Hardly a out-on-the-ledge pick, as Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall is currently ranked #61 on Amazon. Still, the PR department at Knopf can't take all the credit. This book is insanely good.
Here's the deal:
The author stumbles across a mysterious trail guide who takes him to see the Tarahumara, the famed reclusive Mexican runners of the Copper Canyons. While there, he learns the secrets of their injury-free (and FUN!) running. You could stop the book there and still have it be a good read, but noooo..
From there, the author returns to the Copper Canyons to compete in a 50 mile race against the Tarahumara, Barefoot Ted, Scott Jurek, Jenn Shelton, et. al.
Not convinced? How about cameos by Joe Vigil and some of the best theories of Why We Run sprinkled in for fun? Oh yeah, there's nutrition, too, as evidenced by the two bags of chia seeds I just bought. It's been a quiet summer for running books, but this one makes up for it. It's truly 2 (or 3) great books in one.
Lancaster County connection: Though the story takes place mostly in Mexico and in other places, McDougall hangs his hat in Peach Bottom, PA.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Tiny Post....
I just got my Spi-belt and will never wear another belt for running again. Simply put, they're ridiculously better than anything on the market:
1. When nothing's in a pocket, the elastic pocket is sleek and small.
2. When putting things in the pocket, it expands quite wide (enough for my BlackBerry storm in one pocket and my DexCom in another)
3. It doesn't bounce. At all.
Big fan. You need something to carry your stuff? Look no further. I've used a couple other belt/bag combos but previously tended to favor my RaceReady shorts over belts and bags. I'll still use the RaceReady shorts sometimes, but a BlackBerry and a DexCom are a tight fit and you get a little bounce in the RaceReady. You get none of that with the Spi-belt, plus the feeling that everything is safe and secure. And for the fashion conscious, the Spi-belt looks way cooler than the RaceReady shorts.
I'd expect to use the Spi-belt for my average runs, and a combo Spi-belt and RaceReady shorts for the 15-20 milers requiring lots of gear and gel.
1. When nothing's in a pocket, the elastic pocket is sleek and small.
2. When putting things in the pocket, it expands quite wide (enough for my BlackBerry storm in one pocket and my DexCom in another)
3. It doesn't bounce. At all.
Big fan. You need something to carry your stuff? Look no further. I've used a couple other belt/bag combos but previously tended to favor my RaceReady shorts over belts and bags. I'll still use the RaceReady shorts sometimes, but a BlackBerry and a DexCom are a tight fit and you get a little bounce in the RaceReady. You get none of that with the Spi-belt, plus the feeling that everything is safe and secure. And for the fashion conscious, the Spi-belt looks way cooler than the RaceReady shorts.
I'd expect to use the Spi-belt for my average runs, and a combo Spi-belt and RaceReady shorts for the 15-20 milers requiring lots of gear and gel.
Chasing Ghosts
"Time and tears ago,
I chased my dreams without a single fear
That I'd ever miss the treasures of my youth.
But recently I thought I'd take a trip back through the years
And it hurts me just a bit to face the truth." - The Rarely Herd. Part of Growing Up (That Gets Me Down)
Last weekend was the 3rd Annual Solanco Alumni XC Meet (which I also waxed poetic about last year).
Highlights:
1.Last year, I lamented the fact that I was one of only 2 guys from the White Snake era. This year, we had four additional runners from my time, 3 of which I can take credit for (though Facebook certainly helped). I cajoled local legend Connie Buckwalter into coming, as well as Chris McAndrews and Alan Martin - the two guys who handed me my hat week in and week out during the late 80's.
Just seeing Chris for the first time in twenty years was a HUGE highlight. It sounded as if he hadn't changed a bit and that's one of those things I say as a sincere compliment. He cracked me up back then. He cracked me up now. Though he didn't run, he looked fit as could be and I'm hoping he comes back next year.
2.Seeing Dr. Tom Regan. In addition to being my former dentist, the good doc was the brother to Kevin Regan. Kevin was another great Solanco runner in his prime, who died in an accident far too young. An award was named in his honor for a student athlete, particularly in distance running, and I was fortunate enough to receive that award at my graduation. It's a special honor from my past and seeing the doc always reminds me of Kevin and receiving the award.
