(Finally) A Race Report: Newnan’s Lake 15k

One of my favorite parts of writing this blog used to be the race reports, as was evident by the number of those I used to post. Unfortunately in the last year or so, I haven’t felt much like doing race reports. A lot of that was because the races weren’t going well for me. Now sometimes when a race doesn’t go well, it can be entertaining (“I lost my left shoe in the mud at mile 10 but soldiered on to the end by wrapping a banana peel around my foot and securing it with duct tape”), but the type of bad races I was having don’t make for good entertainment. 

However, after some time off to regroup, I am feeling a little bit, just a twinge, like I maybe could get enthusiastic about racing again. When I recommitted to resurrecting the blog this year, I also committed myself to getting re-acquainted with road racing (while still keeping a hand in at the trail races I love so much).  One of my goals for 2016 is to run at least one road race a month for the year.  The only problem with that was that it was January, and I was woefully out of shape. 

So there I was, scouring the Internet late at night, looking for a race that was as close to the end of the month as I could get, preferably a 5k, when up popped “January 30 – Newnan’s Lake 15k – Gainesville.” Did I ever mention that 15k is my favorite race distance? Well, it is. Although I was nowhere near in 15k shape, I could not let a semi-local one pass me by. I clicked on the link.

“One of the prettiest 15k races in the state,” the site said. “Flat” it said. “Nearly perfect weather every year,” it said. Hmmmm.  It sounded promising.  “But wait,” the voice of reason in the back of my head said, “Hasn’t your longest run in like six weeks been only 6 miles.” “It is only three more miles,” my ultra voice said, “Piece of cake.” “Are you crazy?” my racing voice asked?  “I’ll think about it,” I said to the voices in my head.

To think about it, I went out for a run with a friend of mine from Michigan who is down doing the snowbird thing. He is also on the comeback trail and having similar ambivalence about both training and racing. You know what happens when you put two runners together, right? The next thing you know the race is entered and the plans are made. Nothing to do now but show up and hope I don’t die.

Race morning dawned cold (at least by Florida standards) and beautiful.  I bundled up in several layers and headed out at dawn to meet my friend Jim and head to the race site. We got to the site plenty early. The race was located at a boat ramp and park on Newnan Lake, which is outside Gainesville and close by the Payne’s Prairie Preserve State Park.  Headed to packet pick-up we got a taste of how pretty the race would be, as the sun was just rising over the lake.  

Jim and I met up with a friend of his and her friend. We did the obligatory selfie, and then we were off at a sprint for the last pit stop (the only warm up I did) and then the starting line. 

The race had that small race vibe that I love. The results show that there were 359 finishers this year, which for me is a good number – big enough that there are always people in sight, but small enough that it is not crowded. Even at the start, where the entire field had to cross the starting mats to activate their chips, there was not much of a bottleneck.

The course itself is an out and back, with a little connector section of trail included in the out section that you don’t have to cross on the back. The early part of the course is on the perimeter road for the lake, which made for a really pretty start and finish, just as advertised. It was a particularly enjoyable start, as we loped along the edge of the lake, with the sun coming up. The road was tree-lined, with Spanish moss hanging down from the trees arched over the roadway. Through the trees the lake, with the slight steam rising and the reflection of the orange and purple sunrise could be seen. It was enough to make me forget that I had not trained for a 9.3 mile race…

I was feeling good, running by heart rate and keeping things under control, right up until the time that we hit the trail portion around mile three and a half. We hit that sandy trail and my feet said “Whoohoo!”  I ignored the red flashing light on my heart monitor, picked up the pace, and let my happy feet take over.  I came out of the trail section breathing more deeply than I should have been (which is a polite way of saying I was sucking wind big time) and hit what was just a slight uphill to the turnaround.

And that is when the piper decided that he needed to be paid…  I definitely did not have the conditioning for that little stunt on the trail section. My legs started to feel like lead. Just then, the leaders started to come back down the other side of the road. That distracted me… for about 30 seconds. Then it was back to misery.  I wanted to walk. There was no doubt it was going to happen eventually.  “No… can’t let Jim see you walk.” That is what I told myself. So I focused all my attention on watching for Jim.  Did I mention Jim is fast? Even with him being out of shape, I was pretty sure he would be near the front. “Come on, Jim.”  I thought, as my legs got heavier and heavier.

Finally, I could make out Jim’s tall, lanky form in the distance. “Thank God.” I took every spare bit of energy left in me to pull my shoulders back, put a big smile on my face, and yell “Go, Jim,” as he went by. Then I counted to ten. Then I took a walk break. Finally!! But only 15 seconds – because despite how I felt, my time really wasn’t looking that bad.

By now the turnaround was in sight, and I got a pleasant surprise. Another friend of mine, John, from New York, who was also doing the snowbird thing, had come out to take pictures and cheer me on. Only problem with that was that he was at the turnaround, which was at the very tip top of what I had now decided was a substantial uphill grade (but which my lying Garmin says was like a 30 ft rise).  I managed a somewhat crooked and very fake smile for the camera, made the turn and headed back for the second half.

The second half was about survival. I put my ultra training to good use and did some strategically paced walking breaks of 15-20 seconds every .5 mile and managed to only lose about :20 seconds off my per mile average, which I was pretty satisfied with. I got passed by a few people, but I also passed a few back in the last half mile, where I had enough left to put on a final push.

The end result could have been worse. My goal was to try to run the race in a sub 9:00 pace, which I did (ignoring the fact that this used to be my long run training pace). I ended up 6^th in my age group (out of 24), which also I was fairly satisfied with. We ended up having to stay for the awards ceremony, though, because Jim (who claimed to be as out of shape as I was) won his age group.

Jim with his award and my photographer friend John in the background.

All in all, the race lived up to its billing. It is a really pretty 15k. I would definitely go back and run this one again – when I am in better shape, of course. 

