Race Reports/Encouragement/Kudos - April 4 and 5

[Big Vic]

Saturday, 4 April

4 - hungrygreenhippo (Lisa) Havasu Half Marathon, Lake Havasu City, AZ
4 - Pungodingy (Angie) SEA 5K, Concord NH
4 - suzannews (Suzanne) Windermere Run Among the Lakes 5K
4 - tiberius (Richard) Muddy Trails 5K, The Woodlands, TX

Sunday, 5 April

5 - funwalker (Margie) Martian Half Marathon, Dearborn Heights MI
5 - momof2minnies (Linda) Oleksak Lumber Half Marathon, Westfield Ma
5 - thndrmatt (Matt) Ironman 70.3 (half IM), New Orleans, LA
5 - timmac () Great Bay Half Marathon, Newmarket NH


:jumping1: GO! WISH Team GO! :jumping1:

[tiberius]

Since I registered just last week, I guess I never thought about adding it to the list. I am running in the Muddy Trails 5K on the 4th--and we got rain today so the trails will be muddy!!! Then again it was rescheduled twice last year due to the trails being too muddy.:confused3

I'll report back afterwards.

[jmasgat]

Big WOOHOO to Angie and Suzanne, my two SuperGoof-mates.

Shout aout and see you there to Margie and Carrie doing the Martian half-marathon.

And who would let a chance go by to scream for Matt?

And good luck to all the WISH'ers out there racing this weekend. I will be volunteering at the Martian Half Marathon. And you never know, maybe I'll pop in to do the 5k there or the NCAA final four race in Detroit.

Maura

[thndrmatt]

It's funny, I never thought I would catch myself "looking past" a half Ironman, but I totally am... Just hoping everything goes smoothly this weekend, wearing my full ironman outfit, doing everything as I will be two weeks later in China, working out any kinks there may be... Full report when I get back!

And hopefully dodging all these crazy storms in the South...

[dsnyfan21]

Hey WISHers you all are AWESOME!! Now, go out there and burn some asphalt!!:lmao:

Matt: Have a good race and try not to look forward too much - you don't want to miss anything!!:cool1:

[suzannews]

Good luck to my fellow Wishers racing this weekend and a big shout out to my fellow Super Goof Angie!!

The course I am running is listed as "hard packed sand" around the lakefront. Its been raining on and off for the last few days and we had a bad storm earlier this morning. The husband of a great friend who has run this course before said I am going to hate it. :scared: We'll see! I'll be back with pictures tomorrow afternoon.

[syko]

:cheer2:Good Luck everyone.:cheer2:

Suzanne I looked into doing your race, but it was the sand that make me change my mine....I would get stuck :rotfl2: With all our rain you might get a feeling for what muddy buddy would be like!!!!!!

[suzannews]

:cheer2:Good Luck everyone.:cheer2:

Suzanne I looked into doing your race, but it was the sand that make me change my mine....I would get stuck :rotfl2: With all our rain you might get a feeling for what muddy buddy would be like!!!!!!

Hey Kristie, not looking forward to the mud and wet sand at all. I think we got more rain this morning at my house than we have for the last 6 months. Good call on not wanting your chair to get stuck!!

Thinking of doing any other Track Shack races in the coming months? I am looking at the I drive 5K starting at Pointe Orlando or there is a 5K at Lake Louisa State Park the end of May that is only 5 miles from my house.

[mkymsehi]

Good races everyone!

[deekaypee]

GO WISH TEAM, GO!

:cheer2: :yay: Have fun-filled events and good races. :yay: :cheer2:

[Tiger Lily 03]

Go WISH Team!

Have fun and let us know how you did!

[getnthinr]

Good luck, WISH team!!!!

I'll be working on the other side of the table this time -- volunteering at the Umstead 100 (mile) Endurance Run. My shift starts at noon Saturday. I'll try to bring back some photos.

[hungrygreenhippo]

My half this morning was fantastic! Nice, flat course. Almost perfect weather (sunny, 60s-70s, slight wind). And the best part... it was a PR by about 15 minutes! I'm still waiting for the official results to be posted, but I think I finished just under 2 hours and 10 minutes.

I hope everyone's weekend was just as great!

[getnthinr]

My half this morning was fantastic! Nice, flat course. Almost perfect weather (sunny, 60s-70s, slight wind). And the best part... it was a PR by about 15 minutes! I'm still waiting for the official results to be posted, but I think I finished just under 2 hours and 10 minutes.

I hope everyone's weekend was just as great!

Congratulations, Lisa, that is awesome!!! :banana::banana::banana:

[getnthinr]

If you've already read about this on the Leaner Meaner thread, just skip it.

This Saturday I worked at the Umstead 100 (mile) Endurance Run at Umstead Park.
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i132/getnthinr/umstead.jpg
For those of you that aren't familiar with ultra racing, often aid stations (like the one I worked this weekend) have real buffets of food of every variety from soups, stews, burgers and dogs to M&Ms and pretzels -- and everything inbetween. I worked a 6-hour shift on "my end" of the long table of snacks and beverages making peanut butter and jelly/ham/turkey sandwiches, cutting cantaloupe/oranges/boiled salted potatoes, replenishing cookies/candies/grapes, pouring Pepsi/Mountain Dew/ginger ale/fruit punch and (of course) water and gatoraid, passing out ibuprofen, filling water bottles with ice and anything else that we had to offer -- it was quite warm for those guys going 50-100 miles. (Someone had said 80 -- I don't know what the temperature was in Raleigh on Saturday.)

