Birch Bay Road Race - 15k - Run15k


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Birch Bay, Washington
United States
Whatcom Family YMCA
38F / 3C
Sunny
 		Total Time = 1h 17m 38s
Overall Rank = 47/232
Age Group = 30-34
Age Group Rank = 4/8
Pre-race routine:

They only had day-of packet pick up, so I arrived about an hour before start time and checked in. Returned to my truck to pin on bib and stay warm rocking out to Pearl Jam radio. Headed back over about 20 minutes before start time to hit the john and get the low-down at the very informal pre-race meeting (it was a dude walking around w/ a bull-horn describing the course)
Event warmup:

The race started on a side street, I jogged to the end of the street and back just to get the legs less tight... probably about a 1/4 mile, not much more. The remainder of the pre-race time was spent hopping in place, wishing I hadn't left my gloves in the truck.... this wouldn't be a concern for long
Run
  • 1h 17m 38s
  • 9.32 miles
  • 08m 20s  min/mile
Comments:

Got warm quick and was soon regretting even the long sleeve shirt. I knew I was under-trained coming in, but it became pretty apparent around the 5 mile point. I wasn't having much fun and was kinda pissed at myself for being out there. Glad that I pushed through and did get a second wind around the 10-11k mark. I feel like I finished strong, even though my splits were not any faster - we were running into the wind after the last turn-around.
I slowed down at each water station and grabbed a drink. I didn't take any gels because I didn't feel like my stomach was a willing particpant in that venture today.
There was a fair amount of pace booty on course, unfortanately running at a pace that was beyond me today. I spent most of the last half running with a lady and wondering if the 62 on her bib was her actual age or just a coincidence. (She was actually 59 and I beat her, for the record)
I'm still going to rate this as a good race because I'm proud that I got through the negativity mid-race to finish strong and I learned a good lesson on race preparation (don't skip the tough workouts!!)
What would you do differently?:

Train more, dress appropriately, train more, hydrate better leading up to the race, and probably train more.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked from the finish area over to the food area. Did a little stretching while they were doing the 5k awards. The post-race spread was ok, and a little interesting. They had hot cocoa, water, Heed, bananans, oranges, pb&j on multi-grain. They also had chicken broth (which was surprisingly good at 10am) and vegitarian chilli (which sounded absolutely wrong at 10am)

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Too warm and under-trained.... skipped too many of the speedwork and tempo run days on my plan --- our stupid bed just won't seem to let me out early on Monday mornings.

Event comments:

Good race - I did the 5k here 3 years ago and it seemed much more organized and staffed this time.
Entry fee was a little high, but being a fundraiser for a non-profit makes it easier to swallow. The shirt was a navy blue LS tech shirt.
I would do this race again.




Last updated: 2011-03-21 12:00 AM
Running
01:17:38 | 9.32 miles | 08m 20s  min/mile
Age Group: 4/8
Overall: 47/232
Performance: Average
Course: Mostly flat along the bay with some gradual, rolling hills beginning around mile 4. The course has two turn-arounds, one about 2k and the other about 9.5k and a short, steep uphill with about 500m to go. The course was well supported with water and Heed about every 3k and Hammer gel at 2 (at least) of the water stations.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4