Sacramento DJ

Finishes 92.5-Mile Run -

I know Paul. I used to run with him on Saturdays. Correction; I racewalked and he ran. And I remember telling him that I wanted to join the "Centurions". That's an elite group of those who have walked or have run a 100 miles in 24 hours. That's a 14.4 minute/mile average. easily doable for a marathon distance. But 100 miles?

Good for you Paul!

Official Results

OK, the Bidwell times are now posted and I did the half in 2:55:08.3 with a pace of 13.22 minute/miles. Phoenix was completed in 2:54:45, so I slipped a little. Yes, I beat a few people but look at the times of those race walkers who beat me. And if you look at the 5K results, you can see that a 35 or 37 minute finish for a race walker puts them in a respectable place among the finishers. So why should I bother doing a half marathon? Almost 3 hours in the heat and you get a cup of cold coffee and a cookie…oh, I forgot; you get a t-shirt as well.

Yes, it’s true…it’s all about the food!

What is the plan now? I guess I will start doing 5 milers; that's up to Manzanita and a return to One Mile. With a constant training diet of fast 5 mile walks...a 5K will be easy and a 10K will a slight strain. The goal will be to do the walk in one hour.

Over and Done With

OK, it’s over and I did as well as could be expected. Maybe even better. According to my watch; I had a 2:54 time. (13.28 minute/mile) I’m sure I can find the official results tomorrow on the CRC website.

But…I think it’s my last half marathon. At the very least, it’s the last Bidwell Classic ½ marathon. No, I wasn’t last, but it certainly felt like it. Because the 5K walk is now included in the days activities, those who might have walked the ½ marathon decided to do the 5K instead. That meant that I spent the last 7 miles with no competition at all. Not a soul around me. And it’s hard enough being out there and giving your all, but with no one to even see you or talk to you…it’s pretty depressing. Before the race, I looked around for a face I knew and I spotted a couple of people from Sierra Race Walkers, but they didn’t remember me.

Anyway, back to the race. I started off fairly fast, doing the first two miles with an average of 12.3 minute miles. That’s too fast and so I slowed it down to a 4.5 mph average. After an hour had gone by, I knew I was not going to enjoy this race; there were only 2 or 3 people anywhere near me and they were all runners. I had already passed all of the very slow runners and would never see them again.

I kept the 4.5 average until mile 9 and then it slipped to 4.4 and there it remained for the rest of the race. I crossed the finish line when the race clock was showing 2:59 and some seconds. Our group had started 5 minutes later and so I’m assuming that my official time will also show a 2:54+ time for me.

And I arrived just in time to see them taking down the banners and packing up the supplies. There were a few cookies and some apples left, but not a whole lot to choose from. I grabbed some cookies and a cup of coffee and made my way back to the car. Race over.

Pretty soon

Race day is here. I have my packet and my timing chip; I have a new trophy t-shirt, now I need some enthusiasm. Maybe the race itself will generate some. Seeing some of the folks from Sierra Race Walkers might help. And there is a chance that some racers from Roseville will be present. After that, I’m on my own.

I suppose I should look and see what’s in the packet. I don’t even remember when the race starts? That would be an important thing to find out. OK, it’s 9:05 for my start. And I had to go on-line to find that out. So I need to be there about 8, leaving here at 7:30. The packet itself was pretty skimpy; a few coupons and an ad or two. Even the bib number is small? I guess that’s another way to save money. On a more positive note; the shirt looks good.

I wonder if they, CRC, have ever thought about putting on a marathon event? There has to be enough room to do that, if you include Upper Bidwell Park in the scheme. And include downtown as well. I think it would be a great event and could draw lots of people to the area.

Very close

OK, I’m back and resting from my workout this morning. I think it went well; doing a total of 8.29 miles in 1:53. That works out to be a 13.63 minute/mile average. I know it’s very close to race day and so I couldn’t really go all out or try for any longer distances than that. In fact I may have been stretching it by going as far as I did so close to race day. I did the first 5 ½ miles with an average of 13.38 minute miles and then slowed it down for the return to the starting point.

Tomorrow is a day of rest and recuperation. And on Saturday morning I will have to depend on my barely adequate training and some muscle memory to get me close to my goal of 2:50 for the ½ marathon.

Or…I could just go out on Saturday morning and have a good time in the sunshine and in good company.

Let’s see now, it’s time for a weigh-in. 205 pounds. Bad. But I did walk off a few calories, 1144 to be exact!