102nd Thanksgiving Day Race

Time: 58:25
Distance: 14.74k

W/u: 19:43 for 3.73k
Race: 32:06 for 9th place in the results, but 8th place in reality.
C/d: 6:36 for 1.01k

Meagan and I were picked up by my uncle Dave at 7 AM this morning and we drove to downtown Cincinnati to register for the 102 Annual Thanksgiving Day Race. I'm pretty sure that it's the oldest turkey trot in America, but perhaps I'm mistaken. One hundred and two years, think about that. Wicked old.

We got registered without a hitch by forking out $40 a piece that didn't get us a t-shirt, hat, or gloves. Steep! We then headed back to the car to get ready for our warm up. Dave headed off to a friend's work building to stay warm and take advantage of the cozy gym bathrooms instead of the foul shit receptacles in the Paul Brown Stadium's parking lot. We headed out on the streets and shuffled around for just under 20 minutes. I tried giving her the best sense of the course as possible, but, frankly, didn't remember much from previous years other than it sucks running through Kentucky.

With about 10 minutes to go, we headed up to the start line for some last minute strides and preparation. The field look pretty strong this year and I mentioned I would be happy with a top 10 finish. There were a ton of fast looking dudes mingling about with their racing costumes and flats. Meanwhile, like a dummy, I forgot a singlet and was left with three options: shirtless, a Craft t-shirt or the race t-shirt. Option 3 was out since they didn't hand out race shirts and option 1 just isn't my style. Where are you going to put the race bib? I can't remember the last time I actually raced in a t-shirt and don't want to make a habit of it. Oh well for this time.

I felt pretty comfortable on the starting line and made the mental note to just run within myself as the training hasn't been geared to anything specifically in recent months. The countdown had us off the line with a swarm of guys sprinting to the lead while I held back hoping to run the tangents as much as possible. With a field of about 15,000 the streets had to be wide for a race like this.

Splits:
3:13.3, 3:05.7, 3:02.5, 3:10.8, 3:10.7, 3:15.4, 3:19.6, 3:31.7, 2:56.8, 3:05.4, 17.18 for 32.09 and 10.11k according to the Garmin.

The first mile was hit in around 5:05 and I was probably in 20-25th place feeling really strong. I was continually picking people off who had gone out to fast and was making up ground on guys up front. I knew at a certain point this would end and I would find myself in the right group which occurred just before the first bridge. I had moved up to about 12 place and started the bridge with a small group of guys that soon fell off as I looked to catch a group of 3-4 up ahead. Just as we were cresting the hill/bridge I was able to latch on and relax for the downhill portion into Kentucky. There was another group of 3 running about 60 up ahead that kept the pace honest.

I would push the pace for about 2-3 minutes trying to close the gap, back off and let someone else in the group lead for a couple of minutes while I recovered before hitting the front of the group again. This pattern repeated from 4k to 7k where I urged us to catch the guys in that next group. We were working together really well and seemed to be catching them, but could never bring the gap to within less than 30-40 meters.

As we approached the second bridge to head back to Ohio I started to realize that this was going to be a battle for places 8-10. My top 10 goal was within reach, but I could end up 8th which sounds so much nicer. We hit the bridge and I immediately fell off by a few strides. I had little power going up the hill and couldn't match the pace being set. I relaxed and maintained a solid effort hoping they wouldn't increase the tempo too much so I could catch back up on the downhill into Ohio. That's exactly what happened running near the 8k mark as I was able to close the gap and then draft to regain my strength.

Coming off the bridge is a long straight with the wind at our backs and I maintained my position just behind a tall kid from Spalding University (later found out to be Abram Deng who is the USCAA National Cross Country Champ) and another guy racing for some local team. When we the turn I glanced over my shoulder and say a guy dressed in all black about 60 meters back and figured he would be a non factor the final mile. The three of us ran together as the crowd started to get thicker. I was feeling more and more recovered from the bridge and recognized this was going to be a sprint finish.

There are two 90 degree turns the final 600 meters, one right after another and this is when we all realized the group grew to four. Somehow the dude in black had closed the gap despite our efforts at keeping the pace honest. I now could end up 11th if it all went wrong. The pace started to accelerate farther from the finish line than I would have liked, but I was latched on to the back of the back just getting hoovered along. We came to the final cross road about 150m from the finish, I pulled wide and shot to the front. I went for the tape and raced it in to take 8th place even though the results have me listed as 9th. Here are the pictures to prove it. The guy in yellow is Tim Kaiser and the guy with blue half tights if Abram Deng.

