So way the heck back on August 19th I ran the third race in the NERC fall XC series. With a 20:18 and 19:57 the two weeks before I was ready to drop that a bit more and see how fast I could go on this course. I wanted to target my pace between 6:07 (18:59) and 6:14 (19:23) and see if I could run faster than my PR, maybe go sub 19 if I had a brilliant night. Unfortunately I got out of work late and ran into some traffic so I got to the race without much time to spare. I had to "warm-up" by jogging to the restroom and sign in and do about 2 strides before throwing on my flats and tossing my warm ups in the car. JK was on the line so I knew a win was out of the question. I just wanted to see if I could run faster than last week despite the lack of a real warm up.
Once again the race starts and the high schoolers go out like bullets. I don't pay attention to any of that at least until I am in the woods where I start to take down the girls (and a lot of boys) one by one. I wanted to be in front of a particular girl before the mile since the two previous weeks I had passed her a little after the mile I figured I would be about on target pace if I ran through the mile a hair ahead fo her. Mission acheived as I came through the mile a hair fast at 6:00. There was another female just behind me who looked to be my age and seemed strong so I tried not to let up over the next mile. JK was likely already over a minute ahead of us by the mile marker, girl is fast! So it was a race for second.
I wasn't feeling stellar but I felt like I could hold onto the same pace as I had last week for the last two miles and knew that would get me in around 19:30. I heard David cheer for me a bit before the 2 mile and was surprised he got out of work in time to catch me, I waved but apparently it didn't look like a wave and he didn't know I had heard him. Gotta work on being able to smile even when running at all out effort. I was extremely grateful that he was there even if I couldn't show it, it meant a lot to me that he got out of work early just to see me race. Mile 2 was just a hair shy of last week and was 6:29. I knew I had to dig in if I wanted to get a fast last mile and hold onto that 19:30.
I didn't hear the other girl behind me and that gave me hope that I would definitely come in second. Given that I had run that mile almost 30 seconds slower and she wasn't with me I knew she had dropped off the pace more than I had and I wasn't planning on dropping anymore. The advantage of running this all three weeks is by the third you know where to expend your energy. I took advantage of the slight decline and the flat section of the last mile before heading up the last quarter mile dreaded hill stretch. I didn't feel stellar on the hill but still strong enough to come through 3 at 6:24.
And I kicked it in to yet another 38 second finish. Apparently that is my limit. I think All 6 times I have run this race 38 has been my fastest kick at the end. I never was great at that even in high school. That brought me in at 19:32 and 2nd female. JK ran a blazing 17:14. Nothing like having a serving of humble pie despite running your best time on a course :) I was really pleased with my effort and the result, especially considering that I didn't get in a real warm up. This is only 11 seconds off my PR at Reindeer Run which is a super fast course so I have high hopes that I can get even faster on the roads :)
My husbands college buddies happened to be at the park so while he chatted with them I got in a nice cool down with EH and B. It was downright chilly by the time we did the awards, bizzare how August was actually nicer than September has been so far. The weather this year for the series was absolutely perfect, reminds me of why I was always so in love with cross country. I guess this is the closest I can come to getting those days back for now though and I am happy to take it, even if I am the old lady at the start line ;)
Showing posts with label NERC Cross Country Series 2008. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NERC Cross Country Series 2008. Show all posts
2008 NERC XC Series Race 2
Last week I continued in my efforts to try and get a sub 20 on a 5k cross county course. Having run 20:18 the week before and knowing that last year I got faster every race my hopes were high that I could finally get a 10 year monkey off my back and go sub 20 on a cross course (don't ask me why but I truly don't feel sub 20 "counts" until I do it on a cross course. Mostly because in high school that was all I had run, and I know I can't compare road times to my high school cross times, and I had run 20:03 my sophomore year at states but never broke that barrier.) This race series is awesome because I can go out and test myself on a cross course, for next to nothing, and sort of relive those days of high school when I was racing every week, most weeks more than once a week. Marathon training really doesn't leave much room to race short stuff every week so I am excited this series falls at a time when I can afford to take my focus off endurance and play with my speed a bit.
