It looks like we have a strong RA master representation in the racing arena this weekend.
Have fun, racers, and do come back to tell us all about it!!!!
05/05 evanflein - Chena River Run 5k
05/05 TammyinGP - Lost Creek Lake 30K, Trail, OR
05/05 Coastwalker - Children's Museum 5K, Dover, NH
05/05 pfriese - Bun Run 5K, El Reno, OK
05/06 Opie - Run for the Zoo Half Marathon, Albuquerque, NM
05/06 tetsujin - Bloomsday 12K Spokane, WA
05/06 Mariposai- Bloomsday 12K Spokane, WA
"Champions are everywhere; all you need is to train them properly..." ~Arthur Lydiard
I went over to the county seat for a 5K race this morning. The annual onion burger days going on over there which included the 5K Bun Run Race. It's a small race & since it's close by I try to run it every year. I got there early to register so I had time to run the course before the race as my warm up. Perfect weather, 60 degrees with a light breeze. Only 62 runners made for a nice uncrowded start. Mile 1 split - 7:44, mile 2 split - 7:37, mile 3 split - 7:29, and the final 0.1 mile was at a 6:51 pace. Final time of 23:56, good for 1AG & 9OA. With 5K & warm up a total of 6.2 miles for today.
Paul
Paul's blog
I ran a 10k today in Glenwood MN, The Ron Erno Lake Minnewaska Warmup 10k. The weather was nice and the ice went out of the Lake Minnewaska the previous day. They had a 5k that started ten minutes after we started. That was a very large race with lots of kids and lots of people who were trying to get back in shape for the upcoming spring and summer. I cheered on all the kids I passed in the last couple miles of the race. A good day.
This is my 194 consecutive month with a race. My time was 43:48 and I won the 60+ age group. A good start of the month.
an amazing likeness
This is my 194 consecutive month with a race...
Wow! That is16+ years! That is remarkable.
Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.
Great racing!
Had a fun weekend going up to Albuquerque with friends for a half. I drove so I got to show off my car and we only bought 12 dollars worth of gas. They were shaking their heads at that, very happy because it's a 3 hour drive each way. We stayed at an AirBnB really close to the race so that was a real plus, just strolling over about 6:30 for a 7:00 start. Fold-out bed wasn't very comfortable and I woke up with a little headache but stayed positive mentally in spite of these challenges. The altitude is a little higher there.
Temps in the low to mid-50's at the start and mid-60's, I think, when I finished. One of our group, Wendy, and I leapfrogged each other a few times, and like I told her afterwards, I was glad when she passed me about halfway because it gave me an incentive to stay close to her. I passed her in the last 5k when I picked it up. That's when the training paid off because she said her wheels were falling off and I felt strong. She doesn't train much so before that, I was thinking, "Am I wasting my money on a coach?" Was hoping to at least break 2 hours but it was the best I could do yesterday. Finished strong like I was saying and at the finish line Strava says I was at a 6:57 pace! My chip time was 2:05:33. Looking back in my log, my time at this race 3 years ago was 2:08:03 so this is a nice improvement.
"I didn’t run a race until I was 41 and that was a marathon! Let that sink in for a minute." -me
5/5 Lost Creek Lake Trail run (5k/30Krelay/30k/50k)This is a great little race put on by my local running club with one of the most high energy and whacky ultra runners we have as its RD! I originally signed up for the 50K, as my first ultra, but then a stress reaction sidelined me right as I was ramping up to my last two long training runs before a taper, so the timing could not have been worse. A 2 week taper turned into a 5 week taper with my last long being a 24 mile run on 3/25. I decided to do the 30K option instead and just try and hoof it out without hurting myself. I felt like my doc's treatments on my left shin improved things enough that maybe I could complete the entire 30K but had a plan B to drop at the 10 mile spot if needed. This is where the 2 person relay teams exchange so if needed I could drop and head back to the finish line with a team.
