Long Island Kings Park 15k: The Fierceness (and Speed!) of Road Racing

Last weekend, I was in Long Island, NY and needed to squeeze in a run.  My Dad was taking a brief running hiatus and I wasn't psyched about pounding the pavement alone (no, there are no good trails), so we asked our local running friend Javier if there were any weekend races.  It ended up that I was in luck, and the "hilly" Kings Park 15k was being held the next morning by the Greater Long Island Running Club and USA Track & Field Long Island.  A dinner of New York cheese pizza and wine would have to do (and was delicious!)

Javier, Mom, and me: staying warm before the start.

My last road race was a 2-person CIM relay with Burnout Bear in December, so, in addition to getting in some much needed mileage, I was curious how my legs would perform on the road again.  Upon arriving at the elementary school where the race started and finished, I immediately noticed an intensity amongst the runners.  I could barely find the race registration desk in the gym amongst all of the clustered teams.  Most of the racers were showed their running club loyalty by wearing matching singlets and shorts.  I began feeling stomach butterflies.  I felt silly standing around while runners warmed up and stretched in high tech compression fabric and neon racing shoes.  My warm-up consists of bouncing up and down to keep warm in the early morning, at most.

As it grew nearer to the start time, I begrudgingly stripped down to my shorts and t-shirt and we headed outside of the school.  It was a chilling 40 degrees or so, making it a tough wait... and then the horn went off!  The first mile was slightly downhill and I was enjoying the fast start a little too much when I heard "6:30" (!) at the first mile marker.  I instantly backed off of the gas because I knew that I would soon burn out if I kept that up.  My goal was to strive for a sub-8 minute pace, but I didn't want to blow it.  So, I slowed down and held on to a sustainable pace the rest of the race.

Waiting with Javier at the start.

This was the first road race (over 5k) that I have run without headphones.  Doing so allowed me to overhear remarks made by road runners and spectators:

Around mile 4, I was running uphill alongside a man who suddenly shouted, "You can do it, Joe!  You can do it!"  I didn't see anyone around respond, but perhaps Joe was really pushing hard.  Then, 2 minutes later, I heard the man shout somewhere behind me, "Go, Joe, go!"  Apparently, Joe was his own cheerleader.  Interesting strategy.

Then, just after the 10k mark, there were several coaches with clipboards along the grassy median of an out-and-back stretch of the coarse (uphill one way, down the other).   They positioned themselves there in order to shout at their team members while running by - both ways.  One coach in green was particularly fierce.  There was a young man directly in front of me who appeared to be struggling.  It sounded like he was wheezing.  But his coach was not concerned in the slightest and yelled gruffly, "COME on, Robby!  You're NOT gonna die!  PUSH the uphill and WORK the downhill!!"  Yikes.  Poor Robby.  You just don't see things like this at trail races.

And off we go!

From about the 6 mile mark until the end of the race, I was running off and on with another woman.  Sometimes she passed me on the downhill, then I would pass her on the uphill.  (Note: these were Long Island "hills" and were often not much more than low-grade inclines.)  I enjoyed this unspoken game of tag, and I tried to keep in front of her for the remainder of the race.  This, unfortunately, did not happen as she sprinted past me up the final hill to the finish!  I have to say that she ran a great finish, and I didn't think that I had anything left... until I saw that the time on the clock read 1:09:45 and I finally pulled a final sprint from my legs, finishing in 1:09:52 and a pace of 7:30!  Woohoo!  Hill training must certainly be speed training in disguise, as they say.  I definitely could not have run this pace even 6 months ago.

My sweet Mom supporting us crazy runners.

As we headed back into the elementary school for post-race refreshments, there was a desk just inside the front door.  A lady at a computer and what looked like a receipt machine printed out a handy race result "receipt" for each runner that walked in.  The slip of paper showed each runner's race statistics and times, including the first 10k time and last 5k times, paces and places.  I had never received immediate, printed results like this before.  I usually write my results on the back of my bib days after a race when they are finally posted online, and now I didn't need to worry about that.  What a great idea... leave it to those intense road racers!

Special thanks to my Mom, Dad, and Javier for waking up early on a Saturday morning and being so supportive!  It was a memorable race and it was wonderful to have you all there. :)

Brazen Racing Badger Cove Half Marathon

Well, the dedicated training is starting to pay off!...  On St. Patricks Day, I ran the Brazen Racing Badger Cove Half Marathon in Del Valle Regional Park with Burnout Bear and some friends from the Mission Peak Striders.  I grew nervous about the weather during the week leading up to the race... rain, showers, rain, rain... and the largest downpour occured the night before the race.  This caused for a VERY muddy course, and, in fact, Brazen Racing had to alter the original course at the last minute because the support vehicle couldn't access the far aid station.  Instead of a single loop with a long out and back on the North side, the course was now two loops (and now two big hills) with a short out-and-back tail on the South side.