Race Report: Bear Bait Ultra (My Birthday Race!)

This past weekend was my 53^rd birthday.  I decided to celebrate by doing an ultra. It is not unusual to do a birthday run, but it is kind of rare that one’s birthday falls on a race day. So, late last summer, when I saw a posting about an ultra that was falling on my actual birthday, I jumped at the chance to sign up. Little did I know what a great decision that would be.

The race I found was a small one held up in the Florida panhandle, just out of Crestview, called Bear Bait Ultra. As I read about the race, I found that they had a 25k, a 50k, and a 50 miler. I immediately decided that the 50 miler would be a good choice, and that rather than the 50 miles I would attempt 53. My decision was solidified when I read about the course. It was 4 mile loops (I like loops, and 4 miles is a great distance for them) and in what looked like a really pretty place. I was marginally familiar with the area because my daughter-in-law and her husband live not too far from there in Baker, and I knew that the forests up there had some good running.

After I signed up, I joined their Facebook page where I was welcomed to the race by one of the race directors, Bo. Right away I was struck by how friendly he seemed and how helpful in giving information about the race and area. I learned that the race had been done in prior years but that the race had new race directors this year, Bo, Dan, and Dalia. It was their first time doing the race director gig, but they are obviously a bunch of overachievers because the race was awesome in all areas! I have never seen a race where the directors worked so hard to take care of all the details and to make sure that each individual had a great race experience.

 

Race Directors: Dan, Dalia, and Bo

I felt even better about my decision as time passed. They set up several training runs, which unfortunately I could not make it up to. With each run, more and more pictures of the area were posted, and the trails  looked great.  Training was going well, and I was looking forward to the experience. Then in early December disaster struck in the form of problems with my shoulder, neck, and upper back. Training came to a halt as I dealt with the pain. I immediately contacted the RD to ask about switching down. Again he was super pleasant and helpful. He made the switch with no problem, and I was back on track.

Somewhere during this time, they had also put a picture of the finishers' “medals” on the site. They were not medals at all but these absolutely amazing handmade amulets with a bear claw on the front made by Tracey Thomas who has a company called Marvelous Mud. She posted some pictures of the amulets, and on her Facebook page even showed pictures of the amulets and awards before they were fired. It was really incredible, and I knew right then that I was finishing the race no matter what because I wanted one of those amulets for my birthday present!

 

I am pretty sure that the black one on the right side is mine :-)

As the weekend approached, I was very excited.  I was planning to camp overnight. The race is at a campground at Bear Lake, but unfortunately it was first come, first serve. I was loathe to head up without a reservation, so I made one at the nearby Blackwater RiverState Park. I made the 5 hour drive up on Friday night and went to packet pickup.  I found the park pretty easily. Packet pickup was at the pavilion in the campground which would also be the start/finish area for the race and the location of the aid station on the course. Packet pickup went smoothly. I finally got to see the shirts for the event, and they were awesome as promised. Mine was a powder blue Pantagonia, women’s cut, with the very cool race logo on the front.

 

My awesome shirt along with my Performance Enhancing Runnopelli tattoo

I headed out to get a pre-race meal over in Crestview (for future reference, green Thai curry although delicious is probably not the best pre-race meal) and then headed back to my campground to hit the sack. I was car-camping (too lazy to set up a tent), which was a first for me. It was actually more comfortable than I expected, and 4:30 came quickly. It was cold outside, really cold, like 31 degree cold. I debated for a while the whole tights versus capris thing before settling on capris. Although it was in the 30s, it was clear, and sun was predicted. I compensated with lots of layers on top and headed out.

I arrived at the race course and met up with my friend John from New York who had stopped by to crew for me while on a snowbird escape from the subzero temperatures.  I checked in and did the usual pre-race messing around but somehow got off schedule a bit. The pre-race briefing came up before I was quite ready for it. Bo was sweet enough to announce that it was my birthday, but unfortunately I had run back to the car because I had forgotten my race number. I made it back in time for the tail end of the course information, but then decided to hit the restroom again before the start.

The restrooms were inside the building where it was nice and warm. I must have been enjoying the heat a bit too long because when I came out, John said, “They already left.” I was like “What?????” He said, “They already started.”  I was like “Oh shit, which way?” and off I went.  I had paid attention during the briefing (sort of) but I knew I wasn’t going to be leading the race, so I figured I would just follow. I had to catch the group!!! The first mile was pretty frantic. I ignored the numbers on my HR monitor that said that I was way over my target HR. As I crossed the campground to enter the trail section, I could see the groups of people spread out across the dam and disappearing off into the woods. I had no idea how many there were ahead, so I kept passing people until I got the first mile alert from my watch and then decided I needed to just settle down.

After the trail got into the woods, it had become a really nice single track. It was well packed with lots of pine needles in some sections and fallen leaves in others. There were some roots on the trail, some of which were a little hard to see because of the leaves, but it was not what I would call technical. I had been worried about mud on the course because it had rained heavily two days before the race, but there were really only two spots which were slightly wet. The rest of the wet spots were covered with a series of short wooden boardwalks. We had been warned that they might be slippery, but I did not find that to be true. I usually don’t like running on boardwalks, but I did like them on the course because they were landmarks to help me recognize where I was on later loops.  

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Another plus to the course was that it is about as flat as you get on a trail ultra with single track. There was really only one very minor hill out on the loop, a slight hill up to the finish, and a set of short up and downs to get from the campground to the dam and up to the single track. The rest was just really awesome, mostly worry-free, pretty running through the trees.  There were very few opportunities to get lost. There was one section on the far side of the lake where we had to cross a clearing, but the race director had told us to keep going straight and look across for the flags. It was well marked, and I don’t think anyone in the race had problems staying on course. One fun thing was that throughout the course the race directors had left us little signs to make us smile, with witty sayings like "You run better than the government" and "If ultras were easy, they would be called your mother," and what I thought was some very sensible advice:

The course goes around the lake, with glimpses of the water occurring quite often. We had started just at daylight, and as we went around the lake for the first time we were treated to a magnificent sunrise, blue and pink and orange skies. The cold temperatures made for steam rising off the lake. It was gorgeous!

