I Mile Run

Chandler, Arizona
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This was a 1 mile run following the 5k. I was surprised how much juice I had left. I managed to beat my son on this race and finish 5th over-all.

Family Fitness 5K

Chandler, Arizona

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This was a 5k that I did with my son Christian to benefit a school. Christian beat me for the second 5k in a row despite my best efforts. He did push me to a personal record however which put me 4th in my age group.

Rock & Roll Half Marathon Arizona

Tempe, Arizona

This race was a new experience. Over 30 thousand people is quite a feat. I have to hand it to the Competitior Group who puts these on. That is an a huge undertaking, and they do a great job. It was a well run race. The course is not particulary interesting, but the solid stream of human boides is something to see. I finished this half marathon 18 seconds faster than the one I did a month ago. I held to my targeted pace and had a good race.

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Run Walk Roll

Tempe, Arizona

This was a well run 10k put on by Arizona Disabled Sports. This is the first isolated 10k that I have done that wasn’t part of an Olympic distance triathlon. Originally my 11 year old son Christian was signed up for the 5k but after running 5 miles with me this week he decided he wanted to try the 10k. This significantly impacted my performance. This is the confession of a prideful father and what it took to for me to beat my 11 year old son. The last 5k we did together in December, Christian sprinted to the finish line and beat me. He has been very competitive ever since. He seems to have gotten a taste of something he really savors. Christian started out strong running the first 2 miles at just under 8 minutes apiece. That is a fast pace for me. At a few points he was a good 100 yards ahead of me. I couldn’t let him get too far ahead so I had to burn some gas to stay where I could see him. At about three miles his pace began to fade and I caught up to him. I tested him on hills to see if he would stay with me. I hesitate to call these hills, as they are only 200 yard inclines at the most. Real runners would call them elevation anomalies on an otherwise flat course. Whatever you call them, they were opportunities for me. For some unknown reason I run inclines faster than 90 percent of people. I wish I handled hills as well on the bike. Christian would stay right with me on the inclines. I know it was costing him though. I have to applaud the little guy. He has a very competitive spirit. He is only 11 years old and he was matching me stride for stride on those hills where I was pushing hard. I was trying to psychologically break him on the hills where I am strongest. I knew his pace was killing me. I am a fat old dude in my 40’s after all. After a few hills I was able to gain a little ground. Every time we would hit flat ground again he would pull ahead. I was starting to get worried. If I didn’t drop him prior to the finish line I already knew he could out sprint me to the finish line. At a little over 4 miles we hit some ups and downs. I pushed the hills and sped up my cadence significantly on the downs. I kept pulling ahead of him, but he would catch me every time we hit a flat. It was costing him though and I could hear his breathing. Some might question me as a father, but I did not want to hear how I got beat again, and this time on a 10K. I knew the only way I could beat my 11 year old son was by strategy and out smarting him. I have decided I am not a faster runner than he is. This is a difficult acknowledgement for me given that he is only 11years old. When I saw a couple more ups and downs I did the same thing as before but this time when we hit the flat I flipped on a good song on my thumps and hit the gas. Christian struggled to stay but I shortly dropped him. The recent ups and downs had sapped him. His ability to catch up with me on the flats was his psychological cushion. Once I identified that, the evil old man in me knew how to break him. He never faltered physically, only psychologically. I had no intention of keeping that pace for the entire last 2 miles. But poor Christian didn’t know that and he accepted that I would beat him, which is what I needed since he was killing me. What Christian doesn’t know, is that he could have very well beaten me today. He actually ended up with a medal. He was second in the 19 and under age category. That is pretty impressive given the fact he was competing with 19. 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, and 12 year olds.

Reindeer Run

Tempe, Arizona

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The course covered a few of the bridges and it was nice morning for a 5k. Well done race by Lifetime Fitness. My 11 year old son and I enjoyed running it together. He actually beat me today. He took off in the last 100 yards and I just couldn’t stay with him. I liked the long sleeve shirts.

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Holiday Classic Triathlon

Anthem, Arizona

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This was the last triathlon of the year. I like the fact that 4 peaks Racing always has triathletes line up according to estimated swim time when the swim utilizes a pool. This makes for a better pool experience, especially if you can swim. I did well on the swim and bike. My run suffered though. My body had not recovered from the half marathon I did 6 days prior, My 5k time wasn’t as horrible as it felt like, but I was glad to have this run behind me. It was the first time I had even attempted to run since the half marathon.

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Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon

Scottsdale, Arizona

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This was my first half marathon and I had planned to be a bit better trained for it. I ran 10 miles 8 days before the race and tapered down from there. The race actually began and I wasn’t at the start line yet. I didn’t have time to do my normal warm up. There were too few bathrooms available. I struggled for the first few miles trying to find a rhythm and I had some minor cramping in my legs. I was worried it was going to be a long race. At about 3 miles in I found my running legs. This race was the first one where I had a chip in my race bib. I thought that was pretty cool. These running races are always a humbling experience for me. There are so many people who run better than I do. For many miles my ego suffered. I hate being passed by young girls and old ladies. At 10 miles I could feel that I was running longer than I had ever run before. I tried to concentrate on form. At 11 miles I passed a clock. They had clocks at every mile. I did some quick math and realized that if I did the last two miles in just over 7 minutes a mile I could finish in less than 2 hours. I had run two 7 minute mile once back in May of this year. It was possible. I decided that I wanted to finish in less than two hours. I picked up my pace and began passing lots of people. I noted that I was passing many of the people that had damaged my ego far earlier in the race. They are still better runners than I am, they are just smart and not willing to hurt like I am. I was running at a pace considerably faster than everyone else. I started to wonder if I was being foolish. I would hate to blow up and have all these people pass me again. The longer I ran at that pace the more I began to hurt. I could feel the lactic acid building in my muscles and gut. The many years of sprint training as a swimmer has given me a high tolerance to the excruciating pain associated with going anaerobic. Sure I am a 42 year old fat guy who was not born to run, but I still have myself fooled into thinking I am some kind of an athlete. Whatever I am I do know I can reach deep within on occasion and doing that does something for me. In moments like these, when I can overcome the revolt of my physical body and achieve a dominance over the flesh, I feel something that is hard to explain. I feel inner strength. I continued the pace passing many people. I could tell that many of them thought I was a fool and that I would burn out. It wasn’t about beating anyone, I wanted just wanted to see what I was still made of. I made it! I did a half marathon in less than 2 hours. My parents were in town visiting and I really wanted to come home and tell my Dad that I could go under 2 hours. My Dad used to run marathons. I did pay a price for that 2.1 mile sprint. It was worth it though. When I started running back in February of this year I couldn’t run a ¼ mile without stopping. Now I had just finished a half marathon in less than 2 hours by sprinting under 7 minute miles for that last 2 miles. Even though I don’t even reach mediocre when compared to others, this was a victorious race for me. This race was put on by Runner's Den and I thought they did a great job. The finisher's medal was unique and one I will treasure to remind me of this race.

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