Weekend Bling Report
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The fifth anniversary Giants Head Marathon on Saturday. My second running of the event, a trail marathon in Dorset. It's undulating, over 27 miles with about 1000 metres of elevation.
Having picked up a mild piriformis pain at the Ox 12Hour the other week where I limited myself to a marathon I was a bit cautious and chose to carry my hiking poles. About 14 miles in it started nagging again, so the poles helped a lot, to minimise my limping. As the ground is very hard at this time of year I opted for my Inov-8 Road Claws, rather than my Race Ultras. I think they helps a little, although with lack of a rock plate led to a fair amount of bruising.
As ever a tough race, with the winner finishing in 3:20 and the last runner coming in at about 8:30, so I was reasonably comfortable with a 6:39 finish.
https://relive.cc/view/1051776023
Other than really bad blisters, I'm in pretty good shape, ready for the Chase Half in a couple of weeks.
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Firecracker Four Mile was not an important race to me, but I was feeling pretty good at the start line. Ended up running it at about the same pace I ran my last tempo interval, but on a course with more hills. 4 mile certified course in 25:42, 16th of 697 overall and 1st of 16 in the M 60-64 age group.
I wasn't crazy about the curved glass plaques that were out for awards, so I settled for taking a picture of them and leaving before the awards ceremony.
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I've decided that I really don't like short races. My lungs burn for 20 minutes and then I go home. I think the mile race I am signed up for in a couple weeks will be the last thing I run shorter than a 10k (or maybe even HM distance and longer).
Still, I managed to finished 2nd in my age group today and 11th over all in the Paxtang Patriot 5k. The last mile was over a minute slower than the first thanks to a nicely placed hill that seemed to go on forever. I got passed exactly once and that occurred in the last 200 meters. I had nothing left in the tank. Did I mention I really hate short races?
I'm the one in the blue looking all serious. I have no idea what I was thinking at that point to have that look on my face. The race just started.6 -
@MobyCarp - I kinda like the glass plaques. They are different from the usual trophies and medals.
The first time you see them, they're pretty cool. By the the third time the reaction is, "Where am I going to put it?" Some of them have ended up in my recycle bin for lack of storage space.0 -
Chase Half on Sunday. The first time this event has taken place, with a 12 hour the day before. A few friends did marathon distance during the 12 hour.
As ever, trail course with about 250 m of elevation. No steep ascents and a very hard surface. Inov-8 Race Ultras worked well, although having picked up very bad heel blisters at the GHM I was a bit cautious of opening them up.
A really good day, 2:44 finish which seemed fair for the conditions.
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A bit of cognitive dissonance. I won my age group running my 14th and slowest half marathon, in a race where I struggled to run as slowly as I should.
It was 64º F (18º C) with 88% relative humidity and overcast skies. As weather for Shoreline goes, it was pretty good. I've trained in the humidity, and it felt pretty cool compared to the evening running I've been doing.
But I was pacing for a 1:40 finish, targeting a 7:38 pace by race mile markers. Kept having to slow myself down, which wasn't too bad for the first 11 miles when I had a guy depending on me for a good pace. Then he took off to finish in 1:38:30, and it was really hard to run the last 2 miles slow in space. Ended up finishing in 1:39:05, and I'll count less than a minute off target as a victory.
That turned out to win the M 60-64 age group (1st of 15 in the age group, 38th of 639 overall), so I got another curved glass plaque and a jar of organic peanut butter. I wasn't sure I was eligible for the age group award, since I was a pacer and my entry was comped; but I'll take the peanut butter. It may not be as good as the almond butter or sunflower butter I've got at other races, but it's a lot better than the peanut butter I'd buy in the store.
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Ran a tiny 10k race yesterday. Had a blast. My cousin and aunt won the overall female awards for the 5k and 10k respectively, and I beat the only other female in my age group. So I wasn't last after all! My cousin tripped and broke her trophy seconds after receiving it, only to discover that they gave her the wrong one - so she had actually broken someone else's trophy! Oops! The real rewards for us were the gobs they gave out at the end. We left with a pile of them. See the picture if you don't know what a gob is
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^^^ You mean Whoopie Pie ^^^
Where is this race? I will run for whoopie pies any day any time. 1 -
^^^ You mean Whoopie Pie ^^^
Where is this race? I will run for whoopie pies any day any time.
Shanksville, PA, a tiny little town in Somerset County, just a few miles from the Flight 93 crash site. It seems to be an annual race as a fundraiser for the girls high school basketball team. VERY low-budget! But the "gobs" - that's what they call them here
- made it worth it!
