Medved Lilac 5k and 10k

Almost 2,000 runners participated in the Lilac 5k and 10k races on Sunday, May 17. A co-worker just told me only in Rochester is lilac pronounced lielock. Most of the country says lielack. The rest of the country has it wrong, and we should know as Rochester is the Queen of lilacs.

It was a beautiful morning. The 10k race went off without a hitch. Jan and I both decided to run since it would give us one more mark towards completing the Rochester Runner of the Year series. I learned ten facts during the race;

1. When you are sweating while walking to the race you may have an issue while running.
2. Everyone is different. I heard runners around me saying how nice and cool it was while we were running the first mile. I was sweating profusely. I wasn't cool and already knew the last couple of miles could be troublesome.
3. My feet do come off the ground when I run, kind of anyhow. This photograph is near three miles. Am I race walking or running? I am the anti-good-form role model of running. Maybe I'm just super-efficient?

 

4.  At three miles I still felt pretty good. I could have run much faster which is a good sign for a RROY 5k race coming up on June 21.

5. At four miles, after already stopping for water twice which I never do in a short race, I think I mentally decided to finish as strong as possible that day but not put myself into one of those deep, dark holes of pain that can take days to recover from. There will be other races I will feel better in. This was a mature step for me. 

6. At five miles the race turns and begins the long 1.2 mile incline/hill to the finish. I was struggling and my form shows this;

 

Nice heel strike. At times I wonder how I run at all. I'm also leaning forward more and swinging my arms to try and keep moving ahead. 

7. I don't like running a 50:58 for a 10k. Even after 30+ years I'm a better runner than that. There is much work to be done. Ten kilometers used to be my favorite race distance. Jan felt the same about her race and we are both committed to making significant improvements over the next 6 months. 

8.  Running only two days while traveling 3,000 miles in our pick-up truck a few days before Lilac probably didn't help Jan or I. 

9. During my long run back to the finish I decided that I need to do a one mile track race coming up on June 12, which is also a RROY race. Amazingly Jan thought the same thing during her race. It's not easy to hide on a track if you are having a bad day or are pathetically slower than the other people in your heat. I think those are the main reasons a lot of people don't race the mile, at least those are excuses I've used in the past. Jan and I are planning on running it. If we don't push ourselves we won't ever be competitive again. The mile hurts but is over quick.

10. The Lilock 10k is a nice race, most of the course is beautiful and though Jan and I haven't run all 37 years of this race we have done a large number of them. I remember one year running to the local Wegman's before the race because we forgot diapers for our infant daughter. Now that daughter has a daughter.

 

King of the House

It was a good weekend for Sal's runners/duathletes. Eileen and Jan won their age groups at the Rochester Spring Classic Duathlon at Mendon Ponds. The trash talking by Jan on how she was going to beat me on the bike fortunately didn't work as I rode a bit faster. Probably me letting the air out of her bike tires didn't help, but all is fair in love and duathlons. During the first 2 mile run I'm thinking how hard I have to go to get a lead on the ladies. The Bear came out in the last half mile going up the sledding hill. On the bike I tried to keep aero and hoped they didn't pass me. Then during the last 1 mile run I see Eileen! She was only 2 minutes or so behind, then I saw Jan, but I knew I was far enough ahead at that point.  Still, I had plenty of motivation to keep pushing. I think I won the ugliest face award while running the last 200 yards downhill to the finish.

My bike leg wasn't as fast as I hoped. What if I had a $2,000 bike (or more) and I still rode the same speed I am on my $800 bike? That would be sad. Maybe it's not all about the bike?

The next day Mike W and Pete (Father Time) Leonard ran the Lilac 10k. Both of them had great races, MW running a 45:19, 8th/47 in age group and Pete 49:52, 6th/19 age group. Mike was top 15% overall and Pete top 25%. Not bad for a couple of old guys.

Race Results

Recent results for Sal's runners and family affiliated with us:

Lilac 10k (warm, humid day)
Jan, Joanne and Lou came across the line together in 1:03:44. Amanda finished in 1:12:17.

Sahlen's Saranac 5k at the soccer stadium on Saturday, May 30. Jan won her age group in 26:33, an 8:34 pace. This was about a minute faster than expected and a nice step to her comeback. MM - dnf/bad hamstring - but had two free beers so the night wasn't a total loss.

