This was our third time running Lake Louisa. Only Jenny and I went this time. As usual, it was pretty hot and humid which makes the already too long "5K" course seem longer. This is the longest 5K course I have ever run coming in at 3.16 miles.
The numbers: 18:54, 2nd overall, 1st overall Male. Splits: 5:59, 6:08, 6:00, 4:55 pace (last .16)
I had a great run. This race isn't real fast so it gives me a great opportunity to win the race. Before the race started, I knew I had two to contend with. One guy looked pretty fast and a younger woman who looked like she knew what she was doing. I told my friend Kevin that she would win the race before the start. Well, she didn't dissappoint. When the race started, I went out at my usual effort. The woman went out fast, then the guy, and some other woman I caught on the first turn as she was huffing, puffing, and croaking. I figured if I could not lose much ground, I might be able to kick at the end. That didn't pan out as she slowly kept getting farther away. So, my attention focused on the guy who I kept about 20 yards in front of me. On the way out, I was pretty sure I could pick him off if the pace stayed the same. I just ran my race and lurked behind him. At the turn around, I was probably 30 seconds behind the leader and yelled some encouragement to her as she went by.
I kept biding my time behind the guy waiting to make my move. Even played hide and seek with him as he went on the wrong side of an island in the road that had tall bushes. The side I was on was also the shorter distance.
I planned to go just before the 3 mile mark. He still wasn't going anywhere so I went. I blew by him quickly and was alone for the finishing stretch.
This was my fastest time on this course by 40 seconds.
I have no problem losing the overall position to a female. Especially one so fast. As it turns out she is a pro triathelete trying to make the Olympic team. Good luck to her, maybe we will get to see her on TV next year.
Got to hang out with Kevin and Lisa for quite a while. Looks like we will all be camping in St. Augustine in July for the Bridge of Lions 5K!
This was the first of 5 straight racing weekends. Next up is the first race of the Watermelon Series in Lakeland.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Melissa and Gary Engagement Session
You can view all photos HERE
Melissa is one of our "special" friends. Special in the fact that she is one of the wonderful people we met while Jenny was undergoing cancer treatments. We saw Melissa the most out of anybody there. She has punctured Jenny more time with a needle than one could count and all with a big smile on her face.
So, when Melissa asked us to photograph her wedding, there was no way we could possibly say no. I am not sure if there is anybody left at the Oncology office to do a wedding for since we have done most of them now.
We had so much fun hanging out with Melissa and Gary. It was nice just enjoying being out and about and getting to really know them better. I was surprised how adventurous they turned out to be. With my ideas and theirs, they ended up climbing trees, hopping rocks in the river and tried to throw Melissa off a bridge.
Looking forward to the wedding in April!!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Gate River Run 15K Review
I was looking forward to the Gate River Run and it did not disappoint. Ran a new 15K PR of 1:01:34. placed 326 out of almost 15,000, and 29th out of 1000 in my age group. The PR is 1:10 faster than I did at Miracle Miles and on a harder course, so that is encouraging.
Although my goal was to get under 60 minutes, I am in no way disappointed with the result. I knew coming in that I still wasn't quite right after all the racing in February. My confidence just wasn't where I would have wanted and it showed with the constant mental battle going most of the race. The voices in my head were really starting to tick me off as they had for most of the week during training. They were so negative telling me I couldn't do what I wanted. They were probably right. If I would have pushed the pace, things would have gotten not so pleasant.
We camped the weekend in St. Augustine at the KOA on St. Aug Beach. KOAs are so not worth the money. Unfortunately, it was either camp there or nowhere due to the state park being completely booked for the weekend. KOA is so over-priced. Costs more to stay one day than two nights at Anastasia SP. And the park is much nicer and quieter.
We got going early and arived to the race site before 7:00. I had to get my race packet and with over 15,000 runners, wanted to avoid the crowd. Parking was easy. We were in the closest lot to everything.
Met up with Harold for a few minutes which is always nice. It is cool having friends in different parts of Florida.
Lining up to start was easy. There was actually a lot less people in the corral I was in than I expected. I could have entered a lot later and not had to stand there as long. And, used the potty before starting.
The weather was nice and cool. But, with the 8:30 start, was starting to warm up a bit which I was worried about. Thankfully, it didn't feel bad during the race. The start time is really the only complaint I have about the race. This time of year, the weather in Florida can be hot or cool. They should really start no later than 7:30.
