California International Marathon Review and Results (CIM 2012)

"Call me Ishmael."

I thought of the first line of Moby Dick more than once on this swirling maelstrom of a race course at the 2012 California International Marathon. To further butcher a good metaphor, by the end of the race, I wasn't sure if I was Ishmael or the Great White Whale...

First, let's take care of some business.

If you're just looking for results, here they are. They're only unofficial results until Wednesday, I believe, then they should get the official results up.

And here's an article on the winners: Daniel Tapia and Alisha Williams, the first two American winners at CIM since 1999 and 2000, respectively.

Wow, what an experience this one was.

First, as you know if you're a regular R's reader, I simply was not ready for this race. I had injuries. And setbacks.

And if you recall, I had wondered publicly if one could run a marathon on no training. Well, according to my personal sample size of one: yes, you can. But it won't be fast.

So let's go back about a week before the race. It wasn't a secret - the weather forecast did not look good for the 2012 CIM. But it's one thing to look at an online forecast a week before the race.

And it's another to look out your Sacramento hotel window at 5:00am the morning of the race. The rain was coming down in sheets...and the sheets were being blown sideways by huge gusts of wind. It was ugly.

Here's a photo album of the damage the storms had done in the Sacramento area in the days before the CIM.

The third and final of the storms in that series to hit Sacramento was hitting, you guessed it, on Saturday night and Sunday morning.

But what to do except run the damn thing? Well, if I had lived in Sacramento, I may have skipped the whole thing. But I already flew down, got a hotel, rental car, etc, etc...I was running it.

So I put on my finest definitely-not-rain-proof-running-outfit and headed for the buses to take me to the start line. Jen snapped a picture of me in the hotel, looking like a kid heading to his first day of school in a new town, dry and happy.

So Jen drove me as far as she could, then dropped me off. I ran through the driving wind and rain, which in the dark before sunrise, had a scary biblical quality to it, and jumped on a bus to take me to the start line. There were supposed to be tents and such near the start line, but the wind was howling and garbage was flying through the streets; you really couldn't see much of anything. I scrambled to a strip mall next to a gas station, where I actually found decent shelter from the wind and rain. I vowed to stay there until 6:55am, five minutes before the starting gun.

In this photo gallery from the Sacramento Bee, the gas station in Photo #1 is just across from where I was hiding pre-race, and the shelter in Photo #2, is where I was huddled, trying to keep warm.

At 6:55 exactly, I sprinted out to the start line and got close to the 4:00 pace group. I tried to hide behind people, but the course started out directly, head-on, into the wind that was gusting up to 40mph. There was just nowhere to hide. See Photos # 13 and 14 in the gallery just above to see what I'm talking about.

They played the Star Spangled Banner, gave us a couple "good lucks" and we were off! The first two miles were IN. SANE. The wind and rain was hitting your face like hail, so you had to keep your head down, and hopefully had a hat on, so you could keep some rain off your face. Only that made it so you didn't see the garbage bags, gloves, t-shirts and sweatshirts that were coming back like missiles, blown by the wind. Cardboard garbage cans and plastic garbage bags were flying around. People were jumping and dodging trying to miss branches and palm fronds down in the street.

Crazy.

The wind was coming from the South, so as you can see on my Garmin map, it was either in our faces or blowing sideways across us the whole way. It was never behind us, on this point to point course, so it never helped us.

As befitting my horrid last two months of training, I went out fairly well, then faded oh so quickly right around the half marathon mark. I wanted to stay with the four hour pace group as long as possible and actually slowly moved up with the 3:55 group for quite a while. But after 13 miles, I faded back.

There were huge streams flying down the gutters during the entire race and every couple miles, there would be lakes that covered the entire street, like this.

There were also two sections where there were rivers - I'm not kidding here, these were 4-6 inch deep rivers flowing across the street. There was absolutely no way to get around them. You had to go right through them. If you were thinking right before you got to those rivers, "well, we can't get any wetter," you were wrong, weren't you?

