Sunday Happenings

Ryan's plan was to run long today, so I got up at 5:45 and was out the door an hour later for my run. Hardly slept last night, and was hungry, so needed some time to eat breakfast, stretch and roll, etc etc. During the first mile my legs felt incredibly creaky, but then things loosened up quickly, the pace picked up and I felt pretty decent the rest of the way. I ran the cart paths and then went out onto the powerlines for the second part of the run, following same route as last Thursday's run. Saw one ladyslipper, lots of wood anemone, goldthread, a few rhodora blooming, starflowers, and blue bead lilies along the way, plus one hawk (unidentified), two Common Yellowthroats and one Yellow-rumped Warbler in the brush along the powerlines. Got in a solid 10 miles, and am happy to have had a successful back-to-back weekend. Now for a few weeks of lower mileage, and then bring on the 50!

Spent the rest of the day "relaxing" - planting flowers with Sam, having her friend Anne over for some bike riding and playtime, and going out to dinner. A good way to end the weekend!

Androscoggin Riverlands Run

Since Ryan had the chance to run his long run last weekend with friends, the plan was for me to get my chance this weekend. I figured there would likely be a group at Pineland, but I am not so in love with Pineland that I really wanted to run 26 miles there. Instead, I emailed Mindy and Val to see what there plans were and to ask if I could tag along. They very nicely said yes, and told me they were planning to run long at Androscoggin Riverlands State Park. I remembered seeing some photos of the trails there from some time ago, and thought it would be fun to have a new place to explore. I eagerly said yes. Now all I had to do was get myself there ;-)

Luckily, although the drive took me wandering out through the countryside to Turner, I didn't have any trouble finding the parking lot. What I did find was a lot of rain :-) Yup, my idea of fun - go and run in the rain for 26 miles. Sometimes I do question my choices ;) But what can be better than a run in a new place with friends, even if things are a bit soggy? With Mindy and Val came Tim, Xar and Disa, and her pup Axel. We all suited up and headed out. The run was a 10-mile out-and-back on a wide gravel snowmobile trail along the Androscoggin River. The first four miles were very runnable, and quite hilly. The trail meandered through the winds, with a big stretch along the river. As it was raining, there wasn't much to see; we were dodging puddles and stomping through mud, and chatting the whole way. At the 5 mile mark, Disa, Axel and Xar headed back, and the four of us continued on. It was here that the trail got a bit less firm, more muddy and more rocky. There were a few hills, both up and down, that needed to be walked due to mud slide conditions. There were a few deep stream and puddle crossing, and a lot of stream in the trail too :-) Around mile 7, we reached the park boundary, but continued on the same main snowmobile corridor as it traversed working woodlands, hugged gleaming green pastures, passed a lion statue, and old car and a rusting fire truck randomly out in the woods, and took us through a maze of blue tubing for maple sugaring. Right before the turn-around at a big road, on the final downhill, I managed to do a rather snazzy long slide in the mud, and somehow managed to perhaps even gracefully catch myself with my hand and pop right back up. There was a lot of twisting and sliding going on, but I managed to stay upright for the rest of the miles.

On the way back, Tim and I got ahead of Mindy and Val, and just kept on going. The pace crept up ever so slowly, especially in the final four miles back to the car as we reached the much more packed and runnable stretch. We reached the parking lot at 19.5 miles, stopped quickly to grab something to eat, and realized we weren't going to be able to stand around in the wind and mist for much longer. Brrr! So off we went, back up the hill. It was really nice to have Tim to keep pace with! At 22.8 miles, we turned around, and right before 24 miles, we ran into Mindy and Val. Tim hooked back up with them and I said my goodbyes and continued back to the parking lot. Those last two miles seemed long. I was hungry and getting a bit tired, but I was glad to look at the data and see that I didn't slow much. I got back to the car at 26.2 miles and 5:19. Strava had my moving time at 4:56, which seems like a lot of time spent not moving, but certainly is possible. We did make a fair amount of stops to reconnect as a group, take potty breaks, etc. Either way, it was a great soggy, hilly, muddy, sloppy marathon out in the rain with friends on some new trails. I'll call that a win, for sure!

