Race Reports/Encouragement/Kudos - October 4th and 5th

[Caseydilla]

Congratulations to everyone who raced and PR'd this weekend.

Matt, you are amazing doing back to back tri weekends!! Wow!

Yesterday I ran the Rock the Rock Half Marathon in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.(just outside of Vegas) Everyone that I know who has ran Red Rock warned me that it is not a PR kind of race. I knew going into it that it would be hard with the 1000 foot elevation climb that went with it.

So, the race starts and it's still dark and in the 40's.(it was 102 degrees a few days ago ) I'm freezing in my shorts, tank, and lack of gloves. I was shaking cold but knew it would pay off when the sun came up. This was my first cold run in a looooooong time. I just didn't want to lug around cold gear knowing that I would warm up later. The first 6 miles of the run were very hard, my pace wasn't that great, and I realized that these were the most difficult hills I've ever done.

I don't know what happened after that but something snapped when I made to a sign that said "you've reached the highest point on scenic drive". It was so beautiful and quiet up there. I wish I had my camera on me for that. I was running alone at that point since all the runners had spaced out by then. The mountains all around were an amazing sight from up there, especially the red rock ranges. My pace picked way up and I didn't let down until the finish. I've never pushed it like that before but it felt great to PR on a course that most people said wouldn't happen. I ended up finishing in 2:09, my previous best half time was 2:18. My husband was waiting at the finish with my kids.

Here are some pictures.

Red Rock area, I was somewhere up in those mountains when I was on my running high.

At the finish

 

[KeenHo]

Howard: You looked at my 15K PR in my siggy before you ran the race didn't you! Grrrr... This board continues to be a great source of motivation for me!

Matt: Actually I hadn't... thank you for calling my attention to it though. I think I have a new set of benchmarks to shoot for!

Actually, I feel really great that I can "hang" with someone as strong, young and talented as you are (time wise). I am sure this will pass. However, for the time being, I'll just enjoy it and wish you the best in attaining new PR's in the future.


Casey~ Woo Hoo! Great race! It looks like a beautiful and challenging area to run. I am sure seeing your family at the finish was icing on the cake. Congratulations on your new PR!


Howard

 

[twoWDWfools]

Wow! Lots of PRs! Congrats to everyone who got out there this weekend!!

Had a 5K yesterday at the arboretum but it was not a good one. I pulled something in the back of my left leg on Sat afternoon and it was worse than I thought apparently. Felt ok yesterday morning when I left the house but realized as I was warming up and stretching that it still hurt. The course is hillier than I'm used to which also did not help and the temp was 42.

There were about 1300 runners and walkers and I set myself behind the runners but before the strollers. Was doing ok but around mile 1 both shins were screaming and my left calf was getting tight. At mile 2 my entire left leg cramped up the back. You know the kind where a muscle tries to make your ankle meet your butt and fast? Never could get it to completely release so had to slow walk the last mile.

Decided with ToT coming up did not want to over strain it so just backed off and enjoyed the walk thru the arboretum. Figure it was bound to happen sooner or later just glad it was a pretty place to walk when it did.

The event itself was very well run and the volunteers were fantastic. Location is just beautiful and think I'll go back there to do training (can bike there as well).

 

[Lexxiefern]

Matt - Awesome race!! I look forward to hearing about all your races on sunday morning!

Casey - Beautiful scenery! And WOW on the time! Have you always been a runner?

Howard - WTG on the PR!! Looking forward to seeing you at Goofy again in January!

Stacey - Great Job on the 5k

Amykab - WTG on the PR!! Congrats!

Lisa - Great time on your half! That is cool that you were able to run with other WISHers!!

Thanks for sharing everyone!!

Becky

 

[AmyBeth68]

Congrats to everyone, you guys kicked butt this weekend!!!! Howard, Matt, AmyK, Caseydilla...WOW....speedy half!!!

APPLEFEST HALF MARATHON RACE REVIEW!!!

What a beautiful day we had in Hollis, NH. I'll just post some thoughts on the race...