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Did the running leg for a relay team at a local triathlon. Although our average age is ~57, we won the 40+ division. I went into the event mildly injured, so expected to run slower than I actually did.1
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My first (and maybe last
) mile race is compete. I managed to run it in 6:16. That was a bit slower than my goal (and what I think I can do) but I'll take it. It was good enough for 116th place overall and 6th in my age group. The placement could have been worse but a severe storm went through and caused a significant delay between heats. Many participants left.
If I do run it again I want to get under 6 minutes. I'm confident I can but the question is do I really want to train for it. I'm much more comfortable running marathons. I have a few months to think about it...
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@dewd2 - I've seen the workouts for people targeting mile races, and they intimidate me. So far, I've avoided them by telling everyone I'm training for a marathon and just running the Michigan Mile because I'm expected to support the team. And telling the team captain he doesn't need me, he really needs a miler. He doesn't seem to believe me.
Before my first mile race, I told another runner, "I don't know whether I want to run a mile. I'm not much of a sprinter." Big mistake. I got a long lecture on how a mile is not a sprint, and a description of race strategy that (aside from the ludicrously short distances and fast paces) sounded a lot like a half marathon race strategy. Still, from the perspective a marathon runner, the task is simply go run a mile as fast as you can.3 -
Wasn't on the weekend, but ran a local 5k this week for fun and to break up the training monotony. Like @MobyCarp, all of my training is targeted towards longer distances (marathon/50k). I don't do any speedwork beside a once a week marathon pace run. 80% of my running is at an easy conversational pace.
Came in first overall, PRed my 5k time, and set my first sub 19 minute 5k time with an 18:57 official time.
Even a mile or 5k is predominantly an aerobic effort, so training for distance has greatly improved my performance even in shorter races.
https://runnersconnect.net/the-importance-of-aerobic-running/4 -
Ran the Run United 5K Saturday. Started out oversleeping my alarm, got half way to the park and realized I forgot my headphones, got to the park with 25 minutes to spare and only got about half a warmup run in, still tending a sore knee and then during the Anthem, it starts to pour.....
Nutty day, but finished 3rd in my age group (50-59) and 33rd overall.4 -
Ran the Karknocker 5K this evening. 19:28 was good for 23rd of 272overall and 1st of 7 in the M 60-64 age group. 2nd and 3rd place in age group got cheap medals; age group winners got more generic bling:
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I did a small 6.5 mile today. Though I was very close to first overall, I just never could quite catch up. At two points, I was only a few feet behind the lead; and ended less than a min. later.
It didn't help that I started the day with some health issues... I'll spare you the gory details, but it was painful to stand up straight when I first got out of bed. I knew exactly what was wrong and was almost back to top shape before the race. Issue resurfaced around mile 2, but I was able to keep going. It did slow me down a little bit during miles 2-4; a time when I could have taken the lead otherwise (the leader appeared to show some weakness on this hilly section).
Nonetheless, I won my age group and got a medal for that.
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Dorset Invader Marathon yesterday, 28.2 miles of Dorset trails with over 700 metres of elevation. Very muddy for much of the route and persistent rain throughout.
Not a great experience as I was significantly underfueled. Two weeks of military food left me in a bad state and I felt my energy starting to drop rapidly at about 12 miles. I then fell quite hard on rock at about 15 miles, which reduced me to walking much of the rest of the route. The wall finally caught up with me at about 24 miles, despite six gels, flapjacks, beer and assorted cakes at the aid stations.
https://instagram.com/p/BXIXn6Bht-G/
Not all that happy with 6:58 but I'll take it. I probably shouldn't have gone out, but you know how it is.
I've now got about six weeks until my next races, and I think I need the break.
https://relive.cc/view/1107174457
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Jenny Kuzma Memorial Bergen 5K today. Didn't know I'd run it till this morning, when the legs felt healthy enough to risk a 5K. The point was to support my team; but it turned out there were no age group team awards, so I could have sat it out without hurting the team, sigh.
Ran a 19:47, good for 88th of 200 overall and 2nd of 11 in the M 60+ age group, behind a team mate who recently aged up. This was a tough field because it was also the USATF Niagara Region 5K Championship, and the open teams were hotly contested.
Bling was nominal; a plastic pint glass, and a visor with no hat that is useless for old bald guys like me. Age group winners also got a bag/backpack, but I already have one just like that from last year. And there was a $15 gift certificate to a local running store. I'll use that.