Flora and fauna notes: On a gray day like today, the greens just seemed all the more brilliant. There was one stretch of deep, wet woods, where the greening leaves of the beech trees seemed almost neon. They were practically shimmering. Very cool. Lots of ground cover, including a lot of false lily of the valley, several large red trillium and a few painted trillium, what I think was likely dwarf ginseng, bluets, violets, wood anemone, Indian wild cucumber, some bluebead lily starting to flower, and a large number of jack in the pulpits, which was pretty cool, as I don't normally see those. On the fauna front, heard some good frog croaking and a few geese honking along the river, saw two red-spotted newts, and four turkeys running through one of the fields we passed. Also saw a few warblers, one of which looked like a Black & White, but I didn't get quite a good enough view. Pretty good day in the woods :-)

Morning and Afternoon

6:00 am run yesterday around the block, with the additional cart path/Heath/Quarry loop added in. I had originally intended to run hills, because I realize that is probably what my training has been lacking in regard to the TARC 50, but you know, what I'm really hoping for is to make it through another 50 mile week this week without getting hurt or overtired, and as I haven't been doing any real workouts like speed or hills the past few months, why start now? So, I ran a "speedy" (I'm talking the last two miles in low 8:00s here, people ;) ) 4 miles instead.

Today, I worked until noon, ran a few errands, then came home and cleaned the house, plus washed the downstairs windows inside and out, which definitely needed it! Then at 3:00 pm, I rushed out of the house for my run. I ran a slightly modified Snowplug loop. It was warm out - whew! Up to 70! - so I brought my handheld. Did I really need it? Probably not, but I figure staying hydrated can't hurt. I tried to keep the pace fairly steady but enjoyable, but those singletrack miles just don't come quickly. I also did take some time to enjoy the woods, which are slowly but surely greening up. Saw a lot of trailing arbutus, wild oats, wood anemone, purple and white violets, ferns, false lily of the valley, plus one ladyslipper not quite in bloom, the first painted trillium of the season (yah!) and a Black & White Warbler  - very cool! Made me very happy. Got in a nice 6 miles for the afternoon.

Commons and Coleman Farm

Headed out to run the Commons and Coleman Farm again this afternoon. A bit cooler and more blustery today than on Sunday, but just as sunny and lovely out on the trails. Saw goldthread, wild oats, trout lilies, purple and white violets, a few patches of trailing arbutus, starflowers (no flowers yet), wood anemone and lily of the valley along the way. Saddened to not see any trillium, and surprised to only see a few ladyslipper leaves poking through. Hopefully the ladyslippers will come out soon. Scared up a pair of Great Blue Herons in the salt marsh along the Coleman Farm trails, saw one little chipmunk along the trail, and noted a number of turtles sunning themselves in the ponds out by Meadowbrook. Got in a nice 8 miles.

Weekend Fun

Ryan was up in Acadia this weekend with some of the Trail Monster crew, so it was just Sam and I. We went to swimming yesterday morning, followed by Frosty's of course, and then headed down to Kristen and Morgan's after lunch. The weather hadn't looked very promising when we left, but the skies had cleared by the time the girls had done a bike lap around the neighborhood, so we loaded up the car and headed over to Macworth Island. Everyone else must have had the same idea as the lot was full, but we got lucky and someone pulled out just a few minutes after we arrived.

We spent some time on the beach, with the girls gathering shells and Sam getting stuck in the mud, and then we walked the perimeter trail around the island, stopping fairly often for snacks, to look at flowers, pick up walking sticks, build fairyhouses, etc. Sam did a great job walking around all by herself and we had a lot of fun. We followed up the walk with an early dinner at Bueno Loco, complete with big margaritas for Kristen and I. Yum!

Collecting shells on the beach

About to get stuck in the mud

Groovin' on the shoreline

Walking around the island

Just one of the many trout lilies in bloom

This morning, we got up and headed once again to Frosty's for donuts. Hey, it's Mother's Day! I can have a donut for the second day in a row, right?! ;) (Actually, make that three out of the past four days. Ha!) Then, with the sun shining and the temps in the 60s, we drove out to Wolfe's Neck State Park for our first visit this year. We arrived around 9:30 am, early enough to find Tami finishing up her duties cleaning up the restrooms :-) It was fun to see her and catch up a bit before we headed out on the trails down to the water. It was the height of high tide, so our regular beach spot was covered with water, so we went on a bit of an adventure, scrambling along the rock ledges a ways back along the shore to a small spit of beach tucked out of sight. We hung out there for a bit, exploring, sticking our toes in the ocean, watching one of the osprey come in  to roost in the tall pine tree at the edge of the island with a fish in his talons, collecting some shells and enjoying a beautiful morning at one of our favorite places. Then we headed over to the farm to see the animals, including a new Belted Galloway calf and a cute little brown goat kid, before returning home for lunch.

