Qu’est-ce que c’est? 12 h Run (Jul 4) Over 60 miles 60.8 miles
Run a marathon under 4 hours
Run a 5k under 19 minutes
St. George Marathon (Oct 2, 2010)
Myrtle Beach Marathon (Feb 19, 2011)
Possible upcoming races:
Charleston Half Marathon (Jan 2011) Sub 1:32
2010 Goals:
- Run 2010 miles
- Do 2010 Pull ups (2010+)
- 20,100 Push ups/Sit Ups (20100 so far)
Long-Term Running Goals:
Run a Boston Qualifier
Run an ultra marathon
Run a 100 miler
Run at least one marathon a year
Sub 5:20 mile
Sub 18:30 5k
Sub 38 10k
Sub 1:25 half
Sub 3 hour marathon
Badwater Ultra
Hurt 100
Bear 100
Moab 100
Wasatch 100
Umstead 100
Personal:
My name is Vinh Nguyen. I'm 28 years old, former Marine...
Started running when I joined the military in 1999. I did not enjoy running until 2006-7 when I started training for my first marathon. In the Marines, we ran an average of 3-5 miles. I never ran any distances longer than that until I started training for the Myrtle Beach Marathon in 2007.
Currently working as a government contractor (electronics technician).
I finished my Associates of Science in August and have finally been able to train hard full time. I decided to take time of school to see how much of a difference it will make and maybe hopefully achieve my goal and qualify for Boston.
"Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum"
"The only easy day was yesterday"
Hell Hole Swamp Gator 10k (6.21 Miles) 00:42:06, Place overall: 13, Place in age division: 4
Easy Miles
Marathon Pace Miles
Threshold Miles
VO2 Max Miles
Crosstraining miles
Total Miles
2.00
0.00
6.21
0.00
0.00
8.21
So the first thing we noticed when arriving in this town (Jamestown, SC) was a whole lot of confederate flags flying. I was a lil scared lol. Lots of hill billys, mullets, and camouflage everywhere. Oh well, it was expected. Now onto the race. Here is a video of the start.
Splits
Mile 1 (paved) - 6:24
Mile 2 (half on dirt/gravel) - 6:45
Mile 3 (dirt/gravel) - 6:59
Mile 4 (dirt/gravel) - 6:58
Mile 5 (dirt/gravel) - 6:59
Mile 6 (paved) - 6:41
Mile 6.2 (paved) - 1:19 (6:15 pace)
Running on dirt/gravel was harder than expected. It slowed me down as you can see in my splits when I was running on dirt. At least I got a new PR and a gator head trophy. I was hoping for a sub 42 but oh well. It was hot/humid but I did the best I could. They did the awards a lil bit weird. I thought they usually give out the top 10 awards first, then age division but they did it backwards. They gave out the age division winners first and then top 10. I think I placed 8th not including the age winners. Overall I think I placed 13th or so. I will have to find out for sure once it gets posted. Here are some pics of the race. Sorry, boring report but maybe I'll edit some details later. Oh btw, this is a real gator head.
Still waiting on results, but I did find out that there were 220 runners.
Comments
From KP on Sat, May 08, 2010 at 14:38:32 from 98.81.7.93
nice gator head! looks like a fun race.
From flatlander on Sat, May 08, 2010 at 14:53:10 from 75.223.212.175
Good job, continual improvement for you all year long.
From vinh on Sat, May 08, 2010 at 14:57:39 from 24.211.101.133
Thanks KP! Don't they have races like this in Alabama?
Flatlander - Thanks! I hope I continue to improve this year.
From Burt on Sat, May 08, 2010 at 18:34:54 from 98.177.220.145
Very fast there Vinh. Way to go. I just have two questions. Why were you crying when you crossed the finish line? Why would you let me get my hands of a picture of you crying?
From vinh on Sat, May 08, 2010 at 21:39:37 from 24.211.101.133
Burt is that you hinting an upcoming photoshop pic of me in the near future?
From Bonnie on Sat, May 08, 2010 at 22:01:26 from 64.119.33.134
Very cool trophy Vinh! Congratulations!
From vinh on Sat, May 08, 2010 at 22:12:38 from 24.211.101.133
Thanks Bonnie! The only reason I decided to run this race was b/c of the trophy. =) Luckily I was able to get a decent time to be in the awards group. There were several college track kids racing so I was a lil nervous.
