March 16
25:04
6th in AG (50-55)
2007
24:13
3rd in AG (45-49)
2006
25:30
10th in AG (45-49)
2005
24:33
8th in AG (45-49)
2004
31:48
58th in AG (45-49)
There was room for improvement on that first St. Pat's Dash I did in 2004 and I have managed to whittle away several minutes in subsequent races. Some years, I'd add a minute or so back on to my time and slip in the AG placing and 2008 is one of those years. The finish line has been relocated at least 3 times in the 5 years that I've run this, making it hard to compa
re each race exactly. This was the 24th Annual of the Irish-themed race. It's pretty much a sea of green and costumes along the race course which starts on Mercer St., north of Seattle Center. The route takes us east, then south through the Battery St. tunnel (we run south on the closed northbound lanes). Emerging from the tunnel, the run goes along the upper deck of the Alaskan Way viaduct for the Big Views of Puget Sound, the downtown skyline and south to Mt. Rainier. We exit down the on-ramp near Qwest Field for a final 1/4 mile or so near Qwest or Safeco Field (or where ever the finish line happens to be that year).
re each race exactly. This was the 24th Annual of the Irish-themed race. It's pretty much a sea of green and costumes along the race course which starts on Mercer St., north of Seattle Center. The route takes us east, then south through the Battery St. tunnel (we run south on the closed northbound lanes). Emerging from the tunnel, the run goes along the upper deck of the Alaskan Way viaduct for the Big Views of Puget Sound, the downtown skyline and south to Mt. Rainier. We exit down the on-ramp near Qwest Field for a final 1/4 mile or so near Qwest or Safeco Field (or where ever the finish line happens to be that year). That's 2006 ------->
I didn't expect too much of myself going into it this year since the running I've been doing has been easy to moderate level efforts, very little interval and no tempo workouts. But I needed some goal for the race. OK then, how about better than an 8:00 per mile pace? I figured that would be doable, a good place to start. Then I saw Judy F.
If you don't know who Judy F. is, then you must be some elite who never looks beyond the top 5 overall women finishers, someone who is so recreational you don't care to peruse race results or maybe you're a man. If Judy isn't a local legend yet, she will be. She's in her 60's, shows up at just about all the local running races from 5K to marathon distance, frequently does Saturday/Sunday back to back races (running and triathlons) and she's fast despite her age. Go ahead, check out her Athlinks list http://www.athlinks.com/myresults.aspx?rid=1175
4712 That's a lot of races! She is such a frequent and consistent racer that I quickly caught on to who she was early when I started these fun runs. And with her consistent 7:15 to 7:30ish paces, darn if she didn't pull away out of sight of me in all the races I did for the first few years. I aspired to get closer to her finish times. As I improved, I saw my times inching closer to hers. Though I didn't aim to overtake her exactly, she is a "benchmark" kind of racer and one who I can measure my own good or bad days by. As another running pal Ann once said, "it's a good day if you finish close to Judy". It was only in my most recent and best seasons and after plenty of hard work, that I was able to race at her pace or sometimes a bit faster.
4712 That's a lot of races! She is such a frequent and consistent racer that I quickly caught on to who she was early when I started these fun runs. And with her consistent 7:15 to 7:30ish paces, darn if she didn't pull away out of sight of me in all the races I did for the first few years. I aspired to get closer to her finish times. As I improved, I saw my times inching closer to hers. Though I didn't aim to overtake her exactly, she is a "benchmark" kind of racer and one who I can measure my own good or bad days by. As another running pal Ann once said, "it's a good day if you finish close to Judy". It was only in my most recent and best seasons and after plenty of hard work, that I was able to race at her pace or sometimes a bit faster. Here's 2007 --------->
So rather than settling for merely bettering an 8 minute pace (and how was I to do that with my watch being repaired and inconsistent mile markers on this course?), when I saw Judy I knew what to do. Stay with her. If I could do that, it would be a good day for me, given my lack of training lately and probably assure me a pace in the mid-7's or faster. And perhaps more importantly, it 
would keep me from going out too fast and then dying in the later miles (like I did on the January 1st Resolution Run). Judy is a smart and experienced runner and when I can't rely on myself due to lack of training, why not rely on someone else? I needed a pacer, so I locked my gaze on her yellow jacket just ahead of me and decided to try and keep it in sight. I don't know why I don't show up in this picture with Judy, since I was usually within 1o or 15 feet behind her most of the race. Here is a new race goal of mine: SMILE for the camera. Look at her picture - she is having fun! Look at mine - I am in pain!