Leslie arrived to my house on Friday afternoon and stayed through Sunday morning. Carolyn and her husband Ben arrived out at the campground (with Tazzie and Ladybug too) on Friday afternoon also. The race is a tick over an hour from my house, so Leslie and I left at 6:15 or so on Saturday morning. By the time we arrived, the 50kr's had left. Their start time was 7 a.m., and we started at 8. The weather was in our favor. It was overcast and slightly cool in the morning - but still shorts/tshirts weather. I saw some people wearing long sleeves and knew in 1/2 mile they'd regret that. (can I say "rookies!" ) The 30K runs the entire perimeter of this reservoir and while the majority is trail, the first 4-5 miles are mostly broken asphalt. I was always on the watch for areas of the asphalt that had more pine needle debris on it to make for a softer running surface. I don't think there is not a scenic part of this course. Even when you have to cross over a highway bridge for a short jaunt, you get some of the most beautiful views of what seems like such a large lake and it's hard to believe we'll be running around the whole damn thing!
Leslie and I were running fairly close to each other - a bit of leapfrogging back and forth once in awhile - for most of the race. Also ran into Carolyn by the first aid station which was our mile 4ish, and her mile 9. I ran with her for bit - maybe 3/4 mile of a mile - but her pace was a bit quicker than I wanted to do - so I slowed it down so that I could actually finish this thing. By mile 10ish - the relay exchange spot - I felt good, leg felt fine, so I stopped briefly for a handful of peanut m&m's and off I went.
The last 4-5 miles probably had more walking than I would have liked to have done but I was fine with that. My splits were sort of all over the place, but still averaged out a 13:01 and I wanted to average 12-13's so was okay with that. for the data geeks: 11.34, 13.18, 12.28, 1121, 1041, 11.33, 14.15, 13.10, 13.22, 14.53, 12.59, 12.57, 12.14, 14.30, 13.29, 14.58, 13.49, 13.10, 7.31 for the final .6Finished 2AG with a time of 4:11:22. I ran this one is 2016 with a time of 3:44 and in 2017 with a time of 4:19. Even though I'd like to run it next year and get a PR of under 3:44, I think I'll try again to make this my first 50K. The view going over the highway bridge:
going over the dam and looking down to the Rogue River
Look at Leslie flying!
Carolyn has such a glide when she runs, she makes it all look so easy!
This waterfall was kind of a big teaser. There was about 2 miles left to go and I'm thinking "man, I wish I could stand under that water right now!"
Coming in! love my fashion sock? I only wore one on the injured leg - it's a copper compression calf sleeve. It was a good experiment to wear one because I did feel like my other leg was more tired at the end of the race, so maybe there is something to be said for the benefits of compression sleeves.
After the race, we hung out at the post race party for quite awhile. They had a couple kegs, about a bajillon tacos and a fun atmosphere cheering in other finishers. After things started winding down, we went back to Carolyn and Ben's campsite and visited some more before Leslie and I headed back to my house, took our hot showers that made us feel like new women again! Then she was off to drive home the next morning and I had a couple hrs of downtime (if you consider laundry down time) and then off to another activity filled day for a senior competition event with the local highschools. After being at that from 1:30 to after 7:00 last night, I'm glad to be at work so I can relax! Thanks for reading my overly verbose race report!
Tammy
Congrats Tammy! I can imagine doing the 50k with you. It would be my 2nd one with the last one being in Kansas about 10 years ago.
Awesome pics and race report.
Here is mine from the Indy Mini.
"He conquers who endures" - Persius "Every workout should have a purpose. Every purpose should link back to achieving a training objective." - Spaniel
http://ncstake.blogspot.com/
yay! Opie's coming out next year for this race!
eta: and now I had time to go back and read the other 3 rr's. Very nice 5K Paul! each mile faster than the previous - exactly what you want!spinach - good racing! and congrats also on your placement and race streak! That's very impressive. Opie - It's a toss up if I'm more impressed with your running or your gas mileage! well done on the time improvement!
Great pic C-R!!
That's a long time from now! Hopefully I'll have a diagnosis in hand on the autoimmune situation long before that & will find out how long I can be outside.
