For the first time in 3 years, I did this race. 2 years ago I had a graduation to go to and last year I was just coming off of an heel injury. Stormy weather had drove me inside this week for 6.4 mile runs on the Riverplex track and that actually had me feeling fresh for this race..much to my surprise.
I picked up Tracy, got there and warmed up for a couple of miles..and got to talk to some runners.
Facts: 27:12 (8:31. 8:30, 9:16 (uphill), 0:54 for 27:12 (fastest since July 2016); I wilted on the final uphill sections and got passed several times..and yes, Pat O got me there too.
I really didn’t feel that bad at the start and tried to keep something resembling a run; I tried to keep the wheels turning. The out and back portion saw me see several friends. But on that last uphill; I did have the “umpf” to give a bit more. I really think I could have gotten those final 13-15 seconds with a better effort.
The race does feature a good spread afterward. One thing though: they start with a ceremony (it is to honor police officers killed in the line of duty) and while it is a touching, moving ceremony, it does mean that you start at about 8:15 instead of the billed 8 am, so plan your warm up accordingly. And this remains one of my favorite races, both for the race and the cause.
Past Run to Remember results (final mile IS uphill, but I need to get tougher than this)
2019: 27:17 8:31, 8:30, 9:16 (26:18) 0:54 place: 67/273, 49/143 men, 3 of 9 AG.
2016 26:04 8:11, 8:30, 8:30 (25:12) 0:52 place 25 of 177, 20 of 102 men 4 0f 8 AG
2015: 26:59 8:10, 8:24, 9:31 (26:05) 0:52 place: 74 of 303, 58 of 172 men, 4 of 8 AG
2014: 24:17 7:37, 7:37, 8:11 (23:26), 0:50 place: 35 of 343, 30 of 187, 7 of 13
2012: 24:34 7:54, 7:45 8:04 (23:44), 0:50 place: 66 of 272
2016
Day: 47, rainy, windy. Tells you what you need to know. Nevertheless, Tracy was a trooper and didn’t back out, so we went and I managed about 2 miles or warm up. My legs: felt surprisingly good.
The race: it was smaller than usual and I was surprised to be as close to the front as I was. Then I remembered that the winning time was a time that I had run in the (distant) past. So I got to see first hand how much I’ve slowed.
Nevertheless, I felt ok upon finishing, given that it was a 5K. I did run reasonably hard and did ok, given the win and the rain. I took the first mile in 8:11 (downhill) and held on to finish in 26:04, which was about 14 seconds slower than what I had hoped for on a good day.
I cooled down by going back for Tracy and walking her in. It was good to do a race with her again.
I had thought about trying to compete with Steve, but he is just way to good for me right now; he was exiting the turn around circle as I was entering. I did chase a couple of younger women and got both; a couple of younger guys got me on the last uphill and a couple of kids sprinted past me at the finish.
Tracy got 3’rd in her age group.
Cassie was a few seconds behind me but won her age group; I sort of wish she had set a 25:45 pace 🙂
I hope that the rain clears off for tonight’s Bradley Baseball game.
2015
The day was picture perfect but I showed up to the race fatigued, though my legs felt ok when I woke up. But something is going on; during the last mile I just jogged and walked; it was as if I had full body fatigue.
Ironically, this was my best race of 2012 and 2014, and so far, my worst of 2015.
During the last mile (somewhat uphill) I basically gave up and walked and jogged. There were some well built guys that I wanted to stay with but couldn’t. No endurance…not this kind anyway.
I think that I am missing the “tempo” workout; those sustained 5-6 mile runs at 9-10 minutes per mile that I have done in the past but quit doing as of late.
Barbara walked 1 mile and Tracy also went with us. Socially, I enjoyed it. It was fun to talk to Debbie, Cassie and Mike.
2014
Weather: cool (50), breezy. Course: out and back with a loop; slightly downhill out (with the wind); uphill and against the wind on the way back (note the splits).
I went with Tracy to this race.
Upon warming up, I felt MUCH better than I did last week; backing off a bit seemed to help. Many of my usual “targets” (runners I race) were at a different race, but I saw Jerry Kolb (very tall) and made it a “stretch goal” to beat him and a “stretch goal” to crack 24. I accomplished neither. Still, finishing 35 out of 343 isn’t that bad, and only 5 women beat me (only 4 if you count “chip times”). And this was my fastest 5K since August 22, 2009 (almost 5 years ago!)
We went out and I made an effort to hold back. You do down some small, rolling hills so I wasn’t surprised to find a faster than usual 1 mile split. I just tried to maintain and keep Jerry in sight (he is very tall). Then came the out and back part on Grandview. There were two older runners just burning it up. I like this stretch because you can see most of the field; I saw Tracy headed out.
