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The Raleigh Rock’nRoll series came again this year. This time they added and additional event a 5K. And with that event they added an additional challenge, the Remix Challenge, complete the 5k on Saturday followed by the Half or Full the next day and earn an extra bling. I have to say that even after these years of running, the bling still is an attractive way to push me to sign up for those extra events. Dopey or Triple Challenge anyone?

Coming to this event I am a little bit concern. Per my previous post, Running Experiences: The pain and the slowness of recovery, I am coming for hurting my right calf about three weeks ago, preventing me to keep my running schedule for about a week and couple days. A whole week without being able to run due to pain. And after I started the first 4-5 coming back super slow runs there was a lot of wobbling around to minimize the pain.  Last weekend was ok, Saturday run was slow and thigh muscles. Sunday run I was able to run at 8:30 pace which is close to normal for a few miles. I had not being able to push it much with fear of getting hurt again too close to the events.. The 5k is a good test as I was going to be running a very short distance, pushing just enough to test the recovery process.

The Expo was similar to the past couple years. Very decent, lots of vendors, products and goodies. There was booth that had me scratching my head for a bit. It was for replacing the siding of your house. I guess either they thought the R&R was short for Roof and Repairs or they want it the runners to look for opportunities while they were running through the neighborhoods.  Either way, to me it was a little bit out of place. Maybe I had it wrong since my vision is not as good as it used to be. I wish I had taken a picture of it now.

The morning of the event the usual breakfast, Hot cereal (Cream of Wheat), a latte and a banana an hour before the start of the event. Sugars checked before eating and they are in really good shape, in the 160s. Mirroring my CGMS, another good thing since I want it to do a calibration measurement prior to the event. A quick bathroom stop and left the house early since the event was about 35 minutes away. It was very chilly this morning. Waiting in the car I was wondering about the gloves, jacket, hat and the weather. I decided to leave them all behind since while standing in the parking lot (multi-level garage) the temperature felt cold but bearable. Well that lasted 10 minutes, because as soon as I left the building and the breeze started to pound it was no way I was going to be able to stay warm enough with more than 55 minutes to the start of the race. I walked back and grabbed the jacket.

The starting line area was very open and people were getting ready, stretching, walking and jogging. Some families running together, other as a spectators. The water station was nearby and setting thing up. I grabbed a little bit of water and hit the porta-potty. Debating to whether or not do a warm up run. Tomorrow I have a Full Marathon, I need to conserve energy, relax and take it easy. I moved around and walked to a sunny area to stay warm. Another runner was the from Phoenix, we chatted for a while about other events in other states. As he departed to drop his bag at the drop bag station, I decided to do a quick warm up before the start. I ran for about a mile, easy running with a few quick steps sprinkled here and there. By the time I was done it was time to walk to the starting line. There were about 2,000 running participating today. As I was walking towards the corrals area I realized one thing, I was assigned to corral #2, based on my previous time entry. That was just one corral behind the elites and the second out of 10 corrals. Top 20%? Yikes!!! To me that was a little bit scary, since I did not want it to run too fast and risking injuring my calf the day before the full marathon. I decided to skipped corral #2 and moved a least one corral back. That will give me some room, to slow down a have fun in this event.

I set my watch and my ipod with the music from Fallout 4 PC game. I know, I know what kind of music is that to run an event. To me it is fun and quick music that will allow me to relax a just run for fun today. After the National Anthem and a few minutes later off we went. The course is a little by hilly. Nothing to bad but plenty of small ups and downs with a few sharp 90º turns. I started my music and ran close to the turns and tackling each up hill with a steady high cadence. Down hills I stretched my stride a bit to again repeat same process at the next turn, up and down. Mile 1 came and went fast, I check my pace and was doing well under 8:00 minute mile pace. At this time I started to get bit warm, I opened the zipper of the jacket a bit and continued. After mile 1 I started to think, slow down, this is not your main event. No reason to risk it. I “slowed down” a bit to then had my brain wonder around and my legs to speed up the pace again. I grabbed some water at the water station even though I did not need it, thinking that it will help me slow down a bit. Mile 2 came and I worked I slowed down…

S                                 … really?  under 8:00 pace?  still?  Arrrrgggg! I am running to fast, at this time I decided to just run it but not a full effort, since it seemed that other than having some calf tightness there is no pain and all is well. Next quarter mile was uphill, no problem. The last portion of the event is completely downhill so I pressed on the length of the stride to have a good strong pace well under 8:00 and a finish of 23:38. Just shy 25 seconds of a personal best.

At the finish line there was my friend from work Alex. He finished 8 overall in this event, which it was a training race event for another 5k next week. Grabbed some extra water, walked around for a few minutes and talked with a few other friends, including Chris from the UNC Gym, which was there with his wife and daughter and were also going for the Remix Challenge with a completion of tomorrows event.

I believe I am ready for tomorrow’s marathon. Calf feeling good, no pain just a little bit tight. Sugars are doing great after a snack and lunch. Feeling good and looking forward to the cold weather tomorrow. Now for some stretch sessions, some food and some good old fashion rest.

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Event Highlight & Learning Points;nn;Highlights:

Course: Starting corrals were a little bit narrow but sufficient for this type of race. After starting line were ample and nice. The course was a little bit hilly, nothing too challenging but it has frequent ups and downs. Last 3/4 of a mile was mostly down hill.

Venue: At finish, snacks, plenty to drink and good music.

Expo: Nice expo at the Raleigh convention center. Many booths and freebies.

Weather: Clear skies, great 43º with just 65% humidity with just a little bit of a breezy

T1D: Sugars at mid running range at start. Remained there throughout the event.

Fueling: Pre-Race: 1 serving Cream of Wheat Cereal and Latte. A banana about an hour before start.

Race: Little bit of water at the water station.

Post: Water and a Latte.

Learning Points:

• Injury close to an event is nerve breaking. Need to adjust expectations.
  
• Recovery is strange and difficult. I am too impatience need to learn to relax.
  

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