Buffalo 1/2 marathon (very hot and humid)
Jennifer 1:46:07, 8:07 pace, 12/250 in age group! 54/1777 overall female! very nice.
Lou 1:57:48, 393/1214 males, 18/80 age group. If he only had two healthy legs think what he could do?

Race Results Archive

As mentioned on the Rochester Running Page, Don Mitchell has posted results from Buffalo and Rochester area races he timed dating back to 1984.
Runtime Services Race Archives.

It was interesting to take a look back at my own results. I ran the 1984 Lilac 10k in 37:15, 8 seconds off my all-time best 10k and remember being disappointed. I ran the first 5k in 17:50 and faded. Man I wish I faded like that now. I was 26 years old and remember having to run up to Wegman's before the race, about a mile from the start, to buy diapers for my 3 month old daughter Stacy, because Jan and I forgot to bring enough. I finished 133/2279 overall (top 7%) and 33/358 in my age group. Jan didn't race, probably some excuse like 3 children under the age of 6 to watch?

The 1985 Lilac I finished in 37:27, again in the top 10%, again disappointed I couldn't break 36 (actually my goal was sub-36). What an idiot.

Though I didn't know it at the time, that was pretty much the end of my "fast" running days. I didn't race again at Lilac until 1994, finishing in 40:31, but still 164/1253 overall. Flash ahead to 2003, now in the 45-49 age group, and I ran a 44:22. What an amazing decline in speed! But, I finished 170/1220 overall, so I guess the entire running population got slower? Jan ran her first Lilac, in 46:07, too close for my comfort.

This year, 2010, we ran Lilac again. I ran a 47:14, melting in the humidity, but was 218/1258. Jan, coming back from injury, ran a 55:54, but was 635/1258. I was 10 minutes slower than in 1984, but finished in the top 20%. Ridiculous.

So, why have race finishing times slowed so much? More people ran Lilac in the mid-80's and posted faster finishing times. Why have I slowed by so much? It doesn't seem like age should be the only reason. That's too big of a decline. Maybe I just don't have the reckless, go all out attitude in training and racing to produce times even semi-close?

If you have the answers, let me know. I'll be out on the roads, still running, though slower I guess.

Weekend of Races

Dick W. and Frank Q participated in the Spring Classic Duathlon at Mendon Ponds on Saturday. Frank won his age group and Dick finished second in the Formula 1 distance, 2m run/10m bike/1m run/10m bike/2 mile run. They were led around the bike course by an excellent lead driver (me).

Saturday was also the Aurora House 5 mile race in Spencerport. Mike W and Al V. finished way up in the standings with 46 runners in the race. It was a tight race between the two training buddies until MW stopped for a Barton's Hot Dog at the 3 mile point. MW still came close to catching Al but had some indigestion from the extra hot sauce he lathered on his dog.

Sunday was the third race in the RROY series, the Lilac 10k. New Roger (Roger O'Dell) won his age division with Pete in second place. Jen K. picked up a few points and finished in the top 10% of her age group, 6th place. Jan finished 9th in her group and got 2 points. I finished the race. So glad I didn't work as much as usual at the Duathlon on Saturday so I could run 4 minutes slower than expected. I was able to continue my streak of non-scoring in this year's RROY series with my 12th place age group finish.
I think the heat (70+ degrees at the start) and high humidity effected many runners. Going up Elmwood Avenue felt like running inside an oven, no shade, little breeze, hot roads. I thought it would never end.

Race Updates

A busy week of racing between May 10-17 for Sal's runners and triathletes. I have been unable to locate complete results, but heard that Joanne (training for her MCM 10k in October) completed the race and Eileen W and Jennifer K finished 3rd in their age groups! Almost 1,000 women completed the race.

Special thanks should go to Mike W, Lou K and Dick W, who volunteered at the race.

Saturday, May 16th, is the Rochester Spring Classic Duathlon at Mendon Ponds Park. Dick W. will be racing along with ?

Sunday is the annual Lilac 10k at Highland Park. Mike and Eileen will be adding to their Rochester Runner of the Year points (we hope). Lou, fighting one old age injury after another, may run the 5k, or the 10k, or may be sitting in a tub of ice watching the race.

In two weeks Jennifer K. will be attempting her first marathon, at Buffalo. Lou registered for the race, but when they didn't send him a practice shirt decided not to run. Lou plans to bike along the course grabbing all the water bottles, gels and gatorade that he can, in order to get a good return on his money. He will also be the first person at the post-race party, stuffing his pockets with bagels and filling his water bottles with free beer.