Elevation profile of the modified course: 2 loops

During the early morning drive to Del Valle, the car read that the temperature was 40 degrees outside.  I hoped that there would be no more rain that morning because running in cold rain would make the race extremely rough.  Anyhow, we arrived 10 minutes before the start of the race and luckily the sky was appearing clearer.  Brazen Racing put up their usual impressive staging area, including the large, balloon arch over the start/finish line.  We quickly gathered behind the large group of half marathoners (185 participants!) and off we went to conquer the mud!



Half Marathoners toe the line...

 I don't know if there are special shoes for running in mud, but I certainly could have used them.  The rugged treads on my trail shoes liked to gather clumps, which would grow larger and larger in size until I thought that my shoes were going to be pulled off.  Then, the mud bricks would become too heavy and fly off (hitting any runners around me) and the process would start over again.  I eventually got in the habit of scooting my feet every few strides to knock off the mud.  The steep uphills and downhills became tricky, slippery mud slides.  I had to walk a few of these just to prevent from falling (and, yes, it was nice to catch my breath!)

 With 2k feet of climbing, the course was already a challenge and the mud turned it into an obstacle course.  I have never run one of those "Muddy Buddy" races, but I imagine that this is what it would be like.  Fortunately, no one fell in the mud (that I am aware of) or twisted an ankle and the rain held off until after we finished.  I was tiring by the end of the second loop and was grateful to see the final downhill.  I started picking up speed and noticed that there was a group of 5k-ers in front of me, filling the width of the trail.  "On your left!" I called to them, and they curteously shifted to the right, looking over at me saying "Hey! You are the second female!"  What?!?  I thought they had to be mistaken, so I smiled and kept running for the finish.

Burnout Bear completes the race... quickly!



The 5k-ers were, in fact, correct, and I was shocked to hear my name followed by "second place female" over the loud speaker as I crossed the finish.  I thought I was dreaming.  I had only won sparse age group awards in the past, usually barely grabbing 3rd amongst small fields of less than 10 runners.  This was no dream, but just a hard-earned second place win mixed with some Irish luck.  Perhaps the rain and mud scared some competitors from showing up, or others were scared of falling on the muddy trail.  But, regardless, it was an adventurous, muddy race that I will never forget! 

 I hope to run this race again next year and highly recommend any of the Brazen Racing Half Marathon series races.  The courses are more challenging than the "usual" Brazen Races... especially Rocky Ridge!  Check them out if you enjoy running hilly half marathons.

 

Tim approaches the finish looking strong!



Great run, Dan!



Rida crosses the finish with a smile.

 

An exciting finish.

 

Envirosports 2012 Woodside King's Mountain Half Marathon

This past weekend, Burnout Bear and I ran our first race of the year: Envirosports 2012 Woodside King's Mountain Half Marathon.  We signed up for this race over a month ago because we love running in Huddard Park and wanted to spice up our training.  The course has 1900 feet of climbing over 13 miles, so it is hilly enough to fit into our training but was not overly taxing (since it is our "off" weekend.)  I have yet to run a Woodside race that I did not enjoy, and this event helped continue that tradition!

The trails in Huddard Park are extremely soft, covered with tree and fern leaves, and the dense woods help make for a cool run.  The only technical aspect of running there is the numerous switch-backs, which, when combined with a layer of dry leaves on the trail can cause for some downhill sliding and ankle-turning.

There were several positive aspects of this race that made it enjoyable and unique (note: this was our first time running Envirosports):

• A vibrant, funny welcome speech by the race director followed by a group singing of "America the Beautiful" helped dissipate my pre-race butterflies;
• The first place male and female finishers received a rubber chicken and a bottle of wine;
• The racing environment was very low-key and did not even have a post-race awards ceremony; finisher awards are mailed out after the event.

