Monday, February 21, 2011

Race Report: Waterloo Re-Frigee-Eighter 8-Mile Run

Race: Waterloo Re-Frigee-Eighter 8-Mile Run (Combined start 8Mi, 8km, 3k Fun Run)
Start Time: 10 a.m., February 20, 2011
Race Weather: -7°C(19°F), sunny, light winds from the East

Interval
Pace
HR
Max HR
Comment
1 mi
10:24
134
153
My Dinner with André
2 mi
10:38
137
144
3 mi
10:36
142
147
4 mi
10:48
143
149
5 mi
10:47
143
147
I'm loving it!
6 mi
10:50
145
150
7 mi *
11:05
142
149
Ahh, this is muscle pain!
8 mi
10:50
146
153
Just run as fast as you can dummy
9 (100 y)
29 secs
151
155
What! who moved the finish line?





8-Mi Avg
10:44
143
- -
Max
- -
155
-

Chip Time: 1:26:27

The last 9 participants (the people on a mission!):
O'all                                 Gun       Class       Gender  Pace   Chip  
Place  Bib         Name              Time      Placing       Place   /Km   Time      City  
----- ----- -----------------      ------- ----------------- ----- ----- -------   ----------
  176   524 Andrew Opala           1:27:06 LM45-49   15/15     106 10:49 1:26:27   Mississauga         
  177   533 Elise Pierre           1:27:32 LF25-29   14/14      71 10:51 1:26:43   Kitchener           
  178   512 Paul Miner             1:28:16 LM50-54   15/16     107 10:55 1:27:17   Burlington          
  179   514 Debbie Moore           1:28:18 LF35-39   13/13      72 10:59 1:27:50   St. Jacobs          
  180   554 William Spaetzel       1:28:38 LMW+200    4/4      108 11:00 1:27:53   Kitchener           
  181   430 Gina Cowing            1:28:58 LFW-140    3/3       73 11:03 1:28:23   Innerkip            
  182   575 Carrie Strub           1:29:22 LF40-44    8/8       74 11:08 1:29:00   Cambridge           
  183   412 Bill Bentley           1:30:38 LM50-54   16/16     109 11:15 1:29:53   Waterloo             
   DQ   568 Connor Watson            38:08 DQ                       4:46   37:59   Kitchener  

Thanks for all your support on Twitter, Facebook, Email, DailyMile and the Blog.  This race was definitely a test of patience.  There were 5 water stations evenly placed at the bottom of uphill portions of the run.  When I saw them I would plop a shot blok into my mouth, and then put my hand out for the water.  I'd pinch the water cup closed, and run through the traffic and then sip the water slowly way past the stop (I did no drinking through the stops).  I ran with no music.  The run energy was awesome.

After listening to people talk about nonsense (My Dinner with AndrĂ©) for the for the first 4 miles I fought with passing them (or running ahead of them if they were behind me), but I knew I had to keep my pace.  Once the 8km group peeled off from the 8-milers (at the 4 mile mark) it was pure bliss.  But I didn't know what was waiting for me.

Mile 7 seemed like a breeze at the start: I felt like I was banking a lot of energy, and then I hit this slight hill, and it felt like every thing in my body was screaming with pain when I tried to maintain my pace.  I glanced at the current pace when my interval rolled over and I was at 12:12!  I tried to bring it back during Mile 8, but there wasn't much there.

Then the final stretch on Mile 8 showed me that I still had 100 yards to run to the finish (didn't run the tangents). Looking down at my watch after I finished I was "sprinting" at an 8:50 pace up the last hill to the finish.

Thanks Jill, you were right on the pace that would keep the pain away for the longest so that I could "sprint" at the end.  I was experimenting with going faster at the start - the 3k, and 8k groups shot out like rockets, and me with them!  But at the 1k marker I toned down my running considerably.  I remembered Paul's comment about putting my timing chip on my nuts and kicking them across the finish line, and I thought I have this race in the bag.  I'll impress everyone.  But near the end my "elephant" balls turned into "moth" balls, and I was struggling to give it everything I had.  I also have to thank those three volunteer kids near the end of the race who were doing synchronized cheerleader cheers, high fives and fist pumps.  And their funny comments, "Keep going, you're almost there, there's pizza and hot dogs at the end!"

It was a draining and strategically-run race for me.  And I have no regrets.  Plus I got a new PR!


Burpee Challenge Results will be tablulated and announced tomorrow.

39 comments:

bobbi said...

you did GREAT! I am in awe of how close you were to your goal...NICE JOB!!!

Jill@Run for the Hills said...

THAT is hitting a goal! Great job!!

BabyWeightMyFatAss said...

awesome job!!