Lots of good signs along the way, but my favorite was "Embrace the suck." I couldn't have put it any better.

I was having trouble meeting up with my support crew, Jen, but she finally found me at around mile 18. My quads were just trashed at that point - have I mentioned I didn't train for this race - and this series of photos is me telling her "no, I won't be finishing around 4:00, my quads are done." And her yelling, "But you're doing great, you've got a good time." And me yelling, "You don't understand, I'm done. Look for me at 4:30!"

And it turns out, that's exactly what happened. I totally seized up in the last six miles and was lucky to get across in 4:28:54.

And while Jen didn't get any shots of me in the first half of the race, when I actually looked like a normal runner, she did get me shambling across the finish line like a zombie.



The course itself was as advertised: up and down, but with gentle rollers and an overall downhill slant. I could see myself trying this one again...if I'm in shape...and the weather report is better.

So of course the sun came out at about noon and the rest of the day was positively beautiful. What are you going to do, right? Since we were flying back that night, and since our hotel wasn't allowing ANY late check-outs (and we couldn't get back there before noon), we found a local YMCA and I paid the day-use fee so I could take a shower!

Good race expo and great organization and volunteers there and at the race itself. Decent swag and a good looking black tech race tee. Also got some cotton gloves, a cinch backpack, a weird handband thing, and a big ass medal (B.A.M!), that you can apparently use as a coaster. It weighs about four pounds.

All in all, the race went as expected because I didn't have any expectations coming in. Being totally unprepared will do that to you.

But I'm not giving up. I'll roll my Boston goal to 2013 and I'll be back.

Next planned race: Corvallis Half Marathon in April. See you there.

credit for the opening video of the CIM to franzevna.

Evaluating Running Goals After An Injury

Yes, the "dreaded" injury. In my case, this ankle right here:

If you recall, I rolled my ankle pretty good during the Condor 25k Trail Run. After I rolled the ankle, I believe I made a few mistakes. First, I ran the rest of the race after I hurt my ankle - about 13 miles on a bad ankle. Dumb, but I can be stubborn like that, I admit. I've never had an actual DNF in a race. I didn't want to start then. Then I took six days off - a good decision. Then I thought I could go ahead and run because it didn't feel really bad. Mistake number two. I definitely didn't do the healing any favors with that run. Now I'm on a seven-day stretch without running. It's feeling a bit better, although not great. Maybe 75-80%.

So the goals...

First, I'm signed up for the Runaway Pumpkin Half this Saturday, the 27th. Way back, when I signed up for the race, I figured it would be a nice little test as I move toward the CIM in December. About six weeks away from my goal marathon, so I could run the Half fast and try to PR, with plenty of time after to recover.

Now, I'm not even sure if I'm going to run the Pumpkin Half at all. If I do, the PR is out the window.

And of course, now I'm on my third week of basically no running. In the middle of my training program for my Boston Qualifier, the CIM. Sigh...I knew qualifying for Boston would be tough, I just didn't realize I'd have so many false starts.

So I'm having a tough time with my mental outlook right now. I'm trying very hard to take the long overview:

-Get the foot healthy enough to run on again,
-If possible, use the Runaway Pumpkin Half as an easy training run,
-Get back into the training schedule, but ease off a bit. Boston is not an option at this point, and I need to regain my running fitness more than my top-end speed, after being out for so long.
-Try to PR at the California International Marathon. A new goal, sort of, but still something to drive toward and focus on. And frankly, since I had such a horrible race at my last full, a new PR is still very much possible.

And since it's important to quit focusing on the negative ("damn foot, why won't you get better faster?"), and instead focus on the future ("so what spring marathon should I schedule?"), I went out and purchased the new Hanson's Marathon Method book. What's more inspiring than a new training plan to follow?!?

So, let's review:

-Wait! Don't rush it. Let the injury heal and get back into the training as soon as possible.
-Reset the goals. Make them concrete, objective, and most importantly, still difficult yet achievable.
-Find some inspiration to get you excited all over again. A new book, a new pair of shoes, sign up for a race that's six months away. Anything to solidly plant that new goal and improve the mental and emotional outlook.

