Had a pretty good race on Sunday at the Portland Shamrock Run. More than 21,000 people registered to participate in the 15k, 8k, 5k and kids run (about as many people who run the Boston Marathon!! GO PORTLAND!). I ran the 15k (which is the first race I EVER ran five years ago), and clocked in a 52:32 (5:38 pace). My time was good enough for 17th overall (only 9th in my age group though) in a field of almost 4,000 runners. The front end of the field is pretty damn competitive with plenty of dedicated runners who run on Nike sponsored teams and such. It was both humbling and confidence building to be able to run amongst some of them. This is a pretty challenging race because from .5mile in to 5.5miles in, its pretty much all uphill (where I was averaging about 5:59 pace), then you get to go downhill the rest of the way until about .8miles to go where it flattens out. I was able to hammer out a 5:26, 5:14, and 5:11 for my last three miles! Coach had me hold back a little the first 3miles and keep my heart rate in check. After that the leash was off and I was able to let loose. This was a good confidence and strength building race, but will likely be the last 'just running' race I'll do the rest of the year as Triathlon season is right around the corner.
In other news, training has been going extremely well. I am not putting in HUGE 20hr plus training weeks, but I have been getting consistent 16-17 hour weeks in and have not missed a scheduled workout in months. I'm taking great care of the body as far as recovery and resting goes. I've also been very dedicated about eating healthy, and have made a personal goal to give up alcohol completely until after Ironman CdA (its been four weeks now). I have gone out a few evenings with friends and had a great time, laughing and joking around with everyone completely sober. Since the waitresses and bartenders are annoyed by the "water guys", I still tip for good water service! I've never been a huge consistent drinker but if I did go out and drink on the weekend I would usually drink a lot and it affects my big weekend workouts the next day. This year I owe it to myself to see how great of an athlete I can really be. Since I am single or the first time since I took up this sport, I can keep a simple life of training, eating, working, training, eating and sleeping. And I am completely happy with that!!
Up Next: Spring Classic Duathlon- 5k run, 15mi bike, 5k run Saturday, April 3rd
1 comment:
Great race man! All your results are well-deserved; you work hard and give up a lot for this. You shouldn't have trouble rocking IM CDA.
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