I finally ran at the Bridle Trails Winter Running Festival last Saturday. I've been wanting to do this and chickened out last year because it was so snowy and icy - I wasn't driving ANYWHERE! The options are a 5.2 miles loop, 2 loops at 10.4, a variety of relays for 50K, or a solo 50K, most of which would be in the dark since the race started at 3 pm. I opted for the 10.4 miler and agreed to meet my friend Ali there. When I got there, I saw all sorts of friendly and familiar faces, and met some more. It is really starting to feel like I am a part of that community of folks who enjoy working out in a natural setting and don't mind getting dirty!
Shortly before 3 pm, the five milers gathered at the start line and got instructions from Scott McCoubrey about the course. He claimed to have "marked the hell out of it" and there was lots of mud for your enjoyment. At 3 he gave the signal and they were off. Next up was my group; after a similar lecture, at 3:05 we were off. I was not warmed up at all, and Ali was quite a bit speedier; I saw the back of her for about a mile and then no more til the end. The first big hill I came to, I walked a little bit. It was a lot warmer and though I had stripped down some, I was still too warm. I think I was also having a hot flash - don't know if that's possible while exerting one's self, but it sure felt like it! As promised, there was lots of mud on the trail and it was fun figuring out how to dance around and/or through it. I've run this course several times and always seemed to know where I was, though I still get thrown off by the water tank about half mile before crossing the power line section again. Once you make the second crossing of the power line, you're almost home.
Coming into the aid station, I refilled my water bottle and took off. I wrapped my jacket around my waist but had a hard time getting it tight enough. Finally got it right and felt better with less on. I also had finally started to feel like I was hitting my stride and a gel I had taken earlier had started to kick in. Ali had convinced me not to take a flash light, and she was right. I didn't really need it, though the light was failing in the last two miles. The last mile goes up into the woods more and was even more muddy, but it still was not too bad. I finally crossed the finish at 1:46, about five minutes behind Ali.
We hung out and chatted with folks and watched some of the 50K folks come through, including both of the Jureks, and several marathon maniacs. I hosed off some of the mud (Scott M. pointed out there was a hose if it was too muddy for you) and headed for home. It was getting cold and I opted to leave my wet shoes on for the ride home. Probably not the smartest idea, as I could feel some blisters trying to form. Also, I left my water bottle and buff on my roof. When I got home, they were wedged up against my roof rack - how cool is that?? I had a nice soup (Gypsy Soup from the Moosewood Cookbook) cooking in the crock pot and picked up a loaf of bread on the way home. I also had some goat cheese rounds breaded and ready to bake for a baked goat cheese spinach salad. A hot shower, a good beer and all that food made me a tired but happy camper!
I thought about my race time and a little perspective. It wasn't as speedy as I might have wished it to be, but then I remember what all I have been through health-wise the latter part of 2007, and I'm so glad I can get out there and enjoy running again! I may get speedier over time, or I may not. When I think of the alternative, or when I think of people I know who are sidelined, either temporary or permanently, I count my blessings and remember to enjoy the journey. This life is a gift and it is a privilege to be able to enjoy it!
Showing posts with label racing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label racing. Show all posts
Monday, January 14, 2008
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Happy New Year '08
Every year I do Club Northwest's Resolution Run and always go for the Trip and Dip option - a polar bear dive into Lake Washington. Well, actually not a dive, but more a reluctant walk off the boat ramp, complete dip to cover my head, and a faster walk onto shore, followed by a short run to the finish line. This year was no different except for a few things. The water temperature seemed warmer (did all those who went before me pee in the lake??). Also, I treated it more like a tempo run and really focused on keeping good form. My right hip is still a little tight where my scar is, and I must have been compensating because my left calf (and ankle/ achilles) has been cranky lately. In fact, there's been a little knot in the gastrocnemius; lots of massage, arnica ointment, and keeping relaxed lower legs is working to loosen it up. Anyway, though my time was a couple minutes slower than last year, and I am positive I didn't make the top three in my AG, I'm very happy with the run. It's the first time in a while I've felt good going into and coming out of a race, and I didn't have a heart attack going in the water (I'm semi-serious about this with all the issues surrounding my blood pressure and heart). So life is good right now!