And don't think about the foot. Quit thinking about the foot.

Corvallis Fall Festival Race Results and Race Review

Another 2012 race and another PR in the books!

Hey, if you just want to see the results and could care less about my race; I completely understand. Here are the results for the 5k and 10k.

Now let's talk about me!

So I was on a nice little streak in 2012 coming into the Corvallis Fall Festival 10k. I had run four races and set three all-time PR's and one master's PR. So I was four for four. And since I had set my 10k PR last year, at the very same Fall Festival course, I saw no reason that I shouldn't go five for five in 2012. My PR coming in was 48:57. Nothing spectacular, to be sure. It was basically the same pace as my half marathon PR, so I definitely felt good about my chances coming in.

We actually had some rain the night before, but an hour or so before race time it was sunny and quite warm. A good day for a race!

I met my friend Manny B, coming up from Eugene, and we chatted, did a little warmup, chatted, hit the honey buckets, and chatted while we waited for the 10k start time of 9:15. Sort of late on a warm day like today, but there you go.

Now I know I've complained about this before, but I just don't understand...so I'm going to complain again. You've got a race with both a 10k and a 5k...why do you start the 5k first!?!? The 5k will always have the walkers and the kids and the joggers. The 10k will always have the more serious, faster on average, runners. So why start the 5k first? I just don't understand...

Anyway, they started the 5k at 9:10 and the 10k exactly five minutes later at 9:15. I don't need to tell you that we came up on the back of the 5k pack very, very quickly. It was never completely blocked like we were at the Red, White and Blue 5k, but you had to swerve back and forth around a number of walkers, both during the first two miles, then at the end as well when we merged back in together during the last mile. Big deal? No. But I still think you could solve the problem by starting the 10k first. Stepping off soapbox...now!

As usual, I ran the first quarter mile or so without looking at my watch. I like to try to find my pace and keep my breathing and heart rate at a decent level before I look at my pace and adjust.

And as usual, I went out too fast.

I mean, look at that first quarter-mile! I needed to average about 7:45 to set a new PR. I wanted to average about 7:30. I glanced down at my watch at about a quarter-mile and saw I was hitting about 6:15! Hey now! I looked up and saw Gerhard Behrens' back just ahead of me and then I really knew I needed to slow down. There's no way I should be running up with him at any point in the race.

I was able to reel it back in a bit and hit the first mile marker at 7:03. Quite a bit faster than my plan, but I felt OK so I just kept rolling. The second mile came in at a respectable 7:14 and I knew if I could just hang on for 6.2 miles, the PR was looking like it would go down hard.

Miles three and four are a long, straight out and back on the road that heads behind the OSU Dairy Barns and then under the Covered Bridge, until finally hitting the turn-around all the way out at 53rd. No 5k runners to worry about in this section, but it's not my favorite section, plus the sun was blazing in our faces on the way back to campus. My splits here were 7:33 and 7:28, which was just about perfect. I was feeling it a little bit, but was pretty happy that my pace was steady around 7:30.

We came back onto campus proper for mile five and my favorite section - a slight downhill and, importantly, shaded by huge trees as we made our way down to Reser Stadium. Overall, this is a very flat and fast course. That plus the late September date, which usually means clear skies, but not too hot, makes this a great course for a PR. I hit mile five at 7:36.

I was tired on mile six, and my 7:41 pace shows that, but there's a short hill in front of Dixon there and I was already dreaming of the downhill past Benton Hall and the finish line right after.

I came through the last .2 mile with a nice push at 7:14 pace to hit the line at 46:11.

The old PR was 48:57, so it was a nearly three minute slice off my old PR! Overall, I was 39th out of 216 runners in the 10k. Fourth out of 15 in my age-division...so close to that white ribbon! And 35th out of 105 guys.

