Good luck to all our racers this weekend!!
05/13 TammyinGP - Tough As Nails 10 miles, Medford, OR
05/13 spinach - Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon, St Joseph MN
05/13 Mike E - Shiprock Marathon, Shiprock, NM
05/13 stumpy77 - Maine coast 1/2 Marathon Kennebunk, ME
05/14 evanflein - Murphy Dome Roam (tentative)
05/14 Henrun - Sea Dogs 5K, Porland ME
05/14 mrrun - Sea Dogs 5K, Portland ME
We can't wait to read your race reports and see your pictures!
"Champions are everywhere; all you need is to train them properly..." ~Arthur Lydiard
Amazingly, I made a smart decision today and I didn't run the Wobegon Marathon. It turned out that it was a warm day for the marathon so while i was standing at the finish I was glad I made the right decision. I was prudent today so that I will be able to run next week. Instead, today my school is graduating and I need to grade some exams to make sure they will graduate.
I ran the Tough As Nails 10 mile mountain/trail run. It was a new course this year and the RD said it was over 11 miles. It ended up being 11.25 miles. Originally I registered for the 5K race, which I've done twice before but it's fairly easy. I can do it in 30 min or less, so not too tough. I'm glad I switched because I heard from others that the 5K course was only 2.6 miles. I would have been disappointed to only run 2.6 miles.
this is a pretty tough race (hence the name). the 1st five miles aren't too bad and actually has quite a bit of decline,but the next 5 miles are almost all incline, with some parts being so steep that unless you channel your inner mountain goat, you're trying to power walk it. I was not doing any channeling today and because I was never sure when this insane climb was ever going to end, I ended up walking just about all of mile 10 to get to the peak. but then you have a sweet almost all downhill and can really haul ass if you still have it in you. weather was great this year - upper 40's to start. I got by on capris, a short sleeve shirt ( Newport Marathon shirt) and arm sleeves that I would roll down on occasion. but there was a chilly breeze at times, so then the sleeves would go back up. this was probably the most technical course I've run. narrow single track for most of it and very rocky in many parts. you really have to watch your footing because it's constantly changing. the views from almost anywhere on this course are amazing, and the wildflowers are blooming all over the place, but because you have to watch the trail so closely, you miss out on alot of the vistas. finish time was 2:21, so not that great at all. I believe I was 6th AG (out of 10 maybe?)
Great after party: beer, live music, snacks and an insane amount of donuts. I had a few bites of one but something sweet like that has no appeal to me, so i stuck to some salty tortilla chips.
Tammy
Trails are hard!
Today was the Shipyard Maine Seacoast Half. I had started training for this with the intent of finally breaking 2 hours. However, it was not to be. In the beginning of April, I got some sort of chest crud that made its way around work, and what little speed seemed to be developing, went away and hasn't fully come back. Certainly not at 13.1 miles.
I stayed at our camp after work on Friday and stopped at the bib pickup on the way. Everything was well organized. the race was capped at 1500 runners. Haven't looked up the final results yet to see exactly how many and where I ended up. It appears that the large majority of the runners were women and I think I was passed by most. Which is not a bad thing.
My original goal was 9 m/m, revised to 10 m/m based on the last few long runs, and I stuck with it for at least the first 10K, Sort of settled in at a consistent, if not speedy pace for most of the next 10K. 12th mile involved a potty stop that added a few minutes. Ended up with a gun time of 2:20 and watch time of 2:16. Neither of which I'm thrilled with, but did allow me to meet my last two goals, which were no PW and finish. Low hanging fruit, but anyway.
Weather was just about perfect--50F with some breeze and not a huge amount of sun. Started out with my long sleeve Lubec marathon shirt, but was out of that for at least the last 5 miles. The route was really nice--no major hills, but enough difference to make it interesting. elevation change showed only +/-800'.
Need a fast half for late fall. Then I need to actually train for it.
Spinach, wise decision to not run your race.
Tammy, nice job on your Tough as Nail!. I think you did channel your inner goat to even power walk up that last hill. It seems like the scenery was fabulous. Any pictures?
Stumpy, Your sub 2:00 will come when you least expect it. It seems like you ran a very good race. Rest up now!
Spinach, wise decision to not run your race. Tammy, nice job on your Tough as Nail!. I think you did channel your inner goat to even power walk up that last hill. It seems like the scenery was fabulous. Any pictures? Stumpy, Your sub 2:00 will come when you least expect it. It seems like you ran a very good race. Rest up now!
no photos this time. didn't bring my phone with me as I didn't want that to be my excuse to stop and take breaks.
protector of my dad
When it was yesterday, I was sleeping like a good boy when I heard Dad open the drawer where he keeps his pants that go "swish swish swish" when we go run run run! He said that we had a rac to do! I started getting very rexcited and told Mom she had to get up too.
