Race Report: Ottawa National Capital 5K

Quoted message said:

I worked hard at it, and yet I think that if I had known
ahead of time that I¹d be so close to 22:00, I would have
pushed even harder to break THAT barrier. Anyway, at age
40, here I am setting a new PR. And with just a little
more work, I might be able to nail an age group award.

Nice job. You must be feeling great.

Phil M.

--
"I gotta go. You're killin' me."

"onemarathon" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message

Quoted message said:

National Capital Race Weekend 5K Race Ottawa, Canada May
29, 2004

It was almost five years ago exactly that I started
running. And in this race I set a new PR in the 5k

<snip>

Way to go, Cam - I wanted to go to this race this year!
Maybe I will show up in '05. Congrats on a great run.

cheers,
--
David (in Hamilton, ON) www.allfalldown.org "The most
insecure people are the ones you see putting other people
down constantly."

onemarathon said:

It was almost five years ago exactly that I started
running. And in this race I set a new PR in the 5k, after
about 3 years of struggling to move beyond a plateau. And
it wasn¹t even all that hard to do. There were no

Nice one Cam!

Quoted message said:

I¹m absolutely blown away with my results. I did not expect
this today`. I figured I¹d do about 23-24:00, but I set a
new personal record for myself at 22:00 (chip time) ­ my
previous PR was 22:13. I'm not even doing serious road
racing training these days, mainly tempo runs and some
fartlek, enough to get me through the run at the end of a
triathlon. No hill or track workouts for a while now. Of
course, all of the cycling and swimming must be helping
with overall conditioning. And

Consistent training pays off again. And it's a bonus when
you don't expect that break-through result.

Sub-22 and beyond next...

Anthony.

Great job, Cam! I was struggling to break 22 just last year,
and I know where you're at.

Quoted message said:

Anyway, at age 40, here I am setting a new PR. And with
just a little more work, I might be able to nail an age
group award.

Sure! I started getting AG awards last year too. Not at the
real big races, but some of the smaller ones. Still
improving, too!

Again, way to go!

--
Brian P. Baresch Fort Worth, Texas, USA Professional editing
and proofreading

If you're going through hell, keep going. --Winston
Churchill

BIG Congrats, Cam! I'll bet you're grinning like mad today.
Sounds like everything was working just perfectly with you,
and paid off bigtime.

Teresa in AZ

onemarathon said:

National Capital Race Weekend 5K Race Ottawa, Canada May
29, 2004

I¹m absolutely blown away with my results. I did not
expect this todayŠ. I figured I¹d do about 23-24:00, but I
set a new personal record for myself at 22:00 (chip time)
­ my previous PR was 22:13. I'm not even doing serious
road racing training these days, mainly tempo runs and
some fartlek, enough to get me through the run at the end
of a triathlon. No hill or track workouts for a while now.
Of course, all of the cycling and swimming must be helping
with overall conditioning. And the day before the race, I
met world-class marathoner Joseph Nderitu, shook his hand
and got his autograph right on my race bib (before I did
the race). I believe a little luck/magic rubbed off there.
Category (Men 40-44) place/total - 9/164

Cam

Just a 5k, eh?

Well done...gotta love it, getting faster as you get
older. Not bad!

Mike C

Quoted message said:

From: onemarathon

Quoted message said:

National Capital Race Weekend 5K Race Ottawa, Canada
May 29, 2004

It was almost five years ago exactly that I started
running. And in this race I set a new PR in the 5k, after
about 3 years of struggling to move beyond a plateau. And
it wasn¹t even all that hard to do. There were no km
markers, so I couldn¹t even punch in splits and monitor my
pace and progress. So my strategy was to - at the 14 minute
mark ­ bring the pace up to the point where I was puffing
but could maintain it for a couple of km¹s. Then I burned
up the road on the last few hundred meters, passing many
folks who went out way too fast at the start and were now
doing the moonwalk. I crossed that finish line with a loud
"Yes!" and a gigantic thumbs-up, baby!

Not much to say about the running of the race - I was
simply in the zone the whole way. Sadly, the organizers or
the people on the bullhorns didn't tell the walkers and
slow runners to move to the back of the pack. That
presented a challenge in the first few hundred metres, with
all of these little kids zipping all over the place, then
stopping, all out of breath. And moms holding their babies
- intending to walk it, just a few meters back of the start
line. What were they thinking?

