Cotton Row 2010

Cotton Row, Cotton Row. How I love and hate you all at the same time!

Cotton Row is the premier footrace event in this area. I love the festivities. I love seeing people who may run one race per year pushing themselves. I love renewing old acquaintances. I saw people today that I haven't seen in well over 5 years. Really, this is a first class event.

Dink and Suzanne Taylor know how to put on an event. Thanks to Fleet Feet in Huntsville and Mercedes Benz of Huntsville for sponsoring this race. Every year it seems better than the year before.

Huge shout to some folks who ran great today... I'm proud of my bud Daniel Ogles for his hard work preparing for this and then gutting it out. A co-worker Olivia Cole signed up and did both the 10k and the 5k. I thought only crazy people did that. And my good friend and Fleet Feet Racing team mate Eric Fritz busted the 20 minute mark today! Nice job!

Me

It is all about me isn't it? I ran a 40:36 (why o why can I NOT break 40 in the 10k?) which was 66th overall. I ran a lousy 5k in 20:18 (how's that for even pacing) but that got 2nd in my age group.

The 10k

I was going to run with my friend Shane O'Neill, and I did for a mile and a half or so. He was going to pace me to a sub 40. If I had stayed with him, I would have broken 40. I let him go pretty early.

I was totally unprepared for this race. I am simply not in 10k shape. And this course is tough. Really tough. I should have been a little tougher. I just didn't get after it like I should have today. It's one thing to be unprepared, but it's another to lay down a bit during a race. I have a good reason to be unprepared (Country Music Marathon), but not giving my best to the course today is inexcusable.

Having said that, 40:36 is a 21 second PR. That's nice, but I should be breaking 39.

I ran a smart race, but not a tough one. I didn't start too fast. I ran the hill hard, but didn't redline. I was right on pace at the top, and I intended to bring in the last 2 miles near to 6:00.

1. 6:13
2. 6:27
3. 6:45
4. 7:00
5. 6:14
6. 6:29 (I just didn't like hurting. Wimp.)
7. 1:27 (0.24 miles)

The 5k

I had no motivation for the 5k. I didn't want to put in the effort that would be required to break 20. I knew that I had no PR in me. Why was I doing this? I still don't know. Next year, I think I'll just volunteer at Cotton Row.

I started on sub 20 pace and thought I might hold it. I hit the 1 mile mark at 6:22 and felt un-miserable. So, I held on for about another quarter mile and simply gave up. It was hurting and I wanted to quit. I ran mile 2 in a terrible 6:50. Huh? Really. I was a quitter today. I seriously thought about coasting the rest of the way at about a 9:00 pace. That would have been pleasant.

But then Brett Wilks caught me at about 2.5 miles. I probably was coasting near 7:30 when he caught me. Miserable. I even told Brett to go ahead, I was done. I expected him to surge and go, but he didn't. He stayed with me. So, I had to speed up. The faster I ran, the faster he ran. He wasn't going to put me away, but he wasn't going to let me quit either. When we hit the 3 mile mark, I decided that now is the time. Will I toy around or just go all out? I decided to just go. I really didn't know I could run that fast. I ran the last 0.11 miles in 29 seconds. Yeah, that's a sub 4:50 pace. And I felt like I could have done that a little longer, which was weird given how miserable the rest of the race had been.

Summary

I've just got to get tougher. I need to work harder, lose weight, and repeat hills. Cotton Row last year gave me the kick in the pants I needed to get serious about my training. This year, it will do the same.

All in all, a PR on a tough course and a day in which I was woefully unprepared isn't bad, but it wasn't my best and I know that. And the 5k, at least I learned that I can run fast if I have to. Positives and negatives from both races.

Cotton Row 10k Race Report

I need to preface this post... I'm pretty hard on myself. If you don't want to read me being hard on myself, then don't! And before I begin beating myself up, I must add these comments...

1. Thanks to Dink and Suzanne Taylor for putting on a first class event! This event is great and gets better every year!
2. Thanks to all the volunteers who make it possible!
3. Congratulations to all the first time runners!
4. Congratulations to both of my daughters for PR'ing in the mile! 9:37 and 9:52!!
   

And, just because I didn't run well today, I don't consider this a bad day. I had a ton of fun and I look forward to the rest of the day! I'm happy! I'm thankful for the ability to run and the insanity that makes me enjoy it! I'm just really disappointed in my performance today and I am going to take steps to improve it.

Well, I have to do it. If you put your goal out there, you have to eat the crow when you don't come close. Today, I didn't come close. The goal was sub 40:00. I don't know everything that went wrong today, but I do know a few things.