Some "celebrity" sightings - Speedy Greg Crowther (I think he won) coming towards us on the out and back portion of mile 1-2, right behind the pacer car; Karen "kick-ass" Buttram (who is dealing with frustrating health issues, including tachycardia); Gina Young (who usually finishes top three - I think her partner, Ann Rinehart, won our AG); Greenlake Bob (Berg), trying to run from the eagle perched on a tree along the water; and all my running buddies from Chuckit - I miss seeing them so good to catch up. Oh yeah - and thanks to all the volunteers who made the run possible!
Lastly, my "crazy" new years resolution is to run every day this year, at least a mile. That may involve some running at airports if Donn and I head south for a tropical vacation. We'll see...also I got into Chuckanut 50K, so now I am committed to toughing out bad days/weeks (sleep-wise) to get ready for it. Yeehaw!
Happy new year to all and happy running, or whatever you do to float your boat!
Some "celebrity" sightings - Speedy Greg Crowther (I think he won) coming towards us on the out and back portion of mile 1-2, right behind the pacer car; Karen "kick-ass" Buttram (who is dealing with frustrating health issues, including tachycardia); Gina Young (who usually finishes top three - I think her partner, Ann Rinehart, won our AG); Greenlake Bob (Berg), trying to run from the eagle perched on a tree along the water; and all my running buddies from Chuckit - I miss seeing them so good to catch up. Oh yeah - and thanks to all the volunteers who made the run possible!
Lastly, my "crazy" new years resolution is to run every day this year, at least a mile. That may involve some running at airports if Donn and I head south for a tropical vacation. We'll see...also I got into Chuckanut 50K, so now I am committed to toughing out bad days/weeks (sleep-wise) to get ready for it. Yeehaw!
Happy new year to all and happy running, or whatever you do to float your boat!
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Northface Endurance 10K
At the last minute I signed up for the North Face Endurance 10K run to be held up at Cougar Mountain. With four distances to choose from, runners could go long (50 miles) or short (10K) or somewhere in between (50K or half marathon). I chose to go short. It would be my second longest run and first time back at Cougar Mtn. since my surgery. I've done only two runs in Discovery Park since the summer, so I knew my hill climbing skills, which aren't that strong to begin with, were going to lack a bit. But I was anxious to try out my new Teva trail running shoes and ready to buck up and hit the mountain.
I signed up earlier this week, and got up early this morning to drive over to pick up my packet and get ready. It was cold and rainy, typical NW fall, so I brought lots of options to wear over my base. One thing I will have to work on is suffering the cold at the start. I look like a clothes rack by the time I am done, with all the stuff hanging off of me! One gal, who watched me peel layers during the race, was convinced I was going to be naked by the time we were done! I started out with 3/4 tights (Sub4), my Seattle Running Co short sleeve shirt, a long sleeve tech shirt, a vest, gloves and hat. The vest, gloves and long sleeve shirt were hanging off various parts of my body as I crossed the finish line. But back to the race.
I saw Teresa there who, along with Jan, was doing the Half. I hadn't seen her since the end of July, so it was good to see her and catch up a little. Tom Cotner was there doing the announcing and I struck up a conversation with him between announcements. I know several of his athletes, as well as work colleagues, since he is (was) at UW. I mentioned that my goal was not to be DFL, which is why I chose the 10K instead of the Half. More to come on that later. We saw the Half folks off at 9, which included Dean Karnazes and Nikki Kimball. She is SUCH a stud - I like that (can't remember where I read this) she is my height, and not a skinny stick (she said she weighed in about 130?) and KICKS ASS. I'm sure all that "extra weight" is muscle; she's just tough!
