2016 Dirty Love 10k Trail Race

This was the third time I did the Dirty Love 10k. Each year, the conditions have been different. This year, it was pretty damn cold (1:16). Two years ago, it was snowing the entire time (1:32). Three years ago, it was warmer and the trail was in decent condition (1:20).

Course: 6.2 miles, trail, 542 feet of elevation gain
→ A lot of elevation for Ohio!

Weather: 10-12 degrees, sunny, no wind
→ Lack of wind was KEY.

Conditions: ~4 inches of snow on the trail, mostly packed, with some icy areas, nothing too treacherous

Gear: Brooks PureFlow 2 with screws, Injinji socks, CEP compression sleeves, Nike tights with windproof panel, thin Brooks tank, Craft half-zip, Nike Flash jacket, Mizuno Breath Thermo gloves with Sugoi windmitts, Nike hat, Buff
→ I was slightly overdressed. A lighter half-zip or a lighter jacket would have been perfect. Craft half-zip is THE.SHIT.

Time: 1:16:23 (old course PR: 1:20:14), 12:19 pace
→ According to my Garmin, I ran 6.1 so my pace was 12:32.

Heart rate: 172 average, 189 max
→ I didn't look at my HR at all during the run. According to the data, I hit my max several times.

I've been doing heart rate training and really trying to stick with it for four of six weekly runs. That means I've been running really slowly most of the time with the aim of keeping my HR under 150. That gets a little tricky with the dog running (and group running), and I feel like I'm cheating some because I know the reason my HR ends up in range is because dogs stop and sniff and poop a lot.

Let's back up to Saturday. I got up early, ran 3.6 miles slowly on the treadmill, headed out to breakfast (one big pancake & bacon!) and then went to Aaron's dad's house to watch the Olympic Trials. Later we went out to dinner at Old Prague where I had weiner schnitzel and dumplings for dinner. I had two beers throughout the day and a Nuun before bed. I went to bed around 11.

Race morning: The alarm went off at 6:45 and I got up around 7 am. I ate some cereal with almond milk (corn and wheat Chex mix) and drank a caffeinated Nuun. We got on the road around 8, so we got to North Chagrin Reservation around 9. We had a half-hour to get our bibs, warm up and use the bathroom before the race start at 9:30. After our warmup -- the run to/from the shelter to get our bibs -- I settled on wearing the PureFlow 2s with screws. Good decision. About 20 minutes before the race start, I ate a lemonade Roctane.

The race itself: The way it starts -- run across a field into the woods, cross a bridge and head uphill -- really puts you in position for a while. I stayed toward the back, and although it was frustrating, it was probably a good decision. It didn't leave me gassed for the rest of the race. But it did leave me with an incredibly slow first mile.

It starts to spread out, but I still had trouble jockeying for position. I'm not very aggressive and tend to let others set the pace. By halfway, I was over that and ready to move on. I spent the first few miles with two other women ahead of me, seemingly running stronger than I. By the fifth mile or so, I passed them -- for good. I was solo for a decent amount of time, but whenever I came upon someone, I was able to pass. Perhaps this means I took it too easy, but it felt good to feel so strong and to pass so many people. I don't think I was passed in the last two miles at all, although in the last mile, I could hear someone on my tail. When I passed two other people, that made it difficult for that person to get to me; he/she never did.

Mile 1: 15:59
Mile 2: 12:42
Mile 3: 12:05
Mile 4: 11:43
Mile 5: 11:51
Mile 6: 11:14
Nubbin: 8:06 pace

So clearly I wasn't speedy! But it was still better than before. Afterward, I had hot chocolate and two cookies, and then Aaron and I hit Five Guys on the way home. Great morning. Great way to start Valentine's Day!

I am just amazed at how good I felt throughout the race. I think the heart rate training is working! I haven't been following a program, just kind of making up my own, but I think running four days at 150 or less and then doing workouts or races for the other two runs is working. This is encouraging me to stick with it even when I have to run (so much!) slower than my friends.

Dirty Snowflake Prediction Run

On Saturday, Jan. 16, I did the Dirty Snowflake Prediction Run for the fourth time -- and this time, I got it right! The premise is that you predict how long it will take you to run the race and then you run blind (without a watch/phone/timing device). The goal is to predict your time as closely as possible. I predicted 42:23 and came in 42:21 -- pretty damn good! But first and second places were 1 second and decided by a fraction.

The week before, there was a preview run, which I did. I think that really helped even though course conditions were slightly different. It's roughly 4 miles (more like 3.75) and starts at the Ledges. You do the Ledges trail and the Pine Grove trail, and it's pretty runnable. The Ledges are harder to run because it's rockier, narrow and busier as it's the beginning of the race.

When we did the preview run, it was threatening rain, but luckily we missed most of that. It was pretty pleasant to run actually. When we finished, it started raining harder and the temps were dropping so we got lucky there. I ran that run around an 11;20 pace. For the race, it was a little colder (20s) and I knew there was some ice, but it shouldn't be too bad. I figured the ice would make up for the "race adrenaline" so I'd probably run around the same time, maybe a touch faster. So that's what I predicted.

2012 race: 52:15
2013 race: 46:25
2014 race (major course change due to ice so not comparable): 37:59
2016 race: 42:21

The only problem with a prediction run is that you have to wait until everyone finishes for awards. After I checked my time, I knew I would probably place so I had to stick around. We were in the Ledges shelter, so that was helpful. There was ramen and coffee so it wasn't too cold while we waited. "We" is just me and one friend because no one else could do the race or was interested. I was glad he was there to keep me company. (He even filmed me accepting my medal. And by the way, big props to the race director for getting my name right!)

I really like this race. 4ish miles is a nice length, it's friendly for beginners and walkers, there's an indoor place to hang out and it's not super-expensive. I am loving being on the trails more even if it's not so good on my calf. I just need to strengthen everything more so I can be healthy for the Salt Fork race at the end of April.