At around mile 2 (another 7:37; level mile) I saw Jerry faltering a bit so I really made an effort. But now we were facing the wind and going back up the hill…paying for the help we got going out.
We were then side by side for about 1/4 of a mile; he got ahead, faltered and I caught him, then he got ahead again. A lady was with us as well. And I was feeling it too; I didn’t have the confidence to try to “red line it”; I knew that I’d have a decent time by “maintaining”. Still, I had something left.
That last little hill feels tough and when I got to mile 3, I did NOT sprint when I saw the clock hit 23:59. I lost three places in that last .1 of a mile; that shouldn’t happen.
Afterward, I went back for Tracy and got teased a bit by Cassie (and her cool socks). Oh yes, afterward I noticed Cassie tugging on her spandex shorts. 🙂
Tracy finished in just over 40 minutes.
We then enjoyed the good spread of food; Tracy had pizza where I had 1/2 of a bagel (quality bagel), a couple of small yogurts, a couple of bananas and an apple. Good food.
The cause: funds for families of law enforcement officers who were killed in action. Can’t think of a better cause.
I can recommend this race without reservation: well organized and a lovely course with just a few hills to keep you honest.
Future: this course is good for me (I ran my fastest 2012 race on it) so there is no guarantee I’ll get rid of those 18 seconds. I am going to have to work at it; perhaps add some 800 meter repeats.
2012
The facts: time: 24:34 (7:55 mpm), splits: 7:54, 7:45 (15:39), 8:04 (23:44), 0:50. The finish was slightly net uphill, though the course was out and back. This was my fastest time since September 2009 and an improvement over my times earlier this year and a major improvement over last year’s time. Weather: perfect (62 F). Place: 5 in the Age Group, 66 of 272.
Total run: 2 mile warm up, 1 mile walk to cool down.
The event itself: I had thought about doing the Lake Run (the flagship event of the Bloomington-Normal Lake Runner’s club) and while that race (a 1/4 marathon or a 12 K) IS an excellent event, I chose this one because it was in town and it made it possible to make a 10 am political event in Peoria (I’ll talk about that in another post).
It turns out that The Run to Remember is a nice little race; I am planning on doing this one on a regular basis. It is a fund raiser for a group that supports the families of law enforcement officers who were killed in the line of duty so there is some ceremony (10-15 minutes worth). Hence I was glad that I took a longer warm up than normal (over 2 miles actually) and that I used the bathroom late. But the ceremony was fine and touching.
The course itself is an out and back through some beautiful little neighborhoods; it crosses Prospect on Grandview drive and does one of those park-like loops for an out an back. I’d call the course “gently rolling” with a few micro-hills (20-30 feet?) and it is all on what I call “soft pavement” (tarmac rather than concrete).
My race Though I was a bit alarmed at how heavy legged I felt during the first part of the warm up, I was feeling great toward the end of it (21-22 minutes of easy running). I knew that I’d do fine if I kept the early pace under control.
I lined up at about where I was to finish and we were off. I was a bit surprised that I got passed so much in the first 1/2 mile or so, but I was to see most of these people again. 🙂
I stayed steady and paid attention to effort; I was pleasantly surprised to be under 8 minutes (7:54) at mile 1 but that included some downhill. I gradually started to pick things up a minute or two later and found myself starting to move up. Then I saw the leaders on their way back; that is ALWAYS humbling. 🙂
I kept moving up and, after seeing many people on the way back (some I would see again!) I rounded the little parking traffic circle on Prospect. I got to yell for some ahead of me (e. g. Jim David, Kevin McGuire) and some behind me (e. g. Theresa Shultz, Shelia Hansen) which meant that I wasn’t running too hard. My yelling is, in part, an effort check.
I saw that I was at 12:xx and figured that I might FINALLY break 25 and so picked it up again.
Mile 2: 7:45 and I was rolling; now I started to look for people to race (and there were plenty). I aimed for a well built young man, a tall guy in a yellow shirt and a young woman in cropped spandex shorts; I was to finish ahead of none of them though I caught the lady only to be outkicked by her at the end and I got outkicked by the young man starting at about mile 3. But they kept me from getting too lazy.
The uphill mile slowed me a bit (8:04) and I knew that sub 25 was mine; I didn’t have the mental courage to attempt a sprint in the last .1 miles though. I have to practice that.
Injury update: early on, I felt just a small twinge in my non-operated knee (left) but paying attention to stride length helped that to go away.
Life of an old goat 