Houston Heights 5k 2011 Race Report

Saturday I set a new 5k PR at the Houston Heights 5k race. As we are now in the time of year when Houston is murderously hot and humid, I had intended to be done with races until late Fall. However, our Norwegian intern, Anders, who is a much more accomplished runner than I am, pointed out that this would be our last chance to run in the same race before he headed back home - how could I pass up such an opportunity?

My previous 5k PR for a certified course was 20:58, set back in February. In theory I should have been in better shape now, but it would also be much hotter/more humid now so I didn't know exactly what kind of performance to expect. With race-time temperatures expected in the 80s, online calculators were predicting that I would run up to a minute slower than my cool weather potential. Plus, now I'm a married man and I'm sure that sets me back a few minutes too! :-P

I disregarded the weather for my race plan, though, and set a strategy to set a new PR. The course would be very straight and flat so there was no need to worry about adjusting for turns or hills. As usual my intention was to start and finish very strong with a fast, consistent pace in between:

KM 1: 4:04 (Big burst at the start then settling into my pace after 200m)
KM 2: 4:17
KM 3: 4:17
KM 4: 4:17
KM 5: 4:00 (4:17 pace for 650m, cover the next 260m in 60s - 3:51 pace, and sprint the final 90m in 15s - 2:47 pace)
Race goal: 20:55

The morning of the race was definitely pretty sticky. I didn't allow as much time between my big breakfast and the race as I usually do, so my GI was grumbling a bit as I warmed up. My stomach settled down right before the start, though, so all was well. I found Anders, we wished each other luck, and then we were off.

The first km went very well. Heights Blvd is a wide, straight street and there was plenty of room for runners to spread out after the starting line. I had a good start (~3:30 pace) and then eased back, finishing this km in 3:58 with an average heart rate of 166. Heading into the next km I was 6 seconds ahead of my goal and my heart rate was 174 - right on target.

The second km was consistent and felt strong. I finished it in 4:13 with an average heart rate of . . . 174 - my heart rate had stayed steady as well. I was now 10 seconds ahead of my goal and feeling very good.

The third km worried me a bit as it included a 180-degree turn (as we turned around and headed right back up Heights Blvd). I finished it in 4:12 but my heart rate had now begun to climb, averaging 178 throughout the km. 60% through the race I was 15s ahead of my goal with a 180 heart rate and straight, flat road ahead.

The 4th km was once again consistent (My heart rate stayed at 180.) but I struggled to stick to my pace, finishing in 4:18. A woman in green who had been just ahead of me (and who had a coach biking alongside her) began to extend her lead. Still, I was 14s ahead of my goal so I would set a new PR barring any disastrous meltdown.

The next 650m were again a struggle and I completed them at 4:20 pace. My average heart rate for that leg was 183 and my current heart rate was 185. Still, I was 12s ahead of my goal as I kicked it up for my penultimate push.

My pace was good during this push, 3:44, but something unexpected happened before I completed the 260m. Anders, who of course had finished several minutes prior, had come back along the course and was encouraging me on. I was 13s ahead of my goal, my heart rate was now 189 and, with 120m left, I began my final sprint.

I could see the woman in green way up ahead of me and, urged on by Anders, I committed to beating her. I passed several guys along the way but, for whatever reason, she was my focus - my nemesis! I blew by her maybe 5m before the finish line and it felt great! I had completed the final 120m in 23s (2:55 pace) for a final time of 20:44.9, 10s below my goal and a new PR by 13s! Perhaps most interestingly, my hear rate soared to 197 - the highest I have ever recorded - during the sprint.

I cooled down, found Anders, and together we jogged back along the course to find Katie and run her in. By this point it was getting very muggy and we were incredibly thankful for all the tree shade along Heights Blvd. Some others from our office had come out to support us so we all met up - but we runners kept our sweaty distance!

Anders finished 2nd overall with a 16:06 time - very impressive. My 20:45 was 69th of 1,022 runners (93rd percentile), 60th of 495 male runners (88th percentile), and 8th of 71 males 30-34 (89th percentile). It was a good race with decent competition, plenty of room, a nice course, and effective organization - I'll hope to run it again next year.

Also, to make this run more meaningful, I ran it in honor of GIVEWATTS. Some family members sponsored me and I managed to collect enough donations for three watts of clean renewable power to be installed at a school in East Africa. Over 10 years those three watts will create approximately $2,250 of value there, so this aspect of the race was much more impactful than my PR!