And runners going that far get very cranky. Can't really blame them, can you? I don't know if I'll be back next year. You know there are those folks who can let barbs deflect right off them and not take anything personally -- and then there are those like me that every harsh word leaves a big gaping hole. Even though I understand intellectually why someone who'd been moving for 24 hours would be a bit grumpy and be apt to complain about any-and-every-thing, the disgruntled runners made me a little sad. I need to get over it though. On the flip side, many runners would thank us very sincerely. I need to remember that if I don't go back next year, all those very nice runners who were so kind and so grateful will not have the support they need. I need to focus on them. As I approach my mid-50's, I should be mature enough to shrug the other stuff off. I mean, really!

The funny thing was, as I picked up my volunteer award (a blanket with the race logo embroidered on it) and headed out, I realized I hadn't had a chance to eat anything while I was there -- too busy the whole time. And man, the barbecued chicken and burgers smelled GREAT!

So that's my report. Hope you guys all had a great weekend!

[thndrmatt]

Quicker blurb for a race report than normal, since as most of you know we're leaving for ASIA in less than 36 hours :scared1:

New Orleans Ironman 70.3 (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run)

Didn't really have any expectations for this one, as I was totally looking at it as a tune up for the full Ironman in China in two weeks. As such I knew about where I would be on each leg, and just wanted to test out my new race outfit and get some more work with transitions and my wetsuit.

Weather was quite hot especially later in the morning/afternoon, and very humid. There were some clouds and some shade on the run course so there were some breaks, but also a stiff wind on the second half of the bike course so it was pretty challenging.

One of the neatest things about these though is the pros use the same transition as everyone else, so when you drop your bike off you can see theirs sitting there as well, and you usually pass them on the out and back portion of the bike course and yell encouragement at each other and whatnot. Rare to see the pros of any sport that closely. There's definitely more of a camraderie than a "holier than thou" interaction.

Swim: 52:23

The swim was fun in that it was one way right along the shore of Lake Pontchatrain, so the spectators could walk along with you as you swam about 10-20 yards away. There were a few dozen waves by age group separated by 4 minutes, and everyone kind of took their own route, so it really wasn't that crowded at all, I only got bumped a few times. Given it was 50% more people than I'd ever done a tri with, and apparently the largest half ironman distance race IN THE WORLD, it was amazingly well organized. Cheryl got some great video of my flapping around getting passed as if I was standing still. Was within a minute of my previous and best swim split of this distance, and didn't feel that thrashed at all, so went well. It also included the wetsuit stripping time since that was before the timing mat.

T1: 3:23

Transition took a while mainly due to distance, having to jog past the 3500 bikes ($3.5 million dollars worth was a guesstimate) to find my area. Went as planned, and I was off on the ride.

Bike: 2:50:11

The bike was going obnoxiously well for the first half, as I was averaging 22mph+. I knew this must be due to some kind of tailwind, and coming back I was proven right. Managed to launch one of my bottles after a large bump, which was funny because there were already like 50 on the ground to tip me off to avoid it and I still managed not to. The thought process was something like "WOAH here comes a HUGE pile of bottles and tubes and CO2 cartridges and gear and everything, there must be a huge bump coming up, I'll probably avoid it, KERCHUNK, splat rattle rattle, there goes my Gatorade..." Had to go back for that, and a restroom break around halfway slowed me down, but this time was just 9 seconds slower than my best split while avging 19.75mph, so was right on PR pace through the first two legs.

T2: 4:05

This was a bit puzzling, a T2 slower than T1?!? That had never happened to me before. Part of it was deciding to wear the watch that I had running from the start on my right wrist so I could keep an eye on total time which will be useful in two weeks while adding my forerunner to my left wrist for the run splits. I'd never put a watch on my right wrist before, that's quite befuddling the first time you try it, especially if in a hurry! Also just dawdled a little extra time making sure I didn't forget anything. Can definitely improve here, only took me 2:11 last time out.

Run: 2:23:35

The run was a vast improvement over my previous two 70.3 attempts. Instead of having to walk nearly all, or in the second case having to do intervals the entire time, I actually ran the whole first 9 miles. I was exactly on 10mpm pace and had a shot at going sub 6 hours. The 7th and 8th miles were pretty rough though, my heart rate was getting outside the comfort zone, and the sun was just beating down. I could tell that if I kept pressing hard I'd be cramping like crazy and pretty much hate life for the last part of the race. So I made the conscious decision based on racing again in the big one in two weeks to walk most of it on the way in. Based on the imploding of athletes I saw all around me for the last few miles, it was probably a good decision. Jogged some stretches but for the most part just verbally shared in the suffering with the other athletes. Still managed to cut 10 min off my half marathon time from the previous attempt, which made it about the same improvement in total time over my last attempt of 6:23:39.

