Bluegrass 10k ideas.
I have now run the Bluegrass 10k 3 times and each time I have learned one lesson: you must take all precautions to endure in the heat. (I thought that I wrote something similar to this after the Memphis in May triathlon, where I did a relay, but I can't find it now?)
As miserable as I felt running in the no-shade, pavement steaming run of the Buffalo Springs Lake triathlon a couple years ago, the Bluegrass 10k has been just as bad 2 of the 3 years.
July 4th, 2006 (yesterday's) Race Recap
Leading up to the race:
On Saturday, I had a "Big Training Day" scheduled, which for me right now equals a long swim Friday night, then the run and bike on Saturday. I had hoped to run about 1:30 in the morning and then bike for a little over 5 hours (or to 80 miles) in the afternoon. I ended up running for an hour and cycling for 68 miles (4:23).
The reason that this is important to yesterday is due to the hydration (or dehydration) aspect that resulted. Knowing that it was hot saturday I weighed myself before the ride (136.7 lbs) and after (132.3 lbs). That seemed like a lot of weight to lose after a ride like that, especially considering that I went through 6 20oz bottles of Gatorade and water while riding. Mistake to Remember: because I felt pretty beaten up, I ended up drinking and eating whatever I felt like. Mostly poor food choices. By Sunday night (I skipped my swim on Sunday) I was back to normal weight, but was most likely still dehydrated.
The feeling still stuck around on Monday with the new problem of having most of the liquids I was taking in (coffe, water, diet soda's) leaving out the other end as liquid too. On Tuesday morning, I got up and the problem was even worse. So I didn't eat anything, but tried to drink a little Gatorade Endurance. It only made my stomach feel worse. Nikki can testify to my complaining and whining.
Once I got to the BG 10k starting area, I had started playing a mind game on myself that the issue was race day nerves, not hydration issues. It seemed to ease my mind a little, but I learned later that my body didn't listen too well.
The race:
At the start, I saw several people that I run with on Tuesday / Thursday and at Todd's road. That part of the race is what makes the BG 10k so fun! (Otherwise the race is not a top 10, because of conditions).
The first mile went by fast. We (Duane and I) had planned on running around 6 minutes, but with the people and adrenaline, I misjuged our pace. I had thought that we would come in around 6:05-6:10 based on effort (and HR) but I ran through the mile check at 5:48. Oh no!
The second mile, I held back a little, but didn't want to give up all the time that I foolishly gained. And to be honest, miles 2 through 5 were pretty uneventful. It is always fun to run the BG 10K with someone that knows a lot of people, and Duane does. About every half block someone was yelling out his name, urging him further on. (I always pretend they're yelling for me.) This same thing happened a few years ago when I ran beside George VanMeter.
The one thing that really helped me out during the run was Tony White running with his brother. On a normal day, Tony would be minutes ahead, but as he paced his brother I found that the pace suited me well. Thanks Tony!
Mile 5: things started to go not so well. I mentioned the issues before the race, which caused a major problem during the race - I couldn't drink any fluids. I tried. But when I did my stomach instantly cramped. So all throughout the aid stations, I used the water to dump over my head and try to keep my core temperature down. But by mile five, my stomach said enough. The cramp came and never went away. My breathing became even more pathetically shallow.
It sometimes takes a moment like this to realize why you do certain things in training. Like practice breathing. Nonsense you say! Maybe your right, but I still believe that some of my best results have been supported by my focused yoga sessions (3-5 times a week), something that hasn't been consistent in over 2 years now. My feeling is that the yoga does a lot for the body in balance and strength, but it also allows some great training for your breathing and mental focus.
In the end
The result of the race was very exciting for me, even though I felt like crap all afternoon. The paper this morning said I (Gary Didseh?) ran 38:01, but the results on the website (Bluegrass 10k) had my net time at 37:58. I'm not sure why they use chips if they don't us those times as the offical times, but either time is way better than I could have hoped for yesterday.
I've had a lot of ideas on why my time was better now than when I was running a lot more in March. Especially since the fastest mile I've run in training the last 2 months hasn't been below a 7:30 pace. Maybe I'll share some of those thoughts later? It might have to do with Gordo's Fit vs. Fast idea?
Congrats! There are so many people that run the race that it would take another hour to post everyone. But everyone should be very happy about yesterday. Surviving this thing is becoming the goal!
As miserable as I felt running in the no-shade, pavement steaming run of the Buffalo Springs Lake triathlon a couple years ago, the Bluegrass 10k has been just as bad 2 of the 3 years.
