Sunday, June 21, 2015

Weekend of Running - June 20th & 21st, 2015


The weekend started with the Urban League - Springfield 5K in the Springfield neighborhood on the north side of downtown Jacksonville. I signed up to run in this event because the young man that owns the barber shop I've been going to said he was going to be running. Also in the back of my mind was my 60th birthday less than 2 weeks prior and my entry into the 60-64 (geezer) age group.

At the time I signed up for this event I didn't realize the start time would be 9 AM. Anyone that would schedule a running event in Jacksonville in the middle of summer to start at 9 AM quite possibly doesn't do much running. This time of year the running needs to move inside by the time the sun comes up.

Since I was at the race site early, I was milling around looking for my barber. I kept milling and looking and he kept not showing up. Finally with 15 minutes to go till the start I went to the board where all the entrants names were posted along with their race number and looked for his name. Nada, he was not registered. Must have been to hot for him.

So the thing I noticed as I made my way to the start line of my 1st race as a 60 year old was a lot of gray hair. The geezers had shown up in great numbers. I found a conservative position in the middle of the pack and forbid myself from letting the pace drop below 8 minutes per mile. I reasoned that given the heat and humidity an 8 minute pace would be exceptional for me.

At the start I settled into 8 minute pace. Man was it hot. I finished the first mile in exactly 8 minutes. Into the 2nd mile I saw the pace drop to 8:15 and pulled it back to 8:00. This happened a couple times. Finally at about one and three quarters miles I figured I'd benefit from a quick walk break. I took a quick 15 second walk break and then picked it back up. I took another 15 second walk break in the 3rd mile and then was running for the finish.

As I headed north toward the finish line some old guy goes sprinting by me like its the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles. I kind of figured he had been dogging me for a couple of miles and this was his big break. I let him go. After the results were posted I asked him his age and he was 65, the next age group. So the sprinting grandpa beat me by 7 seconds and was first in the 65 to 69 age group. I ended up first (out of 7) in the 60 to 64 age group which is the first age group win that I can remember. Since it was now mid morning I didn't hang around for the cheesy plaque. Garmin details below.

 Urban League Springfield 5K - 6-20-2015 - Details 

I went to Jacksonville Running Company's group run this morning but didn't want to wait for the 6:30 AM start time. I actually got started a little before 6 AM, got a 3 mile loop in and was back at the store for the official start time of 6:30. I then headed out with a couple of my regular running partners for a 5 mile loop. After 8 miles in that heat and humidity I was so soaked that even my shoes and Drymax socks were wet. Seemed like a good time to head for a treadmill in air conditioning. Garmin details from the JRC group run portion below. 

JRC - Group Run - 8 miles - 6-21-2015  - Details 

I walked into the YMCA soaking wet and it was freezing. I got myself organized, turned the GPS off on my watch and found a treadmill with a view of the pond. I was hoping to get in another 5 miles which would give me 13 for the day. It didn't take long for me to stop shivering and start sweating. Nothing special about running on a treadmill. Just ask any hamster. All I needed to do was keep running long enough to cover 5 miles. It took nearly an hour and my running was done for the day. Garmin details below. 

YMCA -Treadmill - 5 miles - 6-21-2015 - Details




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