avondale training journal, starting Dec. 2018 (comments welcome)

[jmasgat]

Good luck with the race. Hope conditions are as favorable as they can be. Ice is the worst.

 

[The Expert]

I'm going to wear my yak trax, which should give me reasonable traction, but they definitely add weight. If we get more like 4 inches of snow, then it's going to be rather deep for running through, so it's going to be slow.

Good luck with the race! I hope the trail is clear and you don't have to worry about that ice. My one complaint about yak trax is that if the snow is super fresh, it can pack into the circles between the tracks and build up, which feels like boulders under my shoes. I'm sure you know this, but check them now and then to clear any build-up if you're able. Drive safe!

 

[avondale]

@jmasgat and @The Expert - thanks! I was a day, that's for sure.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Hope you had a good time at least! Looking forward to hearing about your race.

 

[avondale]

Naked Nick 25k Trail Run - Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025

This race (also a 50k) was at Blue Marsh Lake State Park in Pennsylvania, not far from Reading. I signed up for this as a back-up run when the run in November that I wanted filled up before I could register. Regretting that!

When I hiked part of the course yesterday (see my previous log post), there was almost snow on the ground. But we were supposed to get snow overnight - the forecast before I went to bed was 2 - 4 inches, done by sunrise.

The race director sent an email the day before the race cautioning people about the forecast and encouraging them to wear microspikes or even mod their shoes literally with shoes for traction. He even suggested people inexperienced in the snow consider not running.

The morning of the race, the race director emailed that he would allow people to do a delayed start so that folks driving awhile to the race on bad roads would still be able to race if they missed the start. He said people could start until noon (but encouraged dropping down from 50k to 25k if appropriate, since the cut-off to end both races was 5pm).

Well, we got snow as predicted, and about as much as predicted. Race start was 8am. I got up at 5am to eat and get ready. I planned to leave at 6am so that I would have time to clear the snow off my car and also to have time to drive slowly for bad roads. The 15-min drive took about 25 min, so not too bad. Most roads were already plowed, even at 6am on a Sunday. When I got there a bit before 6:30am, the race crew was still in the process of unloading things and setting up, and I was definitely one of the first few racers there. (Just like I like it - a bit OCD about being early for races.)

I hung out in my car, enjoying the heat for awhile. About 6:45am, I went to check in and get my bib. Very quick because there still weren't many people there. The volunteers had shoveled some of the paths around the parking area and in front of the port-a-potties, which was nice.



I went back to my car for the heat. While there, I took off my sweatpants and sweatshirt, switched into my trail shoes with yak trax, got my hydration pack and food ready, and my hat and two sets of gloves. The temperature at the start was 28 - 30 F with a wind chill of about 21 F - it was very windy all morning. The wind definitely caused drifting, with heavier spots and clearer spots. I'm usually pretty diligent about warming up before a race, but I knew this was going to be pretty slow, and I didn't want to get my feet cold and wet too early, so I didn't.

The photo is me before the start.

I'm not sure what fraction of runners started at the regular 8am. There were supposed to be 400-some runners registered, and there were at least a couple hundred. We started a couple minutes late, and I held back for a minute or two to be toward the back. The start was pretty steeply downhill through a field - in the photo, you can see the orange cones - we followed along those down to a trail by the lake.

The first mile or so was a bit of a conga line - normally faster runners would really take off, but with the snow, everyone was slowed down. We went close by the lake, then peeled away from it for a long time. The first two miles were 14:36 and 13:29.

Somewhere in the second mile, I got behind a woman named Anna who was running at a pace like I wanted, and so I got behind her and we chatted a bunch. She was doing the race as her first 50k (doesn't that suck?). We had both done some training runs on the course. I ended up sticking with her until about 7.5 miles (I did offer to trade and go first for awhile if she wanted). Fortunately since we were toward the back of the pack, the couple hundred runners ahead of us did pack down the snow a bit. It was still definitely rather loose, but not as bad as that initial field-running. The next miles were 13:18, 13:56, 15:29, 15:44, 14:46. With the conditions, I was hoping to finish in about 4 hours, so a 15-min/mi pace was the target. Somewhere after 2 miles, I took off my gloves and hat - just too warm - and soon pulled up my sleeves. (I keep telling you all that I run hot, so I like the cold for races.)