Tuesday I got to work early and ate an early lunch then a light dinner around 4. Hopped the bus home and drove over to the cross course. Got there in time for a good warm up. I headed out along the front half of the course thinking it would eventually connect to the back half and I could run the dreaded finish hill but just in time I realized that assumption was wrong and I turned around and made it back just in time for a few strides and a quick change into my trainers while Salty flashed photos before I headed to the start. Me legs felt tapped and I just generally felt tired. My arms were semi trashed from a Monday upper body session and I just wasn't sure how I would perform. Add to that about 4 times the number of runners as the week before and I wasn't sure of my chances at sub 20.
A few minute delay and the gun was off. I don't pay any attention to anything around me the first half mile of this race. The gazillion high schoolers all go out like bats out of hell with many of them dropping the pace before we are even a quarter mile in. But there were so many of these crazies this time around I really couldn't get in my own groove at all. I was boxed in all the way through the first mile. Despite this I was able to move up on most of the female field and by the first mile there were only 3 girls in front of me. First mile was slowish. 6:28, 2 seconds slower than the pace I would need to go sub 20. I gritted my teeth as I knew I would have some work to do to keep that pace.
The second mile of this course is just a bear. I'm not sure what it is but I just can't seem to go as fast as the first mile here usually. I passed by the 3rd and 2nd girls within a few minutes after the 1st mile marker but couldn't see if any other women were in front of me. You run through a field on a bridle type path as you head from the first mile, lots of sun shining down on you and then you head back into the woods where you cover the earlier path you took, a few rollers here, and a steep gravelly downhill before a sharp turn and bridge which are a bit wicked to navigate. You exit the woods and turn onto a paved path directly in the sun. The volunteer here is great and always lets me know what place I am in. He informs me I am second woman and I start to eye the field in front of me, but can't pick out any pony tails.
It is still relatively crowded but it is all guys now. We hit the water stop and I grab water to dump over my head. Apparently I strong armed it a bit as I crushed the Styrofoam splashing water all over. Oops! Salty yells at me that I can catch first. I am pretty sure she is full of it, but I hammer anyways because I know that is what it is going to take to break 20 after the first miles split. After the water stop you are back on the long grass and winding your way around towards the 2nd mile marker. There is a guy who directs traffic as you cross over the park entrance and he always yells out splits. Usually I get very frustrated with him because the times he yells are usually closer to what I want at the 2 mile marker which is still about 30 seconds away. :) He yelled 12 something and I knew that meant I had some work to do. To go 19:59 I wanted to hit 2 at 12:52, I am a bit shy of it, clocking another 6:28. (Which is still my best split on this mile ever)
That means it is time to go to work. The next mile has a slight downhill grade or is flat for the majority, traversing over dirt mixed with foot bridges then you hit the last quarter mile or so and it is a winding uphill to the finish, not steep but long enough to really grind you out. Remembering how burnt out I was on that hill the previous week I knew I needed to find some sort of balance between wasting myself hammering the downhills, but still taking advantage of any extra speed I could grab. A guy commented to me as I went by, "Hey, didn't you win last week?", and I replied that "Yep, I did but this week there is someone way ahead of me" and he told me to "go get her"!
The nice thing about that slow first mile was that I was actually feeling strong this mile and I did just try to catch up to as many people as I could. I never did see a ponytail though as I came to the hill. The hill definitely slowed me down but this time it felt more like running through grass, rather than running through quick sand and I kept pushing knowing it would be close. A high school boys coach was shouting for him just before the 3 mile mark that he would have to push if he wanted to break 20. I wasn't sure how much push I had and it made me nervous! I knew if I could get to mile 3 by 19:20 I had a chance. I pretty consistently run the last .1 of this course in 38 seconds. Of course I look down to see the split and the mile split (6:21) is covering my total time, uggh. So I just hammer as hard as I can. I can hear Salty screaming that I can do it and I watch the dreaded clock and I never see 20 before I cross, which means I've done it, despite seemingly going into slow motion those last few steps. 19:57 and that monkey is finally off my back for good. And I believe that is my first ever negative split 5k!