Columbus Half-Marathon Race Recap

tl;dr version:

Time: 1:58:48
Official Pace: 9:04
Gear: all Saucony! Bullet capri, Transition Sportop, Kinvara 6

Leading up to the race:
In the week leading up to the race, I tried to get more sleep and eat a banana daily. I didn't drink more than two beers daily (that was pretty much what I did for the final two to three weeks), and I upped the carbs in the few days before the race. I actually ate the most Friday and ate more normally Saturday. I also had two Gatorades on Saturday and probably had some Nuun as well.

I was decently rested, well-fed and properly hydrated.

The morning of the race:
Most of our group was staying in the same hotel. We planned to meet in the hotel lobby at 6:20 so that we'd have enough time to warm up before getting to our meeting spot (for those not at the hotel). I set my alarm for 5:20, although I was up quite often throughout the night. (Get up to pee, drink a little more water...) When my alarm went off, I checked my phone for a few minutes and finally got up. While drinking cherry lime Nuun (caffeinated), I ate about half of a Cinnamon Crunch bagel from Panera along with a banana.

I dressed in my planned outfit. With the temps not getting out of the 40s by the end, I nixed the idea of shorts, tank and arm warmers. I also wore an old pair of Saucony gloves with throwaway gloves on top. I had an old sweatshirt of Aaron's that I used as a throwaway along with a crappy knitted headband I made a few years ago.

We ended up running a little late so we didn't get in a mile warmup before meeting up with everyone else. But we were able to get everyone together so that was awesome. We made our way to our corral (most of us were in B, although a couple were in A).

Note: The Columbus Marathon is a pretty well-run event. Each corral had port-o-potties, and I found some extra gels. I had brought three gels with me and then I gave one away to a friend who'd forgotten hers. Finding the gels in the corral was nice because I was able to grab one and take it before the race (strawberry banana Gu - not my favorite, but got the job done).

The race itself:
Several of us planned to run the race under 2 hours, and for the first couple of miles, we were sort of together. I let two friends go ahead and stuck with a friend was running the full at the same pace. Another friend played pacer and ran with the marathoner through the first half. At one point, another friend came from behind and passed us. We let him go ahead. The three of us ran together for the first five miles or so. I pulled slightly ahead, but I was within sight so our unofficial pacer knew I was okay. (I figured the marathoner needed him more than I did. He could hold her back throughout the first half so she could run strong the second half.)

I felt good throughout the entire race. The pace felt comfortable, and I played it very conservatively. I took a gel around 4.5 or 5 (Roctane) and another around 10 (Roctane). I took water during most stops, and I took Gatorade once. I did actually skip two or three stops. The cool temps definitely helped make fueling and hydrating easy.

Mile splits:

Yes, my last mile was 8:22, which is a clear indication that I held back. At mile 11, I hit 1:40 and I knew I had the sub-2. I still held back and didn't let loose until the last mile. And that's just fine.

Final notes:

• Columbus is a great race, and I would like to do it again.
• Staying downtown where you can walk or easily get dropped off is a great idea (no parking or gridlock).
• Proper training and tapering really makes a difference. Eventually I'll do a post about Hansons. 
• I kept the auto-lap on my Garmin, but I changed the display so I only saw total elapsed time and current pace. I knew I would run the course long, but I didn't want to manually lap at every mile marker. This way, I stayed on track with pace and I could do the math at the mile markers to see if I was still on pace. 
• I could have gone faster, but I was afraid of blowing up. I'd never strung together that many miles and I wasn't confident that I would keep it together. 
• Post-run: back to the hotel to shower, lunch at Hofbrauhaus, then Land Grant Brewing, Rehab, Pies & Pints for dinner and Seventh Son for sleepy-pops.

2015 Parkersburg Half-Marathon Recap

Official results: 2:11:24
16/49 age group
127/353 women
368/744 overall

Barely beat the half-marathon walker winner (he finished just under 2:12).

In other words, one of my worst half-marathons. I'm still trying to figure out all that went wrong.

• The plan from Coach Katie: 9:20 for 8 miles and then pick it up if possible
• My plan based on the high humidity: 9:30 for the first 3 miles, pick it up 4-8 at 9:20 and then finish strong
• Reality: 9:45 pace through the first 10k, finishing with a 10:02

I could post my mile splits, but they're depressing.

6am to 7:15am - Get up, drink a little water (not enough and no Nuun), eat most of a cinnamon crunch bagel (why not the whole thing?)

7:15am - Jog to the starting line (1.5 miles), do some light warming up, eat a Shot Blok from Aaron and take sips of G2. It's in the mid60s, but the humidity is close to 90%.

8am to 10:11:24 - Race starts. I run okay through the first 10k and end up with a 9:45 pace. I'm not hating that, and I think I'll be able to drop it down and end up with a 9:30 pace overall, which would have brought me in under 2:05. Seemed reasonable. I took a gel during mile 3 and maybe mile 9? I probably should have taken one more gel. There are a ton of water stops with Gatorade, water and ice. I drank Gatorade and water at most stops (no Gatorade when I took my gels). I think I spent too much time at the water stops, but clearly that wasn't the biggest issue with my race. I also shoved ice in my bra at one point because I'd read about other people doing it. I ran the hill in mile 11 and then was incapable of dropping the pace much afterward. I'd passed Aaron at one point (he was hurting and stretching a lot), but he passed me in the last mile. He ended up finishing 5 seconds in front of me.

10:15am to 10:45am - Drink some water, eat half of a banana, literally have a bite of a bagel and get our little group back together.

10:45 to 1pm - Jog back to the house. Drink water, do some stretching, text about the race, shower, etc.

1pm - Drive to lunch.

