Perfect 10 Miler 2009

OK 10 Miler & the 4th place curse

After the race my wife said "I see nothing Perfect with this 10 miler... For me, it is just an OK 10 Miler..." I think she is referring to the course, with its twists and turns and long uphill stretch. Organization has been great.

The weather was sunny and rather warm. I started fast, averaging 6:35/mile for the first 3 miles (6:46, 6:37, 6:49) . I slowed down in the uphill, as expected, (7:03, 7:10) but the downhill was not much better (6:56, 6:59), I struggled in the last 2 miles (7:16, 7:11) and got passed by a couple of runners.

My final time: 1:08:51 (6:54 pace)
My 10 mile PR (in this course) remains 1:08:31 from 2007



<---- Empty-handed again!


When they posted the results at the end of the race, I was listed 3rd. So, we stayed for the awards. My wife liked the mugs they were giving and she was happy I was getting one. But the final results list me 4th. The 3 guys ahead of me are all 50 years old. It is going to be a long & tough 5 years for me!

I have been hit by the "4th place curse" lately... I finished 4th in the Independence 5K and 4th today (My wife was 4th too, with 1:36:49 – her first race over 10K -, and so did a couple of our running friends).

Next race: River Run 1/2 Marathon (Sept 13)

I signed up for the Akron Marathon last week (it is September 26).
I plan to run it slower, as a training run for the upcoming ATHENS (as in
Athens, Greece) marathon in November (8th)!

Independence 5K – 2009

<-- Example of my fine photographic work. This is a picture of Liz at the finish (she is the one on the left). Her head is missing! That's because I had the digital camera at the top of my film 3d camera. I was only interested in taking the 3d picture. I then snapped the digital picture, without looking at the display, and here are the results!


What will it take for a 50 year old to win an age award in a small local race with a time of 19:31?

Apparently, it will take a new age group... For some unknown reason, Independence age groups are shifted by one year.... Most races have 45-49 and 50-54 age groups. Independence has 46-50 and 51-55. So both my wife and I were the oldest in our age groups and we did not win any awards (in the next age group we would have both been 2nd). I was happy to turn 50, but for Independence I need to wait one more year!

The results:

- George (me): 19:31, 4/21 AG (46-50), 29/350 Overall
- Liz (wife): 26:35, 8/18 AG (46-50), 192 overall
- Lea (daughter): 31:12, 10/12 AG (15-20), 264 overall

I have run this race in 2003, 2004, 2005 and every year I set a PR. The 2005 time was 20:06 and my goal was to beat this time, so I am happy I achieved this, plus my 19:31 is not too far way from my 5K PR (19:19 from 4 weeks ago). The course (redesigned) was a bit complicated, full of turns, which might have contributed to slower times.

I was worried about a recent injury. 10 days ago I injured my lower foot while stretching after a run! At first I could not run (was hurting even when walking) but it improved quickly. During warmup for the race, I could feel it, but when the race started, any pain or discomfort instantly disappeared! It seems that the adrenaline rush is acting as an analgesic. Only at mile 2.5 I started feeling a slight discomfort but it did not slow me down.

My mile splits according to the Garmin: 6:00 (the time called at this mile split was 6:15), 6:25, 6:33, 5:37 (last 0.1).

Next Race: Perfect 10 miler!