Eagle Mountain Challenge

Last weekend was spent running some of my favourite sections of the SHT as well as exploring new trails. The most fun run I've had in a long time was up and down Eagle Mountain - the highest point in Minnesota. Coming from Ireland it is reassuring to know there are others who call 2301ft peaks mountains!!

So... the Eagle Mountain Challange will be the 10K round trip from this sign to the geological marker at the summit and back down again. Not for the faint-hearted. It might not be much of a climb but the boulders and roots sure do make it exciting. And that was without traffic! Imagine the fun of meeting people going full speed on a 3ft wide technical trail. Cool. Bonus points for stopping to take a dip in the beautiful Whale Lake (no whales).

Prior to this fun expedition on Sunday morning, I'd run the 7.5M loop with the guys at Hyland Friday morning and then headed north to meet up with Holly to kick off the Beta IV weekend. This was so much fun last year so I was really looking forward to a weekend of running the SHT, especially with the weather forecast (warm and sunny - as it should be in JULY). We covered 20 miles that afternoon on the SHT south of Duluth - starting out at Spirit Mtn and running to Jay Cooke State Park - followed by an out and back that took in some of the Voyageur course (really looking forward to that race). The first several miles were so beautiful with lots of rocky terrain and overlooks - very similar to the Silver Bay section.

Got to the cabin in Tofte around 8pm that evening - had fun catching up with everyone and then getting ready for an early start on Saturday. We woke at 5am and were out the door before 6. Dropped cars/water and started out at Beaver Bay. Turning right immediately after the bridge brought back memories... I missed the turn during Sawtooth and took a nice ten minute detour. I love love love the next several miles of the trail as it climbs above Bean and Bear Lake, Silver Bay, Mt. Trudee, whereupon I took a ten minutes sun-bathing break/nap. Continued on at a fairly easy pace enjoying the soltitude of the trail - expected to meet more hikers but it was pretty quiet. Reached Co. Rd. 1 where we'd dropped water so I stopped at ate my tuna sandwich (yes, there was mayo on the tuna and I had no stomach problems so hopefully that means it can handle anything at Voyageur unlike last year!), downed a can of redbull, and chilled out for a bit. Off towards Co. Rd 6 then where I'd left my car earlier. Got some water and then through Section 13 for an out and back to bring me to 28 miles for the day.

So, after Sunday morning's trot up the mountain I ended with a nice round 100K for the 3 days. Happy with that, especially since my knee/IT band didn't hurt too bad. It was better Saturday that Friday and hardly any pain Sunday. I've been on the foam roller at least twice a day and I think it helps a lot. I did mean to get to the PT but work has been completely mental this week and last so it's hard to fit much in. I am hoping to get caught up on sleep the next few days as 4hrs a night is not conducive to a good run next weekend.

Speaking of that I guess I am tapering. Haven't ran much this week and will not probably run less than 10 tomorrow and just 10-15 all of next week so that should be good. Another fun run at Hyland this morning. 1:02 for the 7.5M loop - it is damn hard keeping up with the boys and that's after most of them already doing a lap! Not sure I'll ever make it there for the early bird start but how bad to fit in a 15M run before your day even starts...

Afton 50K

+ 5 gels, 6 nuun tabs, matching big toe blisters, lots of swearing, a few strawberries and ALL of Nancy’s coke

- taper, buckets of sweat, the idea that I actually like hills, falls (not so much as a bruise) and the ability to get a bad running song out of my head

= Helen’s 2009 Afton 50K experience

This was my third time to run the 50K and despite my many complaints on that second loop I have no doubt it’s a streak I’ll aim to continue for many years to come. The only good thing about the 2nd loop is that it’s the last one.

The morning started out well. After a pretty crazy start to the week with late nights at work and even later nights working at home I finally got a decent sleep Thursday night and was in bed early again Friday night. So when the alarm went off at 4:45AM I was actually ready to get up. Quick shower, got ready while the coffee was brewing and the oatmeal cooking, checked through the gear bag, filled my water bottles, checked the gear bag again, and I was in the car by 5:15AM. It felt pretty cool out and the forecast seemed decent so things were looking up.

And then, as I was having my breakfast, and driving, I switched on the radio to A Fine Frenzy’s Almost Lover. Unfortunately rather appropriate, but a bad, bad idea on race morning... After losing myself in my thoughts for a few minutes I soon changed over to CD and my mood instantly brightened upon hearing The White Stripes - one of my fav running-music-bands. But I never did get that darn song out of my head and so over and over again for many miles in my head went the lines...

Goodbye, my almost lover
Goodbye, my hopeless dream
I’m trying not to think about you
Can’t you just let me be?
So long, my luckless romance
My back is turned on you
I should’ve known you’d bring me heartache
Almost lovers always do

Not quite the tempo I was looking for.

I started out towards the front with probably 20 guys in front of me. Ran a little with Sonya in the first mile and then we caught up with Kurt on the hill. (Before the race I was giving Kurt a hard time about his compression socks – a few hours later as both my calves were cramping in the final few miles I was sorely regretting not wearing my own pair! I am not sure they make a ton of difference but worth trying.) I was sorry to hear Sonya had a rough time later in the race - she is a much faster road runner than me and I’m sure on a good day for her would have given me a run for my money. We’d passed Steve who asked if we had a spare water bottle... Steve... I said the only excuse he could use today was a completely broken bone and actually it had to be a leg. He ended up catching up again a bit later and we ran together for several miles which was fun - or at least amusing :) Apart from that I didn’t really chat with anyone along the way. For pretty long stretches I was by myself not seeing anyone ahead or behind. This suited me pretty well as I knew in the first loop I had to keep a reasonable pace and if I kept seeing people close ahead of me I’d be trying to catch them... not a good idea that early in a 50K. As for the second loop it would not have mattered – nothing was going to make me run faster :)

The first few miles passed easily enough. I was wearing my 'new' Garmin 405 and tracking the average pace. I hadn’t really decided what I was aiming for but knew I’d be happy with something under 4:45 so I figured I’d try a similar strategy to last year – run the first half a bit faster than I'm totally comfortable with and see how well I could keep it together for the second loop. I am not really sure why I thought this was a good idea given that I have not done as much trail running this spring and had sort of forgotten to taper. But anyhow, along I went watching the average (overall) pace swing between 8:30 and 8:50 depending on the terrain. My nutrition strategy was to take a gel at AS 2, 4, 5, 6 and repeat on second loop. I was carrying a hand held water bottle, refilling at those same AS and adding a nuun tab every time. I used these electrolyte tabs for the first time on the night run last weekend – and liked the taste. I don’t like most sports drinks but these are mild and I figured I’d try them instead of S-caps to see how they worked. I am not sure they completely replace S-caps. I’ll have to check the nutritional info (maybe would have been a good idea to do this prior to use) as I did get some bad cramps in the last few miles. Though I got those last year also – just a different muscle group today! I would recommend them for their ease of use but the claim that they are not fizzy is a load of crap. It doesn’t last long but you do have to release the gas from your water bottle after dissolving. It could be that the shaking makes them fizz but how are you supposed to run with a water bottle and not have it shake. So I think the spiel on the wesbite about the difficult science it took to remove the fizz is a little wasted on runners.

Anyway... speeding down the hill to AS 1/2 where Maria was running the show, taking care not to twist an ankle, and into the Back 40 loop where the air was pretty thick in the woods. It wasn’t hot like it has been in previous years but the humidity was pretty high. Still, I would say overall more favorable conditions than normal. Back to see Maria and gang a mile and a half later, water refill, and the climb up to the prairie. Passed one guy on the stairs in that section but saw no one else until the end of the Africa Loop where Steve caught up and we headed off down the hill – this is my favourite section of downhill running on the course so I enjoyed that. Then around the back of the gravel loop to AS 3 where Pierre and Carrie were taking care of things. No stop here on my first pass through but I did hear Londell giving me (or Steve? yeah, probably Steve...) a hard time – while taking photos of course! Along here that darn song was going around and around in my head and then funnily enough Steve shared the tune he couldn’t get rid of – can’t recall what it was but I think mine still took the prize for worst running song.