Me and the kiddo

Wolfes Neck view

Getting ready to collect shells

This water is really cold!

After Ryan got home this afternoon, I headed out for my own Mother's Day adventure, running the Commons and Coleman Farm on a hot (70 degrees!) afternoon. I wasn't feeling the peppiest given the time of day and the heat, but it is always lovely to be out in those woods, especially on a sunny day. A few lady slipper and blue bead lily leaves unfurling in the Commons, but otherwise, still just a lot of greenery. The Pennelville fields are greening too, and the woods out along the ocean in Coleman Farm are simply awash in a carpet of trout lilies, along with some purple violets, wood anemone and ferns. On the return, as I came out of the woods onto the edge of the farm property, the daffodils were almost sparkling in the sunlight at the edge of the pond. Such a pretty sight. Got in a nice 7.5 miles before heading home for dinner.  

Trout lily-lined trail

Sun-drenched woods

Spring splendor at Coleman Farm

Snowplug 25

The plan was for 24 miles. To make things easy, I decided to run 4 laps of the Snowplug 50k loop. Each lap is 6.25 miles, which would make the total for the day 25 miles. Choosing a loop that I pretty much know by heart meant I didn't have think, I could just go on autopilot and not worry about a route to get to the correct mileage. It would also mean that I had the chance for an "aid station" at the house. Certainly laps might not be as exciting, but they can be useful.

The 2nd part of the plan for the day, aside from getting in the mileage, was to go at a pace I could maintain. I knew it was unlikely I would run at the 11:00 to 12:00 minute (or more) pace I'm likely to be running at the TARC 50. I wasn't worried about that. This loop isn't really meant to be run that slow. I figured I would shoot for between 10:00 and 10:30 average pace for the loop, which would take into account the slower miles on the singletrack out in the Cathance and the faster miles on the dirt road/pavement portions. What I really wanted was to not run the first loop so fast that I couldn't maintain a similar pace for all four laps. I wasn't hoping for perfect symmetry between all four laps, just to keep things fairly even.

I left the house under the overcast skies. The thermometer read 50 degrees but it seemed colder than that to me. I wondered if I had made the right choice to just wear shorts and TMR t-shirt with no gloves or arm sleeves. The first hill warmed me right up though :-)

I fell into a good rhythm, but was distracted on loop #1 by all the trail crud in my shoes. It was driving me nuts! I was wearing the 268s I wore at the Spring Classic, and while they looked squeaky clean on the outside (Ryan hosed them off after the race), there was still a lot of shit on the inside. I actually stopped back at the house at the end of the first loop and took off my shoes to get the crap out. Turns out, I had a hole in my sock and so some of the crap was IN my socks. I took the time to run inside and change socks, and went to the bathroom too while I was there. I had left a bag outside with extra gels and a few real food snacks. I ate a few dried strawberries and a fig newton, and took back off for loop #2.

Ah! So much better without the junk in my shoes :-) I stuck to my plan of eating every 1/2 hour and drinking when the watch beeped each mile. I also took a SaltStick tab at mile 10, although it was cool enough that I didn't feel like I was sweating too much. Loop #2 went by fairly quickly and uneventfully and an hour+ later, I was back at the house. 2 laps down; 2 to go. I was happy to be feeling pretty good, and just stopped quickly to grab a few strawberries, a newton and two new gels before heading back out.

On loop #3, I started to have the feeling that I needed to go to the bathroom. Darn. I am used to pooping in the woods, but I had hoped I wouldn't need to today, and at mile 15 too. Sheesh! Then I remembered that I had seen a group of school kids out on the trails by the ecology center during the last lap and had also noticed that because of that the outhouse was unlocked and open. Perfect! Just past the ecology center I stopped in the outhouse. Much quicker and easier than going in the woods! A bit of sanitizer and I was back running.

