Bill's Beer Run
October 27, 2008 | filed in: Sports
I ran in the 20th Annual Bill's Beer Run on Sunday,
and it was great fun. There were about 700 people
there (from what I heard), and a few folks were
dressed, and ran in, Halloween garb. There was a Grim
Reaper with an enormous head (he had to look out the
mouth hole). Some friends of mine ran as Batman and
Batwoman, capes and all. There was even one of those
long Chinese dragons held up on poles by three
runners.
The race was an out-and-back 5-mile course on beautiful Casey Key. Naturally, I was still running the out leg when the leader passed by on return leg. Wow. He was absolutely flying. I can't wait until the results are posted on the Manasota Track Club site to see what his time was.
I was pleased with my own result: 42:26 -- timed by my own watch to eliminate the agonizing interval between the horn starting the race and the moment when you actually cross the starting line, due to the crowd. That works out to be an 8:29/mile pace, and it's the best race result I have had. Everything came together: good training program, smart taper, avoiding alcohol for the prior few days, and nice, cool weather in the mid-60's. It is amazing how large of a difference the temperature makes to running performance. I realize that finishing 200th overall leaves a lot of room for improvement, but hey, it's not bad for a 43-year old who has been running for less than a year.
Still, I think I could have run it a little faster. While I was running negative splits like I planned (slowly increasing my speed throughout the race), I left a little on the table. I was a little hesitant to believe how good I was feeling and held back a touch. In addition, I should have started my kick around the 1 mile mark instead of the 0.5 mark. At the end, I had more left in my tank than I should have. Finally, I should have skipped the water at mile 3 -- I ended up slightly gagging as it went down the wrong pipe. Hmm, I guess that takes a little practice.
Of course, true to the event's name, there was beer served after the race. It's funny how the beer tasted so much better than Gatorade or water.
The race was an out-and-back 5-mile course on beautiful Casey Key. Naturally, I was still running the out leg when the leader passed by on return leg. Wow. He was absolutely flying. I can't wait until the results are posted on the Manasota Track Club site to see what his time was.
I was pleased with my own result: 42:26 -- timed by my own watch to eliminate the agonizing interval between the horn starting the race and the moment when you actually cross the starting line, due to the crowd. That works out to be an 8:29/mile pace, and it's the best race result I have had. Everything came together: good training program, smart taper, avoiding alcohol for the prior few days, and nice, cool weather in the mid-60's. It is amazing how large of a difference the temperature makes to running performance. I realize that finishing 200th overall leaves a lot of room for improvement, but hey, it's not bad for a 43-year old who has been running for less than a year.
Still, I think I could have run it a little faster. While I was running negative splits like I planned (slowly increasing my speed throughout the race), I left a little on the table. I was a little hesitant to believe how good I was feeling and held back a touch. In addition, I should have started my kick around the 1 mile mark instead of the 0.5 mark. At the end, I had more left in my tank than I should have. Finally, I should have skipped the water at mile 3 -- I ended up slightly gagging as it went down the wrong pipe. Hmm, I guess that takes a little practice.
Of course, true to the event's name, there was beer served after the race. It's funny how the beer tasted so much better than Gatorade or water.