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Lilac Bloomsday Run - RunOther


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Spokane, Washington
United States
Lilac Bloomsday Association
48F / 9C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 02m 45s
Overall Rank = 3548/50611
Age Group = 30-34
Age Group Rank = 324/1539
Pre-race routine:

Slept great. Up at 6:00 and had two pieces of toast @ 6:30, one light pb and one butter and some water. Got ready and hit the road about 7 to meet up w/ my sister and bro-in-law.
Event warmup:

As you can imagine, parking close to a race w/ 50,000 participants isn't going to happen. Pre-race involved walking about a mile to the start area. Said goodbye to the fam since we were leaving town right after the race. Stood around in the start corral for my group with about 10,000 of my new friends....these sentiments wouldn't last long.
Run
  • 1h 02m 45s
  • 7.46 miles
  • 08m 25s  min/mile
Comments:

The course was packed and the "Yellow" group seeding contained runners w/ qualifying paces of 9:30 or better. I think all of the 9+ pacers were ahead of me in the corral. The first two mile splits were by far the slowest of the race.... even slower than the Doomsday mile. After about mile 4 it finally started to thin out. I just tried to run as fast as the crowd would allow, bobbing and weaving through the slower runners.
Tons of people blew up on Doomsday, bet I passed a couple hundred (no exaggeration) on the 3/4 mile long hill.

Missed my goal by 2:46. Kind of wierd to see people still starting when I was walking across the bridge after the finish line.... this race is huge.
What would you do differently?:

Get closer to the front for the start and not assume the group would effectively self seed. Next time I'll let others do the passing if they need. I wasted a lot of energy weaving in and out of the crowd.

I'd also not get sick for a couple weeks leading up to the race... one hell of a taper I guess.
Post race
Warm down:

Downed a bunch of water, snagged my 'Finisher' shirt and walked about 8 blocks to meet up with the fam, stretch for a few minutes, and hit the road for home. Yeah, I took a sink shower at Starbucks.... whatever, I'm over it.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Crowds, illness... blah, blah, blah - there's always next year.

Event comments:

This race is a classic and I loved finally getting to race it, even if it didn't go as planned. I think this is becoming an annual event. My wife had even signed up to walk, but that fell through when we needed to get home earlier and couldn't wait for her to finish.




Last updated: 2011-04-07 12:00 AM
Running
01:02:45 | 07.46 miles | 08m 25s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/1539
Overall: 0/50611
Performance: Average
Course: Hilly course. Flat first mile, then down, then up, then up more - just less steep, somewhat flat, down, UP DOOMSDAY and a mostly flat 2+ miles to the finish. Nice 3 block downhill to the finish line.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
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:
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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2011-05-04 12:12 AM

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Expert
1231
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B'ham
Subject: Lilac Bloomsday Run


2011-05-04 9:13 AM
in reply to: #3481009

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Champion
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marietta
Subject: RE: Lilac Bloomsday Run
i can't imagine running in a race that big.   nice job!! 
2011-05-04 10:35 AM
in reply to: #3481009

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Master
1497
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Maryland
Subject: RE: Lilac Bloomsday Run
Thanks for posting the link to your RR, it sounds like a big and fun event. Way to tough it out with the weaving...it does use up a lot of energy too. Nice race!
2011-05-04 11:35 AM
in reply to: #3481009

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Pro
4100
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Wherever the trail takes me, WA.
Subject: RE: Lilac Bloomsday Run
Good for you.  I know you have family over there (I think), but I have ZERO desire to ever to that race!  Way too many people!!!!
2011-05-04 9:29 PM
in reply to: #3481009

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Master
2621
2000500100
Almaden Valley, San Jose, California
Subject: RE: Lilac Bloomsday Run
Good Job!  That's a lot of people to weave through!  They really need to work on the name, too.....maybe 'Tiptoe through the Tulips'? ?
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