More From the USATF MN Indoor Championships

I've got 6 quick things to report post-race:

• FIRST: I left my shoulder "sticker" on for an hour after I got home, and it left a little red mark on my arm when I took it off at noon. When I showered before bed at 10 pm, a big red mark caught my eye. Oops:

• SECOND: I was LEGITIMATELY concerned that I'd fall out of the short yellow shorts! After I did a few warm-up laps (which felt "breezy" down there), I walked to the far back corner of the fieldhouse (back by the old bathrooms if you're familiar) and poked around down there a bit. The inner pouch was still relatively intact, so I deemed it "safe enough" to continue. Whew. These tiny 1970s-esque track shorts have a limited life, that's for sure!

• THIRD: The results show me picking up a place after the 22nd lap, but I don't recall passing anyone. (As I noted in my race report, once we got settled in after maybe just 50 meters, we pretty much stayed in the same place all race.) It turns out someone who was 8 seconds ahead of me with 3 or 4 laps to go dropped out. Yikes. He was running 0:37-0:39 laps (when I was running 0:41-0:42) until around 2200 meters when he creeped into the 40s. And then his last 3 laps before he DNFed were 0:48, 0:50, and 0:52 - so he ran a 5:12 opening mile, but then ran his last 800 meters at 6:34 pace (with his last full lap at 7:03 pace). Dang. His pace just before dropping out was 2:00/mile slower than how he started the race. At 2200 meters, he was 0:33 ahead of me, but on his last full lap, he was only 0:08 ahead of me.

Results by lap showing me picking up a place at 4400 meters.

• FOURTH: Related to that, being it was a 5000 on a 200 meter track, I lapped or was lapped by everyone but 3 of the other 14 people in my race. One of those was the guy above who didn't finish (so I suppose I TECHNICALLY lapped him 3 times being he dropped out with 3 laps left), and the other 2 finished ahead of me on the same lap in 17:18 and 17:30 (that's 0:21 and 0:09 ahead of me). But as I noted in my race report, I did NOT feel close to these guys - 9 seconds still seems SO FAR AWAY on a 200 meter track. The leaders passed me a number of times, 3rd-5th all passed me once, and only those 2 guys in front of me (in 6th and 7th) were on the same lap as me. And then everyone behind me I passed a number of times (9th place [the person who finished right behind me] finished over 2 minutes behind me, so I finished 2.5 laps ahead of him).

• FIFTH: There was one other DNF that I THINK might have been accidental. When I was finishing my race, I was announced as a "FINISHER" when I came to the line with 1 lap left. I would have LOVED to have been done, but I knew I had another lap, so I kept going. (And I was right.) There's someone else in the results who "officially" DNFed with 1 lap to go, and I have to think that the same thing happened to him, only he stopped when he was told he was done. If that's the case, that stinks:

There should be numbers in the far right box. And his splits
show he was kicking, so maybe he was off on his count as well.

• SIXTH: Two people recognized me after the race. First was one of the people I passed a few times (the only female in the 5000). She said she realized who I was mid-race. Apparently she was in better-than-normal shape for the TC 10 Mile a few years back and ran near this guy in pink plaid shorts that she thought was me. NEWS FLASH: it WAS me. She liked all the cheers I got for those shorts (and I like that too!). And one of the people working the meet (who gave me my arm and hip sticker) asked "do you do triathlons? I used to always read your blog!" She also laughed at me before she recognized me when I came BACK to her table just after getting my stickers saying "ummm... this is my first legitimate track meet since high school... do I need to do anything else? Am I 'cleared' to race?" She loved that.

(And I forgot until now that I did the USATF MN Masters Outdoor Championship in 2019, so I guess it was not my first legitimate track meet since high school.)

Here's my race report from last week if you missed it!

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USATF MN Indoor Championship 5000 Meters

Laurie (our YWCA running coach) emailed on Wednesday about upcoming races. Included in that was the USATF Minnesota Indoor Championship this weekend. I didn't give it any real thought until Friday afternoon, and then (as I noted in yesterday's post) I registered just 2 hours before registration closed. Then I took off at 9 a.m. yesterday morning for my 10 a.m. race at the University of Minnesota fieldhouse just a few miles away. I was stopped at a light next to someone who I was SURE was heading to the meet:

Their pole made it safely from WI!

I found out the morning of the race that there was only ONE heat for the 5000, and that I was seated 8th out of 15th:

Later, I'd learn there were only THREE guys who raced it last year!