Thanks, Bo!

After the race got going, things ticked along smoothly for the first couple hours.  I met a few people who I ran with for a while, including a really nice guy named Chris, down from Fort Benning, who was doing the 50 mile. The loop I ran talking with him was probably the most pleasant of the whole day. 

There was one aid station on the course, at the start/finish area. That meant 4 miles between aid, but it was definitely adequate for the course. It was a cool day, and the aid station was very well stocked. There was a slight hill across the finish mat and up to the aid station which was under the pavilion. On every loop volunteers and usually one of the race directors met me on the hill asking if I needed anything and offering to fill bottles. I was working mostly from my drop bag, with John as crew (thanks, John!) which was easy to locate because it was at the pavilion, but the aid table was well stocked with anything a runner could desire. For most people just carrying one bottle would be sufficient to have enough fluids to tide one over between aid stations.

Slight hill approaching the finish line

As I said things ticked along smoothly and partially due to the flatness of the course, I was rolling along way ahead of schedule. I had decided on a 9 minute run/1 min walk race plan, and after the second loop, I settled into that. The plan was working well, but I was surprised to be almost 20 secs per mile faster than I had planned to be, with my HR still within my acceptable range. It went that way until about mile 22. As I was getting close to the start/finish on loop six, I started getting the all too familiar electrical impulses in my calves that signal that cramping is imminent. I was pretty sure I had been taking in enough electrolytes, but had also been battling a wanky stomach for the last few loops, so maybe not.  Then BAM! Out of nowhere I was on the ground. That was fall #1.

I got up, with the required amount of cussing, walked to be sure I had no unusual pains in the spleen region, and headed on. Finally the aid station came into sight. These really great spectators had been meeting us at the bottom of the hill on every lap with signs. I did my best to smile as I approached them, and then SPLAT.   I was on the ground again. Fall #2. Right in front of the finish line. With all the spectators and aid station personnel looking on. DAMN!

As I went in to the aid station, I yelled at John to give me an electrolyte cap. I swallowed it down and stopped in quickly to see if Bull, the Active Release Therapy (ART) guy they had on-site, could do anything about my calf. He was out for a moment. Bo offered to get him for me, but I did not want to lose any more time.  I headed back out and hoped for the best. I barely made it another mile and my hopes were dashed. The cramping started in my right calf. The next four miles were a nightmare of walking, jogging, cramping, and falling. I fell two more times on that loop.  It just went on forever. Strangely, though, only two guys passed me during that time, so I wasn’t feeling too bad about anything except that my awesome finishing time was slipping away.

When I went into the aid station for the final time, I was feeling pretty crappy. My stomach was a little sloshy, and I was not feeling like putting any more in. It had warmed up some, and I felt like I was getting behind because of the lack of absorption/sloshy stomach. I could not stomach any more of my sports drink, so I grabbed some water: 5 cups to be exact. It was cold and went down well. I decided that it was either going to come back up or get the absorption started. I was cool with either change.

The last loop started like the previous one, with me doing a lot of walking and some listless running occasionally. Then somewhere around about 29.5 miles, I got passed. By a woman. As she went by, I said to myself , “Well, Lori, how many people are you going to let pass you like that on this loop? Get your butt in gear.”  I took off after the woman who was quickly disappearing in the woods. Surprisingly, I started to feel better. I think the water was just what I needed to get all the sugar and electrolytes going into my system again. I finished out the loop running and crossed the finish line without anyone else passing me.  

I crossed the finish line and knew exactly where I was headed. I went straight to get some ART on my calves and glute. I had a 5 hour drive home that afternoon and wanted to do all I could to make sure it would not be pure agony. I have never had ART at a race before, and I was amazed that he was there free of charge for the racers. He did an outstanding job of working on my knotted up areas, and I owe him big time for my comfort on the ride home. Thanks, Bodyworks by Bull!

I wandered out after the session with Bull feeling pretty good and headed down to the finish line to get my official time. I also had a chance to meet the other race directors, Dan and Dalia, and was standing there talking when Bo came down, tugged on my arm, and said, “Come on, we need you up here.” I was like “For what?” and then I figured he was probably going to announce my birthday again or something.

It turned out to be way better than that. It was for the awards ceremony. I had not realized it, but I had placed second overall for the women!!! I was surprised and shocked. I had no idea that I had been doing that well or that when that woman passed me it had been a pass for the lead! As my award, I received the most awesome handmade mug!

That was the icing on the (birthday) cake for me!! What a great day!

 

The podium for the 50k: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, left to right

The Bottom Line:

If you are looking for a nice, small, kind of old-school ultra on beautiful trails for next January, you should definitely put this one on the schedule. It is a really great bunch of people putting on a really great event. The course is flat and has the potential to produce some really fast times. It would be an excellent course for a first-timer at the 50k or 50 mile distance. My advice is to get in on this gem before the word gets out. A quality race like this is likely to grow. Thanks to Bo, Dan, and Dalia for a fabulous birthday!

So when I said "flat," I wasn't kidding. :-) 

Guest Race Report: Michigan Wine Trail Half Marathon

Not a running pic, but definitely a great pic of Beth!

I really love a guest post, as you can probably tell from the number of them we have had on the blog. I will often ask people to write on races that they have run, especially when I am not doing anything interesting myself. However, I especially love it when someone contacts me because there is something that he or she wants to say and a story that needs to be told. That is what my friend Beth Johns did with this report.

As a writing teacher I know that writing can be really good therapy, helping us process our experiences and gain perspective. Beth, being a very wise librarian, as well as a smart runner, knew that too. We all have bad races, and we can all relate to what Beth went through. She definitely can tell a good story. Enjoy!! 