Still feeling solid, but having to focus a bit more on moving forward without slowing down. I had managed mid-9:00s on the dirt road portion for loops 1 and 2, and wanted to do the same on this loop, so I put my head down and went. Then in no time, back to the house for the final aid station stop. Had a SaltStick tab, emptied my pocket and pack of trash and extras, keeping just two gels for the final loop. Ended up walking out to the parking lot, as the fig newton did not want to go down, but then I was off again. I hadn't refilled my water (the bladder was filled to the 50 oz line while holding it up under the tap, which is pretty much as heavy as I want it to be without it getting uncomfortable) but that was a mistake. Approximately two miles in, right after gagging down a gel at 3:30, I was out of water. Damn. When will I ever learn. Gotta refill the darn bladder! OK, no big deal. It was cool, it was windy, I was on my last loop. Just keeping moving forward. I did deviate from the course ever so slightly on this last loop, and instead of climbing the short hill to the dirt road, I took a left out onto the cart path at hole #7 where I knew there was a water cooler. Thankfully there were no golfers there, and I quickly gulped 4 little triangle cups of water before taking the walkers route back up to the road. Ah. That was better. Then, determined to keep the streak of 9:00s on the dirt, I picked up the pace. Interestingly, while it was work for sure, it wasn't as rough as I would have thought to pull off what ended up being a 9:10 for mile 24. Hmm. Then just one final mile, just a few rain drops began to fall, and ta da! 25 miles done.

I'm really happy with how solid I felt on this run. During last year's Snowplug 50k, loop #4 was really tough for me. I remember feeling off from the start that day, and was ready to quit after loop #4. Today, I feel certain I could have kept going without too much trouble if I'd needed to and I'm really glad I was able to keep the pace fairly steady throughout the loops. I'm taking it as a good sign.

Interesting data from the day:

Garmin Connect says:
25.02 mi
Time: 4:17:53
Avg Pace: 10:19 min/mi
Moving Time: 4:15:42
Elapsed Time: 4:26:55

Strava says: (based on exported Garmin Connect data. Having trouble with getting Strava to actually connect wirelessly like it should with the Garmin 310. Grrr. Otherwise, I really like Strava.)
24.9 mi*
Time: 4:12:52
Avg Pace: 10:09 min/mi
Elapsed Time: 4:26:44

*Why would Strava take 0.1 miles off the final mileage? The watch beeped 25.0 miles, showed me a mile split and then I ran another 0.02. Weird.

Rough splits using Garmin Connect player:
1st loop  - 1:04:16
2nd loop - 1:03:34 (2:07:50 total time)
3rd loop - 1:05:47 (3:13:37 total time)
4th loop -1:04:14 (4:17:51 total time for watch to read 25.0 miles)

Last year's Snowplug 50k splits:
1st loop - 1:08:32
2nd loop - 2:14:01 total time
3rd loop - 3:18:55 total time
4th loop: 4:34:29
Time: 5:49:49
Moving Time: 5:30:08
Elapsed Time: 5:57:32

I was hoping for some good wildflower sightings today, but so far things are coming up slowly. I did see some wild oats blooming, but not much else other than plant leaves and the white flowers of the trailing arbutus. I did have a few wildlife sightings along the way - a gopher, a grouse, mallards in the Heath, catbird, phoebe, two hawks - plus numerous deer prints in the mud. I ran into a older fellow out on the trails who told me he had seen a number of warblers and a veery, but those escaped my view today. I was noticing the world around me, but only to an extent. Definitely focused today on running. Also focused on not constantly having part of the chorus of The Magic School Bus going on repeat through my head - "Come on now, don't be shy. Just to make the day complete, we might get baked into a pie, on the Magic School Bus. Step inside, it's a wild ride! Ride on the Magic School Bus. Yeah." Damn these kid show songs! They are the worst :-)

Early Morning 10

I'm talking really early morning here. I was out the door before the clock read 5:40 am. But I had 10 miles to run so there I was, out running as the sun rose through the sky. I headed out on the Mt. Ararat trails and linked up to the Highland Green cart paths. Since the plan is for 24 miles tomorrow, I wasn't necessarily intent on the toughest miles this morning, just to get them in, so I can get in a reverse back-to-back for the week. Gotta work with the hours you've got, so this seemed like the best option for this week.