1:30pm - Drink beer, eat a steak salad and get on with the day. (More beer, lots of sun and pizza and champagne around 9pm. Lots of water, no electrolytes. Bed around midnight.)

I would like to point out some things missing from the post-run: Drinking any electrolytes and eating much immediately after the run. I think that contributed to Sunday's shitty recovery run: 3 miles and I walked the first one and parts of the second and third. Actual physical pain (can your kidneys literally hurt?).

ANYHOW, I'm not sure if I race poorly in general, if I run this race poorly, if I underfueled (probably), if it was just not my day, if my goals are unrealistic, if I'm too heavy, if I was too tired... I could go on and on. I'm trying to figure it out. It's probably a combination of all those things with the humidity playing a big role.

I was pretty upset because I feel like I've been working really hard. I'm running ALL THE TIME. I feel like I'm doing nothing else this summer but run, and if I'm just going to go out and run a 2:11, what's the point? I can do that on four days a week and without speedwork.

I'm clear on why yesterday's run didn't feel good, but I'm not totally clear on why the race went so poorly. I didn't start too fast and I did fuel (although I recognize that three gels would have been better for me). I'm really just afraid that my goals are out of reach.

Coach Katie reminded me that I'm in the middle of a training cycle, not at the end, and that I didn't have a legitimate taper. She thinks my goals are reasonable. I don't know what else to do but continue on. (That's how I ran Sunday morning. I was awake, and I simply didn't know what else to do.) Trust the process, right?

Cleveland Half Marathon Race Recap

The race: Cleveland Half Marathon, Sunday, May 17, 2015
The stats: 13.3 miles, 2:30, 11:17 pace
The outfit: Saucony visor, Saucony Daybreak tank, Saucony Speed of Lite short, Moving Comfort Rebound Racer bra, Injinji socks, Saucony Zealot shoes

This was my fourth Cleveland Half Marathon. It's kind of a tradition, but I just wasn't that into this year. I haven't done much real training, and while I have plenty of endurance, I don't have much speed. I decided to run with someone for whom this race was her first half-marathon. It seemed perfect. The weather wasn't great (storms in the forecast) and I am under-trained.

We arrived downtown to meet the group at 6am, but apparently the group was quite timely. We were about 5 minutes late to the meetup spot, and the group was leaving. We talked briefly with some friends who were at the tail of the group, but we couldn't leave with the group because our friend (who was also running late) picked up our bibs. We got our bibs and settled and headed over to the start.

A few of us, pre-race

The storms left the forecast, and it looked like it was going to be okay. Then there was a brief, but somewhat heavy, rain right before the start of the race. Luckily that was the only heavy rain of the day!

We tried to find our people at the start, and we couldn't. None of us were prepared to run "fast." We simply didn't know what to do. We watched the race start and hoped that we'd be able to find someone as they went by. Eventually we figured we had to just take off and hope we'd run into someone while, well, running.

The first mile ticked off, and we hadn't seen anyone. We were still running very easy, warming up, looking around constantly. Finally we found the girl I'd wanted to run with! And then another guy came up on us! It worked out perfectly. I stuck with her for the entire race, and Aaron and our friend ran with that guy, taking him to a nice PR.

The course was pretty different from last year, which was a surprise. I thought only the start had changed. But don't worry -- the race still ended with the shoreway, which is challenging. We were feeling pretty good, so I felt comfortable pushing her to run the entire time. We passed a lot of people on the shoreway, and that always feels good!

Post-Race sheen

Overall, the race turned out well. I don't mind the shoreway finish, but I wish it could be shorter. There's not much crowd support (too difficult for people to get there), and it's not very scenic. You're just running on a highway. I think that makes the rolling hills feel worse than they are.

One other slight complaint is the beer garden. There is no shade, and by this time, it was getting really warm out. Also, the lines for beer were very long, and they weren't moving very quickly. Figuring out a better way for that would be nice. They could use a little more food, I think. Akron provides a lot more.

Salt Fork Spring Challenge

The race: Salt Fork Spring Challenge
The stats: 10.4 miles, 2:21, 13:34 pace, 1300 feet of elevation change
The outfit: Saucony Speed of Lite short, Saucony Speed of Lite tank, Moving Comfort Phoebe sports bra, Injinji socks, Saucony Peregrine shoes

14/32 in age group
36/93 in female division
126/210 overall

Well, that's done. It was hard, and I was not in shape to do well. But I did it -- and loved it.

Honestly I loved it more before I saw where I finished overall, but that's my own issue. How I finished in my gender and age groups makes me feel better :)

But let's backtrack. Thursday/Friday, I carbed up a bit and definitely focused on staying hydrated. The high for Saturday was forecasted for the upper 80s, and the race didn't start until 9:30 am. Lots of water and Nuun, and I bought a Gatorade that I started on Friday and finished Saturday morning on the way to the race.

I also bought a new handheld water bottle, and 18-ounce, insulated one from Nathan. A bigger version of what I currently use (and like). But it wouldn't stop leaking! I don't know if it was me or the bottle. I need to have Aaron look at it. In any case, the guy who drove us down to Salt Fork had some disposable waters in the truck, so I took one of those.

I got up around 6 to give myself plenty of time to get ready and get to my friend's house by 7. Salt Fork is about 90 minutes from Akron, and since we all had to pick up our packets and stuff, we wanted to have plenty of time. It worked out. Easy trip down, and we arrived with plenty of time to get our stuff and get ready to run.

We were a group of four, but the guy with us is pretty fast so he lined up at the front. The three girls lined up toward the back. It's a small, non-chip-timed race so we weren't really all that far from the back. And we took off. I stuck with the other girls for the first couple of miles, but with the single-track and hills and lots of walkers, I lost them early on (around mile 2 maybe). I remember when it was: There were two paths up a hill, and I went one way, they went the other and then there were, like, six people in between us.