For those who just want to know the numbers... 41:54, 95th of 1838 finishers overall, and 12th of 158 in the 35-39 age group.

Now, the report.

I did not sleep well last night. I was just too excited. I really believed (note the past tense there) I could make a run at 40 on this course. I wanted to. I went over the course again and again in my head. I dreamed about running. I woke up several times. I was like a kid on Christmas Eve. That was expected, and I rested well Saturday night and took a nap on Sunday, so that's no excuse.

I arrived in plenty of time to do my warm up. I did about 1.8 miles with a couple of strides at race pace. I chatted with some friends and we all wished one another luck and I was on my way to the start. When the race started, there was a huge crowd around. I spent probably a bit too much energy weaving. I had picked out Joe Francica and John Geiger to try to pace from. I finished just behind both of them at the Cookie Dash 5k. I hit the one mile split just behind Joe at 6:06. John was also nearby. That was just a wee bit fast, but it shouldn't have created the disaster that it did.

I intentionally slowed after that to try to pace myself better. Joe then began to pull away. He was having a good day and obliterated 40:00 with a 39:04. John was still nearby. I hit the 2 mile mark at about 12:47, 6:40 for the mile. Woah! that was way too slow!!! And I have the most difficult mile ahead of me!

I then made the mistake of trying to make up some time. All I did was lose my breath as I started the first of the two small hills. I made it over the second small hill with a little left, but I just couldn't speed up on the slight downhill. I was gasping and hurting. I could see the turn to Mountainwood ahead, but it sure looked farther than it ever had. I was trying to hold on to hit the top in 20:30 to salvage a chance at my goal. I could hear "Rocky", but I knew I was in trouble. I made the turn onto Mountainwood and started to power up the hill as I had practiced. I heard the split... 19:40 something. That mile took almost 6:54. Yuck! I was over 20 seconds off my plan! I knew, though, that I had a chance if I could just hang on.

Then, just after the split, things began to unravel. I was struggling badly. I had nothing left and I did the unthinkable. I walked about 20 yards of Mountainwood. UGH!!! I've never walked any part of that hill ever before. Obviously, here John passed me. After settling down a bit, I started back up, grabbed some water at the aid station to just splash around my mouth to see if that would make it easier to breathe, but I was beyond repair. I tried hard, but I just couldn't go fast. It felt like I was going fast down the hill, but the split on this mile was a disaster. 7:20. Yep, 7:20. I did not expect a 7:20 mile today. I guess I'm almost arrogant enough to run a 7:20 warmup mile. I am in complete disbelief of that 7:20 mile. So, that puts me at 26:55, a full 1:15 off of my plan. I knew now that I had no chance.

So, I must admit, that I quit. That is completely inexcusable. With the fastest mile on the course still to go, I still had a chance at a PR. I was gutless, disappointed, and defeated. I ran the fastest mile on the course in a very disappointing and embarrassing 6:34 to be at 33 and change. In my dreams last night, I ran that mile in under 6:00. I probably cost John some time, too. I believe he was pacing off of me as much as I was pacing off of him. We were side by side for most of that mile.

I didn't do any better on the last mile, either. It's a very flat mile with only one small rise, and it took me 6:40 to cover it. On the flat part, John made his move and passed me. But so did about 6 or 8 other runners. I was the poor sap in the last mile that people were targeting to pick off. It made me a little angry, and I picked up the pace in the last half of the mile. Yep, I ran fast in the last half of the mile and still ran it in 6:40. Up the hill to Greene Street, I passed John, but I knew I would not be able to hold that lead. I'm now at 40:07 with the 0.2 (0.28 by my Garmin) to go.

As I expected, John had more of a kick at the end than I did. I heard him coming, and I knew he was going to finish ahead of me. I was spent and was just trying to hang on. I did the last 0.28 in 1:48, (6:21 pace), so I had a little something left at the finish, but not enough to hold off John.

All in all, it was a VERY disappointing effort. I trained. I was blessed and fortunate enough to avoid injury. We were blessed with as good of weather as you can expect (67, overcast, humid, and NO wind) on Memorial Day in Alabama. With all those advantages, I simply blew it.

What went wrong?

