10 Mile Race through the Snow

Yesterday, I raced the Fred Kurz 10 mile. It is a unique race in that everyone starts at a different time and they try to get everyone to finish at the same time, 10:30am. I've never done a race like this before. It was very intimidating to know that all the faster runners were starting behind me. They estimate your finish time based on 2 race time you submit with your entry.

I wasn't sure what time I would be starting. The first runners were going off at 8:30 so I figured if I got there about 8:15. I would have time to get my bib and warm up.

I got to the school and was so happy to see that packet pick-up was in the school. It has been pretty chill in Minnesota this April. We had snow a few times last week. I didn't expect it to stick but there was about 6-8 inches of fresh snow on the ground race morning.

I was told my start time was at 9:17 so I had about 1 hour to kill before the start. It was a little to early to warm up so I sat down by a wall and got stuff ready for the race. I was thinking about heading to my car to drop stuff off when I heard a quiet "Julie." I looked around but didn't recognize anyone. Then the guy next to me says, "Your Julie ..., right." I look at him confused and replied yes. He says, "I am Barrett ... I graduated with your brother." I didn't recognize him but it was so awesome that he recognized me. We chatted for a bit. He was starting at 9:11 so a little before me. I wished him good luck and was off on my warm up.

I went and check out the trail on my warm up. I was told it was a hard packed gravel trail. Well, there was no gravel to be seen only 6-8 inches of snow that hadn't been packed down yet except for one wheel mark that zig zagged along the trail.

Before, I knew it it was almost 9:17. I started with 5 people which was kind of fun. We chatted for the first 1/2 mile then we got on the trail and one of the women took the lead. I tucked in behind her on the narrow part of the trail that was packed down. After about a 1/2 mile the 2 men behind us passed us. I stayed behind her for another 1/4 mile and decided that I better get around her and catch back up to the 2 men. I stayed behind them until about 2.5 miles into the race when they caught up to a group of men but didn't pass them. I wanted to go faster but passing 5 men that were running single file was going to be a challenge on the snow covered trail.

I passed a couple of them and snuck in to rest for a few short bit then I was off and passed the last one. From that point on in the race, I was on my own. It had been nice to have someone blocking the wind for me but I wanted to try and race so I need to go on my own.

The race was an out and back course. I wasn't sure what the etiquette was when I was meeting people that were on their way back. I didn't know if I should move out of the small section of packed snow or make them. I decided to make them move out of the packed section and that I would move out after I hit the turn around. It seemed to work.

Every time that I went to pass people, I had to speed up because I wanted to get around them quickly and get back onto the packed section of trail. A few times, I spooked people when I passed them. One time, I slipped and checked a guy with my shoulder. I apologize and raced away.

I ened up passing a lot of people after the turn around so I felt like I was doing a fartlek workout. Good thing, I did one on Monday to prepare me for the race.

I was hoping to not get passed but 2 men passed me in the last half mile. They were flying.

When I finished, I had almost caught all of the women that started before me. I think there was 1 women that I didn't catch.

I finished in 1:15:41 which was slower than they predicted but I was happy with the time considering the conditions. While I was waiting around for the award, I noticed a someone that I recognized but didn't know how. I went up and talked to him. We figured out that we have a mutual friend so we have met each other through them before. It was fun chatting with him while waiting for the award.

It turns out that I took 1st in my age group and was the 2nd place women. I won a fleece jacket.

It was less than ideal racing conditions but I am really glad that I got out there and did the race anyway.

Training Recap for the week of April 1

It was a great week for training. The snow has finally melted off the track! Yeah! I love winter and snow but I was ready to hit the track.

I made some plans to run with friends this week so I ended up only running a few days on my own the entire time. Actually, I am planning to meet a friend on the track one time per week. We won't always be doing the same workouts but it will be nice to have someone at the track with me.

Workouts

Monday: 2.5 mile warm-up to the track, 6 x 400 m with 400 m jog, 2.5 mile cool-down

The track is 2.5 miles from my house so I will always have a good warm-up to get there. I forgot my watch so I have no idea what kind of pace I was running. It was challenging but I think I was pretty consistent. I didn't want to do anything crazy on my first day on the track. It was just the right amount because my legs were still pretty tired from the hilly 7 mile race on Saturday.

