Duke of the Internet
That sucks, considering you and a few others are used to running on technical surfaces and still found it painful to navigate I'm going to have to guess they either changed the course or didn't maintain that area of it as well this year. Glad everyone had fun there though- this is actually my PR course, but my marathon PR is way soft. Maybe I'll go at it next year if they address the rocks. Great job pacing!
I think the rocks may be new. This section is in really crappy shape. There tons and tons of pot holes. They may have been addressing the issue by dumping a bunch of new stone. The race has receive a "bunch" of feedback on the stone, however it's probably something completely out of there control. If I was wearing trail shoes, I wouldn't have even noticed it. However in road shoes, a completely different story.
How's everyone's recovery going? Mine has been great- I had no soreness after Monday and ran Tuesday and Wednesday and felt great. I've been thinking about trying another spring marathon to get under that 3:50 mark- the only close ones I can find are Rockford or Chicagoland in Schaumburg on the 19th. Anyone know anything about either race? I'm not loving the double loop course of Schaumburg and it sounds like it might be annoying to have the course open to the public, but Rockford sounds EXTREMELY small and maybe too hilly. Or maybe running 2 marathons in 2 weeks of each other is just a bad idea and I should forget about it.
Trail Dog
My recovery was pretty quick. I was in D.C. last week and really only had time for short runs before meetings so that worked out well. I fly to Atlanta tomorrow and the hillier running will be perfect as I transition over to training for Leadville marathon. I'm staying through the weekend so I can run in the mountains with friends.
I'd like to pick up a half marathon in the next month or so, as speed work and also because I think I should be able to PR my 1:54 at Cary in March. I considered the Schaumberg race but that fell through once I found out I'd be in Atlanta. Buckeye, I think you would have better luck at Schaumberg because I've heard Rockford is hilly. Take a look at the course map because I don't think it is technically a double loop (eg, having to run past the finish line and head back out again) -- isn't it more of an out-and-back? Personally, that is the one I would pick. And with the temps rising early this week you might luck out with some cooler temps this weekend.
Hope you're having a great time in Atlanta, Roxie! Running in the mountains sounds fantastic. I went whitewater rafting in the Chattahoochee National Forest a couple of years ago- what a beautiful area. I'm working at a summer camp in western MA this summer and I'm hoping to have enough time off to explore the Berkshires and do some trail running.
I decided not to run a marathon this weekend after a miserable failure of a 10 mile run on Sunday at Waterfall Glen, combined with the less-than-ideal looking forecast. It's probably for the best. The Run for the Zoo in Lincoln Park in June is sounding like a possibility though.
OK, we can probably move this discussion back to the Weeklies now!