Quick celebratory photo with Salty before I locate my husband and get in a cool down walk with him then a quick jog with EH, got my 1st age group ribbon (1st was a 16 year old in 19:27 ish) taking 2nd overall female and we headed out to Bakers Square, where I miraculously decided I did not need pie!
Stayed tuned for the final race recap of the series in the next few posts!
Tuesday I got to work early and ate an early lunch then a light dinner around 4. Hopped the bus home and drove over to the cross course. Got there in time for a good warm up. I headed out along the front half of the course thinking it would eventually connect to the back half and I could run the dreaded finish hill but just in time I realized that assumption was wrong and I turned around and made it back just in time for a few strides and a quick change into my trainers while Salty flashed photos before I headed to the start. Me legs felt tapped and I just generally felt tired. My arms were semi trashed from a Monday upper body session and I just wasn't sure how I would perform. Add to that about 4 times the number of runners as the week before and I wasn't sure of my chances at sub 20.
A few minute delay and the gun was off. I don't pay any attention to anything around me the first half mile of this race. The gazillion high schoolers all go out like bats out of hell with many of them dropping the pace before we are even a quarter mile in. But there were so many of these crazies this time around I really couldn't get in my own groove at all. I was boxed in all the way through the first mile. Despite this I was able to move up on most of the female field and by the first mile there were only 3 girls in front of me. First mile was slowish. 6:28, 2 seconds slower than the pace I would need to go sub 20. I gritted my teeth as I knew I would have some work to do to keep that pace.
The second mile of this course is just a bear. I'm not sure what it is but I just can't seem to go as fast as the first mile here usually. I passed by the 3rd and 2nd girls within a few minutes after the 1st mile marker but couldn't see if any other women were in front of me. You run through a field on a bridle type path as you head from the first mile, lots of sun shining down on you and then you head back into the woods where you cover the earlier path you took, a few rollers here, and a steep gravelly downhill before a sharp turn and bridge which are a bit wicked to navigate. You exit the woods and turn onto a paved path directly in the sun. The volunteer here is great and always lets me know what place I am in. He informs me I am second woman and I start to eye the field in front of me, but can't pick out any pony tails.
It is still relatively crowded but it is all guys now. We hit the water stop and I grab water to dump over my head. Apparently I strong armed it a bit as I crushed the Styrofoam splashing water all over. Oops! Salty yells at me that I can catch first. I am pretty sure she is full of it, but I hammer anyways because I know that is what it is going to take to break 20 after the first miles split. After the water stop you are back on the long grass and winding your way around towards the 2nd mile marker. There is a guy who directs traffic as you cross over the park entrance and he always yells out splits. Usually I get very frustrated with him because the times he yells are usually closer to what I want at the 2 mile marker which is still about 30 seconds away. :) He yelled 12 something and I knew that meant I had some work to do. To go 19:59 I wanted to hit 2 at 12:52, I am a bit shy of it, clocking another 6:28. (Which is still my best split on this mile ever)
That means it is time to go to work. The next mile has a slight downhill grade or is flat for the majority, traversing over dirt mixed with foot bridges then you hit the last quarter mile or so and it is a winding uphill to the finish, not steep but long enough to really grind you out. Remembering how burnt out I was on that hill the previous week I knew I needed to find some sort of balance between wasting myself hammering the downhills, but still taking advantage of any extra speed I could grab. A guy commented to me as I went by, "Hey, didn't you win last week?", and I replied that "Yep, I did but this week there is someone way ahead of me" and he told me to "go get her"!
The nice thing about that slow first mile was that I was actually feeling strong this mile and I did just try to catch up to as many people as I could. I never did see a ponytail though as I came to the hill. The hill definitely slowed me down but this time it felt more like running through grass, rather than running through quick sand and I kept pushing knowing it would be close. A high school boys coach was shouting for him just before the 3 mile mark that he would have to push if he wanted to break 20. I wasn't sure how much push I had and it made me nervous! I knew if I could get to mile 3 by 19:20 I had a chance. I pretty consistently run the last .1 of this course in 38 seconds. Of course I look down to see the split and the mile split (6:21) is covering my total time, uggh. So I just hammer as hard as I can. I can hear Salty screaming that I can do it and I watch the dreaded clock and I never see 20 before I cross, which means I've done it, despite seemingly going into slow motion those last few steps. 19:57 and that monkey is finally off my back for good. And I believe that is my first ever negative split 5k!