1. My diet. I was very undisciplined for the past few weeks. I did not eat like someone who was focused on running a PR on a brutally difficult course. That won't happen again.
2. I tapered too much. I shouldn't be tapering for 10k's. I took Sunday off and went extremely easy on Friday and Saturday, and the result was a stale and lethargic feeling instead of a fresh and rested feeling.
3. I started too fast. My target was 6:15, and I should have run it in 6:20, but I ran it in 6:06. The result was FAR from a negative split on a course that begs to be negative split.
4. I got lazy with my long runs. My long runs crept down to the 12-13 mile range instead of the 15-17 mile range. I will fix that this summer. My long runs will be at least 15 from now on. Period. And I'll mix in 20+ milers, too. When I run long like that, I have the confidence to convince myself that a 10k is short. Today, I couldn't convince myself that it wouldn't hurt for long.
5. I skipped some hill workouts. I'm committing to do hill work at least biweekly, and maybe even weekly. I will not be defeated by Mountainwood again.
   

I had my 3 goals going into this race. Goal 1 was to break 40:00. Goal 2 was to set a PR (40:57). Goal 3, missing which defines disaster, was to break 42:00. I barely avoided disaster, and it sure feels like disaster.

This is a pivotal race for me. It's my first race ever that has not been a PR. How I respond is the test of the next few months. Right now, I'm determined to get my revenge on Cotton Row. I will break 40:00 next year, but hopefully I will have improved enough that 40:00 will not be a challenging enough goal.

Pictures soon.

Cotton Row 10k Course

I'm taking it easy today hoping to have fresh legs and my best 10k effort yet tomorrow. I'm reviewing the course in my mind as preparation for tomorrow, so I'll share my thoughts.

The Overall Course
I've said before, and I'll say again that I really love this course as road courses go. It starts and finishes downtown and winds through some historical and beautiful neighborhoods. Most of the lawns are very well maintained and there is some shade on much of the course.

This is no doubt a negative split course. A negative split is almost a given here. The highest point of the course is almost exactly at the halfway point and there is significant elevation loss from there to the finish. You go from 853 feet to 621 feet in less than 3 miles, with only two very small, short uphill sections during that stretch. I would guess that most runners will negative split by 30 seconds or more.

The Start
The start is near the VBCC at the intersection of Clinton and Monroe. Runners start east on Clinton for a block and then turn right on Church St. Church St. has a small curve that can be straightened a little to shave a few feet off the distance before turning left on Lowe Ave. Lowe is curvy and also can be shortened a bit. I haven't had much time to practice this because there has always been traffic on the street when I run it. I've heard that the distance savings can be significant enough to be worth nearly 10 seconds. After crossing Adams St., you'll see the 1 mile split. If you want to meet your goal for the day, this needs to be at least 10 seconds ahead of your goal pace because 1) It's your first mile (duh), 2) It can be run short, 3) It's relatively flat. I'm hoping to hit this in 6:15 tomorrow.

Mile 2
The course transitions from downtown to neighborhood streets just after 1 mile. You're still on Lowe, but it becomes Fraser. There's a slight veer to the right onto Sierra before turning left onto Carmelian St. Carmelian can also be shortened slightly, but it is slight. Carmelian ends at McClung Ave. and runners will turn right. There is a cymetary on your left and houses on your right and the Mile 2 split just ahead. Again, you need to run this one well. It's only slightly uphill. You should run this one near your goal pace. 6:20, 12:35 is my target.

The Toughest Mile
Now, the course will show it's teeth. There is a very noticable incline up McClung to Owens Drive. It flattens and maybe gives back a few feet just as you turn on Owens, but then starts up again. These two hills always get me a little because I'm only thinking about Mountainwood, and I forget about these until I'm running them and feel my pace slipping. Mentally, these hills have been tougher for me than Mountainwood. Mountainwood I am expecting and psyched up for; these, I'm not so much. After topping the second portion of the incline on Owens, the street splits. Stay right and stay low. You'll start a slight climb again just as the street re-joins. This is a nice residential street. When you see Mountainwood, look out. Hang a left and start the most brutal climb on any 10k road race in the state. It's downright evil to put this hill on a 10k course. This hill defines this course. This hill is the course's identity. Everyone who runs this race remembers this hill. Those who don't run this race hear about this hill! Objectively, there are worse hills on road races across the country. But this hill gains 80 feet in just over 1/8 of a mile. It's steep! The 3 mile split is just about halfway up the hill. There is also a homeowner with a sense of humor near the top who is blasting the "Rocky" theme every year! Hope you didn't destroy your chances for your goal with this mile. It will be slower than your goal pace. I'm really hoping to run this mile no slower than 6:45. If I hit the first two miles as planned, anything below 7:00 should avoid a disaster. My target tomorrow is 6:45, 19:20.