Texas Med Center 5k 2011 Race Report 3/3: What Now

This post is the third of three that detail my running of a 5k last weekend.

The first entry is Texas Med Center 5k 2011 Race Report 1/3: Preparation

The second entry is Texas Med Center 5k 2011 Race Report 2/3: The Race

With one of my annual goals accomplished so early, I have two options: 1. check it off the list and rest on my laurels for the rest of the year, or 2. adjust the goal and challenge myself to continue improving. As I did in the middle of the race, I choose option 2 here as well. The new goal is < 20:30, shaving off roughly 6 seconds per km. This won't "just happen," though, so following are my thoughts on how to realize this goal.

First I must look back at this race and ponder why I was able to achieve a time a full minute lower than the best time of my recent 5k training runs. There are a few possible explanations: 1. Adrenaline / competition brings about higher performance. This is certainly true, but I don't think it alone can account for a full minute's improvement. 2. Being rested and well nourished / hydrated brings about higher performance. Again true, again inadequate to account for the full improvement. 3. My training runs aren't intense enough. I think this may be the real crux of the issue and it will be addressed in subsequent runs.

Looking forward, I believe the path to my new 5k goal is training each of my energy systems. The human body generally uses three energy systems to do work:

1. The ATP-PC system, which anaerobically uses the ATP stored in cells for quick bursts of high-intensity energy lasting up to 10 seconds. This is the system used when sprinting.
2. The Lactic Acid (fast glycolysis) system, which anaerobically converts glycogen stored in the muscles and liver to glucose, which is broken down into pyruvic acid, which provides slower bursts (up to 60 seconds) of moderate-intensity energy. This is the system used when running 400m.
3. The Aerobic (slow glycolysis and lypolysis) system, which aerobically breaks down glucose (faster) or fat (slower) to provide long durations of low-intensity energy. This is the system used when running distance.

Even though a 5k is pretty high-intensity, my understanding is that you are still using the Aerobic system to produce energy most of the time. By training your Aerobic system, you are able to increase its efficiency and ability to supply energy at higher intensities / speeds. Before I started running, a 4:20 / km pace would probably have "winded" me so quickly that I couldn't have kept it up for even an entire km. This is because my Aerobic system would not have been able to produce energy quickly enough for that speed, forcing my body to rely on the anaerobic systems, which would have depleted quickly. After training, though, I can now sustain a 4:20 pace for at least several km because my Aerobic system has adapted and is able to provide enough energy.

My training thus far has really been focused on building up my Aerobic system. As illustrated above, this goal has been achieved and I will continue to train my Aerobic system with runs of varying pace, incline walks, and other low-intensity activities. Additionally, though, I now need to train up my anaerobic systems.

I believe (although I welcome advice from much more experienced runners / coaches) that the "best" way to run a race, especially races of longer distances, is in three phases:

(0. Prepare)
1. Aerobic: maintain a pace that is supported by the Aerobic system for the vast duration of the race (For long distances, this can include refueling during the race so that the faster glycolysis can be used instead of the slower lipolysis.)
2. Anaerobic 1: pick up the pace for the last 60 seconds, using the Lactic Acid system to get the most out of every last glycogen molecule stored in muscles / liver
3. Anaerobic 2: sprint all out for the final 10 seconds, using the ATP-PC system to get the most out of every last ATP molecule floating around
(4. Recover)

I don't believe I'm getting enough out of my phases 2 and 3 right now. During a race I am covering 275m in the final 60 seconds. However, when rested I can cover 400m in 60 seconds. During a race I am covering 55m in the final 10 seconds. However, when rested I can cover 90m in 10 seconds.

This discrepancy is significant. Let's say I'm running a 4:20 Aerobic pace. My current final km comes out to 10 seconds (final 55m) + 60 seconds (previous 275m) + 2 minutes 54 seconds (previous 670m @ 4:20 / km) == 4:04. If instead I hit my "potential" numbers described above, my final km would come out to 10 seconds (final 90m) + 60 seconds (previous 400m) + 2 minutes 13 seconds (previous 510m @ 4:20 / km) == 3:23. That shaves 41 seconds off my total time - yowza! I could reach my new goal without changing my pace if only I could hit my "potential" during the "end game" of a race.

I believe I'm failing to run fast enough at the end because 1. I'm still using some Lactic Acid system during the first phase of my run (including the too-fast starts) and 2. My anaerobic systems are just out of shape, having not been trained intentionally in some time. 1 can be addressed with aerobic training and 2 can be addressed with interval training, sprints, and high-intensity workouts. I believe that, if I can address these two issues, I can shave 30+ seconds off my race times without modifying my pace.