Started the race off easy and got right to goal pace of 6:20. Right from the start, I really wasn't confident of holding it. I was actually surprised a couple times to look down at my watch and see I was still on pace. At mile 2 was a draw bridge that wasn't very steep and didn't slow anybody down at that point. From there, ran though quite a few nice neighborhoods with tiny rolling hills. I passed the 5K point right on 20 minutes.
I had the urge to pee at the start of the rae and hoped it would go away as I was running. It didn't. When I made it to 10K, I had lost a bit of time so I stopped at a potty for relief. I figure that this probably saved me a few seconds in the end. My legs felt a bit rejuvinated coming out and I made up most of the time I lost. To still get under one hour, I would have to run a 19:00 5K to finish the race. Knowing that the very large Hart Bridge was coming up, I figured that wouldn't happen. My suspicion was confirmed as my pace slowed on the ascent up the bridge. Just didn't have enough to power over. I was ready for the long downhill to the finish which I took full advantage of. Didn't go as fast as I would have liked, but kept a 6:00 minute pace on the way in.
Unfortunately, Jenny and the kids didn't have good luck with the crowds and barely saw me as I went by.
All in all, a great race. My only suggestion is that the race organisers start the race at 7:30 so it would be cooler out.
Although my goal was to get under 60 minutes, I am in no way disappointed with the result. I knew coming in that I still wasn't quite right after all the racing in February. My confidence just wasn't where I would have wanted and it showed with the constant mental battle going most of the race. The voices in my head were really starting to tick me off as they had for most of the week during training. They were so negative telling me I couldn't do what I wanted. They were probably right. If I would have pushed the pace, things would have gotten not so pleasant.
We camped the weekend in St. Augustine at the KOA on St. Aug Beach. KOAs are so not worth the money. Unfortunately, it was either camp there or nowhere due to the state park being completely booked for the weekend. KOA is so over-priced. Costs more to stay one day than two nights at Anastasia SP. And the park is much nicer and quieter.
We got going early and arived to the race site before 7:00. I had to get my race packet and with over 15,000 runners, wanted to avoid the crowd. Parking was easy. We were in the closest lot to everything.
Met up with Harold for a few minutes which is always nice. It is cool having friends in different parts of Florida.
Lining up to start was easy. There was actually a lot less people in the corral I was in than I expected. I could have entered a lot later and not had to stand there as long. And, used the potty before starting.
The weather was nice and cool. But, with the 8:30 start, was starting to warm up a bit which I was worried about. Thankfully, it didn't feel bad during the race. The start time is really the only complaint I have about the race. This time of year, the weather in Florida can be hot or cool. They should really start no later than 7:30.
Started the race off easy and got right to goal pace of 6:20. Right from the start, I really wasn't confident of holding it. I was actually surprised a couple times to look down at my watch and see I was still on pace. At mile 2 was a draw bridge that wasn't very steep and didn't slow anybody down at that point. From there, ran though quite a few nice neighborhoods with tiny rolling hills. I passed the 5K point right on 20 minutes.
I had the urge to pee at the start of the rae and hoped it would go away as I was running. It didn't. When I made it to 10K, I had lost a bit of time so I stopped at a potty for relief. I figure that this probably saved me a few seconds in the end. My legs felt a bit rejuvinated coming out and I made up most of the time I lost. To still get under one hour, I would have to run a 19:00 5K to finish the race. Knowing that the very large Hart Bridge was coming up, I figured that wouldn't happen. My suspicion was confirmed as my pace slowed on the ascent up the bridge. Just didn't have enough to power over. I was ready for the long downhill to the finish which I took full advantage of. Didn't go as fast as I would have liked, but kept a 6:00 minute pace on the way in.
Unfortunately, Jenny and the kids didn't have good luck with the crowds and barely saw me as I went by.
All in all, a great race. My only suggestion is that the race organisers start the race at 7:30 so it would be cooler out.
Monday, March 14, 2011
What is Happiness?
It's Monday and back at work, so could be happier. This weekend we were camping in one of our favorite places, St. Augustine.
It has become a "tradition" of sorts to get pizza at Pizzalley's on St. George St. They make some of the best pizza you will ever taste! All you have to do to find Pizzalley's is walk down the street and find the guy giving out free samples in front.
You will instantly love the man who is usually outside giving samples. He is one of the friendliest people you will meet. He sings, jokes, and puts a smile on your face.
