MJH 8K Race Report -- 3/2/2013

The Martha Jefferson Hospital 8K road race has a well-deserved reputation for having one of the toughest, hilliest courses in Charlottesville running. And given our varied topography, that's saying something. The route winds through downtown Charlottesville neighborhoods, and each mile presents some sort of vertical challenge.

While I'd been happy with my first two races of the year -- 20:50 and 20:20 at two local 5Ks, I'd gone out too fast in each of those races and faded at the end. A similar performance here would doom me.

Race day was cold -- lower 30s -- but dry. I got a good warmup in and seeded myself about 3 rows back, determined to keep the lid on it during the first two miles.

At the start the field strung out nicely and I got some open space to run in. There were several short downhills, and I busted down them full-bore, tempering my self a bit on the following ups. Mile 1 came in at 6:40. That was good.

Miles 2 and 3 present a series of climbs with a couple of short respites. I held back a bit on the ups and tried to crest each hill with a good head of steam to take advantage of the flats and downhills. This set up some back and forth racing action with some of my competitors, as they'd pull ahead and I'd close the gap. Mile 2 came in at 6:59, and 3 at 6:52.

Now it was time to dig in. Ahead was the famed "Belmont Hill," a stupid steep climb that closed off the 4th mile with an exclamation point. I rounded the corner to the climb, lifted my arms, tighten my core and started counting -- I just needed to put in 100 strong right feet and I'd be at the top.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5...not too bad...20, 21, 22...breath getting short...55, 56, 57...concentrate...98, 99, 100...crap, not at the top yet...121, 122, 123...leveling out and over the top, with just a bit less than a mile to go. Mile 4 in 7:00 flat.

Now, push hard for the end -- I vaguely remember trying to close the gap with a group right in front of me, but could only hold on to the back of the back. Finally the final turn and the finish was in sight. I saw 33:30 something on the clock -- sub 34 would be a good time for me -- final push to the line and I was in at 33:52. 6:19 for the last .94 mile, 6:42 pace. The overall pace for the run was 6:50 -- a good effort on that course.

I was gassed, but satisfied. It was my best run at MJH since 2009, when I did a 33:27, and my second-fastest ever. I stuck around for awards, only to find out I'd missed 3rd AG by two seconds. But I was happy -- I think I'm making some strides in the right direction.

Ken

Race Report -- Charlottesville Men's 4-Miler

The Charlottesville Men's 4-Miler is growing local tradition. This little brother of the Women's 4-Miler draws a very competitive local field and features a finish line on the 50-yard line of the University of Virginia football stadium. If you remember to look up, you can see yourself on the giant TV screen behind the end zone. It supports prostate cancer research at UVA -- a cause I can get behind, since my father died of prostate cancer at age 59.

I hadn't done a foot race for some time, since I'd missed a couple of my regular spring races because of illness. Combined with the near total lack of any training outside of z1 during the last few months, I was uncertain as to how the race would go. On the plus side, I felt healthy, was coming off an easy week, and had dropped about 5 pounds and one inch off my waist line during the last month -- a combination of better eating choices and lots of endurance work.

One thing for certain -- I knew this was going to hurt. Short races always do. And my strategy was simple -- hold back just a bit on the first mile then pick it up and go home hard.

As the gun went off I struggled to stay with my plan. I hit the first 1/2 mile at 3:10, but throttled down a little bit to hit mile 1 in 6:28. I was working hard, but at lest I wasn't in distress. By this time the field had shaken itself out into the usual arrangement of packs and we jostled around for position. My aerobic conditioning was in evidence -- I fell behind on each hill, as I shortened my stride and concentrated on quick turnover, but I crested stronger than my competitors and made up the gap on the subsequent flat or downhill.

Mile 2 came in at 6:30, as we finished the uphills of the first half of the race. That quick first mile was telling now, and I started trying to to concentrate on a few keys to keep my form together -- "stay smooth," "arms up," "breath into the belly." Fortunately I was keeping pace with my pack, who were starting to look a little ragged themselves.

The strain was telling as mile 3 passed in 6:46. I knew there were some serious downhills coming, so I just had to hang together for another 6 minutes and change. As we looped around the football stadium I took advantage of the downhills and started moving up past the pack. As we entered the depths of the stadium I gave it my final kick down the tunnel and onto the turf. I sneaked a glance  over my shoulder and saw nobody behind me for at least 20 yards. A quick glance up at the jumbotron and a two-arms-in-the-air salute to cap off the effort as I crossed the line.

I knocked the last mile out in 6:36, for a 26:20 -- a PR by nearly 20 seconds. Nice to see all that z1 IM prep paying off in a unexpected way. The only downer of the day was that I didn't place. I snagged 6 of 44 in my AG, beaten by four 50-year olds and a guy who was 51 -- all of whom came in under 26 minutes. Man, am I looking forward to 55-59...