Sunday, March 22, 2009

Human Race 8k

Great race, slow results. Apparently I failed to click my watch at the finish, so I really don’t know my finishing time, and results are not up yet. The race was timed by ChampionChip Minnesota, so results are most certainly complete and available, but they are not on the web. I’m guessing that the race director wants to to force us to his own web site instead of onlineraceresults.com, so we have to wait until he’s good and ready to publish them. That’s lame. The days of slow results are long gone - these days the important races have an individual’s results up within minutes of his or her finish, and sometimes in marathons there are online results for each of a runner’s 5k splits, in real time, long before they finish. No excuse for Monday results for a Sunday race. End of rant.

The race was a big one, as usual, the first big race of the race season in Minnesota. A 5k, an 8k, and at least one children’s race. We ran the 8k, which is one of the thirteen Minnesota Grand Prix races. Last year I finished in just a bit over 38 minutes, and it’s my belief (pending actual results) that I finished today in something over 42 minutes. So about 10% slower. At my age I should lose perhaps 4 seconds per mile each year, or about 20 seconds of that four minutes for an 8k race, just by being lucky enough to survive another year. The rest is due to my friend DEX.

The toe didn’t bother, though I did get a little red juice out of it as I prepared for the race. The right knee did hurt a little, in the middle of the knee at the bottom of the cap. That pain went away after a bit, but returned again when the race was over. I’m hoping that’s not a serious problem. But it’s another reason to cut my weekly mileage back.

The weather was excellent. It’s an out-and-back race, and we faced a strong wind going out, but that same wind felt mighty good on our return. We three all enjoyed the race. The last mile is all slightly downhill - one of the best race finishes I've ever seen.

Splits: 8:41, 17:04 (2 mi), 8:56, 8:00 (estimate), total 42:40 (estimate), pace 8:32 (estimate).


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Your basic fruit bowl: Blueberries, pineapple, kiwi, banana, mango, organic nonfat yogurt, Dove dark chocolate.
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4 comments:

  1. BethMarch 22, 2009 9:10 PM

    I'm with you on the slow results. What's up with that? I've been in a couple races lately that have had no chip or only chip timing at the end (worthless), so I was happy to see two sets of mats. I was also glad for the wind and the downhill at the end. I'm glad you were out there today. I'm sorry I didn't spot you and Sunshine, but hopefully we can meet in person at a race this summer. Congrats on your race!

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  2. peterMarch 23, 2009 6:07 AM

    Downhill finish and wind at your back on the return, nice. Great time, Don, being out there and getting it done.

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  3. ShirleyPerlyMarch 23, 2009 9:37 AM

    Yes, runners have become quite demanding with timely results (when I work a race, the pressure is on me to get everyone who entered on race day into the computer so we can get those results posted ASAP, which can be quite challenging on short races and when there are multiple races).

    But glad you all had a nice sunny day. Wind at your back for the finish is always a treat. Take care of that toe & knee!

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  4. JeanMarch 23, 2009 6:10 PM

    What a nice day we had! That was the warmest Human Race I have ever been at. And you are correct, Don, that is one of the greatest finishes for a race.

    Nice job out there, and best wishes to you this season!

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