Sometimes you embark on consistent training and things are going pretty well. Until race day, that is. I have had a disappointing race season this summer, and I can only hope it gets better in the fall.  It’s certainly shaking my confidence as a runner like it’s never been shook before.

I began training for a half marathon training this summer. The half is by far my favorite distance and the one that got me started with Team P back in 2005.  I’ve done many—I can’t even tell you how many. I’ve finished most of them in about 2:30, which is fine since I don’t train to run faster, just stronger. But in the last year or so I’ve finished around 2:45. Mostly, this was planned since the race was worked into my marathon training and therefore, a slower pace.  I have reasons for the other slowdowns, but that might take up another guest post.

Those who run with me know I’m a big believer in Hal Higdon’s training plans and incorporate them with Jeff Galloway’s run/walk/run method. I’ve been using Hal’s intermediate plan, which incorporates weekly speed work and shorter mid-week runs, weekly long runs and a few optional mid-distance races. My speed work has gone well, once I understood what I was supposed to do (thank you Lori!) and I usually complete my mid-week runs, in mileage if not days, one strength session per week and of course the long runs.

In May, I started training for the Michigan Wine Trail Half Marathon.  I heard about this race on Facebook. It’s a road race that took place on August 25 in Baroda, MI and this was its second year. If you haven’t heard of Baroda, you aren’t alone. I hadn’t either until I Googled it. It’s a tiny town in the Stevensville/Benton Harbor area. There are a lot of wineries nearby, many of which you probably heard of (the location host, Baroda Founders Wine Cellar, Tabor Hill, and others). It’s a pretty part of the state once you are off I94, and one that I haven’t paid much attention to in the past. But it sounded like fun, kind of small (500 runners), and you got a wine glass at the end along with a taste. What fun!

One of the mid-distance runs in the plan was a 10K around the July 4^th holiday in Whitmore Lake. It was a bit humid, but not terrible. However, I started out way too fast—10 something per mile. I kept that up for about 3.5 miles, then slowed considerably. I’m good at that pace for a 5K, but apparently not a 10K. That taught me to start much slower, even if the race is “just” 6.2 miles. My finish time was terrible, even for slow poke me—about 78 minutes. I was aiming for 70 minutes. Oh well, it was a training run and you learn from it.

The next race in the plan was a 15K a few weeks later. I couldn’t find one in Michigan, so I found a 10K that took place on Belle Isle and decided to do 3 miles just ahead of the race start. What a nasty, humid day—I was drenched after my pre-race 3 miles. But I started my race, did well for about 4.5 miles, then that was it. I did more fast walking than planned. So another really bad finish—79 minutes! I told myself that running 3 miles in 35 minutes just before race start probably did it, plus the humidity. Still . . . it shakes you and makes you doubt yourself, but I kept in mind that it’s only a training run.

I completed my other long runs leading up to race day, but sometimes not ending in the exhilaration I want to feel. I just told myself, “race day will be better.” In the past, my poor training runs had usually resulted in a good race.  

The big weekend finally came. I drove to Baroda on Saturday, picked up my race packet, and then drove the race course because the description on the website said it was “challenging” with few details and I like to get an idea of what I’m going to be doing, if I can. I read about a “big” hill at mile 8.  I noted many rolling hills on my drive—not too steep, but a lot of them. Think of a loop of the Mt. Hope Cemetery times six. The big hill looked challenging, but I approach hills by doing my best and just walking if it’s too hard. I always run downhill at a race. I can usually make up time somewhere else. It crossed my mind that I should dial down my expectations, but the course overall didn’t seem too bad. I planned on a 2:30 finish, give or take 5 minutes.

Course Profile -- Definitely some hills there

The next morning I got to the start line, felt good, well hydrated and fed, no aches, and was pretty confident about myself. I started out at what I thought was a slow, comfortable pace. Mile one was 11:21 according to my watch—a little fast, but not too bad. I was aiming for 11:30. Then the hills started. It felt like a lot of up and down and up and down on long country roads (2 to 2.5 miles each with a few shorter ones) with some flat spots and declines. I try to incorporate a hill workout once a week, so hills themselves don’t scare me. But it really tires you out when you haven’t trained on a series of hills like these for several miles at a stretch, even if they are small inclines. 

By mile 8, the big hill, I slowed some, but was still close to my goal. 1 hour 33 minutes had passed. I was happy with my pace, even though that translates to about 11:35 per mile. That changed shortly after when I got to mile 9. There was ANOTHER big hill, shorter, but just as steep! Or it felt like that anyway. After struggling up that hill (actually, I walked up most of the first hill and this entire one), I was done. I walked, tried a little slow running, but my legs just wouldn’t move quickly enough. When you are walking as fast as you are running, you might as well enjoy the walk. So I did that to mile 10, and then switched my Galloway method to 1:2 (1 minute run, 2 minute walk). This actually helped my mental state a lot because trust me, there was a lot of self-loathing going on inside my head! I contemplated never running a half again, maybe never running at all since it seemed like I was putting a lot of effort into little reward. I added more running seconds as I felt able. I did manage the last quarter mile non-stop, so I sort of looked like I finished strong. One thing I hate is finishing, but feeling like I’m going to puke or collapse. This is one reason why the Galloway method works well for me. So it was important to me to finish feeling good.

I finished this half at 2:44:15. To make matters worse, they ran out of medals! (I received it in the mail later.) Thankfully, I got the wine glass and the taste. I was beating myself up about my finish immediately after this race though. Without all of those hills in the first half or at least the big hills, I truly think I would have finished in 2:30, mostly running because I was feeling pretty good up to mile 9.

