How Much Discomfort Can I Tolerate?!

Bix 7

Recent EntriesHomeJoin Fast Running Blog Community!PredictorHealthy RecipesWill's RacesFind BlogsMileage BoardTop Ten Excuses for Missing a RunTop Ten Training MistakesDiscussion ForumRace Reports Send A Private MessageWeek ViewMonth ViewYear View
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2007200820092010201120122013
15% off for Fast Running Blog members at St. George Running Center!

Location:

Eugene,OR,USA

Member Since:

Nov 09, 2007

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

  • 5k PR - 18:48 (7/04/08)
  • 8K PR - 33:46 (5/19/07, on trails)
  • 10k PR - I have not run a competitive 10K yet.
  • 12K PR - 50:10 (8/09/08)
  • 15K PR - 1:04:52 (3/22/08)
  • Marathon - Have run 1 trail marathon, (Grand Island) 3:55 (July 2007)
  • Ultra Marathons -
  • Farmdale 33.5 miles, 10/08 - 6:08
  • Riddle Run 28 Miles, 01/09 - 5:35 (run in 2-3 inches of snow)
  • Devil's Lake 50k, 07/09 - 6:22
  • Howl at the Moon 8 hour, 08/09 - 39.98 miles
  • North Country Trail Run 50 miles, 09/09 - 9:44
  • Farmdale 32 miles, 10/09 - 5:45
  • McNotAgain 30 Miles, 10/09 - 5:50
  • Red Rock Canyon Half, Las Vegas, 06/12 - 2:15


Short-Term Running Goals:

Keep running in the winter - 1st year in Eugene - fun!

Long-Term Running Goals:

Keep on Keeping on..

Personal:

Moved to Eugene in Autumn, 2012 - Track city USA!

Click to donate
to Ukraine's Armed Forces
Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Race: Bix 7 (7 Miles) 00:48:09, Place overall: 509, Place in age division: 26
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
3.000.007.000.0010.00

Weather - 78 degrees, sunny, slight humidity.

Good weather for a July race. I lined up with 13,000 others at 7:40am and waited for the 8:00 start.

I ran this race 2 years ago, when I was just starting out with racing. I made the mistake of checking the "over 60 minutes finish time" box on the entry form, and I was put into a chute with some very slow runners. It took over 3 minutes before I crossed the start mat, and because of the wall of people I was forced to run the first mile in over 10 minutes. I was not able to get away from the crush until mile 3.5. I ended up averaging 8:00/mile and finished in 56:00.

This year I confidently checked the "under 49:00 finish time" box, and it only took 30 seconds to cross the start mat. I hit the first mile in 7:00, which was faster than expected because of the 600m Brady Street hill which starts the race. Second mile was crossed in 13:30, and I then settled into a consistent 7:00 pace for the rest of the race.

Not much out of the ordinary concerning my own running, other than the external sights and sounds - bands, Elvis sightings, Bill Rogers and Joan Benoit on the course somewhere, and the Kenyans with their super-silky long strides. Oh, I almost forgot, when I was trying to find my way to the proper chute, I must have looked lost, because a race volunteer came up to me and asked if I was an elite runner - that made me smile....

I finished in 48:09, which is what I was expecting. The average pace was 6:52, which is a slight improvement for road races in the 7-9 mile range. Considering the course was hilly, I probably could have averaged a 6:48 on a flat course.

What did surprise me was my age group place - I was 26 out of 497 runners, which put me in the top 5%. Even though I train hard, I am still a slow runner. Reading the blogs here give the impression that 1 out of every 2 runners averages 5:30 miles in races of 5k and above. I have to remind myself that someone averaging 5:30/mile is sub-elite, and definitely not common.

#253

Add Your Comment.
  • Keep it family-safe. No vulgar or profane language. To discourage anonymous comments of cowardly nature, your IP address will be logged and posted next to your comment.
  • Do not respond to another person's comment out of context. If he made the original comment on another page/blog entry, go to that entry and respond there.
  • If all you want to do is contact the blogger and your comment is not connected with this entry and has no relevance to others, send a private message instead.
Only registered users with public blogs are allowed to post comments. Log in with your username and password or create an account and set up a blog.
Debt Reduction Calculator
Featured Announcements
Recent Comments: