2024 Minnesota Senior Games: Running Events

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.

Race statistics:

Distance:  5 kilometers

Time:  24:05

Average Pace:  7:45 per mile (4:49 per kilometer)

Place in Age Group:  2nd

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.

Race statistics:

Distance:  10 kilometers

Time:  50:06

Average Pace:  8:04 per mile (5:01 per kilometer)

First Half:  25:30

Second Half:  24:36

Place in Age Group:  1st

 

My race-walking events are both tomorrow.  Stay tuned for my next report.

2022 Minnesota Senior Games: Running Events

Today was the second day of the Minnesota Senior Games.  Yesterday, I did one of the race-walking events, but instead of trying to compete, I did the minimum necessary to qualify for nationals.  Today, I did the same thing in the road race events.

My events today were the 5K run and the 10K run.  At the National Senior Games, these events are held on different days.  Here, they were not only held on the same day, but at the same time.  The 5K course was a loop.  The 10K course was two laps of the same loop.  The only way to do both races is to sign up for both and then run the 10K race.  They record your 5K split as your time for the 5K race.

In most events, you need to place in your age group to qualify for nationals.  Since these events aren’t held on a track, they don’t need to limit the field as much.  Anyone who completes in their state games is automatically qualified for nationals, regardless of how fast or slow they run.

I didn’t know it when I signed up for these events, but if you do either race at the state level, you can do both at nationals.  My only goal today was to qualify for nationals, so I didn’t actually need to run the 10K race.  Running the 5K would be sufficient.  I decided to see how I felt after 5K before deciding if I would continue and finish the 10K.

I was expecting heavy rain for most of the morning, so I opted to wear a regular stopwatch instead of GPS.  I was worried my watch would have trouble locating the satellites during a storm.

When I left the hotel, it was windy, but it wasn’t raining.  That was a pleasant surprise.  The weather radar showed a large storm system moving through the state, but we right on the southern boundary of the storm.

Both races started and finished in Sibley Park, which is about a mile west of downtown Mankato.  Our starting line was in the parking lot, but then we turned onto the road that goes around the park.

In races where nobody expects to be fast, everyone is reluctant to line up in front.  When nobody lined up within five feet of the starting line, I finally moved forward.  The race wasn’t chip timed, so why handicap yourself by running an extra five feet before crossing the line?

I took a couple walking steps before reluctantly starting to run.  I wanted to be cautious about my pace.  By the time we left the parking lot, almost everyone was in front of me.  There may have been one or two slower runners who were still behind me.  I didn’t look.

As I turned onto the road, I realized I was starting faster than I would if I was by myself.  Subconsciously I wanted to keep up with at least some of the runners in front of me.  There was a tug of war going on inside my brain.  On one hand, I wanted to keep up with the other runners.  On the other hand, I wanted to tread lightly, so I wouldn’t put too much strain on my injured left leg.  The result was a short stride with a rapid cadence.

Then I had an epiphany.  I quickly realized that I had discovered a gait that was easier on my leg, but still faster than any of my recent training.

When I’m deliberately going slow, I usually relax and take a long loping stride.  It seems that the only way I can force myself to take shorter strides is to pick up my cadence.  I’ll often use a stride like that when I’m trying to go fast, but never when I’m trying to go slow.  When I’m taking it easy, I gravitate toward the stride that feels most natural.  Taking really short strides doesn’t feel natural.  I had to force it.

Shortly after leaving the park, we went up a small hill.  Going up the hill, I caught up to one of the other runners and passed him.  I worried about how my leg would feel when the road turned downhill.  I was even more conscious about taking short rapid strides.  I felt comfortable going down the hill.

Before long, a volunteer directed us off the road and onto a trail on top of the bluff overlooking the Minnesota River.  We followed this path toward downtown.

Turns on the course were marked with blue signs and chalk arrows, but there were also volunteers stationed at almost every turn.

On one section of the trail, there were bands of fresh asphalt, where they had sealed cracks in the older pavement.  The surface was rough in spots, and I scuffed my right shoe on one of these rough spots.  I could easily have had a harder foot strike with my left foot.  That’s the sort of thing that could really make my left leg hurt.  I was OK this time, but I made a point of watching my footing more carefully.

Just before reaching the downtown area, we turned to begin looping back toward Sibley Park.  At one point, our trail crossed a road, but there was a volunteer there to watch for cars and stop the traffic, if necessary.

After that, we ran through a residential neighborhood.  The streets were all open to traffic, but I rarely saw a car.  Most of the time there was a sidewalk alongside the street.  I ran on the sidewalks whenever that was an option.

For most of the first loop, I could see two runners ahead of me.  One started to slow down, and I eventually passed her.  I continued to follow the other runner, who was always a block or two ahead of me.

Late in the loop, we made a left turn in front of a large hill.  There was a large hill adjacent to Sibley Park, and I wondered if I was seeing the same hill from the other side.  Sure enough, within a few minutes, the road took me around the hill and within view of the parking lot where we started.

Instead of continuing on the road, we diverted onto the Minnesota River Trail for the last part of the loop.

When I finished my first loop, my 5K split was 29:49.  I had suspected from the beginning that I was going faster than I planned, but I didn’t know for sure.  There weren’t any mile markers, and I wasn’t using a GPS watch.

By now, I had committed to doing the second loop.  I was having less leg discomfort than I expected.  In particular, I wasn’t noticing any increase in the discomfort.  There was just a hint of soreness, and it didn’t seem to be getting worse.

As I started my second lap, I no longer had anyone to follow.  The runner who had been in sight at the end of the first loop was doing the 5K race and had already stopped.  Usually, not having anyone to follow would make me nervous.  I was confident at this point that the course was sufficiently well marked.

I started up the same small hill where I passed someone on my previous lap.  This time, I noticed some discomfort in my left leg going up the hill.  The discomfort went away when I reached the top.  Going downhill, I focused on taking short rapid steps, and I felt fine.

As I got farther into my second lap, I found myself getting fatigued from maintaining such a fast cadence.  I started to slow down, and as I did, I noticed soreness in my left leg again.  When I wasn’t forcing myself to have a rapid cadence, I began to take longer strides.  I had to maintain the fast turnover.  It was the only way to force myself to keep my stride short enough.  It was getting tiring, but I only had a couple miles left.

I knew I was getting close to the finish when I recognized the back of the hill that’s next to Sibley Park.  I just had to follow the road around the hill and then run a short segment along the Minnesota River Trail.

I finished the race in 57:26.  You could easily conclude that I ran faster in the second loop, but my time was misleading.

The 10K course is described as two laps of the 5K course, but the 5K course wasn’t actually a loop.  We started and finished in different places.  Most of the course was a loop, but there was a short segment at the beginning that was there to make the distance come out right.  The 10K course does the loop twice, but it only does that extra segment once.  Here’s a map of the route.

Neither race had a certified course.  I’m assuming they had a reasonably accurate 5K course, but the 10K course was short, because it didn’t repeat the entire 5K route.

Early in the race, I had noticed a few raindrops, but it stopped after just a few minutes.  At the end of the race, I started to feel rain again.  This time it persisted.  I had to stand around in a rain for a bit before they gave out the awards.

I was the only one in my age group for the 10K race, so I got the gold medal.  There were supposed to be four runners in my age group for the 5K race, but one didn’t show up.  I did show up, so I got third place.

Before the race, I was talking to another runner who described the senior games as a war of attrition.  You win if you keep showing up when others don’t.  The older you get, the more that’s true.  I was slow today, but I collected a gold medal and a bronze medal for my efforts.  I got a silver medal yesterday, so now I have a complete set.

Track and field events are tomorrow.  I was signed up for the 1,500 meter run, but I’m going to skip it.  There’s too much injury risk.  Tomorrow, someone else can get a medal for showing up.

I didn’t really come to Mankato for the medals.  My goal was to qualify for next year’s National Senior Games.  I did that.  I’ve qualified to do both race-walking events and both road race events.  Hopefully, by next July I can be ready to run and walk competitively.

Yesterday, I had brief moments of soreness during my race, but I felt fine afterwards.  That wasn’t the case today.  I had more soreness afterwards than I did during the race.  That was especially true as I was driving home from Mankato.  Sitting in the car got increasingly uncomfortable.  When you’re driving, it’s hard to move around in your seat.  You either stop and get out of the car, or you live with the discomfort.

Race statistics:

5K time:  29:49

Average pace for 5K:  5:58 per kilometer (9:36 per mile)

10K time:  57:26

Average pace for 10K:  5:45 per kilometer (9:14 per mile)*

* take that with a grain of salt

Race Report: Twin Cities Race Walkers 10K

On September 26, I did a 10K race sponsored by the Twin Cities Race Walkers.  I wanted to see how fast I could walk 10 kilometers, I was using this as a speed workout, as part of my training for marathons.  They had a 5K race and a 10K race.  I opted for the 10K, because I thought it would be better marathon training.

The race was held on the Gateway Trail, starting and finishing in Flicik Park in Maplewood, MN.  Our course was a one kilometer out-and-back loop.  There were orange traffic cones at either end of the loop.  The first turnaround was 400 meters from where we started, so it was difficult to see the cone until from the start.  The other turnaround was 100 meters behind where we started.

Although advertised as either 5K or 10K, you could actually do any number of kilometers you wanted.  One member of the club had to leave early, so he only did one kilometer.

For running, I’ve found that I can predict my 10K time by taking a recent 5K time and multiplying by 2.1.  I saw no reason why that same ratio wouldn’t also be a good predictor for race-walking a 10K race.  In August, I walked a 5K race in 30:43.  Multiplying by 2.1 gives a predicted 10K time of 1:04:30, which works out to an average pace of 10:24 per mile.

It’s worth noting that my recent 5K race was on a track, and I might not be able to walk as fast on pavement.  It’s also worth noting that I’ve had six more weeks to train since then, I had good reason to believe I’m in better shape now.  I mostly wanted to get a rough approximation of how fast I should start.

I launched into a pace that was so fast that I started getting out of breath.  At first, I was leading the race.  Then Jeff surged past me.  That’s when I remembered that he was only doing one lap.  Trying to keep up with Jeff in a one-kilometer race seemed like a bad idea.  I kept up a fast pace, but I allowed myself to fall behind a bit.

It was 400 meters to the first turnaround.  That’s like one lap around a track.  I was on my way back when I felt my watch vibrate.  It does that when it records my time for a mile, but it was much too early for that.  I looked at my watch and saw it giving me a 30 second countdown before going into energy saving mode.  I thought I started my watch when I started walking, but apparently I didn’t.  I was working my tail off to go fast, so it was frustrating that I wasn’t going to know my pace.

At this point I wasn’t too far behind Jeff.  I no longer felt out of breath.  Having caught my second wind, I decided to catch up to Jeff.  For the rest of the first lap, I matched his pace stride for stride.  I asked him to tell me his time when he finished.

As I finished my first lap, I started my watch.  Jeff stopped, but yelled that his time was 6:26.  I couldn’t easily convert that to a pace per mile in my head, so instead I multiplied by 10.  I was on pace to walk 10K in 1:04:20.  That was pretty close to the time I was expecting.

The pace still felt tiring, but it felt more manageable than it did earlier.  I worked hard to sustain my pace in the second kilometer.  When I finished by second lap, my watch read 6:18.  I was pleased with that pace, so I kept up my effort.

We were sharing the trail with bikers and runners.  I made a point of keeping near the right edge of the trail, so I wouldn’t be caught off guard when I heard an approaching biker say, “on your left.”

I was somewhere in the middle of my third lap when my watch recorded my first split.  I had finished one mile since starting my watch.  I walked that mile in 10:05.  That was faster than I expected.  I kept up my effort.

When I finished my third lap, my watch read 12:37.  I had finished three kilometers, but that was my time for two kilometers.  I slowed down in that lap, but only by one second.  Bruce Leasure was both our race-walking judge and our timekeeper.  As I started my fourth lap, he called out my time for three laps.  It was 18:50.  He continued to call out my times each time I completed a lap.  The difference between my watch and my official splits was always 6:12 plus or minus one second.  That meant my first kilometer was actually faster than I thought.