A Prelude To... said...

WOOT!!!
Awesome job, Andrew!!!

Georgia Snail said...

GREAT JOB ANDREW!!!!! I was pulling for you all the way down here in Georgia!!!!

Still Running said...

Nice!

Molly said...

congrats on your PR!!!! your hard work paid off : )

Tri-James said...

Congrats on a solid race! That is a long time to keep it at a boil.

Chris K said...

I have never been prouder Grasshopper. I see you moving up and up on the race results boards too.

Bob said...

With the last 1/2 mile downhill, and an uphill finish I bet your legs were butter. A PR on a challenging course. Way to go!

Ewa said...

Congrats on giving birth to your PR. Breathing two-two helps. :)

Anonymous said...

Yay! Yay! Yay!
Nicely done!

Julie @ HotlegsRunner said...

congratulations on your new PR Andrew! woohoo!

Raegun said...

Good job, Andrew!

Anonymous said...

Great job! Good pace!

Jennifer said...

And you weren't last! You kicked butt Andrew, so proud of you! So what's next on your list of races to conquer?

Michael said...

Great job!! Congrats on maintaining your desired pace (almost pain free). This post made me laugh at the end. Thanks!

Will Cooper said...

Wow that is cold!

Teamarcia said...

I am amazed by how closely you ran to your plan! Awesome job--congrats! Now go take care of those nuts, balls and whatever else needs some TLC.

Adrienne said...

Having a solid plan and sticking to it is awesome! Great job Andrew-YTB!

I do have to take issue with your "giving birth" comment. From a woman who has actually given birth several times there is no comparison. BUT with that said that section sounds painful enough --for a man.

Those kids at the end sound hilarious. Good stuff!

Katie said...

Congrats on hitting your goal!!! Awesome!

Penny said...

Congrats on you PR. You did awesome.

Kate Geisen said...

Way to go!!

I love the cheering from the sidelines. Always adds energy, and often comic relief.

Good to know Jill knows what she's talking about, huh? :) Of course, she also told me that I may not be running enough for my marathon...so hopefully she's not ALWAYS right.

Neil Zee said...

Nice run A! It's amazing what a race plan will do to occupy you during a race. Great job Jill.

Caroline said...

Good job on your PR!!!

Still Running said...

Hey -- in answer to your question over on my blog, I find most of my races on chiptimeresults.com or canadarunningseries.com; otherwise they come from Canadian Running magazine, flyers in race kits or runner friends hearing about them .. the Earth Run (May 28), the Gay Pride Run (July 2), Erica's Wish in Erin Mills Park (sometime in July)are small and fun ones that don't get a lot of press. I'll sign up for anything at least once. Hope to meet you at one of them one day!

Christina said...

Nice job! Hurray for a PR.

Shawn said...

Pizza & Hot Dogs seem like a nice reward....great job ANDREW....mind over matter man...you win!!!

Johann said...

A great run Andrew, well done! You pushed yourself right to the end. That is a time you can be proud of.

Jill said...

Since my middle (maiden) name is Andre, I thought you were talking about dinner with me :).

EXCELLENT, Andrew! I love how you whomped those butts behind you in that list!

Well done, Sir!

kdb_run said...

As a runner I feel your pain on the final stretch and I love the water stations with kids. They give off sooo much energy! Nice job sticking to the plan and reaching your goals!

Emz said...

freaking
awesome
Andrew.

I love this.

Spike said...

Awesome job on the new PR, and way to crush the predicted 1:28:00. Glad you found a little left in the tank to sprint up the last hill.

Liz said...

Way to go!

Jim ... 50after40 said...

I'm just now catchin' up on the weekend - great race! Pizza would definitely motivate me!

Nelly said...

Thanks for the comment on my blog! Sounds like the race went well! I like all of your detailed heart rate data. I think running within your heart rate is the key to running. I'm just now starting to figure it out. Do you know what your maximum heart rate is? Mine is about 200, and I try to run races at 165-180 depending on how long the race is. I'm going to try to lower those numbers as I get more fit...

Doug said...

Andrew, great race. I can't believe how close to your goal you were and you were on the right side of it by 3 seconds I might add. Congratulations!

Tortuga_Runner said...

great job. I had hoped to copy your race strategy, but alas I was not even close to how consistent you were with your mile times. Great job. Keep posting your goals so I can keep trying to keep up.

The Boring Runner said...

Here comes another blog reading binge!! :)

NICE WORK!! Setting a PR is great, but beating your expected time by almost 15 secs a mile is awesome.

Way to work on the consistancy. It takes a lot of practice to set a race strategy and actually stick to it. Way to GO!!!!