Big Frog Half Marathon

Who da thunk I would skip a mountain bike race on Saturday to run a foot race on Sunday?  Ten years ago, running was not even on my radar.  Today, it is a regular part of my fitness routine, along with lifting heavy sh!t.  Part of that is just wanting to new challenges, and part of it is because of Honcho.

Today was the third race in Mountain Goat Adventures Trail Running Series.  It was held at the Ocoee Whitewater Center. It was drizzling and 46 degrees when I arrived and pretty much stayed that way the entirety of the race.  I was not too enthused, as I have been dealing with a 3 week hamstring injury.  How I got it, I do not know ... at my age now, I probably rolled over wrong in my sleep.  But seriously, it probably has something to do with my ongoing grumpy L4-L5 facet joint, which has been plaguing me on and off for the past 5 years.  

After a 20 minute bundled up warm up, I stripped down to a T-shirt and shorts.  At 8:30 am, Lisa released us and we began with an immediate climb up Bear Paw.  I went by both perceived exertion and heart rate, keeping myself in the low to mid-tempo range.  I stayed conservative, as the trail was wet and the roots and rocks were slick.  The last thing I wanted to happen was to further injure myself and say good-bye to my upcoming races War Daddy and PMBAR.  Today was all about good training and not aggravating my hammy.

I saw Zeke as I turned onto Lower Chestnut.  He was a course marshal and told me that I was second woman and 6th overall at this point.  Still, so many miles to go.  With that initial 1.5 mile climb, I was perfectly comfortable and the body was feeling good.  I did get passed by a group of guys midway through this section; I was just glad  to be by myself at this point, as I had paced them up the mountain.

I am a terrible descender, so Thunder Rock was meh.  I tip-toed across both bridges as they were skating rinks.  At the bottom, I took a cup of water and a gel.  Then began a 2.7 mile climb back up the mountain.  Running back up the mountain felt good.  All body parts were happy; I was happy.  It was good for my soul to be in the forest.

I stopped at the second aid station and repeated.  The Quartz Loop was a little tricky as the single track was tight; half-track in places, which made for focused foot placement.  Once I was on Bypass, there was only a little more climbing to go and then I could "send it" back down to the finish.  Back on Chestnut, I wanted to go fast, but I kept the strides short.  I did not want to trash the quads, fearing this could affect next weekend's race, the War Daddy.  I kept it chill, passed by Zeke, who was walking up and down his posted area, trying to stay warm.

Once on Bear Paw it was about a mile to the finish.  At this point, I opened it up a bit and kept saying out loud, "Pick up your feet."  So close to the finish, I did not want to trip now.  I came through the finish line with a time of 2:24.   Prior to my grumpy hammy, I had hoped to run close to 2:05-2:10.  Yeah, I was a little frustrated at being slow, but I had to keep the long game in the picture.  This running thing is not my primary goal.  I am doing it for funsies.

Adele schooled me today with a time of 2:05 that gave her a 5th overall.  It is going to be an exciting final at Rope Mill next month ... I hope.  I just need to get this ischial tuberosity/hamstring attachment inflammation thingy resolved.

Thanks to Mountain Goat Adventures once again for a fun day.  I am slowly collecting enough Fleet Feet gift cards to buy a new pair of shoes.  And I have a good Ka'Chava stock for my lunch time smoothies.

Blankets 10 Mile Trail Race

 

Blankets was the second race in the Mountain Goat Adventures Trail Run Series. The turnout was light for this event with only 12 women.  Lisa had said that her numbers for the running races have been dwindling over the past few years.   

The weather was great with sunny skies and 46 degrees at the start.  I was coming off the Fried Clay 200k the weekend before, so my expectations were not high, but I was still determined to put forth as strong an effort as my legs would give me.

At 8 am, we were off.  The course did a CCW loop on the Van Michael trail to start.  I ended up just behind Belinda, who was also in my age group.  Adele, who I battled with at Garland, was behind me a few seconds.  After the first mile, I passed  Belinda on an uphill.  I used Sally McCrae's strategy of "pass, gap, and bury" by picking up the pace for the next couple of minutes, so that I had the best opportunity of not letting her latch back on.

Adele caught up to me around mile 2.  I could tell that she was faster on the descents, and told her to let me know if she needed on by.  I could tell my legs were not as sparkly as they had been at Garland.  By the time VMT flattened out and we hit Mosquito Flats, Adele passed me.  I tried to go with her, but the legs said no.  

I was able to keep her in my sights as we hit the South Loop.  I could tell by the 7th mile that I was slowly dying.  And Adele faded off into the distance.  Somewhere in the 9th mile I was descending at a pretty good clip, trying to reel Adele back into sight, when my right foot hit a root and I began to Superman.  I had almost saved it, but then another root grabbed my left foot, and I hit the ground hard.  Fortunately it was a tuck and roll, but I tweaked my right MCL, which I had torn this time last year.

