I won't give in till I reach the end... and then I'll start again (comments welcome)

[flav]

A Girl Running 10k Race Report
I signed up for this race because it was a women's only race which I have never done and because it was at a time where weather is usually in our favour in Quebec. Not yet summer but warm enough to say that winter is over. Plan was to spend the night at my parents' house which is about a 20-minute drive from the start line and leave the kids there for the day, which suited my mom just fine. She lives for her grandkids.

There were three race distances starting at 5 minute intervals: 15k, 10k and 5k. The 10k was supposed to start at 8:20 but it started 10 minutes late at 8:30. DH and I arrived around 7:30 to the race area.

First observation was that I was probably going to be the only one in costume. I thought a women's race on Mother's Day would be more festive. I definitely stood out with my Dottie skirt. About 90% of participants wore the race shirt for the actual race.

Second observation was that it was windy. Temps were around 4C with the windchill, which is about 39-40F. My weather app was telling me that in my area were wind gusts of ~25mph. I was planning to run in shorts and a tank top, but you can see the difference with the spectators:
View attachment 760710View attachment 760711
Most runners were huddled trying to protect themselves from the wind before we started. I was happy that temps were low. And as you can see from the pictures, not a cloud in the sky.

My plan was to stay with the 60-minute pacer and try to ditch her at the end. The start was a bit chaotic with walkers and runners all starting in a bunch in a narrow. I ended up slightly ahead of her. As I wrote previously, my plan was to be smart: not go out too fast, try to take advantage of the slight downhills and maintain a steady pace to the end. I had done plenty of race-pace workouts - now was the time to see if I could sustain that for the whole 10 kilometers.

The course wasn't too difficult. Only thing is they hadn't closed it completely to traffic. We crossed a bridge at one point with a semi-truck turning the corner right in front of us. It wasn't a big race but come on: that's dangerous. Thankfully I didn't have to stop because of any cars of trucks but I did have to maneuver.

There were a few times where I wanted to walk. At km #3, my right foot started going numb and it stayed numb until km #8. And my calves felt wrecked. That's never happened to me before. I assume it's something with my Endorphin Pro 3s, probably because of the carbon-plated shoes. I just concentrated to keep on keeping on. Embrace the suck.

Billy told me to smile, so whenever it got especially difficult, I tried to smile, especially for the volunteers on course.

The 5k started 10 minutes after us. At the 8km marker is where I started to merge with the 5k walkers. I felt right at home at runDisney A lot of walkers walking 5-6 ppl wide and not letting runners through. At that point, if I wasn't going to reach my goal, it was because of the overcrowded course more than because of my running. Race etiquette was practically nonexistent. Embrace the suck, I was almost there.

I was now at the 9k mark and I had not been passed by the 60-minute pacer. I knew it was within reach. I didn't check my watch for the last 3k. I didn't want to get my hopes up or down. Either way, I had run to the best of my ability that day.

When I arrived within 150m of the finish line and I saw the 0:59:xx, I sprinted to the end. I was so happy to know I had achieved my goal. My usual low-key self:
View attachment 760717

Did I give it my all today? No. I had gas in the tank at the end to go on. Did I run a smart race to achieve my goal? Yes, and that's what was most important. I didn't crash and burn like I've done before.

Sportstats says my chip time is 59:27. My watch says I crossed the 10k mark at 59:00 but still counts my 10k PR as 10.12k/59:31. Either way, I did it. And what's more, I got that POT Not for Dopey I know. Just means I'll have to try to head down to Orlando before my POT expires

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We headed back almost immediately after the race. My mom was (not so) patiently waiting for us to come back for the obligatory Mother's Day Brunch.

So of course, me being me... Mimosas, what else?
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Thanks friends for your patience with my rollercoaster of emotions, your encouragement and your advice.

Great to see that you did you! Nice costume worn proudly, perfectly paced race to achieve your goal and fantastic celebration Congratulations!

 

[azrivest]

I'll still alive but haven't been on the boards much. Work has been crazy and will continue to be until my vacation.

I'm turning 40 in a few days Makes my 10k result so much more special that it occurred just in time for my birthday.

When we get back from our cruise, I'll start officially training for my 11-miler trail race on Sept 3rd. @DopeyBadger or @avondale do I need to do anything special since my training will be for a trail race? My only adaptation so far was essentially doing my weekend runs on trails. I live in the middle of the city and real trails with elevation are far from my house (like at least a one-hour drive) Realistically I'll only be doing road runs during the week.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Happy almost birthday!

 

[striker1064]

I hope you have the most wonderful 40th birthday celebration!

 

[GollyGadget]

Happy birthday!

 

[kps7795]

I'll still alive but haven't been on the boards much. Work has been crazy and will continue to be until my vacation.

I'm turning 40 in a few days Makes my 10k result so much more special that it occurred just in time for my birthday.

