River Run 15K Race Report
by Andrew Nelson for www.getfitnyc.com
andy@getfitnyc.com

It was COLD on Sun Nov 21. 36F by my thermometer. I had had a rough week but felt ready for a 15K, a distance I like. A 15K is a tough distance in the best of circumstances, longer than a 10K(obviously), harder than three 5Ks, and not a round number like a 10miler. But still short enough to carry my fitness from my last race, a half marathon, over to this race. It would work normally, this day was not normal.

I felt a mostly ready as long I was able to warm up well. With some “help” from my GPS, an error or 2 on my part and going to the wrong entrance of the park we were supposed to run in, we showed up to register and race about 20 min before the start of the race, not enough time to warm up properly. I registered and began some resemblance of a warm up - hurried stretching, some fast leg drills, and rushing out of my warm clothes. A few minutes later the gun went off.
I felt surprisingly good in the opening 2 miles of the race. I hit a wall abut mile 2.5 and felt like there was junk in my legs and chest. Whoa! it was way too soon to feel like this.

Since I had a goal of <1 hour I knew feeling like this so soon was a bad sign but when the clock read 19:37 for the first 5K I knew my goal was still manageable. I had to push to stay ahead of my time and use some will power to make my legs move fast. I focused on lifting my feet quickly and staying relaxed in my upper body, I could feel my feet collapsing in (pronating) when I was not focused on lifting my feet and keeping my cadence high, a sign of fatigue.

I passed the lead runner going the other way at the 5 mile marker, he was crossing the 10K mark and I saw that the clock read 33:30, that meant all I had to do was run 1.2 miles in 6:30 and I would still be on schedule. I crossed the 10K mark at 40:52 and that was a major struggle, I could not believe I still had 5K to go. It was better than having 10K to go.

I tried to make it to mile 7 without stopping but it did not work. I walked the water station at the 7 mile marker and vowed to run to mile 8, again it was hurting too bad and my form was bad so I had to stop and walk to avoid injury. Fortunately there were markers every .1 miles on the pathway so I had short goals to keep me going.

I rallied at mile 8.5 to run the last .8 miles without stopping (I have to look good crossing the finish line). I finished (finally) in 1:03:24, officially.(4th in Age Group, 23rd over all, 22/132 gender) I know that by most standards that is fast, a 6:48/mile average, but I know I am capable of faster.

The message here is modestly simple - When the coach says take the day before the race off of your feet, that is what they mean. When you are feeling tired at the beginning of the race, you will probably feel worse at the end.

On the up side - I have not had a “bad race” in a few years, so you could argue that I was due. Now I will not need a bad race for a few more years.

Go out and enjoy a Turkey Trot Thanksgiving day. Then go home and eat a nice dinner with your family, play a little back yard football, jump in the leaves with your children or grandchildren, and try some small slices of dessert. Enjoy yourself and give thanks for being able to Run, Swim, Bike, walk and be generally active.
-Andy

P.S. My wife Emma (team manager for Team WE Sports) also ran the 15K, her first at that distance and she did and amazing job. She averaged an 8:30/mile pace using a 9/1 run/walk ratio. 1:19:37 official time. Way to go Emma! Her next race is the Rock n Roll Half Marathon in Las Vegas, Dec 5th. She will do great.

Start-to-Finish

Start-to-Finish: is a training program for corporate TEAMS.

Our coaches specialize in Swim, Bike, and Run workouts to prepare athletes for
Multisport and Running events including:

Triathlons (swim, bike, run)

Duathlon (run, bike, run)

Aqualons (swim, run)

Aquavelo (swim, bike)

Run Races - 5k, 10k half and full marathons

Get your co-workers together as a team and join us. The journey to completing your first event starts in January.

Contact us to find out how.

So far so good...

Sunday Halloween - 60 miles to Bear Mountain - Bike
Monday - 4.25 miles - run; yoga
Tuesday - off/gym
Wednesday - bike trainer 1 hr; road ride 1.5 hrs.
Thursday - bike trainer 1 hr; run 7 miles
Friday - bike trainer 1 hr; road ride 1.5 hrs.

I got this!!! Half marathon - oh yah!