(David) Will I run this race again? I don’t know. There were bad and good things about it. Some bad things were: My time was not very good, I did not place in my age group, they had big age groups, they did not have my preregistration, the race is about a 1 ½ hour drive for me, the course was hilly, the start was rushed, and I wasn’t feeling too good. Some of the good points were: I finished 15th overall, my first two miles were decent times, the course was easy to follow, it was downtown St. Louis, there was a lot of volunteers and support people, everyone who finished got a ribbon, it was easy to get to and get out of, I knew people there. By looking at my list it appears this was a bad race. However, overall it was pretty O.K.
My main disappointment was my time. I finished with 22.04. I had wanted to get in the 20’s. I felt alright while running and at the end I felt I didn’t have much left so I don’t know what happened. After the start and everyone fell into their spots I didn’t pass anyone and no one passed me. If I was doing something wrong one would assume I would get passed. Maybe subconsciously I get behind certain people and just pace them. I need to figure out how I did sub six minute miles last year. The guy who finished before me, who was in my age group, beat me by 23 seconds. If I had a sub six minute first mile I could have beat him and placed third. Yea, I got fourth in age 30-39. I don’t like the big age groups and it surprised me that a race in St. Louis would have them. Actually, I can’t really complain about the 30-39 age group, all three finishers in front of me were 38 or 39. I can complain about my preregistration. When I went to pick up my race packet they did not have my name listed. I had entered online and paid through Paypal. I’m glad the lady took my word for it so I didn’t have to pay again. It was too long of a drive not to be entered. That leads me to another negative. The race was about an hour and half drive for me. At this time with gas prices so high I debated if I should have went. I already skipped three races this year because of gas prices. The drive also caused me to wake up earlier, which I never like. The race itself wasn’t too bad. The start was one of those where out of nowhere the announcer says, “ready, go”, and everyone is just kind of confused for a second, then take off. The course itself was: run 1 ½ miles west, go one block north, and then run 1 ½ miles east. Actually I think this may have screwed me up a little. I like to focus on one thing in the distance and run towards it. While running east I focused on the American flag that was held up by two ladder trucks. It felt like the more I ran, the further away it got. I should have focused on something closer. Also, I didn’t know St. Louis had so many hills. They were not steep or tall, but they were long. Going up I could feel I was pushing harder. But on the way down I could not feel gravity helping me. My last complaint, or excuse, was that I was not feeling too well. I think it was sinuses. Tuesday my throat started hurting. Wednesday and Thursday I was congested and Friday I could hardly talk. Saturday I wasn’t feeling really bad but my head felt stuffed up. Oh well, maybe I’m in a complaining mood.
There were some good points. I did place 15th out of 204 and 4th out of 34 males. Some of those in my age group probably walked. You can see the results at: http://www.paraquad.org/rotr/docs/ResultsRunwalk5k08.pdf , there are also pictures if you go to the main page http://www.ewrollonriver.com/. My picture is number 76. Although my overall time was disappointing my first two mile times were not real bad, 6.34 and 6.45. My first mile could have been faster, but overall it was not bad. I do kind of wonder if they had the two mile marker in the right spot. I assume it was the two mile mark. There was no one there, but there was a giant “2M” spray painted on the road. It could have been for something else. The course was easy to follow: go west, go north one block, and go east. It was also pretty cool running through downtown St. Louis. They had the streets all blocked off so you got to run down four lane streets with no cars around. At every intersection there were volunteers. There was a bunch of support. A motorcycle club was there to help out and also police. It was good seeing that many nice people volunteering. The race was easy to get to and also easy to leave. Being from a town with no stop lights I always worry about finding my way around cities. One of the things I really liked was the finishing ribbons. Everyone who finished the run or walk got a ribbon. I thought this was a good touch. Just having something to show that I ran made me feel better. I think it is something Pyramid Running Club may want to incorporate into the Fall Classic. Lastly, it was good knowing people there. I probably would not have gone if it were not for Paula, my sister, and Brad, her husband. They both entered the run and their friend Kenny entered the quad race. Because of them it felt like a good race to do.