The next time I got a mile split from my watch, it was 9:55.  That really surprised me.  I didn’t think I would ever get my pace under 10 minutes during a 10K race.  That gave me motivation to keep up my effort, but that pace proved to be unsustainable.  None of my other miles were under 10 minutes.

It was around this time that I saw a large group of runners approaching.  There were all wearing maroon.  As they got closer, I realized it was the University of Minnesota cross-country team out for an easy training run.

After another half mile, I finished my fifth lap.  I was beginning to feel ragged, but I was half done now.  I didn’t know if I could keep up the pace, but I was determined to fight for it.

Twice per lap, I had to make a 180 degree turn.  Each time I did that, it slowed me down.  Then I would light a fire under myself to quickly get back into a fast pace.  I used the turns as periodic reminders to make sure I wasn’t slowing down.  As this point in the race, my biggest enemy was complacency.

I often ask myself if my pace feels sustainable.  I’m used to doing marathons.  I’m not used to doing 10K races.  There’s a big difference between what feels sustainable in a marathon and what feels sustainable in a 10K race.  When I was in my 20s, I did lots of 5K and 10K races.  My recollection is that I would feel out of breath after two miles.  After that, I would fight for dear life to hang on.  The pace never felt sustainable.

The next time my watch recorded a split for a mile, it was 10:09.  At first, I was disappointed to have slowed down that much from one mile to the next.  Then I realized something.  My PR for walking 10 kilometers was 1:03:45.  That’s an average pace of 10:17 per mile.  Even though I slowed down, I was still going faster than the pace I would need to set a new PR.  I was more than half done.  It was time to hang on for dear life.  I fought harder to keep from slowing down.

When I was 100 meters away from finishing my seventh lap, I passed one of the other walkers.  It was the second time I lapped him.  As I went by, he said his goal was to keep me from lapping him three times.  With only three laps to go, I knew I wasn’t likely to lap him again, but I took it as a challenge and used it as motivation to dig just a bit deeper.  I didn’t pass him again, but I did pick up my pace.

When I got my next mile split, it was 10:03.  I picked up my pace, yet I was a little disappointed.  I was working so hard that I honestly expected to get my pace back under 10 minutes.  By now, I only had about 1.6 miles to go.  I tried to pour it on, but I couldn’t get any faster.  When I eventually finished another mile, it was 10:05.

In my last lap, I tried again to pick up the pace, but it seemed like I was at my limit.  10K races are hard.  Then I made the turn with 600 meters to go.  The remaining distance was like a lap and a half around a track.  Finally, I found something within myself and made one last surge.

We weren’t all doing the same number of laps.  Even those of us who were doing 10K weren’t all on the same lap.  As we each approached the end of our final lap, we needed to let Bruce know we were finishing, so he could record our times.  After making the final turn, I yelled ahead to Bruce that I was finishing.  I was so fatigued that I almost tripped as I crossed the line.  My time was 1:02:51.  I knew it was going to be a PR, but I was still surprised to beat my old PR by almost a minute.

After the race, I had brunch with Bruce.  During the race, he was making videos of each of us as we went by.  After the race, he was able to show me some of the videos.  He sometimes slowed it down to one frame at a time, so he could show me all the things he noticed about my race-walking mechanics.

A few years ago, I got to a point where I could walk marathons pretty fast, but I was doing it with inefficient mechanics.  This year, I’ve improved my form, but I still have lots of room for improvement.

One thing Bruce showed me should be easy to correct.  The other things he showed me will be more difficult to correct.  It’s one thing to know what you need to do.  It’s another thing entirely to know how to do it.  That’s where I’m at right now.  I have good endurance, but my walking still isn’t as efficient as it could be.  One of the keys to getting faster will be improving my walking form.

Race Statistics

Distance:  10 kilometers

Time:  1:02:51

Average Pace: 6:17 per kilometer (10:07 per mile)

Race Report: Cheese Curd Festival 10K

This weekend, Deb and I went to the Cheese Curd Festival in Ellsworth, WI.  I had never heard of the Cheese Curd festival until Deb mentioned it a few weeks ago.  My first impression was, “I like cheese curds, but it is worth driving all the way to Wisconsin?  You can only eat so many cheese curds and then you’re full.”  Then Deb told me they had other things like craft beer from several Wisconsin breweries and ice cream from local dairies.