Tuesday: 5 easy miles

Wednesday: 2 mile warm-up to the hill, 6 x 0.25 mile hill repeats, 3.3 mile cool-down

After last weeks poor performance on the hills, I decided that I needed to add hill repeats to my weekly calendar. It was windy Wednesday. There was a nice headwind going up the hill, extra strength training, and a great tailwind when I was jogging down the hill. The repeats weren't fast but they were difficult. 

Thursday: Off

I need to bring a snack to school so when I get home around 6:15 I can go out for a run right away.

Friday: 5 easy miles

Saturday: 13 miles easy

I was meeting a friend to run 9 miles but decided that I wanted a few more miles for the week so I ran the 2 miles to and from her house instead of bicycling it.

Total: about 38 miles

Not high mileage but I am slowly trying to increase the miles.

I can't add...all week long I thought I was going to be over 40 miles for the week. 

Run Hood to Coast with Nuun

Yes, please.

Sounds like a blast.

Yes.

I made a video application to be part of Nuun's Hood to Coast relay team.

I had a ton of fun making this video.

I discovered that I really like making videos.

I really wish I had more time to do fun thing like this.

Without further ado...

I love running!

I love hydrating with Nuun!

I really want to run Hood to Coast with the Nuun team!

MDRA 7 Miler Recap

Wow, I have been racing a lot during the last week...3 races in 8 days. Race number 3 was the MDRA 7 Miler. I am really enjoying the MDRA races. This is the first year that I've run them. They are a great test of your current fitness

Early Saturday morning, the lightening and thunder woke me up. I grabbed my phone to check the radar, hoping, the weather would blow past before the race started. It looked promising that the rain would stop before I left for the race. I was relieved because it was going to be about 30 degrees so with some rain that would be chilly.

It wasn’t raining when I left for the race. Unfortunately, it started to rain as I was driving there. Luckily, there was a gym to use for prerace preparations. I got registered and headed out for a windy, rainy, cold warm-up run. I don’t think I warmed up much on my run.

We headed out of the gym at about 5 min to 9am. It was a chip-timed event, which was nice for the small event. The roads were open to traffic so you had to watch for cars. The race was 7 miles and it was a hilly course. This was my first time running it but I heard people talking about the hills.

I was hoping to run around 7:00-7:10 for my mile splits. I love having my Garmin set to give me half-mile splits. I think it helps me stay on pace sometimes.

Every time the Garmin beeped I looked down and was running 3:25-3:35 half miles. I was okay with that. I felt it was a decent pace for my current fitness level. Then at mile 2.5 the watch beeped and I looked at it…3:52. “What??? Pick up the pace Cuz. You are racing.” There were a few longer hills but nothing to slow me down almost 20 sec in a half mile. I did start to wonder if 3:25-3:35 was too fast for me for the course but I went back to that pace after my slow half mile.

I knew that I was in about 6th place at that point in the race. I wanted to stay there but I had a feeling there were some women close behind. I couldn’t hear them. The half miles were ticking by and I was starting to feel the effort then around mile 4.5 there was a hill…it was a hill that just wouldn’t end. I felt like I was walking, a few men ran past me. When I finally reached the top, I was exhausted. My Garmin beeped so I looked at it…4:17. What? NO…I slowed down almost 45 sec in that half mile. Not good. I started to worry my legs were done for in the race. I knew there were some hill coming up and that there must be a few women on my heels.

Could I pick the pace back up? I didn’t know but I had to try. Luckily, my legs responded and the next half-mile split was back at 3:28. Good, now only 1.5 miles to go. I could hear the breathing behind me but I managed to hold them off all the way to the finish line.

I finished in 50:45. I was hoping to be closer to 49 min.

I realized that I need to work on my hill climbing. I decided to start doing hill repeats 1 time per week. Yesterday was my first day of hill repeats. It was hard but I did it.

Workout: 2 mile warm-up; 6 x 400 m hill repeats into the wind; 3 mile cool-down

I am looking forward to running the hill again next week.