Will I do this race again? I don’t know. My two main reasons not to do it were gas prices and waking up early after getting off work at 11:00 the night before, stupid work. There are a lot of reasons to do it again, one being to run a faster time. However, two things I do not like to do are: spend money and wake up early. So, yea, I don’t know.
As a side note, I talked to Brad the other day and he said Kenny had his gps on during the race. It had a final reading of 3.5 miles or so. That may explain my time.
My main disappointment was my time. I finished with 22.04. I had wanted to get in the 20’s. I felt alright while running and at the end I felt I didn’t have much left so I don’t know what happened. After the start and everyone fell into their spots I didn’t pass anyone and no one passed me. If I was doing something wrong one would assume I would get passed. Maybe subconsciously I get behind certain people and just pace them. I need to figure out how I did sub six minute miles last year. The guy who finished before me, who was in my age group, beat me by 23 seconds. If I had a sub six minute first mile I could have beat him and placed third. Yea, I got fourth in age 30-39. I don’t like the big age groups and it surprised me that a race in St. Louis would have them. Actually, I can’t really complain about the 30-39 age group, all three finishers in front of me were 38 or 39. I can complain about my preregistration. When I went to pick up my race packet they did not have my name listed. I had entered online and paid through Paypal. I’m glad the lady took my word for it so I didn’t have to pay again. It was too long of a drive not to be entered. That leads me to another negative. The race was about an hour and half drive for me. At this time with gas prices so high I debated if I should have went. I already skipped three races this year because of gas prices. The drive also caused me to wake up earlier, which I never like. The race itself wasn’t too bad. The start was one of those where out of nowhere the announcer says, “ready, go”, and everyone is just kind of confused for a second, then take off. The course itself was: run 1 ½ miles west, go one block north, and then run 1 ½ miles east. Actually I think this may have screwed me up a little. I like to focus on one thing in the distance and run towards it. While running east I focused on the American flag that was held up by two ladder trucks. It felt like the more I ran, the further away it got. I should have focused on something closer. Also, I didn’t know St. Louis had so many hills. They were not steep or tall, but they were long. Going up I could feel I was pushing harder. But on the way down I could not feel gravity helping me. My last complaint, or excuse, was that I was not feeling too well. I think it was sinuses. Tuesday my throat started hurting. Wednesday and Thursday I was congested and Friday I could hardly talk. Saturday I wasn’t feeling really bad but my head felt stuffed up. Oh well, maybe I’m in a complaining mood.
There were some good points. I did place 15th out of 204 and 4th out of 34 males. Some of those in my age group probably walked. You can see the results at: http://www.paraquad.org/rotr/docs/ResultsRunwalk5k08.pdf , there are also pictures if you go to the main page http://www.ewrollonriver.com/. My picture is number 76. Although my overall time was disappointing my first two mile times were not real bad, 6.34 and 6.45. My first mile could have been faster, but overall it was not bad. I do kind of wonder if they had the two mile marker in the right spot. I assume it was the two mile mark. There was no one there, but there was a giant “2M” spray painted on the road. It could have been for something else. The course was easy to follow: go west, go north one block, and go east. It was also pretty cool running through downtown St. Louis. They had the streets all blocked off so you got to run down four lane streets with no cars around. At every intersection there were volunteers. There was a bunch of support. A motorcycle club was there to help out and also police. It was good seeing that many nice people volunteering. The race was easy to get to and also easy to leave. Being from a town with no stop lights I always worry about finding my way around cities. One of the things I really liked was the finishing ribbons. Everyone who finished the run or walk got a ribbon. I thought this was a good touch. Just having something to show that I ran made me feel better. I think it is something Pyramid Running Club may want to incorporate into the Fall Classic. Lastly, it was good knowing people there. I probably would not have gone if it were not for Paula, my sister, and Brad, her husband. They both entered the run and their friend Kenny entered the quad race. Because of them it felt like a good race to do.
Will I do this race again? I don’t know. My two main reasons not to do it were gas prices and waking up early after getting off work at 11:00 the night before, stupid work. There are a lot of reasons to do it again, one being to run a faster time. However, two things I do not like to do are: spend money and wake up early. So, yea, I don’t know.
As a side note, I talked to Brad the other day and he said Kenny had his gps on during the race. It had a final reading of 3.5 miles or so. That may explain my time.
No comments:
Post a Comment