YardCrap Foot Racing

MOUNTAIN LAUREL 5K

The Jeep and I traveled about 45 minutes to Clarksvile, Georgia today.


Last week the course was hard as I don't do hills.

My plan for this week was to open it up a little.  This course made last week look easy, but it was good fun.  I did not get too involved.  I walked early and often and suffered little.  The last 5 miles were up hill which is unusual on a 3.13 mile course.  My AHR was 158, my time was 26:09.
My watch did a poor job as it showed no elevation gain in the last mile.  That is funny!



Clarksvile is a beautiful small town.  It would be a perfect place for Hollywood to make a movie.  If I did not already live in a place as good, might move there.

Once again the 'Babes' lined up to have their photo made with me:

My Bride is not jealous.  Yep, I have a beautiful Bride, how strange is that?
Here she is with just yards to go after crushing the 'Marine Corps Marathon'.


I met Sheri and Dan today. Us septuagenarians are still getting the job done.
"People" think "people" our age are ??  We are the same but with more experience.

Here is another -> this is a serious guy to meet on a race course:

Along the route today I raced in the area of this guy:

I would walk the hills as I did not want to suffer today.  Then I would catch back up.
With the finish line in sight, many of my older friends were closing fast intending to dust me - again!
I pulled even with Marvin who was jogging in and asked him to take me home.  He picked the pace up for me, and I maintained my place with a free ride in.

This photo of Randall and Kevin reflect how much fun today was.

Mike told me he actually read my last post.  He goes way back as foot racer, did Maggie 20 times.  I only got there maybe 10 times with a best of 27:50 at 45years.  The young don't race like Perry and I did "back when".

Race Results are here:
http://www.coolrunning.com/results/17/ga/May20_MOUNTA_set1.shtml

Photos are here:

http://s1227.photobucket.com/user/yardcrap/library/MOUNTAIN%20LAUREL%205K

I know my photos are not the best, but they are free.  Post a comment here if you approve or if you don't.
It would be fun to see if even one person reads this page.  I need motivation - and friends as I am a hermit.

RUN FOR CHILDREN'S 5K

Last week during the 'Hartwell Dam Race' I promised myself I would never do this again.  That and knowing a cold beer was in the Jeep kept me going.

... but, I was going to jog this Saturday anyway, and there was a small race 15 minutes away at Shiloh Baptist Church.  I decided to do my run there, but not to kill myself - just try to run a 9 minute pace which is difficult for me to do alone.  I actually did 8:16, so good deal !!!

Rain was threatening, but me and the Jeep can handle that.


The course was tough with my watch showing 290ft elevation gain.  That is a lot in 3 miles.  No matter as this week I was starting slow and hoping to finish strong, the reverse of last week.  I did that, and while my time was slow, had a good race and left ready for the next one.  Instead of racing the clock, tried to keep up with other racers.  I got passed on the uphills but recovered and got them back on the down.  For the last .11 (down hill) did a 5:43 pace after a very slow uphill last mile.
Next week I'll keep the same plan and try to bring my time down a minute.

I would be remiss if I did not post as to AAA Race Services.
I have been to a few races they have done, and all have been 100%.  That is very difficult, and my hat is off to them.


I knew some of the Georgia people ( I live in SC and my place is the border) today and of course they remembered my loud mouth.  I live as a hermit and seldom get a chance to talk except to my 3 cats.

At my age, all are relieved when I am able to finish and the ambulance is not required to retrieve me.  If I am a pest, people pretend not to notice.
Many are new to races and naturally are a little uptight.  I am old with no ego, and have been to maybe a thousand, so ..... I tend to talk too much.

I re-met a Clemson grad who won his age group, and we agreed to race again next week in Clarksville which should be a bigger race.  I do like Clemson people.


My favorite racer of today won the over 10 age group:

How cool is that?

While Melinda heals, I can still hang with her in a race, but that may change soon!

Mike won his age group.  As long as I can finish before these guys pack up and leave, I am not holding up the parade.

This guy won, but I did spot him 60 pounds and 50 years.  He ran great on a tough course.


RoadKill Photos are here:
http://s1227.photobucket.com/user/yardcrap/library/RUN%20FOR%20CHILDRENS%205K

Results are here: (posted later when they show)

http://www.coolrunning.com/results/17/ga/May13_RUNFOR_set1.shtml

..extremely early results:

WTF happened ?

I do appreciate all you YC friends being so quick and eager to comment on things interesting to me, which mainly is beer, birds, and music. There is also my attempt at foot racing.





Maybe if I explain the day as I see it, some of my friends who are not racers will take an interest. One does not need to play football, etc to be a fan and have fun with it. Roadkill Racers can be your home team.

+++++++++++++

Now that my physical and mental wounds are healing, trying to figure what was going on in this race.
The key to improve is simple, eat less and train harder. Easier and more fun is to blame things on other areas and try to solve those imaginary issues.

I know I am not in the shape I was a year ago and 15 pounds up.
I raced here last yeaar and intended to return this year, but a few days off did not want to. In the end I went, and glad I did as these things are always fun (except the racing part). It is a bigger race (415) and this year is now 39 years old. There are always good runners here.