That's okay - I knew the one girl was way faster than I, so I was going to lose her eventually anyway. She finished in 2:05 so her pace was about 1:30 per mile faster than mine. She FLEW on the second half of the course, though. Impressive.

I trucked along, taking it easy. I knew I wasn't in great shape, so I didn't want to wear myself out. I am not very good at passing people, especially on single-track where you have to be aggressive. I don't know how much quicker I would have been (I finished in 2:21 at a 13:30 pace) if I had passed more aggressively though. I may have just tired myself out more.

I was feeling pretty good until around 8.5, and the hills finally got to me. I was trying to run as much as possible, but my pace slowed considerably. And the last 1 to 1.5 miles were mostly uphill, so that was rough. We finished running across a parking lot, and I had nothing left. Nothing. I finished at an embarrassingly slow pace.

 

So there's lots of room for improvement! I'm looking forward to putting in some work so that when I go back in November -- and I will! I loved the race and the course -- I will feel a lot better.

Athens Half-Marathon Recap

(And recapping last week is kinda worthless: Ran Wednesday and Saturday, strength-trained & walked on Thursday.) 

Athens is done, and I can't really complain too much about the way things went. I had a sore throat going into the race, but the illness mostly held off until Monday/Tuesday of this week so no complaints.  Let's back up... Saturday morning started bright and early with a 3-mile shakeout run. The training group had 12 miles, so Aaron and I met them to start them off. I didn't feel great, but it was okay. Then we ran a few errands and got on the road around 1:30 or 2.

First stop: Weasel Boy Brewing.  This is a new tradition, and I love it! Aaron and I worked with Lori many, many years ago, so we have quite the affinity to the place. Our whole crew met there, so that was fun. We had a beer or two, ate some pizza and growlers to go and then headed to Athens -- just to miss packet pickup.

 No big deal as we're staying in the host hotel and there was also packet pickup on race day morning. We did our annual Chinese meal (although it's probably no longer the choice as one guy had issues with it two years in a row) and got to bed early. I didn't sleep that well Saturday night, but that's to be expected. I'm never that comfortable in hotel bed. We got up at 6am, got dressed, ate, got our packets, etc. We were ready to head to the start and got there in plenty of time to hit the restrooms beforehand. Perfect.

Going into the race, I wasn't feeling very confident. I had abandoned any hopes of PRing, so I just decided to take it easy. I ran the first half at a pretty easy pace. My breathing was good, my heart rate seemed good. At the turnaround, I picked up the pace some, but not as much as I wanted. I ran pretty steady for the second half, so that's good. First half was around a 10-minute pace, the second half around 9:40. My watch says 9:37, and my official pace was 9:42. Given my fitness level and the fact that I'm sick, I can't really complain. I did what I set out to do: Run the race like a long run with negative splits and feeling good.  But man, I didn't feel well afterward. My right hamstring was a disaster. My cold came on full-force (along with a hangover from our victory lap in Athens). I'm turning the corner now, though.

Kinda embarrassing to be running while that dude's walking.
Or maybe it's the other way around. 

Aquariums at The Pub with a much smaller crew this year.

Next up is the Salt Fork 10 Miler and the Cleveland Half Marathon. Judging from Athens, I am not expecting anything great (especially since getting to trails seems to be pretty tricky for me). I'm still not 100% that I'm even running Cleveland, and I'm tempted to ditch Salt Fork (but that's mostly because I'm scared of how poorly I'm going to do). 

I took yesterday Monday and Tuesday off from running. I would have run Tuesday except I was laid up on the couch all day. (It was bad.) Running Wednesday, maybe something Thursday, maybe not (might have post-work plans) and then figure out the weekend. I'm keeping this week very loose since I'm sick and "recovering" from Sunday. I use quotes because it was more a long run than a race effort; however, my right hamstring was a disaster. I'm hoping a lot of that worsened by dehydration from the victory lap Sunday afternoon/evening. We'll see as I run this week, right?

2014 Parkersburg Half-Marathon Race Recap

This race was so embarrassing that I don't really want to do a recap, but I think I need to.

Goal: 16 miles with 13.1 miles at 9 to 9:05 pace
Reality: 16 miles with 13.1 miles at 9:48 pace (which was also the overall pace of the run)

GIANT FAIL. But let's backtrack.

6am: Alarm goes off, and I get up. Between 6 and 7, I get ready, eat a Clif bar and have some water.

7am-ish: Aaron and I head to the start, which is about 1.5 miles away. This is perfect because I am supposed to cover 16 miles. I bring a small bottle of Gatorade with me with the intention of drinking it before the run.

8am: The race starts, and I am carrying the Gatorade with a few drinks taken out of it. The first couple of miles are just under 9 minutes, so I'm on track. Right before Mile 3 at a water stop, I took a drink of the Gatorade and tossed the bottle; it was nearly full.

Mile 3 is essentially a long hill. My pace dropped substantially, and I was over 9:40, I think. Mile 4 was back to 8:50, so I was still close to being on track. Sometime after 3, I took Gatorade at a water stop, and that was the only time I took Gatorade instead of water.

At the 10k mark, my overall pace had dropped to 9:23, which is still okay. It was unlikely that I could recover and sub-2 the race, but I could still have a good race. I took a gel around mile 6, I think. I should have taken it earlier.

After the 10k mark, I really fell apart though. There were a few times where I was almost crying, and it felt like I was going to have a panic attack. My pace kept slowing, and I couldn't pick it up, even on downhills. My legs were spasming during this time too.

I was trying to figure out how I could run off the course, still get in my 16 miles and get back to the house. I don't know the area nearly well enough to do that, so I kept trucking.

Mile 12 is a pretty big hill, and I took a second gel right before the hill. It was too late. I stopped and walked for about 30 seconds, maybe 45 seconds. Then I felt really bad about myself and started running again. It was pathetic, and that mile clocked in around 11 minutes.

