I thought that was a good way to say it, “Run Down”. I will make sure and give a pretty good account of the races but I thought I would share a quick update from this past weekend.
“Run Down”
Yes, that is how I felt headed into race number 4 of the 5! It was a challenge indeed but it also was as much fun as I have ever had in running.
What worked?
- Mentally running 5 different races that equal 26.2 times is easier. You don’t have that overwhelming feeling at mile 18 or 20.
- It was just fun. I heard it was just over 500 doing all 5 races. The experience itself was just a lot of fun. By the time the last race got there, we all felt like we were in the same bucket. Just trying to finish.
- My performance. I was pretty shocked at how well I did. I ended with a final total time of 3 hours and 5 minutes. I ran my 2nd fastest 5k, one of my faster 10k’s, one of my faster half marathons as well. I was shocked at how well I ran the final mile.
- Leopold’s. Ice Cream shop in Savannah for recovery. I am just listing what worked, and that worked!
- Hotel. We had a hotel right at the start and finish lines and it made it ideal for the race.
- Weather. Are you kidding me?! It felt like April. It also might make the list of what did not work though.
- Crew. My crew was my Dad. Excellent as always. The encouragement and driver were great to have.
- Hydration. The races allowed a good amount of time between races and I always had a chance to get rehydrated.
- Format. I might list under what did not work also but for the most part, the way they had the races done and in which order was great. 5K first, 10k the next morning followed by the half marathon, 2.8 mile beach run and finish with the mile.
What didn’t work? (This list will be short)
- 2.8 mile beach run. This was a killer. I felt like garbage and ran like I felt. The soft sand to the finish was tough. This was by far my worst race.
- Weather. Only during the half marathon did I get really hot. It got pretty tough about half way through. I really had to push to keep my pace.
- Physically. Mentally I think the marathon is tougher, but physically this felt tougher. Starting with the half marathon the muscles were very hard to get loose and the legs got harder to move each and every race after that. The constant starting and stopping was tough.
- Race format. I would have made only one change. I would prefer the 10k Friday night. The half marathon would have been a little easier after a 5k and not a 10k that morning. Other than that I thought it was perfect.
- Nutrition. I let myself down here. I think it got me during the half marathon and beach run. I needed to do more and ignored it.
- Post-Race Ceremony. For those of us doing all 5 races it was difficult to keep up with. I found out when I got home that I placed in several of the races including overall.
I could not have been happier with the weekend. The rest and recovery in January really treated me well. I have made some interesting adjustments to my training this spring with the lack of an ultramarathon on the books. My goal right now is just New York for the fall with some shorter races in the next 6 months. More about that in the future but I look forward to sharing some good stories and race reports and even a lesson or two learned along the way.
Happy running….