Quick celebratory photo with Salty before I locate my husband and get in a cool down walk with him then a quick jog with EH, got my 1st age group ribbon (1st was a 16 year old in 19:27 ish) taking 2nd overall female and we headed out to Bakers Square, where I miraculously decided I did not need pie!
Stayed tuned for the final race recap of the series in the next few posts!
NERC 5K Cross Country Series- Race 1
So let's start with most recent events here! Last night I went out to run with some high schoolers. The local Northeast Running Club puts on a small xc series every fall to help xc kids get in shape for their season. For $3 you can't really pass up the chance to tweak your 5k time, good learning experience and fun to see all the young ins go out like bats out of hell then slowly come back to you.
This is a cross country race, I did it all three times last year, first race went horrible last year around 22:31, then the next week 20:46, and third week 20:17. The start is grassy and slightly up hill then you head into the woods across a bridge and onto a short pavement path before heading downhill on a bridle type path and then back up a short steep hill and on your way out to a field. The path here is tiny gravel, and without spikes I am sure you are losing a lot of your effort here. You are on this surface for near a mile before heading back onto the bridle type path and then back to the grass. After mile 2 you head back into the woods and then onto a dirt path mixed with boardwalks. The elevation drops for about a minute before you pop out into a field again before turning and running uphill the final few minutes. AK typical cross country course, a mix of everything.
For the Burning River I was up on Saturday at 8 am and I finally crashed into bed Sunday around 5pm. I slept like the dead until about 9 AM Monday morning. Monday we mostly relaxed, played some disc golf, went to the movies, and I got in a 6 mile trail run. My pace was slow and I realized I was obviously a bit beat still. Yesterday I got caught up on dishes and we played some games, I was yawning a lot but finally a hot cup of tea snapped me out of it and then we headed to an early dinner. Couldn't decide what I wanted and went for a spinach and mushroom stuffed pizza. It was a bit greasier than I anticipated and may not have been the wisest pre-race choice.
My parents decided to stay and watch the race before heading back to Michigan and my hubby came to watch too. I wanted to win and I also wanted to break 20, but it was hot and humid and on my warm up I just felt sluggish so my hopes weren't too high for either goal. Got in about 2 miles and a few 30 second strides with Beth and JA and then headed to the car to change into my flats and took off my short sleeve. I did feel lighter as I rushed to the bathroom and the start. Maybe there is something to this warming up in heavy shoes and wearing warm ups then donning "racing" shoes and stripping thing.
I wore my garmin but decided not to pay attention to it and just run by feel, taking splits manually and turning off the autolap function. Every trail run I have done with the garmin has come up short of the mileage I have expected. Not sure if that means I have just been living in a dream world, or if the garmin struggles in the woods. At the Buckeye 50k, my garmin was over a mile shy of 31, and I know that course is pretty close, so I have my doubts about its accuracy. I think it is close, but I am guessing it struggles with the hills in the woods or something. Last night proved to be no different hitting the first mile my garmin had 0.93. I know that the race director has wheeled this course several times so I just find it hard to believe even one mile would be that short (at the finish a man with and older garmin did have the same distance as me so who knows), if you want accuracy I guess you need to run on a track!