The last mile is basically downhill, and I couldn't get my legs to turn over at all. It was almost 10:30. I saw a sign that said "Pain is temporary, but internet results are forever." I wanted to cry. I finally got to the finish where Aaron was waiting, and I burst into tears. It was awful.

I drank a bottle of water, ate a banana and then headed back to Ali's. I ran faster uphill back to her place than I did the last mile.

One thing I know I did wrong was forgetting it was a 16-mile run, not just the race. For a half, two gels and Gatorade is enough. That said, I only took Gatorade once and that was, what?, an ounce or two. Aaron thinks I don't eat enough beforehand and that the Clif bar isn't quick enough energy. Maybe he's right.

But the biggest thing is that I gave up, and I don't really know what to do about that one.

Cleveland Half-Marathon

The Cleveland half-marathon is done, so now I need to figure out what I'm doing for my full. But that's another story.

Sunday was the Cleveland half-marathon. The weather was perfect, and a a ton of people from the training group and beyond were there. My intention was to run with people from the group. I failed.

The first four to five miles were with a small group, but I lost them when I ran over to say hi to friends who were running about a minute per mile faster. When I tried to drop back, I couldn't find them. I couldn't hang with my friends as they sped up more, so I ended up running most of the race by myself. (I did catch one of the dudes at the end on the uphill portion of the Shoreway.)

I actually ended up PRing by 30 seconds or so (2:03:13, officially), but it was a lonely race.

It also gave me confidence that I just might have a sub-2 in me before marathon trainng so if the weather looks good, I'm going to go for it in June. And then I'll start training for the marathon. With my work schedule, it's gonna be tricky!

Cleveland RnR Half-Marathon

Let's pretend that I post ALL THE TIME, so here's my workout roundup.

Monday: Run 4 miles with 3 mile-repeats (8:42, 8:29, 8:19)
Tuesday: Run 3 miles + strength (THE GYM!)
Wednesday: Run 3 miles
Thursday: Off
Friday: Run 3 miles
Saturday: Off
Sunday: Cleveland RnR Half-Marathon

26+ miles for the week plus one strength session. So just fine...

Yesterday was my ninth half-marathon, and I actually managed to PR it despite less-than-stellar training over the summer. I ran with one of the girls from the group, and I probably slowed her down! Or can I pretend that I held her back so she could finish strong? Anyhow, I'm pretty pleased. It wasn't an easy course, and a lot of people had bad days out there.

Erin and I after the race.

(I actually beat Aaron, which is unheard of and will likely never happen again!)

It looked like it was going to be a truly awful day, and the weather ended up okay. It was humid and warm, but it wasn't raining like originally expected. I tried not to complain, and I was relatively successful with that. It was also hillier than I expected, although I don't know what I expected since I didn't really look at the course! It was fine, I pushed through.

And friends, do the hill training.

This was my second Rock 'n' Roll event (I did the DC half in 2012). The course was well-supported, the expo was fine (smaller than the Rite Aid Cleveland race), and the course was okay, but these are expensive races. You were ushered through the post-race snacks rather quickly and you couldn't go back - I ended up with just a bottle of Gatorade.

The course seemed too similar to the Rite Aid course, although there were more hills. I didn't find it as hilly as other people did, but it wasn't easy. My legs are tired today, and my hips are tight and sore. I actually had trouble putting my foot on my knee so I could stretch my IT band. And I'm still not sure I can touch my toes for longer than 5 seconds.

Towpath 5-Miler

I ran the Towpath 5-Miler again this year. It's the first race of the Towpath Trilogy, and there's also a half-marathon that day. Since I'm doing a half next Sunday (oh gosh, am I really prepared to PR?!), the 5-miler was my choice.

I was really apprehensive about doing it, though. I was afraid a poor performance was going to destroy my confidence and put me in a bad space before Athens. And it didn't help that I ran 10 miles on Saturday *and* I had a friend's surprise 40th birthday party on Saturday night. But a bunch of my friends were doing it, so I figured what the hell.

We managed to leave the party at a reasonable hour without overindulging too much, so that was a good start. When the alarm went off at 5:30 on Sunday, it wasn't too difficult to get up and moving - especially since it was WARM outside (mid50s, I think). I only ate half of a bagel, so I ended up having some of Aaron's Honey Stinger chews beforehand (gross, btw - it's a texture thing).

I didn't run the race that smartly. I didn't really have a strategy - just try to stick around mid 9s and hope for the best.

Mile 1 was about 9:30, and I think mile 2 was as well. I slowed down for 3 and 4, but I killed it for mile 5 - under 9 minutes. My overall pace was 9:26, and I took a minute off my time compared to last year. I finished in 47:12. Not too bad (unless you compare my time to Aaron's, which was 41:xx).

So I'm not sure where this places my mindset for Athens. The online calculators indicate a PR (but not as much of a PR as I really want). I just have to keep telling myself that, at this point, there's not really anything I can do, training-wise, to change the outcome. I'll go through a whole overview about my training and my plan at a later date. Let's just say that my plan was too aggressive, and instead of scaling back, I just let myself keep falling short. I probably should have reevaluated earlier.

Anyhow, last week's workouts:
Monday: strength + 6-mile interval run
Tuesday: yoga
Wednesday: 5-mile progression run
Thursday: strength + 4-mile hill run
Friday: off
Saturday: 10-mile long run
Sunday: 5-mile race

30 miles for the week plus two strength sessions and yoga. Not too bad. The only run I skipped was doing anything post-yoga. I was tired so it made since to give myself a break.

This week:
Monday: strength + 3-mile easy run (maybe?)
Tuesday: yoga + 3-mile easy run (if I don't run Monday)
Wednesday: strength + 5-mile progression run
Thursday: yoga + 3-mile easy run
Friday: off
Saturday: off
Sunday: race (eek!)