I¹m absolutely blown away with my results. I did not
expect this todayŠ. I figured I¹d do about 23-24:00, but
I set a new personal record for myself at 22:00 (chip time)
­ my previous PR was 22:13. I'm not even doing serious
road racing training these days, mainly tempo runs and some
fartlek, enough to get me through the run at the end of a
triathlon. No hill or track workouts for a while now. Of
course, all of the cycling and swimming must be helping
with overall conditioning. And the day before the race, I
met world-class marathoner Joseph Nderitu, shook his hand
and got his autograph right on my race bib (before I did
the race). I believe a little luck/magic rubbed off there.

I worked hard at it, and yet I think that if I had known
ahead of time that I¹d be so close to 22:00, I would have
pushed even harder to break THAT barrier. Anyway, at age
40, here I am setting a new PR. And with just a little more
work, I might be able to nail an age group award.

My numbers:

Place - 89th out of 3,449 Chip time - 0:22:00.2 Gun time -
0:22:02.9 Pace - 4:25/km Gender place/total - 75/1276
Category (Men 40-44) place/total - 9/164

That¹s all folks. Thanks for reading.

Cam

In article <[email hidden]>,

Phil M. said:

Quoted message said:

I worked hard at it, and yet I think that if I had known
ahead of time that I¹d be so close to 22:00, I would
have pushed even harder to break THAT barrier. Anyway,
at age 40, here I am setting a new PR. And with just a
little more work, I might be able to nail an age group
award.

Nice job. You must be feeling great.

Phil M.

Yessir, I feel excellenté ! Thanks.... and now to work
through the evening (graphics). Maybe a run in the a.m.

Cam

In article <[email hidden]>,

Anthony said:

onemarathon said:

It was almost five years ago exactly that I started
running. And in this race I set a new PR in the 5k, after
about 3 years of struggling to move beyond a plateau. And
it wasn1t even all that hard to do. There were no

Nice one Cam!

Quoted message said:

I1m absolutely blown away with my results. I did not
expect this today`. I figured I1d do about 23-24:00, but
I set a new personal record for myself at 22:00 (chip
time) - my previous PR was 22:13. I'm not even doing
serious road racing training these days, mainly tempo
runs and some fartlek, enough to get me through the run
at the end of a triathlon. No hill or track workouts for
a while now. Of course, all of the cycling and swimming
must be helping with overall conditioning. And

Consistent training pays off again. And it's a bonus when
you don't expect that break-through result.

Sub-22 and beyond next...

you bet! i do have my eye set on breaking that now. until
now, i viewed it as unknown territory, and beyond my grasp.
it's all in the mind, eh?

thanks,

Cam

In article <[email hidden]>,

SwStudio said:

"onemarathon" <[email hidden]> wrote
in message

Quoted message said:

National Capital Race Weekend 5K Race Ottawa, Canada May
29, 2004

It was almost five years ago exactly that I started
running. And in this race I set a new PR in the 5k

<snip>

Way to go, Cam - I wanted to go to this race this year!
Maybe I will show up in '05. Congrats on a great run.

cheers,

thanks, David. yes, i remember you talking about doing this
event earlier in the year, but it's a shame your injuries
have made training difficult.

next year.

Cam

In article <[email hidden]>,

Brian Baresch said:

Great job, Cam! I was struggling to break 22 just last
year, and I know where you're at.

Quoted message said:

Anyway, at age 40, here I am setting a new PR. And with
just a little more work, I might be able to nail an age
group award.

Sure! I started getting AG awards last year too. Not at
the real big races, but some of the smaller ones. Still
improving, too!

Again, way to go!

thanks, Brian. well, even in this gigantic race (over 3,000
in the 5k), there weren't all that many really good, serious
runners. the fact that i placed in the top 3 percent says it
all. i mean, i know i'm getting a bit better, but i'm
surprised that i placed that well. i think i could see
myself getting 21:xx someday, and that's only six minutes
slower than the winner of this race.

odd, but cool. so how have your times been since you
cracked 22:00, Brian? just wondering how easy or hard it's
been to cut back the time further, or if it's been tough to
do that again.

