• Lincoln,
    Nebraska,
    United States
  • April
  • 6 miles/10K
  • Road Race
  • Event Website

Jeremy Murphy

Lincoln, Nebraska, United States
33 21
2017
"Good Run-Walk Race"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management
Jeremy Murphy's thoughts:

Last Saturday, I ran the Tabitha 10k (also 2 mile option) to EmbRACE Aging. I chose the 10k option but there was a 2 mile race that is part of the Lincoln Track Club Grand Prix series for kids. This race course is familiar but was just taken over by a new sponsor this year, Tabitha, a local charity. Also, it was celebrating 50 years of Meals on Wheels on Lincoln. I used to deliver Meals on Wheels as a volunteer for Tabitha. And to see a sponsor celebrating aging, embracing it even is very appealing. I arrived at the race site a little early. It's wisest to park on the east side of 70th Street. Don't park at Holmes Lake, it's too difficult to navigate where you can/can't drive. There was clearly marked parking (even marked as overflow parking with signs) so it was easy to find even for people who may be new to the race. I ran a slow 1.5 mile warmup from my car to the Holmes Lake dam, then wound my way back to the starting area. Although it looks like the race will start at Holmes Lake, it actually starts just north of that on Normal Boulevard. The finish is right next to Holmes Lake. There is a fancy artistic large lightbulb early on in the race and I stopped there before the race for inspiration, positivity, and an energy boost. My biggest challenge during this race was actually the air quality. (We were in unhealthy range according to local health department.). The race began at 9am and the 2 milers started about 4-5 minutes later so they could run fast. At 9am, they played the national anthem and lined us up. It's a chip race so make sure you are wearing your bib with chip and that you cross the start and finish mats. We began winding west on Normal Boulevard and I was reminded how I was running upon the Lincoln Marathon course (just not in the Lincoln Marathon). Winding in a short loop around the north side of Holmes Lake, I began checking my watch to make sure that I was keeping the 7:00 splits I was aiming for. I noticed the first split was just under target at 6:51. Then looking up we were reaching 70th Street to run north. Here I realized the importance of law enforcement volunteers, who were preventing cars from trying to turn into Holmes Lake just as I was running by. He was successful in keeping us safe and so I was grateful for his help in ensuring our safety at the 1 mile mark. We climbed up a short hill on 70th Street, turning again onto Normal Boulevard until about 50th Street before turning again. There is a nice downhill from the top of the hill at Holmes Lake, just be careful running downhill there was some broken up pavement there that needs to be replaced. Otherwise, it's a nice downhill to accelerate and re-establish a new pace or to at least have a great energetic speed burst. My second mile split was 7:15, closer to the 7:21 target that I was aiming for in this race. The Normal Boulevard stretch of this race is all on the Lincoln Marathon course. There are trees providing a little shade. But it felt warm, sunny and 55 degrees, wind out of the southeast at 7mph. Wind really wasn't a factor. The sun was, also a little bit humid so prepare for that, too. At 50th Street, the race course deviates from the Lincoln Marathon course and runners turn south, winding through residential neighborhoods. More trees too provided a little shade from the sun, not many clouds so we were feeling the rays a little bit. I chose to carry my OrangeMud single hydraquiver vest with water so I didn't stop at any of the water stops although they were plentiful. One thing to remember in this race is to exercise extreme caution when crossing 56th Street as it is a major street with lots of traffic. Last year I had a problem at the 56th Street junction but this year I did not. Police were very good at controlling traffic at 56th Street (last year a disobedient driver was a problem). So you cross 56th once going west (first crossing). Reaching the 3 mile point, my split slowed to 7:24, a little off target but not by much. At the 5k mark, I was very happy to see a 5k sign. I laughed a little because I think I told them they should add the sign after last year not having a 5k sign. But it helps as a runner to know if you are running the tangents or not. That's why the mile markers and 5k markers are so valuable to me. Also, sometimes GPS fails (last year my Garmin failed). But this year, no problem with the Garmin. I did have to calibrate the altitude on my Garmin Fenix before the race, though as it was off a little. When I don't do that, especially near Holmes Lake, I have had major GPS/altitude issues with my watch. The 5k split was 23:00+ something. I was hoping to maybe run a 45:00 if possible but was not able to do that. After winding back to 56th Street, we very carefully turn south onto 56th Street. This was the toughest part of the race for me. Uphill into the wind in the sun and starting to feel a little tired. There were about 3 runners who were unofficially pacing me up to this point. Two of them got away. One of them I was able to stick close to until the