Post Steamboat Day Report

I'll probably post photos once I get them developed. As far as what I did today (Sunday): 3600 yards swimming and then 5 miles of racewalking.

It all felt ok; no pain in the butt, though I did have some post race soreness (very mild) yesterday.

As far as the Steamboat 4 mile race itself: there are actually two races: the 4 mile race (that I did) and a 15K race (I did that last year).

This year, I wasn't sure I could do it at all. Last Tuesday, while on a routine walk (not a training walk) my butt really started to hurt; I almost got sick from the pain. I had to stop several times and almost called for a ride home!

I was unclear as to how long I would be out. It turns out that later the next day, my wife was able to find a knot in my left gluteal cheek and work it out. The next day, I took one naproxyn and then none after that. My walking (training walking) has been completely pain free since.

But having those small tears in my gluteals must have affected my recent races (Ice Age 50K, FANS 24 hour); you might say those were "half-assed" efforts.

So, training walks were painless on Wednesday and Thursday so I decided to try to race.

The adventure started when I picked up Tracy Harris. Her "short cut" route was blocked by people getting ready for the Moss Avenue "yard sale" so we needed to take a different route. Fortunately, we still got there 30 minutes ahead of the start of the race, which permitted me to help Tracy put on her Mercury chips (not the standard Champion Chips), a trip to the bathroom and a brief warm up. The "day before" packet pick up is a good idea.

I didn't see Mark Sekelsky before the race but was to meet him afterward.

I staked out a spot between the 10 and 11 minute mile signs. I didn't see many people that I knew, though I did see Representative Ray LaHood. I walked over to him and shook his hand and said "Good luck Mr. LaHood." I also saw Barb Heiser, who is one of Tracy's friends and arch rivals.

At the start, (which is a silent start, given by dropping a flag) there wasn't much congestion back where I was, despite of there being 2025 starters (both events combined). It took me 28 seconds to get to the line. Of course, the race director didn't have a mat at the start; we'll discuss that issue later.

My goal was to try to walk "quickly" but keep as good as technique as I possibly could. So I focused on my posture and on having a short stride in front of my body. I also focused on using my upper thigh muscles along with my hips to drive my knee forward.

I saw all kinds of people around me. The more serious ones were, of course, elderly. I also saw a squad of firefighters running in formation while wearing partial fire gear. I passed them about a half of a mile into it. I also saw buddies, parents with kids, fitness joggers and many different body types.

The day was warming up (74 F, 66% humidity at the 7 am start) and I was feeling it.
The first mile came at 10:32 and I was feeling it. I kept telling myself "walk tall".

Fortunately, the neighborhood that we were going through has a sort of restful ambiance with large clapboard houses, trees and wide streets. So, in some sort of weird sense, I felt a cooling effect of some sort.

We then arrived at a road which took us to the foot of a large hill in Glen Oak park near the Ingersoll Statue. On this stretch of road, you could see the 4 mile people on their way back; here is where I saw Mark.

He was looking good and was destined to finish in 35:50 (official; 35:20 by his watch) and to place above the median finisher. Not bad for a walker, huh?

We then turned into the park entrance. The 15K types were to continue up the hill and the 4 mile types were to go around the statue. Much to my surprise, I could see folks going up the hill; the reason this surprised me is that in days past, the 15K was mostly the hang out for the grizzled club runners. The 4 mile basically attracted the elites (due to prize money; for example the woman's winner placed 5'th in the 2004 Olympic 10,000 meter run), some of the local "sub elites" (cross country runners, for example) and beginners/once a year racers. Those slow 15K runners would have a long, hot challenge ahead of them.

I turned and hit mile two in 20:57. So far, so good, though I wondered if I could hold this pace.
On the way back I saw Tracy; she was ahead of her rival and looking strong.

I more or less held place on the third mile, which was my slowest. I skipped the water stops as there was only 20 minutes left in my race. I was sweating rather hard, but my breathing patterns were "right". Mile 3 was my slowest (10:43); I hit the 5K mark in 33:01.

I now had a gentle downslope left. So, I decided to push the pace a bit while focusing on my technique. "Illegal" technique would do me no good. (click here to see what I wanted to avoid).

During this stretch I passed Bob Corbett who was running slowly with Alicia Wresinski (Deborah's daughter); this will be the only time in my life I'll ever pass Bob. I spied a young lady who was wearing very brief nylon running shorts; you might say that she was "cheeky". I never quite caught up to her.

The course then turns into downtown Peoria and goes on a decline on Hamilton Street and then turns to Water Street which is right along the waterfront. I could hear people cheering for me.

My last mile was 10:28 which gave me a finish time of 42:10 (42:48 official) and a place of 1490 out of 1943.

Tracy beat her rival by almost 2 minutes and finished in 44:10 (probably 43:40 when one takes into account the time to get to the start line).

Afterward, I got to talk some racewalking with Mark. He has done well recently, clocking a judged 7:54 mile.

My View of the Steamboat Race

Highs

• World Class Runners: it is common to have international class runners here. Many Olympic runners have participated, as well as world record holders (marathon). This year, the men's race was won by John Korir in 18:16 and the women's by Lornah Kiplagat in 19:43.
• Strong competition. In the 4 mile race, there are many college cross country runners who show up to mix it up with the elites, and the 15K draws the best from the local club running scene. Many local runners use one of these two races as a "goal race".
• Community Support. You will often find people showing up to cheer, and many of them are your friends; they cheer for you by name. And, in the evening, one of the local TV stations replays the race so you can watch the professionals go at it.
• Organization: usually flawless; timely results, convenient packet pick up, easy parking, cold water afterwards. There are also other beverages available.
• Lots of age group awards as well as Clydesdale/Athena awards. There are three weight classes for each race.
• The course: the 4 miler is fast, the 15K course is tough, featuring two brutal climbs.
• Course, part II: there are intermediate mats for both races to help catch cheaters.
  

Low Points

• Heat: it can get warm and humid.
• Congestion: the runners in the 7:30-9:00 pace ranges will be slowed a bit for the first half of a mile, especially during the first turn.
  
• Timing: the race director uses the Mercury Sports Group timing system and claims that there aren't enough readers to put a mat at the start of the race. Hence, the only time you get is "gun time". Yes, they give you a sheet that details their excuses and rationalizations; they point out that "chip times" that are given to you at other races are only "informational". That is, they think that you shouldn't care about such things. Nonsense. Yes, the awards mostly go by gun time, but that isn't the point. The point is to be able to: 1) see your true time in print and 2) compare your true time to that of your smart aleck rivals. That way, your rivals don't get an advantage on you by cheating on where they line up at the start.