As it turns out, Ellsworth is only a 50 minute drive from where we live.  I thought the city sounded familiar and wondered aloud if they had a race there.  Deb said, “They have a 5K and a 10K.”  Cheese curds, craft beer, ice cream, and a 10K race sounded like a good enough reason to travel.  I decided to see how fast I could race-walk the 10K race.

Some of the events we were interested in were Friday afternoon, and others were Saturday morning.  We could have made two trips, but decided to save time by staying in a motel that was just a few miles outside Ellsworth.  We drove to Ellsworth Friday afternoon.  The Cheese Curd Festival started at 4:00, but we got to Ellsworth early, so we could check into our motel room first.  Then we went into town to find parking before it got crowded.

As soon as the festival started, we bought tickets for a tasting event called Craft and Curd.  Five Wisconsin breweries each paired one of their beers with a different flavor of cheese curd.  Each pairing cost two dollars.  Afterward, you could go online to vote for your favorite pairing.  I tried all five.

Rush River Brewing Co. in River Falls paired their Unforgiven Amber Ale with a tomato/basil cheese curd.  This was probably the most conventional cheese curd flavor, so it was a good place to start.

Barley John’s Brewing Co. in New Richmond paired their Mango Double Pale Ale with a habanero/pineapple cheese curd.  The mango flavor in the beer paired will with the pineapple.  The beer was strong and hoppy enough to hold its own with the bite of the habanero.

Pitchfork Brewing Co. in Hudson paired their Third Stall Pale Ale with a Sriracha cheese curd.  I thought the Sriracha flavor overpowered the beer.

Swinging Bridge Brewing Co. in River Falls paired their Peanut Butter Porter with a raspberry cheese curd.  They called it a peanut butter & jelly pairing.  I like porters, and I also like raspberries, so I was excited about this pairing.  The beer was good, but I thought the raspberry glaze on the cheese curds needed to be stronger.

Finally, Hop & Barrel Brewing Co. in Hudson paired their Crooked Grin west coast style IPA with a jalapeno cheese curd.  The IPA had enough hop flavor to pair well with the jalapeno.

I voted for Swinging Bridge Brewing Co, but my opinion was in the minority.  The last time I checked, Barley John’s Brewing Co. was leading the voting.

After the Craft & Curd tasting, we browsed the arts & crafts booths in the marketplace.  Then we hit the food trucks.  Deb had a taco baked potato.  I had a brick oven pizza with chicken, bacon & cheese curds.

After dinner, we looked at the classic cars and went back to one of the booths in the marketplace.  Deb fell in love with this cowboy themed decoration.

Later, we made one more visit to the food trucks.  I had to try a smoked bacon-wrapped jalapeno stuffed with cheese curds & BBQ.  We each had maple ice cream shakes.  Finally, we left with maple cotton candy, maple root beer, and maple candies.

I sometimes have trouble sleeping, but this was one of my worst nights ever.  The air conditioner in our motel room was too loud.  Even with ear plugs, I just couldn’t tune out the noise.  Without the AC, I would have been too hot to sleep, but with it, it was too noisy to sleep.  I managed to nod off two or three times, but each time I woke up after only about 20 minutes.  I eventually got up and started getting ready for the race, but I briefly considered skipping it.

Packet pickup for the 10K race started Saturday morning at 7:00 at Snap Fitness, which was only a few blocks away from the park where the festival was going on.  We got there a few minutes early, but had to wait a long time before I could get my race packet.  Apparently, all the race bibs got delivered to the wrong city.  They eventually got them, but it delayed packet pickup by 45 minutes.  After I had my race packet, Deb moved the car and went to a pancake breakfast that started at 8:00.

The 10K race was supposed to start at 8:00, but it was delayed until 8:30 because of the mix-up with the race bibs.  We needed to check out of our room by 11:00.  With the 30 minute delay, I was worried about having enough time after the race to drive back to the motel, shower, and pack.  Again, I briefly considered skipping the race.