Cam

In article <[email hidden]>,

Teresa Bippert-Plymate said:

BIG Congrats, Cam! I'll bet you're grinning like mad
today. Sounds like everything was working just perfectly
with you, and paid off bigtime.

Teresa in AZ

Thanks so much, Teresa. Yep, it's going to take quite a
while for this perma-grin to come off my face. I still
relive my approach to the finish line when (for a change - I
often forget to look) I saw the time clock ticking 21:55...
56... 57....

Most of the race was a blur, but the finish line is carved
firmly in my memory.

Now.... should I do another 5K ASAP, while I am still in top
form and might stand a better chance at beating 22:00, or
should I train a little harder for a while - then do it?

Advice anyone?

Cam

In article <[email hidden]>,

(Mike Conway) said:

Just a 5k, eh?

Well done...gotta love it, getting faster as you get
older. Not bad!

Mike C

thanks, Mike. yeah, it's quite a feeling getting faster as
the years go by. this was rather sudden, but i suspect
that if i hurry up and do a some more 5k's, i just might
crack 22:00. i just need to keep my chocolate and chips
intake in check.

Cam

onemarathon said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Phil M. said:

Quoted message said:

I worked hard at it, and yet I think that if I had
known ahead of time that I¹d be so close to 22:00, I
would have pushed even harder to break THAT barrier.
Anyway, at age 40, here I am setting a new PR. And with
just a little more work, I might be able to nail an age
group award.

Nice job. You must be feeling great.

Phil M.

Yessir, I feel excellenté ! Thanks.... and now to work
through the evening (graphics). Maybe a run in the a.m.

yep. good work. too bad you didn't have any distance markers
to help you pace. not to give you-in-particular any advice
cause I think you know way more than me, but i like to drive
or at least map out the course before-hand. i need to know
where i am so i can see if i'm on target or going too
fast/slow.

anyway, a PR is always nice. congrats! ...thehick

You could run the 5ks as your speedwork for the week, and on
those days when you're feeling good really put the pedal to
the metal and see what happens....just don't get hurt!

Teresa

onemarathon said:

In article <[email hidden]>, Teresa

Bippert-Plymate said:

BIG Congrats, Cam! I'll bet you're grinning like mad
today. Sounds like everything was working just perfectly
with you, and paid off bigtime. Teresa in AZ

Thanks so much, Teresa. Yep, it's going to take quite a
while for this perma-grin to come off my face. I still
relive my approach to the finish line when (for a change -
I often forget to look) I saw the time clock ticking
21:55... 56... 57....

Most of the race was a blur, but the finish line is carved
firmly in my memory. Now.... should I do another 5K ASAP,
while I am still in top form and might stand a better
chance at beating 22:00, or should I train a little harder
for a while - then do it?

Advice anyone?

Cam

Quoted message said:

thanks, Brian. well, even in this gigantic race (over 3,000
in the 5k), there weren't all that many really good,
serious runners. the fact that i placed in the top 3
percent says it all. i mean, i know i'm getting a bit
better, but i'm surprised that i placed that well.

I've noticed that the bigger races get bigger by adding
people to the middle and back of the pack rather than the
front. OTOH some of the toughest races to place in
hereabouts are the small club races, maybe 100 people but
half of them are fast. So it varies a lot.

Quoted message said:

odd, but cool. so how have your times been since you
cracked 22:00, Brian? just wondering how easy or hard it's
been to cut back the time further, or if it's been tough to
do that again.

The main things different have been speedwork and miles. The
summer I moved to Texas, two years ago, I was running in the
mid-23s; I think the best I did that year was a 23:30. Then
I got lazy and gained weight; when I joined a gym around
Thanksgiving I ran a 55:30 10K. But then I got serious about
losing weight and doing intervals and so on, and I got my
10K time down under 45; around the end of March last year I
ran a 22:08 5K, then managed a 21:36 the following week on a
flat course, followed a few weeks later by 21:25. I
stagnated over the summer, ran a 21:19 in August, then on
Labor Day I pulled off a 20:35. That one snuck up on me.

After that I focused on marathon training and didn't run
another 5K till this year. I ran a 19:52 several weeks
ago. I think I could get to 19:30 this summer, but I'll
be focusing on the NYC Marathon so I may not run any 5Ks
for a while.

