Race Report: Miles for Moffitt 8k
In early May, my wife and I participated in the annual Miles for Moffitt event. The event benefits the Moffitt Cancer Center, a prominent cancer treatment and research center here in Tampa. Now in its 10th year, the event attracts thousands of participants from around Tampa Bay for the 8k, 5k or 1 mile race. The 5k is by far the most popular race. We signed up for the event about a week out on a whim because our new running group, RunTampa, had a very large team participating. Going into this, I decided to do the 8k since I should have run 5 or so miles anyway this weekend.
The race is held entirely within the campus of the University of South Florida. This is, incidently, three miles from our house (and where my office is located) so the area was familiar. We also did not have to get up early to drive as it took us less than 10 minutes to get there. The races started at the SunDome (USF arena) where there is ample parking and space to set up the event. There was an impressive set up with a finish line area featuring lots of tents and a charity village for all of the team tents.
The 8k started at 7:30 and the 5k at 8:00. This is a little late for Florida races as it was already beginning to heat up at the start. The race organizers had zones to line up according to pace group, not that anyone listens to those signs anyway. Judging by the number of people walking or moving slowly by the time I hit a quarter mile, I'd say they probably shouldn't have lined up with the 7 minute/mile pace. This race didn't have a time limit either so there really wasn't a good reason to start that far up. I'm not upset for this race but this sort of thing happens very often and can be very annoying in a larger race. Here, it wasn't really an issue.
My goal was to run a nice steady race. The heat came quickly and many runners darted to the sides of the road at times, finding shade from the trees. There were a few "hills" on the course. No real hills like one would find in the Northeast but the course wasn't entirely flat like a track either. One of the more significant inclines came during the last mile and took many, including me, by surprise at the effort needed to maintain pace.
Overall, I ended up finishing in 40:51 with just over 5 miles logged on the watch. That was good enough for 97th overall (out of 1050 total), a top 10% finish. It's about three and half minutes off of my 5-miler PR but still not bad for where I am in my training.
I'm hoping to continue to strengthen my running for this year. My goal is still to focus on improving my run (and setting it all up with the bike). I'm about four weeks out from my first triathlon of the season so I'll keep my plan going.
The race is held entirely within the campus of the University of South Florida. This is, incidently, three miles from our house (and where my office is located) so the area was familiar. We also did not have to get up early to drive as it took us less than 10 minutes to get there. The races started at the SunDome (USF arena) where there is ample parking and space to set up the event. There was an impressive set up with a finish line area featuring lots of tents and a charity village for all of the team tents.
The 8k started at 7:30 and the 5k at 8:00. This is a little late for Florida races as it was already beginning to heat up at the start. The race organizers had zones to line up according to pace group, not that anyone listens to those signs anyway. Judging by the number of people walking or moving slowly by the time I hit a quarter mile, I'd say they probably shouldn't have lined up with the 7 minute/mile pace. This race didn't have a time limit either so there really wasn't a good reason to start that far up. I'm not upset for this race but this sort of thing happens very often and can be very annoying in a larger race. Here, it wasn't really an issue.
My goal was to run a nice steady race. The heat came quickly and many runners darted to the sides of the road at times, finding shade from the trees. There were a few "hills" on the course. No real hills like one would find in the Northeast but the course wasn't entirely flat like a track either. One of the more significant inclines came during the last mile and took many, including me, by surprise at the effort needed to maintain pace.
Overall, I ended up finishing in 40:51 with just over 5 miles logged on the watch. That was good enough for 97th overall (out of 1050 total), a top 10% finish. It's about three and half minutes off of my 5-miler PR but still not bad for where I am in my training.
I'm hoping to continue to strengthen my running for this year. My goal is still to focus on improving my run (and setting it all up with the bike). I'm about four weeks out from my first triathlon of the season so I'll keep my plan going.
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