Gasparilla Michelob Ultra Challenge Race Review

What a weekend running all four races at Gasparilla as part of the Michelob Ultra Challenge.

I am still surprised how well it went and as I had planned even though I was pretty sick for two days before. My goals coming in was to place top 3 in my age group for the 5K and top 10 overall for the challenge. Met both goals!! Here is the overall results for the challenge:

Neil Clements               TEAM# 1138
PLACED    10 WITH A SCORE OF 03:30:30

   35138      Neil Clements              2     in MALES 35 TO 39      00:18:52
   37138      Neil Clements              5     in MALES 35 TO 39      00:34:28
   01138      Neil Clements              36    in MALES 35 TO 39      01:07:22
   36138      Neil Clements              15    in MALES 35 TO 39      01:29:48
The first race Saturday morning was the 15K. I had already planned to just run this one at a easy, comfortable pace because I wanted to run a good 5K. It was nice just to run easy, enjoy the scenery and people watch. Ran about marathon pace and finished feeling like it was a training run. Caught up to my friend Brian in the 8th mile and ran him in. He was trying to run near an hour but had stomach issues early. I was sad to have passed our friend Melanie just before. She was running 4th in the women's race but dropped out.

Start of a long, fun weekend.

After a 90 minute rest, it was time to run the 5K. It was before this race that I learned that the seeded runners were those with yellow on the race bib. Glad I did as there was 11,000 people lined up. So, I just walked right around the whole lot and entered from the front. The race started at 9:30 and it was hot. I started off a hair fast with a 5:43 1st mile. I got hot quick and slowed accordingly. The 2nd mile wasn't bad at 6:08, but the 3rd mile really sucked at 6:20. That last mile was tough as the breathing was getting harder and I was just trying to keep it under control while preserving myself for the next day's races. In the end, I ran a decent time and finished 2nd in my age group only a few seconds out of 1st. Bummer, better pacing at the start may have changed that. Better to start slower and go faster than faster then fade.



With day one in the books, it was time to rest and refuel for Sunday. Plus, it was a great excuse to eat Jenny's Spaghetti!!

So, after a few short hours of sleep, we were awake at 3:30AM and headed back to Tampa for the 6:00AM half-marathon start.

Depending on how my legs felt, the goal was to give it a rip and see if I could get under 1:30 for the 3rd race in a row. Surprisingly, my legs felt really good when I woke up with no stiffness so it was game on.

The plan was to start out at 6:45 pace and see what happens. In longer races, I usually just start comfortable and let my body dictate. The 1st mile was 6:54 so I figured I wouldn't get down where I wanted and figured I would end up a bit over 1:30. As the race went on, I felt fine and the pace was confortable. The mile splits came down a bit and around mile 8-9, I started doing some mental math. I figured I was going to be really close to 1:30. I picked up the pace into the 6:40s and noticed I was picking up time and picking off other runners ahead of me. Each mile was a little faster than the previous and I ran the last mile in 6:33 which was also my fastest mile of the race. I was so pumped that I made it under 1:30. It feels so great to see 1:29 on the clock.

For the first time, I actually beat my friend Chuck in a longer race. He caught up to me 8 miles in and I figured that was that. Some reason, he slowed down, I passed and left him. He ran a much better 15K than I did, so he he still beat me by a couple minutes in the Challenge standings.

Finishing out a strong half-marathon effort.

The last race of the weekend was the new "5+3K". In other words, it was an 8K. I think they were trying to market the race to more 5K people to thin out the herds. The only goal I had for this race was to finish, maybe keep the pace under 7:00 and joked that maybe I would get lucky with an age group award. I started out at what felt easy and was enjoying the run running easy at a 6:43 first mile. The race started at 9:00AM and the weather was already hot and nasty. It was pretty bad that they were warning the crowd beforehand about the conditions. After the first mile, I actually kept pretty even splits around 6:56. Unfortunately, the effort to run those paces was getting harder as time passed. The last 2 miles really sucked running into the sun and the cool headwind from the way out gone. I was happy to cross the finish line and elated with how the weekend turned out. Found out later that I placed 5th in my age group for my 2nd award of the weekend.

Goofing off starting the last race of the weekend.

