The 31st Annual Winter Park Road Race

"Champions do not become champions when they win the event, but in the hours, weeks, months and years they spend preparing for it." - on the backside of the medal for the 31st Winter Park Road Race

Eight weeks ago I set out on a mission. I was going to train...really train...for a shorter race distance (read that as non-marathon) and see if I could snag a PR. My 10K distance was the only distance I ran in 2007 and did not get a PR. My last 10K was this very race, the 30th WPRR, when I ran the course in 1:07:54. My 10K PR was set in the fall of 2006 when I ran the Celebration 10K in 1:04:00, a 10:18 min/mile pace. My goal for this year was to train and run a sub 1:04 10K.

So 8 weeks ago I found Higdon's 10K Intermediate program. It looked to be doable for me. Instead of just running - it incorporated 2 days a week of strength training and one day of either tempo or interval running. I had never really done the speed work so this would be new for me - but I looked forward to it.

For 4 weeks I stayed pretty much on track with my training program - then things went crazy at work. Instead of running 5 days a week, I was sneaking in 2-3 runs a week with no strength training. I seriously thought about not signing up to the race. But my training runs leading up to the race indicated that I possibly had the 10:15 min/mile or so pace in me that I needed to PR - so I figured what the heck. If I can get a decent night's sleep, maybe I will get lucky! But even sleep has been hard to come by these days...

Race Day: Compared to Maddy, I got to sleep in a bit and didn't get up until just after 5:30 am, leaving the house around 6 am. I ate a snack bar at the house and took a couple of Clif Shots with me. I haven't been running during the early morning hours in some time, so I figured I might need some morning fuel. Once at the race location, I found a Starbuck's tent with free coffee....caffeine. I normally don't do the caffeine thing, but it was worth a shot.

I met Maddy in that familiar pink bandana (it's a trademark now, Maddy, you can't ever not wear it to race again!). We chatted up until the race start, ran a little of the crowded 1st mile together and then parted ways. She was looking to break 1 hour, but was also hoping for a possible PR. I settled into a 172 bpm Podrunner mix and a rhythm of sorts and told myself it is just an hour - I can do it.

I hit the first mile in 9:30 min. Good! I was a little ahead of pace - some time in the bank so to speak. I did feel like I went out a bit fast, and 9:30 is more like a 5K pace for me. My heart rate was already starting to climb (which it does when running with less sleep) and maxed at 174 during that first mile. I felt ok so I decided to see if I could hold the pace.

I hit the second mile at 19 min - another 9:30 mile. I was pretty excited. More time in the bank. But by this time I had already started to trip my heart rate alarm which was set to make noise at 180 bpm. I managed to hit 181 bpm in the 2nd mile. Hmmmm, not so good. I probably couldn't finish this race if I ran at 180 bpm with more than 4 miles left. I slowed my pace a bit and tried to keep the heart rate from setting off the alarm. I ran through the first water stop.

My 3rd mile was in 10:05 min - much more in my range. I managed to keep my heart rate below the 180 bpm mark - and averaged 177 bpm during that mile.

My 4th mile I began to struggle with keeping the heart rate low again, with an AHR of 179 bpm. I am not sure I have ever maintained such a high HR level for such a period of time before. It was a cool, but not really chilly morning, so at least heat was not playing into the equation. Fortunately the race was run mostly in a shady area. If we were in the open it would have been warm and I would have struggled much more. Mile 4 was in 10:29 min. I took my Clif Shot at the 2nd water stop and walked a bit.

During the 5th mile, the heart rate stayed high and I went between running slower and faster - but tried to keep moving. It dawned on me that the Winter Park course had more "hills" than the Celebration 10K (which had been really flat), so I was going to have to work harder for a PR here. I was still on track at the 5 mile mark, and although my 5th mile was in 10:37, my overall pace was in the 10 min/mile range - so that kept me going, even with an average HR of 178 bpm. I began to wonder if I could hurt myself pushing my heart so hard.

The 6th and final full mile and the race headed toward the familiar finish area. I walked through a water stop for about 20 sec and took another 15 sec walking break when I couldn't get the heart rate monitor to shut up. I was almost there. I hit the 6 mile marker with about 1:02 and change showing on the clock (a 10:36 mile). I could do the last .2 miles in 2 min and possibly make a PR. So I tried to pick up my pace but I had pretty much spent all I had in the tank - and with just .2 miles left and the finish line in sight off in the distance, I was wondering if I could make myself run without stopping to the end. I was almost there.

The last .2 miles was kind of surreal. My Garmin heart rate alarm was bleeping noisily in the background and I could see the Finish line slowly getting closer ahead of me. I thought of how ironic it was that at work I was in another final sprint to the finish, and not quite sure if I had the "gas" to get to the finish line. I started to look for Maddy, and just before I got to the finish line, I was maneuvering around a crowd on one side so the photographers could get a clear shot of me, I heard her cheering me on - just yards from the finish.


I crossed the finish line, arms in the air. A couple seconds later I hit my Garmin stop button...1:04:03.

Did I PR? Usually my Garmin time is pretty close. I knew I had a couple of extra seconds on there because of the time from crossing the mat to shutting off the Garmin. I am usually within a couple of seconds.

I didn't know...I could have possibly just missed a PR by 1 or 2 seconds. But I was completely spent. I ran the best race I could have possibly run that day. I drained the tank and found I had more gas than I thought in there - but it was GONE! I was happy with my race - but wasn't sure how I would react if I missed the PR by 1 or 2 seconds. I did know I had a course PR, although I thought I had run it closer to 1:06 the previous year, so I really outran my time last year by almost 4 minutes.

Maddy met me at the finish with a big bottle of water. My heart was thankful I was finished with the punishment, and we sought out some food. Usually they post preliminary results shortly after you finish but today they only posted the 2 miler results. Maddy was a little disappointed. Her watch showed her missing her PR by 17 sec.

On the way home I checked my Garmin to see where my heart rate ended up: 190 bpm max. What?? I have never had a heart rate of 190 bpm. A new HR PR :-)

Well, you know the end to this tale. After checking the website over and over in the early afternoon, they posted the times....and I had a PR with a net time of 1:03:57. I could hardly believe it! And I was very excited. Somehow I managed to PR afterall.

Next post, my Simply Stu results....not so good.