C-R - Great picture!!
I don't have much to add to Tammy's report. It is a really beautiful course and close enough that I will definitely go back. It is a lot like Hagg Lake outside of Portland, OR, which I've run a few times.
I went in with a goal of running the 30k under 4 hrs. And although I reviewed the race profile before the race, it didn't register that the course is pretty much non-stop rolling, which makes it deceptive easy and I caught myself running too much and not adding in enough power walking. This resulted in my legs starting to feel it at about Mile 13, and by Mile 15 I knew I wasn't going to make my goal. By then I was having to incorporate more walking than I wanted to keep various muscles in my legs from cramping. I was bummed, but considering this is the farthest I've run since July 2016, I'm feeling okay about it.
As Tammy and I said, we leap-frogged each other and got to run briefly with Carolyn and each other, both of which was a lot of fun. They make it look so easy! It was also a lot of fun to just hang out and spend time with these ladies and meet Carolyn's Hub at the end.
Now to read the other reports ~~
Leslie Living and Running Behind the Redwood Curtain -------------
Trail Runner Nation
Sally McCrae-Choose Strong
Bare Performance
Oregon Twilight T&F Meet, Masters 3k
DNF
I didn't follow my own advice, and did those couple k's on Tuesday for "pace sense" and that did it for my achilles. I thought 2.5 days off would be enough, but I was sore warming up and instead of remaining the same, it went from ache to sharp pain in the race so I dropped out after a few laps. Which also caused me to scratch the 1500 on Sunday at the Hayward Classic masters meet. I think I'll forget about doing anything fast for the rest of the summer, so plans for the 1500 at Spokane are out. I'll look more seriously into achilles surgery; but I don't have public servant level healthcare, so I'm sure it would cost me as much as getting a new car, or two, out of pocket for the 15 minute TENEX surgery.
At the Hayward Classic, a woman set the world 800m record for 90-94 at 5:44.50, and another woman set a world mile record for 70-74 at 6:38.30. MY AG 1500 was won in 4:42.65. http://www.haywardclassic.org/2018Results.pdf
60-64 age group - University of Oregon alumni - Irreverent and Annoying
Carolyn
To add to what Tammy and Leslie posted about the Lost Creek Trail Race:
I did the 50k, and finished in 6:53:33. I was the first and only one in my AG, and 6th woman out of 15. .Overall 22 of 34 runners – nice small field.
The course is beautiful - it goes all the way around Lost Creek Lake, and there are two out-and-back sections for the 50k runners. I was worried it would be too flat, since I never run flats, but it had enough rolling hills that it was pretty nice. The last out-and-back went up to a high viewpoint, with a 1,000 ft climb at miles 23-24. I was looking forward to the climb, since I'm a good power walker on uphills, and I passed 4 runners on the climb. I also passed two more runners in the last 3 miles around the lake to the finish. I felt pretty strong throughout – probably all that oxygen down at sea level!
The highlight was seeing Tammy and Leslie, and running with each of them for a while when the 30k and 50k runners crossed paths, and hanging out at the finish line afterwards. RA meetups are the best!
I hammered down the trail, passing rocks and trees like they were standing still.
I sure have enjoyed the race reports.
The reports from the three trail divas are priceless.
Spinach, 194 consecutive month with a race....impressive!!!
Opie, nice time in your half this past weekend. Way to improve!!!
C-R nice race and aweeeesomeee picture with one of my idols.
Surly Bill, a DNF today means a strong race in the future.
Still waiting for MikeE's race report, with another sub 3 hour marathon.
While I am waiting for MikeE's report.....
My butterfly wings had a blast running the Blooomsday 12k race in Spokane, WA. We have been doing this race as a family for the last 8 years. My time this year was less than 2 minutes slower than last year, which considering my knee injury for the last 5 months. I am very happy with my result. Here is a picture of my two sons and my DH.
MM #5615
Nice racing, everybody!
Posie--it's in the Race reports for April 28 & 29.