The race was a hard enough effort and I was challenged to keep pace with my rabbit. If I could just stay near her, I'd have a good race, without having to think or check my (non-existent) watch. And so I did. In the last 100 yards or so a new woman who looked like.jpg)
she might be somewhere near my age edged past me. So I figured it was time to throw in the extra effort. I finished just a few seconds ahead of Judy and the other woman who, according to the results, was probably Phyllis N., another consistent fast woman about a decade older than me. That extra effort nearly cost me a public barf in front of the finish-line spectators, but fortunately for them it was a false alarm of going through the heave-ho motions with no, ummm.... "results" being produced. I know, TMI (too much information).
would keep me from going out too fast and then dying in the later miles (like I did on the January 1st Resolution Run). Judy is a smart and experienced runner and when I can't rely on myself due to lack of training, why not rely on someone else? I needed a pacer, so I locked my gaze on her yellow jacket just ahead of me and decided to try and keep it in sight. I don't know why I don't show up in this picture with Judy, since I was usually within 1o or 15 feet behind her most of the race. Here is a new race goal of mine: SMILE for the camera. Look at her picture - she is having fun! Look at mine - I am in pain!The race was a hard enough effort and I was challenged to keep pace with my rabbit. If I could just stay near her, I'd have a good race, without having to think or check my (non-existent) watch. And so I did. In the last 100 yards or so a new woman who looked like
.jpg)
she might be somewhere near my age edged past me. So I figured it was time to throw in the extra effort. I finished just a few seconds ahead of Judy and the other woman who, according to the results, was probably Phyllis N., another consistent fast woman about a decade older than me. That extra effort nearly cost me a public barf in front of the finish-line spectators, but fortunately for them it was a false alarm of going through the heave-ho motions with no, ummm.... "results" being produced. I know, TMI (too much information). < -----2008
(but I DID have a jog bra on)
Despite feeling satisfied with the race when it was over (and being relieved to not have tossed my cookies, or GoLean Crunch, as the case may be), I have to admit to being a little disappointed when the results were posted. The little Devil on the one shoulder whispered in my ear: "Have you peaked?"; "Is it all downhill from here?"; "You are almost 51, you've got to plateau and 
decline sooner or later, is this the season that will happen?"; "Do you really want to keep doing this anyway?". But the Angel on my other shoulder said: "You have no business beating your time from previous years right now, you just haven't put in the training"; "You've had a distracting, challenging year, be glad you still d
o this at all"; "For training so little, this is good! You keep going and you'll still have some PR's!". "You know, you are hauling an extra 6 pounds around; you get that off your butt and thighs and then we'll see". So I've eaten salad for dinners this week, went to a yoga class to find inner peace and some good stretches and have gotten a couple runs, a bike, a spin class, a swim in and a rest day since race day. And I think of women like Judy and Phyllis and think, "Why not me too?". Go Angel! Root for the Angel!
decline sooner or later, is this the season that will happen?"; "Do you really want to keep doing this anyway?". But the Angel on my other shoulder said: "You have no business beating your time from previous years right now, you just haven't put in the training"; "You've had a distracting, challenging year, be glad you still d
o this at all"; "For training so little, this is good! You keep going and you'll still have some PR's!". "You know, you are hauling an extra 6 pounds around; you get that off your butt and thighs and then we'll see". So I've eaten salad for dinners this week, went to a yoga class to find inner peace and some good stretches and have gotten a couple runs, a bike, a spin class, a swim in and a rest day since race day. And I think of women like Judy and Phyllis and think, "Why not me too?". Go Angel! Root for the Angel!An"Age-Graded" system was used for results which placed Judy at 2nd overall! Way to go
, Judy! Phyllis placed in the top 8, along with a 10 and 12 year old. Here is Phyllis in blue shorts. The Age-Graded formula converts my time to 21:55. Sweet! But not competitive.
Finally, this race is advertised as an "almost 3.5 mile race". So after crunching the numbers, my time of 25:04 would be a 7:10 pace for 3.5 miles or 7:22 for 3.4 miles or 7:35 pace for 3.3 miles. At least that gives me a ballpark - I'd say my pace was in the 7:20's and I'm happy with that!
, Judy! Phyllis placed in the top 8, along with a 10 and 12 year old. Here is Phyllis in blue shorts. The Age-Graded formula converts my time to 21:55. Sweet! But not competitive.Finally, this race is advertised as an "almost 3.5 mile race". So after crunching the numbers, my time of 25:04 would be a 7:10 pace for 3.5 miles or 7:22 for 3.4 miles or 7:35 pace for 3.3 miles. At least that gives me a ballpark - I'd say my pace was in the 7:20's and I'm happy with that!
AGE-GRADED TOP 8
Age/ Time / AgeGraded Time
1 Regina Joyce 51/ 20:33/ 17:45
2 Judy Fisher 64/ 25:12/ 18:12
3 Sarna Becker 31/ 19:06 / 19:05
4 Amy-Eloise Neale 12/ 21:03/ 19:08
5 Phyllis Nelson 60 / 25:12/ 19:18
6 Gail Hail 48 / 21:33/ 19:19
7 Patryce McWilliams 10/ 22:27/ 19:28
8 Liz Wilson 39/ 20:06/ 19:31
50-54 AGE GROUP TIME
1. Regina Joyce 20:30
2. Sue Grigsby 24:07
3. Kim Williams 24:40
4. Marci Kirsch 24:51
5. Joan Banker 24:55
6. Karen Buttram 25:04
7. Wendy Jones 25:50
8. Linda Rowe-Oneal 25:55
2. Sue Grigsby 24:07
3. Kim Williams 24:40
4. Marci Kirsch 24:51
5. Joan Banker 24:55
6. Karen Buttram 25:04
7. Wendy Jones 25:50
8. Linda Rowe-Oneal 25:55
1 comment:
Judy is one of my heroes! I think I've known her and talked to her at races since about 2000! I have even met her granddaughter. What an inspiration - and she is as nice as she is fast!
Great job on St. Pat's dash!
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