Another Five Thousand Meters.

I love it when a plan comes together.
- John "Hannibal" Smith, The A-Team

In this case, my hill training for the past few weeks paid off! I successfully ran the entire length of the Susan G. Komen 5K two days ago and even surprised myself by not being exhausted at the end of it. There were a couple of brief periods in the middle when I felt my lungs laboring a little bit during some inclines but they were very manageable.

My main improvement was definitely pacing. Last year, I varied my pace too much during training and subsequently gassed out on the race course, resorting to walking for a minute or two before resuming the run. Not cool. Also it didn't help that I trained on a relatively flat course -- but that had more to do with where I was living at the time. Bottom line, I wasn't fully prepared and it showed. I'd resolved to do better.

This year I don't think there was a concerted effort to organize a team from OMC so I ended up running solo, although it would have been great to participate with some friends. The weather was fantastic: even though it was already in the mid-70s at 7am, there was a nice little breeze and the skies were a brilliant blue. I parked at the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial and walked down the gigantic lawn to Union Station, absorbing the vibrant, buzzing energy emanating from below. There were already thousands of runners and walkers getting ready for their respective races and the excitement was building to almost a palpable level.

rising with the sun

Threading through the crowd, I made a quick circuit of the grounds and dipped into Union Station itself, then paused as someone sang the National Anthem on the stage in front of the fountain. After that, the race announcements were made and I joined the people assembling on Grand Boulevard, a block away. The woman on the loudspeaker excitedly counted down the minutes and anticipation swelled. I saw smiles all around -- and then the starter pistol went off. Twenty-six thousand people slowly began surging forward.

course map

It was hard to tell, but there might have been 1000-1500 people in front of me as I began walking. Due to the sheer density of the crowd at the starting line, running was impossible at first and only after about a half-block could we begin to pick up speed. Throughout the race, it was still pretty packed but everyone gave each other enough space to run comfortably -- I didn't see any collisions :)

near the beginning

As I mentioned, I'd been working on evening out my pace for weeks and it helped me out immensely. For a minute or so at a time, I'd match speeds with one or two other people, then either fall back or pass as they changed theirs. As the course wound through downtown KC, past live bands playing upbeat music and the occasional group of cheering onlookers, I felt very consistent and happy with my form.

Since I didn't stop to walk this time around, and maybe because I ran by myself, the race seemed shorter than it did last year. After a curvy stretch on the West Pennway Bridge, we rounded the final corner and saw the twin balloon pillars that signified the finish line, only a few blocks away. Encouraged, I even picked up my speed on the last 40 meters or so (joined by a couple of other runners) and crossed the line at a fairly fast clip to the noise and cheers of the supporters gathered there. Slowing to a walk, I gratefully accepted a water bottle offered by a volunteer and stretched while thousands of other runners completed the race.

post-race rehydration

I had a great time! I stuck around for another hour or so, taking miscellaneous photos [see my Flickr set of the event]. After a quick shower, I celebrated with a French toast brunch at IHOP. I figured I deserved a few extra carbs :)

Anyway, that should do it for the running-based entries, at least for a while :) I'm glad to have achieved one of my goals for the summer. Next, I'll start working on timed runs (yikes.), and I'm definitely looking forward to running in more races in the future!

Now, about those new shoes ...

On Your Mark.

This Sunday I'll be running in the Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure 5K here in Kansas City. I've been training for it for a few weeks now and I'm ready to rock. Plus having run last year, I know what to expect regarding terrain, obstacles and duration. So yesterday after work, I picked up my race shirt and number at Dick's, along with some free coupons for shoes and athletic apparel (which I will probably end up using, as I need new workout clothes).

2010 T-Shirt Logo

So now that I have my race gear, it's official! I'm excited to participate again. I'm really looking forward to re-experiencing the joyous energy that pervaded downtown Kansas City last year during and after the run. I'm also extra-glad we'll be running at 7 in the morning, while the temperature will hopefully still be in the low 80s! I've been accustomed to training in 90+ degree weather during my afternoon runs, so maybe the cooler temps will give me an additional boost.

I'll be running this afternoon one last time, then switching to mornings tomorrow and Saturday to acclimate myself to the change before the actual event on Sunday. I fully expect to have a great time! Wish me luck!