When we get back from our cruise, I'll start officially training for my 11-miler trail race on Sept 3rd. @DopeyBadger or @avondale do I need to do anything special since my training will be for a trail race? My only adaptation so far was essentially doing my weekend runs on trails. I live in the middle of the city and real trails with elevation are far from my house (like at least a one-hour drive) Realistically I'll only be doing road runs during the week.

Happy early birthday!

 

[DopeyBadger]

When we get back from our cruise, I'll start officially training for my 11-miler trail race on Sept 3rd. @DopeyBadger or @avondale do I need to do anything special since my training will be for a trail race? My only adaptation so far was essentially doing my weekend runs on trails. I live in the middle of the city and real trails with elevation are far from my house (like at least a one-hour drive) Realistically I'll only be doing road runs during the week.

Unlike road races which tend to be very similar from one to the next, trial races can be vastly different. So my #1 piece of advice is to try and train on the actual race course as much as you can. Depending on how far away it is, or accessible it is, that may mean only once, or it may mean every other weekend. Having that knowledge ahead of time is a real winner when it comes to race day. Because then you can better anticipate things like stream crosses, extreme elevation gains, areas that are easy to get lost in, etc. If you can't go to it often, but you have a reasonable option more locally, then train on that when you can't train on the actual course.

Also, evaluate the elevation gain per mile for the race and compare it your normal route. Many, not all, trail races have more elevation gain than do road races. So you may need to amp up the weekday road elevation gain as well as what you end up doing on the weekend. Even if you only have one hill, it may be advantageous to just train up and down that one hill repeatedly.

 

[disneygpa]

I'll still alive but haven't been on the boards much. Work has been crazy and will continue to be until my vacation.

I'm turning 40 in a few days Makes my 10k result so much more special that it occurred just in time for my birthday.

When we get back from our cruise, I'll start officially training for my 11-miler trail race on Sept 3rd. @DopeyBadger or @avondale do I need to do anything special since my training will be for a trail race? My only adaptation so far was essentially doing my weekend runs on trails. I live in the middle of the city and real trails with elevation are far from my house (like at least a one-hour drive) Realistically I'll only be doing road runs during the week.

I would ditto Billy's advice. I made the hour or so drive up to where my race was almost every Sunday to get my long run in. I would arrive right at sunrise and get going before the trail got busy. To be honest the worst part of that was the drive home after doing 10+ miles on the trail. The benefits of knowing the trail and where potential problems will be, are worth the drive! Good Luck!

 

[azrivest]

evaluate the elevation gain per mile for the race and compare it your normal route. Many, not all, trail races have more elevation gain than do road races. So you may need to amp up the weekday road elevation gain as well as what you end up doing on the weekend. Even if you only have one hill, it may be advantageous to just train up and down that one hill repeatedly.

Total elevation gain is 3485 ft so guess I need to be finding my own Jack&Jill route for weekday runs then?

 

[striker1064]

Holy elevation!

 

[DopeyBadger]

That's not Jack and Jill. That's a mountain! My Jack and Jill route is 45 ft/mile. This is 316 ft/mile. About 7x more hilly than Jack and Jill. You will need a lot of hill work to prepare and seriously need to consider doing this course several times in training if you can. Especially Mile 0-3 as that seems to be the brunt of it. I'd also strongly consider doing some lower leg strength exercises as those are going to be literal toast after this race. Both quads and booty. Alternatively, if you have access to a StairMaster, that'll be really helpful. That course is no joke. You may want to consider something a bit easier for your first fore-ray into trail running.

 

[avondale]

That's not Jack and Jill. That's a mountain! My Jack and Jill route is 45 ft/mile. This is 316 ft/mile. About 7x more hilly than Jack and Jill. You will need a lot of hill work to prepare and seriously need to consider doing this course several times in training if you can. Especially Mile 0-3 as that seems to be the brunt of it. I'd also strongly consider doing some lower leg strength exercises as those are going to be literal toast after this race. Both quads and booty. Alternatively, if you have access to a StairMaster, that'll be really helpful. That course is no joke. You may want to consider something a bit easier for your first fore-ray into trail running.

Just realized I was tagged in this discussion of the 11-mile trail race. I may have missed it, but what race is this?

Totally agree with @DopeyBadger - 3500 ft of elevation gain for an 11-mile race is HUGE. I just did a trail MARATHON with about 2500 ft of elevation gain.

You need to not only train running on hills as suggested, but be prepared to power hike up hills. I hope you don't have any time goals for this race. If you're not used to trail running in hills, I would strongly suggest that you plan to power hike up any incline. There is nothing wrong with this - trail runners power hike uphills all the time. If you try to run, even slowly, up the hills, you will totally burn yourself out early - especially it looks like the biggest hill is right from the start. I have in fact started trail races by walking, since I did my homework ahead of time and knew the start was a long uphill. (It did feel weird, though!)

Practice power hiking up hills. If you don't have good access to similar hills nearby, a treadmill with a high incline will work. You'll want to practice with 5 - 10% inclines. Do this a lot.