After they were off we gathered round for our directions which amounted to "follow the red arrows and you won't get lost". We took off at 9:16, and headed out to Clay Pit road and on to the trails. My usual doubt about being on course kicked in when we hit a stretch without markers, probably for a whole half mile. I was able to quell it, thinking I could go back if needed. I was really panting hard in the beginning because I stayed with the pack; they finally took off when we got in the woods and I hung near the back. I had been running the hills; after all this was only a 10K! But my steam soon ran out and I started ChiWalking the hills. It was the only place I could walk with my hands and arms moving fast upwards and nobody gave me a funny look. I played leap frog with a few people, and finally, about 40 minutes, we came to the first aid station. Tom was there and cheered me on - really cool! The trail was relatively level for a while and then we took a sharp right and started climbing again. By now, there was a guy following me, but at some distance. Still I felt like I was pulling him along, which was fine. I really focused on trying to be strong and using my upper body to climb. I need to do more upper body strengthening to be able to do that up here where it's hilly. We got to a right turn and started heading down to a creek. This time I worked on my down hill skills and tried to remain light on my feet. Also focused on keeping my left foot landing inwards so as not to roll it, and kep the right glute engaged. Focusing ahead for rocks and roots helped too. My buddy passed me and said he would pull for a while. He pulled way ahead! Finally we got to the creek and crossed the bridge. Now it was pretty wide but I still managed to bang my arm on a railing! Ouch! We crossed and started climbing again. My buddy ran out of steam and I pulled ahead again. At the top, we turned onto a trail going up up up. I hate this trail when I start from Red Town Trail head. You have to climb forever. Ugh. Fortunately, it wasn't that far before turning off of it onto the final trail, which was level. I could hear the finish line but couldn't really see it. Soon I came through and we went right into the finish while the "50" people had to still keep going! I came in at 1:12, which was good enough for first in my AG, especially since all the other 50 year old gals were either running the longer distances or stayed home in bed!
I was glad I chose the 10K. You have to have endurance since you start tripping and falling when your body gets tired. I remember almost falling on the way down to Coal Creek and seeing a huge rock in the ground ahead. Had I fallen, I most certainly would have hit my head on that rock, and it wouldn't be pretty! At any rate, my body is still bouncing back, and I need to remember to be patient with it. I also need to go even lighter in the clothing dept from the get-go so I don't waste so much time pulling off layers. And lastly, I need to trust the trail markers and know that I am on the right trail!
And now for the best part - the awards. As I said, I was the only one in my AG. Nonetheless, Henry Wigglesworth told me a Woody Allen quote - 90% of life is showing up! For my efforts of showing up, I got a gold medal, a nice technical tee, a North Face waist back and water bottle holder, and - get this - a Zune! Since my age group category was last, and I told Tom I had won and that I was the only one in my AG, instead of just announcing my name, he prefaced it with "And dominating her field". What a crack up!
I hung out a little and saw my friend Linda come through during her 50 miler. She said it was tough, very brutal. Also talked to some of the Half finishers who said the course was harder (and hillier) than they expected. Welcome to Cougar Mountain!
I signed up earlier this week, and got up early this morning to drive over to pick up my packet and get ready. It was cold and rainy, typical NW fall, so I brought lots of options to wear over my base. One thing I will have to work on is suffering the cold at the start. I look like a clothes rack by the time I am done, with all the stuff hanging off of me! One gal, who watched me peel layers during the race, was convinced I was going to be naked by the time we were done! I started out with 3/4 tights (Sub4), my Seattle Running Co short sleeve shirt, a long sleeve tech shirt, a vest, gloves and hat. The vest, gloves and long sleeve shirt were hanging off various parts of my body as I crossed the finish line. But back to the race.
I saw Teresa there who, along with Jan, was doing the Half. I hadn't seen her since the end of July, so it was good to see her and catch up a little. Tom Cotner was there doing the announcing and I struck up a conversation with him between announcements. I know several of his athletes, as well as work colleagues, since he is (was) at UW. I mentioned that my goal was not to be DFL, which is why I chose the 10K instead of the Half. More to come on that later. We saw the Half folks off at 9, which included Dean Karnazes and Nikki Kimball. She is SUCH a stud - I like that (can't remember where I read this) she is my height, and not a skinny stick (she said she weighed in about 130?) and KICKS ASS. I'm sure all that "extra weight" is muscle; she's just tough!
