Carrollton Runners Mile and 5K

After my 15K Plano Pacer race I raced the next morning, Sunday November 27, in the Carrollton Runners Mile and 5K at McInnish Park in Carrollton, TX. I ran in both of the races. The 1 mile started at 7:37 AM and the 5K started at 7:48. It was about 39 degrees with 16 mph cold wind blowing. When I tried my slow jog to warm up like I always do before a race, I knew it was not going to be one of my better race days. I was very sore from my 9.3 mile 15K race the day before. MOTOACTV, a music and fitness company, gave us a free tote bag at the starting line. I left mine tied to a tree by the curb, so I could run without the extra weight. Usually, on Sunday, I run with my Run-On! 10:30 pace group for our long runs, but I knew I couldn't do another 9 miles the day after that 15K. I finish the 1 mile race in the time of 8:22 / mile pace.  Place   Men     Overall   Time   Age Grade 2/2     10/13     12/15     8:22      55.0% After the 1 mile, I went back to retrieve my tote bag and by the time I had turned around, they had already started the 5K race. I just took my time, walked to my car to put bag up, then started the race in last place. Since this was a chip timed race, my start time didn't matter; the clock started when I actually crossed the start line. I passed my 80 year old running friend Robert Cunningham and a few others. My other running friend, 63 year old Scott McKissik, also raced in the two events. He finished ahead of me in the 1 mile race. Also running the race was Dallas morning News online blogger and runner, 65 year old Spareribs LaMothe, who mentioned the Carrollton Runner Club and its Race Director Ruben Saguil on his site. My 1 mile time was 9:07. I passed the turnaround shortly after, and my halfway time was 14:17. I always try to have a negative split during the second half of the race. My 2 mile time was 18:08 (a 9:00 / mile pace), which was about 2 1/2 minutes slower than my normal 5K pace. At abut 2.5 miles I finally started to loosen up my sore muscles. My 3 mile time was 26:39 (a 8:31 / mile pace). I started to run faster the closer I got to the finish line. I finished the second half in the time of 13:18, which was a 59 second negative split. I finished the event in the time of 27:34. My friend Scott also ran a 5K at Plano the day before. I assumed he had a better time than me. There were no awards given at this very small race. The fee was only $2.00 for member and $3.00 to new members on race day. Anyways, I was suprized when I looked at the results in the Dallas Morning News paper the next morning. I had actually finished a few seconds ahead of Scott. Next, I'm going to write about my the White Rock Half Marathon which I ran early in December. Still trying to catch up on my posts. Apologies for the delays. Place    Men      Overall    Time    Pace   Age Grade 1/2       15/26      21/47    27:34     8:52      58.2 I run to raise awareness for prostate cancer and to benefit my community. www.runningforacause.tumblr.com

Plano Pacer's Turkey Runoff 15K

On Saturday November 26, 2011 I ran in a 15K race at the Plano Pacers Turkey Runoff 5K, 15K and Jr Sprint at Bob Woodruff Park in Plano TX. The race was free to yearly members and only $10 to guests. It was raining when I left to go to Plano and didn't stop until right before 6:00 AM. The temperature was just under 70 degrees for the start of the 15K and 5K which started at together at 8:00 AM. I started about 15 rows from the front and waited for the race to get started. After the first mile I looked at my Garmin to check my time. I had run it in 8:04, which was pretty fast for a first mile in a 15K race. I told myself to slow down. This was a 9.3 mile race, basically three 5K in one, so I needed to reserve some energy for the finish. I actually ran this race earlier in the year in February, so I went back to read what I had written on my blog so I could "study" the course. Because of that bit of research, I already knew there were a few small hills, and mentally prepared myself for them. My 3 mile time was 25:01 (a 8:25 / mile pace). Around the 6th mile is where the hills were, and so my pace slowed down a bit at that point with a time of 51:11 (a 9:13 / mile pace). A little farther on from the 6th mile marker was the turnaround, just past the 10K marker. There were only 2 water stops on the course, but they were set up in a way that you passed them twice. Great idea, the problem is that the cups of water were very small. I took a few of them all along the way for energy. With only 2 miles to go, I ran as fast as I could. At mile 8, my time was 1:08:20 (8:16 / mile pace) and I ran the same pace for mile 9 with a time of 1:16:36. We had to circle the pond and finish in front of the pavilion, and I finished in the time of 1:19:47 (7:48 / mile pace). They gave out nice trophies to all the award winners including the Jr. Sprint kids. I placed 2nd out of 6 in my new 60 - 64 age division; 32 out of 50 men and 37 out of 77 overall 15K finishers. For the first time ever, I scored above 70 in my age grade with 73.1. To compare, my time on this same course in February was 1:26:01, so this is a new personal record in a 15K race. Like most runners, I run faster when the weather is cooler.  Place     Men      Overall    Chip Time    Pace     Age Grade  2/6      32/50      37/77       1:19:47       8:34        73.1 I run to raise awareness for prostate cancer and to benefit my community. www.runningforacause.tumblr.com