3.Seeing my high school coach. Young men may be fortunate enough to have a few people responsible for making them who they are today. Art Harrington was one of those guys for me. He was a hero to me back then and he's still a hero to me now. He was our Lombardi. We feared him and loved him at the same time. Over time, the fear factor diminishes (though it never goes away) and the love goes up proportionately.
4.Chasing ghosts. Last year, I wrote about chasing former state champion Glenn Wimer. This year, I beat Glenn. It could've been the downpour, or the fact that he's 14 years older than me, or the fact that he - like many runners including All-Americans - don't go all out in this race. Either way, I came to the line before him this year and that was kind of cool. It's the cross country version of going to an Old Timer's baseball camp and ripping a line drive off a former big leaguer. It doesn't mean you could've done it in your prime, but it's fun to do it that day.
On the other hand...
1. My other same era buddy, Brett Shelton, kicked me to the curb this year. He put thirty seconds on me from the get-go.
2. I was thirty seconds slower this year, though the downpour conditions and tall grass make the course difficult to compare to last year.
That being said, this is the only race I do all year that is always bigger than "me," meaning I care about who's there and who I get to see more than I care about my performance. That's not an excuse, and I was ticked to come in six places lower than last year. But regardless of my time or the results, I spent the day surrounded by tradition and greatness and friends. When you do that, the other stuff fades away pretty quick. I'm very grateful to current coach Scott Weaver and fellow alumni Mike Cavanaugh for starting and managing the race - one of the highlights of my year.
I chased my dreams without a single fear
That I'd ever miss the treasures of my youth.
But recently I thought I'd take a trip back through the years
And it hurts me just a bit to face the truth." - The Rarely Herd. Part of Growing Up (That Gets Me Down)
Last weekend was the 3rd Annual Solanco Alumni XC Meet (which I also waxed poetic about last year).
Highlights:
1.Last year, I lamented the fact that I was one of only 2 guys from the White Snake era. This year, we had four additional runners from my time, 3 of which I can take credit for (though Facebook certainly helped). I cajoled local legend Connie Buckwalter into coming, as well as Chris McAndrews and Alan Martin - the two guys who handed me my hat week in and week out during the late 80's.
Just seeing Chris for the first time in twenty years was a HUGE highlight. It sounded as if he hadn't changed a bit and that's one of those things I say as a sincere compliment. He cracked me up back then. He cracked me up now. Though he didn't run, he looked fit as could be and I'm hoping he comes back next year.
2.Seeing Dr. Tom Regan. In addition to being my former dentist, the good doc was the brother to Kevin Regan. Kevin was another great Solanco runner in his prime, who died in an accident far too young. An award was named in his honor for a student athlete, particularly in distance running, and I was fortunate enough to receive that award at my graduation. It's a special honor from my past and seeing the doc always reminds me of Kevin and receiving the award.
3.Seeing my high school coach. Young men may be fortunate enough to have a few people responsible for making them who they are today. Art Harrington was one of those guys for me. He was a hero to me back then and he's still a hero to me now. He was our Lombardi. We feared him and loved him at the same time. Over time, the fear factor diminishes (though it never goes away) and the love goes up proportionately.
4.Chasing ghosts. Last year, I wrote about chasing former state champion Glenn Wimer. This year, I beat Glenn. It could've been the downpour, or the fact that he's 14 years older than me, or the fact that he - like many runners including All-Americans - don't go all out in this race. Either way, I came to the line before him this year and that was kind of cool. It's the cross country version of going to an Old Timer's baseball camp and ripping a line drive off a former big leaguer. It doesn't mean you could've done it in your prime, but it's fun to do it that day.
On the other hand...
1. My other same era buddy, Brett Shelton, kicked me to the curb this year. He put thirty seconds on me from the get-go.
2. I was thirty seconds slower this year, though the downpour conditions and tall grass make the course difficult to compare to last year.
That being said, this is the only race I do all year that is always bigger than "me," meaning I care about who's there and who I get to see more than I care about my performance. That's not an excuse, and I was ticked to come in six places lower than last year. But regardless of my time or the results, I spent the day surrounded by tradition and greatness and friends. When you do that, the other stuff fades away pretty quick. I'm very grateful to current coach Scott Weaver and fellow alumni Mike Cavanaugh for starting and managing the race - one of the highlights of my year.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Dexcom CGM - 1 Week Later
So yesterday the DexCom sent me a few warnings telling me I'd need to change the sensor soon. Hmm... I thought. I have more than a day to go. I guess that's nice to get a 24 hour warning??