After they were off we gathered round for our directions which amounted to "follow the red arrows and you won't get lost". We took off at 9:16, and headed out to Clay Pit road and on to the trails. My usual doubt about being on course kicked in when we hit a stretch without markers, probably for a whole half mile. I was able to quell it, thinking I could go back if needed. I was really panting hard in the beginning because I stayed with the pack; they finally took off when we got in the woods and I hung near the back. I had been running the hills; after all this was only a 10K! But my steam soon ran out and I started ChiWalking the hills. It was the only place I could walk with my hands and arms moving fast upwards and nobody gave me a funny look. I played leap frog with a few people, and finally, about 40 minutes, we came to the first aid station. Tom was there and cheered me on - really cool! The trail was relatively level for a while and then we took a sharp right and started climbing again. By now, there was a guy following me, but at some distance. Still I felt like I was pulling him along, which was fine. I really focused on trying to be strong and using my upper body to climb. I need to do more upper body strengthening to be able to do that up here where it's hilly. We got to a right turn and started heading down to a creek. This time I worked on my down hill skills and tried to remain light on my feet. Also focused on keeping my left foot landing inwards so as not to roll it, and kep the right glute engaged. Focusing ahead for rocks and roots helped too. My buddy passed me and said he would pull for a while. He pulled way ahead! Finally we got to the creek and crossed the bridge. Now it was pretty wide but I still managed to bang my arm on a railing! Ouch! We crossed and started climbing again. My buddy ran out of steam and I pulled ahead again. At the top, we turned onto a trail going up up up. I hate this trail when I start from Red Town Trail head. You have to climb forever. Ugh. Fortunately, it wasn't that far before turning off of it onto the final trail, which was level. I could hear the finish line but couldn't really see it. Soon I came through and we went right into the finish while the "50" people had to still keep going! I came in at 1:12, which was good enough for first in my AG, especially since all the other 50 year old gals were either running the longer distances or stayed home in bed!
I was glad I chose the 10K. You have to have endurance since you start tripping and falling when your body gets tired. I remember almost falling on the way down to Coal Creek and seeing a huge rock in the ground ahead. Had I fallen, I most certainly would have hit my head on that rock, and it wouldn't be pretty! At any rate, my body is still bouncing back, and I need to remember to be patient with it. I also need to go even lighter in the clothing dept from the get-go so I don't waste so much time pulling off layers. And lastly, I need to trust the trail markers and know that I am on the right trail!
And now for the best part - the awards. As I said, I was the only one in my AG. Nonetheless, Henry Wigglesworth told me a Woody Allen quote - 90% of life is showing up! For my efforts of showing up, I got a gold medal, a nice technical tee, a North Face waist back and water bottle holder, and - get this - a Zune! Since my age group category was last, and I told Tom I had won and that I was the only one in my AG, instead of just announcing my name, he prefaced it with "And dominating her field". What a crack up!
I hung out a little and saw my friend Linda come through during her 50 miler. She said it was tough, very brutal. Also talked to some of the Half finishers who said the course was harder (and hillier) than they expected. Welcome to Cougar Mountain!
Sunday, September 23, 2007
progress - racing and a hiking/driving adventure
I raced (more than just "ran") the Fremont Oktoberfest Brew Ha-Ha 5K this morning. It's in my neighborhood so it was an easy jog down. I saw lots of friends - some I hadn't seen in a while and some I saw just last week at Cle Elum Ridge 50K.