In the eighth mile, we were getting more hills and I was falling back, so I said goodbye to Anna. I stopped at about 7.5 mi to pee (in the cold, my bladder is the size of thimble). That mile was 15:03 - I made up for the pitstop very well.

The race course was a lollipop route, with a small lollipop. By then, we were in the lollipop and got to the small section of the course that I had NOT run during my previous visit. Well, it had a HUGE hill! Mile 9 was 17:28. With all the loose snow making it extra hard work going uphill, I really got tapped out.

Fortunately we had a bunch of downhill next, for mile 10 at 14:45. By then, I could see that I was on track for 4 hours, so I just had to hang in there. I could also tell that the course was going to be close to 16 miles (boo!).

I finished the lollipop and was back on the "stem". The annoying part about the race director allowing the late start was that it meant that there was a lot of "opposing traffic" - normally there would have only be 50k runners doing their second loop, but there were a lot of 25k runners that were just getting started. A lot of the course is single track, and stepping off to give way meant stepping into or running through very deep snow.

The next miles were a slog, although I tried to keep moving for under-15-min-mi. Also, somehow I had almost caught up to Anna again (maybe she had a pit stop, too?) and that was encouraging. I never did quite catch up to her. During this part, my stomach was feeling a bit nauseated, so I didn't eat my last two "meals" - I don't get nauseated during training runs, but I think the uphill was really zapping me.

I should mention that the "naked" part of "Naked Nick" is supposed to mean that it is a "no frills", low-cost race. But there were, of course, people with Santa hats. There was also a guy dressed up with sort of a robe (red) and a big tall white hat. I'm assuming he was supposed to be a traditional "St. Nick" character, but he looked like a bishop or cardinal. I also saw two young men at the start taking the "naked" part more literally and just running in boxer briefs.

Miles 11 - 14 were 16:17, 14:30, 14:39, and 14:05. Somewhere toward the end of these miles, I got to a really windy area and put one set of gloves back on. The balls of my feet were really starting to hurt from the rubber "plate" of the yak trax underneath. Unfortunately in the next mile, there was a substantial uphill, so that came it at 16:00. The last mile was some downhill, but then there was a really annoying last quarter-mile uphill through the field we started in. The almost-16-mile came in at 14:51. I was just a minute or two behind Anna, so I checked in with her after I finished - she was getting soup and then planning to go out for her second loop.

Photos from the course.





The image above has the "Pope", although it's hard to tell that.

There was no chip timing, as I mentioned previously, so everyone was on gun time. I think the race director started the clock at 8am even though he didn't have anyone start until about 8:02 am. My watch time (I started it when the first runners started, even though I didn't start then) was 3:58:12, but I saw the clock when I finished was a bit over 4:02. So I'm counting this personally as finishing by 4 hours! The volunteers just noted each bib with the time as each person finished. (Small races!) My distance came in at 15.95 mi (dual-band GPS that I have is usually pretty accurate) and elevation gain (corrected) of 2074 ft.

The other benefit of small races: within 30 seconds of me finishing, I was told that I got third in my age group! Go, me! Probably I'll find out that there were only three in my age group, LOL. (I am assuming that people who started late were not eligible for awards, because otherwise they couldn't have known I was third.)

There was a lot of food, including hot food, at the end: grilled cheese, soup, pasta, hot dogs, hot chocolate. But I never want to eat right after a race. I couldn't even drink anything. I sat for a couple of minutes to text my husband.

Then I started to get really cold and heading back to my car and its wonderful heater. I really had the shivers for about 10 minutes even with the heat cranked up. I put on my sweatpants and sweatshirt, changed my socks and shoes, and drank a little water. I stopped by a local Sheetz to use the bathroom and pick up a snack and a drink for the way home (2.5-hr drive).

I ended up eating one serving of dried baby bananas, three servings of dried pineapple rings, and that's it. I brought 1 L of water and 1.5 L of water + Nuun. I drank about half of all of that, which is a lot less than in my training runs. The day didn't turn out to be as cold as predicted a week ago when I was worried about my drinking straws freezing - they probably would have been ok. One of my bite valves froze, but not a problem.

The official results won't be out for a few days, because the race director said he's have to update last-minute distance-changers manually tomorrow. I will be interested to see how many people ended up running and just how many there were in my age group. I'll also have to check out how Anna finished.