I am running the Detroit Women’s Half on Belle Isle on September 22. I’m still aiming for a 2:30 finish.  The course is two loops of the island, but from what I remember from the 10K, it’s mostly flat, so unless we have a hot & humid day, or some other disaster happens, I hope I can brag a little afterwards. I’m also considering the Brückeläufe in Frankenmuth in October—13.1 miles over 13 bridges. So I have a couple of options to hit that goal. I just hope if I don’t, I can avoid a mental complex about racing!  I’m not sure what I’ll do if it happens again—maybe have a meltdown on the course (not really).

The Michigan Wine Trail Half is a nice, informal race that will probably grow. They went from 100 last year to almost 500 this year. There were a few issues that I’ve already discussed with the race director, aside from the medal problem. He is very responsive to everyone’s comments, which is a good sign. They have a nice group of volunteers, too, who do a decent job of encouraging you. The race has a 4 hour limit, so it could be a good one for walkers, too. There is also a 5K with it called the “Galloping Grape.” I do recommend this race for a nice change of scenery, really pretty farmland and as I found out, a challenging course. I think I may run it again next year—but just for fun. Unless I start training on hills like crazy.

Reluctant Race Report: USATF Masters 1 Mile Road Championships

The race reports where I do terrible are always so much harder to write than the ones where I do well. Not only is there a tendency to not want to publicize a failure that most people would not have noticed if it had not been brought to their attention, but there is also a lot of self-examination that goes on when one has a performance of epically bad proportions. That pretty much describes my mile race last weekend.

I run with the Playmaker’s/New Balance Masters Women’s Racing Team. We participate in a USATF Team Grand Prix Series. These are a series of races at varying distances where we can score and get awards not only as individuals but as teams in our ten year age groups. If you follow the blog, you may remember that I reported on the final team championship race last year (and my first race with the team), which was the Cross Country Team Championships.  Playmaker's women’s teams typically do well in these events, with our 60+ and 70+ teams often winning the overall championships.

I am on the 50+ team. One of the problems with the 50+ team is that many of the women are still working or have other family responsibilities that keep them from traveling to team races. We often don’t have enough women for a team (it takes at least 3). I was excited that for the mile championships because we did manage to have both a 60+ and a 50+ team.

The mile championships were in Pittsburgh this year, which made it close enough for us to travel to. Anyone who follows this blog knows how much I love a road trip, so I was excited to go. However, if you follow this blog, you may also know that I am primarily a marathoner and ultra runner. I am not by any means a miler. In fact, the idea of driving 10 hours to run a race for 7 minutes or less is pretty much the literal opposite of what I prefer to do.  Still, the lure of hanging out with this really great group of women and doing a road trip to run was more than I could resist. Of course, I was in.

Again, if you have been following the blog, you may also remember that I have been in a running slump. I had a spurt of solid training in late April and May, a few good races, including a 5k PR in early June, and then I just kind of lost it. My weekly mileage hovered at a dismal 11 mpw average in late June, July, and early August. In my defense, though, I did do quality for those 11 miles each week (really – I even did two track workouts).

Well the trip to Pittsburgh was as much fun as I thought it would be. Our fearless leader, Ruth, had everything organized. We took off on Thursday afternoon for the Friday evening race so that we could drive halfway, get to Pittsburgh early on Friday to relax and check out the course, and get ready for the race. The ride up was pleasant and uneventful. We got to Pittsburgh early Friday, and except for a brief cloudburst as we arrived at the hotel, everything went fine.

It was too early to check into our rooms, so we went to the USATF room to see if there was any free food. (Hey, we are runners! What do you expect?  What? What do you mean you don’t have to carbo load for a mile?)  While we waited, I spent my time looking up the names of the list of competitors from my age group on Athlinks, did some quick calculations, and realized that the odds were pretty darned good that I would be last in my age group. That was not good news. Oh well, I was there. What was I going to do? I pouted for a few minutes, but then decided to just enjoy the experience. We had time to pose for pictures and do a little horsing around courtesy of GNC, one of the sponsors for the race.

Pittsburgh turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. We were downtown in a really nice Wyndham Hotel. From our room we had a most awesome view of the river and the stadium. 

We went out to explore the surrounding area and scout out the course.

Downtown Pittsburgh was very cool (who knew?), with parks, statues, galleries, theaters, and shops lining the course. It was obviously an artsy part of town.

The race was being run on two main streets in the downtown area, Penn and Liberty, and the finish area was in Market Square. After stopping for a slice of pizza, we walked the entire mile and were very pleased with the course.

We headed back to the hotel to get ready. I was pretty excited because we had just gotten new team singlets made by New Balance. They are awesome! Plus this one fits without making me feel (and look) like a sausage (which is how I always felt in my old one).  We were a pretty good looking group!!

Besides the USATF Master’s Championships, there was also an open public mile race called The Liberty Mile, and elite men’s and women’s mile races. Some of the best milers in the U.S. and a few international competitors were in town for the elite race. We were very excited to run into Owen Anderson, director of the Lansing Marathon and coach of a very talented runner named Chemtai Rionotukei who among other accomplishments had won the FifthThird River Bank Run 25k back in May.  Owen said that they were excited to be competing and that he expected that we would see good things from Chemtai.   

Nerves were high before the race. Except for Ruth, none of the women from our group who were there were short distance specialists.  I was really worrying about the whole being last thing. There were only about 25 women running in our race. The road was two lanes wide, a mile long, and lined with hundreds of spectators. It would be pretty hard to hide how badly I was going to suck. (Another reason to love trail running: When you are in the woods, no one ever sees how badly you suck!)

My friend and fellow 50-54 age group teammate, Sue, and I talked briefly about race strategy and the idea of running together, since we are usually pretty evenly matched, but she had been training hard for triathlons lately, and I had not been training much at all, so I was not optimistic.