As with most races, there were areas that could have been improved:

• Trail marking!  Twice I encountered a long stretch without a marker and turned back thinking I had missed a turn (once on the uphill, once on the downhill - probably was the same spot each time!)  Not only did I lose time doing this, but the temporary sense of panic zapped me out of the "zone";
• The post-race nutrition was not super healthy.  There was water, Gatorade, trail mix, bananas, peanut butter pretzels, Twizzlers, and Chex mix.  For example, I like how Coastal Trail Runs serves hot lentil soup and Cliff products... :)

Overall, we really enjoyed the race and ran well.  The weather was perfectly cool with temperatures in the upper 50s and both Burnout Bear and myself achieved half marathon PRs (on a hilly trail course.)  Woohoo!

post race: Burnout Bear, myself, and our friend Rida

The relaxed, post race spread.

A no-frills finish.  (Your time is called to you as you cross.)

The Other Side of Diablo

Burnout Bear and I decided to complete this week's 22 mile long run on Mt. Diablo.  We set the bar high and decided to run over the mountain, down to Rock City, and back up and over.  This would be perfect preparation for the Ohlone 50k due to its double-mountain profile and steep, relentless climbs.

As we slowly got out of the car at the Mitchell Canyon trail entrance, I remembered the first time we parked in this same lot back in Sept. 2010:  We were heading for a hike that day and saw the setup for a race being cleared up.  There were tents and picnic tables full of food, and a humble finish line marked with caution tape and a large, red digital clock.  Nearby was a van labeled "Coastal Trail Runs".   It was love at first sight.  I walked up to one of the volunteers sitting in the biggest tent and asked for information about the events.  Apparently they had everything from a 5 mile race to a 50k!

I felt excited about the idea of trail running, but after our hike that day to Eagle Peak, I started doubting if I could do it, let alone on Mt. Diablo itself.  I had slipped on the trail several times and my legs were trashed from a simple hike which didn't even include the main mountain peak.  I was an ex-road runner, out of shape, carrying at least 10-15 extra pounds.  It seemed like a dream to run that mountain.  But I placed the Coastral Trail Runs flier on the fridge when I returned home and it served as a reminder to keep getting fit.  It is still posted on my fridge to this day.

And now here we were almost a year and a half later strapping on Camelbaks full of Hammer products and salt tabs, and lacing up our rugged trail running shoes for a training run.  Crazy!  And, well, that's what everyone else thought of us, as well.  We received so many random comments from hikers that I decided to jot them down:

• "Don't wait for us!  We'll see you up there!"
• "Go runners!!"
• "Oh, I can do that!"
• "Don't go too fast... You're going to make us look bad!"
• And when we asked the Ranger beforehand if there was water in Rock City: "Wow, you are going all the way to Rock City?? Good luck then! And are you coming back?.... TODAY?!?"

I guess we have officially crossed the line from "normal" (hiker) to insane trail runner.  And I couldn't be happier about it.  We managed to run all 23 miles (we missed a turn, adding another mile) in just over four and a half hours.  Not too shabby.

Just starting out - Mt. Diablo looming in the distance.

An awesome vista: you can see the bay from here.

That red speck is me carefully trotting down what I have called "Devil's Slide."

Rock City

Almost looks like Ohlone!

The Litmus Test of Old, Familiar Runs

For this "off" weekend, we decided to run familiar routes and see how they felt after weeks of training.

On Saturday, we ran 9 miles out-and-back with the Mission Peak Striders along Mill Creek Road in Fremont.  The road weaves through a valley between several hills up towards Mission Peak, following Mill Creek for most of the way.  The first 4.5 miles climb up Mill Creek Road approx. 1400 feet.  So, it is certainly a climb, but is runnable.  The road ends with a beautiful vista over Sunol, a wonderful treat for reaching the top of the road.  (Note that you can continue past the gate up to Mission Peak along a trail from this point.)  I actually find the 4.5 mile post-turnaround downhill stretch to be the hardest - either my shins or knees act up.  I love this run, but wish it was on an unpaved fire road, instead.

I felt strangely tired on this run, and actually ran a bit slower than I did a month prior!  This was extremely disappointing.  The work week prior was busier and a bit more stressful than usual, so perhaps this interfered with the quality of my run?  I hope that is the case because another possible answer is that I am simply not improving.

To aid in recovery, Burnout Bear and I eat a dinner of wild Atlantic salmon once per week.  After my slow run on Saturday, I figured that I could use the omega 3s and prepared the fish with Parmesan-crusted roasted fennel, mashed potatoes and asparagus.  We cut up the left over fennel fronds and mixed them into the potatoes, which worked well.  The roasted fennel was amazing and tasted just like onion rings!