Weather: gorgeous, low 60's, sunny, breezy. Absolutely perfect.

Race Organization: Best I've seen. These guys sure know how to organize an event that is designed for the runners, not the cash flow. Being able to hang out in the HS gymnasium was HUGE. Use of indoor restrooms HUGE!! Showers available. Masseuses on site for FREE before and After!!! Just perfect. Thanks to the race group that put on quite a show.

Water Stops: Well manned...lots of water...gatorated a few times. VERY friendly volunteers.

Crowd Support: This is a relatively small New England farm town, but boy do they come out and support the runners. The kids with their own little water stops, the locals standing along the course cheering us on with kind words. The BEST crowd support came from our VERY OWN WISHERS. THANK YOU SO SO SO MUCH to...Kristi, Cindy Lou, Angie, Lisa's husband....I know I'm missing some but I can't tell you how incredible it was to see you all there. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!

Course: It is a beautiful scenic course featuring tree lined streets, farms, beautiful farm houses, a view at every turn. It was an absolutely LOVELY place to run. The hills...OH MY....the hills. This course is challenging to put it mildly. I train on hills...and this course STILL kicked my butt.

Companions: THANK YOU SO MUCH to Scott and Lisa. You guys were angels out there. They stuck with me, and I told them to go on, but they stuck with me when my leg cramps caused me to have to stop and stretch, walk, stretch some more . Unfortunately I had been sick with a pretty bad chest cold/bronichitis deal all last week. I was taking medicine and I think the meds totally dehydrated me. So even though I was drinking water, it wasn't enough. Horrible calf cramps started at mile 6/7, my lips were cracking and dry, I could feel the dryness in my mouth and the cramps kept getting worse, especially on the killer hills. I know I cost us EASILY 3 minutes off our time...we were on par for a 2:06 at the halfway point, but I couldn't maintain the 9:30 pace that we had managed until that point. I'm so happy that Lisa (Princessrunner) got her well-deserved PR on a kick-butt course. But I know she would have been much faster. That's the sign of a true friend . I also know that Scott could have tore up that race course and finished a half hour earlier LOL...but as always he stuck by my side and helped keep Lisa and I on pace for what amounted to a PR for both of us. It was also so great to met Linda (momof2minnies) out there and congratulate her on a great race at the end! It's a total gut it out course...and I'm VERY impressed with Chad's screaming fast run Saturday.

Post Race: The best part about Applefest is the incredible amount and type of food they offer. Apple Crisp, Apple Pie, Apple Cider, home baked goods, bananas, apples, yogurt smoothies, water bottles. I could go on. YUMMY!!!! By far THE BEST food spread I've ever had at any size race. Incredible!

I finished in 2:12:36 which is my official watch time. Clock had us at 1:12:45 but it took a bit to cross the mat.

I would highly recommend this race to anyone who wants a big challenge. They are strict about iPods, strollers and walking. They close the course at 3 hours flat. Otherwise, it's a great opportunity to get out there and push yourself. I have to admit that we were the slow ones in this race as most runners seemed to be pacing much faster than 10 mpm. We were in the back of the pack for sure at 10:08 mpm.

We received a cool half zip tech shirt and a funky little apple medal this is sooo adorable!

 

[AmyBeth68]

Oh...and one more thing...oddly enough I'm MORE SORE today than I was after GOOFY last year. Hard to believe??? I guess it was the dehydration and cramps. After the race my quads and calves were in spasm...and I was getting sharp pains in both legs. I woke up with sore shoulders, sore back and both legs so sore that walking stairs has been brutal. Again...I did NOT have this reaction after any other half marathon or full marathon LAST year. And I felt I was extremely well-trained leading up to the event. I did two 13 mile Long Runs the weeks prior and I did them ON HILLS! I was running 20 plus mile weeks plus working my full schedule, including biking/spinning 3 times per week. I know my body was prepared, but getting sick really had a huge effect on my overall performance and recovery. Just thought I'd pass that along. If you are sick drink much more water than you would think...it will help you race day and definitely help with recovery. I learned the hard way .