Our little group finally lined up at the start and the gun went off. Just as I suspected, a pack of runners took off. Sue and I started sensibly a little behind the main pack. I was hoping to avoid the crash I had experienced at the only other mile I had ever raced (and the getting passed at the end that went with that) so was trying to control the pace. It was hard with the pack starting off like a bunch of greyhounds, but I did manage to go out in the realm of acceptability and hit my first split pretty much right on pace.

After that I am not sure what happened. In the second quarter mile, I kind of had a mental lapse and let my pace slide. Sue slipped away a few yards, but I had to let her go. I was pretty much doing all I could to do what I was doing. It is really weird, but I remember nothing of this part of the race except following Sue’s back and seeing the pack up ahead.

I do not even remember hearing the crowd, but I do remember feeling the pain. It is amazing how long 7 minutes can feel when you are running at your max. When I hit the split at the half, I was so mad to see that my pace had slipped to over 7. That was going to make it super hard to get the 6:50 that I was hoping for. I picked it up and tried to hold on.

Finally my watch beeped to tell me that we had passed the ¾ mile. I was not dead at the end (like I had been in the earlier mile I had raced) and for a few seconds I entertained the idea of trying to see if I could catch Sue who was still a few yards ahead of me. It was then I saw the best thing of the entire weekend.

As I was looking ahead at Sue to see if she looked like she might be getting tired, I saw her posture change. I thought, “Dang, she is picking it up.”  Just then I saw why. In USATF competitions we all wear a bib with our ages on our backs. Over Sue’s shoulder, I could see a woman who had fallen off the back of the main pack, with a big 50 on the back of her singlet. She was in our age group!  I watched as Sue ran her down and passed her. It was a beautiful thing!

“Go, Sue!!” I was yelling inside my head, as I struggled for air. I also tried to pick it up, hoping to catch the faltering woman, but it was not to be. As the finishing clock approached, I watched it tick past 6:50  (my goal pace) and 6:55 (my previous mile time). It ticked on toward 7:00. NOOO!! My “C” goal had been to be under 7:00. I crossed the line at what I hoped was 6:57 (but what later turned out to be 6:58).  I was not last in the race (there were women all the way up to the 70+ age group), but I was pretty sure I was last in my AG. How depressing!

I found Sue to congratulate her and tell her how awesome she was. Then we looked for the rest of the team. Everyone (except me) had run really well.  Most had PRd, and the 60+ women had won the team competition. It was awesome! Ruth also was 1^st and last in her age group. (She was the only one in the 65+ group.)

Probably the second most amazing thing that happened that night was the performance of Chemtai. She finished third in a really tight race. She was just four seconds behind first and the third and fourth place runners were within a hundredth of a second of one another: 4:35.10/4:35.15, with fifth place at 4:35.90. Talk about close!! That is such an awesome accomplishment for her. I am sure we will be hearing more great things about her in the future!  I could tell Owen was really proud of her.

Owen and Chemtai at Playmakers to promote Owen's book Running Science

Chemtai with her 3rd place award at the Liberty Mile

I do have to say that I was pretty bummed out about my performance. Of course, my friends tried to cheer me up by telling me that I should just feel honored to have been able to compete with some of the best runners in the country. I was honored to do that, but I was also mad at myself for performing so poorly. If I had run well and been last, that is one thing, but to run so poorly and be last was what bothered me because I had nothing to blame but my own lack of training.

One of the things I love about running is I have always believed that “you get out of it what you put into it.”  I believe that saying is true when I have trained hard and done well, but the other end of the stick on that is that it also applies when I have slacked off and done poorly, like in this race. I have a screen saver on my laptop that says “You can have excuses or you can have results. You can’t have both.” I guess it is time to stop making excuses and start training!  

Race Report: The Legend 5 Mile Trail Race

I am back!! I can’t believe how great it felt to be back to trail running.  My first trail race of the year was a repeat venue for me, The Legend race at Sleepy Hollow StatePark, but this year I ran the 5 mile rather than the 10 miler which I ran last year (see race report on that here).  There was also a half marathon available, which many of my mileage hog friends took advantage of.

There are a lot of great things about this race. One is that it is put on by Running Fit. Their trail races are always top notch. It is at a great venue. Sleepy Hollow has some really nice single track running, as well as a great post-area with a beach (and nice rest room facilities).  The race is growing in popularity, but it is still small enough to keep the friendly low-key feel. The course, at least for the 5 mile, is very runnable – long sections of flat and slight downhills but enough uphills to keep it challenging.

This year an added plus of the race is that I had a lot of friends there. I belong to a Facebook group called Training Academy for Bad AssWarrior Goddesses, and there were several goddesses, myself included, who were out for the race that day.  We got together for a group picture before the race so that we were still looking very goddess-like at this point.

 We had a great day for the race. The weather was perfect. It is very cool here in Michigan for August, but the sun was shining. The pre-race was uneventful, except for the fact that I did actually do some pre-race preparation for this one. I ate before I left the house, drank a Powerade pre-race, and did a warm-up. I had already decided the night before that I wanted to run a “no-excuses” race this time and give it my all (also something which I sometimes don’t do).  I wanted a true look at where my fitness was at this time.

As I lined up for the start, I lined up close to the front. Because of my goal to run a solid race, I knew I needed to start fairly fast so I would not get hung up once we got to the single track. The early parts of the course do have good spots for passing, but I really didn’t want the hassle. It turned out that I had made the right choice and seeded myself correctly because I was only passed by a few runners throughout the entire race. 

When the gun went off, I was out fast. I knew the pace was not one that I could sustain, but I kept the pressure on until we actually got onto the single track (around .5 mile) and then settled in to a more reasonable pace. I was hoping I hadn’t gone out too fast at that point, but knew I would not know for sure until later in the race.

The early part of the race was just tons of fun. I felt good. There were some very satisfying flats and downhills that just invited me to fly along.  I kept trying to watch my breathing and not press too hard. I did try to ignore the watch as much as possible and just go by feel. Somewhere around mile 2.5, though, I started to feel like maintaining the pace was a little bit of work. I was still okay, but I was starting to tire.