Another Tough Mile
This mile begins with the remainder of Mountainwood to go! It's seriously uphill to begin. After topping Mountainwood, runners will turn right on Toll Gate Road and there will be aid. This is, I'm guessing, roughly the 5k split (though there's nobody there calling 5k splits). If you're 30 seconds or less behind your goal pace, you are in good shape to meet your goal. If I'm above 20:30 here, I will seriously have to fight the urge to give up. The road dips slightly to allow some recovery, then climbs again to the intersection of Toll Gate and Bankhead Parkway. The left on Bankhead is the sharpest turn on the course, but it isn't bad at all, though sharper than 90 degrees. Then, you get back the climbing you did! Bankhead is the most dangerous road on the course if you want to run it any day other than race day. There is no shoulder (but there is an awkward to get to sidewalk on the right hand side of the road) and there will be traffic. But on race day, just LET IT FLY! Traffic is controlled and you have some time to make up! Mile 4 ends at roughly the same elevation it begins, so run it in your goal pace, though it surely won't be an evenly paced mile. It's up at the beginning and down at the end. The 4 mile split is just beyond a left curve. I'm aiming for 6:20, 25:40.

The Fastest Mile!
Mile 5 is the fastest on the course. You MUST beat your goal pace on this mile, and you must beat it soundly. You'll finish the quad-busting downhill on Bankhead until it veers right and becomes Pratt Ave. That portion is seriously downhill. You have to fly. Take advantage of gravity and don't let your footstrike slow you down! Pratt will divide, and you'll turn left on Grayson for two blocks before turning right on Clinton. The Grayson/Clinton section is the flattest part of the course. Carry any downhill momentum if you can, but you will be slowing down now. The 5 mile split will be near Coleman St. I'm aiming for 6:05, 31:45.

Bring It Home!!!
Just after the 5 mile split, runners cross California St. just south of the 5 points area. Then, they'll go a block to take a left on White St., then a right on Randolph a block later. This stretch of the course has some well maintained homes with character. I like running this section. This is also a very flat portion of the course. Runners will follow Randolph back to the downtown area. On the way back, there is one more hill that leads up to Greene St. It isn't a bad hill at all, but it is late. Hill probably isn't even the right word. Rise, maybe. Just know that it is all downhill from there! After crossing Greene St., turn right on Washington, then left on Clinton a block later. From here, you can see the finish!!!! Don't get too excited, though because it's farther than it looks! HOLD ON!!! DO NOT LET UP!!! After that turn on Clinton, I'm guessing that I'll have about 2:15 to the finish. It's between 0.3 and 0.4 miles to the finish, closer to 0.4. You may see the 6 mile split painted on the road, but nobody will be there calling splits. I'm aiming for 6:25 + 1:15 for 39:25. That's not much room for error to break 40:00.

Wish me luck. I hope this course tour helps you if you're running the Cotton Row Run 10k.

Winding Down!

Yesterday I joined Eric F. for an easy 5 miler at lunch. There was a little heat at the end of the run, but it wasn't too bad. We went at about an 8:05 pace, and ended up doing about 5.45 miles total. I didn't want to go far or fast. I'm saving up! Nice run and thanks, Eric.

Today, I was going to run the course with the Fleet Feet group, but I was late getting started out of the house. When I got there, there were several people still there and I ended up running the 5k course with my friend Jennifer. She's running her first 5k at Cotton Row on Monday and is doing great!

After that, I played several games of racquetball to get moving and to relax. It was great fun! I'm getting more excited. I hope I have it in me!

Tomorrow, as part of my preparation, I plan to blog a description of the 10k course.

Cotton Row 10k Again

Monday will be the most prepared I've been for a race course ever. I've run the Cotton Row 10k course nearly 10 times in the past couple of months. I know the turns well. I know where the mile markers are. I know where the hills are. I know what's coming next at any point on the course. I know both how far from the start and finish I am most anywhere on the course. I think I'm going to like running the race knowing the course that well.

I met Mike this morning at 5:45 (those of you who know me know that 5:45 means 5:50) to run the 10k course. I was a bit disheveled this morning because of a lack of sleep (for the second night in a row) and I wasn't in my car. I am just a bit out of my routine this week.

Anyway, we started at about a 7:30 pace and it felt like I was sprinting! Mike was clearly pulling me along. I will have to warm up well without cooking all my eggs before this race. after about a mile and a half, I was settled into a comfortable pace near 7:00. I didn't want to go too hard today, but I did want to test a few things on the course. Mile 3 is going to be a killer. Up the hill on Mountainwood, I pushed pretty hard, but not like I will on race day. Then, I tried to hit 7:00 pace as soon as possible after topping the hill. I was successful with that. On race day, I'm hoping to hit 6:25 as soon as possible after that hill. I let it fly on mile 5, trying to go about race pace, but again, I didn't want to go too hard today. I want to save something for my legs for Monday.