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20km Emperor's Challenge Tumbler Ridge BC. Gun Start and Chip Time finish.
Registration capped at 1000 Athlete's ( filled in < 13 hr's ) which is realistically all the Available Parking, Trail System and volunteers can handle due to the Terrain Challenges and the large amount of area's that are single track.
1000 registered but only 654 made it to the start line. That is a lot of DNS.
325 of 654 Johnson Bill 03:00:02 M Peace River 31/52 in my AG.
Since I am normally a Mid-Pack Finisher that's where I tried to Line up for the start.
Was a little to deep. Lots of walkers snuck in front which made for a slow start.
1 - 2.3 km. Uphill on a road to let the athletes spread out. So lots of work to pass the slower athletes and walkers who were 4-6 across
2.3 - 5 km. Into the bush on a rolling old Pipeline right of way ( 1-2m wide ) with limited passing until km 5.
5 - 6.5 km. Back uphill with passing opportunities untill km 6.5.
6.5 - 8 km. Into the trees, Mixed Single and Double Track until km 8 Water Station. Mud Holes, Rock Gardens and with the false peak visible
off the right shoulder.
8 - 10.5 km. Uphill through the trees, tundra and jumbled rocks. High Tripping Hazard.
I was in a group with 7 runners ahead of me who were constantly passing the slower athletes
the lead runner would step off the main trail to pass and we would all step out at about the same point to pass.
Not sure what was happening behind me but suspect there were others doing the same.
Then the trail would narrow down and we would all pullback into line.
Drop into a Narrow Rift Valley - Slippery Loose Granular rock that was a real challenge for some.
I slowed up a little before the descent to get a little space between me and the runner in front of me
and then just threw myself over the edge. Ran uphill through the rift valley and then we ran into the
Big Boulders that had broke free from the walls and crashed down blocking the valley, Straight uphill out of the Rift.
Right into the 10.5 km Water Station. The real peak was now visible. Across the Top of the mountain with a Fantastic Cooling Wind
very irregular bedrock with unstable footing - a real challenge. Normally would be a magnificient view but lots of
smoke limiting visibility to 1 km.
11 km. Pass the peak and drop back into the Rift Valley between Mtn Top Tarns/Lakes. Another straight up-hill assent
out of the Rift Valley. Back into the Broken Bedrock with nasty footing/tripping hazards. Rolling Downhill
km 14 Aid Station. A short up-hill section and then steeply downhill untill km 19.4. A short uphill and its over.
Gold Medals < 2hrs
Silver Medals 2 - 3hrs
Bronze Medals >3hrs
My Time 3:00:02 Yea that's right 2 lousy second's away from a Silver Medal Finish.
My GPS Watch from Strava was 2:59:32.
But it was so much fun I know that I will have to hit this event again.
Nice Shirt - Very Nice Shirt.
I stole/hijacked a few photo's from another athlete's Strava Post since I did not have a phone/camera with me.
Km 6 - 7 1 of 4 Cracks in the Bedrock we had to jump across. This was the smallest one.
Rock Garden Single track
Km 10 Rift Valley
Steep Climb out of the Rift Valley - there be lots of walking
Km 11 Downhill off the peak. Heavy Smoke obscures the other Mountains
Km 12 Smoky
Km 13 Bedrock - Boulder gardens. Tricky - technical section
Km 14 Cliffside Ridge Run on the descent. Adjacent Mountain shrouded in Smoke.
Weather Reports - Smoke Advisory from the BC Fires. @mwyvr
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I had a typo error - Registration capped at 1000 Athlete's ( filled in < 17 hr's )
Love the Air Quality statement of Avoid strenous outdoor activities.
The area about 70-80 km south of this was closed due to a fire in the area - which is why we had so much smoke.0 -
That is a really nice shirt. I love it when races provide shirts I actually want to wear. It makes me want to come back and run the race again. I already have a trunk full of ugly t-shirts. I don't need any more.
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@juliet3455 Great shirt and it looks like a beautiful course!0
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My first ever 7K race was on Thursday night along the river in Harrisburg, PA. I ran it in 31:14 which was good for 23rd overall and 5th in my age group. Even though it was my first attempt at that distance I'm not sure I could have done better. I'm pretty happy with the way I raced it. Strava even tells me I got my 2nd best 5k time.
I'm the one in the white.