Photos of the finisher Christmas ornament (or could have gotten a mug) and my third-place award: the man/woman swivel back and forth.


This is a well-organized race. I really wish the snow had held off for just ONE DAY - it's not normal for them to get so much snow this early in the year. Bad luck for me.

I'll probably think of other things to say, but I'll add them in when I update with the official results.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

It looks very pretty even if it wasn't much fun to run in! And the award is very cool!

 

[col1]

Naked Nick 25k Trail Run - Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025

This race (also a 50k) was at Blue Marsh Lake State Park in Pennsylvania, not far from Reading. I signed up for this as a back-up run when the run in November that I wanted filled up before I could register. Regretting that!

When I hiked part of the course yesterday (see my previous log post), there was almost snow on the ground. But we were supposed to get snow overnight - the forecast before I went to bed was 2 - 4 inches, done by sunrise.

The race director sent an email the day before the race cautioning people about the forecast and encouraging them to wear microspikes or even mod their shoes literally with shoes for traction. He even suggested people inexperienced in the snow consider not running.

The morning of the race, the race director emailed that he would allow people to do a delayed start so that folks driving awhile to the race on bad roads would still be able to race if they missed the start. He said people could start until noon (but encouraged dropping down from 50k to 25k if appropriate, since the cut-off to end both races was 5pm).

Well, we got snow as predicted, and about as much as predicted. Race start was 8am. I got up at 5am to eat and get ready. I planned to leave at 6am so that I would have time to clear the snow off my car and also to have time to drive slowly for bad roads. The 15-min drive took about 25 min, so not too bad. Most roads were already plowed, even at 6am on a Sunday. When I got there a bit before 6:30am, the race crew was still in the process of unloading things and setting up, and I was definitely one of the first few racers there. (Just like I like it - a bit OCD about being early for races.)

I hung out in my car, enjoying the heat for awhile. About 6:45am, I went to check in and get my bib. Very quick because there still weren't many people there. The volunteers had shoveled some of the paths around the parking area and in front of the port-a-potties, which was nice.

View attachment 1031383

I went back to my car for the heat. While there, I took off my sweatpants and sweatshirt, switched into my trail shoes with yak trax, got my hydration pack and food ready, and my hat and two sets of gloves. The temperature at the start was 28 - 30 F with a wind chill of about 21 F - it was very windy all morning. The wind definitely caused drifting, with heavier spots and clearer spots. I'm usually pretty diligent about warming up before a race, but I knew this was going to be pretty slow, and I didn't want to get my feet cold and wet too early, so I didn't.

The photo is me before the start. View attachment 1031385

I'm not sure what fraction of runners started at the regular 8am. There were supposed to be 400-some runners registered, and there were at least a couple hundred. We started a couple minutes late, and I held back for a minute or two to be toward the back. The start was pretty steeply downhill through a field - in the photo, you can see the orange cones - we followed along those down to a trail by the lake.View attachment 1031384

The first mile or so was a bit of a conga line - normally faster runners would really take off, but with the snow, everyone was slowed down. We went close by the lake, then peeled away from it for a long time. The first two miles were 14:36 and 13:29.

Somewhere in the second mile, I got behind a woman named Anna who was running at a pace like I wanted, and so I got behind her and we chatted a bunch. She was doing the race as her first 50k (doesn't that suck?). We had both done some training runs on the course. I ended up sticking with her until about 7.5 miles (I did offer to trade and go first for awhile if she wanted). Fortunately since we were toward the back of the pack, the couple hundred runners ahead of us did pack down the snow a bit. It was still definitely rather loose, but not as bad as that initial field-running. The next miles were 13:18, 13:56, 15:29, 15:44, 14:46. With the conditions, I was hoping to finish in about 4 hours, so a 15-min/mi pace was the target. Somewhere after 2 miles, I took off my gloves and hat - just too warm - and soon pulled up my sleeves. (I keep telling you all that I run hot, so I like the cold for races.)

In the eighth mile, we were getting more hills and I was falling back, so I said goodbye to Anna. I stopped at about 7.5 mi to pee (in the cold, my bladder is the size of thimble). That mile was 15:03 - I made up for the pitstop very well.

