From: Layne Wallace (lwallace@unf.edu) Subject: Backadapack Report: Couples Run Relay 5K (10K) Date: Tue, 11 Feb 2003 14:41:45 -0500 (EST) Event Name: Ginger Fannin-King Couples Relay 5K (10K) Date: February 8, 2003 Time: 4:00 p.m. Distance: 5K (10K) Location: Neptune Beach, Florida, USA Host: Jacksonville Track Club Benefit: Hospice of Northeast Florida Course Layout: Out and back Course Terrain: Beach, moderate flat, some deep sand Weather Conditions: Some showers, 46F/7.8C, moderate north breeze Sociological (Fashion, fighting, foolery, and food): Fashion: None that I saw. Fighting: None that I saw. Foolery: When one woman came in and couldn't find her partner (How tough is it to hang around until your partner returns? I must be missing something.) a guy suggested that I take off and he'd let Susan know. Even I could tell he was trying to get me hurt. Food: Dunno. I helped look for the "lost" runner and gather up the Jax Track Club's signs and materials so I missed the eats. Personal Time: 27:45 Personal Pace: 8:56 Team Time: 56:04 Team Pace: 9:02 Personal Place Overall (males): 43 out of 49 Team Place: 46 out of 49 # of participants completing the course: 49 teams (1 team got "lost") Winning Time: 16:43 (Jeremy Criscione) - 37:57 (Talisa Bishop/Jeremy Criscione) Last Finisher: 38:47 (1:06:02) Results URL: http://www.coolrunning.com/results/03/fl/Feb8_Ginger_set1.shtml Comments: I had planned on a short note in the weekly training post about this event and spend time doing a recovery run and some work. Well, it's raining and I had a nasty cough (so much for the run) plus a headache that needed meds (so much for the work). So here's an impromptu report. It had been raining on and off all day. The wind was blowing from the north (for our southern hemisphere runners, this means nippy) and it was a frigid 46F. Time to separate the serious recreational runners from the, er, well, from the, hmm, well, from the smart recreational runners. Susan and I had not preregistered for this one (a rarity) so we got to the venue early. There weren't many runners around and I wondered if there were more smart runners than I had thought. We signed up, got our nice, long sleeved t-shirts, and headed back to the car to keep warm, er, to plan strategy. We made a last pit stop, did a little warm up, and headed for the the start line. As with last year (and the year before), there was some trouble getting the guys away from the women to start the run. The women got away with a lot of encouragement from the enthusiastic, if small, crowd. Since the weather wasn't really beach weather, it was easy to watch the women almost to the 1-mile marker (more on the marker later). After the women started, the guys milled about as guys are wont to do. I was holding Susan's warm-up togs but still got in a little run since I was just standing around. The first woman came in with a HUGE lead. Her partner took off and there was quite a wait for the next woman. As with last year, one woman came in but her partner wasn't to be found. There was the predictable frivolity at the expense of the AWOL partner. Then I spotted Susan floating down the beach toward the start/finish line. I handed her the pile of clothes and took off. Hmm, somethin' ain't raht chere. Long strides, forward lean, forefoot landings, feeling good... What the HEY! Waaaay too fast! One thing about these relays is that you get to start with folks that you normally wouldn't get to see. Here I was running along with guys who are fit, experienced, and (relatively) fast. Oops. Susan had done an excellent job giving me a good starting position but I just didn't have the skill or ability to hold it. It was still fun to see these guys cruise away from me chatting like they were out for an LSD. Anyway, I was wondering if I'd already done the turnaround and just forgotten when the I saw the 1 mile marker. Ain't no way. I went out way too fast to just be at mile 1. The turnaround was nice since I was now on the way home but the down side was the wind that had been a tail wind was now a head wind. Ah, a chance to put David's tips about drafting to work. Hmm, first I'm gonna have to catch someone. Yeah, right. So much for drafting. Mile 2? Hmm, that was quick. I did catch one guy who was hurting and ran off his shoulder for a while until I had recovered a bit (and heard someone behind me). I waited until he turned to look and surged. It worked. There was an elderly gentleman who didn't elbow me to get by (see the Cookie Run report) in front of me so I checked up a bit and came in behind him. I congratulated him on the run just as he told his partner not to expect too much from him that night. I have no idea what he meant. The finish line was a mob of people so it was a little hard to see where the timers were. One couple (at least) finished away from the timers and were missed. After 49 of the 50 couples had been marked, we couldn't see anyone else running on the beach. A couple of us volunteered to do a warm down run back down the beach to see if someone had passed out (a third person had gone down to deal with the turnaround marker). Fortunately, no one had (passed out) and the only down side was that we missed the food (I rewarded myself with a pizza later). Lessons: When the weather's foul, my folks (slow) don't tend to come out (this was a quick time for Susan and me but we still ended up 46 out of 49). I *may* need to work on a *little* speed for next year to hold up Susan's work in the first part of this event. When the weather's foul, I can't get too bent about the mile markers being a little off (I wouldn't want to be out there setting them up, either). I've said it before and still feel it to be true, this is an excellent event. It can give a handicap for the speedier types so that they are placed in a position they wouldn't normally see - new territory. While the potential for partner discord is obvious, I've yet to see any (except when the partner is not ready for the tag). Splits (the markers were a little off): Mile Time MHR AHR 1 9:15 164 156 2 7:39 165 162 SAY WHAT!!! 3 9:52 172 162 .1 :58 168 166 Layne