This felt perfect to me: a full heat, but being it was only one, it felt more low key.

First time in the fieldhouse since its remodel. It's brighter!


Pre-race tradition.


Looking down and HOPING these shorts would hold together for the race.
(Also, maybe don't ask to borrow my phone... because I'm gross.)


I need to replace my shoes soon...


... and worse than that is my socks had a hole in the same spot too! (See the little toe poking through?)


Shoulder and hip stickers! I felt SOOO official!

I chatted with a guy who was ALSO shooting for around 17:30, only he was planning on going out fast and holding on, and I was going to start a bit easier and try to build. I told him I knew that 17:30 was 0:42/lap, so I'd be trying to stick around there. He joked that he'd run away from me at the start and then try to hold me off before the finish.

We were the first race to kick off the track meet at 10 a.m., so it was still pretty quiet there when we were lining up. We got our final instructions, and 15 of us toed the waterfall start.

"Runners to your mark......" *GUNSHOT*

There were some speedsters in this race, but also plenty of "old guys" like me that were OK to settle in. So I took a spot pretty quickly, and I was THRILLED I could work my way to "along the rail" before the back stretch when I started near the outside. And I was quickly running on my own with no one around me - we spread out right away.

I did NOT want to go out too hard. I was very aware of my 0:42/lap goal: my 800s ideally would have laps that looked like 0:42, 1:24, 2:06, and 2:48. So I was happy with my first 2 laps of 41.2 and 41.7. Third and fourth were a bit slower at 42.4 and 42.5, so my Garmin 800 split was 2:47.6 - that's PERFECT (0:00.4 under my ideal splits goal!). I told myself to speed up a LITTLE to try to hold around 2:48 800s. My first 1600 was RIGHT ON:

• FIRST 1600: 2:47.6 + 2:49.5 = 5:37.1.

I was 1.1 seconds slower than my "best possible goal" at this point. And I was feeling decent!

I was lapping some other runners pretty often, but I was still running in the same place as when I started. I settled in and was left alone! Teammate Mike showed up along the track and started cheering for me, and Kirt G also gave me some cheers!

My 2nd mile was a BIT slower, but I was still feeling OK... not "good," but OK. And in a 5000, feeling "OK" with 9 laps to go is about all a fella can ask for.

• SECOND 1600: 2:49.2 + 2:51.7 = 5:40.9.

The good news was that the 2:51 would be my slowest 800 split! I was able to up the pace a LITTLE for the last mile. I had been lapped twice by the leaders, and I just held them off before being lapped a 3rd time when they finished. The 2 leaders were back-to-back the entire race!

I only really "held back" once during the race. I was coming up on lapping Michael B for maybe the 3rd time, and I was also getting ready to lap a REALLY TALL GUY for the first time. I ALMOST swung wide to pass the tall guy as he was running wide to pass Michael B, but I didn't want to be forced out into lane 3 while on a turn. So I tucked in behind the tall guy. He actually provided a draft for 30 meters as we passed Michael! When we came out of the corner, I passed the tall guy as well. I'm not a "smart" racer, but this was my second smart move all day (the first being getting to the inside rail quickly at the start even though I started way near the outside).

I was just *gently* bleeding time, but it wasn't horrible. I wasn't going to finish in exactly 17:30, but I was hoping to still keep my finishing time in the 17:30s.

• THIRD 1600: 2:50.4 + 2:50.7 = 5:41.1.

I really finally started to kick with about 2 laps left, so when I hit my Garmin after 4800 with 1 lap left, I was going hard. I closed with my fastest lap all day, but not CRAZY fast showing that I was holding back too much: 0:40.1.

OFFICIAL RESULTS:

Steve Stenzel, 42, St. Paul, 5000m

17:39.49
5:40.86/mile

1 out of 1 in the 40-44 age group
8 out of 15 overall

I walked back to my phone and got a photo of Michael B with a lap left:

Still quiet there!


Close-up. Go Micheal!


I finished 8th, so I saw my name at the bottom but among the leaders!

Oh, and the guy also shooting for 17:30 that I talked to pre-race finished just in front of me in 17:30! But on an indoor track, 0:09 feels like a HUGE distance, so I wasn't even thinking about trying to catch him. I just pushed hard to the finish.

Being it was professionally timed (thanks Josh from Wayzata Results!), my splits EVERY LAP were recorded! This shows my fastest lap was my last lap at 0:40, I had 3 slow laps about 2/3 through the race that were 0:43, but then the rest were all 0:41 or 0:42! I'll take that consistency:

My 1000s: starting and ending with "perfect" 3:30s, then a bit slower in the middle.

I was aware that 3:30 1000s would be 17:30, and I thought I'd "check in" every 1000 while racing. But once I start running hard, my brain stops working. I glanced at my 1000 and 2000, but then I had trouble figuring out when 3000 meters was: "OK, 3200 meters is 2 miles and that's 16 laps, so the one before that is 3000 meters... right??..." Stupid oxygen-deprived brain.

Oh, and notice my last 800 in the 200 meter splits above: I ended with a nice perfect little descend: 0:43, 0:42, 0:41, and 0:40!

Maybe my MOST consistent 800 meter splits ever! All within 4.1 seconds!


Nothing like a good 5 second warm-up! ;)


A selfie with teammate Mike post-race! (Before his 1 mile.)


First shot in my short shorts and new jersey!


My gold medal!


I still had my number sticker on once I got home and sat down...


... and it left a little redness when I finally took it off.

My first 5000 meter race over 12 years ago resulted in a fast 17:17 finish (where I went out with a 5:20 opening mile and managed not to die!!). I had NO intention of being able to hit that yesterday, but maybe 0:22 isn't THAT far off from it.

My second (and only other) 5000 meter race from just over 11 years ago resulted in a 17:49 finish. So I didn't finish with a "personal worst" yesterday!! I actually beat my 30-year-old self!!

An opening 5:20 mile when I was 29, and CHUNKY BABY HENRY cheering
me on when I was 30. (My 2 previous 5000 meters in 17:17 and 17:49.)

I'm feeling REALLY GOOD post race - nothing is acting up. Today will be a more low-key day after the race. Have a great week!

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New Jersey and Impromptu Race

I picked up my new team jersey just a few days ago, and last night I paired it with my tiny shorts:

I set that outfit out because on Wednesday I found out about a race HAPPENING TODAY... and on Friday I gave it some serious thought and figured "why not?" So this is about to go down:

Keep an eye on my Instagram and/or my Twitter for possible updates. And stop by tomorrow for a race report!

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Official Photos From My Recent 5000

If you're here for the giveaway, scroll down to yesterday's post to enter! Thanks!

Gary put up ALL of his photos from the track meet on Sunday. (Here's the link to his album.) Here are some of me at work in the 5000:

At the gun.


Jumping into 3rd / 4th with Melissa (behind the 2 teens).


Finishing the first of 25 laps.

In my race report from Monday, I noted that Melissa and I just sort of "grunted" at each other after the first lap as if to say "this is too slow of a pace - we need to pick it up." Here we are at that point, and you can see we're just sort of looking in each other's direction ready to make our move on the boys in front of us:

In the lead after 1000 meters (5 laps).
My 1 quad looks STRONG here. Dear quads: please always look like this.


A lap later, about to be passed.


H.u.r.t.i.n.g. with about a mile left.
Passing race buddy Tom (in the gray shorts).


I stayed here in 4th for the rest of the race.
This was one of the many times Paul looked over his shoulder
and yelled at me to get up there with him - Paul's awesome!


Trying to give it my all with 3 laps left (with Lydia right in front of me).
Also, sweet ass shot of the "bowl full of sunshine" shorts. ;)


Paul "flying" to a win with Bailey and Melissa right on his tail!


Working my way to the finish in 4th.


Sweet awkward stopping-my-watch photo.

I warmed-down a bit, and then I hung out and cheered. You can see Henry and I to the far right of this photo as Teresa runs the 800 in the white hat:

Apparently impressed by someone's 800 time! (WHAT am I doing here?!)


More cheering with Henry. That's Chris in front of me,
and Pharmie behind me in all the pink. (She's cute in pink.)


Chatting with the Hulls while giving Henry a bottle
as the "1500 Race Walk" was taking place.

When you look at it - I mean REALLY look at it - that last photo is kinda strange. His expression, the fact that he's walking, Erik relaxing with no shoes, Pharmie seemingly smiling to herself... weird.

Anyway....

You only have until 6 pm TONIGHT (Thursday) to enter the new Roctane Drink giveaway! Click that link (or scroll down) and comment on that post to enter! Thanks!

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Numbers McNumberson Strikes Again

(Yep, I'm kind of a "numbers guy.")