The walk back to the car was the first time all weekend that my legs actually felt tired, but was fine later and still good today. On the way home, we stopped off at Bo's Ice Cream for a milk shake. I had to reward Jenny and Tommy with something for being such a good crew. I should make them official uniforms or something!

The whole weekend from packet pickup on Friday through the last race Sunday was wonderful. After last year's experience, we easily navigated the crowds and had a great time. The only gripe of the weekend was with the text updates "provided" by Metro PCS during the half-marathon. Jenny didn't get a single update. Same thing happened last year with them as well during the marathon. I don't care how much money Metro PCS is paying Gasparilla as a sponsor, but they need to get rid of them because they suck!!

All the hardware...

These things are kinda heavy!

Bolt Run Race Review

Race-wise, I had a good race. Unfortunately, the race organizers didn't have such a good day (I will get to this further down).

DISCLAIMER: Don't take my observations of this year's race as a reason not to do the race next year. Yes, there were problems, but I expect next year will go smoothly.

After fighting the unexpected crowds to get our race numbers and only getting about a half mile of warmup, we finally started about 15 minutes late because they had so many people still in line.

I put up a good time of 18:39 good for 1st in my age group and 7th overall. It was a little better than I expected as I trained like normal during the week and had over 40 miles on my legs. My overall effort was pretty comfortable. Only my calves were a bit sore. If not for that, would have put up a much better time.

They always have a decent course that starts in front of the Ice Palace. You loop around, through a couple tunnels, over a small bridge and out onto Bayshore and back. So, you can put up a pretty good time.

No real racing in this one. Once I cleared the people who lined up at the front and gassed themselves in the first half mile, it was just a case of running. Not really anybody to pass and nobody behind me.



My Garmin measured 3.22, but that was due to the tunnels screwing it up. The course is really about 3.13 miles.

Receiving my medal from former Lightning players Dave Anreychuk and Chris Dingman.

Now for the unfortunate issues that plagued the race this year. I believe this was the first year they have used chip timing which you would think would help things go smoothly. Believe it or not, the only races I have been to that got screwed have been those with chip timing. You see, the huge downside to chip timing is race day registrations. This time, they had a huge number of late registrants that had to be manually entered into the computer. Somewhere, it all went wrong. Things got so screwed with timing that they didn't even do the 5 mile awards. As of today (Feb. 22nd), results still are not posted on Cool Running. They did get them up on Active (they are net times and not the actual chip times).

Besides timing, this race had issues from start to finish. We arrived to the race site around 6:15 a few minutes later than normal and there was a huge line for packet pickup. After using the bathroom, we tried to figure out what line to get into as they had pre-registered and race-day registration lined up next to eachother. Then they had a separate line for number pickup. We were running out of time and not knowing what was where, I went to the number pickup line and left Jenny and the kids in the packet line. There were a lot of confused people. Another bonus, they ran out of safety pins for the numbers. Luckily, we have our own supply in the van. it was a good thing we grabbed our packets when we did. They announced to people to pick up the packets after the race. Well, the volunteers unknowingly gave out a lot of shirts to late registrants leaving a lot of pre-registered people without shirts.

For me, the race itself went fine. But, there were issues there as well. Miles were not marked well. I happened to notice the 1 mile mark spray painted on the road but no signs. No big deal with my Garmin. Jenny told me after that they were using foam cups at the water station. No big deal as I don't take water during 5K. Would have been problem if I did. In order to actually get water in your mouth, you have to crush the top of the cup and make a spout, you can imagine what would happen with foam. There was plenty of food and drink at the end including some pretty good pizza that they kept bringing out.

Police did a good job blocking traffic for us and it was fun watching all the POed drivers having to wait.

The timing issues caused the longest wait ever for awards. The race started at 7:00 and the 5K awards didn't start until around 10:30. That is pretty unacceptable.

Another SNAFU that did impact us was the tickets to that night's hockey game that come with each entry. You would think that 5 entries with the same name, in sequential number order would get 5 tickets together. Nope, we ended up with 5 tickets in 3 different sections. They had a ticket upgrade/issues table setup. They wouldn't be able to get 5 tickets together for the night's game so they offered up tickets for Wednesday or Friday. We went with Wednesday vs. Phoenix. Except for screwing up our plans for the night, this sort of works out as we all griped about having to watch the Lightning vs. Panthers which always and did suck. So hopefully the game tomorrow night will be a good one.