Turns out I forgot that I was off work last Friday so I was on my 7th day. After three more warnings, the sensor turned itself off at 11 last night.
There's plenty of Internet chatter about restarting Dex sensors and getting 12-13 days out of them, but I opted not to for the following reasons:
1) It was 11pm. If I did a restart then, I'd need to calibrate at 1am.
2) I'm running a 5k race tomorrow and one of the main reasons I'm doing CGM is to monitor myself better doing races. Using a sensor for a race beyond the FDA recommendations didn't sound bright.
3) Insurance is paying 100% for sensors, and it's not like they're going to cut me a check for spending their money better.
Taking off the sensor at bedtime was interesting. First off, not having something else on my belly was nice. There's definitely a bit of a pin cushion mentality when you're using CGM and a pump. At the same time, I found myself a bit bothered: Huh, I won't know my blood sugar overnight. Gee--- what if I get low or what if I get high? In other words, I was worried about something that, until a week ago, I couldn't do anything about.
But my smooth belly and I fell asleep about thirty seconds later and that was that for the worrying. And I woke up with a blood sugar of 107 so apparently I can still do this without CGM.
Now, I'm calibrating my second sensor, and happy about the fact I'll be micromanaging my diabetes in another hour or so.
During the first week on the sensor, I had 3-4 times when I lost coverage, for about 2 hours each time. Sure enough, in the Dexcom book, they tell you that on average you'll use a signal about 3 times per sensor. All of which means that everything's working fine, though I gotta tell you: if I stop losing a signal during a long run or - worse - a long race - I'll be ticked.
I also placed an order for a Spibelt yesterday. I've got other belts for running, but diabetics seem to be rather fanatic about their affection for the Spibelt and given that my long runs require: an insulin pump, CGM, BlackBerry storm and gels, I need something to carry my crap. Ideally, I would've gotten one with the orange trim (they donate $1 to the Triabetics), but I opted for the 2 pocket version, which appears to have no trim color. Oh well, I'll manage.
I mentioned the race tomorrow: it's a repeat of last year's Solanco Alumni XC race. Even though I was 1 of only 2 guys from my era last year, Facebook has helped me round up a few more old guys and even a girl or two, so tomorrow should be even more fun. Looking forward to it.
Turns out I forgot that I was off work last Friday so I was on my 7th day. After three more warnings, the sensor turned itself off at 11 last night.
There's plenty of Internet chatter about restarting Dex sensors and getting 12-13 days out of them, but I opted not to for the following reasons:
1) It was 11pm. If I did a restart then, I'd need to calibrate at 1am.
2) I'm running a 5k race tomorrow and one of the main reasons I'm doing CGM is to monitor myself better doing races. Using a sensor for a race beyond the FDA recommendations didn't sound bright.
3) Insurance is paying 100% for sensors, and it's not like they're going to cut me a check for spending their money better.
Taking off the sensor at bedtime was interesting. First off, not having something else on my belly was nice. There's definitely a bit of a pin cushion mentality when you're using CGM and a pump. At the same time, I found myself a bit bothered: Huh, I won't know my blood sugar overnight. Gee--- what if I get low or what if I get high? In other words, I was worried about something that, until a week ago, I couldn't do anything about.
But my smooth belly and I fell asleep about thirty seconds later and that was that for the worrying. And I woke up with a blood sugar of 107 so apparently I can still do this without CGM.
Now, I'm calibrating my second sensor, and happy about the fact I'll be micromanaging my diabetes in another hour or so.
During the first week on the sensor, I had 3-4 times when I lost coverage, for about 2 hours each time. Sure enough, in the Dexcom book, they tell you that on average you'll use a signal about 3 times per sensor. All of which means that everything's working fine, though I gotta tell you: if I stop losing a signal during a long run or - worse - a long race - I'll be ticked.
I also placed an order for a Spibelt yesterday. I've got other belts for running, but diabetics seem to be rather fanatic about their affection for the Spibelt and given that my long runs require: an insulin pump, CGM, BlackBerry storm and gels, I need something to carry my crap. Ideally, I would've gotten one with the orange trim (they donate $1 to the Triabetics), but I opted for the 2 pocket version, which appears to have no trim color. Oh well, I'll manage.