After the race I had a brief chat with Tim about our little pack and the race for top 10. I realized that Meagan would be finishing soon and got near the tape around the 34:30 mark. I only had to wait about a minute and got to witness a great finish as she placed 2nd just behind the winner. You can read her recap here.

I'm pleased with the effort as I "won" the race within the race for top 10. It was fun and told me that I'm a 32 minute 10k guy at the moment. I've run this course twice before and was in much better shape at the time finishing with slightly faster times. In 2007 I finished second in 31:38 and 2006 I finished fifth in 31:38 under the name "Ruben Tucker."

I gotta give props to the winner, Eric Finan, of the University of Cincinnati who ran just over 30 minutes after placing 25th at NCAA XC Champs on Monday. Great run! I also have to thank my moms and family for braving the cold weather to come watch the race. It has been many years since they've seen me toe the line and I definitely didn't want to run like crap with some eyes watching the finishing clock.

RaceFest Recap

Time: 69:48
Distance: ~11.7 miles
Race: 33:59 for 1st

W/u: 21:46 for ~2.5 miles
C/d: 24:03 for ~3 miles

Meagan has a nice recap of the morning activities before heading to the South Park Mall for the race. We found a choice parking spot in the Rotunda lot and were half worried about being towed but figured getting the tow truck through the crowds would be a huge effort. I dared the facility to take my ride.

About 4 minutes into starting our warm up we spotted John Compton who was doing the same. We put in just under 20 minutes together prior to the race. I kept an eye out for other guys who would be near the front of the race, it's something that all road whores do.

I came to the starting line about 10 minutes prior to the gun going off and joked around with one of the race timers. Dr. Duffy and Dr. Greenapple were on hand taking pictures of the starting line. I gave Greenapple my toothpaste colored waterproof Gore jacket to cover up his Craft jacket (take that Meagan)! The field was split by a median with the half-marathoners on the right and 10kers on the left. Aaron Linz lined up to my left, another decent looking kid stood to his left, Meagan, Alice and Rebecca stood behind me. I had felt pretty sluggish on the warm up but seeing all the runners and spectators near the start brought some life back into my legs.

When the gun went off I settled in behind Aaron, John and a mix of 10kers and half-marathoners. I wasn't look to force the pace and knew the guy who had a 20 meter lead wasn't running the 10k. I felt relaxed on the fast downhill opening mile and wondered what the first split would be. The clock read 5:06 but my watch was 5 seconds back. That's the fastest mile I've run in weeks and would be of the day. During the second mile I found myself in the front of the chase pack that included John, Aaron, and the half-marathoner who would go on to place second. I didn't want to be near the front so I quickly dropped back and let the others do the work. Aaron started to fall off around the 10 minute mark which had me glancing over my shoulder several times.

Miles two and three are mostly uphill and the splits showed it. I was content to lead the 10k and watch John bridge the gap up to the leader who he quickly overtook. During the third mile I made a solid push to try and catch John before the split but could only get to within a couple seconds. At every turn I would I look over my should to see who was chasing. Dean Otto was at the 3.5 mile mark cheering for the runners with a big cup of coffee in hand. At some point around the 20 minute mark it started raining again but I was unconcerned. I went through 4 miles running over 5:30s and feeling comfortable. Aaron yelled that he was coming for me just beyond 4 miles but by that point I had about a 20 second lead. It was going to be difficult for him to make up that deficit in 2 miles the last of which is mostly uphill.

I felt strong the final two miles but knew I wasn't running a particularly fast time. My goal was just to make it to the finish line to collect some dough. I missed the 6 mile mark as it was on the other side of the road.

Splits:
5:11, 5:34, 5:36, 5:32, 5:21, 6:44 (1.2 miles) for 33:59 total.

After the race I cooled down with Meagan and Brian Pratt who finished third overall. Meagan and I swept the 10k each winning a cool New Balance jacket that we can't wear and some cash. During the cool down we looped back in time to see John take the half-marathon title. Scott Dvorak put on a great race and handled the weather challenges well. I'm content with the effort but know that I have a lot of work to do before my next big race at the Capital City Classic 10k otherwise I'll get my doors blown off. I'll need to run at least 2 minutes faster in order to finish with my head held high. The real work begins next week.