From Burt on Sat, May 08, 2010 at 22:19:11 from 98.177.220.145
What are you insinuating? I never fake a picture.
From SlowJoe on Sun, May 09, 2010 at 10:09:44 from 184.79.24.255
Sounds like a great race for you with those conditions. We have a bunch of dirt roads here and it's definitely different. Mission accomplished with that gator head, nice race Vinh!
From Teena Marie on Sun, May 09, 2010 at 11:20:48 from 174.52.45.85
WOW!!! So incredibly fast ... and a gator head to boot!!!!
Congrats!!!! :)
From Huans32 on Sun, May 09, 2010 at 13:16:35 from 98.202.0.57
DANG DUDE!!!! 42:05 with some of it on the dirt. They say that changes your paces by 10 to 15 secs. So if you ran it on a normal road course you would of killed it. Sweet gator head too. Awesome job bro. Looking very strong.
From Smooth on Sun, May 09, 2010 at 22:56:02 from 174.23.172.155
CONGRATS Vinh! You're AWESOME! That's one cool gator head trophy. NICE pics! SOOOO SPEEDY!
From vinh on Mon, May 10, 2010 at 06:40:59 from 75.77.22.187
Burt - haha I get I'll just be prepared.
Joe - Thanks man! I'm happy with the results and glad I got to bring home a gator head for FRB!
Teena - Thanks =) Hey I get to see you at St. George right?!
Mark - Thanks bro! I was shocked at some of my splits b/c I felt like I was pushing a 6:40 effort on the dirt roads. I guess it did slow me down. I think 3.5 miles of the race was on dirt so maybe I could have pulled off a 41 flat on a paved course. Oh well, next time! Glad you like the gator head. I do!
Smooth - Thank you! =) You are awesome!
From Huans32 on Mon, May 10, 2010 at 07:47:13 from 98.202.0.57
Oh yeah you would of easily gone sub 42 if it wasn't on dirt. Awesome job though man. You should feel very good about it.
From Michelle on Mon, May 10, 2010 at 09:56:18 from 71.215.114.57
Great job! I imagine running on gravel would be pretty difficult. Your splits look awesome! Congratulations on a PR and a cool trophy.
From vinh on Mon, May 10, 2010 at 22:33:47 from 24.211.101.133
Mark - Thanks bro! Next 10k I will smash this PR.
Michelle - Thank you =) I'm glad you like the gator head.
From missy on Tue, May 18, 2010 at 15:17:56 from 63.230.6.3
Vinh! Grats on a great race. :D I still feel sorry for that baby Alligator! Aww..5 sec off your sub 42 goal, next time for sure! That guy on the moped cracks me up!
As for the dirt/gravel, yeah unless you train on it..it really can slow you down. Yesterday I was out on the trail..haven't really been trail running for over 5 years. I used to trail 2x a week. Anyhow, I am in better shape and faster than when I hit the trails years ago, but my body isn't used to the steep and the uneven terrain, so where as years ago, I would fly down a trail, 7pace, I was going down like 11pace..haha. I will get it back.
Grats again! Love the pix too.
From vinh on Wed, May 19, 2010 at 07:09:33 from 75.77.22.187
Missy! Thank you! =) I didn't think the dirt roads would have a huge effect on my time. A couple of other guys who ran the Cooper Bridge 10k with me back in March added 2 mins on their 10k time on this race. I was the only one who got a faster time. Weird but maybe it was b/c of the dirt and heat that day. So I'm thinking my 10k time is around 41 on and ideal course. Maybe I'll do another 10k in Sept and see if I can break 40. Hey how far is Provo from SLC? We need to get in a couple of training runs while before St. George.
From missy on Wed, May 19, 2010 at 11:45:33 from 63.230.6.3
Oooh I'd love to break 40 too...something for me to work on...:)Provo is just 40 minutes South of Downtown SLC. Where are you staying and when do you arrive?
From vinh on Wed, May 19, 2010 at 12:21:04 from 75.77.22.187
I'm be staying in West Valley with some family. Arriving Sept 23! Hopefully enough time to get in some quality runs in before St. George.
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