When I got there they were pretty disorganized. I decided to do day of race sign up, along with about a thousand other people, and they ran out of chips. They announced that you had to yell out your number as you finished and someone would write it down. Good thing I had my Garmin 305 on to keep all my data! I got in a line that looked right, until someone said it was for M-Z. So I got in another line; this one turned out to be for the porta potty. Finally I got in the A-L line. I was still near the street at the top of the stairs at Adobe Plaza. I looked down and saw Barefoot Jon talking to James Varner and Alison Hanks, so I ran down to say hi. Before I knew it I was registered and ready to go. As I was hanging out I saw Tory and Roy Klementsen and chatted with them a bit. They were there volunteering for the Street Scramble. Finally the race was about to start so I headed up to the street. The horn went off and we headed down 34th. As we started to head uphill, Jon passed me - kicking some barefoot ass! I felt pretty strong but could tell it had been a while. We headed down towards Latona and made a hairpin turn onto the Burke Gilman trail. As we headed back towards Fremont, I kept trying to wander over to the dirt part on the east side of the trail. Not often that one gets to run southward on that part so I took full advantage! As I felt my body tighten up, I gathered to my center, as Danny says, and relaxed. Also focused my foot landing so I didn't supinate too much. Glute medius and quads felt good. My stomach was a little nauseous, reminding me it'd been a while since I raced. By mile three I was mainly trying to not throw up and just let it be what it was, not focusing on finish time. After we went under the Fremont Bridge (not on the trail) we had to run down the weird stairs to the trail. I walked down them so I wouldn't fall - they are irregular and "artsy". I resumed running to the finish. A guy instructed us to head left to remove our chips. I told him I didn't have a chip and asked who I was to give my number to. He looked confused and then wrote it down. I have no idea if I will be listed in the results and know I didn't win my AG as I saw Karen Buttram hanging around waiting for someone. She looked like she had finished at least a few minutes prior.
My finish time was 26:27; not bad for coming back! I ran into Jon when I went to look for water and we wandered into the Tshirt line. We found out they were just cotton, but wandered up to the front to ask for sure. One of the guys said they only had small, so Jon got one for me. I sort of felt bad for all those people standing in line waiting, but I still took it. Nothing fancy - I don't think I would have stood in line for it. I hope they all got one though, if they wanted one that bad.
I wandered back towards Wallingford, running into Matt Manges who had just flew in from Colorado where Circus Contraption was on tour. Finally I made my way back home to food and a shower massage. Nice workout and social time to boot!
Yesterday Donn and I headed east to Vantage to hike in the Petrified Ginko forest. We climbed up a jeep road for about 2.5 miles. It was super windy and very exposed. Didn't see any ginko trees as we didn't go through the interpretive center. We mainly just wanted to hike the desert. On the way back down, we detoured off the road towards the Columbia and got a little out of the wind where we ate some lunch. We enjoyed the view of the Columbia for a while, and then bushwacked our way, as it were, back to the road and eventually the car. We then headed back west, where we took another detour to get to Taneum Junction Road. I wanted to show him where I had been for the Cle Elum 50K last weekend. We got to the campground and stayed on road 33, as the sign said Cle Elum, 14 miles. Soon it turned into a forest service road and a lot of climbing. About two miles in I heard a clunk clunk clunk. I stopped the car and Donn jumped out to see what I was dragging. He laughed and said Uh-oh. Your muffler is hanging on barely. I got out to look and sure 'nuff, one of the extension pipes had broken (probably the one with the hole in it) and the muffler had hit my rubber bumper, leaving a nice mark in it. It and another pipe were hanging on by a rubber clamp, which we easily cut off. I threw the muffler in the back and continued towards Cle Elum. We got to a junction with no sign of which way to turn. Donn said right so I went right. Immediately (and fortunately) I saw the back of a sign; as I passed it and looked, it told me Cle Elum was the opposite way. I turned around and continued a little up. Finally we started seeing a couple more folks, and within 45 minutes or so, houses and a paved road. Eventually we ended up on a major arterial and kept following that by pure instinct, and got to South Cle Elum. We kept at it, ending up in Roslyn at the Village Pizza for a well deserved pizza and dark Roslyn beer. Yum!! After our bellies were full we headed back over the pass to home. Car ran much better without that pesky muffler and wasn't too noisy either. Still I have to get that taken care of before my trip to Vancouver BC next Friday, as the border patrol will most likely not appreciate my noisy arrival. What an adventure!!
