Running Renaissance: Road to Paris 2024

[RuntheMouse]

Grand Blue Mile on Tuesday.

How did it go????

 

[GollyGadget]

Bulldog Double Challenge Recap


Background
The Bulldog Double challenge is an annual racing event that kicks off the Drake Relays. The first part of the challenge is the Drake Road Race on Sunday which offers 5K, 10K, and Half Marathon options. If you run any of those races and the Grand Blue Mile on the following Tuesday, you earn a cute little bulldog medal. The events are really well organized and attended. Definitely my favorite local running events of the year.

Like last year, I wanted to mix things up after training for the WDW marathon and follow a training block focused on speed. Unlike last year, I thought I’d be able to create a plan myself following Daniels’ book. This did not go as planned and I ended up scrapping the entire plan about 3 weeks before the race. I wasn’t able to execute the workouts and realized it a bit too late to do anything about it. Regardless, I was already registered for these races so I decided to go ahead with them even though my expectations were low.

Drake Road Race 5K
One of the reasons I like this race is that the weather hasn’t let me down yet. It was 34 degrees, sunny, and no wind at race start. The 5K course is also fairly flat and finishes with a downhill into Drake Stadium.

I did my typical 20 minute warm up jog followed by a few activation and stretching moves. The 5K starts 15 min after the other two races so I was actually still out on my warm up when the races started. Some kind lady walking her dogs made sure to let me know that I was late . I do appreciate the gesture.

Once the start was clear, I made my way into the chute. I wasn’t super aggressive with moving forward since I wasn’t going for a PR. This also helps me avoid going out too fast.

The first mile is up a tiny hill and then a right turn onto a road lined with college student organizations. This is a great little cheer zone and I really enjoy it even though I’m typically going too fast to soak it all in. There isn’t much time to spare in a 5K after all!

My main concern with this race was going out too fast and blowing up so I set myself a goal to not go faster than 7:30/mile. When the first mile ticked by at 7:38, I was elated. Right on pace as far as I was concerned.

Unfortunately, I got a bit distracted and sort of forgot I was supposed to be racing at that point and slowed down a bit as I settled in. There was a turn around halfway and that’s what reminded me that I needed to keep pushing. My second mile was 7:41, pretty good considering my half mile daydream at the beginning.

The last mile is always rough in the 5K but since I hadn’t been pushing myself too hard, I still felt pretty good. The only issue was my left hamstring was making itself known. Ughh, it’s always something. It wasn’t enough discomfort to stop so I kept going and made my way toward the track finish. Mile 3 was 7:26.

As we entered the track, I did my best to keep to the tangents and not cut straight over to the rail. A young kid passed me on the inside so I let him take the lead around the turn. But then he stopped accelerating!! Umm, hello, there’s less than 100 meters left, it’s time to go! He kept veering wide into my lane, I assume to try to block me. I really didn’t care who crossed the finish line first but I wanted a finish line photo and he was in my way so I stepped on the gas and side stepped my way around him.


Mission accomplished . My official time was 23:41 which is less than a minute slower than last year. Considering how I had been feeling, this was an amazing result for me. Also, much to my surprise, it was good enough for first in my age group . Woo hoo!


Grand Blue Mile
This race is at 6:45PM and I’m never quite sure how to prepare for the evening race. Fortunately with it only being a mile, fueling isn’t really a concern. Unlike Sunday, it was not ideal running conditions but it also wasn’t horrible. The worst part was the wind with its 40mph gusts.

My warm up was pretty much the same but I could feel my left hamstring was TIGHT. I seriously considered dropping out because I do not want to be injured. (I’ve got big plans this summer!) But I thought this could just be nerves so I did a few strides and realized the pain disappeared. With that, I decided that I would race but had permission to step off if things went sideways.

I always feel like a bit of an imposter at this race. I am most certainly not a miler and there are lots of women who look much more like runners at the start line. They do have a recreational division but it’s made up of a lot of families and very crowded. The competitive division is advertised for anyone planning to finish in under 8 minutes so I technically fit the requirements with my sub 7 goal.

All that said, like Sunday, I stayed back a bit off be line. Partly not to block the fast kids but also so I wouldn’t start too hot which I most definitely did last year. This resulted in a bit more jostling than I expected at the start but it still wasn’t too bad.

I crossed the quarter mile mark in 1:34 and yikes, that’s way too fast! I slowed down a touch and crossed halfway in 3:18. Still a bit fast but much better. From here there was a left turn into a nasty headwind and I regretted not having someone to tuck behind. It was definitely my slowest stretch of the race but it was over quickly as we made one more turn.

There was nothing to do from here but keep moving forward. Thankfully, I had not completely blown up and felt much better than last year. That doesn’t mean I was feeling great though. Just not like complete death. I gave it my all and hoped it would be good enough.

Official time 6:59! Just sneaked in there with that sub 7!! A few seconds slower than last year but considering my 7:25 mile time trial on March 29, I was over the moon with this result. Also, this happened.



WHAT?!?!? Obviously I need to work on my tangents and weaving, but for now, I’ll continue relishing in this 6:49. I really thought I had lost some fitness since last year but this confirms that it’s still hiding in me somewhere.

Conclusion
I’ll most definitely be back next year. If you had asked me a week ago, I would have told you that I wasn’t sure. But these past few days were such a good reminder of how much I love these events and switching up my running focus.

 

[GollyGadget]

So excited to follow along on your journey It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience for sure.

What events did you end up getting tickets for?

We have tickets for two athletics sessions (aka track & field), water polo, diving, and beach volleyball! I was able to find the beach volleyball later, I assume after someone’s cart expired. I also plan to go spectate both of the marathons.

How did it go????

Great minds

 

[RuntheMouse]

Mission accomplished . My official time was 23:41 which is less than a minute slower than last year. Considering how I had been feeling, this was an amazing result for me. Also, much to my surprise, it was good enough for first in my age group . Woo hoo!

Official time 6:59! Just sneaked in there with that sub 7!! A few seconds slower than last year but considering my 7:25 mile time trial on March 29, I was over the moon with this result.

Amazing job! I know you weren’t feeling confident but you crushed it!

 

[GollyGadget]

Amazing job! I know you weren’t feeling confident but you crushed it!

Thank you! I think it really confirms that I had over cooked myself in the weeks prior. I’m glad I was able to recognize it and make it to race day in a better state.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Great job!! And an excellent character stop too

 

[GollyGadget]

Great job!! And an excellent character stop too

Griff II is my favorite college mascot. He was also out after the races on Sunday but for the second year in a row, I didn’t see him there . Oh well, at least I got him on Tuesday. He even “ran” the mile!

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Mostly he was pulled in a wagon

 

[nancipants]

Congrats on two great races!

Griff II

 

[NYC_MW]

Awesome! Yay for first in AG