Saturday, March 29, 2008

"Winter" in Orlando


No, the reference to "winter" has nothing to do with the season. It was 62 degrees at 7:30am today. The reference to "winter" is for the CNL Winter Park Road Race 10K, that was held this morning. It is one of the largest races in the Orlando area, over 2,000 runners participated.

My training for the past six months has focused on increasing my speed. I had hesitated in the past fearing injury. I have been running two evenings a week with a group called "Five & Dime". It is a training program run by the Track Shack, a running store in Orlando. The program is designed to improve 5K and 10K performance. Since I began my "speed" training, I have set PR's in the half-marathon (thanks Shirley!) and the 5K. This was my first 10K in two years.

I had been focusing on this race since January. I approached it like a marathon. This past week, I watched my diet, rested and adjusted my training pace and distance. So, this morning I was ready to attempt another PR.

The day started with a two mile warm-up run to the race with several runners from my training group. We took it easy, arriving in plenty of time for a potty break and taking in some fluids. We got lined up and off we went. For those of you who are not familiar with Winter Park, it is a beautiful community with gorgeous homes and large shade trees. The course was primarily flat, except for the "Alabama" hill just after the two mile mark.

I kept an eye out for the split times along the way. I entered the long home stretch feeling good. (Remember my Jeff Galloway post?). I had an idea of what my time would be, but I strained to see the large digital clock over the finish line. Yes, I had done it! A new 10K PR of 46:31.

The photo is of "Coach" Wayne, he's the tall guy on the left, the "Geezer", "Sponge Bob" and Winston, who began running with me four years ago. He won't mind if I tell you he is 71 years young! Photo courtesy of Lorraine.

10 comments:

Maddy said...

It was great to see you today!

Congatulations on your new PR. It sounds like you worked hard for it and achieved your desired result!

Way to Go!

ShirleyPerly said...

Great job, Jim! Congrats on your well-earned PR. I'm going to have to do some speed work to keep up with you soon :-)

Donna N. said...

The CNL Winter Park Road Race 10K is a favorite of mine. I'm so glad to see that so many of my good buddies had PR's. Jim, I'm glad the pink bandana helped you run like the wind. You know they're having the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon. Ever think about signing up? ; )

robdbirch said...

You ran a great race Jim!
It was a nice morning for a race.

Great job speedy!
Bob

Jade Lady said...

62 degrees - my kind of race! Sounds like the training program has been very beneficial. Great job on the PR!

MarathonChris said...

Congrats on the PR, it was great meeting you on Saturday! It is never too late to PR :-)

Jim said...

The race was fun, but getting to see two fellow bloggers; Maddy and Marathon Chris after the race was a nice reward! Hope to see you both at upcoming races.

Jodi said...

oh my gosh you are so flippin fast! awesome time. what's your secret?

Jim said...

Jodi - Thanks for stopping by! To answer your question, I train hard. But what makes it all worth while is the wonderful group of friends I train with. I know many people like to train alone, I need the group. We feed off each other and everyone succeeds. Seven of the people I train with all set PR's at the Winter Park 10K. We're doing something right. Come back and visit.

peter said...

PRs rock! There's a 70 year old that always runs in my club's monthly noontime 3K race around the Tidal Basin that I have never caught in 77 tries. I know he's 70 but he sure don't look (or act) it!