Half Marathon Trainers

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Intrepid Racers & Trainers - Oct 27 & 28 (Read 240 times)


an amazing likeness

    As we hit the last weekend of October...we've got three entries on the HMT race calendar:

     

    Vegefrog is trading her beer maiden pigtails for a wetsuit (maybe?) and gunning for a sub-23 5K.

     

    HappyFeat heads out into the wilderness for her Roots Rock Trail 12K race which promises 'hills aren't the only scarey part'.  Well, actually, yes the hills are scarey.

     

    On Sunday in the beautiful City of Sails, Auckland NZ, SamanthaNZ (are you still here, Samantha?) joins the big time running festival (full, half, quarter marathon & 5K at same event) of the Auckland Half.  Be sure to give vinodrinker a wave on the course Samantha, he'll be the chap in full mountaineering kit nailing steady 23:00 5Ks.

     

    Oct 27 vegefrog

    Run with Dolphins 5K

    5K Summerville,SC
    Oct 28 HappyFeat Spooky 12K 12K Port Gamble, WA
    Oct 28 SamanthaNZ Auckland Half Marathon 13.1 mi Auckland, NZ

     

    Wishing all our racers good luck, following breezes, and firm footing in the hills. Have a great day out there....you've earned it with all your training miles!

    Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.

    vegefrog


      Yep, gonna be wet and windy here Saturday morning...but I am DETERMINED to get a 22:30. I want it, I can taste it. I am just going to have to go all out. Maybe puke at the end? LOL.

        Maybe puke at the end?

         

        Would that be before or after the beer! Evil

         

         

        Good racing y'all! Run Strong!

        2017 Goals
        1) Run more than 231 miles
        2) Be ready for  HM in the spring

          This is pretty exciting- knowing people, even as internet friends, really gives  a stake in the outcome of the race.

          Good luck to all the racers- we expect race reports!

          PBs since age 60:  5k- 24:36, 10k - 47:17. Half Marathon- 1:42:41.

                                              10 miles (unofficial) 1:16:44.

           

          HappyFeat


            Thanks for the encouragement. The chance of rain during my race is dwindling, although it will still be cool; just under 50F / 9C.  I'm not going to try and plan any specific pacing since there's no mile markers to go by and my Garmin isn't accurate in the forest. If the course is the same as last year, it gives me some information to plan a bit of strategy. So I want to get through the first 3 miles where the steepest grade is in a comfortable effort and then go as quick as I can the rest of the way. Since instituting weekly tempos into my running over the last year, I hope to see an improvement over last years time.  Trail conditions will be a big factor though; so mainly it will be a fun, challenging, playful experience. There's nothing that makes you feel more like a kid than chasing other people through the forestBig grin

            Don't make excuses for why you can't get it done. 

            Focus on all the reasons why you must make it happen.

            vegefrog


              Broke 23 minutes...barely Smile 22:55, not the 22:30 I wanted. I think that's my limit without doing speedwork. So I guess if I want to get faster I'll have to hit a track or do some intervals! The tempo runs at MP are not cutting it Wink

               

               

              I won overall female though and got 2 free race entries to local races! Also a medal and a Palmetto Tree Tervis tumbler. Pretty stoked Smile

              HappyFeat


                Wow Vege you get faster every time!

                 

                MTA: I just talked to the race director and he said it's the same course, but the reverse direction. So essentially - it will be all new! even more fun! That said, it means FIVE miles uphill from the start instead of TWO - yikes!

                Don't make excuses for why you can't get it done. 

                Focus on all the reasons why you must make it happen.

                vegefrog


                   There's nothing that makes you feel more like a kid than chasing other people through the forestBig grin

                   

                  So awesome! Have fun HF!!!! I can't wait to hear your report Smile

                   

                   Rain for me this morning felt good, but here in the south it's still 70 degrees @ 7 AM...I hope you don't get rained on! Those 5 miles have nothing on you! I hope you tackle them and kill the course!!!

                  HappyFeat


                    Vege, I think you brought me good luck in terms of my finish time - Thanks!

                     

                    The Good News: I bettered my time from last year by FOUR minutes! It was a harder course due to more uphill; so I feel it shows my tempos and trail running that I started last Spring are paying off. I was 3/3 AG and 71/200 OA

                    Also, it did not rain and it wasn't as cold as I feared it would be - so yay for all that.