The cart paths are really a nice place to run. Wide gravel/packed dirt paths, rolling along the golf course and through the woods. Came across two women running with two dogs around hole 8, but otherwise, no one else was out yet. After a short stretch of pavement along Highland Green Road, I continued the rest of my run out and back on the powerlines. Between the mellow terrain of the cart paths and powerlines, the pace for the morning was fairly decent, but comfortable, and given the early hour 10 miles in 1:33 seemed just about right.

Saw three hawks on the run - they didn't look like red tails; I'm thinking broad wing or red shoulder due to the tail bands. Also saw a Pileated Woodpecker fly over near the high school, followed up his haunting cackle eminating from the woods. A few more spring wildflowers this morning, although the star flower, wild oat and trout lilies I saw were still mostly just leaves. White violets, bluets, and trailing arbutus too.

Stopped for a coffee and a donut at Frosty's on the way into work - seemed like a good treat after some early morning miles, and was a good pick-me up before a full day of work ;)

Morning

Mist rising off the river. Catbird calling. Bunny hopping. Woods greening. What a lovely morning for a 6:00 am run on the trails. Got in a nice five miles down to the Cathance and back.

This is the week of early morning runs. Tuesday's 6:00 am three miler was a bit of a run against the clock - I really had to get to a bathroom, and I had passed all three (!) port-a-potties on the route at a little less than a mile when I didnt' need them. Sigh. Got in a bit of an inadvertent progression run :-)

The plan is for 10 miles at the crack of dawn (or before) tomorrow morning, then my long run on Friday. This will ensure that I get in my needed miles before Ryan takes off for Acadia for the TMR running weekend. Sam has swim class on Saturday, and then she and I are going to hang out with my sister and Morgan for the afternoon and have an early dinner with them. I really want to get up to Acadia with Sam this year, but after much discussion we decided the TMR weekend wasn't really the right weekend for it. Another time, when we have less collective miles to run ;)

Head of Tides

Up and out into the rain and mist this morning for a run to Head of Tides. The woods were dark, damp and quiet, and the trails were a bit muddy and slick, but overall things were in pretty good shape. The going was a bit slow, but it always seems that way out there. It's hard to run fast on the narrow, rooty singletrack, especially on the extended Cathance trails. The forest floor was definitely not showing quite as much spring greenery as Pineland, most likely because the tree cover is thicker, but I did note the false lily of the valley leaves popping up everywhere and noted some white violets and a few starflower leaves coming out too. I was hoping I might run into some wildlife out there, but all I saw was some cool beaver activity out near Head of Tides, and the wood piles and holes left behind by a Pileated Woodpecker in a few trees. 

Got in a nice 10 miles and was glad to have my legs feel like they were holding up pretty well. Decided the weekend was as good a test as any, and went online and signed up for the TARC 50 tonight. There. Did it. Done. :)

Pineland Run with Amy

Due to schedules and such, Amy and I haven't had a chance to run together in a while, so this morning Ryan nicely took over swim lesson and Frosty's duty so that I could meet Amy at Pineland. She wanted to get a run in on the course, and I was game, as long as she didn't drag me out on the "extra" field loops. It really is nice running out there. It's just the fields I don't much like. There was a small group assembled at 8:00 - Julia, David, Jim, Alan, Jeff and another woman whom I had not yet met. Amy and I let them all go ahead and set about catching up as we ran along. It was a nice morning, and I soon shed my arm sleeves. Once the sun came out, it warmed up quickly.

We kept the pace pretty mellow, which was fine with me. I just wanted to get in some miles and see how the legs felt on a longer run. I was happy to feel that they felt fairly strong, although admittedly a bit tired in the last few miles. The wood floor was beginning to come alive with greenery and spring flowers. The leaves of the false lily of the valley were coming up through the leaf matter, as were the trout lily leaves. A few ladyslipper leaves beginning to show too, although still pretty small. Saw the first trillium, the leaves out but the flowers still tightly furled. Out on Oak Hill, there were yellow swamp violets and wild oats blooming along the side of the trail. I must have scared Amy at least a few times with my yells of "trillium!," etc in the midst of a conversation :-) Oh, we all have our quirks, you know...