I was impressed that there was an email from Kelvin Woodson of the Lightning apologising for the mess when we got home. I was more impressed that he replied to my email within 5 minutes.

The Bolt Run is a good race that got completely blind sided. I am chalking all the oranisational snafus to a fluke and expect that the race will be top notch next year.

Next up for me is Gasparilla weekend where I will run all four races as part of the Michelob Ultra Challenge. Should be fun!

New Boston Marathon Qualifications

The Boston Marathon just released the new qualification standards in response to the 8 hour sellout for this year's race. I think they did a good job making it a fair process that rewards the fastest runners. If I don't improve upon my 3:10, then I will get to register on the 5th day for the 2012 race. Based on last year's results, my 3:10 would have been god for 2700 out of over 22,000 finishers, so I should be OK. Below is the new standards.

2012 rolling registration dates
- Day 1 (Sept. 12) - Qualifiers who have met their age and gender qualifying standard (3 hours, 10 minutes for men aged 18-34 and 3 hours, 40 minutes for women 18-34) by a margin of 20 minutes or faster may apply for the marathon.
- Day 3 (Sept. 14) - Qualifiers who have met the standard set for their age/gender by a margin of 10 minutes or faster may apply.
- Day 5 (Sept. 16) - Qualifiers who have met their age/gender qualifying time by a margin of 5 minutes or faster may apply.
- Day 8 (Sept. 19) - Open to all qualifiers to register.
- Day 12 (Sept. 23) - Registration closes for qualified applicants. Registered qualifiers will be notified of their acceptance by Sept. 28.

For 2013, there are new qualifying times

Age Group	Men	Women
18-34	3:05:00	3:35:00
35-39	3:10:00	3:40:00
40-44	3:15:00	3:45:00
45-49	3:25:00	3:55:00
50-54	3:30:00	4:00:00
55-59	3:40:00	4:10:00
60-64	3:55:00	4:25:00
65-69	4:10:00	4:40:00
70-74	4:25:00	4:55:00
75-79	4:40:00	5:10:00
80+	4:55:00	5:25:00

Marathon Training Week 7 Report

I think this is week 7. Anyway, last week was a bit of a down week only logging 33 miles following last weekend's half marathon. Not sure if it was laziness or a little tired. Did get a couple good runs in. Bailed on my Sunday 16 miler opting to stay in bed. After 3 weeks of lower mileage, mostly due to racing, I am getting in a normal amount of training this week even though I have a race Saturday. The only modification will be Friday doing a little stride workout instead of 60 minutes.

With all the racing this month, I kinda expected the lower miles. So I am just enjoying what training I am doing and having fun at the races.

Tommy & Chris Perform Solos at FBA Competition

We are really proud of Tommy and Chris. Both received superior rating for their solos. Tommy also did two ensembles fetching a superior and an excellent on the harder piece. Chris had some trouble at the end of his due to being tired from playing all day. The judge was highly impressed that he was able to pick up at the right spot. Tommy was pretty clean during his solo and the judge had many good things to say.

Happy and relieved band kids.

Boston Marathon Elite Field Announced

The 115th Boston Marathon is quickly approaching and the elite field has been announced. The men's field is loaded. I think that at least 5 guys should be together after 20 miles and I wouldn't bet against the winner coming down to a duel between 2-3 at the end. I am not going to bother typing the names, but last year's Boston (who shattered the course record) winner, the NY Marathon winner, Mutai (2nd fastest marathon time last year) as well as 5 other 2:06 guys including Ryan Hall who is giving a go for the 3rd year in a row. I would like to see Hall pop a win, but I dunno about that.

On the women's side, American hopes lie with Kara Goucher who is coming back from having a baby. She ran 2 years ago, I thought she was going to win that one, but she pooped out at the very end. Last year's Boston winner is returning as well. Who knows what will happen. The women's races are wacky. They could be slow, fast or somewhere in between.

I am guessing that the only way we will be able to watch this year is by paying Universal Sports to watch online again. :(

Dade City Half Marathon Race Report

Had a great race Sunday on a very difficult hilly course at the Dade City Half Marathon. This is the first year for this race which was mostly well run. I hope this race comes back next year and more people enter.

I ran this course faster than expected finishing in 1:27:23, 2nd overall, 1st age group and a new half-marathon PR..