I mentioned the race tomorrow: it's a repeat of last year's Solanco Alumni XC race. Even though I was 1 of only 2 guys from my era last year, Facebook has helped me round up a few more old guys and even a girl or two, so tomorrow should be even more fun. Looking forward to it.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Recovery Socks - Need a New Brand
Summer is here and the running is... well, heavy. Four weeks into the marathon season and the miles are adding up.
Last year, I become "compression crazy" and used Zensah recovery sleeves and Skins all during the fall.
In a nutshell, I found the Zensahs to be superior for recovery but too warm for running and I found the Skins to be cool enough for running, but they lost their elasticity within a month (which pretty much rendered them all but useless).
Research is sketchy on the power of recovery socks while running but from personal experience I can tell you that wearing them after running helps BIG time. But I'm wondering if I need to put up with sweaty calves all summer long from the Zensahs?
Last year, I become "compression crazy" and used Zensah recovery sleeves and Skins all during the fall.
In a nutshell, I found the Zensahs to be superior for recovery but too warm for running and I found the Skins to be cool enough for running, but they lost their elasticity within a month (which pretty much rendered them all but useless).
Research is sketchy on the power of recovery socks while running but from personal experience I can tell you that wearing them after running helps BIG time. But I'm wondering if I need to put up with sweaty calves all summer long from the Zensahs?
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
First Long Run With the Dexcom 7
On Saturday, I took the DexCom with me for a 14 miler.
My biggest fear about using the Dex (instead of Medtronic) was having a second device and a relatively big one at that. The DexCom receiver is actually a little taller than my BlackBerry storm and is exactly as wide at its widest point.
My idea was to put the Dex into the big pocket of my RaceReady shorts, but once the Storm was in there, that wasn't happening. (Side note: I love my BlackBerry Storm, but it's not good for hauling around on the roads.)
Instead, I decided to use the DexCom holster and just clip it to my waistband. Surprisingly, this worked like a charm. In the end, what I didn't realize about the Dex is that while it is every bit as big as a cellphone, it's not nearly as dense. It's a relatively lightweight device and with a secure clip in place, it doesn't bounce at all.
When I hit the road, my blood sugar was 125. I didn't want to obsess about it, though, so I decided to check it every 2-3 miles, which is pretty much what I did. For the first half of the run, the blood sugar barely moved, always staying between 125 and 130. I kept my pump on a very small basal rate the same time.
As I moved into the second half of the run, though, things started shifting... the blood sugar started creeping up but I also wanted to take a gel because my energy was getting low. This was important, though, as I began to think of the gel not as something to keep my blood sugar up, but as something to fuel my body. I took the gel and took a half bolus, which was good enough to have me finish the run around 150.
All in all, an extremely informative run.
Quite frankly, the entire Dex experience has been crazy educational. This is only my 5th day of using it and already I'm beginning to shift basal rates around. It's difficult, of course, because my body requirements on days when I run 14 miles are a lot different on days when I run none. Not to mention, there's a definite pressure to quickly correct highs, but that just starts a big yo-yo effect. But still, I've got zero complaints and am certain that using the Dex will lead to much better A1C's and - hopefully - a successful marathon plan.
RE: the marathon plan... I'm in week 4(?) of the Higdon Intermediate 2. It's meant as a step-down week, but I've got a 5k race this weekend, so we'll see how rested I am after that.
In other news, I tripped on last Friday's run, spraining my wrist when I landed. I did get it x-rayed and was happy to see x-rays negative. But I stretched the hand and wrist out quite a bit and am wearing a brace, now, waiting for it to heal. Not a lot of fun, but better than a sharp stick in the eye, so there's that. Over the weekend, I couldn't even work the BlackBerry, but I'm back to painful (and poor) typing, so healing of some sort is underway.
Up to NYC to speak on a panel tomorrow... After that, no business travel for the foreseeable future, which puts a smile on my face. :)
My biggest fear about using the Dex (instead of Medtronic) was having a second device and a relatively big one at that. The DexCom receiver is actually a little taller than my BlackBerry storm and is exactly as wide at its widest point.
My idea was to put the Dex into the big pocket of my RaceReady shorts, but once the Storm was in there, that wasn't happening. (Side note: I love my BlackBerry Storm, but it's not good for hauling around on the roads.)
Instead, I decided to use the DexCom holster and just clip it to my waistband. Surprisingly, this worked like a charm. In the end, what I didn't realize about the Dex is that while it is every bit as big as a cellphone, it's not nearly as dense. It's a relatively lightweight device and with a secure clip in place, it doesn't bounce at all.