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I was in Columbus, Ohio this weekend, so I rearranged my October marathon training plan a bit and ran two races: the Westerville Gameday 5k, which is the cross-country team fundraiser for the local high school near where I was staying in Columbus, and the Columbus Half Marathon at Alum Creek State Park.
The 5k was Friday night and the half was Saturday morning. I ended up finishing the 5k in 22:19, good for a new PR by about a minute. Finishers also got a pint glass and a t-shirt for their efforts. About 11 hours later I lined up for the half and finished in 1:50:23, another new PR by about a minute and a half (also got a finisher's medal and another t-shirt). I wasn't sure how I would feel for the half so soon after the 5k, but I felt good all the way through, so I guess the marathon training mileage is paying off. A storm blew through right before the Friday night race and kept things nice and cool (for August) for both races, so that helped too.
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Warsaw, Poland HM last night. Weather was great for an evening race. Up until the 9th kilometer it felt like a steady sea of people passing me-I definitely started too far forward in my corral. At the 9k mark I began to notice that I was beginning to pass a few people, and that only increased as the race went on. I only stopped running twice - once to take off my long-sleeved shirt and once to walk through one of the aide stations. I got faster as the race went on and by the last 2k it felt like I was flying as I passed people left and right and sprinted to the finish feeling awesome. It was definitely my best race so far. A PR by default because it's my first HM, BUT I came in 15 minutes faster than my estimate based on my training! Well-organized race with nice medals, a light-up band (that we were supposed to wear for the race), and a technical T-shirt that I really like and actually want to wear.
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Got this little beauty today. Wasn't a PB but a very enjoyable race!3 -
I ran the Harrisburg Half Marathon today in 01:42:22. That was good enough for 86th place (out of 704) and 10th in my age group. The weather was darn near perfect.
This picture was taken on a hill leading up to the bridge less than a half mile from the finish. At this point I was not holding back at all and was just about out of gas. I even knew the camera was there and couldn't even muster a smile (needed all the oxygen I could get ).
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A pretty challenging weekend, down in the Purbecks for the Bad Cow Weekender. A lapped trail race over a 4.4mi route, on a mix of forestation, sand and gravel, with each lap giving a vertical elevation of about 120 metres.
I called down there, so drive down on Friday evening and camped over the weekend.
Saturday was a 12 hour event. I'd contemplated a 50K, but opted to limit myself to a just a Marathon instead. I found the route was a bit more work on my legs than I'd anticipated and I didn't want to break myself. The weather was reasonable on Saturday, generally overcast but a brisk onshore crosswind over about a mile and a half.
The fastest marathon took 3:20, and I was comfortable with 6:17. The longest runner managed 66 miles in the 12 hours.
A couple of beers with friends on Saturday evening set me up nicely for Sunday morning. Another Marathon.
So there was a marathon and Half on the same route. Starting on tired legs was a bit of a challenge, and it was a pretty difficult time. The weather has closed in, with persistent rain for the day. Being pretty depleted after Saturday meant I was already feeling a bit tough, and I struggled to warm up at all.
I finished Sunday in 6:40.
First double, and a lot of learning points.
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Don't Get Lost in the Woods. Sunday September 10.
Trail run through the trees at the Wapiti Nordic Center in the rolling Sand Dunes Hills along the Wapiti River in Grande Prairie. They had the complete package of events, Walk or Run: HM,10 km, 5km, 3km and 400m for the kids.
The temperature at gun time ( 9:00 am ) was perfect but it quickly warmed up as there was no clouds to shield the sun. The sun tends to be low on the horizon so at certain points in the course you were looking straight into it and were blinded - always makes for interesting run as you can't see what you are going to land on.
The course varied from wide triple track, double and single track. The single track was usually beside a swampy section and was a little bypass trail through the trees. In the Sand Dune's if you were able to run on the short grass the traction/stability were good. The Hills were a challenge as the sand was churned up by all the events ( Walk's, Runs, Bike's, Horse's ) that are held at this facility so it was like running on a beach above the Hi-Tide line.
One of the ladies in GP is the same pace as me so we were playing Tag/Follow the leader for the whole event. Helped both of us keep a good tempo. Ultimately she had more gas on the flats so finished ~100m ahead of me. I would catch her on the hills and she would float past on the flats.
10km 57:40. AG 3rd, 20/112. At first I was a little disappointed by my time then realized I was only 1 minute of my PB and it was on a Flat Street course, so it was actually a really good result.
Participant Medal was made from Birch Tree's collected on the course, the placement medal's were interesting.
The Shirt - I love it. No Advertising and a Great LoGo.
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