Then it was up what used to be my worst nightmare on this course – the gravel hill – but that mantle has now been taken over by the next uphill. Still, it wasn’t much fun climbing this one either. Ran it the first time around though it wasn’t much faster than a hike. Met up with Dan (?) along here who had very kindly given me pins for my number that morning – I got back to my car after picking up my race packet and realized I had forgot pins. I normally have a stash of them in a random gear bag in my car but actually cleaned out my car recently (not that you’d notice) so I couldn’t find any. Dan was parked beside me and had some spares so that worked out well.

Continued along through the prairie and down Nigel’s Hill – some sweet downhill running here also. Out onto the river trail and before long we were heading up my new worst nightmare hill. It’s not named on the map but I’ve heard it called KOM. I have no idea what that stands for but I came up with a few new names for it on the second loop. Back through prairie and down Campground to AS 4 where I refilled again and took off for a mile+ along the flat river trail. This felt great as I got the average pace down to 8:30 where it would not be again! I caught up with a guy who’d flown past me down the Campground hill only for him to again fly by me as we started up the Meat Grinder – he commented to Steve “it’s only the flats that get me!” – not a bad complaint for a race like this. For once I actually found the Meat Grinder pretty kind and emerged with enough energy to settle into a nice pace all the way around to AS 5 where Jeffrey refilled my bottle – a quick hello to Nancy and Tom and off I went to hit the single track in the Snowshoe loop. Oh what fun – I love love love this section. If only the race was run on this and the MTB trails then I’d be happy! I made it back to the half way point from AS 5 in exactly the same time as last year – 27 minutes – to come through in 2:12 at 8:32 pace. I think about 2 minutes faster than last year. I dropped my water bottle and picked up a new one that I’d filled with water/ice that morning so it was still nice and cool.

Off I went on the second loop after a quick pit stop to tighten my laces. I was feeling good. Knowing that I would definitely slow some I thought that it still might be possible to beat last year’s time of 4:36. At this stage the time was more important to me than winning. Sure, I wanted to win but I had no idea who was behind me or how close they were and knew I wasn’t going to find that out so I figured I could only run my own race and not worry about whether anyone was going to catch me. As it turned out the guy who had passed me on the last climb out of the Snowshoe loop was the last to do so. After that I ran alone for the entire second loop apart from meeting a few 25K folks and two 50K guys I passed in the final few miles.

The first climb wasn’t so bad and as I continued on through AS 1 things were going fine. Not exactly feeling great but my legs felt strong. No aches or pains yet. I had a quick bathroom break before the stairs and continued around back to AS 2 where I took a few strawberries. I was a little behind on my gels/nuun but felt like I was getting enough calories. Ran the hill back out onto the prairie – the last of the bigger hills that I would run! I enjoyed the Africa loop as it gave my legs a nice break before the downhill and another pass through AS 3. I should really have topped up my water bottle here but kept moving. The gravel hill was tough but not a complete mind crusher. By the time I was heading down Nigel’s Hill my left knee was hurting pretty bad. I’d had a few twinges earlier but now it hurt every time I ran downhill. It’s the IT band pulling on the outside of the knee – a problem I’ve had for a few months. I was getting PT for a while and the foam roller helps but of course it hasn’t been sore for a few weeks now so I’d abandoned the foam rolling. Nice time to be reminded of that.