When I got there they were pretty disorganized. I decided to do day of race sign up, along with about a thousand other people, and they ran out of chips. They announced that you had to yell out your number as you finished and someone would write it down. Good thing I had my Garmin 305 on to keep all my data! I got in a line that looked right, until someone said it was for M-Z. So I got in another line; this one turned out to be for the porta potty. Finally I got in the A-L line. I was still near the street at the top of the stairs at Adobe Plaza. I looked down and saw Barefoot Jon talking to James Varner and Alison Hanks, so I ran down to say hi. Before I knew it I was registered and ready to go. As I was hanging out I saw Tory and Roy Klementsen and chatted with them a bit. They were there volunteering for the Street Scramble. Finally the race was about to start so I headed up to the street. The horn went off and we headed down 34th. As we started to head uphill, Jon passed me - kicking some barefoot ass! I felt pretty strong but could tell it had been a while. We headed down towards Latona and made a hairpin turn onto the Burke Gilman trail. As we headed back towards Fremont, I kept trying to wander over to the dirt part on the east side of the trail. Not often that one gets to run southward on that part so I took full advantage! As I felt my body tighten up, I gathered to my center, as Danny says, and relaxed. Also focused my foot landing so I didn't supinate too much. Glute medius and quads felt good. My stomach was a little nauseous, reminding me it'd been a while since I raced. By mile three I was mainly trying to not throw up and just let it be what it was, not focusing on finish time. After we went under the Fremont Bridge (not on the trail) we had to run down the weird stairs to the trail. I walked down them so I wouldn't fall - they are irregular and "artsy". I resumed running to the finish. A guy instructed us to head left to remove our chips. I told him I didn't have a chip and asked who I was to give my number to. He looked confused and then wrote it down. I have no idea if I will be listed in the results and know I didn't win my AG as I saw Karen Buttram hanging around waiting for someone. She looked like she had finished at least a few minutes prior.
My finish time was 26:27; not bad for coming back! I ran into Jon when I went to look for water and we wandered into the Tshirt line. We found out they were just cotton, but wandered up to the front to ask for sure. One of the guys said they only had small, so Jon got one for me. I sort of felt bad for all those people standing in line waiting, but I still took it. Nothing fancy - I don't think I would have stood in line for it. I hope they all got one though, if they wanted one that bad.
I wandered back towards Wallingford, running into Matt Manges who had just flew in from Colorado where Circus Contraption was on tour. Finally I made my way back home to food and a shower massage. Nice workout and social time to boot!
Yesterday Donn and I headed east to Vantage to hike in the Petrified Ginko forest. We climbed up a jeep road for about 2.5 miles. It was super windy and very exposed. Didn't see any ginko trees as we didn't go through the interpretive center. We mainly just wanted to hike the desert. On the way back down, we detoured off the road towards the Columbia and got a little out of the wind where we ate some lunch. We enjoyed the view of the Columbia for a while, and then bushwacked our way, as it were, back to the road and eventually the car. We then headed back west, where we took another detour to get to Taneum Junction Road. I wanted to show him where I had been for the Cle Elum 50K last weekend. We got to the campground and stayed on road 33, as the sign said Cle Elum, 14 miles. Soon it turned into a forest service road and a lot of climbing. About two miles in I heard a clunk clunk clunk. I stopped the car and Donn jumped out to see what I was dragging. He laughed and said Uh-oh. Your muffler is hanging on barely. I got out to look and sure 'nuff, one of the extension pipes had broken (probably the one with the hole in it) and the muffler had hit my rubber bumper, leaving a nice mark in it. It and another pipe were hanging on by a rubber clamp, which we easily cut off. I threw the muffler in the back and continued towards Cle Elum. We got to a junction with no sign of which way to turn. Donn said right so I went right. Immediately (and fortunately) I saw the back of a sign; as I passed it and looked, it told me Cle Elum was the opposite way. I turned around and continued a little up. Finally we started seeing a couple more folks, and within 45 minutes or so, houses and a paved road. Eventually we ended up on a major arterial and kept following that by pure instinct, and got to South Cle Elum. We kept at it, ending up in Roslyn at the Village Pizza for a well deserved pizza and dark Roslyn beer. Yum!! After our bellies were full we headed back over the pass to home. Car ran much better without that pesky muffler and wasn't too noisy either. Still I have to get that taken care of before my trip to Vancouver BC next Friday, as the border patrol will most likely not appreciate my noisy arrival. What an adventure!!