Wayzata Results actually posted lap-by-lap totals and splits from the race on Sunday! That's crazy! Here's how my 5000 meters looks split into 200 meter laps:

44.566 (44.566)
1:26.148 (41.583)
2:06.818 (40.670)
2:48.228 (41.411)
3:30.173 (41.945)
4:11.970 (41.798)
4:55.398 (43.428)
5:38.715 (43.318)
6:22.150 (43.435)
7:04.534 (42.384)
7:46.631 (42.097)
8:29.867 (43.236)
9:12.843 (42.976)
9:55.670 (42.828)
10:38.924 (43.254)
11:22.292 (43.368)
12:05.173 (42.881)
12:49.265 (44.093)
13:31.550 (42.285)
14:14.445 (42.895)
14:58.092 (43.647)
15:43.041 (44.950)
16:27.093 (44.052)
17:09.577 (42.484)
17:49.359 (39.783)

FIVE NOTES:

• Notice with the exception of a slower first lap, my first six laps were 40.x or 41.x. Then when I noted in my race report that I started to slow up around lap 6 or 7, you can see my splits take a dive with the next 3 laps being 43.x. That's when I was passed and went from 1st to 5th pretty quick.

• I had 3 laps in the closing 1/3 of the race that were 44.x. I was hashed.

• I knew that to run 17:30 I had to run 3:30 / 1000 meters. Here's what actually happened (a good example of where I was hurting and where I gave up the most time):

- 1000 meters: 03:30.173 (00.173 seconds off)
- 2000 meters: 07:04.534 (04.534 seconds off)
- 3000 meters: 10:38.924 (08.924 seconds off)
- 4000 meters: 14:14.445 (14.445 seconds off)
- 5000 meters: 17:49.359 (19.359 seconds off)

So that shows I gave up the most time between 3/5s and 4/5s of the way through the race (which is always the most difficult part of any race for me).

• My slowest lap was lap 22 where I ran at 6:01.7 / mile pace. My fastest lap was the final lap (lap 25) where I ran at 5:20.1 / mile pace. It's slightly depressing to note that I ran my first full 1600 last year in my first indoor 5000 in 5:20. Dang. (BTW, here's my math: 1 mile = 1,609.344 meters. 1,609.344 / 200 = 8.04672. So my 200 meter time x 8.04672 = 1 mile pace.)

• All of these sound like minor differences: "Oh, I was 2 seconds slower for these laps." But when you multiply those issues over a 25 lap race, those minor differences add up.


"Racing Buddy" Tom R (who can be seen in my race report in 3 of the early photos wearing a white shirt and gray shorts) is a SUPER "numbers man." He sent me this graph comparing 200 the meter splits of Paul, Melissa, and I (Paul and Melissa ended up finishing 1st and 3rd):

On Tom's graph, you can clearly see where I fell off the lead on the 7th lap, and where things got rough for me around laps 17-23 (and you can see where I tried to "get back into it" on lap 19, but I couldn't maintain that).


Finally, since it's been a while, I think it's time for a "gross foot photo." Here's the carnage from Sunday night after the race:

1. No, I don't style my toe hair. That curl is all-natural, baby.

2. I hate that nasty callous on the outside of my big toe. It's so rough. Pharmie hates it in bed.

3. And yes, that's a nice nearly quarter-sized blister near the bottom of that photo. That bad boy made his appearance after an 11-miler a few days before the race, and it didn't feel too great near the end of the 5000 meters.

Stop back for a quick giveaway tomorrow!! It's only going to be up for about a day, so you HAVE to stop back tomorrow!

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Indoor 5000 Meters: Race Report!

Or, "Trying to Keep Up With Melissa."

Or, "The 'Eye-Opener' That I Needed."

25 laps on a 200 meter indoor track. Yep. It's as fun as it sounds. ;)

This was going to be my second time running an indoor 5000 meters - I ran my first indoor 5K about a year ago. Pharmie and Henry came with yesterday to cheer me on:

Watching from the edge of the track


Henry running a few laps!

After watching some friends in earlier races, it was time for the 5000. I gave my camera to Erik H, and he was going to snap some photos for me. Thanks Erik!!

I (apparently) gently caressed my lower ass on the way to the line:

I had been introduced to someone named Melissa before the race. She just ran the TC 10 Mile about a minute faster than me (just over 60 minutes), and she was hoping to run about a 17:30 for her 5000 - just like me! We decided to try to stick with each other. I also talked to 15-year-old named Bailey who was also shooting for a 17:30. Sweet! Race buddies!

