The Minnesota Senior Games include events in 15 different sports. Anyone over the age of 50 is eligible to compete. This year’s games were held in St. Cloud, with events taking place between August 15 and 18.
I’m competing in four
events this year. Two are running
events, and the other two are race-walking events. This report covers the two running events.
St. Cloud is about 100 miles
from where I live, so I stayed at a hotel.
I drove to St. Cloud on Thursday, stopping for lunch along the way.
All athletes had to check in at
a central location before competing in any events. Athlete check-in was at the Whitney
Recreation Center. As I drove there, all
the streets looked familiar. When I got
there, I realized why. The Whitney
Recreation Center is right next to the Whitney Sports Complex. A few years ago, I ran a marathon there.
My athlete packet included a
program, a towel, two water bottles, a pair of socks, St. Cloud tourist
information, and some coupons.
After athlete check-in, I
picked up a few groceries. Then I
relaxed at the hotel until it was time for my first race.
My first event was the 5K road
race. This race started at 6:00 PM on
Thursday. My second event was the 10K
road race. That race was scheduled for
8:00 AM on Friday.
I knew I wouldn’t be able to
have quality efforts in both road race events.
An all-out effort in the 5K would take too much out of me to come back
and have a good 10K race the next morning.
Realistically, I had to choose which race would get my best effort.
I had previously seen a list of
participants online, so I already knew how much competition I would have in
each of my events. There were four
runners in my age group in the 5K race, but only two in the 10K race. With that in mind, I decided to go all-out in
the 5K race. That gave me the best
possible chance to place in the top three in both events.
The course for the 5K race was
out-and-back along a section of the Lake Wobegon Trail. This is a 10-foot wide, paved trail. The beginning and end were concrete, but the
majority of the course was asphalt.
The section we ran was mostly
straight and relatively flat. We started
and finished at the eastern terminus of the trail, which is in Waite Park.
I still needed to check in at
the event site to get my race number. I
got there about 45 minutes early, so I would have plenty of time to get ready. Already, there were about 10 people waiting
in line to get their race bibs.
The temperature was in the mid-70s. I was happy with that. At this time of year, it could easily have
been much hotter. When I left the hotel,
I was surprised to see that the streets were wet. A rain shower passed through in the late
afternoon, but it was already done when I left for the race.
I lined up near the front and
went out fast, taking short rapid strides.
At first, there were only two runners ahead of me. Within the first few minutes, I realized I
was starting at an unsustainable pace. I
was already going into oxygen debt, so I had to take it down a notch.
I didn’t slow down much, but it
was enough that another runner gradually passed me. There was no way I could keep up with
him. I gradually fell behind him.
The trail was fairly linear,
but there were a few places where the trail would bend slightly to one side and
then come back to the original line. I
had to get past at least two of these before I could see far enough ahead to
see the first mile marker. Long before I
got there, I had to knock my pace down again.
I started much too fast, and I was already deep in oxygen debt.
It seemed to take forever to
finish the first mile. My time for that
first mile was 7:36, but I was already slowing down, and it was hard to imagine
sustaining this effort for two more miles.
I had to get around another
pair of bends in the trail before I could see something that looked like it
might be the turnaround. When I saw the
leader coming back, I knew for sure that was the turn.
All the way out, I was running
into the wind. That made my fast start
feel more tiring. I looked forward to
having the wind at my back in the second half of the race.
The overall leader was a
woman. There were two men ahead of
me. Even if they were both in my age
group, I would still be in the top three in my age group. That was my primary goal.
After taking the turn, I saw
that that I had a sizable lead over the next two men. I couldn’t sustain the same pace the rest of
the way, but I was motivated to limit the damage. I didn’t want anyone else to catch up to me.
I had to get around another
pair of bends before I could see the two mile sign. When I got there, my pace for the second mile
was 7:54. That was slower than my first
mile, but I questioned whether I could keep up this pace for another 1.1
miles. I felt like I was completely out
of gas.
Having the wind at my back was
a mixed blessing. In the first half, the
wind kept me cool. Coming back, I
started to get hot and sweaty.
The course was mostly flat, but
there were a couple of small rises.
Going out, I was able to take them in stride. On the way back, each small rise was tiring. I was able to use the downhill sections to
regain my momentum.
Early in the race, we crossed a
bridge over a creek. In the last mile,
we crossed it again. From a distance, I
saw a bend in the trail, but I didn’t realize I was about to cross the bridge
until I got closer. When I saw the
bridge, I knew I was getting close to the finish. Then I was able to dig deep and push hard to
the finish.
In my third mile, I sped up to
7:43. That was a pleasant surprise. I was confident at this point that nobody
would catch me from behind, but I still ran hard to the finish. I finished in 24:05.
My overall time was the same as
my last 5K race, but I felt like I did it the hard way. I started too fast, and I was in oxygen debt
for the entire race.
The overall winner was a
woman. I walked over to her and asked
her if her name was Wanda. It was. Friends had told me how fast Wanda Gau was,
but I had never met her before. She
almost always wins her age group. In a
race where everyone was over 50, she was the overall winner.
