Deja Vu and Robbie Burns Too!!

[Ken B]

I waited to write this report so that I could include today's Robbie Burns 8K as well as my Louisiana events. I registered for the Louisiana Half-Marathon several months ago after scoring an inexpensive round trip flight from Buffalo. The aim was to get in a run and escape the Ontario winter for awhile. A few weeks ago, I received an email indicating that they were adding a quarter-marathon on Saturday. Anyone running the quarter-marathon on Saturday and the half-marathon or marathon on Sunday would receive a "Crawdad Plate" . That sounded interesting so I registered for the quarter-marathon.
We flew down from Buffalo on the Thursday before the race weekend and moved into our rental condo. It was an excellent condo and very convenient, not only for the race events but also touristy stuff.
On Friday afternoon we visited the Expo and picked up my race packets. It was a Virtual Goodie Bag so this consisted of race shirts and bibs. The Expo was quite good and purchased a couple of small items. One thing to note. Each day we were there, the morning temperatures were near freezing. However, the sun was shining every day and the temperatures were quite pleasant by the afternoons.
Quarter-Marathon - Saturday, January 17, 2015 - Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Mrs. Tortoise was my valet and we left the condo about 6:15 for the 5 minute drive and then ten minute walk to the start. Temperature at the race start was 2 C. I completed my usual walk/jog and lined up in the corrals. Race start was 7:30 AM. No pace bunnies for this race and no starting timing mat. I lined up a few runners from the front and we were off. This was an out and back course, with a loop at the far end. It was on streets running through mostly residential areas. There was one small hill ( an overpass of the I-10 Highway ) which we had to run over both going out and coming back. Target time was 1 hour. I felt pretty good throughout the race. I had one short walk when my heart rate spiked a tad ( about 40 seconds before the HR dropped ). I did notice that there were not a huge number of runners in sight in front of me. I thought maybe the gazelles must be far ahead. Final time was 54:13. I finishes first in my age group - not a big problem as the second place person in my age group was about 35 minutes behind me.
Final stats: Age Group: 1/3 Men: 17/139 Overall: 24/378

Half-Marathon - Sunday, January 19, 2015 - Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Morning procedure was similar to Saturday but a bit earlier in the morning as the start time was 7:00 AM. The temperature was about the same at the start and we pretty much did the same as Saturday. The only differences were a different starting point and starting mats as chip time would count for age group awards. The half-marathon course was one of the best I have run. We started and ended through the same residential areas as on Saturday. In between we ran through Louisiana State University grounds and then around a couple small lakes. Very scenic. Also, it is pretty flat with the same overpass from Saturday and some gentle inclines and declines through the middle part of the route. I took a one minute walk break every 5 km and felt pretty good for most of the race. I did start to feel the effort for the last few kilometres. When I check the results later that day, I found that I finished in from of my closest age group runner by 12 seconds. As I don't look back during any of my races, I never knew he was there. Just as well!!
My target was 2 hours and I ended up with a chip time of 1:55:02 . Final Stats: Age Group: 1/9 Men: 341/1136 Overall: 484/2852
The finisher medals are pretty attractive. The award plaques are very nice and were made from roofing materials taken from the rubble from Hurricane Katrina. First place age group runners also received a poster - which we forgot in the condo when we left.
The rest of the trip was excellent with visits to museums, historical sites and a day trip to New Orleans.

Robbie Burns 8K - Burlington, Ontario
Despite living so close to Burlington, I had never run this event. My friend Mike and I decided it was time to do so. It was quite chilly this morning and we both layered up. We left my place at 7:15 this morning and were able to park at the Burlington Central High School parking lot. This is an excellent race in all respects. Having the high school for packet pick-up, waiting for the start, and getting food and awards after is much appreciated. The course is very flat and is basically a large rectangle. It wasn't quite as cold as forecast but Mike and I both felt that we were appropriately attired. My target was 42 minutes as my previous best time for this distance was 42:05 ( Also in Burlington ). This event was the Ontario Masters Athletes 8K Championship for 2015. This would give me an opportunity to see how I stack up against runners in other parts on Ontario. It did take to about the 3 km mark before I felt good. My heart rate was elevated compared to my runs last week even though my pace was similar to the quarter-marathon pace. As a result
I did end up doing three short walks after the 6K marker when my heart rate edged up a bit high. ( One - 1 minute and 2 - 20 second walks ). My finish chip time was 41:47 ( 10 seconds slower than the preliminary chip time recorded! ) . Another PB in my advancing age - who would have thunked it??
Final Stats: Age Group: 3/8 Men: 243/848 Overall: 332/926
Mike also had a good run. This is an excellent event and I will enter it again.

[Spirit Unleashed]

Congrats on your winnings.

[barebuns1]

Congrats on your ag placements. Great race reports.

[scrumhalfgirl]

amazing! love hearing about your adventures.

good job

[grimskot]

Great way to get away from winter. Congratulations

[purdy65]

Nice! Congratulations! Robbie Burns must have been a chilly one! And some speedsters that that! 3rd in your age group at that pace? I would have thought that would be a winner!

[Habs4ever]

You continue to inspire and amaze. Well done!

[5km]

Well done Ken!
Congratulations on your excellent race results. I'm glad you had a good time in Burlington.

[Ken B]

Well done Ken!
Congratulations on your excellent race results. I'm glad you had a good time in Burlington.

Thanks! It was good to see you as well. Good luck in 2015!!

[HCcD]

Glad to see you picking up where you left off last year .. Back on the road racing ... Ha !!!

Congrats ...

[Robinandamelia]

Great work Ken. Not only are your AG placements impressive, but your overall placements...incredible. Great training for your EndurRun adventures in August too

[Avis]

Wow, Ken, you were a triple-threat in these races. Congratulations! (But--what about that crawdad plate you were supposed to get?)

[Ken B]

Wow, Ken, you were a triple-threat in these races. Congratulations! (But--what about that crawdad plate you were supposed to get?)

Ah yes - The only disappointment for the weekend. It turned out to be a cheap plastic tray with just a few words on it that did not indicate the effort made. I emailed the race director after the weekend suggesting a better effort in the future!!

[Avis]

Wow, Ken, you were a triple-threat in these races. Congratulations! (But--what about that crawdad plate you were supposed to get?)

Ah yes - The only disappointment for the weekend. It turned out to be a cheap plastic tray with just a few words on it that did not indicate the effort made. I emailed the race director after the weekend suggesting a better effort in the future!!

Bummer!! I thought you were going to be treated to an authentic crawdad dinner!