Along the river and then back up my nemesis... the overall average pace had fallen to 8:50 earlier and before long it was close to 9:00. I couldn’t believe it – how quickly it seems to slow and how difficult it would be to take it back down again... especially since I couldn’t go all out on the downhills with my knee bugging me. In an attempt to get rid of the song that was still going around in my head I tried to come up with a new mantra to deal with these hills. It was no good just complaining or getting annoyed with how quickly I seemed to be fading. Running angry does not suit me. Guessing that he wasn’t an ultra runner (though I am sure someone will correct me) “What would Jesus do” wasn’t going to work and then I remembered a training run a few months back with Duke, Eve and John where I’d been in complete awe of how easy Eve made this hill look... “What would Eve do” – now this was what I needed to be thinking. The only reason I was in first place at all was because this lady was not running so I figured I’d draw some inspiration from the performances she’d put in here over the years. It worked. At least for a few minutes. Up that beast and through the campground and back down to AS 4 where I got refilled, a few more strawberries, coke, lots of coke, and a request for new legs that was quickly dismissed by Pierre. And off along by the river again. Oh how I was looking forward to walking/crawling back down there after the finish to soak...

I was tired now. And just in case I needed another reason to moan a blister had formed under each of my big toes. It was a struggle a get my pace back down in the 8’s. A lot of calculating what pace I needed to keep in order to finish under 4:40. I figured an overall average of 9:00 minute pace would be 4:39 something so that was my goal. And since there was no sign of anyone behind me I decided I definitely wanted to win also! That put a spring in my step for all of 30 seconds as first my body resisted and then my mind... Why oh why could I not just be happy with running for the joy of running????

I was glad to finally hit the Meat Grinder so that I would legitimately walk! It was tough but at that stage the countdown was starting and I was just focused on getting to AS 5. Didn’t run nearly as much of this hill second time around though I made a better effort once out on the ski trails and felt like I was picking it up a bit by the time I hit the AS. Refilled and took a few strawberries and downed 3 cups of coke in less than 5 seconds which amused Nancy! Complained about my IT band to Tom who I think was just surprised to see that I hadn’t fallen at all...

4:12. OK – if I was going to hit 4:40 I had to put this baby to bed in 28 minutes. I think last year it took 29 on the second loop so I wasn’t sure it was going to happen but off I went with a mission. Made good progress through the first mostly downhill section – knee was sore but not awful. Through the ravine at a decent pace and then it was time to turn uphill. Uh oh... this was going to be the difference vs round 1. And there was no point calling on Eve for inspiration now – if she were out here she’d already be across the finish line!! Hiked up and over the crest until it started to slope downwards. I really could have started to run sooner but my motivation was slipping. Out into the long grass where I picked up the pace again and then my calves started to cramp. I’d felt them a little bit earlier but now it was full on and I knew that if I pushed it too hard I’d be walking. So I kept things under control and made my way back into the woods, through the other side of the ravine. I love this section so much where the track gets narrow and it’s mostly downhill with a few bumps, over the fallen tree, and then that short steep uphill. I was able to run it but rather than my usual uphill forefoot running I had to plant my heel to avoid my calves cramping completely. Then out of the trees and under the bridge. Quick check on the watch. 4:33. It had taken me exactly 7 minutes to get to the AS on the first loop... Could it be done? Through the woods again, a smile on my face as I neared the end of this race but I was really on the edge here trying to keep the legs moving just fast enough – through the short grassy section and up that monster of a climb. Walking of course, and not keeping anything resembling ‘form’ – 4:37... almost at the top... soon turned to 4:38 and I knew it was unlikely but at least I could run again now. Around a few turns and I could see the line of cars. A few hundred yards, 4:40:29 would still really be 4:40. Right? But alas as I motored down the ‘finishing chute’ the clock ticked over the half minute... and this ain’t no BQ race – it must be rounded up! And as I write this (and no doubt as you are reading this) - I am thinking is WTF - like 10 seconds really matters in a 50K race? But at the time...

[7/7 update - official time 4:41:12 (9:04 pace) - I guess all that sweat in my eyes blurred my vision!]