Spring TRAINing Run

Saturday was our self-prescribed endurance challenge:

• 10 miles with the half-marathon group
• + 6.6 miles for the Spring TRAINing Run

The Spring TRAINing Run was a "beat the train" race benefiting the Cuyahoga Valley National Park Conservancy. There's a train that runs through the CVNP, and on Saturday, the idea was that you run from Brecksville to Peninsula on the Towpath and then take the train back to Brecksville. 

We chose not to ride the train back so that we could have more control over our schedule. The race was at 10:30, and the train departs Peninsula at 12:25 or 3:15 - we were concerned the first time was too early and the second time was too late. Luckily our running friend/coach lives in Peninsula so we dropped off the GTI and rode with her to Brecksville for the 10-miler. 

Overall, it was a pretty nice race. We chose the early start at 10:30, and technically I beat the train - but only because of that early start! 

• 10 miles at 10:54 average
• 6.6 miles at 10:32 average 
• = 16.6 miles at 10:46 average - and I'm okay with that!

Aaron was much faster - I think he ended up with a sub-10 average. I was running by myself for the 6.6 miles and just couldn't motivate myself to go harder.

My one complaint was the guy who won the race. We finished at the same time (he started 30 minutes after I did). Typically on the Towpath, you move to the right so that people can pass on your left. I heard him behind me, so I moved more to the right - then he pushed me to the left and went around my right side. I was pretty pissed off about that and may have yelled at him as he was running toward the finish line. He shrugged. Whatever.

In any case, I'm pleased with the way my body handled 16.6 miles. I took yesterday off, and I lifted weights this morning. I did have a little fatigue during box jumps so I cut those from my usual 36 down to 25. After work, I'll run. I'm thinking easy miles - with 30-second sprints every 5 minutes - is the way to go.

Ohio Outside Trail Series

This fall, I decided to sign up for the Ohio Outside Trail Series, which was three races at Munroe Falls Metro Parks. I did all three, so I figured a little review was appropriate.

Swag: Signing up for all three ($65) got me a sweatshirt and four pint glasses (one for each race plus one for finishing the series). At each race, the pint glass had a couple of goodies, usually Emergen-C, a Gu and a mini-deodorant. Useful stuff and no stupid flyers! Race day registration is quick and you might end up with an old pint glass, but you'll still get one. And, thanks to online reg fees, I think race day reg is actually cheaper than online reg for a single race. Post-run, there are big coolers of water, cider (from Totally Cooked) and Gatorade, along with PB&J (yum), bagels, bananas, etc.

The Course: The course starts at the pavilion and is two loops of the Indian Spring Trail and then back toward the pavilion. The website says it's about 5 miles, but each time I did it, my Garmin indicated between 4.4 and 4.5. According to my Garmin, you gain 446 feet in elevation, so it's hilly, but they're rolling. There were no hills that were super-tough, and I found that the beginning of the loop is more difficult than the end.

The one thing that's tricky at the end of the loop is the stairs. I am super-careful about stairs and usually walk them when I'm trail-running. I definitely walked them the first two races, but on the third, I did more of an awkward hop-skip thing. And coming off the stairs, you cross a little bridge that could get slippery. In between loops is the water stop, so little cups of water line this bridge as you run through. I took water during the first and third races and didn't on the second.

We were very lucky on the weather, and the last weather probably had the best weather of all -- sunny and high 30s. The course had some muddy portions, but didn't get too slippery overall. I wore my Brooks PureFlows for the first race and my PureGrits for the second and third. I definitely felt more confident in the PureGrits, but I also love those shoes so much -- I love really feeling the course.

My Experience: I ran all three races, and I significantly improved my time from the first (11:36 pace) to the third (10:34). I will admit that I was a bit of a wimp, but doing the race three times also helped a lot. I knew the course better -- and was ballsier on the stairs at the end of the loop.
I was pretty disappointed at coming in over 50 minutes on the first race (50:47) and wanted to come in under 50 on the second. A rookie mistake -- not double-knotting my shoes -- thwarted that attempt, so although I decreased my time in the second race, I was still just over 50 (50:19). I was better prepared for #3 and came in under 47 (46:50). I'm pretty sure I could do better though, especially given how how much I improved from #1 to #3 (basically a minute off per mile).

10.20.12	Munroe Falls Trail Race #1 (4.4 miles)	50:47	11:36
11.17.12	Munroe Falls Trail Race #2 (4.4 miles)	50:19	11:26
12.01.12	Munroe Falls Trail Race #3 (4.4 miles)	46:50	10:34

Bottom Line: It's a small race -- each one had fewer than 200 runners -- and it's pretty casual. This is more a "fun" race and there is no chip-timing. It's the deal where you cross the finish line and they take the bottom strip off your bib. It's fun seeing the same people -- and it's also fun picking out the same people to chase/beat during the race. I loved this series and this course.

2012 Parkersburg Half-Marathon Race Recap

And like that, training for the Parkersburg half-marathon is over and I'm looking ahead to the River Run (it was my first HM last year). But I can look back for a second or two.

Originally I was going to run the race with a couple of friends. Life happened, and they couldn't do the race so it was just me and Aaron. Of course, Aaron and I don't run together, but at least we start together.

We arrived in Parkersburg around 9, and my friend had made us a delicious pasta dinner. After dinner, a single beer and some hanging out, I went to bed around 10:30. I read for a while (got totally hooked on Gone Girl, which I finished yesterday while we all recovered from Saturday night) and probably put the iPad away around 11.

We totally lucked out with the weather. It's August in Parkersburg - it could have been awful, but it wasn't. I guess the humidity was high, but at 60 degrees at the start, it wasn't bad. It was foggy/overcast for more than the first hour. The sun came out around mile 9 or 10, and there was still a little cloud cover. VERY nice racing temps.