Lace 'Em Up.

After a couple months of focusing solely on a muscle confusion workout, I've decided to supplement it with more cardio. Plyometrics, kenpo and core work are definitely effective in raising my heart rate, but I still feel as though I get winded too easily (although I've made lots of progress over the course of eleven weeks). So after work yesterday, I plotted out a course, waited until an hour before sunset, laced up my cross-trainers and headed out to run a few miles.

3.5 miles of asphalt and hills

It's a decent route along fairly busy streets and residential areas, with the occasional elementary school here and there, a bit of road construction, and even some sort of nature preserve where I saw some deer grazing on an expansive lawn, oblivious to traffic. But the sidewalks were uninterrupted (essential) and yappy dogs were fenced in (even more essential). In all, I made the circuit in a slow 45 minutes due to my being unused to running again. So it was no real surprise that my feet hurt and I was fatigued in a different way from an hour of P90X.

The second reason I began training is that I'll be here in Kansas City to run the Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure in early August. I had a blast last year, so I'm planning on participating again this time around. I really want to improve my performance; the route runs through downtown Kansas City, and there were some hills that I struggled with last year. So I'm glad my "practice" route has some similar inclines. I'm hoping to get some other people to join me, but I think I will still run it solo if need be.

Are you in? Lace 'em up.

Five Thousand Meters.

Figured I needed to post about this before too much time passed by. Earlier this month, I ran the 2009 Susan G. Komen Race For the Cure 5K here in downtown Kansas City. Here's my race number.

This being my first real race, I'd attempted to train for it so that I wouldn't end up eating a faceful of asphalt.  A couple of months ago I'd planned out a circuit in my neighborhood for roughly the same distance.  It actually turned out to be about 3.7 miles, a bit more than five kilometers, so it suited my purposes nicely.  Training wasn't quite as consistent as I would've liked it to be -- there were days when I'd just be too tired or busy to run -- but I think I improved quickly and increased my stamina (plus it didn't feel quite like a Couch Potato To 5K program since I'd been a regular runner in the past).

It felt good to train though, and on the circuit I attempted to run a little more and walk a little less every time.

Early on the morning of the race, I carpooled with My Peoples to secure a decent parking space downtown and parked at the World War I Memorial.  Yes, it's cliched, but the mood down at Union Station was definitely electric.

 

We heard later that the turnout was over 28,000 people!  Most, like us, were part of groups and participating in the non-competitive race-walk.  Some were even decked out in funny T-shirts with a dedication to a loved one and/or clever group name, or other various eye-catching pink costumes and attire like capes, angel wings or boas (the serious, competitive runners had already started their race a few minutes earlier).

Before long we had assembled on Grand waiting for our turn to take off -- since we couldn't all go at once, start times were staggered.  It took four of us, the ones who would be running the distance, a good ten minutes to reach the front of the pack and all of a sudden we were off at a brisk pace, weaving in and out of slower runners and walkers.  I'm not saying we were Speedy Gonzales with it but a lot of people were just walking and enjoying themselves, and dodging them took a bit of strategy.

Every few blocks, volunteers handed out water cups, while live bands of all genres belted out upbeat songs to keep us motivated.  They provided a good adrenaline boost especially on some of the uphill sections of the course.  In retrospect I'm really glad I trained outside and not on a treadmill -- it feels completely different.

Nonetheless, a couple of times I had to stop and walk for a minute or two to catch my breath (my lungs always end up fatiguing long before my legs do).  I was hoping to be able to run the whole thing but it wasn't the case.  I didn't mind though.  I was able to soak in the tremendously fun atmosphere of the event and kicked back into high gear.  The course definitely seemed three miles long as there were times when it admittedly got a bit tough due to my relative newness to the sport, but we crossed the finish line, tired yet very proud, to the loud cheers of hundreds of raucous, smiling people.

The exhilirating experience of running downtown with thousands of other people, combined with the positive energies of all the volunteers and racers, was one of the best things I've done for myself this year.  I'd definitely run again, and now that I know what to expect, train a little more consistently for it so that I won't gas out during the more difficult portions of the course.  It was such a great time though, and thanks to everyone who shared this day with me.