Running Race Log

This is a record of the running races I have done so I can chart my progress over the years. Click the headers in the table below to sort by date, distance, pace, etc.

Abbreviations used: Dist=distance, Pace=average mile pace (min/mile), Ovrl=overall placing, Div=division placing (if not provided in official results, then I arbitrarily based this on a 10-year age group), Men=placing among men, Entr=total number of entrants.

Run Data

Observations

January 21, 2005 (Fri)

So I finally scoured my hard drive, records, and web for the results of most (if not all) of the races I have done in my life. (Many thanks goes to Peter Zinsli of zinsli.com, who has provided much of this data. In fact, he has data for virtually every runner who have done races in Northern California in the last 6 years in his online database.) From the data it is easy to observe some trends.

First off, until recently, I have not gotten any faster at all at short distances over the last decade. It was rather shocking to discover that my fastest 5k race ever, until April 2005 (in the Stockton Great Spear-It Run), occurred in 1995 (coincidentally, also in Stockton–the Delicato Grape Stomp Romp). That was the very first one I did, with no training whatsoever aside from bicycling! Recently, it took six months, run technique refinement, some speedwork training, better race strategy, and four 5k races just to beat that. It just comes to show that focusing solely on long-distance running, as I have over the last few years, does nothing for top-end speed. If anything it made me a slower runner by getting me in the habit of running at a slower, more sustainable pace.

Until January 2005 I also think my run technique had regressed. During longer runs I had a habit of settling into an overstriding, low-cadence rhythm. It took conscious effort to correct that. A big part of solving the problem was reading up on optimal running technique and keeping aware of my form at all times. The best running technique advice I read was an e-book by the late British world-record holder Gordon Pirie. There’s quite a bit of boasting in his book but there’s a lot of wonderful information. I highly recommend reading it; good running technique is not only critical for speed but for preventing injury.

On another note, my speed has definitely improved for longer distances over the years as a natural consequence of training more. And I don’t get nearly as sore after runs anymore, unlike those first 5k’s where I literally could not walk down stairs for days after those 20-minute runs. That said, I do have some short- and long-term goals which will require me to improve. I will put them below so I can look at this page and be constantly reminded of them.

Goals

The following goals, except for the first one, were set in January 2005.

• Finally beat George W. Bush’s best marathon time of 3:44:52. (Target date: Oct. 31, 2005.) Achieved: Jul. 4, 2005 (3:34:27, Foot Traffic Flat Marathon)
• Run a sub-20-minute 5k. (Target date: Dec. 31, 2005) Achieved: Apr. 24, 2005 (19:30, Great Spear-It 5k)
• Run a 5:30 mile. (Target date: Mar. 31, 2006) Achieved: Aug. 9, 2007 (5:12, Mountain Avenue Mile)
• Run a sub-40-minute 10k. (Target date: Dec. 31, 2006) Achieved: Sep. 30, 2007 (39:40, Trailblazer 10k)
• Run my first 50-miler. (Target date: Dec. 31, 2006) Achieved: May 28, 2006 (52.4 miles, Rocky Mountain Double Marathon)
• Run my first 100-miler. (Target date: Dec. 31, 2007) Achieved: May 25, 2008 (Sulphur Springs 100)
• Qualify for the Boston Marathon with a sub-3:10 time. (Target date: Dec. 31, 2010) Achieved: Oct. 6, 2007 (3:03:24, St. George Marathon)

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