October 2018 Monthly Running Challenge

7lenny7 wrote: »

Today I had my best race in 18 months!

This was The Big Woods Run, a trail half marathon which goes through a beautiful state park at the peak of fall color. A rural church puts this race on (along with a 5k and 10K) to raise money for their mission work. Along with a great trail race they serve you homemade soup, bread and cookies after, and there's a bake sale with all kinds of tempting delights!

This is my second year running the half. I felt I ran fairly well last year finishing in 2:08. My goal this year was 2:05 but I wasn't going to run it hard because I have a 12 hour trail race next weekend. I looked through the data from several HMs and decided I would try to keep my HR around 155. In a paved HM I can go 162 but I wanted some buffer for hills and mud.

The weather was perfect for my taste. 32F at the start! I wore shorts and a short sleeve shirt, but I also wore arm sleeves, gloves and a buff around my ears. The sleeves, gloves and buff came off after 2 or 3 miles.

I had late start leaving my house (with Kody pouting like crazy when he figured out that he wasn't going with me) but made it with enough time to go through my race prep in the truck. I made it to the start area about 5 minutes prior to race. I had to pee and there were long lines, but hey... this is a rural race and there were no lines at the shelterbelt west of the church.

After the countdown we were off. A bugle player got us going with the William Tell Overture, followed by a bit of the theme from Rocky and finally, after everyone was past the start line and on the road, he finished with Happy Trails to You. That was awesome!

So now we're off. The first 1+ mile is on paved road, surrounded by cropland, with a strong back wind. I'm know my heart rate goes crazy for the first mile of any run so I run by feel and enjoy it. I did an excellent job not getting caught up in the adrenaline and kept to my plan. My first mile is 8:52, which surprises me.

A turn at the corner, down another road a bit then north into the woods. Oh my such beauty! Yellows, reds and oranges. Thankfully this is not a technical course or I'd be tripping all over. This is why fall is my favorite season!

We get 2 miles of totally flat, but gorgeous trail. About a mile in we come to the first stretch of significant watery mud. There's a conga line of folks daintily trying to skirt around the mud on the edge of the trail. WTH?! This is a *trail* race! While they're all trying to keep clean and dry, I came through and barreled right down the center of the trail. Most of the runners cheered me on and a couple even fell in behind me and enjoyed the mud like it's meant to be enjoyed. I did hear some snide comments from a few because I was splashing water and mud on them. I can't say I felt bad about it, I was having too much fun. I average about 9:10 on the flat trails.

We get out of the southern part of the woods onto a gravel road. Half a mile later we turn north and are now in even more impressive woods and we start to see hills. I bomb the downhills and power hike the uphills.

We get about halfway through the race and I'm doing great. My HR gets a little high on the uphills and a few times when I want to fly by others but overall I'm sticking with my plan. My HR ranges from 152 to 160,but mostly a few beats either side of my 155 target.

We finish our miles on the north end of the park, where I average 10:20 per mile, and get back to the flat south end.

Until now I've been playing leap frog with a guy I know. We're about the same age and about the same ability. With three miles to go he tells me he's hurting and he'll see me at the finish. I'm kind of bummed because it's been fun going back and forth and chatting when we're close. On the other hand I feel like I need to crush him when I can because he's done the same to me. So I smile and put on a burst of speed to drop him for good.

Up until now u had my Garmin set to show HR. I'd get my lap pace every mile and I had a sense that I was doing well I really didn't know if I was on target for my goal or even if I was ahead of last years pace. With three miles to go I finally looked at the time.

If I were to run 10 minute miles I'd beat my goal! Well I ran faster Than that for the next two miles,about 9:33. I thought I could do the same for the last mile on the paved road but it was slightly uphill the entire way and the wind holy hell the wind! It was all I could do to run a 10 minute mile but I finished strong and passed two runners just before the chute.

My final time was 2:02:58! About 5 minutes faster than last year. I placed 65 out of 238,beating 71 percent of the field. Last year I only beat 40 percent of the field. I'm pretty stoked about the improvement!

My friend finished 3 minutes behind me. He looked like hell when he got in.

After the church lunch and buying too many goodies at the bake sale, I headed to my truck. While scanning Strava I saw the post of another friend who ran the race and she had included great pictures of the woods and a nearby waterfall. Ah shoot I forgot to take pictures! So I drove up to the park, got out of and ran a couple more miles so I could get some pictures!

I'll post some of those when I get back to a computer. This app doesn't let me post photos.