First mile I just tried to keep it even. Didn't really pay attention to any of the girls ahead of me, there was only one I recognized from other local races and I knew I should be able to run with her so I slowly made my way up to her passing the rest of the girls along the way to the first mile. Hit the mile marker at 6:16 which was fine by me, I was targeting anything between 6:07 and 6:26 depending on how I felt. I wanted to give myself a chance at a PR if I was feeling good and sub 20 if I wasn't. (Evil Garmin called this 0.93 and 6:46 pace)
I pulled away from what I assumed were the two lead girls at the mile marker and just did my best to hold pace. My breathing was pretty ragged, seemed like my lungs were burning an awful lot but my legs felt decent so I tried to hold on as best as I could, using any downhills I could, trying to be aggressive. Confirmation that I was the first woman came a little before the 2nd mile marker, I grabbed a cup of water and drank half and dumped the rest on my head as I hear my mom yelling for me and then my husband. I was feeling pretty rough and tried to smile but I don't think I got much of one out. Mile 2 was 6:36 (.97 and 6:50 pace from the evil garmin). 20 seconds slower wasn't exactly what I wanted to hear and I knew sub 20 was going to be rough with the final hill looming.
Over the next mile I did my best to take advantage of the downhills. Not too many runners around so I did my best to catch up to the kid in front of me. I hammered the downgrade here figuring I needed to take advantage of it but as I caught him and said good job he started to pull away and I realized I may have pushed too hard to take advantage of the elevation. We turned to climb the final hill and it felt like I was running through quick sand. Just utterly zapped I knew if any gals caught me it was going to be ugly. Just pushed as hard as I could looking eagerly for the 3 mile mark. Could hear my mom yelling and did my best to look happy but again I don't think that happened. Mile 3 was 6:47 (.97 and 7:00 pace by th evil garmin) and I knew sub 20 was not happening. (Bummer)
Hammered in as I heard David and my dad cheering and watched the clock with a grimace, and then my silly garmin as it flouted that I had only gone 2.95 and still wasn't even close to sub 20. Bah. I was pretty fried, drenched in sweat and my stomach was cramping, likely from the pizza but also probably just from the heat and being so trashed from the weekend. I drank some gatorade and then headed back to cheer for Beth. Stood around trying to get my stomach back in line and chatted with some friends then me and my family did the one mile fun run. I power walked with my mom and we got back in time for the awards. I got a little medal for my efforts (as Beth said my boob was rusted in it) and Beth and JA both got age group awards. Considering the past few weeks and the weekend leading up to this I am pretty happy with the effort. Hopefully next week I will get the sub 20 XC monkey off my back :) If any one has any opinions on the garmins performance on trails I would love to hear them. All I know is that run certainly felt like 3.1 and not 2.95.
Big thanks to my parents and my hubby for coming out to watch. Maybe that was just what I needed to finally win a race this year :)
Pictures and video links here in case you don't feel like scrolling down to the previous post!
NERC XC Finish (Thanks to my hubby for the photos and video!)
NERC XC Photos
This is a cross country race, I did it all three times last year, first race went horrible last year around 22:31, then the next week 20:46, and third week 20:17. The start is grassy and slightly up hill then you head into the woods across a bridge and onto a short pavement path before heading downhill on a bridle type path and then back up a short steep hill and on your way out to a field. The path here is tiny gravel, and without spikes I am sure you are losing a lot of your effort here. You are on this surface for near a mile before heading back onto the bridle type path and then back to the grass. After mile 2 you head back into the woods and then onto a dirt path mixed with boardwalks. The elevation drops for about a minute before you pop out into a field again before turning and running uphill the final few minutes. AK typical cross country course, a mix of everything.
For the Burning River I was up on Saturday at 8 am and I finally crashed into bed Sunday around 5pm. I slept like the dead until about 9 AM Monday morning. Monday we mostly relaxed, played some disc golf, went to the movies, and I got in a 6 mile trail run. My pace was slow and I realized I was obviously a bit beat still. Yesterday I got caught up on dishes and we played some games, I was yawning a lot but finally a hot cup of tea snapped me out of it and then we headed to an early dinner. Couldn't decide what I wanted and went for a spinach and mushroom stuffed pizza. It was a bit greasier than I anticipated and may not have been the wisest pre-race choice.