Got in a nice 12 miles, and then headed to the market for coffee, a split bagel and a twist from Frosty's each (Yes, I stopped on my way to pick some up for us. They are that good.). I think I might have literally inhaled my twist. So delicious! Ha. It was nice to hang out and chat for a bit before heading home.

After lunch, while Ryan was out for his run, Sam and I went out to bike. She is getting really fast! We did two laps up and back on our "road," meaning she biked at least a mile and I got in a second workout trying to keep up :-) Should have put on my running clothes!

Running and Biking

No, I haven't taken up biking. But Sam has :-) I got her a really cute big kid bike last fall, but it was just too big for her. So, we put it aside until the spring. OK, still too big, and heavy, for her. She just didn't have the power to push the pedals and get anywhere without us having to help her every pedal and a half. So, she went back to her tricycle. But I know she really wanted to be able to bike around with the neighborhood kids (who are, of course, all bigger and older than she is), so when I saw a cute mini big kid bike at Target the other day on sale, I decided to get it. It is very cute, and Ryan won 'father of the year' award setting it up last night so that she could test it out. And what do you know? She could pedal it right away! Hallajulah! She was so proud of herself. It really was very adorable.

She and I took the bike out for another spin tonight. She did really well and got a little braver and faster, resulting in a few falls, but she got back up every time and right back on the bike. She isn't the most coordinated little kid but she's getting there :-)

Happy biker

Taking Baby Thistle for a ride

Tongue out in concentration :-)

This probably makes me a bad mom, but this video makes me laugh :)

Don't worry, she was fine, and really, she is doing great on the bike!

I did get out for a good run this afternoon. It was so nice to be warm! Temps were right around 60. Wow. I headed out on the Mt. A. trails to Highland Green and took the trail around the Heath and down to the river. The river was very full, and the water was roaring through the rapids. Always fun. I ran nice and easy, just enjoying the dry trails and being out in the woods. A little bit of greenery is appearing on the forest floor and I saw several patches of trailing arbutus. Hurray! I love coming across the spring wildflowers in the woods :-) Got in 6 miles in 1:00:xx.

Getting Big

I started my new job almost a year ago. It's not full time, and since it's at a non-profit, it's not exactly making us rich, but the flexibility really does make it perfect for us right now, and I so appreciate that. Yesterday was a great example. I worked a few hours in the morning and picked Sam up at noon. We went out to lunch at Big Top, got gelato at Gelato Fiasco, came home to start the pizza dough in the bread machine for dinner, and then headed over to Woodside Elementary School for the Woodside Cub Club, a little get-together for incoming kindergarteners. A few of Sam's little friends from daycare were there too, along with about 15 other kids and their parents. We met in the library at the school and read a few books while the kids had a chance to plant a little seed in a cup to bring home. Sam chose a pumpkin. Hopefully we can get it to grow out front once it gets warmer! While we were in the library, I pointed out the principal to Sam. She wanted to meet him so we walked over to say hello. He asked her her name and then asked if he could shake her hand. She, of course, held out her left hand :) He nicely explained to her that we shook hands with our right, so I explained that she was left-handed and that she is simply used to doing things with her left hand, which is more comfortable for her. She was tickled when he said he was left-handed too :) Always nice to meet another leftie!

A little later we headed over to the art room, where the kids did a little bead necklace craft. Sam easily followed the directions and then of course helped pick up the cups the teacher had left the crafts in too. Always an organizer, this one! 

The school seems like a great place, with nice teachers and a warm, friendly atmosphere. I am so excited for Sam, and it was so cute to have the opportunity to envision her in school here, and to see her enjoying herself there during this afternoon get-together. On the other hand, I can hardly believe she is getting so big (figuratively, at least ;)). Kindergarten! Whoa! 

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Snuck out yesterday morning for a short three-miler around the block. Nothing much to tell, except that it was nice to once again be able to move without issue. 

Commons Run

Got out this afternoon for the first run post-TARC. I was surprised at how un-creaky and decent I felt. I'm not sure if this is a sign that I should have been running faster on Saturday (likely) or if it means my body has simply adapted to this silly ultra stuff. I'd love for it to be a sign of the latter, but somehow I am sure that the former is at least part of it ;) Either way, I was glad to get in a pain-free, creak-free, decent paced five miles out in the Commons. The trails have dried out completely, but the woods are still pretty much lacking in signs of spring. Came across a number of Mourning Cloak butterflies, noted some skunk cabbage and some small shoots of green in the wet areas, and saw the first wildflowers of the season - yellow Colt's Foot - brightening up the trail edges in a few sunny spots, but that was it. It seems like spring is taking its time bringing things to life this year, but I know it will come!