We also lucked out because our friends live about a mile from the start *and* our friend offered to drop us off. Thanks to that, we didn't need the super-early wake-up call typically required. We got up around 6:30 and took our time getting ready, eating breakfast, etc. We left the house around 7:40 for the 8am start, and it was perfect. We got there with enough time to stretch, and then the gun went off.

From the beginning, I felt pretty good. Miles 1-3 were definitely the slowest miles. I probably should have started off a little faster, but at least I felt okay. There was a long hill in mile 3, I think. Not too steep, but it slowed me down a bit. Then we got off the highway, so we had a nice gradual downhill there, followed by a stretch of road with pleasant rolling hills. (I prefer rolling hills to flat ground anyhow.)

Mile 11 had a kind of steep hill, but it was short and I knew I'd see my friend waiting at the top of the hill. I didn't lose pace at all on the hill. And after that, I knew it was essentially all downhill to the finish. It was awesome.

Everyone warned me about how hilly the race is, but I think it was overstated. Elevation gain of 858, but Cleveland's was 720 (seemed like it was all on one hill too).

The best part of the race was the support. There were 18 aid stations, so tons of water and Gatorade stops. Ice and cold sponges. Crowd support along the entire course. Each mile was marked with someone calling out the time.

I finished in 2:17:something, officially, which brings me to my only complaint: The chip-timing wasn't working correctly. If you look at the results, some people have the race start time and their actual chip time from when they crossed the starting line. Aaron and I both don't, so it's kind of depressing. There was about a 40-second delay from the race starting and from us crossing the start line. I don't know if that'll be fixed or not.

This wouldn't have been a PR for me anyhow - although it WAS a PR for Aaron! 2:09:something officially - but it's a shame that the time is off. (BTW, the course was well-marked and seemed to be accurately measured. My mileage said 13.18.)

Another interesting thing in Parkersburg: There is a strong walking community here. They are fast and they are serious. I am happy to say that I beat all of the walkers, but that was by 2 minutes or so. It's really an impressive feat to see how well they perform.

This was one of the best races I've done. I'm definitely doing it again next year if at all possible. It was affordable, the support was awesome, the post-race goodies were nice, people were generous, etc.

Stow Firecracker Run

A holiday in the middle of the week is a little weird, huh? And silly me scheduled a race yesterday, so I didn't even get to sleep in - in fact, I got up EARLIER that normal.

The race was a four-miler in Stow. It was really hot and humid yesterday morning, and they would only permit one water per runner after the race (and there was nothing else). Usually smaller races are better, but not in this case.

I planned to run the race with Julie. This was her first race back after having her baby, and it was on the edge of brutal out there. I did a little more than half of the race with her and then finished up on my own. I'm pretty pleased with how I did, especially because I didn't feel well beforehand. And my last mile was at 5k pace 9:12)!

We were supposed to run before work this morning, but there were storms... and let's be honest, we were tired. Really, really tired. My left eye appears to be scratched (I might actually call the doctor to see if he can get me in - this is getting ridiculous). In any case, it's really irritating and my vision is not good (old, OLD glasses; I ordered new ones this morning actually).

I'm thinking lunch will be a quick workout - 2-mile run plus some weights. But I really want to go shopping, not that I have the money to do that.

Jim Klett 10k

Yesterday was my second 10K. I was really hoping for under an hour, but that didn't happen. It was hot and hilly, and I just didn't feel it, I guess.

For whatever reason, the first couple of miles were really tough. My calves felt like they were rock-solid. Luckily, they smoothed out as the race continued.

It was a really nice course. And a very small race. I sincerely was concerned about finishing last. The official results aren't up yet, so I don't know my official finishing time. According to my Garmin, it was about a minute PR. Not sub-hour I was hoping for. Aaron came in firmly under an hour, though!

I should have realized that this would not be a course PR on. But I'm too lazy to look at the course map beforehand.

While Aaron worked on the van, I went out this morning to the trails near Aaron's dad's house. That puts me about 24 miles for the week, maybe 25. A lot of that on trails with varying technical difficulty.

I even got in another 15 to 20 minutes or so of strength training this morning. Something is better than nothing, right? June's goals are going okay. Unfortunately, this week is going to be a little short on tempo, speed or hell runs. But that's okay. I'm moving in the right direction.

I also have some thoughts on the way I approach races, but right now they're still thoughts. I'm not ready to write them down yet. It's all about me not being a professional and it being okay for races to be more like training runs then PR-making endeavors. I'm not very competitive, and that's not in the world.

In other news, I'm glad I have running to keep my thoughts straight. There's some shit going down, and it's sad. I love my family, and I love my friends. I am very, very lucky to have each and every one of them in my life.

Run Cbus Recap

Given that this week's mileage was a second-highest ever and I had a tough six miles on Thursday, I was looking at the Run Cbus 10-Miler as a training run - and that's exactly what I got.

We ran with the group on Saturday for a short run (5 miles for us, while they continued on for 11) and then headed to Columbus to meet up with Aaron's cousin and his fiancee. His cousin conveniently lives in the same town where the 10-Miler was held, so it was perfect. We had a delicious dinner and a couple of beers at Barley's and were in bed around 11 or 11:30. While I probably didn't stretch enough on Saturday, I was pretty well-hydrated and not buzzed before bed.

The fact that his cousin lives in Gahanna was awesome on Sunday morning. The race started at 8, so we got up shortly before 7. It was great. Run Cbus is a pretty small race - <3 small races, right?! - so parking wasn't an issue. We warmed up and headed to the starting line. Luckily I saw my friend who was also doing the race.

Aaron and I started together, but he ran ahead pretty early on. He was feeling good and has the 1:38 time to prove it. Great job by Aaron. I think knowing that the second half of the course was "challenging" threw me off. I didn't know whether to just go for it on the first half and try to hold on during the second half. I held back.