Note that this assumes that one can still access the full power of the ATP-PC system after fully depleting the Lactic Acid system. I'm not sure if this is true or not. My experience in this last race seemed to indicate that there was still ATP-PC juice left even as Lactic Acid gas was running out, but perhaps there were other (e.g. psychological) factors at play as well?

I have three 10k races to run over the next six weeks so I intend to test out this training and race running strategy.

Texas Med Center 5k 2011 Race Report 2/3: The Race

This post is the second of three that detail my running of a 5k last weekend.

The first entry is Texas Med Center 5k 2011 Race Report 1/3: Preparation
The third entry is Texas Med Center 5k 2011 Race Report 3/3: What Now

I got off to a nice pace (I thought!) with the balls of my feet lightly springing me forward and level of exertion in a good range. When I looked down at my Garmin, though, it said I was on a 3:30 / km pace! Yikes, way too fast! Because I didn't trust the GPS as much when surrounded by all those tall hospitals in the Houston Medical Center, I didn't let up too much at first.

After more than a minute, though, I decided to pull back a bit. I was frustrated with myself for falling prey to the classic "rookie" mistake: firing out of the starting gate too quickly, spurred on by adrenaline and the paces of the other, much faster runners who start at the front of the pack. I just hoped that it wouldn't kill my ability to keep up the pace later on in the race. Still, I was pretty optimistic; I had made this mistake in every one of my competitive races to date and it had yet to really hold me back. Plus, I was well rested and nourished, so I tried to adjust to the right pace and keep on trucking.

I finished the first km in 4:01 (WAY ahead of pace) but my heart rate was only at 166 BPM, almost exactly where I would have expected it to have been if running my pace, so I was optimistic that I had gained 21 seconds without it costing me much. If I could just stick to my plan for the rest of the race, I would kill my previous PR.

I finished my second km in 4:13 (Still significantly under pace) and my heart rate was doing just fine at 173 BPM. Just as had happened during my 10k PR run at last year's Capitol 10k in Austin, it began dawning on me that, 30 seconds ahead of my 21:40 race plan as I was, I could actually break 21:00 (my 5k goal for 2011). I adjusted my race plan in stride; I would now need to run my final three km at a 4:19 pace and get the most I could get out of my final kick. I was feeling good, though, and this all seemed very possible. By this point I was feeling very overdressed, so I rolled up the sleeves of my long-sleeve mock and pressed on.

I finished my third km in 4:19 and my heart rate was just 176 BPM - excellent, keep on going! Toward the end of the fourth km was a 180-degree turn. Last year I slowed down and hugged the turn tight to ensure that I ran the shortest distance possible. The slow down felt good but the subsequent speed up was hard. This year instead I decided to swing out wide and keep up my momentum / pace. I'm not sure what the best practice is in this situation, but I think it helped me.

I finished my fourth km in 4:20 and my heart rate was still down at 177 BPM - I knew I had plenty of gas left for my final km. By this point in the race we were all very spread out and, after I passed a few runners on that slingshot turn, there really wasn't anyone around me. There was someone about 30m ahead of me. From what I could tell, he was significantly younger and lighter than I was, so I became fixated on him as my must-beat target. This was just the motivation I needed to push me through this last km. Slowly I gained ground on him, but I made sure not to press too hard. If I could just close to 10m or less, I was sure I could leave him in my dust on the final kick.

As we approached the final turn, I pulled up even with this temporary arch nemesis of mine and my watch informed me that we were at 4.75 km. I had made it here in 3:11 - a 4:16 pace - and my heart rate was 180 BPM. My total race time at this point was 20:04 so I could beat 21:00 if I could just execute my 55 second 250m final kick. My nemesis, unfortunately, was all gassed out and offered no competition after I passed him, so I had to look inward for the motivation on this final stretch.

I pushed forward with what felt like everything I had. Looking at the data now, it appears that I temporarily sustained a 3:05 pace but that this gradually slowed down to about 3:30. As I came into the last 50m, though, I could see the clock ticking away at 20:54, which helped me find that extra gear and fly into an all out sprint (~2:30 pace, according to the Garmin). One of the advantages of being the only runner around is that the crowd around the finish line has no one else to cheer for, so you know they're cheering for you. As I gritted down for this final sprint, the crowd reacted positively and the cheers grew louder, which really helped.