Brushy Peak

Then, on Sunday we ran 7 miles around familiar Brushy Peak.  This is one of my favorite runs because there is always something new to see.  I felt much stronger today and the hills seemed noticeably easier than they did 4 weeks ago.  I don't know if I just had a better run than the day prior, or omega 3s are miracle workers, or perhaps my body is simply adapting more to trails.  I felt reassured that I am, in fact, slowly improving but will still encounter good running days and bad ones and will continue to have a rocky relationship with the watch if I scrutinize it too closely.  I guess this litmus test was not as clear as I had hoped!  Back to training!

Burnout Bear making his way up to Brushy Peak.

Lots of windmills.

Cow Party!

An adorable, downy calf.

Chabot to Las Trampas... and Back!

This past weekend was time for another long run in the training program: 22 miles.  We like to turn each long run into an adventure by finding new parks to explore.  Luckily, Sarah Lavender Smith posted a blog about her run in the EBMUD territory between Lake Chabot and Las Trampas just in time and we decided to give it a try.  We altered her run a bit and decided to run up and over Rocky Ridge into a staging area in Las Trampas to refill our Camelbacks.  The infrequently used trails provided a remote experience (we didn't see a single soul until we reached Las Trampas), but was a bit more technical than we were used to.  Even though we were paying close attention to the trail, we missed a few turns.  We tripped on branches and slipped on piles of leaves and mud constantly along parts of the Ramage Trail.  I would not suggest running this trail after recent rainfall unless you enjoy slipping and sliding.

After the run, I was surprised to see that the total elevation climb was over 6k feet!  It was certainly a tough run, but the only long, strenuous climb that I remembered was the path up to Rocky Ridge from both directions.  (The twin peaks that you see on the elevation chart.)  The rest of the trail profile was bumpy with very limited flat stretches, so the "bumps" must have really added up.

Overall, we had a successful run and brought the right amount of water, electrolytes and nutrition this time.  We encountered a few other "technical" issues, however, which were not trail-related...

Lessons of the day: 

1. Don't keep your car key in the same pocket as your GUs/snacks.  It can easily fall out unnoticed, resulting in a disappointing end to your awesome run.
2. Make sure to turn your cell phone off while running to prevent roaming from draining the battery.  This makes for a double dose of disappointment.
3. Don't keep a backup cell phone locked in the glove compartment unless you are sure that Lesson #1 has been thoroughly learned.  Now you are SOL.

What an adventure!

Our out-and-back route from Chabot to Las Trampas.

Whew.  Over 6k feet of climbing.

Be careful at this post.  Ramage Trail is straight ahead.

An example of the trail condition.

It took us awhile to figure out that the trail continues past the ropes.

Making my way up one of the many mud slides.

Cows along Ramage Trail.

One of the many obstacles along the way.

Yes, this is actually the right direction!

Mossy, green trails on the way to Ramage Peak.

Some areas were trickier than others.

Ramage Peak!

A vista of EBMUD territory.

A vista on the way up to Rocky Ridge.

We found several cute salamanders, like this one.  We raced him up the hill.

Badger Cove Revisited

While the first "off" weekend made me feel anxious, this second "off" weekend felt like a restful vacation.  And the Superbowl on Sunday made it an extra special rest weekend full of snacks, pizza, and wine.

We decided to run our "short" long run of 13 miles in Del Valle this weekend - this time along the Brazen Racing Badger Cove course.  We are running the half marathon race in March, so we thought that it would be fun to scope out the course to know what we were in for.  The course ended up being slightly trickier than we anticipated, both in its navigation and terrain.

We started at the snack hut in Del Valle park and ran along the lake for the first few miles, which were relatively easy... until we missed the turnoff from Swallow Bay trail onto East Shore trail.   It turned into a treacherous sideways single-track with a sharp drop down to the water.  I had a tough time walking and keeping my balance (running was not an option here.)  Anyhow, once we got back on track we enjoyed the runnable trails and views of Del Valle lake at the top of each hill.

We were definitely off track...

Del Valle Lake and some cows.

During mile 8 is where things started getting tough.  After a series of sharp ups and downs, the toughest climb of the course is encountered at this late point on the course.  This is unusual for a half marathon trail course and my legs were already feeling fatigued... I was trying to keep a good pace keeping up with Burnout Bear.

This half marathon course around Del Valle is perfect for anyone training on hills.  I recommend purchasing an East Bay Parks parking pass if you run in these parks a lot.  We purchased one this year and love not having to remember cash every time we go to the park and will probably end up saving a lot of money in the end.

I am looking forward to the inaugural race in March and think that it will fare well.  I just wonder how Brazen will work the single track up to the turnaround point... won't runners run into one another?  I guess we'll see!

Badger Cover course.

Tough hill at mile 8!