My ego was bruised more than my body, but I cautiously finished out the last 1 1/2 miles. That last bit on Mosquito Flats trail was flat, but the most painful.  Not my knee, but my legs were spent and I could not get them to turn over.

I finished with a time of 1:34:34.  Good enough for 1st A/G and 2nd O/A.  Afterwards, I had an enjoyable visit with Graham, who was out volunteering.  We talked all things bikes, BDR's, jobs, and getting wiser.

Garland Mountain Trail Run

Once again, I escaped the wrath of the weather gods.  The morning was a warm 53 degrees, and despite the rain on Friday, the course was in great shape ... hero dirt.  This was the first one in the Mountain Goat Adventures Trail Race Series, 10.5 miles with 1300 feet of elevation gain.  It was nice to have a proper warm up, compared to last year's bitter cold temperatures, where I used the cab of my truck to do some squats, lunges, and other mobility/warm-up exercises.

I opted to just go with a 10 ounce hand held bottle.  I was hoping for a sub 1:45 time.  I had not done much run training leading up to this, hoping my cycling fitness and expedition race would be enough. I was wearing Brooks Caldera's; they had worked great during the Sea to Sea, and felt more comfortable and stable than the Hoka's I had been using.

At 8:30 am, Lisa blew the horn, and I was off.  I entered the single track with the front runners.  My legs felt sparkly and I flew through mile 1.  A woman passed me towards the end of that mile, but I was ok with letting her go.  Seeing my heart rate at 168, I knew I could not hold that for 10 miles, and so I settled a bit.

The first 5 miles came and went without much effort, so it seemed.  I was happy with my heart rate in the upper 150's, pushing into the 160's on the climbs.  I had been having difficulty getting my heart rate up on the bike recently and was concerned (enough to get a referral for a cardiologist in May), but after seeing how well it was doing on the run, I am pretty convinced that I was just carrying a lot of fatigue after the Huracan and Sea To Sea.

Midway through mile 6, I began to see glimpses of the first place woman, about 200 meters ahead.  Now I had a carrot!  My intentions were to just keep her in sight over the next two miles and then, if I was feeling good, I would attempt an attack around mile 8-9.

Miles 7 and 8 my perceived exertion went up.  But when I saw 1st place walking up a hill midway through mile 8, I embraced the pain and began to push harder.  Even though she was still fast on the descents, I slowly reeled her in.  Then I attacked on the next climb.  As I passed, I gave her some words of encouragement and to come with, but she was unable.  

At the top of the climb, I kicked in the afterburners and pushed it hard, all the way to the finish.  I thought I was going to blow a gasket on that final climb to the finish, but I was determined not to slow to a power hike.  I just kept the legs turning over, looking back only once midway up the climb.  Not seeing her, I cruised on into the finish with a time of 1:38.

I won my AG and took the overall as well, finishing 7 minutes faster than my goal.  I was stoked!

The 10 ounces of Skratch I had was just the right amount, finishing it with 1 mile to go.

Back in December I went to Chattanooga Non-Surgical Orthopedics in Chattanooga to see Dr. Jeff Hall.  At that time I had been dealing with a left patellar tendonitis for the past two years, without success.  I had gone through physical therapy as well as doing some comprehensive strength training and mobility exercises, but to no avail.  

I received a series of 4 PRP/HA (platelet rich plasma and hyaluronic acid) injections into my tendon.  Although my knee joint had no issues, I had that injected as well.  This occurred over an 8 week period. Insurance did not cover it, so it was a $1500 out of pocket expense.  I was super nervous about how effective it would, as that's a lot of money!  Well, I am ecstatic to say that IT FUCKING WORKED!  And FUCK YOU, BCBST for not covering a procedure that has minimal to no complications/adverse effects and was 100% effective.  I am sure that all my PCP visits and PT appointments added up to at least twice that amount that I spent.

Garland Mountain 10K Trail Race

 

So soft and comfy ... the Vuori of race T's

Initially I had signed up for the 1/2 marathon distance, but a nagging patellar ligament injury led me to drop down to the 10k.  I had raced the 1/2 last year for the first time and had a blast.  Rolling into the venue at 7 am after a 2 hour drive, I was happy to be racing the shorter distance.  Old Man Winter is not giving up too easily this spring and the temperature was 32 degrees with 10mph winds.

After doing half of my warm up from inside the cab of my truck (when you are small, the passenger area of Biggie G is perfect for some glute/hip activation exercises and dynamic stretching), I hopped out and ran a few laps around the parking lot.