Miles and speedwork! It also helped that I had a lot of
weight to lose; I'm down 40 pounds since that 55:30 10K.

Good luck!

--
Brian P. Baresch Fort Worth, Texas, USA Professional editing
and proofreading

If you're going through hell, keep going. --Winston
Churchill

In article <[email hidden]>,

frank-in-toronto said:

onemarathon said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Phil M. said:

> I worked hard at it, and yet I think that if I had
> known ahead of time that I¹d be so close to 22:00, I
> would have pushed even harder to break THAT barrier.
> Anyway, at age 40, here I am setting a new PR. And
> with just a little more work, I might be able to nail
> an age group award.

Nice job. You must be feeling great.

Phil M.

Yessir, I feel excellenté ! Thanks.... and now to work
through the evening (graphics). Maybe a run in the a.m.

Quoted message said:

yep. good work. too bad you didn't have any distance
markers to help you pace. not to give you-in-particular
any advice cause I think you know way more than me, but i
like to drive or at least map out the course before-hand.
i need to know where i am so i can see if i'm on target or
going too fast/slow.

anyway, a PR is always nice. congrats! ...thehick

actually, i know the route pretty well as i've done the race
before, but i don't know where km markers would have been
had they been there. it just would have been nice to see how
fast i was doing each km. but no matter; i accomplished
something big (for me).

thanks!

Cam

In article <[email hidden]>,

Brian Baresch said:

The main things different have been speedwork and miles.
The summer I moved to Texas, two years ago, I was running
in the mid-23s; I think the best I did that year was a
23:30. Then I got lazy and gained weight; when I joined a
gym around Thanksgiving I ran a 55:30 10K. But then I got
serious about losing weight and doing intervals and so on,
and I got my 10K time down under 45; around the end of
March last year I ran a 22:08 5K, then managed a 21:36 the
following week on a flat course, followed a few weeks
later by 21:25. I stagnated over the summer, ran a 21:19
in August, then on Labor Day I pulled off a 20:35. That
one snuck up on me.

i see a progression there, despite the lapses. so losing
weight and doing intervals got you the results? quite the
gains, going from 22 down to 20 minutes.

Quoted message said:

After that I focused on marathon training and didn't run
another 5K till this year. I ran a 19:52 several weeks
ago. I think I could get to 19:30 this summer, but I'll be
focusing on the NYC Marathon so I may not run any 5Ks for
a while.

Miles and speedwork! It also helped that I had a lot of
weight to lose; I'm down 40 pounds since that 55:30 10K.

weight loss might be what helped me recently too. not that i
really had much to lose, but i was pretty strict with myself
about booze and junk food for two weeks and saw the tiny
ring of flab around my waist disappear. i felt lighter and i
guess that translated into a quicker me!

i wouldn't want to lose more weight, but i'll certainly be
better about nutrition prior to races. i like speedwork, but
don't want to up my mileage by much as i've found that i am
now running below my injury threshold or whatever you want
to call it. i was plagued by ITBS for quite some time and am
now happy that it doesn't bother me (much) anymore.

Cam

true enough. the last thing i need is an injury. in fact,
i've got a few aches and tight spots after that all-out
effort in the race. must work that stuff out.

i am trying to find a local 5K that i can do this coming
weekend. i feel i must strike while the iron is hot. or at
least before i go nuts of chips and chocolate again 🙂

Cam

In article <[email hidden]>, Teresa Bippert-

Plymate said:

You could run the 5ks as your speedwork for the week,
and on those days when you're feeling good really put
the pedal to the metal and see what happens....just
don't get hurt!

Teresa

onemarathon said:

In article <[email hidden]>, Teresa

Bippert-Plymate said:

BIG Congrats, Cam! I'll bet you're grinning like mad
today. Sounds like everything was working just perfectly
with you, and paid off bigtime. Teresa in AZ

Thanks so much, Teresa. Yep, it's going to take quite a
while for this perma-grin to come off my face. I still
relive my approach to the finish line when (for a change
- I often forget to look) I saw the time clock ticking
21:55... 56... 57....

Most of the race was a blur, but the finish line is
carved firmly in my memory. Now.... should I do another
5K ASAP, while I am still in top form and might stand a
better chance at beating 22:00, or should I train a
little harder for a while - then do it?

Advice anyone?

Cam