So one more PR in the books for 2012! Next up is the Condor Run 25k...that's a very hilly trail run...although I don't think I've ever run a 25k before, so I guess that's a sure PR!

See you there!

Back to the Marathon Training

Well, I definitely took it easy for a few weeks. Eased up on the mileage. Took a couple short vacations. Ate like a big, fat pig.

But now it's time to turn it back on. We're about 14 weeks from the California International Marathon. That means it's time to get busy.

I followed the 18 week Pfitzinger Plan for my last marathon. I enjoyed it, but it wore me out a bit. I felt like I was just about done after 14-16 weeks. I'm hoping by cutting it back by a few weeks, it will keep my old, old legs fresh. I'm also going to mix two training plans together this time around. Good idea? I'm not sure, but I feel like I'm faster over the last two months than I've been in more than a decade. I'm not ready to give up that speed. Not to mention, I'm still looking for PR's in the Fall Festival 10k in late September and the Runaway Pumpkin Half Marathon in late October. So I'm keeping a couple of the speed days a week from the Half Marathon Training plan I've been following lately. I'll keep the long days from the Pfitzinger plan. I think it will work.

We'll find out on December 2nd.

Seafair Torchlight Run Results and Race Report

Subtitled: Another PR goes down!

If you're just looking for race results, here you go.

Now let's talk about the race itself!

A little history first. It seems absolutely impossible to me, but going through my old race numbers, I think this is my first Seafair 8k since 1990! Wow. They called it the Seafair Henry's 8k back then. I don't recall the first thing about the race or course from that long ago, but it was downtown, which means we probably ran along the Viaduct, because of the Washington State Law that says any race in downtown Seattle proper must be run along the Viaduct.

Weird race prep for this one. Me and the kids drove all the way from Corvallis to Gig Harbor, WA on Saturday morning. After I deposited them at the Grandparents' house, I then drove on to Seattle for the race. No, five-plus hours of driving is not recommended for pre-race strategy.

So I wanted to get to Seattle Center a little early, as I had find parking on Torchlight Parade night, pick up my number and shirt, take the shirt back to the car, then get back to the start line and get warmed up. Oh, and the registration said packet pickup was at "Seattle Center." Period. Ummm, it's a pretty big place. Could we nail it down a little better than that?

Anyhoo, I found a few folks that already had their numbers and got directions on where to go. Long story short, I got the parking, shirt, number, put away the shirt, found out the race started a half-hour later than I thought and had a WHOLE lot of time to kill.

But then people-watching at Seattle Center is a pretty decent way to kill time, so that's exactly what I did.

With the race starting at 6:30, I knew it could be a hot one, and I had no clue of where exactly the course went. I figured we'd have a little shade from buildings, but I didn't know how much.

So with 5k runners and 8k runners all lined up and running together, we were about 3500 strong. I knew we took off down 2nd, went down a decent hill immediately, and would eventually finish going back up that same big hill. And that's all I knew.

With KIRO copters filming overhead, we were off!

I wanted to beat my lifetime 8k PR of 37:40. My only plan was to keep the pace under 7:30, but as fast as possible while keeping my heart rate at a decent range (I don't wear, and never have worn, a heart rate monitor,but I can tell by my breathing and shortness of breath when I'm going too fast).

We ran from 2nd to Denny then right to 4th Ave and headed downtown. That's where all the crowds were waiting for the Torchlight Parade and it's pretty amazing running in front of that many people. They estimated the crowds at between 200,000 and 300,000 and they're mostly very positive with a lot of kids looking for high fives. It's pretty fun.

I enjoyed the shade between the huge buildings on 4th very, very much. I also liked the slight downhill for much of that stretch. The only problem at all along this stretch was the bad surface of the roads. Lots of potholes, huge metal grates, metal construction plates, etc. Reminded me of the horrid downtown streets from the Portland Tri a few years back. I clocked 7:07 on my first mile, which I thought was a little fast, but not too bad. Then I ran the second mile in 6:52! Wow.

