Irish Eyes are Smiling

Date: 03/11/2012
Route:  Corktown 5K
Distance: 3.1 miles
Pace: 9:14/mile
Total Time: 28:44
Temp: 62 and sunny



The first race of 2012 is in the books! The sun was shining, the temp was in the low 60's and me and about 8000 of my closest friends decided to amble up Michigan Avenue in Detroit. I had an internal goal of at least tying my best time from last year, 28:46 at the Jamesers 5k in October. I thought there might be an outside chance I could hit my year goal in the first 5k of the season, which is to run one in under a 9 minute per mile pace.

I started off strong, rocking to "Don't Let Me be Misunderstood" by Santa Esmerelda. This song was such a great motivator, I would listen to only it for the full 5k. With the warm weather (I actually had to wear sunscreen!), my legs were quickly warmed up and the first mile flew by in 8:48.This was right about where I wanted to be, maybe even a little slower. The problem was that with so many people starting, it was very hard to get in a set rhythm early. As the pack thinned a little bit I was able to catch my stride.

The first half of mile 2 went by very quickly. Once you cross into Downtown, it seems it is only a minute and you are turning around at Campus Martius. The trip back was not so kind. I felt strong all the way through the end of mile 2, but by mid mile 3 I was fading. The great part about this race is that you are running along a parade route, so there are literally thousands of people cheering you on. This was a great motivator, and one thing that seperates this race from many. No lonely finishes here.

As I came into the slight turn toward the finish shoot, I was able to kick it in pretty well, and I am glad I did, becasue I beat my PR by two seconds. The atmosphere at this race is top notch. While running I saw at least 3 runners stop to shotgun beers given to them by the crowd. While I do not in any way condone drinking while running, it does give you an idea of the atmosphere of the race. It feels like a giant party where a run broke out.

Another crazy note, someone who I ran HS cross country with was also in the race and finished 12 seconds ahead of me, out of 8K runners. I tried to find him before the race, but it was pretty much impossible. Hopefully we can do some runs together in the future.

No rest for the weary though, my first half of the season is in two weeks! I am excited to run the Rock CF Half on Grosse Isle for the first time, it has gooten rave reviews from some of my runner friends. That means that this weekend is the dreaded long run of 12+ miles. Hopefully this weather holds out.

Bugjuice, Bad Movies and a 5K

Date: 12/31/2011
Route:  Belle Isle New Years Eve 5K
Distance: 3.1 miles
Pace: 9:28/mile
Total Time: 29:22
Temp: In the low 40's

I was carpooling to this race with three "gentlemen," who all loosely belong to a Facebook running group I am a member of. In true JD style, they are all faster then me. So getting to the race involved driving to Canton, then Dearborn, then Detroit. Always interesting conversation with a crew like this. Some running chatter mixed in with movie trivia (seriously, movies I had never heard of, these guys are practically ancient) ;). It is always nice to have company at a race, even if it is someone to identify your body afterwards.

The atmosphere was festive, quite a good crowd there. We were dismayed that with so many people running, there were only 4 porta johns. I firmly believe that race directors use some sort of arcane math formula to get the number of porta johns to have on race day.

Here is an example for this race:
(X + Y + Z / 200,000) x .0001 = P

where:
Entrants = X
Expected Spectators = Y
Workers and Volunteers = Z
# of porta johns to have on hand = P

I think they use this formula and then add 1 just to "be safe". Craziness

I had almost no expectations going into this race. The weather was toasty for December, great running weather. I have a goal of running a sub 9 minute mile pace for a 5k this year, but I figure that will come later once I am in hard core training mode for all the half's I am going to run this year. My last 5K, was the Jamesers 5k, which I magically won my age division at a blistering 9:18/mile pace. I was hoping to get under 9:30/mile, but would have been fine with anything under 10.

I also was going to use my new Garmin Forerunner 405, that had arrived 29 hours before race start time. So part of my goal in the race was to check out the results and see if they were helpful. Full review of the 405, including performance at this race soon.

So we take off and I am pressing the pace a little, picking it up in the last quarter mile of the first mile. I crossed the first mile at 8:53, right about where I wanted to be. This was also nice because we had a chance to pass by the Scott Fountain, which is pretty impressive. Unfortunately the scenery went downhill quickly. Mostly in mile 2, we got to see some of the old abandoned structures on the island. It is very sad, because it is clear that Belle Isle was once very beautiful. Don't get me wrong, it is not like there was trash everywhere, and drug dealers hanging out, it was just...shabby. You could tell that maintenance was not getting done. Everything looked like it could use a coat of paint.

At the 2 mile mark we were right by the conservatory, which did look very nice. I felt myself slowing down, there was just not much in the tank to push the pace that third mile. I was very happy with my pace up to that point. As we ran by the Dossin Great Lakes Museum (wow could this place use a new building), I was in that situation where some people were starting to pass me, and I hate that. In the Detroit Half, it was great starting slow and then passing people for 10 miles, great motivation. So I tried to pick up the pace but no avail, the body was unwilling.

I cruised across the finish line, and checked the Garmin, which said I had ran 3.18 miles, so it gave me a pace of 9:14 a mile, but taking that time for 3.1 miles it gave me 9:28 a mile. I guess I have no reason to be mad, but it frustrated me that I could not pick up the speed in that third mile. So that is my goal going forward in 5k's, to push myself in the 3rd mile. I know I said I would give a full Garmin review later, but if you want to check out the page for this race, click here (I do LOVE the map feature)

So end result was right about where I had expected to be. I think getting in the 8's is going to be harder then I thought. After the race, there was the requisite bananas and  bagels, but there was also something called Bugjuice Naturals, which is a mixture of fruit juice, vegetable juice and milk....and man is it tasty. If some marketing guy from that company wants to send me a case, I will sing their praises for a while :). Apparently it is something new because it is not even available on their website yet. Back to the training grind, the next race is a half in March!

6 Miles, Drizzle, and a Man Crazier Then I

Date: 12/04/11
Route:  Hines Park 6 Miler
Distance: 6 Miles
Pace: 10:31/Mile
Running Temp: 46
Song I could not get out of my head: "Lose Yourself" by Selected of God Choir (orig. Eminem)


I somehow drag myself, and I mean drag myself away from my nice warm cozy bed (napping was calling to me again), and convince my body to go out for 6 miles. For December, it was a relatively balmy 46 degrees outside. The only problem was that it was drizzling out. Not a steady rain, but enough that if I were going to be outside for an hour I WAS going to get wet. I had on long sleeves and a pair of those flimsy throw away gloves, but other then that just normal running gear. I thought I was being hardcore....46 and rainy, that makes me some kind of ancient warrior or something...right?

So as I am cruising along in Hines Park, being my warrior self by deftly dodging around the puddles, and starting to get the drip drip of freezing water running off my hair onto my neck, I hear a noise. I turn over my shoulder, to see someone running, and I mean really running, not my nice jogging pace. He is quickly gaining on me, and I kid you not, he has on those tiny running shorts and a tank top. This guy looks like he just finished a Tough Mudder, and decided a nice 10 miler would be a good cool down. He had mud caked up his legs as he flew past me. Mumbling a "hi" as he deftly went around me and THROUGH a giant puddle. He was smiling the entire time.

It made me happy to see someone out enjoying the warmth, it is really not often that you get 46 degrees in December here in the Mitten. By the end of the run, I was very wet, and also was smiling. I am looking forward to running outside this winter, it should be a challenge, but rewarding in its own right. I can't wait to run in a snowstorm!

Check out the video above, it is a really sweet remake of an iconic Detroit song.

--JD