The race course was a lollipop route, with a small lollipop. By then, we were in the lollipop and got to the small section of the course that I had NOT run during my previous visit. Well, it had a HUGE hill! Mile 9 was 17:28. With all the loose snow making it extra hard work going uphill, I really got tapped out.

Fortunately we had a bunch of downhill next, for mile 10 at 14:45. By then, I could see that I was on track for 4 hours, so I just had to hang in there. I could also tell that the course was going to be close to 16 miles (boo!).

I finished the lollipop and was back on the "stem". The annoying part about the race director allowing the late start was that it meant that there was a lot of "opposing traffic" - normally there would have only be 50k runners doing their second loop, but there were a lot of 25k runners that were just getting started. A lot of the course is single track, and stepping off to give way meant stepping into or running through very deep snow.

The next miles were a slog, although I tried to keep moving for under-15-min-mi. Also, somehow I had almost caught up to Anna again (maybe she had a pit stop, too?) and that was encouraging. I never did quite catch up to her. During this part, my stomach was feeling a bit nauseated, so I didn't eat my last two "meals" - I don't get nauseated during training runs, but I think the uphill was really zapping me.

I should mention that the "naked" part of "Naked Nick" is supposed to mean that it is a "no frills", low-cost race. But there were, of course, people with Santa hats. There was also a guy dressed up with sort of a robe (red) and a big tall white hat. I'm assuming he was supposed to be a traditional "St. Nick" character, but he looked like a bishop or cardinal. I also saw two young men at the start taking the "naked" part more literally and just running in boxer briefs.

Miles 11 - 14 were 16:17, 14:30, 14:39, and 14:05. Somewhere toward the end of these miles, I got to a really windy area and put one set of gloves back on. The balls of my feet were really starting to hurt from the rubber "plate" of the yak trax underneath. Unfortunately in the next mile, there was a substantial uphill, so that came it at 16:00. The last mile was some downhill, but then there was a really annoying last quarter-mile uphill through the field we started in. The almost-16-mile came in at 14:51. I was just a minute or two behind Anna, so I checked in with her after I finished - she was getting soup and then planning to go out for her second loop.

Photos from the course.View attachment 1031386

View attachment 1031387
View attachment 1031388
View attachment 1031389
View attachment 1031390
The image above has the "Pope", although it's hard to tell that.

There was no chip timing, as I mentioned previously, so everyone was on gun time. I think the race director started the clock at 8am even though he didn't have anyone start until about 8:02 am. My watch time (I started it when the first runners started, even though I didn't start then) was 3:58:12, but I saw the clock when I finished was a bit over 4:02. So I'm counting this personally as finishing by 4 hours! The volunteers just noted each bib with the time as each person finished. (Small races!) My distance came in at 15.95 mi (dual-band GPS that I have is usually pretty accurate) and elevation gain (corrected) of 2074 ft.

The other benefit of small races: within 30 seconds of me finishing, I was told that I got third in my age group! Go, me! Probably I'll find out that there were only three in my age group, LOL. (I am assuming that people who started late were not eligible for awards, because otherwise they couldn't have known I was third.)

There was a lot of food, including hot food, at the end: grilled cheese, soup, pasta, hot dogs, hot chocolate. But I never want to eat right after a race. I couldn't even drink anything. I sat for a couple of minutes to text my husband.

Then I started to get really cold and heading back to my car and its wonderful heater. I really had the shivers for about 10 minutes even with the heat cranked up. I put on my sweatpants and sweatshirt, changed my socks and shoes, and drank a little water. I stopped by a local Sheetz to use the bathroom and pick up a snack and a drink for the way home (2.5-hr drive).

I ended up eating one serving of dried baby bananas, three servings of dried pineapple rings, and that's it. I brought 1 L of water and 1.5 L of water + Nuun. I drank about half of all of that, which is a lot less than in my training runs. The day didn't turn out to be as cold as predicted a week ago when I was worried about my drinking straws freezing - they probably would have been ok. One of my bite valves froze, but not a problem.

The official results won't be out for a few days, because the race director said he's have to update last-minute distance-changers manually tomorrow. I will be interested to see how many people ended up running and just how many there were in my age group. I'll also have to check out how Anna finished.