We had to wait for everyone to
finish before they did the awards. By
then, it was after 7:00. I still didn’t
know if the two men who finished ahead of me were in my age group. As it turns out, one was, but the other
wasn’t. I won the silver medal for my
age group.
By the time I got back to my hotel, it was already 7:30. I had picked up food for dinner earlier, so I just had to heat it up. I took a hot bath, did some stretches, and tried to get to bed as early as I could. I slept well.
I got up early enough on Friday
to take another bath, do some stretches, and massage my legs with a massage
stick. This is the first time I’ve done
a 10K race so soon after a 5K.
Breakfast at the hotel started
at 6:30, so I was able to eat a light breakfast before leaving for the race.
The 10K race was also on the
Lake Wobegon Trail. We started and
finished in the same place as the 5K race, but we had to go twice as far before
turning around.
The temperature was in the mid-60s. There was a fine mist in the air. I could feel it, but I wasn’t seeing drops on
the pavement.
In this race, I was guaranteed
to finish no worse than second in my age group.
After going out too fast in the 5K race, I wanted to run this one at a
sustainable pace. I needed to find a
pace that was within my aerobic capacity, but faster that my marathon pace.
I started running at a pace
that felt somewhat tiring, but didn’t have me feeling out of breath. Initially, there were four runners ahead of
me. Two were men and two were women.
Within the first half mile,
another guy passed me. Before the end of
the first mile, I caught and passed one of the runners who had started
faster. Now there were two men ahead of
men but it wasn’t the same two men as before.
I finished the first mile in
8:13. That was a bit disappointing. That’s not as fast as I started my last
marathon. Still, I didn’t feel like I
should be trying to go any faster at this point in the race. I maintained the same effort as I started the
second mile.
About halfway through the
second mile, I passed the point where I turned around in the 5K race. From there, the course was straight and flat
almost all the way to the turnaround.
My second mile was two seconds
faster than the first one. I was
satisfied with that. I maintained the
same effort as I started the third mile.
About halfway through the third
mile, I started looking ahead to see if I could spot the turnaround. I saw something bright colored, and I
wondered if that was it. As I got closer,
I realized I was seeing Wanda, who was wearing a pink shirt. She was already on her way back.
As I got closer, I saw a yellow
sign. That was the three mile sign. The turnaround was just around a bend, where
I couldn’t see it.
My time in mile three was the
same as mile two. I felt like I was
under control. I was working somewhat
hard, but not too hard.
When I reached the turnaround,
I glanced at my watch. I thought it read
26:30. In fact, it must’ve been 25:30,
but I misread it. Before the race, I
thought 50 minutes would be a reasonable goal.
Now that seemed way out of reach.
After turning around, I saw
that I had a big gap over the next two men.
They weren’t likely to catch me unless I slowed down.
I wasn’t sure how fast I would
run in the second half. I felt like I
was probably capable of speeding up, but I didn’t want to go too soon and risk
running out of gas. I decided to
maintain my same effort for another mile.
Throughout the second half of
the race, there were always two voices in my head. One was telling me to race hard, now that I
only had a few miles left. The other was
telling me to do just enough to stay ahead of the guy behind me. I have two more races tomorrow, so I should
conserve my energy.
When I reached the four mile
mark, I saw that I sped up to 7:58 in that mile. Apparently, I was listening to the first
voice. I didn’t make a conscious
decision to speed up. I did it without
realizing I was doing it.
Midway through the next mile, I
spotted a street crossing. I knew when I
got there I would be past the point where we turned around in the 5K race. After that, everything was familiar. I knew each bend and each small hill.
I kept up the same effort in
mile five. My pace for that mile was
7:56. With 1.2 miles to go, I still had
the same two voices in my head. I knew I
could probably speed up. This close to
the finish, I wouldn’t be in danger of running out of gas. On the other hand, I had nothing to
prove. I couldn’t possibly catch the
guys ahead of me, and nobody behind me was close enough to catch me.
When I reached the last street
crossing, I was within sight of the bridge.
I picked up my effort a little.
After crossing the bridge, I came within sight of the six mile sign. I picked up my effort again.
I ran mile six in 7:58. That was a but disappointing. At the end of that mile, I was working
harder. Maybe my effort was a bit soft
in the first half of that mile.
Now I could see the digital
clock at the finish line. I ran harder
the rest of the way. It wasn’t an
all-out sprint, but I ran faster here than anywhere else.
I finished in 50:06. Had I known I would be that close to 50
minutes, I would’ve pushed much harder in those last two miles.
I ate a banana and walked back
to my car. I was the third male overall,
but I didn’t know if one of the men ahead of me was in my age group. I had to wait until the awards ceremony.
It was another hour before the
last runner finished. We all lined up to
cheer for her as she approached the finish line. She was the oldest woman in the race. She was the only woman in her age group, so
she won the gold medal for her age group.
During the awards, I learned
that I had won my age group. I collected
a gold medal to go with the silver medal that I won in the 5K race.
My race-walking events are both
tomorrow. Stay tuned for my next report.
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