Hit the Brixx Recap

Time: 97:19
Distance: 16:16
10k Place: 1st, 32:55
5k Place: 1st, 15:51

W/u: 26:12 for 3.82 miles
Race: 10k
C/d: 22:21 for 3.04
Race: 5k

I had little interest in pushing the pace this morning and testing my fitness. Instead I wanted to see where my overall endurance and stomach strength was at with some thoughts of running a fall marathon (more on that maybe later). Last week I was texting with my good buddy Pat Tarpy who ran a 12 mile warm up, 10k race and 2 mile cool down. He said it was a good workout and the beer garden forced him to take a few extra minutes in the parking lot so he could make it home safely. I wanted to mimic his effort a bit in all regards, but didn't show up to the race early enough. Cory and I parked at Caitlin's house thinking it was closer than the half mile walk to the start line. When I had all my stuff, I only had enough time to put in just over 25 minutes. I did, however, run a bit harder on the warm up than I normally do.

I changed shoes and headed over to the start line, ignoring the need to do strides or stretch. I wanted to run in a group setting today and see how I felt with bodies around. Paul, Jay, BMac, Chris and some dude (Brett) and I all ran together through the first mile in about 5:15. The opening mile is mostly downhill so it felt like we were crawling. I loved it. I wanted to keep the group together but someone (ahem, ahem, Chris) pushed the pace. Pay no mind that he wasn't registered or really racing. Brett, Chris and I ran through the second mile and were working together nicely.

Around 11 minutes Chris backed off and it was up to Brett and I to shadowbox the rest of the race. I had him do some of the work up front, but there weren't any big challenges be thrown in. I didn't feel great just after the 5k mark and started having doubts about myself and just a few minutes later I could tell Brett was tiring. I think he was just off the pace at 4 miles and then I started going to work. I tried to stretch the lead over the next 5 minutes of running, putting in little surges to get away on the downhills. I wanted to build up a lead so I wouldn't have to race the final hill back to the finish.

I was pleased with my mile from 5 to 6 that clocked 5:18. I expected to see something closer to 5:25 so to run that pace as comfortable as I was means something. I brought the 10k title home in a few tics under 33 minutes despite the clocking reading 33+.

10k Splits:
5:15, 5:20 (10:35), 5:14 (15:50), 5:21 (21:11), 5:14 (26:26), 5:18 (31:44), 1:11 for 32:55 total.

After the race I grabbed my water and ran three miles through Uptown. There was some other event going on that looked very similar to a race but clearly wasn't. The music was pumping, people were dancing while wearing brightly colored shirts that certainly supported some cause. I never did find out what it was before I looped back despite trying. I probably should have asked someone.

I took a CarbBOOM! about 20 minutes out from the 5k and rested for a couple of minutes. My goal in the 5k was to run with the leaders for as long as possible and see what happens.

The race was taken out really hard by some high school kid through the opening 800m. He raced down the hill like it were a mile race. Brad Orr who ran at Winthrop was in pursuit with me a few strides back. We split the mile much faster than I was expecting to need to run. I kept chasing Brad about 10 meters behind and just wanted to keep contact. Around 8 minutes into the race, I was right off his shoulder and a minute later I was pulling away. Like in the 10k, I pressed the effort before the hill so I wouldn't have to race up it stride for stride with someone else.

I crested the top, took a peak behind and saw the win was mine. I brought things home strong for a time under 16 minutes.

Splits:
4:53, 5:11 (10:05), 5:15 (15:20), :32 for 15:52 total.

I didn't cool down after the 5k and instead accepted my 10k award which was a gift certificate and mini beer pitcher (oxymoron?). I had the "beer maid" fill me up with the Blonde stuff and my party was started early.

So what does this mean for later in the fall? For starters, 33 minutes for 10k extrapolated out over the marathon distance is about 2:19. Could I run 33 minute, 16:30, 5:18 pace for 26.2 miles. Probably not. Definitely not. At least right now. However, I will say that I felt relaxed running that effort in the 10k and almost felt even better running harder in the 5k. I know utilizing fuel over the marathon distance is an integral part of racing well and I think my body is able to burn calories efficiently. Despite not being in a marathon specific training phase, I think with 6 weeks of more specific training and race, I would be able to run a time I could be proud of.

Now the question is why? Why run a marathon that I haven't trained for specifically and where. I'll answer why with the fact that I'm healthy and have put together several months of solid training. I've put in two big marathon cycles before and got injured both times forcing me to reschedule the race. Where is another good question. I don't know if OBX is too early, I'm not sure about traveling to Philly after The Running Event and Karhu North America sales meeting and I don't think there is much of an incentive to run the Thunder Road Marathon again. However, the pros of each are: money at OBX, friends at Philly, and staying local for Thunder Road.