July 4th, 2006 (yesterday's) Race Recap
Leading up to the race:
On Saturday, I had a "Big Training Day" scheduled, which for me right now equals a long swim Friday night, then the run and bike on Saturday. I had hoped to run about 1:30 in the morning and then bike for a little over 5 hours (or to 80 miles) in the afternoon. I ended up running for an hour and cycling for 68 miles (4:23).
The reason that this is important to yesterday is due to the hydration (or dehydration) aspect that resulted. Knowing that it was hot saturday I weighed myself before the ride (136.7 lbs) and after (132.3 lbs). That seemed like a lot of weight to lose after a ride like that, especially considering that I went through 6 20oz bottles of Gatorade and water while riding. Mistake to Remember: because I felt pretty beaten up, I ended up drinking and eating whatever I felt like. Mostly poor food choices. By Sunday night (I skipped my swim on Sunday) I was back to normal weight, but was most likely still dehydrated.
The feeling still stuck around on Monday with the new problem of having most of the liquids I was taking in (coffe, water, diet soda's) leaving out the other end as liquid too. On Tuesday morning, I got up and the problem was even worse. So I didn't eat anything, but tried to drink a little Gatorade Endurance. It only made my stomach feel worse. Nikki can testify to my complaining and whining.
Once I got to the BG 10k starting area, I had started playing a mind game on myself that the issue was race day nerves, not hydration issues. It seemed to ease my mind a little, but I learned later that my body didn't listen too well.
The race:
At the start, I saw several people that I run with on Tuesday / Thursday and at Todd's road. That part of the race is what makes the BG 10k so fun! (Otherwise the race is not a top 10, because of conditions).
The first mile went by fast. We (Duane and I) had planned on running around 6 minutes, but with the people and adrenaline, I misjuged our pace. I had thought that we would come in around 6:05-6:10 based on effort (and HR) but I ran through the mile check at 5:48. Oh no!
The second mile, I held back a little, but didn't want to give up all the time that I foolishly gained. And to be honest, miles 2 through 5 were pretty uneventful. It is always fun to run the BG 10K with someone that knows a lot of people, and Duane does. About every half block someone was yelling out his name, urging him further on. (I always pretend they're yelling for me.) This same thing happened a few years ago when I ran beside George VanMeter.
The one thing that really helped me out during the run was Tony White running with his brother. On a normal day, Tony would be minutes ahead, but as he paced his brother I found that the pace suited me well. Thanks Tony!
Mile 5: things started to go not so well. I mentioned the issues before the race, which caused a major problem during the race - I couldn't drink any fluids. I tried. But when I did my stomach instantly cramped. So all throughout the aid stations, I used the water to dump over my head and try to keep my core temperature down. But by mile five, my stomach said enough. The cramp came and never went away. My breathing became even more pathetically shallow.
It sometimes takes a moment like this to realize why you do certain things in training. Like practice breathing. Nonsense you say! Maybe your right, but I still believe that some of my best results have been supported by my focused yoga sessions (3-5 times a week), something that hasn't been consistent in over 2 years now. My feeling is that the yoga does a lot for the body in balance and strength, but it also allows some great training for your breathing and mental focus.
In the end
The result of the race was very exciting for me, even though I felt like crap all afternoon. The paper this morning said I (Gary Didseh?) ran 38:01, but the results on the website (Bluegrass 10k) had my net time at 37:58. I'm not sure why they use chips if they don't us those times as the offical times, but either time is way better than I could have hoped for yesterday.
I've had a lot of ideas on why my time was better now than when I was running a lot more in March. Especially since the fastest mile I've run in training the last 2 months hasn't been below a 7:30 pace. Maybe I'll share some of those thoughts later? It might have to do with Gordo's Fit vs. Fast idea?
Congrats! There are so many people that run the race that it would take another hour to post everyone. But everyone should be very happy about yesterday. Surviving this thing is becoming the goal!
posted by gary at 11:28 AM
3 Comments:
good job on the race!
I'm impressed with that time, especially under the circumstances. And I agree with you 100% about the impact yoga has on breathing during races. Like you, I've fallen off the wagon of consistency for awhile. And what a difference it's made. Be careful with the dehydration. Sounds like you were lucky this time in that stomach cramps were it. It could be a whole lot worse, as you know. (Think: IV drips.)
Ann - as crappy as I felt after the race, I think I was one of the lucky ones. Having had another opportunity though, I might have accepted an IV had it been easily available at the finish line.
Races like this can be really dangerous if a person isn't serious about getting in their hydration and electrolytes. There's no wonder that Ironman CDA had a 20% dropout rate... with those temps and a 26.2 run after the swim and bike.... no thanks.
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