Ran the first 9 miles with Anthony, a local 17 year old from Pasco High where Jenny and I graduated from. Did I mention the course is hilly. Living here, I know the roads and ran the first 9 miles of the course two weeks ago so I knew what to expect and planned accordingly. The backside of Frazee hill is like a roller coaster drop. We we actually hit 4:30 pace on the way down, we were flying. I figured Anthony would take off at some point, I was hoping it would be the last mile so I could give a go and race him. But he kept flying at the bottom of the hill and I let him go as I knew I couldn't keep up. He ended up beating me by about 4 minutes, so he was cruising sub-6 minute miles the last four miles. I am happy I ran the race exactly as planned.

The course was enjoyable and fun. It was nice running over hills with fields and cows instead of through boring neighborhoods and buildings. I was amazed at the amount of police they had on the course. Never seen so many. The only time we had to deal with traffic was on Blanton Rd. which didn't surprise me. There was the right amount of aid stations in the correct places. Good live band played at the finish area. The race shirts were good. I ran in it tonight and it was comfortable. Finisher medals were decent and on par with most smaller races. Awards ceremony started pretty much on time. It was so nice being able to go home, shower and eat after finishing and coming back for awards.

A few things about the race I would change or fix. I will go over that stuff later in the post. The Dade City Half Marathon was a good race and I will be back to do it again next year.

Off we go over the hills and through the woods...

Anthony and I cresting the hill on Ramsey Rd.

Looking good for the finish.

Getting interviewed after the race. Need to find out where it is going to be.

DISCLAIMER: This is a first year race run by the USRA race management company that is in its 2nd year running races. They are putting races in some fantastic areas and I truly hope they are successful. These are things that could be done that I see at better races big and small. So, I am not bashing, these are just my observations that I do for every race I run. There were only about a combined 130 people for the half and 5K races so I know the organizers had to of lost  money or barely broke even.

The race was mostly well organised with easy packet pickup and race day logistics.

Aid stations were adequate, but station workers need to be better trained. None of the volunteers were yelling out whether they had water or Gatorade and there was no organisation on who had what like the front person having water and the back person having Gatorade. After the 1st two stations, I started yelling out as I approached that I wanted water so they knew what I wanted and I knew where to get it.  

There was no time clock at the finish. Doesn't seem like a big deal, but some people don't wear watches or run a stop watch.

The medals and shirts were good. The awards for overall and age group winners was surprisingly poor. Neither me nor Anthony (who won) could believe the little acrylic trophies being handed out. Especially for the overall winners. These races cost $60-70, the winners deserve a good quality award for the effort put in. Even the engraved plate was generic and just said Age Group Award Winner with the race logo above. No date, no distinction of what place or age group. These things are a big deal to anybody who wins for the first time or regularly. 

The course measured short on both my Garmin and also mapping on MapMyRun site which measured 12.94. It states on the USRA site that the course is certified but did not list a USATF certification number and it was not listed on the USATF site. I hope the course was right or my time doesn't look quite as good. We were running the tangents really well, so not knowing what part of the course was measured could cause the discrepancy.

These are all things that can be easily fixed and I am looking forward to racing again next year. Overall, the Dade City Half Marathon was a good event and I had a great time!

"Natural Running" by Danny Abshire Book Review

I just finished reading the just released book by Danny Abshire of Newton Running titled "Natural Running". The book consists of 180 pages of good reading and you can purchase for $18.95 at the Newton Running site.

The book does a great job examining all facets of how and why to run naturally. One point I would like to make is that this book is not an advertisement for Newton Running shoes. Mr. Abshire only mentions Newton Running a couple times in the whole book. As a devoted wearer of Newton Running shoes, I was worried people could be turned off of the book if they felt like it was just a plug to buys shoes. The book seems written more by a neutral observer rather than the owner of a shoe company.

Like most instructional type books, the first chapter gives a bit of history about Mr. Abshire on how he got started in the business and how his philosophy of natural running was shaped. I found it interesting the he initially learned the principles of foot biomechanics not by running, but by fitting people for snow skis in Colorado.

The next chapters go on to explain what natural running is, evolution of the sport/shoes, how to examine your own running form, explains running gaits, foot biomechanics, physics of running, common running injuries and their causes.

