the good - half marathon with only one hill
the bad - the hill is 2400 feet high
the ugly - it sucks running uphill for 6.5 miles on a truck trail...but I'm glad I did it
why - after boston I wanted to run something where the conventional plans about pacing etc. didn't matter. I needed a mental break from that and this course fit the bill as I didn't know what to expect.
So I get there and my first surprise is...no garmin! forgot it like an idiot. turns out with this stupid course it didn't really matter. so I just ran it old school with my stopwatch. no chip timing of course, just gun time. about 75 or so started this race. we started and it was just as advertised...uphill. decent packed dirt but some loose gravel too that I knew might be treacherous on the way down. the first water station was at the 3 mile point. I was just under 35 minutes, so the pace was 11:35 or so. was with a loose group of about 5 others by this point. the next 3.5 miles really sucked but I passed the others. and when you pass on this uphill stuff, it's a slooow pass, no rocketing by anyone. just share a few words and move on. was friggin relieved to get to turnaround at 6.5 miles. the time was 1 hour, 14 minutes - so my pace for this first half was 11:23.
Time to turn around and go back down. Was able to start picking up speed, but also didn't want to do a face plant into some damn rocks on the trail. So I pushed it as well as I could. This is where it was weird with no garmin as I had no idea what my pace was going down. I knew uphill it just sucked and didn't matter. Didn't pass anyone on the way down nor get passed by anyone. the temps were heating up by this point too so I really just wanted to get done. I ended up going downhill in 51 minutes for a 7:50 pace. Finished with gun time of 2:05. So final overall pace of 9:33 which doesn't mean anything on this course
Post race there were free burgers, veggie burgers, watermelon, water and beer in a cooler. Laid back environment like most trail events. The winning time by the way was some guy who ran this beast in 1:30! So I guess I got what I wanted and my legs are more sore today than they have been in long time. here's the real profile as the avatar distorts it....
got more stuff than expected...besides a shirt, we got a coffee cup (always welcome) and a medal that is also a refrigerator magnet.
marathon pr - 3:16
Former Bad Ass
Sounds like a fun race! How are your legs feeling?
Damaris
Hehe this race sounds "fun" and funny as well. Guess negative splits were out?
There are techniques for running downhill and taking full advantage of gravity without "breaking" so much, true? Living in Chicago, I wouldn't know anything about hills.
So, would you say that in your opinion, this one hill was more difficult than all four Newton hills?
Congratulations! You picked a tough race and finished not only still standing up, but also running at a good pace. Running down can be a killer on the legs. I can't imagine doing it on a trail. I'd be terrified.
Glad to hear that they treated you well at the finish line, with some good treats to eat!
PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013
Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013
18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010
Nice work on a fun trail! It's probably good you forgot your garmin - looking at it could have caused a faceplant on the downhill. These are the kind of races that you just run by effort, but you can go harder uphill since the downhill will be easier on the cardio. It's also the kind of race where training for downhills can help - esp. if you're going down for a bit over 50min.
Enjoy your recovery.
Hip Redux
That uphill looks like a beast, but I think the downhill would have been worse! Yikes.
Nice job!
Ouch
Sweet medal. WTG
”Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.”
“Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right.”
Tomas
Return To Racing
Hard earned magnet. Congrats!!!
been a while since my legs have felt any soreness...except after a marathon...today I do feel some cuz of the downhill pounding, but not too bad.
Smaller By The Day
That sounds like a really tough race. The medal is cool, but I agree about the finish time. I wouldn't base any future races on that one. Truly a race where the time can only be compared to others on the same course.
Improvements
Weight 100 pounds lost
5K 31:02 Sept. 2012 / 23:36 Sept. 2013 (Same Course)
10K 48:59 April 2013
HM 2:03:56 Nov. 2012 / 1:46:50 March 2013
MARATHON 3:57:33 Nov. 2013
Very impressive accomplishment! I can't imagine signing up for that kind of race, you are very brave/crazy. I suppose better than a valley race, where you would run downhill first. (Is that next?)
And yeah I don't know what you would do with a Garmin on that course anyway, other than amuse yourself afterwards looking at the splits.
Dave
Looks like and sounds like fun and stuff you can actually use is awesome.
Barking Mad To Run
goodness, a near half-mile uphill, gaaack! Your legs must've felt really great after that, and with that downhill too. I keep seeing this image in my head of a 'jelly-legs' cartoon character, lol.
Congrats on your race!
"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." Theodore Roosevelt
I recently ran a flat 5K just because I wanted to see what I could do but I am more and more selecting courses like this where you have to think about effort much more than pace. I like the smaller races anyway. Several years ago, I ran something with a very similar profile along a National Forest Road in Pisgah National Forest near Brevard, NC. As I recall, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Congrats on a fun event.
Short term goal: 17:59 5K
Mid term goal: 2:54:59 marathon
Long term goal: To say I've been a runner half my life. (I started running at age 45).
delicate flower
Heh...sweet. SCORE on the coffee mug!
<3