Also, you need to practice some downhill running, if you want to run the downhills (since you will be walking uphills). Running downhills can be intimidating (for fear of tripping and falling), so practice will help. One key point: don't lean your body backward on the downhill. You are getting your center of balance to be more unstable and setting yourself up to slip. Lean forward (like you do with level running), even though this feels weird with the downhill gradient.

I echo what others have said: if you can go to the actual trail that you're racing on even once or twice, it will be a huge confidence booster. It's good to get a feel for what the terrain is like: just packed dirt? Lots of rocks? How big? Lots of roots? And you'll get a feel for whether you've got a lot of small ups and downs and curves or if the trail goes up and down smoothly over longer distances.

If you can't visit the trail, see if someone (maybe even the race organizers) have some video of the trail. Also, read about the race to see how the course will be marked. If there are lots of trails in the area, you'll need to know how the race will be indicating turns, etc.

Finally, obviously the race will be held rain or shine (except for some truly extreme weather). Consider that if it rains, the trail will be (very) muddy. Don't avoid training in the rain.

I think that trail running is so, so much fun, but it does require a lot of humility, especially in the beginning. This may be why trail runners are also really, really nice and welcoming. They aren't going to care how fast you go or if you walk parts.

Good luck with the training! I also think training for trail races is more fun than training for road races, so enjoy!

 

[azrivest]

Yes to specify I have no goals whatsoever. Some runners are doing this loop three times compared to my one, so the cutoff is a generous 11 hours.

I'll reflect carefully on all your advice thanks. And I'm aware of what I've signed up for. I have run in mountainous conditions before (I used to do it a lot more but marathon training last year had me sticking to roads). I do plan to power hike some big parts of the uphill. So yeah it's going to be a fun 11 miler.

 

[azrivest]

may have missed it, but what race is this?

It's the Jay Peak trail fest up in northern Vermont

 

[avondale]

Yes to specify I have no goals whatsoever. Some runners are doing this loop three times compared to my one, so the cutoff is a generous 11 hours.

I'll reflect carefully on all your advice thanks. And I'm aware of what I've signed up for. I have run in mountainous conditions before (I used to do it a lot more but marathon training last year had me sticking to roads). I do plan to power hike some big parts of the uphill. So yeah it's going to be a fun 11 miler.

OK, I wasn't sure of your trail experience. Sounds like you know what to do, so you'll have fun.

It's the Jay Peak trail fest up in northern Vermont

LOL - there is a link for "details & registration" on their website, but since the online registration is closed, they are no longer giving out the "details" part. Those pesky people who want details! However, seeing that you're basically running on ski mountains means it's going to be a heck of a killer trail race.

 

[azrivest]

OK, I wasn't sure of your trail experience. Sounds like you know what to do, so you'll have fun.


LOL - there is a link for "details & registration" on their website, but since the online registration is closed, they are no longer giving out the "details" part. Those pesky people who want details! However, seeing that you're basically running on ski mountains means it's going to be a heck of a killer trail race.

LOL. They actually say the 11-miler is easy in big air quotes : "This makes this the perfect race for beginners & trail walkers who want a scenic, challenging & supported course"

https://jaypeaktrailrun.com/11-miler-17-7km/

 

[Herding_Cats]

LOL. They actually say the 11-miler is easy in big air quotes : "This makes this the perfect race for beginners & trail walkers who want a scenic, challenging & supported course"

https://jaypeaktrailrun.com/11-miler-17-7km/

I feel like all races describe their courses as one off 3 things (and sometimes a combination) "fast," "scenic," or "challenging." Which sometimes makes me giggle when I look at the course info.

 

[avondale]

LOL. They actually say the 11-miler is easy in big air quotes : "This makes this the perfect race for beginners & trail walkers who want a scenic, challenging & supported course"

https://jaypeaktrailrun.com/11-miler-17-7km/

Um, yeah. I had been thinking about it more, and your elevation map shows five aid stations before the end...a race that needs aid stations approximately every 2 miles is a tough race! But as long as you plan for that, it can turn into a "share the suffering" experience.

 

[azrivest]

A month since my last update...

Life has been crazy, and running has been taking the hit, and I'm fine with that. I really enjoyed our Alaskan cruise, like really. I never thought I would love it so much. I didn't run much when I was on the ship, cause going round and round and round Deck 4 can get tedious. Because of the time difference, I was usually up around 4 am and so I could go running when no one else was awake. I was able to catch some amazing pictures of the early morning sunlight.



I had even better pictures up on Deck 10




It was the trip of a lifetime.

Right now, I'm following Billy's advice to take it easy until early September. I'm doing RunFitMama's In Summer program for strength training and ~45 minute runs during the week, with some longish runs on the weekend with my running group. I've only done one real trail workout but I will try to do more before my 11-miler. Honestly though, my heart just isn't really into it, so I don't think I'll go all out for training and that's fine. I'll just do what I can on September 3rd. My real end game is Dopey anyhow.

 

[nancipants]

Gorgeous! So glad you had a great time. Disney cruises are the best. My husband and I did Alaska for our honeymoon, and it was one of my favorite vacations ever. We're planning to go in a few years when our son is a little older.