I finished in 43:59. I did start my watch a little early (so splits aren't exact) and I did double back on the course some. I just need to shave 4 minutes off of that by Monday!!

1. 7:25
2. 6:59
3. 7:04
4. 6:54
5. 6:28
6. 6:54
7. 2:12
   

Double Cotton Row

The Fleet Feet of Huntsville sponsored training runs for Cotton Row began today, I think. While I'm talking about Fleet Feet, I'll go ahead and do a commercial. I don't work there or have any relationship with them except that I'm a satisfied customer. Those guys are great. Go there to buy your running gear. They know the sport and will take care of you. The customer experience at Fleet Feet in Huntsville is second to none. Also, they do more to support the local running community than any entity I can think of. I wouldn't think of buying running gear anywhere else. Great staff and GREAT owners.

There were two groups, one that met at 6:00 and one that met at 7:00. The 6:00 group is the faster group. I didn't get in the lead pack with Marty and Greg (those guys are just out of my league fast), but stayed in the second pack with Joey and a guy I met this morning, Jeff. We ran just about 7:22 average pace for the 6.2. With the second group, nobody ran my pace, so I took off and ran alone. Joey and Marty were coaching the next steps groups. Great work, guys.

On the second time around, I ran the first two miles much closer to 8:00 and I stopped and chatted with a fellow named Steve at the top of the Mountainwood hill. Then, I really tried to pour it on at the end. I didn't go race pace, but I wanted to finish the 12.4 miles very strong, and I ran those at about 6:45 each. Even with the slow miles and the stop, I ran the second loop in 46:43 for a 7:30 average pace. Then I finished up with a cool down mile and headed to the gym.

Yep, I went to the gym after 13+miles and played racquetball for the first time in at least 2 or 3 months. I forgot how much fun racquetball is. Surprisingly, I was able to compete. I really didn't expect to play well. However, during doubles, I heard the opposition talking to each other about keeping the ball away from me and hitting to my partner. :) I went 1-1 in singles, losing at 13 to one of the top 3 players at the gym. I played 7 games total. I love racquetball!

Cotton Row Course

I met Mike this morning to run the Cotton Row Run 10k course. I really love that course and I'm looking forward to the race. I have a goal for that race, and I'm going to work like mad to be ready between now and then. Then, I'm hoping for reasonable weather. A nice 43F temperature like today on Memorial Day would be nice, but that won't happen! Meeting my goal for this race will hurt. Mostly, between now and then, I'm mentally preparing for the pain.

Today was a great run. I'd probably consider this a tempo run. It was maybe just a tad slower than what my tempo pace should be. My watch had us averaging 7:04 per mile, but it was overly optimistic this morning. I started it a little early. Also, it was consistently alarming and auto-lapping before the mile markers on the course this morning, and it had us running 6.31 miles. Mike manually lapped his watch at the course marked splits, so his splits are much more accurate. Mike told me to push hard at the end, which we did. That was FUN! We ran maybe a 5:10 pace for the last 0.1 mile.

1. 7:20
2. 7:00
3. 7:07
4. 7:36 (Mountainwood!)
5. 6:49
6. 6:49
7. 1:49

After that, I ran the 5k course at about an 8:25 pace.

Cotton Row Practice

I met Mike Greene this morning at 5:30 at the Cotton Row Run start. We ran the 10k course first (45:47, 7:23 avg. pace), then the 5k course (24:23, 7:52 avg. pace). I usually run easy on Wednesday, but I know that Mike won't let me do that. All in all, though, we did a very manageable mid-week pace with some fast sections mixed in.

I love the 10k course. I hope to run it several more times before Memorial Day so I can map it out in my mind before racing it. It is definitely a negative split course, which we did easily this morning. If you top the big hill in half of your goal time, you're in very good shape. One thing that I found interesting about this morning is that our lackadaisical effort of 45:47 beat my 45:53 race time from a year ago. I guess I've improved a little.

This morning was my first run on the CR 5k course. It's not as interesting as the 10k course. I probably won't run the 5k in addition to the 10k this year, but I'm still undecided. I wanted to run it easier, but it just didn't work out that way. It seems that once my body hits a 7:30 or faster pace, anything above 8:00 feels painfully slow. I can start at 8:00 or 8:30 and run that pace for 15-20 miles. But if I go faster, I can't seem to make myself slow down. the 7:52 pace felt VERY easy after the 10k run. That's a good thing, I guess.