When I hit the road, my blood sugar was 125. I didn't want to obsess about it, though, so I decided to check it every 2-3 miles, which is pretty much what I did. For the first half of the run, the blood sugar barely moved, always staying between 125 and 130. I kept my pump on a very small basal rate the same time.
As I moved into the second half of the run, though, things started shifting... the blood sugar started creeping up but I also wanted to take a gel because my energy was getting low. This was important, though, as I began to think of the gel not as something to keep my blood sugar up, but as something to fuel my body. I took the gel and took a half bolus, which was good enough to have me finish the run around 150.
All in all, an extremely informative run.
Quite frankly, the entire Dex experience has been crazy educational. This is only my 5th day of using it and already I'm beginning to shift basal rates around. It's difficult, of course, because my body requirements on days when I run 14 miles are a lot different on days when I run none. Not to mention, there's a definite pressure to quickly correct highs, but that just starts a big yo-yo effect. But still, I've got zero complaints and am certain that using the Dex will lead to much better A1C's and - hopefully - a successful marathon plan.
RE: the marathon plan... I'm in week 4(?) of the Higdon Intermediate 2. It's meant as a step-down week, but I've got a 5k race this weekend, so we'll see how rested I am after that.
In other news, I tripped on last Friday's run, spraining my wrist when I landed. I did get it x-rayed and was happy to see x-rays negative. But I stretched the hand and wrist out quite a bit and am wearing a brace, now, waiting for it to heal. Not a lot of fun, but better than a sharp stick in the eye, so there's that. Over the weekend, I couldn't even work the BlackBerry, but I'm back to painful (and poor) typing, so healing of some sort is underway.
Up to NYC to speak on a panel tomorrow... After that, no business travel for the foreseeable future, which puts a smile on my face. :)
Monday, June 15, 2009
DexCom 7 - The Insurance Story
So, I'm currently rocking the DexCom 7 and have been for 4 days. I love it, love it, love it. For most of the posts, I'll likely be talking about how I use it for running, but this time around, I'm going to tell the insurance story, because I wouldn't be using it if insurance didn't pay for it. Not that my health isn't worth the $140 a month the sucker would've cost me, just that... well just that I guess I didn't think it was.
To recap, this all started late last fall when I met with my Dr. and asked them if my insurance was approving CGMS, yet. Without asking me what insurance I had, the doc pretty much dismissed it, saying that with my good A1C's, it wasn't happening.
About a month later, I was talking to a co-worker who told me his wife just approved on our health insurance.
At the time, I was actually on my wife's health insurance. I'm incredibly blessed to have two wonderful insurances to choose from. The wife's is a teeny bit worse but is a bit cheaper every month (but not much: again, I AM blessed and I know it.).
But this experience told me that if I wanted to have a smooth CGM ride, I needed to get back on my own insurance.
See, the thing is this: the thing I was most scared of doing was FIGHTING with insurance over how sick I am, because I'm not the type of person who dwells on that. At all. So while I can tell you that there are times when diabetes sucks, I tend to forget about it rather quickly and I really didn't want to be in the situation where I was appealing and rehashing things with the insurance company.
But the other thing I needed to do was switch doctors, because good enough wasn't good enough for me any more and I didn't feel like I could trust my doctor to go to bat for me.
So on Jan. 1, I switched to my new insurance. If you're reading this, I live in PA and my insurance is Highmark.
Switching doctors took longer. Endocrinologists are rare it took me until the end of March to get in (I went to Hershey Medical Center). After that appointment, it took me about a month to get in to see the pump specialist (who is also the CGM specialist). That took us deep into April.
Hershey Med's policy is to have prospective CGM patients go to a meeting that's held every other month, but I caught a break by instead meeting with all the reps at a diabetes fair, which saved me some time.
By the time I met with the pump specialist, I'd decided to go on the DexCom. I did the paperwork and the pump specialist wrote the letter saying why I needed it. She focused heavily on my hypoglycemic awareness, particularly when I'm deep into exercise.
The combination of great insurance plus the right doctor equaled a quick approval at 100% coverage. In the end, it took nearly six months, but zero appeals. I got the call on Tuesday and had the DexCom on Friday. I installed it myself (I don't think I was supposed to but the directions were pretty good) and I'm loving the crap out of it. But I'll save that for the next post.