Last year I was beaten by 2 of the 10 geezers my age who showed, but was limping in over 29 minutes with a torn hamstring. I believed this year I could get into the 25's which would give me a shot at 3rd depending who showed.

While my weight is up and my training is down (funny how that works out), I have no injuries to use as an excuse at the moment. Not showing would have been "cowdarice", so I went.

The weather was clear and cool and very windy with strong gusts coming off the lake.
It was a beautiful day to race across the Hartwell Dam. This course is flat, fast, and point to point. I can't think of a more beautiful and fun race to take on. If you are ever in this area, walk across.

These days I am getting to know a few folks, last year knew no one. I rode over on the bus with my friend Judy Walls. Lined up, and I got to talk with David Spark, Darrell Newby and Tom Wild. I had seen one of the guys from last year who beat me, but did not see him in the crowd before the start. The other I have not laid eyes on in maybe 30 years and have no idea as to what he looks like now.

The gun fired, and I was off. As usual I wanted to quit after 3 minutes, but did not. By 10 minutes I promised myself (yet again) I would never do this again. All my energy left and my demons arrived.

What happens is your heart beat rockets. Your body does not like this and your mind tells you to cut that crap out -> to stop -- NOW!!!
Sitting on my ass writting this, I have lots of courage and resolve, but things are very different when your lungs are working as hard as possible and still you can't breathe. When your heart jumps to max to pump the blood, and it is not enough, it gets kinda scarey.

Training is key. If you can experience these "death signals" in training (and in other races) on a regular basis, you learn you may not die today. You may, but maybe your mind is wrong. People believe the front runners are gliding along with the wind in the hair going for victory with less pain than they. In truth, front racers are in more pain because they have conditioned themselves to deal with more pain (and why they are "front runners"). Racing is not jogging. If at any time in a race you can "deal" -> you are not giving your best effort and need to press. Racing is about pushing the body into incredible pain.
I am really poor at that these days as I don't really train. I did many years back and reaped the rewards, but not as motivated now. That does not make the pain less, just my ability to deal with it. A race is not a movie. You don't just get inspired and deal with it like a movie star hero might.

So back to my race as not only do I like to talk about me, but it is what I know most about.

The course was flat, there was wind, but mostly cross wind, don't think it had much affect on my effort. The temp was good at around 60. Competiton and freinds were there to push one. The stage was nearly perfect.
So what happended to my old ass?

Thanks to modern nerd gear, I have some stats.



My pace slowed from OK to pathetic by the last ten minutes. By 16 minutes I had slowed to near 9 minute pace.
My heart beat was still near max, but I was going no where. That is sad. Why was that? WTF went wrong?
My effort was still there as the heart beat shows, I was not taking a break.

A 5K is not a Marathon. The muscles have plenty of fuel for it. Did lactic acid slow me. Yep, and that is really upsetting. I just don't have the base endurance. My leg speed is not too bad for a guy my age, but I can't hold it. Spotting the kids 20 years is OK, but not 20+ pounds.

The answer is to run more miles in training, but today decided to just grab a beer and sit on the porch and think about it all.
My problem may be that my yard is so interesting, it is killing my foot racing.
On the other hand, that may be true for my peers also as they did even worse than me.

I did promise my brain if it would let me fininish I would never put it to the test again.
Now with excllent beer on the porch, maybe I lied?

Comments are encouraged. You don't have to be a Foot Racer or a Baseball player or a Boxer to have expert opinions. I am a foot racer and know little about that game compared to College Football where I am the World's leading expert.

39th ANNUAL LAKE HARTWELL DAM RUN

39th ANNUAL LAKE HARTWELL DAM RUN

I knew I did not really want to ever race again as the pain is not as much fun as sitting here on the porch with beer watching my birds.

.. but I was feeling guilty for not showing up somewhere. My mileage has been around 15 a week, and I have no real injuries right now to use as an excuse.

Sure enough, it was all I could do to keep slogging on. I am a real wimp these days. I did not walk, but it was a flat course.
My average heart rate was higher each mile even as my pace slowed, so I did hang in there -> sorta.

I did this race last year and tore my hamstring in the first quarter mile.

This year my body is OK except I am 14 pounds fatter than last year at 185 when "naked" .
This morning. I did knock 5 minutes off my limping time of last year, so that is Ok. Except for the racing part, I had great fun, glad I went.

I live on Lake Hartwell but way up the river. The race is over the dam, and the course is flat and beautiful. It is hard to think of a better course. Many people turn out.
There was a strong wind today which gave me an advantage over the other racers. They were being blown about, but my big beer belly kept me anchored.

I ran OK for a time and then due to being fat and not training, gave out. I was ahead of my friend Judy Walls (who beats me every race) until the last mile, and then she dusted me again as I slowed to nearly walking.

I met some new friends, and of course all the best looking girls begged to have their photo made with me.

 

I was 32 of 416 and won my age group. Like my old friend George used to say, "The secret to winning is grow old, show up, and they will give you an award most of the time".

67 Race photos are here:
http://s1227.photobucket.com/user/yardcrap/library/Hartwell%20Dam%20Race%202017

Results are here: https://www.classicraceservices.com/2017-race-results/2017/5/7/lake-hartwell-dam-5k-2017-oa

This is a fun race, and all should mark it for next year.