2014 TARC Spring Classic Race Report: In Which I Somehow Manage To Come In 1st Woman

Going into this race, I wasn't quite sure what to think. I'd gotten in some decent long runs, but I lost two weeks of training when I was sick a few weeks ago and missed the chance for a "fast" road 20 miler down in NC. I hadn't gotten in as many back-to-backs as I have in other training cycles. I haven't been sleeping, although I suppose I should be used to this one by now. The forecast was calling for rain and 45 degrees. The course was no doubt going to be muddy and slick. So who knew what would happen? But without a doubt, it would be a good training run, and a good time. There would be mud, there would be friends, and TARC always puts on a good race.

We headed down to Ryan's parent's house on Friday night. Sam was exhausted, and once her head hit the pillow, she fell asleep and stayed asleep all night. And I managed to sleep through the night too. Oh miracle of miracles :-) The alarm went off at 5:00 am - way too early - but we got up, grabbed breakfast and the necessary coffee, handed off the monitor to Irene, and were on our way a little before 6:00 am. Took us 42 minutes to get to the 'parking lot,' where we were probably one of the first dozen cars to arrive. Michael Wade was already there, so after getting our numbers and using the port-a-potties, we chatted with him for a while. It was fairly raw out, but wasn't yet raining, and I hemmed and hawed about what to wear. I ended up changing into my tights at the last minute, and wore a light long-sleeve shirt with my TMR short-sleeve short over it, plus brimmed hat and light gloves.

There was a great TMR contingent at the race. Brenda, Ian, Emma (at 33 weeks pregnant! Rock star!) and Chandra ran the half marathon. Kate, Nathan and Ann ran the marathon. And John, Ryan, George, Val, Mindy and I lined up for the 50k. Plus, we had Jamie, Amy, Rick and Four as race crew, grillers and cheering squad.

Team TMR

Somehow (oh well, probably because we didn't go to the pre-race meeting - oops!) most of us missed the fact that they were planning to start us early, and so there was a mad rush to all get over to the start line. Yikes! Because of that, we all started at the back, meaning the first mile was a lot of bobbing and weaving. It was a bit chaotic and not the most laid-back way to start a race! I definitely ran the 2nd mile too quickly trying to make up for a slow 1st mile, but then settled into what felt like a decent pace. I was much too warm for the first few miles but the second it started to rain, I knew I had made the right choice. I felt very comfortably and maybe even a bit cold until I put back on my gloves. 

I didn't bother trying to pussyfoot around the mud holes like many were doing. It was much faster to just go right through, at least for the first few laps before things really got mucky! I realized fairly quickly that I probably wasn't going to be averaging 9:30s for the day. So, I just settled into what felt like a comfortable pace and kept on moving. I did well through lap #3 with fueling, and tried out my SaltStick tabs, taking one at mile 10. I knew I wasn't going to sweat quite as much as I would on a warm day, but I do sweat a lot, so I figured it couldn't hurt, and plus, I wanted to try them out. Didn't eat much "real" food from the aid stations during this race though. The start/finish was the only aid station and it was pretty crowded each time I went through, although I did stop for a cup of coke at the end of lap #3 and #4. 

I never really truly ran with anyone, although I flip-flopped with a number of runners the first few laps, finally passing the two women I had been with for good somewhere on lap #2. With all the different races going on, it was hard to know who was running what and where you stood. Nothing to do but keep on running :-)

I kept up a fairly decent pace through lap #3, but definitely slowed down on lap #4, and I wasn't as interested in my gels either. I forced one down at mile 19, and then took a SaltStick tab at mile 20. I knew this 4th lap was going to be the hardest. It was also when the mud got pretty nasty. I had to walk through most of the mud pits, otherwise I would have no doubt lost a shoe or fallen. Things had gotten pretty slick.

Mud, mud and more mud

Mud and puddles!