To recap, this all started late last fall when I met with my Dr. and asked them if my insurance was approving CGMS, yet. Without asking me what insurance I had, the doc pretty much dismissed it, saying that with my good A1C's, it wasn't happening.
About a month later, I was talking to a co-worker who told me his wife just approved on our health insurance.
At the time, I was actually on my wife's health insurance. I'm incredibly blessed to have two wonderful insurances to choose from. The wife's is a teeny bit worse but is a bit cheaper every month (but not much: again, I AM blessed and I know it.).
But this experience told me that if I wanted to have a smooth CGM ride, I needed to get back on my own insurance.
See, the thing is this: the thing I was most scared of doing was FIGHTING with insurance over how sick I am, because I'm not the type of person who dwells on that. At all. So while I can tell you that there are times when diabetes sucks, I tend to forget about it rather quickly and I really didn't want to be in the situation where I was appealing and rehashing things with the insurance company.
But the other thing I needed to do was switch doctors, because good enough wasn't good enough for me any more and I didn't feel like I could trust my doctor to go to bat for me.
So on Jan. 1, I switched to my new insurance. If you're reading this, I live in PA and my insurance is Highmark.
Switching doctors took longer. Endocrinologists are rare it took me until the end of March to get in (I went to Hershey Medical Center). After that appointment, it took me about a month to get in to see the pump specialist (who is also the CGM specialist). That took us deep into April.
Hershey Med's policy is to have prospective CGM patients go to a meeting that's held every other month, but I caught a break by instead meeting with all the reps at a diabetes fair, which saved me some time.
By the time I met with the pump specialist, I'd decided to go on the DexCom. I did the paperwork and the pump specialist wrote the letter saying why I needed it. She focused heavily on my hypoglycemic awareness, particularly when I'm deep into exercise.
The combination of great insurance plus the right doctor equaled a quick approval at 100% coverage. In the end, it took nearly six months, but zero appeals. I got the call on Tuesday and had the DexCom on Friday. I installed it myself (I don't think I was supposed to but the directions were pretty good) and I'm loving the crap out of it. But I'll save that for the next post.
Monday, June 01, 2009
Marathon Consolation Prize...
Earlier in the year, I'd planned on running a spring marathon this past weekend, but after I lost my peak 8 days of training, I bagged that idea. All of which meant that I'm pretty fit right now, though not peaked for a marathon.
As I wrote last week, the goal for this year's Red Rose Run was to beat last year's time of 33:48. I felt I was in sub-33 shape, but not in this course, which is far from easy. Still, I surprised myself.
The plan was to go out with two 6:20 miles and then hold on. Last year, I'd run a 6:55 3rd mile, a 7:21 4th and a 6:59 5th.
This year, I did a 6:18 and a 6:15, but then only slowed down to a 6:47. The true torture mile of this race is mile 4, and I slowed down to a 7:13. Surprisingly, I had a nice 6:32 5th mile, so I came in at 33:04, a real shock.
I'm crediting a good chunk of the time on the weather, which was much milder this year. But I was pretty pleased with coming in 69th out of 1100 (last year I was 71) and 13th out of 140 in my AG. (Last year I was 11th out of 135)
So, I didn't get much faster compared to the competition, but it's still a nice 5 mile PR, and one that tells me I can go under 33 on this course, and perhaps 30-60 seconds faster on an easier one.
As I wrote last week, the goal for this year's Red Rose Run was to beat last year's time of 33:48. I felt I was in sub-33 shape, but not in this course, which is far from easy. Still, I surprised myself.
The plan was to go out with two 6:20 miles and then hold on. Last year, I'd run a 6:55 3rd mile, a 7:21 4th and a 6:59 5th.
This year, I did a 6:18 and a 6:15, but then only slowed down to a 6:47. The true torture mile of this race is mile 4, and I slowed down to a 7:13. Surprisingly, I had a nice 6:32 5th mile, so I came in at 33:04, a real shock.
I'm crediting a good chunk of the time on the weather, which was much milder this year. But I was pretty pleased with coming in 69th out of 1100 (last year I was 71) and 13th out of 140 in my AG. (Last year I was 11th out of 135)
So, I didn't get much faster compared to the competition, but it's still a nice 5 mile PR, and one that tells me I can go under 33 on this course, and perhaps 30-60 seconds faster on an easier one.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
