 2nd place and my time counted toward the total score! Although, I was the #4 runner, it feels good to contribute.

BRC will be back for 1st place next year!

Post Race: 

I walked down the finishers chute and met up with Todd, Ken and Annabelle.

Finishers' chute with the BRC

We walked over to the packet pickup, got our stuff and made our way to the Buckingham Fountain post-race party. We bumped into Mo (who had run a marathon the day before! Wow!). The group got setup by the fountain with Mo providing a mylar blanket to sit on. Then we had some libations with Eric and Jennifer. My neighbor Tad showed up and had a beer or two before he needed to split. Then Maggie, Anne and her friend showed up and of course it was time for photos:

Eric, Jennifer and Mo (who ran a marathon the day before!)

Hangin'

Lynton, Anne and her friend

Maggie, Lynton and the Green Guys

The gang (BRC and WRCE)

Then it was off to O'Donovans with some of the group for a gut-buster post-race buffet.

The Future:
I'm looking forward to some more CARA races with the BRC and am cautiously optimistic I can keep injury-free if I don't push myself too hard (fingers crossed).