I’ve only walked one other 10K race.  That was the Bermuda 10K in January, which I walked in 1:05:28.  Before that race, I did several fast-paced workouts on the treadmill.  Before this race, I wasn’t doing any training at a fast pace.  In recent months, I was doing lots of mileage, but it was all at a more conservative pace.  While I had no objective reason to think I could walk faster now, I keep surprising myself with strong race results.  It’s amazing what a good mileage base can do.

While I was waiting in line to use the bathroom, two runners who have done this race before told me it’s really hilly.  In pre-race announcements, the race director said this was a hilly course that would challenge us.  I had doubts about setting a PR, but reminded myself that the Bermuda 10K was also a hilly race.

The race started in the parking lot in front of Snap Fitness.  We had to follow highway 10 for a few blocks before turning and heading south.  The highway was open to traffic, so we had to stay on the sidewalk.  That made the first few blocks a little bit congested.  I worked hard to set a fast pace.  I was trying to keep up with the runners who lined up in front of me.

Those first few blocks were slightly uphill.  When we turned, we started up a more noticeable hill.  Some of the runners were already walking.  I worked to maintain as fast a pace as I could.

None of the early hills were unusually long or steep, but the early miles were peppered with them.  I tried to walk as fast as I could, but I wondered if my effort was sustainable.  In the early miles, I didn’t feel like my stride was that smooth.  I tried to keep my cadence as rapid as possible.

When we reached the southernmost point on the route, I began to wonder if I missed the one mile sign.  We turned west for a few blocks and then turned north to head back into town.  We eventually got to a bigger hill that challenged me.  At the top of the hill, I could see the two mile sign.  I was anxious to know what my pace was.  That gave me the motivation I needed to power up the hill.

When I set my 10K PR, my average pace was 10:32.  I was working so hard that I fully expected to be doing 10 minute miles or faster.  I was disappointed when I saw my time.  My two mile split was 21:05.  I was actually one second slower than my PR pace.

I wondered if I just didn’t have the speed to challenge my PR.  I have good endurance, but lack of speed training might have caused my mechanics to become less efficient.  Yes, there were hills, but they really didn’t seem that bad.  My impression at this point was that Bermuda was hillier.

Just past two miles, we merged with the 5K race.  They started later than we did, but they were just getting to the one mile mark of their course.  The mixture of 5K and 10K runners (and walkers) made it harder for me to know if I was maintaining a consistent pace.  I pushed myself to go as fast as possible and hoped for the best.

I passed a father and son who were walking together.  He said, “There’s a speed-walker.  That’s cool.  He’ll beat some of the runners.”  Hearing that helped keep me motivated.

We detoured a few blocks off the main road to minimize conflicts with traffic.  When I saw the three mile sign, I checked my watch again.  My time was 31:32.  My effort was paying off.  Now I was a few seconds ahead of my PR pace.

Just around the next corner, I saw an aid station.  It had been at least two hours since I last had anything to drink.  It was a sunny day, and I was getting hot and thirsty.  Still, I knew if I took any time to drink, I’d have trouble making it up.  I skipped the water station.  I told myself 10K was short enough that I could press on to the finish and drink afterwards.

The 5K and 10K routes diverged again.  With only 10K runners in front of me, it was easier to see if I was keeping up with the pack.  I picked up my effort.

A few blocks alter, we returned to the major north-south highway that runs through town.  We had to stay between the white line and the shoulder, so there wasn’t much room to pass.  To maintain my pace, I needed to pass one of the runners.  I moved around her as quickly as I could.

In the distance, I could see where the runners ahead of me were turning to head east.  Before the race, I studied the course map.  I didn’t know the streets, but I was familiar with the general outline of the course.  Each time we reached a major turn, I had a sense of where I was on the route.  I estimated we were getting close to four miles.

As soon as I reached the turn, I saw the four mile sign.  I got there in 41:42.  That was encouraging.  I sped up significantly in that mile.  If I could maintain that pace, I would easily set a PR.  I was tired, but I only had 2.2 miles to go.  It all depended on how many more big hills there were.

We started down a big hill.  I could see ahead of us that the road would eventually turn uphill again, but not for a long time.  I walked downhill as quickly as I could, and I enjoyed the rest break.  Two runners passed me.  One said to the other, “We really needed this.”

