Sunday, December 11, 2005
Madison Christmas Rush Classic
It was a frosty 20 degrees at dawn, but with a clear sky and little wind by the race start around 10 AM the temperature must have risen 15 to 20 degrees making things much more comfortable. The race was held historic Madison Georgia about 75 minutes east of Atlanta. Madison is a beautiful old small town full of classic examples of Victorian and pre-Civil War era homes. The race had an out and back course that wound though some of those historical neighborhoods, across a set of railroad tracks, and out past some open fields before turning around.
The course was remarkably flat. For me it was almost too flat. In my training, I have fallen into a rhythm, slowing a bit on the hills, and adding a little speed on the long flats. The course was flat enough that I was pushing my max pace almost the entire way and the only times I pulled up at all was when I would start running a little short of breath.
It was a pleasantly small race. Once we started running, it was amazing how quickly runners sorted themselves out. For the first two miles, I pushed it and maintained a 7:00 pace. I might have pushed it too hard as I was not feeling particularly strong as we came to the turnaround point at approximately the 2 ½ mile mark. Just after turning the corner to start back toward the finish line someone tried to pass me. I was not having it. I clenched my teeth and pushed myself just ahead of him every time he came even with me. I kept that up for almost a mile, but finally I had to back off and let him go because I had a stitch in my side and was getting seriously out of breath. I eased off a little bit, but soon could hear someone else nipping at my heels. I picked my pace up as much as I could in an effort to stay ahead of the sound of their breathing. For the last mile, that’s exactly what I did. At the end of the race, I turned and I thanked what turned out to be a very nice woman (Sandra Smith who finished 2nd in her age category) for helping me have such a strong finish. There is nothing like hearing someone behind me to motivate me forward.
My finish time was 38:12.9 which made my average pace 7:40 which was about what my 5K pace (7:36) was back in October. Considering my training vicissitudes since that time, I am happy with the result. My hip is almost back at one hundred percent, but I am still having some pain in my lower legs. Best-case, tendonitis/shin splints, worst-case, stress fractures. I got a pair of new shoes yesterday, which I am hoping will help and I am trying to take it easy with my training and work on building a solid base. I have a feeling it is going to be awhile before I can start training up for longer distances again.
Next up? Probably going to do either a 5K or another 8K next weekend.
Race Results
The course was remarkably flat. For me it was almost too flat. In my training, I have fallen into a rhythm, slowing a bit on the hills, and adding a little speed on the long flats. The course was flat enough that I was pushing my max pace almost the entire way and the only times I pulled up at all was when I would start running a little short of breath.
It was a pleasantly small race. Once we started running, it was amazing how quickly runners sorted themselves out. For the first two miles, I pushed it and maintained a 7:00 pace. I might have pushed it too hard as I was not feeling particularly strong as we came to the turnaround point at approximately the 2 ½ mile mark. Just after turning the corner to start back toward the finish line someone tried to pass me. I was not having it. I clenched my teeth and pushed myself just ahead of him every time he came even with me. I kept that up for almost a mile, but finally I had to back off and let him go because I had a stitch in my side and was getting seriously out of breath. I eased off a little bit, but soon could hear someone else nipping at my heels. I picked my pace up as much as I could in an effort to stay ahead of the sound of their breathing. For the last mile, that’s exactly what I did. At the end of the race, I turned and I thanked what turned out to be a very nice woman (Sandra Smith who finished 2nd in her age category) for helping me have such a strong finish. There is nothing like hearing someone behind me to motivate me forward.
My finish time was 38:12.9 which made my average pace 7:40 which was about what my 5K pace (7:36) was back in October. Considering my training vicissitudes since that time, I am happy with the result. My hip is almost back at one hundred percent, but I am still having some pain in my lower legs. Best-case, tendonitis/shin splints, worst-case, stress fractures. I got a pair of new shoes yesterday, which I am hoping will help and I am trying to take it easy with my training and work on building a solid base. I have a feeling it is going to be awhile before I can start training up for longer distances again.
Next up? Probably going to do either a 5K or another 8K next weekend.
Race Results
