Race Report: Randy Bauer Memorial 5k (and some other stuff)

Well, back in Minneapolis this weekend to visit some friends and family, and specifically to run in this first memorial 5k race for Amy's friend Randy, who passed away from cancer last summer. He was also a very important person in my friend Susan's life, and she was a big part of the organization of this race to pay tribute, raise scholarship and cancer research funds, and generally celebrate his life. Pretty cool.

The night before, however, was not pretty cool. We got in about 10:30, and Dakota was totally off her schedule, up and playing and smiling at everybody and thinking this is good times. About 11:15 it all inevitably came to a crashing halt, with her overtired, overstimulated, confused about where she was sleeping, curious about why Mom & Dad were just right over there, etc. etc.etc, and wow - talk about a meltdown. She was like babies are in movies. Totally inconsolable, utterly miserable for two hours or so. Totally atypical - she's never so miserable, and only really gets crazy if she's overtired, which we really don't allow her to get. Anyway, the rest of the night was spent hardly daring to roll over, in case she heard a sound and woke up to start the whole thing again. So, about 3-4 hours of sleep was all we got. Crazy.

My goal was just to treat the race as my speed workout for the week. The turnout was awesome - lots of kids from the high school (Randy, like Amy, was a teacher, and the race started from their high school) participated, which was fantastic to experience. Amy saw lots of old friends and students from her time there, so that was great for her. Many people just walked the 5k, some just jogged. There were probably 20-30 or so (of 160 or something) that actually ran with intention.

I had hoped, as usual to pursue a 7:00/mile average for the race, which I've never done...and still haven't. According to the Garmin, I ran 3.24 miles in 23:03 for a 7:06/mile average. According to the official results, I ran 3.1 miles (so the course might have been a shade long) for a 7:27/mile average. I'll go with the 7:06 for the sake of the speed workout, since that's consistent with how I usually measure speed and distance, so I'm mostly satisfied with 7:06 - but damn if I could just reach that sub 7:00 once in my life, I'd be a happy dude. The 7:27 is, of course, the one that counts in the books, so - so be it.

Here's the crazy part, though - the part that will hurt your brain. Ready? I won my age group! What!?!? Crazy! I attribute this feat only to the fact that 80 - 85% of other 30-39 year olds (the age group for this race) were just there to enjoy the morning and walk the route. It certainly says more about the caliber of competition than my blazing speed. But hey - hardware is hardware! Woot! 6th place overall, 1st place AG. Here's me after I just received the medal (at a friend's house - we had to leave before the awards ceremony as D was, as discussed, in desperate need of a nap from the night before. Susan brought the medal over, even put it around my neck in ceremonial fashion. Ha!)



And here's D, after returning to her usual lovely self after a nap, testing the mettle of the medal. She found it to be tasty, and encourages me to win more of them.



Anyway, we all had a great time, and I was happy to have shared the day with so many great people.

The next day, then, I headed out for my long half-marathon of the week. I actually start a sort of mini-taper for the race on May 25, so this was my last training run at full distance. This time I went my usual 3 miles easy, then 10 miles at race pace. My legs were a little weary from the race the day before, but generally okay - oh, and I got to run around the lakes in downtown Minneapolis, which was awesome and I've never done before. Very Madisonion; people, dogs, kids, bikes, all kinds of goodness. The run went well - it got a little tough on my last mile, but I was generally able to stay consistent - finished with an 8:34 overall pace, an my 10 miles were at an 8:24 pace. Perfectly acceptable - I think I have some room for improvement even before the race on May 25th (which, as per the theme of this season, is all about the P.R. - Personal Record), but even if I can run consistent to my training lately I'll P.R., which is a fun place to be in. Good when you know the training is there, and it all just needs to come down to execution).

I also saw the movie Iron Man this weekend - very enjoyable and fun summer movie. I recommend it. Anybody else think it's so weird to hear the word "Ironman" bandied about like it is these days? Kind of surreal to have the word so top of pop culture right now. Kind of confuses my brain.

Lastly - big shout out and giant hello to YouTube Nation! I've had a few comments lately from people who found their way here from the Becoming Ironman video series. Nice to have you here, welcome! If you're in training for Ironman of any kind - particularly Wisconsin - you might find a few valuable resources here, including the "My $.02" series, over on the right side of the page (underneath the Videography section). Anyway, I'm happy you made it here, and hope you enjoy your stay.