Sunday, September 9, 2007
My own private Hood to Coast
Last weekend I really ramped up my running and I am pretty tired tonight. Friday I was off work and had free time to get a casual run in - about 3 miles. I was itching to go since I have been coming back very conservatively and not running two days in a row. I also took a risk knowing that Saturday I was going to run with Charlene and Sunday I was signed up for the IronGirl 5K at Greenlake. The run on Friday left me with a ton of energy so I really cleaned the house - mopped, dusted, straightened the clutter up. It felt great!!
Saturday I met Charlene at Discovery Park where we did a loop that included the beach trail. She was getting over a cold, and I was trying to hold back so we promised to walk the hills. But I must say, for getting over a cold, she sure was getting speedy! I think Scott has been "training" her hard! I was huffing to keep up at the start!! I want to improve my downhill technique so I really tried to open up going down the hills. Right foot is a little sore today. It was great fun though!
Then last night, I didn't get to sleep til after 12, and had to get up a little past 6 to get some food in me before heading up to Greenlake to the 5K. I walked/jogged to the community center, and got there in time for the race. I saw Ann Rinehart warming up, and she said she hadn't been racing all summer. She and Gina Young did the 5K. I got in line at about the 9:30 pace, and really felt woozy for a minute. I think it was a hot flash. When we started, I took it easy for a half mile, then started passing folks. I leap frogged with two gals I had been standing next to through out the race. They stayed ahead of me the last mile, but I caught up to them near the finish chute and we came across 1-2-3 with me as #3. My time was 27:41 - not a PR, but not bad for my first comeback race and also for being tired. Ann and Gina beat me in our AG, as well as two other women. I came in 5 out of 49. Not bad either!
Since you do three legs in Hood to Coast, and since I missed H2C due to surgery, I am calling this my private H2C, even though it was over three days instead of two! Now time to rest those legs and feet!!
Saturday I met Charlene at Discovery Park where we did a loop that included the beach trail. She was getting over a cold, and I was trying to hold back so we promised to walk the hills. But I must say, for getting over a cold, she sure was getting speedy! I think Scott has been "training" her hard! I was huffing to keep up at the start!! I want to improve my downhill technique so I really tried to open up going down the hills. Right foot is a little sore today. It was great fun though!
Then last night, I didn't get to sleep til after 12, and had to get up a little past 6 to get some food in me before heading up to Greenlake to the 5K. I walked/jogged to the community center, and got there in time for the race. I saw Ann Rinehart warming up, and she said she hadn't been racing all summer. She and Gina Young did the 5K. I got in line at about the 9:30 pace, and really felt woozy for a minute. I think it was a hot flash. When we started, I took it easy for a half mile, then started passing folks. I leap frogged with two gals I had been standing next to through out the race. They stayed ahead of me the last mile, but I caught up to them near the finish chute and we came across 1-2-3 with me as #3. My time was 27:41 - not a PR, but not bad for my first comeback race and also for being tired. Ann and Gina beat me in our AG, as well as two other women. I came in 5 out of 49. Not bad either!
Since you do three legs in Hood to Coast, and since I missed H2C due to surgery, I am calling this my private H2C, even though it was over three days instead of two! Now time to rest those legs and feet!!
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