Well, somewhere around mile 3.5 things started to get a little ugly. After the 3 mile mark, the uphills get more frequent and more serious. The downhills and flats, while nicely placed, were entirely too brief to be to my liking.  Between 3.5 and 4.25 I struggled some. I got passed by two or three people (one of whom was a woman – Grrrr!). 

I would like to say I made the 5 miles without walking, but it did not happen. On two of the bigger uphills I walked for 15 seconds each. It may have hurt my time a little, but more likely it would have cost me more not to. I have not done a lot of hill and trail work lately, so I think I needed the rest. In miles 4.25 to 4.5 my legs buckled twice, and I almost went down. They were just too fatigued. By then, though, we were out of the woods and coming across the parking lots and grassy areas before the finish. I was able to pick it back up for a strong finish. As I did the last cruel little uphill to the finish and crossed the line, I felt good about the race. My pace was 8:15, which was much better than I expected (I was hoping just to be sub 8:30), and I felt I had a good overall finish.

I went back to the car to check in with Jerry, grabbed my Powerade and a muffin, and went back to watch the rest of the finishers and cheer in my fellow goddesses. One of my favorite moments was watching Jessy cross the finish line with her son. 

The awards ceremony for the 5 mile was next. I was happy to find that I had ended up 1^st in my age group, but even more happy to learn that I was 7^th woman and 20^th overall (out of 206).  I think that taking the time off from the longer trail runs early in the year to work some on the speed is starting to pay off. Also, the bicycle cross training seems to also be working well for me. The award was another Legend mug to add to my collection. 

The rest of the morning involved one of the things I really love about the trail races, hanging out in the finishing stretch cheering on people who are finishing the longer races. Jerry and I joined Jessy and her family to cheer for the finishers and to wait for our goddesses who were still out there  on the course. It was a great way to spend the morning. The only thing missing was the cowbell. Damn it! I forgot the cowbell!! I will definitely need to add that to my running bag for future races!!

Post #100: Race Report Dansville Aggie Duathlon

I have been a bit remiss lately on the postings and the race reports, but now that my work is winding down a bit I am hoping to catch up on the race reports and get some new material posted. Also, this posting is a huge milestone. It is my 100^th post as a blogger!

Two weekends ago, I did my first duathlon. For those who may not know, a duathlon is a run/bike/run event, similar to a triathlon but with an extra run added in place of the swim portion. This was perfect for me because the water in Michigan is still way too cold for a wimpy girl like me.

This particular duathlon was held in conjunction with a local 5k, which is fairly unusual (they are usually held in conjunction with triathlons). However, the race director, J.D. Pepper,  is an avid and accomplished duathlete, as well as being the coach for the cross country team at Dansville High School. His wife, Chere, who is also an accomplished runner and duathlete (and musician), is on my Playmakers' Masters Women's Racing Team. They had decided to add a duathlon onto the 5k to see if they could promote interest in the sport. I had been dying to try one, and this seemed like a great one to test the waters. It turned out to be even better than I had hoped.

First the details: The race itself was a short one (called a “sprint”), with a 5k run (in conjunction with the regular 5k), a 12 mile bike ride (later shortened to 10.5 because of traffic concerns) and a final 5k run over the same course. The 5k course was an out and back and fairly flat. The bike course was on country roads with wide shoulders. The course was also fairly flat, but with some rollers. The course was not closed to traffic, but the combination of the wide shoulders and the sparse traffic on Sunday morning meant that the course was safe and traffic really wasn’t a worry. J.D. had designed the course with mostly right turns and had police directing traffic at the only left turn and intersection crossing.  The course was also well marked.

The race was a great opportunity for first timers. Despite the fact that the race was small, it was extremely well run. The transition area was well thought out and set up. There were plenty of volunteers to watch over the bikes and direct traffic.  

Because of my nerves, I wanted to get there early.  I went a little overboard in this area. I got up bright and early, got dressed, Jerry loaded my bike on the car, and we drove out to Dansville. I was mentally rehearsing and preparing for the race the whole way. We pulled into the parking lot right on time. The parking lot was empty…. What?? Chere said the race would be small, but there was literally nobody there. A quick check of the entry form solved the mystery. There in black and white, bold print, it said “Sunday, June 9th.” Unfortunately a quick look at my cell phone revealed that it was Saturday, June 8^th! What a duffer I am!! Seriously, in all my years of racing, I have never made this mistake!! So, back home we went.

When Sunday morning rolled around, we did act two – this time minus the nerves. I was over it by that time. I took my previous mistake as a sign from the running gods to lighten up and roll with the punches, so that is what I was going to do. Oh, I still got to the race way earlier than I needed to (some habits are too hard to break), but this time I was not a nervous wreck when I got there.

Packet pick-up went smoothly. I took a quick look at the course map and then went over to rack my bike. Since the race was small, there were no assigned spots for the bikes, and it was first come first serve. I vaguely remembered from my triathlon days that I wanted to be at one end or the other of the transition area, but I could not remember if it mattered which one. I picked one and set up my gear. I still had plenty of time before I needed to warm up, so I chatted with my friend Melissa and got a few pictures to commemorate the occasion.  

Melissa and friend -- Happy Finishers!!

Next I went out for a quick mile warm-up and headed for the start. As I stood at the starting line, I looked around and saw a woman who appeared to be very fit and also who appeared to be possibly in my age group. I heard snippets of her conversation with the woman next to her: “coming back… stress fracture… lots of time on bike…”  Yikes! I was going to need to keep an eye on her.