                     

                    Oh yeah, my time - it was 1:11:40 - so 9:37 avg pace, although the first mile was about 13 minutes because it was a single file walk.  My avg pace last year was 10:10, so you get why I say the tempos and trail practice have paid off.

                     

                    Now for the Bad: I was hit with a Major Sideache in the last 3 miles to where I could hardly breathe and sometimes had to walk. Also I only slept about 3 hours last night. Dang! Wide awake at 2 am. Crazy since I wasn't nervous about the race or anything. So I started the race feeling tired and that didn't really go away. I ran as fast as I could whilst trying to keep my breathing under control. (That seems to be my biggest problem in a trail race.)

                    Don't make excuses for why you can't get it done. 

                    Focus on all the reasons why you must make it happen.

                      Well done you two!

                       

                      Vege - smoking! Not sure if we have seen an overall winner in HMT group for a while (ever??)! Great stuff.

                       

                      HF - Sounds like a great run! Doing a trail run is going to be another one of my unfulfilled goals for this year! Did you have fun? sounds like it. Nice race - sleep well tonight! Smile

                       

                      Not sure if SamanthaNZ is still with us here in HMT but a quick log stalk shows she got round her HM in under 2:30 - another great job there. Well done Samantha!

                       

                      How'd it go for you vino?

                      2017 Goals
                      1) Run more than 231 miles
                      2) Be ready for  HM in the spring

                      HappyFeat



                        HF - Sounds like a great run! Doing a trail run is going to be another one of my unfulfilled goals for this year! Did you have fun? sounds like it. Nice race - sleep well tonight! Smile

                         

                         Thanks Matt - hope I do! Yes, it was a blast. Lots of runners in costume and a costume contest followed the race. Everybody was very friendly. The trail was perfect - very runnable. One nice thing about Fall is all the leaves laying over the mud. (I'm not a fan of muddy muck because I'm so fearful that my feet will slip out from under me like on a banana peel.)  So anyway there were a lot of leaves down and good traction pretty much everywhere. The recent rain made the raised tree roots shiny and easier to spot (and avoid).  This was the first of the six trail races I've done so far where I was running along with other people. Up to now, I've run alone somewhere between the fast and the slow runners. Now my pace has improved a bit, I was up with other people and ran and chatted with a small group up until the last couple miles when I got sidelined a bit. The leader of the group was a woman who outdistanced us and who I wish I could have kept up with. She was so strong and smooth, and bounced up those hills in perfect hill-running form. It was inspiring even if I didn't have the oomph to follow her example, I did improve my form a little bit at that point.

                        Don't make excuses for why you can't get it done. 

                        Focus on all the reasons why you must make it happen.


                        an amazing likeness

                          Wow!  Great running by all this week.  VF nails a 1st female finish and HF runs a 4 min (!) better time over a harder course...that's good stuff.  You all should be proud of your results -- the rewards of all those miles and hours of focus training.

                           

                          It brings a smile to me when I update the race calendar with results like this...I'm running out of cute pithy accolades at the rate you're nailing these goals. (g)

                          Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.

                          HappyFeat


                             You all should be proud of your results -- the rewards of all those miles and hours of focus training.

                             

                            It brings a smile to me when I update the race calendar with results like this...I'm running out of cute pithy accolades at the rate you're nailing these goals. (g)

                             Thanks MT!  I feel like I make progress so slowly;  it's nice to see it so clearly reflected in a race time. Although I started the tempo runs sometime last spring, I still feel like I'm just getting started with them. I'm going to keep working my plan slowly and incrementally and see where it takes me.

                             

                            Thanks also for maintaining the race calendar and for all the encouragement and mentoring you contribute.  I appreciate it so much!

                            Don't make excuses for why you can't get it done. 

                            Focus on all the reasons why you must make it happen.


                            an amazing likeness

                              Broke 23 minutes...barely Smile 22:55, not the 22:30 I wanted. I think that's my limit without doing speedwork. So I guess if I want to get faster I'll have to hit a track or do some intervals! The tempo runs at MP are not cutting it Wink

                               

                              Ahhhem... before you sell those tempo runs up the river and all...I was just updating the race calendar with results and noticed the you have knocked 3:30 off your 5K time in 2012.  Holy Crap.

                              Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.