I couldn’t believe how long we kept going downhill.  I feared what might be coming later.  When the road eventually turned uphill again, it didn’t seem like the climb in front of us was nearly as big as what we just descended.

The hill was still somewhat tiring.  I reminded myself that I only had about a mile and a half to go.  I didn’t need to conserve energy.  I was taking long powerful strides, but my cadence was slowing down.  I forced myself to pick it up again.

As I neared the top, I saw a sign saying there was an aid station ahead.  I realized I would need to skip this one too.  Somewhere in the previous mile, I found my rhythm.  I didn’t want to risk interrupting it to drink, even if I had the time.

I saw the next major turn on the course.  Now we were going to head south almost all the way to the park, where we would finish.  The aid station was right after the turn.  The five mile sign was right after the aid station.  That mile wasn’t as fast as the previous one, but it was fast enough.  I gained a few more seconds.

The road turned downhill.  It was gradual at first.  I saw a group of four runners ahead of me, and I tried to catch them.  I passed one when he took a walking break.  I couldn’t catch the other three.  The road turned more sharply downhill.  I worked to go as fast as I could, but there was no way I could catch a runner going down this hill.

I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.  I kept looking ahead to see when we would begin climbing again.  I couldn’t see any hills yet.  The descent kept going and going.  Then the road leveled off.  A runner who had already finished was going the other way.  She said we only had 400 meters to go.  It soon became apparent that there wasn’t going to be another big bad hill.

The last two miles seemed to be mostly downhill.  Thinking back, I realized the first two miles were mostly uphill.  It was never that steep, but the road would go up, level off, and then go up again.  That’s why my first two miles were so tiring, yet weren’t that fast.  It was an uphill trend in the early miles.

Finally, as I was nearing the last turn, the road turned ever so slightly uphill.  Right at the turn, I saw the six mile sign.  My time was 1:02:57.  I was on pace for a PR, but not by as much as I expected.  I suspect that mile marker was misplaced, but at the time I had to trust it.  I worked hard to maintain a fast pace over the last two tenths of a mile.

I could see the traffic barriers at the northwest corner of the park, but I couldn’t see the finish line yet.  There wasn’t any big balloon arch or anything – just a chip mat in the middle of the street.  You had to get close before you could see it.  A runner flew by me as he sprinted to the finish.  There’s no way I could match that pace; I just kept up my effort.

As I got close enough to see the clock, I realized I would break 1:04.  I finished in 1:03:45.  That’s a new PR by a fairly wide margin.  Early in the race, I had doubts, but I never let up in my effort.

For post-race snacks, I got a water bottle, a banana, and a bag of cheese curds.  That more than made up for skipping breakfast.  The curds were filling.

For doing this race, I also got a T-shirt and a bag full of swag.  For a $35 dollar entry fee, it was a good value.

Deb and I walked to the car as quickly as we could and drove back to the motel.  I ate about half of the cheese curds in the car.  The rest had to wait until after I showered.  We had no trouble checking out on time.  Then we went back into town for the next tasting event.

At 11:00, there was a Milk and Cookies tasting.  There were seven flavors of milk and eight kinds of cookie.  You could pair them in any combination.

While I was in line to buy milk and cookies tickets, Deb got in line for the big tent where you could buy baskets of deep fried cheese curds.  We didn’t get any on Friday because the line was too long.  Deb didn’t have room for both and decided the cheese curds were more important.  I decided to try just two milk and cookie pairings and then join Deb in the cheese curds line.

For my first pairing, I had a chocolate chip cookie with whole milk.  That was the favorite pairing from the previous year.  Then I got exotic and had an “Elvis” pairing of a peanut butter cookie with banana milk.

After eating our deep fried cheese curds, we were both full.  We took one last look at all the craft booths and then we left.  We were originally planning to go to an ice cream tasting at 1:00, but we were both full.  We were also tired.  It was time to drive home.

We went to Wisconsin mostly for food and fun.  The 10K race was an afterthought, and I almost skipped it.  I’m glad I didn’t.  I not only improved my 10K walking PR, but I got some training that will help me improve my marathon times.

Race Statistics

Distance:  10 kilometers (6.2 miles)

Time:  1:03:45

Average Pace:  10:17 per mile