The good things: My right hip bothered me during the first couple of miles, but after we got off Hamilton Road, the terrain and elevation varied more; my hip didn't really bother me again. The Camelbak was great - loved not stopping for water stops! I slowed to a walk when I was trying to get my Gu out of the backpack, but aside from that, I ran the entire time, even during the hills at the end. I don't think I was passed in the last 1.5 to 2 miles, and I passed a lot of people on the last uphill.

The bad things: My right heel hurt the entire race. I was feeling a little less than motivated. I should have fueled twice during the race.

All in all, a decent training run that was challenging. It was a great race, and I am looking forward to doing it next year.

National Half Recap

I suppose I should recap the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in DC. My offical time: 2:18:25. That is faster than my first HM and slower than my second. It was a tougher course than the first two, but I should have been in better condition.

I'm a little disappointed, especially in my early performance. I felt better halfway through, and I ran my last 3 or 4 miles under 10 minutes each. I suppose that also means I wasn't trying hard enough in the beginning. The first 4 or 5 miles just felt so hard.

I think early fueling might have been an issue as well. I didn't finish the Clif bar, which is typical. I might start taking a (caffeinated) gel right before time starts.

But I ran, and I didn't look pretty doing it.

I was concerned that the whole race was going to be a clusterf*ck. The organizers seemed slow in sending out info about parking and transportation. The expo was originally only open until 7. There was no race day packet pickup. It got better, though, and by the time we got to DC, we were able to hit the expo. On Saturday morning, we took the Metro over to the stadium with no problems.

The course was pretty nice. I've never run anything with so much crowd support, and it was really helpful. There were a couple of long hills (not all that steep, though) in the middle of the race, and I think topping them was the mental boost I needed. We ran through Howard University where students had set up a table with Gatorade and beer.

I chose the beer. Another mental boost, right?

They had water stops every 2 miles or so. There weren't as many bands as advertised, and some of them were pretty weak (I think one had to just be a karaoke machine). Plenty of Gatorade stops. The Gu stop was late, but obviously I brought my own. I only Gu'd once, but I took Gatorade several times. I don't think mid-run fueling was an issue.

With four miles left, I tried to really get into the race. I picked up the pace and held it pretty steady until the finish. It seemed to take forever to get to the finish, though. Point-1 miles is so far after you see the 13 sign!

All in all, it was a good race. I'm not sure I'll do another RnR series race, but I'm not necessarily against it. Smaller races are definitely better, but you can't beat the crowd support - signs, dogs, free high fives.

Afterward, we met up with friends and family and headed out for brunch. Some of our crew spent the entire day drinking, starting while we were racing. Ha. I mean, while we were running. We had a beer with brunch and then headed back to the hotel to shower. Eventually we met back up with the crew to spend the afternoon/evening drinking and whatnot. It was a good time - and because we're old, we headed home around 10. Sleep was so, so good.

My first trail race!

Saturday was my first trail race, and it was a prediction run. (It was part of the Dirty Trail Series.)

I predicted wrong. Oh well.

But to start off, I had planned to run 5 miles before the race and then run the 5 miles of the race. Again, I was wrong. It was snowing, so it took me longer to get to the trail on Saturday morning. So I only ran 4 miles before the race. Then, it turns out, the race was 4.something and not 5 miles. Again, oh well. It was fun!

But it was hard. I don't do much trail running - and I should totally do more - and it was messy. My Vasques are so, so dirty. I don't know when I'm going to get them out to clean them off. Sunday? In any case, trail running is HARD, and it is FUN. And slow. At the very least, I could hit the trail at Goodyear more often. There are more trail races around, so I'm definitely going to do another.

I did pretty well last week with my workout planning (and I'm still a little sore from Thursday's strength-training session - gah!). This week will be a little trickier because I'm going to San Francisco on Wednesday and coming back on the red-eye Friday night. But here's the plan:

Monday: run 4 miles
Tuesday: yoga
Wednesday: run 6 miles
Thursday: run 3 miles, in-hotel-room yoga?
Friday: run 3 miles, strength
Saturday: rest
Sunday: run 10 miles

Nice plan. Wish me luck!

Worst Race Ever

I am so disappointed in myself. I really don't know why this morning's 5-miler went so poorly, but it did. I finished in 53:28, I think, with 10:41 pace. What?! That's worse than my half-marathons. Oh my, that's basically the pace I ran in my first 5k over a year ago. Pathetic.

I am so disappointed in myself. The weather was perfect, I was dressed appropriately, the course was nice and well-marked, the race was well-organized. I can't blame this performance on anyone other than myself.

What went wrong:
* I've felt a little off all week.
* Last night, my sinuses went crazy, and I had to take two Benadryls and a Zyrtec to get them to stop.
* It appears my wisdom teeth (top only, I came without bottoms) are coming in, and they hurt (particularly on my left side - which is the same side that my sinuses were flipping out on).
* I seem to be battling dehydration this week, despite copious amounts of water (and even some Nuun and Gatorade).
* My mileage was up this week (finally), and I'm not used to it.

What went right (pretty much nothing, but I've got to come up with something, right?):
* I finished.
* Only had one beer last night.
* Went to bed before midnight, got up after 8.

This was a hard race, and I felt like I, mostly, tackled the hills well. Guess I should put that in the "what went right" category, but I don't feel like it went that well.

Seriously, after the race, I was holding back tears. I'm feeling very defeated and have no idea how I'm going to make my goal for Thanksgiving's 4-miler.

But I guess I just need to learn from this and move on. Aaron says I didn't have the right attitude to begin with, and maybe he's right (although I didn't notice I was being pessimistic).

So mad at myself. (And I realize that I'm a shitty runner anyhow, but I'm better than this.)