So the exact same time as Chippewa a few months back. Overall I was very happy. Felt decent enough for most of the race. Probably didn’t have enough electrolytes – will have to look at a mix of nuun and S-caps. And of course I was delighted to win. A girl can never have enough interesting ‘artwork’ :)

Tanya and Patty were at the finish line having run the 25K. After a quick chat with a few folks I headed over the car to grab my Recoverite and we made our way down to the water. I was determined to get a good soak in! Not quite ice-bath temps but I made up for that later. Back up and got changed into some clean clothes, had some food and enjoyed a few hours catching up with everyone.

As always, it was great to see so many familiar faces on the starting line and along the way at the AS and at the finish line. Congrats to Matt for taking first overall. And a huge thanks to John, Alicia and all the volunteers who make this race what it is.

-----------------

Race photos courtesy of Londell Pease, Jen Pierce, Tanya Kroll, Bryan Cochran & John Maas - thanks folks!

A confused Helen wondering what a timing mat is doing at a trail race...

Listening to sound advice from the RD: "Run as hard as you can for as long as you can"

It's hardly a hill but that little rise to AS 3 always seems to get me!

Amazing the creatures that hide out in the woods at Afton!

At AS 4 on the second loop my coke addiction took over - more of the same at AS 5!

With an eye on the clock willing it to slow down...

When I did find pins I made sure they stayed on!

Happy to be done!

Where this year's adventure all started... the icy cool November water would have actually felt good yesterday!

It's already on the wall!

And to think we once ran roads!

Afton 50K - Splits

For anyone interested I thought I'd post my splits. The garmin read it a bit short - which I guess meant I was going a little faster than my average pace was showing. I think.

Anyhow...

Mile - Up - Down - Pace
1 -- 240 -- 328 -- 8:26
2 -- 224 -- 60 -- 8:18
3 -- 371 -- 435 -- 8:51
4 -- 353 -- 377 -- 9:02
5 -- 194 -- 128 -- 8:37
6 -- 148 -- 352 -- 7:56
7 -- 419 -- 148 -- 9:14
8 -- 91 -- 358 -- 7:43
9 -- 481 -- 232 -- 9:56
10 -- 98 -- 366 -- 7:43
11 -- 292 -- 107 -- 8:42
12 -- 364 -- 383 -- 7:58
13 -- 95 -- 101 -- 7:53
14 -- 402 -- 364 -- 10:19
15 -- 273 -- 257 -- 9:33
16 -- 58 -- 255 -- 7:52
17 -- 459 -- 213 -- 10:08
18 -- 90 -- 255 -- 7:58
19 -- 468 -- 429 -- 10:11
20 -- 473 -- 325 -- 10:07
21 -- 95 -- 265 -- 8:29
22 -- 665 -- 508 -- 10:40
23 -- 129 -- 380 -- 8:30
24 -- 604 -- 312 -- 11:45
25 -- 158 -- 492 -- 9:06
26 -- 95 -- 62 -- 8:24
27 -- 382 -- 191 -- 11:27
28 -- 90 -- 140 -- 9:13
29 -- 345 -- 262 -- 11:12
30 -- 300 -- 382 -- 9:11
30.71 -- 137 -- 175 -- 9:07
30.71 - 8,593 - 8,642 - 9:09

Finish Time: 4:41:09

Results not yet posted but I think my official finish time was under 4:41. Though I remember reading a pace of 9:04 on the results board and that would be more like 4:41:30.

Oh well... enough worrying about those few seconds :)

7/7 update: Official time 4:41:12, pace 9:04

Am I recovered yet?

From last week's marathon? Probably.

From a severe case of OCD? Never!