Photos of the finisher Christmas ornament (or could have gotten a mug) and my third-place award: the man/woman swivel back and forth.
View attachment 1031391

This is a well-organized race. I really wish the snow had held off for just ONE DAY - it's not normal for them to get so much snow this early in the year. Bad luck for me.

I'll probably think of other things to say, but I'll add them in when I update with the official results.

Congrats on a good race in tough conditions and the AG Award

 

[GollyGadget]

Sorry you didnt get a clear course. It is pretty though and you did an amazing job. Kind of makes me want to try trail running a bit .

 

[jmasgat]

Congrats! Very impressed at what you could do in those conditions.

 

[nancipants]

Congrats on a good race! Sorry the conditions weren't ideal. The pictures are beautiful but not ideal for a race!

 

[Erika10021]

Congrats on the race!

 

[avondale]

It looks very pretty even if it wasn't much fun to run in! And the award is very cool!

It was definitely pretty to look at, but the wind made it unpleasant to actually be in. Some places the wind picked up enough to start dumping snow off of the tree branches onto the runners/trail.

The race organizers are of German descent, and they apparently like to make the awards.

Congrats on a good race in tough conditions and the AG Award

Thanks so much!

Sorry you didnt get a clear course. It is pretty though and you did an amazing job. Kind of makes me want to try trail running a bit

Trail running is a lot of fun. If you LIKED the idea of running in snow, trail runners who live in the northern US run in the snow all winter on trails. Pretty much like I did for this. That's not my favorite part.

Congrats! Very impressed at what you could do in those conditions.

Thank you very much!

Congrats on a good race! Sorry the conditions weren't ideal. The pictures are beautiful but not ideal for a race!

Thank you very much - appreciate it!

Congrats on the race!

Thank you!

 

[avondale]

Week of Dec. 15 - 21, 2025
On this past Sunday (Dec. 14), I ran my goal race: Naked Nick 25k Trail Run - you can see my previous post about it. I'm taking two weeks off from running for recovery. My legs and knees were pretty sore for most of this week.

This week was VERY busy for my for work because the final exam for my course was Monday (the day after the race), and besides grading there was a lot of other end-of-semester stuff to deal with. I definitely appreciated being able to take it easy with training, at least.

Race Finish Statistics

I had been watching the results page for the Naked Nick. Since they allowed people to start late (due to the snow) and then drop down from 50k to 25k on the fly, it meant a lot of updates to the results.

There was a "live" results page (not so live, since no chip timing), that seems to have everyone is their original categories - 25k or 50k. This is what it seems that the race director used for age group awards. On this page, my finish statistics were:

• Time: 3:58:20
• 87th out of 184 runners in the 25k
• 21st out of 63 women
• 3rd out of 8 women in my age group (more women in my group than I realized, so go me!)

Given the conditions, I am really pretty happy with all of those finish stats.

I wasn't clear how they would deal with late starters (would they just get a cumulative time from the real 8am start? or a later start time?). There are "official" results on ultrasignup.com. By comparing these results to the "live" results, you can tell who was originally registered for the 50k but dropped down to 25k and who started late - it seems the late starters did somehow get a late start time for timing purposes. On these stats, I got:

• 123rd out of 215 runners (so 41 people dropped down from 50k to 25k)
• 35th out of 77 women (14 women dropped down from 50k to 25k)
• 7th out of 14 in my age group

For my personal reckoning, I'm going with the "live" results since that's clearly what the race director intended.

The woman that I ran with for a lot of the course, Anna, did finish the 50k in 8:29:25 (time limit 9 hr)...only 60 people finished the 50k, and she was 56th. Very similar to my stats in my first 50k, which was also very bad conditions.

This Week

Monday after work:

• FIT December Group Challenge - time: 6:09
• Walk on treadmill
  • time: 43:45
  • distance: 2.28 mi
  • average pace: 19:11
  • incline: 0%

Tuesday

• Before breakfast:
  • FIT December Group Challenge - time: 11:53
  • Foam rolling and stretching
• After work: walk on treadmill
  • time: 46:44
  • distance: 2.51 mi
  • average pace: 18:37
  • incline: 1%