My parents decided to stay and watch the race before heading back to Michigan and my hubby came to watch too. I wanted to win and I also wanted to break 20, but it was hot and humid and on my warm up I just felt sluggish so my hopes weren't too high for either goal. Got in about 2 miles and a few 30 second strides with Beth and JA and then headed to the car to change into my flats and took off my short sleeve. I did feel lighter as I rushed to the bathroom and the start. Maybe there is something to this warming up in heavy shoes and wearing warm ups then donning "racing" shoes and stripping thing.
I wore my garmin but decided not to pay attention to it and just run by feel, taking splits manually and turning off the autolap function. Every trail run I have done with the garmin has come up short of the mileage I have expected. Not sure if that means I have just been living in a dream world, or if the garmin struggles in the woods. At the Buckeye 50k, my garmin was over a mile shy of 31, and I know that course is pretty close, so I have my doubts about its accuracy. I think it is close, but I am guessing it struggles with the hills in the woods or something. Last night proved to be no different hitting the first mile my garmin had 0.93. I know that the race director has wheeled this course several times so I just find it hard to believe even one mile would be that short (at the finish a man with and older garmin did have the same distance as me so who knows), if you want accuracy I guess you need to run on a track!
First mile I just tried to keep it even. Didn't really pay attention to any of the girls ahead of me, there was only one I recognized from other local races and I knew I should be able to run with her so I slowly made my way up to her passing the rest of the girls along the way to the first mile. Hit the mile marker at 6:16 which was fine by me, I was targeting anything between 6:07 and 6:26 depending on how I felt. I wanted to give myself a chance at a PR if I was feeling good and sub 20 if I wasn't. (Evil Garmin called this 0.93 and 6:46 pace)
I pulled away from what I assumed were the two lead girls at the mile marker and just did my best to hold pace. My breathing was pretty ragged, seemed like my lungs were burning an awful lot but my legs felt decent so I tried to hold on as best as I could, using any downhills I could, trying to be aggressive. Confirmation that I was the first woman came a little before the 2nd mile marker, I grabbed a cup of water and drank half and dumped the rest on my head as I hear my mom yelling for me and then my husband. I was feeling pretty rough and tried to smile but I don't think I got much of one out. Mile 2 was 6:36 (.97 and 6:50 pace from the evil garmin). 20 seconds slower wasn't exactly what I wanted to hear and I knew sub 20 was going to be rough with the final hill looming.
Over the next mile I did my best to take advantage of the downhills. Not too many runners around so I did my best to catch up to the kid in front of me. I hammered the downgrade here figuring I needed to take advantage of it but as I caught him and said good job he started to pull away and I realized I may have pushed too hard to take advantage of the elevation. We turned to climb the final hill and it felt like I was running through quick sand. Just utterly zapped I knew if any gals caught me it was going to be ugly. Just pushed as hard as I could looking eagerly for the 3 mile mark. Could hear my mom yelling and did my best to look happy but again I don't think that happened. Mile 3 was 6:47 (.97 and 7:00 pace by th evil garmin) and I knew sub 20 was not happening. (Bummer)
Hammered in as I heard David and my dad cheering and watched the clock with a grimace, and then my silly garmin as it flouted that I had only gone 2.95 and still wasn't even close to sub 20. Bah. I was pretty fried, drenched in sweat and my stomach was cramping, likely from the pizza but also probably just from the heat and being so trashed from the weekend. I drank some gatorade and then headed back to cheer for Beth. Stood around trying to get my stomach back in line and chatted with some friends then me and my family did the one mile fun run. I power walked with my mom and we got back in time for the awards. I got a little medal for my efforts (as Beth said my boob was rusted in it) and Beth and JA both got age group awards. Considering the past few weeks and the weekend leading up to this I am pretty happy with the effort. Hopefully next week I will get the sub 20 XC monkey off my back :) If any one has any opinions on the garmins performance on trails I would love to hear them. All I know is that run certainly felt like 3.1 and not 2.95.
Big thanks to my parents and my hubby for coming out to watch. Maybe that was just what I needed to finally win a race this year :)
Pictures and video links here in case you don't feel like scrolling down to the previous post!
NERC XC Finish (Thanks to my hubby for the photos and video!)
NERC XC Photos
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)