Dad put a stroller in the truck. Me and Mom and Dad went for a bye bye ride and we went to a big big creek where there are lots of places to go run run run! There were a bunch of people getting ready for a race and there were some other doggies too. And even some kids were going run run run!
Norah and Norah's mom came over too. My Mom and Norah's Mom get Norah in the stroller. Then me and Dad ran over to the people at the race and I went fast as I could drag Dad.
Everytime we come to this race, we go different places. And some of us go one trail and some of us go on another trail. When we finally go on our trail, there was a big big hill and Dad got very slow. There were lots and lots of roots and Dad could not push the jogger up it. He let go of my leash (finally). He turned around and pulled Norah up the big big hill backwards! I waited for Dad up top. He didn't put the leash back on for a long time and I was very happy but it still felt like I was dragging him.
Norah wanted to get out of the stroller and run run run too!
For some times, we were even passing people.
We got close to the road some more and Dad put me back on the leash. I was OK because we had to go slow with Norah. Dad kept asking her if she wanted back in the stroller and she kept saying "No".
Sniffing Butts, Tag
Tag, you are the dude!!! Thanks for the great race report and some awesome pictures of Norah!!!
We love you Tag!
MM #5615
Well…here it is…my race report from this weekend…oh, yippee…
Race: Shipwreck Shiprock Marathon in Shiprock, NM. It was my 57th marathon and my 41st state.
Course: long, gradual inclines, followed by long, gradual declines with the last 6 miles being the last gradual decline. And with the wind at my back—it should have been a PR course.
Elevation: 4892’—which is about 4000’ higher than I can handle, apparently.
Fashion Report: shoes, socks, shorts, and hat.
Quick Summary:
There were about 260 marathoners and about 260 BILLION half-marathoners that started an hour and 15 minutes after us but at mile 13.1 of the same point to point course…which meant that by mile 15, I was weaving around and through all the walkers and other back of the packers. Of course, by mile 17, I became one of those walkers.
To put it simply, I was not physically or mentally prepared for this race. The injuries I had in the last month of training did not allow me to train properly and, yet, I figured I could go into this thing and run it in 3 hours, anyway. Well, I refigured that idea after I was gasping for air while running up a gradual incline for the first 3 miles. I really never gave any thought to how running at 5000 feet---which is about 4000 feet higher than my town--would affect me. It kicked my butt! But I continued to push through it and still had hopes of getting somewhere around 3:15 or 3:20…but with 9 miles to go—I was done.
My stomach was feeling weird, so I dashed into a pota-potty to try to relieve some uneasiness, which proved to be a waste of time and after that, I just said, “forget it!” I think I might have walked the whole way in but another poor sufferer came along and gave me an energy gel. I think it was just his generosity that lifted my spirits and I was back to running and giving it some effort…for about 2 miles.
I finally settled into a pattern of walking through the water stops—which were located right on the marathon mile markers—and continued to walk until I reached the half marathon mile markers. That, at least, kept me going through those last miles. I was able to run the last 1.2 miles in without any stops—woo-hoo!
i ended up with a time of 3:33:53. Somehow, that was good enough for 3rd place in the 50-59 year old age group.
So—it is what it is. I’m not going to beat myself up over it. I just have to get ready for the next one.
The Real…and More Important…Event:
This whole event was really about the community and its attempt to promote a healthier lifestyle in the Native American community. Friday was a kids race, a 5k, a 10k, and of course, on Saturday, was the marathon and half marathon. Obesity and the health issues associated with it have become a very big issue with Native Americans throughout the entire country. It’s pretty cool to see the huge efforts this particular community is taking to overcome their issues. The people could not have been nicer or treated us any better—I was very happy to be a part of their weekend.
I stole these pictures from their Facebook page. This is what its all about...
spinach-- smart dns (and good luck this week)
Tammy--obviously not a race to do for time. Sounds like a great adventure, though. Be the mountain goat!
Stumpy--hey, you got it done and had a good time despite the lingering illness through much of your training. Sounds like a nice race. Better training cycle and you'll get that sub-2.
Avenger--you and Norah always steal the show. What cuties!
Mike--so sorry to hear about the multiple difficulties you had. You obviously were trained for a better result. Glad the overall event was so positive, though, and also glad that the heel issue didn't seem to be a major factor after all. You'll get 'em next time.
Be safe. Be kind.
these are great pics Mike. Although I think alot of us would be thankful for a 3:33 marathon time, we all know that's about 20-30 min more than the norm for you, but seems like the experience of being part of this marathon in this particular community probably made up for your "slower" time. Plus, that altitude can really zap people when they aren't accustomed to it.
Job well done on completing another marathon in another state!