Wednesday

• Before breakfast:
  • FIT December Group Challenge - time: 7:41
  • Unilateral strength workout
    • 4 x 6 each leg - straight leg reverse lunges with 20-lb vest + 30 lb
    • 10 each leg - isometric step-up on bench with 10-s hold
    • 4 x 6 each leg - heel taps from low step with 20-lb vest + 12 lb
    • 10 each leg - isometric one-leg hip thrust with 10-s hold with 20 lb
    • 4 x 6 each leg - hip airplanes with 20 lb
  • Stretching
• In evening: 2-hr tennis doubles round-robin

Thursday in evening:

• FIT December Group Challenge - time: 5:40
• 90-min tennis doubles round-robin

Friday after work:

• FIT December Group Challenge - time: 5:18
• Walk on treadmill
  • time: 45:21
  • distance: 2.53 mi
  • average pace: 17:56
  • incline: 1%

Saturday

• Before lunch: 2-hr tennis doubles match - my partner and I lost 6-1, 6-3
• Walk on treadmill
  • time: 1:29:44
  • distance: 5.09 mi
  • average pace: 17:38
  • incline: 1%
  • comments: I did the FIT December Group Challenge while I was walking, because it was arm exercises.

Sunday afternoon:

• Walking: Rock Creek Trail
  • time: 2:16:04
  • distance: 7.76 mi
  • average pace: 17:32
• FIT December Group Challenge - time 4:58

Health

I was sore after the race, but it doesn't seem like I injured anything - just normal soreness.

 

[avondale]

Week of Dec. 22 - 28, 2025

This week was all travel for the holidays. We left Monday and returned Friday to visit my husband's family - Detroit area. We left Saturday and will return Wednesday of this next week to visit my family - northwestern PA. We only stopped back home (for fewer than 24 hours) on Fri/Sat in order to give subcutaneous fluids to our cat.

This was my second recovery week after my race with no running. It was kind of nice not to have to fit in running with the family travel, although I had to do walking, instead because I needed to get my steps.

Monday before lunch:

• FIT December Group Challenge - time: 6:36
• Walk on treadmill
  • time: 1:29:31
  • distance: 5.13 mi
  • average pace: 17:27
  • incline: 0%

Tuesday

• Before breakfast:
  • Walk on treadmill
    • time: 44:05
    • distance: 2.5 mi
    • average pace: 17:38
    • incline: 1%
  • FIT December Group Challenge - time: 4:26
• Afternoon: walk outside in Grosse Pointe
  • time: 52:00
  • distance: 2.74 mi
  • average pace: 19:00
  • T 45 F

Wednesday

• Before breakfast:
  • Walk on treadmill
    • time: 42:11
    • distance: 2.4 mi
    • average pace: 17:35
    • incline: 1%
  • FIT December Group Challenge - time: 1:58
• Afternoon: walk outside in Grosse Pointe
  • time: 56:34
  • distance: 2.98 mi
  • average pace: 19:01
  • T 36 F

Thursday

• Before breakfast:
  • FIT December Group Challenge - time: 7:18
  • Walk outside in Grosse Pointe
    • time: 44:05
    • distance: 2.48 mi
    • average pace: 17:45
    • T 34 F
    • comments: The fitness center was closed, so my morning walk had to be outside - and extra early so that I would get done before family wanted to open Christmas presents. The unexpected silver lining was a beautiful sunrise over Lake St. Clair!
    • 
      
    • 
      
    • 
      
    • 
• Afternoon: walk outside in Grosse Pointe
  • time: 40:01
  • distance: 2.15 mi
  • average pace: 18:38
  • T 39 F

Friday afternoon: walk on treadmill

• time: 43:42
• distance: 2.45 mi
• average pace: 17:50
• incline: 1%
• comments: I did my FIT December Group Challenge exercises while walking, because they were all arm exercises.

Saturday before breakfast:

• FIT December Group Challenge - time: 5:06
• Walk on treadmill
  • time: 1:28:46
  • distance: 5.05 mi
  • average pace: 17:35
  • incline: 1%

Sunday before breakfast:

• FIT December Group Challenge - time: 6:13
• Walk on Allegheny River Trail
  • time: 1:09:30
  • distance: 4.04 mi
  • average pace: 17:12
  • T 32 F
  • comments: I was planning to run, but the (paved) trail still had too much ice and crusty snow on different segments. I used my microspikes and walked instead.

Health

No new issues. Taking two weeks off from running is always a relief on my body - my various leg muscles aren't tight.