The final 250m took me 54 seconds (average heart rate: 183 BPM). Interestingly, my heart rate had been climbing to 186 during the first 200m but then, when I went into the full sprint, it dropped to 180, only increasing again once I slowed down after the finish line. I suspect this has something to do with the transition from the lactic acid energy system to the ATP-PC energy system, but I'm not sure exactly why / how.

My official race time was 20:58 - a new PR and under my 2011 5k goal. I finished #48 of 961 runners (95th percentile), #39 of 447 men (91st percentile), and #2 of 49 in my age group - men 30-34 (96th percentile). After the race there was a great after party. Lots of good music, natural food, sports drinks, and, of course, beer! After official race times were posted, they stopped the music to give out awards. Since they gave awards to the top three finishers in each age group, I won an award for the first time!!! What a thrill! It must have been a pretty weak / sparse competitive field, but I'll take it!

Texas Med Center 5k 2011 Race Report 1/3: Preparation

This post is the first of three that detail my running of a 5k last weekend.

The second entry is Texas Med Center 5k 2011 Race Report 2/3: The Race

The third entry is Texas Med Center 5k 2011 Race Report 3/3: What Now

Saturday I ran my first competitive race of the year, the Texas Med Center 5k. Last year I PRed in this race with a time of 21:43, thus meeting my 2010 goal of running a 5k race under 22:00. This year my training runs had been coming in around 22:00 so I didn't think this would be the race at which I would meet my 2011 goal of running a 5k race under 21:00. However, I did think I could PR again so I set the following goals for this race:

1. PR
2. Chip time < 21:40
3. Run final km faster than any other kms
4. Run final 250m < 0:55

To accomplish these goals I planned to run my first four kms at a 4:22 pace. The fifth km would be at a 4:22 pace until the final 250m, at which point I would kick it. This kick should result in a 54-56 second final quarter km rather than the 66 second quarter km that would result from staying on the 4:22 pace.

As I didn't think I could push the pace much lower than 4:22 for the rest of the race and keep it up, this last kick was going to be especially crucial - the 10-12 seconds it would shave off my time would be the difference between setting a new Personal Record and failing to do so. I knew from my training that I had the capability to execute such a kick so I turned to nutrition to ensure that my body would have all the resources it needed on race day.

I consulted with the experts at The SHOP about my race week nutrition program. They refreshed my memory about the different energy systems involved in such a race (aerobic, using oxygen and fat for most of the race, then anaerobic lactic acid using glycogen for the final kick). In a race as short as a 5k there clearly wasn't a need to engage in carbo loading (the efficacy of which has been questioned anyway) but I would still want to ensure that my body came into the race with as much glycogen stored as possible to fuel me for that last kick. We also modified my daily breakfast a bit for more balance of carbs, protein, and fat, resulting in me feeling fuller and more energetic throughout the rest of my days.

The day before the race I rested, hydrated, and drove along the race course with my GPS on so I could visualize the km markers and get a feel for the changes in elevation (which were almost non-existent). We attended a Symphony performance that night (a whole evening of Ravel!), which kept me out a bit later than optimal but also ensured that I was relaxed when I went to bed.

When I woke up at 5 I really had to go to the bathroom, so I knew that I was well hydrated - but not so much so that it had woken me up in the night - resulting in good, uninterrupted rest. I usually get up at 6 but I like to start race day breakfast early just to ensure that digestion has plenty of time to complete - I never want to be blindsided by indigestion in the middle of a race and far away from the nearest bathroom!

Race start time was 8:30 and I arrived a little later than intended, about 8:10. It then took awhile to park, which stressed me out a bit. Note for next year: arrive by 8! The outside temperature was about 36 degrees F but rising quickly due to the clear, sunny skies. At this temperature (and based on memories of last year's race, which was COOOOOOOOOLD and windy / wet), I arrived really bundled up: Under Armour Cold Gear leggings + long sleeve mock, shorts, gloves, wool cap, and - of course - my Vibram Five Fingers Bikila running "shoes." As I got out of my parked car (T - 10 min until start, ahhh!), I could feel that, regardless of what the thermometer said, it was way too warm for all that insulation! I ditched the cap and gloves and jogged to the start line.

While waiting for the starting gun, I could tell that there were many walkers / slow runners far forward (In larger races they are staged to start later than the competitive runners.) so I made sure to line up pretty close to the starting line. After the gun went off, it was only two seconds or so until I crossed the starting line and my timing chip registered that I was "in play." I hit the "start" button on my Garmin ForeRunner 405 CX (GPS / heart rate monitor watch) and I was off!