Finish: 6:13:34 - PR
1074/2317 Overall, 837/1670 Male, 109/186 Age Group

Interestingly enough, out of over 3500 people with a number, they only have 2317 people listed as finishing, 1670 men, 647 women. Over 1000 DNFs? :sad2: Another interesting number was the avg finishing time of 6:23:10, so I'm top half, woo! I was in 173rd in my age group after the swim, but passed 62 of them on the bike, and a couple more on the run.

Hm I said it was going to be short, now look what happened, geez!

And now in two weeks... April 19th... The BIG one...

And our flight leaves Wednesday morning at 6am! :scared1:

[jmasgat]

Matt You rock--there is no other way to describe it. Hope you get to see this WISH for a great Ironman China. We will all be cheering for you.

Maura

[dsnyfan21]

Yeah!!! Matt!!! Was a great race report and glad to read every word!!! You ROCK!!!!!

Hoping you are ready to go to China!! Be careful what your eating and drinking as your diet will change a bit and don't want to get sick or anything!

Take Care Matt and GOOD LUCK!!!:thumbsup2

Tracy

[suzannews]

Small report and pictures from the Windermere Run Among the Lakes 5K on Saturday.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=31218640#post31218640

[Honeibee]

Matt, you're the only person I know who would consider a 70 mile race a "tune up". :eek: You are A-M-A-ZING! I WISH you all the best in China! :thumbsup2

[wtpclc]

Way to go Matt! You are amazing!!! Will be sending tons of :wizard:on teh 19th!

[tiberius]

Here is my Muddy Trails 5K Report, it is pretty much what I posted earlier on the Team Ohana thread, with some of the "inside information" removed:
It turns out that the race started at 4 in the afternoon, which is a bit unusual, but fitting with the after-race events. Not long after I arrive I hear my name called and see my friend John and his son, and a short time later the rest of his family comes up, with some other relatives who drove into town for the weekend. The afternoon is a bit warm, so I figure conditions are not great for a good running time but I do resolve to have a good time while running. The race starts out on a road but hits a wide running trail in about a 1/4 mile or so. While getting near 1 mile, my side was hurting a bit because of the effort, but I hit the first mile in 9:20, which is definitely fast for me. After this I throw in a 30 - 45 second walk break about every 5 minutes or so. I figure I am doing OK, but not my best, so I hope for a time in the 32 - 34 minute range. As I come near the end and the finish line comes into sight, the clock is crossing 30 minutes and I coast across in 30:20, getting a new PR by 50 seconds and I was cheered across by my friends and their family.
After the race all runner's get huge plates of crawfish, plus any other concession-type food is available to all for a reasonable cost and a live band play zydeco music. http://i566.photobucket.com/albums/ss104/rjtramm/096.jpgAfter a time we learn John finished first master's male finisher, and we explain to his wife how that is better than first place in the age division (which he otherwise won by 2 minutes). After 90 minutes or so, we leave and I am invited back to their house for drinks, smores and conversation around a small backyard bonfire before leaving around 11 to make the short drive home.

[amykab]

I forgot to have this added to the list, but I ran a 5K this past weekend. Congrats to all the racers this past weekend!

Here's a little RR about my 5k on saturday....

So, I ran the Aflac Iron Girl 5K in Clearwater on Saturday morning. Aflac does a series of 10 races and tri's all over the country every year.

Weather: Absolutely perfect. low-mid 60's, not a cloud in the sky. :goodvibes Perfect.

Outfit: Black running skirt, and the tech shirt that came with race registration. Tiara bondi band. I have to have an outfit all planned out, even for just a 5K.

The Race: About 1500 ish runners and walkers. The start of the race was not marked by a air horn or anything, but by the aflac duck yelling the trademark "AAFFLAAAC". Race started out uphill. Flattened out for a bit and then we made the turn to go over the clearwater memorial causeway bridge. This is the main biggest bridge out to the beaches. Ginormous. :scared1: So we run up it, and I was under the impression that the turn around for the 5K was at the top. Umm, no.:scared1: We ran down the other side, turned around and went back up. OMG.:scared1: I took a walk break at around mile 2, right before the return over the bridge. Legs were on fire. I ran as fast as I could on the downhill. It flattened out again and then there was another hill, albeit small, but seemed huge to my tired legs. Finished in 34 flat. Just a bit slower than my last 5K. I am very very happy with this time though because of the hills, since all of my 5K's have been on pancake flat courses. My garmin says my average pace was 10:50. Holy Crap!! And my first 2 miles were sub 11 minutes. Totally fanatastic. And I placed right around the middle for my age group and overall. I am usually towards the back third. And I was almost 4 minutes under the average 5K time. So happy with the results of this race. :goodvibes

Pics

Me, in my post race sweaty grossness, posing by my beautiful bougainvillea plant that finally came back to life after we had to transplant it.
http://i43.tinypic.com/x0pwme.jpg

Delena, modeling my bling.
http://i41.tinypic.com/30vf7kl.jpg