Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Lemont Freedom 10k race report

Happy 4th of July. Again, last night (and tonite), we were invited to a BBQ among friends. I love to eat! It’s all great fun, but I need a stronger sense of willpower. Last night, I stuffed myself with beers, brats and other treats. We cut out early so I could get up on time to run. I hydrated well but I woke up heavy this AM at around 174. Damn scale.

Today, I ran the 10k Freedom Run in Lemont, IL. According to the Pfitz plan, I was supposed to do 8 miles with 4 miles at L.T. pace. Pfitz tells us that LT pace is comparable to your 15k race pace. Well, I did a 10 miler less than 3 weeks ago at 7:11 per, so that was my target pace.

I warmed up with about 1.3 miles at 8:30 pace. The race, a small community affair, did not start on time. I think it was right about 80 with high humidity at the start.

I did not know that there are hills in suburban Chicago. Hot, humid and hilly = hell.
It was a difficult race. My first mile was 6:56 but I knew that I didn’t want to try to hold that. I backed off.

I was at 20:55 after 3 miles or just shy of 7:00 pace – when I turned into a gargantuan hill. Mile 4 was about 7:49. My body began to overheating.

I held on for the last half of the race and finished in just about where I wanted to be. But the truth is that I didn’t have much more in me. I was pushing it at the end. With the effort I had on a 10M 3 weeks ago and all the training I have put in since, I would have thought that this would have been an easier race. MAYBE, I could have pushed a little earlier in the race. But it was HOT, HILLY and HUMID.


10k Race Time: 44:07
Pace: 7:07 per mile

With the 4th and all of the food and beer, I have been eating a lot. I am 6’1” and about 173 lbs (was 171 a couple of days ago). Obviously a normal weight for a guy my age and height, but I feel like I need to cut a few to have a chance at a BQ.

I am going to make a concentrated effort to begin cutting calories. I felt like I was carrying a small dumbbell stapled to my gut today.

8 comments:

Arcane said...

Good run considering the conditions. My tempo run sucked today. It's neat following others who are doing training same plan as me.

Iron Jayhawk said...

Great job in less than ideal running conditions. I'm with you on the humidity thing. Hills, on a non-humid day...fine. But when it's nasty out...it can be miserable.

And I am totally with you on the scale thing.

LeahC said...

hey ryan-

nice job on the race...especially considering the hills and heat. I am not a fan of hills, but when I lived in Bloomington, IN I actually liked training on them. Makes you feel way stronger when running in flat land.

as far as the scale...careful about cutting back too much on the calories. You have to get enough in you so that you can still preform to par. If you don't have enough fuel in your body I worry about you puttering out towards the ends of your runs. So maybe just eat better calories...cut the beer and add in nuts and fruit (well who wants to cut the beer though :-) )

Chad said...

I was just thinking the other day that racing in the summer is like racing in the winter (at least in MN). You can't worry about your times - at least you can't compare them to what you're capable of in the spring or fall. Drop that temp to 50 and you'd be running low 40s.

Triseverance said...

Dude I hear ya and I am thinking the same thing. I am 6' and 174# I would like to drop 8-9 pounds are run Chicago at 165#. I mean that would be like dropping a bowling ball. But like you I love to eat, the ribs, potato salad, beans and cookies were sooooooo good yesterday. But with the holiday over I think it is time I buckled down.....170 here I come

SRR said...

Hot humid and hilly! You described Cincinnati to a tee, honey! But your times were great! You should be so pleased!

MNFirefly said...

Good run. I hope you had enough to hydrate yourself. I have felt like crap after a run like that.

Anonymous said...

Oh the holidays always get us...don't be afraid to indulge yourself on holidays but I hear you on the calories. I do nonfat milk, nonfat mayo (not as tasty but it works), nonfat salad dressing ect...seemed to help me lose a couple pounds.