Sure enough, the race started and within just a few seconds she was ahead of me. I looked down at my watch. We were at a pretty brisk pace in the low 7s. My goal had been to be about 7:40 pace for the first 5k. (I had read that for a duathlon like this I should aim to run somewhere around my 10k to 15k pace for the two 5ks if I wanted to keep them even.) I dialed it back a notch and started counting. There were only about 5 or 6 females ahead of me, including “Fit Woman.” The first two or three were young, and with the way they were out, I was pretty sure they were just running the 5k (the 5k and the duathlon started together).  I was satisfied with where I was. I figured I was either 2^nd or 3^rd in the duathlon, and I had settled into my pace for the 5k.  

I figured I would know in another half mile or so whether “Fit Woman” was out too fast and going to fade or whether she was the real deal. At the turnaround for the 5k, I got my answer. She was still holding that pace and looked incredibly fresh (As she passed, and I said “Good job!” My always snarky inner voice could not help but chiming in with “I hate women who look incredibly fresh when they are running fast! Grrrr!!!”)

As we approached the first transition, I was anxiously looking to see how many of the women had stayed in the duathlon and who had finished the 5k. As I came into the transition, Fit Woman was coming out on the bike. I was also dismayed to see that the blond girl directly ahead of me was also in the du.  I glanced at the clock and was super happy with my time, 23:15 for the first 5k. I pulled off my running shoes, slipped on my bike shoes, helmet, and sunglasses, and headed out. Chere and Jerry were there at the transition to give me helpful advice and cheer me on.  I thought the transition went pretty smoothly, with very little wasted time.

Once on the bike I felt pretty good. Biking used to be the weakest link for me when I did triathlons, and I would often drop several places in the standings because of that. I was hoping that the biking I had been doing recently would pay off this time.

I passed a few men in the first mile, and could see my blonde girl target directly ahead. I checked my speed. It was really good… too good … it was up over 20 mph.  I thought “Either I am having an exceptionally amazing day, or there is a tailwind…” This worried me some, as that meant the second half of the course would have a headwind, but I decided to “make hay while the sun was shining.”  I passed blonde girl.  I was in 2^nd place!!!  I could see “Fit Woman” up in the distance but could not tell if I was making headway or not. A few more minutes of riding answered that question, as she seemed to be pulling away just a bit. Dang!! Well I was doing all I could, so all I could hope for was for her to slow down.

We made the first of the big turns in the bike (the main part of the course was a big rectangle), and I felt the crosswind. “Yikes, there was a wind. Okay, well this is not too bad. I can do this!” This was one of the short sides of the rectangle, so in a mile or two we were turning again to go back the other way. Bam!! Yes, there was a wind, and now it was a headwind. A sucky headwind. With hills.  Grrrr. By this time I was riding in a “hole.” I could not see anyone ahead of me or anyone behind me (which was good).  I just got down on the drops, tucked myself in as best I could, and kept pedaling. I had slowed down. Considerably. I was struggling to stay a consistent 14 going in this direction. I was thankful for those 20s in the bank from the earlier miles. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, we made the last turn. Again there was a crosswind, but it was so much better. As I made the turn, I caught a glimpse of another rider out of the corner of my eye. Dang!!! As we finished the last two miles of the bike, a guy passed me. I was happy he was a guy, but I was still pissed at being passed!  As I entered the driveway at the school, heading toward the transition area, I saw Fit Woman heading out on the run. It would take a miracle at this point to catch her.

Transition number two was a bit of a train wreck. I had not practiced transitions, but I decided I was going to try to be cute and slip out of my tri shoes so that I would not have to run through the transition area on my cleats. Step 1, undo the Velcro – check. Step 2, slip foot out -- check. Step 3, almost fly over the handlebars as the shoe swings around and wedges between the pedal and the ground…  Wait, that wasn’t on the checklist. Ever helpful J.D. who was announcing at the transition area says “Ewww that is hard on the shoes!!” No kidding. Grrrr. I am glad there were no pictures of the transition because I am sure I was bright red from embarrassment.

I slipped into my running shoes, remembered to remove my helmet, and headed out. There was the usual half mile of shear torture as the blood switched over to the appropriate muscles, but I was somewhat diverted from my focus on that by the fact that I was gaining on the guy who passed me on the bike J.  Yes, it did make me smile. As I passed him, I paused long enough to tell him that it was a pretty rotten thing for him to do to just blow past me like that – then I blew past him. (Okay, my inner brat may not have been completely under control that day. Or maybe I was just feeling spunky because I was actually having fun.)

As we hit the turnaround for the second 5k, two things became apparent. There was no way I was catching Fit Woman, and there was no way 3^rd place was catching me. I could relax. It was a great feeling to just be able to finish up, feeling good. I am not sure if I actually crossed the finish line smiling (what is on my face when I run often has no relationship to what is going on in my head), but I was smiling inside. I was having fun!!

Thanks race sponsors and Time Frame Photography!

After my congratulations hug from Jerry and grabbing a bottle of water, I stalked Fit Woman into the transition area. I had to know if she was in my age group. Well, of course, she was. My next question was her name. “Connie Benedict” – hey, I know that name. I knew the name because I had seen it so many times as the master’s, grandmaster’s, or age group winner in almost every race she entered. She was actually one of my teammates from the Playmakers' Masters Women's Team. I had not met her yet because she had been out with a stress fractures. If I had to take 2^nd, I couldn’t think of anyone better to take second to.

The way the awards shook out worked out great for the Playmakers Masters Women. Connie took 1^st Overall, I got 1^st Masters, and Jenny Transue, another teammate took 1^st Grandmasters. We all got gift certificates for a Jacuzzi suite at the Holiday Inn Express and Suites, which is totally awesome.

The 50+ Women Sweep the Day!!

As a whole, despite the false start, it was a great day. I LOVE duathlons. They are right up there with trail running for putting a smile on my face. In fact, I loved it so much that I canceled my fall marathon plans to allow more time for biking and am reworking my schedule to fit a few more duathlons in, including an Olympic distance, in the future.  What about you? Do you du?  (I highly recommend you pencilling this race in on your calendar for next year!!)