Last time: I surprised myself at my first indoor 5000 meters. I went out hard, running my first 1600 in 5:20. I closed with 5:38 and 5:38 for a 17:17 overall time. I was THRILLED with that! (It was only 6 seconds off my 5K PR!) This time, I knew better. I haven't been doing much speed work, and I was hoping to "gut-out" a 17:30.

"Runners to the line... on your marks..." *gunshot*

Melissa and I jumped into 3rd and 4th, right behind Bailey and another speedy kid. Here we are just after the first turn (less than 100 meters into the race), and you can see Pharmie cheering us on with Henry in the Baby Bjorn off to the right:

Speedy kid and Bailey, and then me and Melissa

We finished the first lap in about 45 seconds, and Melissa and I both knew we needed to speed up. We both sort of just grunted at each other (kind of) as a way of saying we needed to GO, and off we went. We got through the turn and both swung wide to pass the high-schoolers:

Me and Melissa after making the pass for 1st and 2nd

Then Melissa told me to get out of that 2nd lane and "move in" in front of her. I obliged, and soon I was running in 1st:

Me, Melissa, Speedy Kid, Bailey, and Paul (1st - 5th)


My guns passing Willie's guns (she's a speedy bodybuilder)


Still the same order for 1st - 5th


Me and Melissa

Right around that point (around 6-7 laps into our 25 lap race), I started slowing up. I was passed by the 2 high-schoolers around that point, and Melissa was just in front of me as we came through the 1600 meter point. I said to her, "Well, we're RIGHT there" - we were right around the pace where we should be. To run a 17:30 5000M, you've got to run at a pace of 5:36 / 1600M.

FIRST 1600: 5:38.

Melissa getting ready to pass me around the 1600 meter mark


Running by myself in 5th a lap or 2 later

I was dying. I kept remember what I wrote in my post on Thursday: "I'm just hoping to really make myself suffer, especially from about mile 1.5 - 2.5 where I tend to ease up too much." I did NOT want to ease up just because it hurt. It was time to go!! But I couldn't. I was hashed. My endurance was gone.

New race order: Speedy kid, Bailey, Melissa, Paul, and me (barely visible)


A few laps later, speedy kid started to fade, so Melissa took the lead
(and I'm still back there in 5th)

That was the last photo Erik took of me during the race. I think I just started to look so bad that he felt horrible taking any more photos. Really.

I hit the half-way point (12.5 laps or 2500 meters) in 8:50. That had me on pace for a 17:40 finish. But I was sliding backwards.

SECOND 1600: 5:43.

Dying, dying, dying. I SERIOUSLY didn't know if I could finish without walking when I had about 7-9 laps left. Pharmie told me after the race that she could tell I was hurting. (But it WAS great to have her holding up Henry's arms every lap saying "GO DADDY!!" That was awesome!)

THIRD 1600: 5:47.

I almost never run consistently slower splits like this. This was an eye-opener. I have my "New Dad Winter Goal" of just "being fit," and I'm doing OK at that. However, I can't just "be fit" and expect to be able to bang out the short distance races in the speed that I had before I had a beautiful child in my life. I was a little disappointed in my time, but I now know better. I'm not going to change anything about the way I treat this winter; the only thing I'm going to change is my race attitude. "Your times won't be quite what you hope. Deal with it. Just have fun."

FINAL 200: 0:39.

Contemplating the sweet release of death while gasping for air post-race

Official Results:
Steve Stenzel
5000 Meter Run
17:49.36

5:42.20 / 1600 meter pace
5:44.20 / mile pace

4th out of 16 overall
1st out of 4 in the 19-34 "open male" age group

Henry and I post-race (with my "vein of approval")


Photo of the 3 of us from Julie post-race
(Henry does this thing where he STARES at my hands like he's high)

I gave Henry the rest of a bottle that Pharmie had started, and soon he passed out in my arms:

Drooling milk


Pharmie and one exhausted little man

Thanks for coming to cheer Pharmie and Henry! Thanks for the photos Erik and Julie! Thanks for pulling my slow ass Melissa! (BTW, she finished in 17:35 in 3rd place, but 1st - 3rd were all within a second, so it was CLOSE!) Thanks for the cough-drop post-race Tom! And nice chatting to EVERYONE at the race yesterday!

Back with more photos of my friends racing shortly. Oh, and there MIGHT be a quick giveaway this week - I'm still working out the details with a PR firm. If there is a giveaway, it will probably be a 24-48 hour "quick" giveaway, so make sure to keep checking back!

Happy Monday!

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