OK, that's too fast, and I knew that was too fast, but I felt pretty good. And it was on a section that had a lot of downhill. So I didn't check myself too much. I just figured I'd keep it up as long as I felt it.

We finally turned down toward the water and moved onto 1st, still running south. We went past CenturyLink Field, otherwise known as Seahawk Stadium, and I knew the good times were just about over. It was also around here that everyone in front of me cut off a corner. Hey, we weren't up in the front with the leaders. And it was only about 20 feet everyone was cheating going around a corner without getting to the cone. No biggie.

But it still bugs me. I ran all the way to the cone before making the turn. I don't know what the people behind me did, and don't really want to know. I do know that the 20 or 30 people in front of me cut the corner. Every single one of them. Irritating.

So we made the turn to head back to the barn and, of course, we headed onto the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Yep, and it's uphill when you're heading north. Now, I know the elevation doesn't look like much, but it's a steady climb going onto the Viaduct there.

And the sun was blazing into our faces now that we were out of the downtown area.

And there were no more cheering crowds now that we were on the Viaduct.

And we met back up with the 5k runners...and walkers...who had branched off a while earlier...and they meandered in front of the 8k runners at random points...while they took photos of themselves in front of the new Seattle Great Wheel.

It took some concentration here. I was tired, I was hot, I was annoyed at having to dodge walkers...and I knew I was slowing down. Mile three time: 7:14. That's OK. Mile four time: 7:45. Uh-oh.

When we finally took the exit off the Viaduct onto Western, I was a happy guy. I knew we were getting close there. I just needed to hold on a bit longer. I also knew we had that very last hill at the end, but didn't know anything between here and there.

I found out soon enough.

We took a right onto Broad St. and OH MY GOD...it went straight frickin' uphill to the sky! It was only a block long hill...but sooooo steep. Just before that hill, I knew I had the PR in hand. After that hill, I knew I had to keep the pedal down or I might miss it.

Got back onto 2nd, fought through a huge mass of walkers on the last hill and made it to the finish line with a 37:17. A full 23 seconds off of my now-previous PR.

Woot!

That was good for 224th out of 1872 8k runners. And 17th out of 105 runners in my division.

So the go-out-too-fast-and-hang-on plan works once again.

All I can say is, it's a nice feeling to set a lifetime PR when you're 45 years old. I was smiling for a good couple hours after I finished the race.

Next up on the PR pain train? The Fall Festival 10k, right here in Corvallis.

See you there.

Running in Ellensburg, Washington

Or to be more exact: Running to Ellensburg, Washington.

So the R's family spent the weekend at the Lazy F Campground near Ellensburg for the yearly summer family reunion.

And since the days were filled with family fun, that meant I had to wake up at the ungodly hour of 5:45, after not sleeping all night on a thin prison-type mattress, upon a solid wood bed frame made for someone 5'6", to go for my daily runs.

And so I did.

Now the Lazy F is at the tail end of a dead-end road about 12 miles away from Ellensburg, nestled in the foothills near the Cascades.

So that means you only have one way to run - away from the mountains and toward Ellensburg.

The first day, I just needed to run a quick six miles. I figured I'd head out for three and turn around. Easy peasy.

Oof.

Yeah, it's a nice, steady 100 feet per mile downhill, which means, coming back, it's a nice, steady 100 feet per mile uphill.

I needed to do a 16 miler on Sunday morning...

There was just no way I was going to run eight solid miles uphill. No. Way. So I made a little deal with Mrs. R. Five bucks from my wallet for a Starbucks latte on Sunday morning in Ellensburg. Oh, and on her way there, she could pick me up at the end of my run!

Sometimes I'm so smart it actually hurts. But I deal.

Bright and early Sunday morning, I took off with the sun just beginning to peak over the jagged rocks and cliff faces. It's very interesting looking country up there.

Luckily, there's very little traffic at that time in the morning...or basically at any time on that road...so you don't have to worry too much about going around blind corners like this one.

Although the amount of road kill on the pavement left no doubt that accidents happen...and people drive way too fast on that curvy road to nowhere.