Not me ;), but a good look at how muddy the course was! Photo by: Topham Photo

As I started in on the last lap, I had no doubts that I would finish, but also knew it likely wouldn't be a fast lap :-) I didn't feel terrible, I just didn't feel like I had a ton of energy to push the pace. I managed to gag down one last gel at mile 24, and then took a final SaltStick pill around mile 26 when I felt my quads beginning to tighten up. I really didn't want any cramping, and the salt seemed to do the trick. I was able to keep running with no problems. When I signed up for the race, I had originally had thoughts of running 9:30s, then dialed back those thoughts to running sub-5:00 a few weeks ago. 5:00 came and went, and I was still out there. Oh well. Such is life. Still, I passed a lot of hurting people on that last lap, was moving decently, and didn't walk anything except the mud holes and the one steep but short uphill.

At about 2 miles to go, I came upon John, walking. I was surprised to see him, and told him to come with me, but he said, "Oh man, the winds have gone out my sails. I went out too fast." I pushed in the last mile and into the finish, but that meant a 10:xx mile. Ha! So, I didn't manage to get sub-5:00 but perhaps in the end, my time was more indicative of the training I've put in and the paces at which I've been running my long runs. Or perhaps it was part that and part conditions. Either way, my watch read 5:10 at the finish line.

I was happy to be finished and to come in feeling pretty good, with no cramping, even if slower than I would have liked. I walked over to the TMR tent and had just sat down when Josh, one of the race directors, came over. He said, "Heard you won." I was like, "What?!" He said, "Are you number 1880?" I had to look down at my leg to be sure, but yup, that was me. Turns out I managed to win the women's race! With my slowest time yet on this course. Holy shit! I won?! I really couldn't believe it, but they gave me my prize, so I guess I did! Guess I can't complain about my time now :-)

Just sitting down to relax...

Me and my prize, a big chunk of wood :-) 

Carved very nicely with "2014 TARC Champ" 

I would never have guessed it and I really had no idea out on the course that I was in first. I guess when I think back, I realize that all I did was pass women and never got passed by any (at least after lap #2), but I just assumed there was someone ahead of me. I wish my time had been faster, but I know it's all about who shows up on race day, and I guess none of the fasties showed up today, so I'll take it.  :-) 

As always, TARC put on an awesome race. The course was well marked, the volunteers and race directors are super nice, it was a fun atmosphere, and always a good time. It was really fun to have so many Trail Monsters running, and to have Jamie, Amy, Four and Rick there to man the tent and help out all of us runners. After the race, once I had changed and stopped shivering uncontrollably, it was great to sit and hang out. Although we all wished it was warmer and sunnier weather, we stayed dry under the tent until everyone had finished, with everyone getting up to cheer our final and most smiley runner, Ann, into the finish. It was a great, muddy, rainy, cold day out on the trail with friends.

A lot of great Trail Monster performances out on the course, including an impressive half marathon by 33 week-pregnant Emma, but I am especially proud of Ryan's run. After 2 1/2 years of being on and off the injured list, he completed the race with great style, coming in in 4:31! Wowza! Awesome job, Snowman! So glad to have you back :-) 

RESULTS

27/108

1/31 women

Official time: 5:11:21

Tapering

Not a whole lot of running going on this week in an effort to feel rested for Saturday's TARC Spring Classic.

Got out Tuesday morning at 6:00 am for 3 miles around the block. Relatively uneventful and nothing exciting.

Got out yesterday for 5 miles down to the river and back. Ryan asked me why I was running so far, as if 5 miles is a lot :-) Ha. Just wanted a change of pace and I haven't been out on the Cathance trails in a while. As I came out of the woods onto Mountain Road yesterday, the sun was rising through the mist. Very pretty. Out in the woods things are still a bit mushy out there in many spots, but all of the snow is melted - hurray! The river was high, but not quite as high as I would have imagined. I'm thinking the trails should be back in decent shape next week, I hope. Looking forward to getting back out there again for some more miles!

Planning on a mellow 3 tomorrow morning too, then it's off to work for the morning, with running around to get all packed up and ready to go on tap for the afternoon so we can head to MA tomorrow night. Looks like there is going to be a great group of Trail Monsters at the race - what fun! Wish the weather forecast was looking a bit more cheery - right now weather.com is calling for 90% rain with a low of 38 and a high of 45. Ugh. But what can you do? Just get out there and run!