 

[hockeygirl]

WOW! A great weekend of racing for everyone!!!!

Lisa--Great job on your PR!!!! Sounds like you all had a great time at the race!

amykab--Great job! The RfTC races are always amazing to me, glad to hear you had a great day and a great race!!!

Matt--You never cease to amaze me with all of your racing endeavors...another weekend and another AWESOME race!!!

Howard--Congrats on the PR!

Stacie--Great job on your race! It sounds like you had fun, and that is what matters most! Keep up the good work!

Casey--Great job on your race! Talk about nice scenery, not sure it gets much better than that!!

twoWDWfools--Sorry to hear your calfs and shins were bothering you during your race..WTG for sticking with it and finishing the race! Good job!

Amy--Congrats on a great race! Sorry to hear you weren't feeling well and had to deal with those cramps, but great job for fighting through it and finishing with a great time!!

 

[thndrmatt]

Just thought I'd throw in my post-race recovery process to those who have soreness or cramping issues. I've gone to a pretty regimented strategy which has done me very well this year. I generally only take 1 day off post race and am back into a normal run or bike or even both the 2nd day (note for marathons this is out the window, 3 days off is the norm with a real short run the 4th day).

Immediately post race your job is to eat everything in sight. This shouldn't be difficult. Also important is hydrating, although after an initial bottle of sports drink to recover electrolytes I go straight to water for the rest of the day.

Continuing to walk around for an hour or so is usually the next step as I wander around congratulating others, watching finishers, colelcting bling and so forth. I try not to stay in one place for too long, just keep it movin.

Back at the hotel or your house as the case may be comes the fun part, Icing. We fill the bath with cold water and I get in, continuing to fill it until my entire body from the waist down is underneath. We then take four, count em, FOUR HUGE bags of ice (the kind you can get at gas stations) and dump them in. Only once they are all in does the clock start. 15 minutes of pain mostly. I wrap towels around my shoulders to keep me from freezing so I don't have to lean back on the cold tile. If you used enough ice by the end you should still have a whole lot that hasn't melted yet. The water should be so cold that even once you drain it the leftover ice just sits there and you have to run the hot water to wash it down.

Immediately following the ice bath I quickly move to an area for the next step, Elevating. Be careful getting out as the numbness will make it tough to move quickly. I usually lie on a bed with my legs propped up on a bunch of pillows while I watch tv. Anything that keeps your legs above your heart. Some people sit with their legs up a wall and their body in an L shape but that's a little extreme for me and makes it harder to watch tv. Another 15 minutes of relaxation follows.

The purpose of both of these is based on most of my research which seems to agree that the cold constricts the blood vessels and essentially forces out the blood that has been pooling in your legs all day as you ran around upright. Sort of a cleansing or something. The elevation continues that process.

I then am blessed with a DW willing to thoroughly massage both legs, always saving the feet for last, which depending on the length of the race always seems like a godsend in itself.

Using this process I've managed to do races on a weekly basis, and you can too! I also do it after all the double digit long runs when possible. During the winter my pool isn't heated so that works well as an ice bath, brrr!

Now I must caveat this, everyone has different strategies for recovery. I actually have spoken with some people who insist that a hot shower does them best after races. With my experience it seems like they're doing themselves more harm than good. Note also I do eventually take a lukewarm shower to get the sweat off (DW wouldn't be pleased otherwise), but that's only well after all the rest of this process in order to allow for the ice to do its duty.

Give it a try let me know how it goes for you!

 

[KeenHo]

Matt:

Here are my Running PRs, something for you to shoot for. I think this is only fair:


5K-24:23 (August 13, 2008 - my last 5K race)

15K-1:20:06 (October 5, 2008 - Yesterday)

Half Marathon-1:50:08 (September 21, 2008 - Three weeks ago)

Marathon-4:41:03 (May 21, 2006)

5 Miler- 44:18 (May 27, 2006)


10K-I have never run an official 10K.

I hope this can inspire you to kick my keester and beat these times.

Good luck!

Howard