Happy New Year!

 

What are your goals for 2018? Any special events? Mileage targets?

 

 

Thanks Bklyn. Hope 2018 is good to you and yours.

My mileage target for 2018 is 1560 miles and I joined the 2018 in 2018 game on this site with that target. I’ve ended up as captain of team 5. I am signed up for a marathon on 4th March and hopefully will run many other races 5K and upwards. I would like to improve my  PRs at all the main distances but will need the weather to cooperate on race days as heat & humidity slow me down.

1750 miles for me.  Hit 2011 this year, but 2000 is too much for me.  I might adjust up a little mid-year.  We’ll see how it goes. I have a demanding job (a great job, but a tough one) and other stressors, so I don’t want running to be yet another one.

Phenomenal start to the year for me. Smashed my previous weekly mileage record of 43.5 miles with a total of 52.7 miles including running the Wild Azalea Trail Challenge - race report follows

January 6 - Wild Azalea Trail 27 Mile Ultra

My first Ultra, but only just long enough to count as an Ultra.

The Wild Azalea Trail is the longest contiguous trail in Louisiana, being over 24 miles long, and this race uses the whole of this trail plus small distances at each end for the start & finish. The whole of the trail is heavily wooded and crosses many creek valleys so there are a lot of short sharp climbs and descents. The race is put on by a group of local runners and mountain bikers and has options of HM, 27 mile and 50 mile runs & 27 mile & 50 mile mountain bike. Apart from the 50 mile run that is an out and back, the races are point to point so we meet at the finish and are then bussed to the various start points.

I have run the HM here the past 2 years, so had a good idea what I was taking on. Last year the course was covered in a thin layer of ice and the race ran in temperatures in the low 20s. This year conditions were near perfect with bright sun and mid 30s at the start rising rapidly into the 50s. My hope was to finish in around five and a half hours.

Travelled to the race with 2 other members (I'll call them N & T) of the local running club, both of whom were using it as a training run for a 52 mile race next month! Picked up our bibs - mine was #110, the first even number I've had for a long time - and made the bus ride to the start. Race started promptly at 8.30am and the first 1.6 miles was a road section to the trailhead - ran this with T at 9:30 pace (far faster than my target pace) and once we got onto the trail I dropped back and settled into an 11-12 minute pace for much of the race.

There were many creeks to cross, most of which had bridges, but a couple did not. I managed to jump the first one, but got a soaked right foot on the second. That may be the reason that I ended up with a small blister on my right big toe by the end.

There were unmanned aid stations about every 3 miles, generally well stocked. My slowest mile was the result of an extended stop at one of these aid stations, where I struggled to get the cap off a Gatorade bottle until I was rescued by the next runner.

About mile 14, I caught sight of a full-size leopard about 10 feet off the side of the trail just as I was passing. Skipped a couple of heartbeats before I realized it was a cardboard cut-out. I still have not figured out why it was there.

I had rather expected that once past mile 20 I would need to walk extended sections, but generally I only walked the more substantial uphill sections and my pace slipped very little. I did pass a couple more runners, but the field was well spread out by this time.

An undulating mile or so from the end of the trail to the finish line ran alongside Valentine Lake - very picturesque. This year they had moved the finish line back to the parking area, so there was one last steepish climb for the last 20 yards - not fair!

My GPS showed 27.72 miles and 2452' of elevation gain

My finishing time was 5:35:15, good enough for 12th place overall out of 33 finishers and the first of 2 over age 60. My friends N & T finished 5th and 10th and T was 3rd lady finisher.

All in all, a very good day.

Great job Quickadder!! Sounds like you did exceptionally well for your pacing.  Great race report.  Congratulations on a race well done!