Although it felt good at the time, that 100 feet of drop per mile was bound to play havoc with my quads. Still, at the time, I was really enjoying reeling off easy 8:15-8:40 miles. It was pretty effortless. And except for the one spot where I stopped dead-still for a minute while I pondered whether the growling pitbull off its leash was going to actually kill me, I kept my pace fairly steady.

Finally, coming out of the curvy hill section and into the straight farm section, I was lucky enough to have a somewhat mundane, yet very babbling and soothing, irrigation canal at my side.

After about 10 miles, I made my first turn onto a new road and headed toward Ellensburg. About a mile from town, right by the Yakima River, I saw these two Osprey in their nest. One flew over me with a fish in his talons. Nice.

So after getting to Ellensburg proper, I was only at about 12 miles, so I had to do a little back and forth to get over 15, and that's when I saw the wonderful sight of the Prius coming in for a landing to pick me up.

And while the pace looked pretty good...

...the elevation profile screams "quad killer!"...

And indeed, I am feeling it today. Ouch.

But hey, another good week of training in the books. And only five days 'til the Seafair Torchlight 8k.

Let's race!

Race Report: Red White and Blue 5k

And in the 2012 Race for PR's, the R's is three for three!

The first race of 2012 was the Corvallis Half. Got a nice PR there.

Then we had the Newport Marathon. Horrible, awful, just plain bad. Nevertheless, it was a PR...and I'm not proud. So that's two for two.

And Wednesday (who put the Fourth of July on a freaking Wednesday?!), we had the RWB 5k in Corvallis. And as I'll explain, I'm not too sure about the exact time...but I'm sure it was a Master's PR. Three for three, baby!

So we woke up Wednesday to a bright, sunshiny day. Which, frankly, has not been the norm in the Northwest so far this year. But it looks like our Summer is finally here. Jen, Payton and I all planned on running, and Carson made a late decision to join us about ten minutes before we left for the race, so the whole R's family piled into the Prius for the short drive downtown.

Considering it's the cheapest race of the year ($4 pre-registered and $6 day of race), there was a fairly good size crowd at the start - maybe 200, 250 runners and walkers.

I'm not going to complain too much about a four dollar race, but they put the walkers on the course 20 minutes before the runners...that's asking for trouble on a bike path that goes about three or four wide in most spots. Especially when, we found out later in the race, there was a drunk homeless guy sleeping in the middle of the path. Hurdle!

And the timing...I thought I had my Garmin 110 started up in plenty of time. It usually only takes a couple minutes to find satellites on sunny days. Unfortunately, we were lined up at the start line under a huge tree. The RD yelled "go" through the megaphone and my watch still said "Acquiring Satellites."

Damn.

So instead of using my plan of hitting around 7:15 pace and running through the 5k at a steady PR pace, I took off at what felt like waaaaay too fast, following some very speedy high school girls (see photo above, with me in my awesome new purple Oakley's and Payton peeking out behind me).

And of course, now that I was sprinting down the Corvallis River Walk, the Garmin could not find any satellites to latch on to. Hoo boy. Time to use the tried and true 5k strategy of...

GO OUT WAY TOO FAST AND HOPE LIKE HELL YOU CAN HANG ON AT THE END!

Here's Jen and Carson going out at a much more sedate and fun pace.

We came up on the back end of the walker crowd awfully quickly and started having to weave and pass many one-wide, two-wide and even three-wide packs. Which was OK at first, but then, even before we made the turn to head into Avery Park for the halfway turn-around, the leaders started coming back the other way. And now the bike path was really crowded.

By the halfway point, my Garmin had at least come to life, so I could see my pace and I slowed down just a touch to around 7:15 pace to make sure I wouldn't collapse with the finish line in sight.

Just after the turnaround, the path got really tight and I had a couple of spots where I had to swing into the weeds to pass and one spot where I just had to pull up and run slow behind a group of walkers for a few seconds until I could pass. What are you going to do, right?