Sunday, while we were enjoying our pizza, he was asking questions of the kids (and adults). The kids enjoyed it and made them think. When he was done, he told the kids basically how important education is.
In the next boothe, was a man with his Son. When they got up to leave, the man looked over at us and made the statement that the only lesson given was to get a good education so you don't end up working in a pizza joint. That jackwad, kinda ticked me off. I looked at him and said that the pizza guy looks like the happiest man on Earth and I was thinking to myself "go screw yourself"!
Guess one's happiness is another's Hell. I believe that success and happiness is not defined by how much money you make, how big a house you have, the car you drive, etc. I believe a truly successful and happy person is one who is living the life they want and has a few people to love and to love them.
So, I hope you are happy!!
It has become a "tradition" of sorts to get pizza at Pizzalley's on St. George St. They make some of the best pizza you will ever taste! All you have to do to find Pizzalley's is walk down the street and find the guy giving out free samples in front.
You will instantly love the man who is usually outside giving samples. He is one of the friendliest people you will meet. He sings, jokes, and puts a smile on your face.
Sunday, while we were enjoying our pizza, he was asking questions of the kids (and adults). The kids enjoyed it and made them think. When he was done, he told the kids basically how important education is.
In the next boothe, was a man with his Son. When they got up to leave, the man looked over at us and made the statement that the only lesson given was to get a good education so you don't end up working in a pizza joint. That jackwad, kinda ticked me off. I looked at him and said that the pizza guy looks like the happiest man on Earth and I was thinking to myself "go screw yourself"!
Guess one's happiness is another's Hell. I believe that success and happiness is not defined by how much money you make, how big a house you have, the car you drive, etc. I believe a truly successful and happy person is one who is living the life they want and has a few people to love and to love them.
So, I hope you are happy!!
Monday, March 7, 2011
Dud of a training week
Mileage-wise, last week was a complete bust posting only 22 miles. But, after the insane amount of racing in February that included two half-marathons, I needed a week to recoup.
After Gasparilla weekend, I just didn't feel like training. The body felt fine, but I don't usually have such a mental battle just to get out the door. A few outside distractions didn't help the cause. Only managed three runs this week. A 60 minute run, a fartlek, and a short stride workout. The runs themselves were good pace-wise. Mentally, they were a bit torturous.
I had good intentions to get more in. This was supposed to be the first of four weeks of hill training. Didn't feel like it immediately after the weekend. Planned to hit the hill Thursday, but there was a fire somewhere and was real smoky out. Saturday, Tommy had an Odyssey of the Mind competition that turned into an all day thing (his team ended up placing 3rd and going to the state competition, so we are super proud of him for that). I planned to do a 2 hour run Sunday, but decided to not even set the alarm to get up. It has been over a month since I have done a two hour run.
I am looking forward to getting back at it this week. it won't be a big training week due to running the Gate River Run this Saturday. This is one of my goal races, so I am not going to kill the training going in. After this, I have a ten mile race in April and some 5Ks, so should be able to get plenty of quality training in before Steamboat in June.
After Gasparilla weekend, I just didn't feel like training. The body felt fine, but I don't usually have such a mental battle just to get out the door. A few outside distractions didn't help the cause. Only managed three runs this week. A 60 minute run, a fartlek, and a short stride workout. The runs themselves were good pace-wise. Mentally, they were a bit torturous.
I had good intentions to get more in. This was supposed to be the first of four weeks of hill training. Didn't feel like it immediately after the weekend. Planned to hit the hill Thursday, but there was a fire somewhere and was real smoky out. Saturday, Tommy had an Odyssey of the Mind competition that turned into an all day thing (his team ended up placing 3rd and going to the state competition, so we are super proud of him for that). I planned to do a 2 hour run Sunday, but decided to not even set the alarm to get up. It has been over a month since I have done a two hour run.
I am looking forward to getting back at it this week. it won't be a big training week due to running the Gate River Run this Saturday. This is one of my goal races, so I am not going to kill the training going in. After this, I have a ten mile race in April and some 5Ks, so should be able to get plenty of quality training in before Steamboat in June.
Monday, February 28, 2011
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.
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.
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.
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!!
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!!
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| All the hardware... |
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| These things are kinda heavy! |
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
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.
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!
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.
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| Receiving my medal from former Lightning players Dave Anreychuk and Chris Dingman. |
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!
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