My warm up view from inside the truck

The race started with me hitting the single track in the top 5.  Wait?  What am I doing up here?  I was going way too fast ... slow down greyhound!  It was hard to settle in at first since the beginning was a steady descent.  When the trail began to rise, I slowed down as my breathing started to become ragged.  Yes, it was only 6+ miles, but I did not need to implode in the first half.

Yesterday, Lisa had messaged me and said to expect sloppy muddy trails, as she was signing the course in a steady rain.  However, the winds during the night must have helped because it was not as bad as I was anticipating.  Last night had me worried about the integrity of my ligaments if I were to experience a slip n slide (think torn ACL or hip labrum).  Within that first mile, I knew I was going to be ok.  While wet and muddy in spots, overall it was in good shape.  And my Hoka Speedgoats never once lost grip.

As I made my way through miles 2 and 3, I was passed by a few racers.  I was running comfortably hard and knew there were just 2 women ahead of me.  As fast as they had gone out, I wasn't expecting to catch them, but wanting to try to hold 3rd.  

At the point in the race where the 2 distances split (4.5 mile mark), the 10k'rs were sent up this steep ass climb.  This segment was 1/4 mile long at an average grade of 12% ... ouch.  I just kept telling myself at least I was not pushing a bike, just myself.  My running went to power hiking in the middle, but once I saw the crest, I began running again.

The next mile rolled and I was able to recover a little.  The final mile included a long steep descent followed by a gut punch 1/2 mile climb to the finish.  The descent was technical, what with loose rock as well as some deep muddy spots.  For whatever reason, I felt confident sending it.  My footwork has definitely improved over the past year or two.  

The final climb was a challenge to not slow down.  My monkey brain was all about "let's just enjoy this finish and take it easy."  Well, FU monkey!  I pushed through the pain of ragged breathing and heavy legs, wanting to  achieve my goal of a sub 1 hour finish.  So ... stinkin' ... close ... 1:01:21.

I ended up 1st AG and 2nd O/A, so extremely satisfied.  Even though my heart longs for the longer distances, my body quite likes the "fast and furious" short stuff.  Wisdom is telling me that not every competition has to be "big and dumb."  So I am going to take this to heart and rethink the remainder of this season.

Garland Mountain Half Marathon

 

Two weeks of being 100% pain-free after an 8 week bout of a hip injury and I was ready to test the body.  Back in February, a gym session involving several sets of split squat jumps followed a few days later by a 8 mile out and back trail run up Oswald's Dome (2300 vert straight up and back down) set the stage for a deep hip flexor injury.  I was so thankful it was just that, as I had feared I had torn my hip labrum.

This course was pretty tame: smooth trail that rolled with no intense climbing or descending.  I would call it a "roadie" course. Feeling like a poser (this was only my third trail race in 4 years), I lined up towards the back.  The start felt fast, but it was mostly descending for the first 4 miles.  I settled in to a nice steady pace, keeping some distance between me and the runner ahead.  My mantra for the day was "pick up your damn feet."  Tired of Superman'ing during my trail runs, I wanted to keep focused on the trail ahead, and not embarrass myself.  I did have two dudes roll around in the dirt, one in front and one behind me, during the first few miles, which helped to remind me.

At the first aid station (mile 4), I grabbed a cup of Heed, swallowing half of it and wearing the rest.  I didn't feel like I needed it, but wanted to stay ahead on hydration.  I opted not to wear a pack or belt, as I can normally do this distance with minimal nutrition.  It was also cool and humidity was low.  

The middle third was rolling and the body was happy.  As I began to pass a few runners, I shouted out some words of encouragement.  Runners seem to differ from mountain bikers as they are not as talkative during the event.  I suppose it has a lot to do how much more intense overall running is:  it is hard to form words when the whole body is working.  I also tried to smile, which was easy to do, because I really felt good today.  And just happy that I CAN run.

I stopped briefly at the second aid station (mile 8) to gulp a gel and drink another cup of Heed.  A couple miles later, I began to think that was a mistake as my gut started sloshing.  Fortunately there were no eruptions during the remainder of the race.  

The last third of the race gradually had you climbing back to the top of the mountain.  Even though I still felt great, I suppose I was getting a little tired, as I hit a stob or root and almost ate dirt.  My arms cartwheeled for a few strides and somehow I managed to save it.  With two miles to go, I put the hammer down and went as hard as I could.  I was happy that the final 1/2 mile stretch was uphill.  I am definitely a better climber than descender, and with the fatigue finally settling in, crashing uphill would be less traumatic than on a descent.

I crossed the finish line in 2:07:32, 1st AG and 4th O/A.  I bested what I thought my finishing time was going to be and I felt good the whole race, so I was completely satisfied with my performance.  And my hip was happy, so that was a bonus.  The course kinda felt like it was mostly downhill.  I kept waiting for a climb that would have me hurtin' but it never came.  I guess that says something about my training leading up to this event, so thanks Coach!

There were 5 in my age group.