So the last mile is a slight uphill and the high schoolers pulled away from me a bit. I came up alongside a guy about my age and asked him what his running time was on his watch. He told me and I compared it to what I had on my watch. Then I tried to subtract my time from his time to see what I'd have to add on to my time at the end...and I tried...and I tried...

Trying to do simple math when running full out in the last half-mile of a 5k is a bit like doing advanced trigonometry to figure out the angle of attack when a tiger is leaping at your throat. I gave up and just hoped they had a clock at the finish.

Here I am about 50 feet from the finish line. I swear I felt OK, but good god, I look unbelievably stiff and upright and tight.

I don't know what to tell you. Obviously, I wasn't as relaxed as I would have liked to have been.

Still, I rolled across the finish line and the race clock said 22:22. A nice amount off my previous Master's PR of 23:11. Strangely enough, the posted results here show that I ran a 22:03. Since my watch was worthless, I'm not sure which to believe, but I'm sticking with the 22:22 that was on the clock unless I hear better.

So that's one more PR down. Next try for a PR is later this month in Seattle at the Seafair Torchlight 8k.

Wish me luck...and a watch that can find the satellites!

The 2012 Race Schedule - PR's or Bust!

Well, after the pain and misery that was the Newport Marathon, I had to take a couple weeks to get my head straight, but I think I'm back in the right frame of mind. I'm ready to race again. I'm actually feeling sort of fast and frisky.

So let's set the remaining 2012 race sched!

Strangely enough, and I didn't plan it this way, I'm looking at five races for the rest of 2012...and they just line up in perfect order from short to long: 5k, 8k, 10k, Half Marathon, and finally, Full Marathon.

And don't forget the PR portion of this plan. It's all about the PR! About the only advantage of being an old man like me is being able to shoot for all-time PR's...but if you miss those, being able to shoot for your Master's PR's! Unfortunately for me, a LOT of my Master's PR's are my all-time PR's. Ack!

Let's run it down!

5k - July 4, 2012
All-Time PR: 19:59
Master's PR: 23:11

This one is coming up fast. Next Wednesday, on Independence Day, Corvallis has one of the most low-key 5k races you'll ever find. Four bucks and you're in! I don't have a chance in hell of setting my all-time PR here. I haven't completely given up on that yet, but I'm not in that kind of shape right now. I do think I can lower my Master's PR however. One concern: I ran this race last year and had a HORRIBLE race. Considering I run this route about once a week, I really should have no excuses here.

8k - July 28, 2012
All-Time PR: 37:40
Master's PR: 47:02

Ten minutes difference between the two PR's! Crazy, right? Well, there is a reason behind that. The only 8k I've run since I been back in decent shape these last couple years was the Run for the Hills 8k...trail run. And yes, it had some serious hills! But this year, we're going back in time and revisiting a race that me and my brother used to run every year, back in the day! The Seafair Torchlight 8k! Back in Seattle, baby. And yes, I see a Master's PR. All-time? Maybe.

10k - September 23, 2012
All-Time PR: 48:57
Master's PR: 48:57

Both PR's were set last year at the Fall Festival 10k in Corvallis and that's where I'll be running this year as well. Hey, it's flat, it's fast, and it's on trails and roads that I run every single week in Corvallis. PR? Yes, I think so.

Half Marathon - October 27, 2012
All-time PR: 1:42:24
Master's PR: 1:42:24

Well, both PR's were just set a few months back at the Corvallis Half. That course is fairly flat and pretty fast. And familiar. The Runaway Pumpkin Half in Lebanon? Don't know. It's in it's second year, and I didn't run it last year. PR? Well, I ain't gonna run it and not try to PR, right?

Marathon - December 2, 2012
All-time PR: 4:12:55
Master's PR: 4:12:55

We're not even going to talk about Boston before this one. I've learned my lesson there. But PR. Oh yeah, me and the CIM are going to PR. You heard it here first.

So that's the rest of the year. Looks good.

Let's do it.