| | Despite what seems to be my disappearance from the running world, I have been around. I just finished my prelims, and I'm officially a PhD candidate!! So, I haven't been updating my adventures, but I have been doing some running. I'll try to keep it short, so here are the races I've done since the Santa Trot:
New Year's Day Run to Bald Knob Cross, back in IL - this "morning-after" run is an annual tradition with the Cobden Road Runners, of which my father-in-law is a member. This was our second year doing the run. It was cold, and neither Kyle or I were doing well on the pavement, but we made it up to the cross (~10 miles), and then stuffed ourselves with brownies and chili - just what we needed after the holidays. Kyle hurt his knee in this run, and hasn't been completely recovered yet.
Freeze Your Fanny 5k - In our 3rd running of this race, I was slow and my lungs hurt. I added about a minute to last year's time, but still came in 3rd in my age group. I finally met the girl, Cassie, who always places just ahead of me. She came in 2nd.
Hagg Lake 25k - "The Mud Run" - What a day! I had originally signed up to do the 50k, but given a lack of training (I hadn't run more than about 14 miles since Baker Lake last Oct), freezing rain, and gusty wind, I decided to just do 1 loop around the lake. I was glad I went that route - I went out slow, but definitely had enough kick to pick it up the second half. The mud was insane! This race is notorious for being the muddiest course in the Pacific Northwest - which if you know how much it rains there, you'd understand that to be the muddies, it must be bad!! You spent every other step trying to regain your balance after sliding backward or sideways, or recovering from stepping in a seemingly benign mud puddle only to find out it's about a foot and a half deep. Yeah, I'm lucky I didn't break an ankle. With the rain and wind, it was the first trail race in which I've seen people using space blankets, and EVERYONE had one! We all gathered around heaters, wrapped in aluminum, sipping hot chocolate or broth. It was quite the sight to see.
Snake River Half Marathon - What was I thinking? Since I registered for the "big one" this summer (I haven't gone public with this yet, so I'll keep it under wraps - but it's a long one!), I'd been focusing primarily on trail running. So, when JS asked me 2 days before if I would be doing Snake River, I said no way - can't take the pavement right now. But of course my competitive side got the better of me, and I found myself lined up next to much, much faster people on a cold, overcast morning in mid-March. Within a mile I knew I had been stupid (I already knew this - I had said it 10 times during the half hour drive to Wawawai Landing) to sign up - I was not going to finish anywhere near last year's time, and I would be lucky to still be walking. The pavement kicked my butt!! Somehow I pulled it together enough to squeeze out a negative split (by about 30 seconds), and finish just under 2 hours - about 8 minutes longer than last year, and minus the wind. Oh well - not my day. Now I know why I run trails!!
Hell's Canyon Survival Run (16 miles) - What can I say about this run? How did I not know this even existed so close to Moscow?! I had never been to Hell's Canyon, but I was ready to make the drive back just 2 weeks after this run. It was awesome! We took a jet boat from Pittsburg Landing in about 16 miles, where we dropped off and left to fend for ourselves the whole way back. In typical fashion, I was stuck at the back of the boat, so I did get motion sick. Luckily it wasn't too bad, and I was feeling good again pretty early in the run. The wildflowers were beautiful, and the weather perfect! It was just a nice easy run in the canyon - so spectacular!! Next year I'm definitely doing the 30 mile option, just so I can stay in the canyon longer!
Spokane River Run 50k - So one reason I didn't do the 30 miler at Hell's Canyon was because I had already signed up to do SRR again. The other reason was that I was studying for prelims, and my running had taken a back seat. Well, thinking the extra weeks would give me more time to prepare, I signed up for SRR. Of course, my orals ended up being scheduled for April 20, and SRR was on the 22nd. HA!! Not only was I exhausted from the exam itself, but I went out to celebrate on Friday, with the intention of having only 2 beers. Of course, we wound up with a few too many pitchers, and then JB bought the car bomb. Mental note: Irish car bombs = BAD!!! I was done for. I spent Sat morning at the spa, having a massage and my nails done. Yes, it seems reverse, but when I made the appointment, it made sense. The rest of Sat was spent lounging around the house nursing one heck of a hangover. We were up bright and early Sun to make the drive to Spokane. At this point, I was still debating whether to actually attempt the 50k, or just call it quits after one 25k loop. The first loop was fine - my heart rate was exceedingly high if I picked up to a run at all. This freaked me out, so I just kept a slow jog, walked all the hills, stopped and filled up at each aid station, pet the dogs, stopped to look at the Rocks of the Moon (the highlight of the course)... I pulled into the start/finish at 3:20, and went to my drop bag, still not having decided if I should call it quits or go out for more. I gave in (like I always do), and went back out. The second half has a lot of scenic points, but it also has a stinky water treatment center and a firing range, so I prefer the first half. Outside of those two things, though, it's great! It runs along a lot of the Spokane River, and there are several open fields - the arrowleaf balsam root was in full bloom - gorgeous! It was much cooler this year, so I never felt nauseous or dehydrated. I kept up with water, electrolytes, grub... The only major problem I had was my knee - which has been hurting especially after the downhills lately. Not sure why - it sucks! Anyway, finished in just over 7 hours - DFL!! But hey, at least I finished, and I still came in 3rd in my age group! I was sore and tired afterwards, but I figured if I could do the 50k just after having done prelims, I could definitely do what I signed up for this summer!!
Pictures are soon to follow.
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| | Posted 4/23/2007 8:55 AM - 12 Views - 2 eProps - 1 Comment
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