After digesting all the hows and whys to adopt a natural running style as well as running in a minimalistic type of shoe that is light weight with a low ramp angle, you get into the meaty part of the book.

The last 50 pages of the book teaches you how to not just run naturally but gives you the tools to engrain the correct form. First up is a set of basic strength and form drills to perform. The strength drills work the muscles, tendons, etc. that are used in natural running and may be weak if you have been a loping heel striker. You are then given form drills to perform that teach and reinforce the feelings and movements of natural running.

Most books of this type usually end here. But in this book, you are given an 8 week training schedule to help you adopt the skills needed to run naturally. With the combination of strength and form drills mixed in with just a bit of running, you should have a pretty good grasp of the concept if you adhere to the schedule and don't self-sabotage it by running too much or racing. This is not an in-season change you want to make.

The book finishes with a fantastic explanation of the training philosophies of the late, great Arthur Lydiard who has coached several world/olympic champions. Much of his teaching is still used by the best coaches and elite runners. This also happens to be the training I have personally used the last year or so with great results.

So, if you are a heel striker (especially one who fights injuries) or even if you already run with a midfoot/forefoot strike, I recommend reading "Natural Running" as it will help you learn how to run naturally or reinforce what you already know or don't know.

Exercise helps older people drive better

Saw a link to a study that tested the effect of a 3 days a week exercise program on the driving reactions of seniors 55-78 years old. Across the board, drivers were better with exercise.

Here in Zephyrhills, you better keep your head on a swivel to make sure you don't get nailed. Maybe time to go a crusade to get seniors exercising for the sake of the rest of us!

You can read the study HERE.

Brooks HVAC Synergy Short II Review

I needed another pair of racing shorts so I would have two sets for the Gasparilla races. I ordered a pair of Brooks HVAC Synergy II shorts from Running Warehouse for $35.95.

Upon initial inspection, the short are really nice. The shorts are cut nice and fit well. There are two small pockets located on each side of the rear hip and are closed at the top with a small piece of velcro. The inner brief is nice and soft. The only minor and really non-issue I have is the outer material. Unlike the soft Dri-Fit material in Nike shorts, this material is a little bit more rough.

Here is my observation after taking them out for an hour run. The shorts are very comfortable. They move well. It was warm out and they stayed fairly dry. The inner brief felt good on the sensitive parts. The brief didn't bunch up or rub on my inner legs. I also tested how well the pockets can carry gel packets. For marathons, I take 5 gels. I put three in one pocket and two in the other. They fit fine in the pockets. Not all the way in, but good enough they aren't going to fall out either. However, when running, the gels are too heavy and they bounce up and down with each stride. So, I will stick with my Fuel Belt racing belt to carry gels. I then tested with only one gel in each pocket. The gels will fit all the way with the pocket closed. There was no bounce and I didn't notice the gels were there. It is easy to remove the gels on the run even with one hand. This will be great for half-marathons.

Pocket located on back hip. Good for holding a gel.

All-in-all, the Brooks HVAC Synergy II short is very good and I will happily wear during races.

UPDATE 2/7/11: I used these shorts yesterday at the Dade City Half Marathon. Weather was in the 50s but quite humid so I was soaked by the end. The shorts performed fantastic. Very comfortable, didn't notice them while running. I carried a gel in each of the pockets. The packets fit easily, didn't notice they were there while running, and they were easy to remove when needed.

I highly recommend the Brooks HVAC Synergy II shorts and will continue using them in races.

Marathon Training Week 5 Report

January sure did go by quick! This past week, didn't put in as many miles but did have a good race Saturday in Dade City.

For the week, totaled 43 miles. Ended the month with 292 miles just short of my goal of 300. Unfortunately, I was a bit lazy Sunday and didn't go out for a run. Jenny was sick and we all just kind of vegetated. Also had to change the schedule around a bit last week due to weather. I only got in one 90 minute run instead of my usual two. Oh well.

Had a great time on Saturday running the Kumquat Festical 5K in Dade City. Finished 3rd overall, 1st in AG in 18:53. Also got to meet a couple of my Dailymile friends for the first time which is always cool.

This week, I plan on taking it a bit easy to prepare for the Dade City Half Marathon Sunday. It should be a really tough race due to all the hills. I will be interested to see how many people and who shows up to run. It will surely be a good challenge.

Hope everyone has a great week of training or racing!!