Ask Your Doctor If Getting Off Your Ass Is Good For You

Saturday, April 27, 2013:

That was on the back of a young woman’s shirt in the Get In Gear 10k race today, and she was enjoying a lot of positive comment about it from other runners.  I told her that I would make it my blog headline today.

The Get In Gear 10k is a rite of spring in Minnesota, with 3421 finishers today along with another 3034 in the half marathon and the 5k.  It attracts the best of the best runners, along with lots of the rest of us.  I finished in 1:00:56 for a pace of 9:50, good for 9th of 22 in my 70-74 age group (I am 72). The age-group place is OK but not great.  More important to me, though, I finished more than a minute faster than I did in the Victory 10 last September, on a much more difficult course.  Improvement is the goal.

The on-line statistics for this race are somewhat better than those of any race that I have been in before.  It was electronically timed, of course, and had detection mats at the start, the four-mile point, and the finish.  The results tell me that I ran a pace of 9:59 up to the 4-mile point, and 9:31 from there to the finish.  Further, it tells me that in the first four miles I passed 461 people and was passed by 378, but in the last 2.2 miles I passed 182 and was passed by 36.

Together, these figures suggest that I didn't run fast enough in the first part of the race.  Indeed, I was able to run the last half mile or so with no walking at all, and with even a bit of a sprint in the last 0.2.  If I had run fast enough earlier, I would not have been able to do that, but might have finished sooner.  By contrast, though, my breathing seemed rather fast today, one breath per three footfalls most times that I thought about it.  This means that it was a race pace, although apparently not quite a maximum effort.

Whining: None.  One guy jumped too close in front of me, inviting me to run right up his calves, but I managed to dodge him.  Otherwise it was a wonderful experience, with perfect weather and a very well-organized race.  My girls did fine too.

Splits: 10:07, 9:32, 9:59, 10:15, 9:34, 10:30, 0:59 (0.2 mi), total 1:00:56, pace 9:50 overall.

Thursday, April 25:

Thirty minutes on the paved trails in the park.  How nice to be outdoors again.

Wednesday, April 24:

Three miles in the Woodbury YMCA.  I’ve lost track of the total time, but I recall that the final mile took 8:50.  No pains or problems.