turnaround on 56th Street. Having not done a lot of hill training for this race, maybe I just felt the hill on 56th Street more. Also, exercise caution as runners leading this race will be coming back your direction (led by bicycles). That happened at about 3.6 mile or so for me. So we just have to stay far right in your traffic lane to let the leaders go by. Cresting the hill at 56th Street, I think I overran the turnaround a little. But the runner pacing me was running all the way up to the volunteers a little past the turnaround sign. So I followed him of course. Nice downhill from that point after turning around which is helpful after the effort to crest the hill. The 4 mile marker is right before the turnaround. My split was 7:32 here, disappointing but when you're tired, sometimes it shows. We still need to exercise a lot of caution on 56th Street running north (runners behind you running your direction plus traffic going back and forth on 56th Street (controlled by police). This is a tough stretch although running north was easier (wind at our backs plus the downhill I mentioned). At Van Dorn Street, we turned east and the car traffic disappears mostly. Except for one car that very slowly and carefully crept by me in this area. There were about 3 or 4 water stops during the race but I drank from my OrangeMud water bottle instead. The 5 mile mark is on 56th Street very just as you approach Van Dorn to turn. My 5 mile split was 7:42, slower than my target but showing a little fatigue. I knew I wanted the last mile to be faster. Near 60th Street, runners turn north and start running back towards Holmes Lake. This was about where that slow car I told you about passed me. Save some energy for a final uphill when you reach Normal Boulevard, it's not a steep one but you feel it after running almost 6 miles. We crested the hill at Holmes Lake and I was able to accelerate down that hill to speed up on my way to the 6 mile mark. The 6 mile mark was probably my favorite part of this course. Partly because it's the last turn (you could call it "Amen corner" like the Masters Golf Tournament since they were held the same weekend). You can see Holmes Lake very clearly at this point and that helps boost your spirits and gives you a little bit of energy to burn it and run faster (and you can see the finish line approaching around the corner). Also, at this point, there was a did you know sign for Tabitha reminding us that Meals on Wheels only cost about $6-$6.50 per meal. Not much. Less than some of us spend for a meal and/or coffee. That really struck me so I returned to capture this picture afterward with a few runners still running the course. This is a good shot to take a picture if you're looking for one. The mile 6 split was faster, 7:38. Just a little more left. Boosted by the 6 mile mark and the Meals on Wheels sign and cause, I accelerated and ran 6:44 pace the last .22. The finish is very clear and obvious, I did have to dodge some walkers here, many people just walk this course. Runners finish in the finish chute on the left. So I moved left and crossed the finish. Somehow I accidentally missed stepping on the first chip mat but made sure I landed on the second one. Might have added about a second to my time. Garmin said 46:19. Official time 46:20 (7:28 pace officially although I ran 6.29 by my watch for 7:22 pace, :01 slower than my target). Although I didn't finish in the 45:00 range like I was hoping, I was pleased to finish 3rd in my age group and 57th overall, 45th among men. There was some confusion as the results were being posted. The person they posted as winning at first said 3:45 pace (and no one ran that fast that I saw). But the race officials expertly placed official sheets atop the raw sheets. At first I was in 63rd place, then 61st by the corrected sheets and 57th by the time they emailed me. The post-race food was awesome! I found some cranberry bagels. After eating one, I switched to cranberry oat. Then back to cranberry. The bagels were delicious! Don't know where they got them. They also had donut holes and bananas. I waited around for results to see if I placed and to support other runners who were still running the race. I won a $10 gift certificate to Lincoln Running Company so that will come in very handy. The race is an excellent tune-up and test race for the Lincoln Marathon and Half-Marathon. Hills are slightly challenging, primarily on 56th Street. Great race! Very impressed with the new management of it and how they handled everything. No stone was left unturned. They were prepared and supported us well with volunteers, fans, and police to guard and protect the route to ensure our safety. Highly recommend this race. It's important that we not be intimidated by our age but that we embrace it, just as the organizers did here, even in how they named the race. Hope you enjoy this race in the future. Will do a fuller report on my blog at RunningGrooveShark.com so watch for that. Thank you for a wonderful fun race! The 10k race shirts say Walk-Run-Race on the back in that order. But I do run-walk so I'm titling this in that order (took two :15 walk breaks and that's all I needed). But whether you like to walk, run, or run-walk, this is a great race.

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