A year ago this week I ran what I considered to be my best race to date at the Afton 50K. I was thrilled to finish in 4:36. Though as usual, within approximately 2 minutes of finishing I was calculating where I could possibly have picked up time and promising myself how much better trained and prepared I would be in 12 months time. Part of this plan was less races in 2009 (easier said than done); the following was not:

- 2 weeks prior: attempt to PR in a road marathon; follow that up with another 21 miles by Wednesday

- 1 week prior: after an 8M run at Hyland Friday morning, head to Afton with the usual gang of crazies to start running at midnight... through a thunderstorm no less... ending up with 20 miles by 3:30AM, running the first 10 with John who's easy pace is faster than my race pace; a sunrise swim in the St. Croix followed by a burger breakfast; home by 7am for a 40 minute power nap before heading downtown to participate in a work-sponsored 5K (HeartBeat 5000 - 21:30 good enough for 3rd female)

Yeah, that definitely wasn't part of the plan. But heck it was fun. A little scray at times last night - I was completely awed, and a little freaked out, by witnessing for the first time ever a bolt of lightening hit and fire up a tree on the horizon.

So, not exactly what you'd call a 50K taper. Which has me revising an original goal of running sub-4:30 to aiming for 4:45 and considering it a 'training race' for Voyageur. Because, obviously, I'll be so much smarter in the weeks before that race.

Say Hello to...

Baby Seán... my new nephew!

p.s. I've asked for a 'happy' photo too :)

More photos! Still not exactly happy - but open eyes at least! How about those wrinkly hands...

Grandma's Marathon 2009

The good news is that I’m writing this tonight and not last night so the story will be much more positive! The bad news is that is doesn't change the outcome. Oh wait, I'm being positive. OK here goes...

The Facts

- This was my 11th road marathon. I ran my first 5 years ago. 5 years prior to that running was something other people did.
- My finish time of 3:17:35 was good enough for 33rd female. And my name in the paper. Yes, as sad as it is, these things are important to me.
- It was my second best time. Just under 1 minute slower than my best on the same course in similar conditions in 2007.
- It was over 5 minutes slower than my goal.
- It was the first race in about three years in which I didn’t achieve or exceed my goal. It takes a bit of getting used to.
- I ran the first half in exactly the time I planned to.

The Negatives

- I ran the second half almost 6 minutes slower than I planned to.
- I wasn’t conditioned enough for the heat and humidity.
- I didn’t really have a back-up plan.
- I didn’t smile nearly enough (sorry Susan... I tried, sort of...)
- For the first time in a long time I started thinking negative long before halfway and never really snapped out of it.

The Positives (This list was much shorter yesterday)

- I can run marathons. Reasonably fast.
- I’m conditioned enough so that I can get up the next morning and run a few easy miles and feel good. The post-race soak in Lake Superior definitely helped with this.
- Newskin: it does exactly what it says on the bottle. I gave myself 2 big blisters on my arches last week after stupidly running a few miles without socks. The skin came off completely on Friday morning. That night I put a layer of this stuff on – it was agony for about 10 seconds but once it dried in it was literally like a layer of new skin. A second layer in the morning and then a strip of sports tape around each foot. Zero pain for the race.
- The friends I’ve made doing this. Chatting to so many people I know before the race started and again last night is evidence of how much a part of my life the running community has become. It is about so much more than running and racing.
- Grandma’s remains my favorite marathon. The course is awesome and the supporters and volunteers are AMAZING. Sure the weather can suck but it's June in Minnesota so you can't be too surprised. Though June 19 and 21 were perfect running days...
- Oh and this is kind of mean but... I beat Nic :)

The Race

The sun on my back felt hot, too hot, as I stretched and ran a few yards up and down the road across the start line at 7am yesterday morning. The records will show it was equally hot two years ago but possibly less humid. I wasn’t too worried though. I’ve run well in those conditions before. And I happened to have erased completely the memory of the horrid 18 miler I’d struggled through several weeks ago in the first truly humid conditions of the season. Instead I thought only of the half-marathon PR I’d run at the end of May (on a cool morning) and focused on my goal. 3:12. I could do it. I knew I could.

I chatted with Adam, Nic, Kurt and others at the start of the race. Looked for John but didn't spot him. The guys were all lining up with the 3 hour pace group. I, on the other hand, was a little stranded. I’d planned to start out with the 3:15 pace group. Except it didn’t exist. A detail I failed to note when picking up a pace band at the Expo. So I started out just behind the 3:10 group knowing I wouldn’t try to keep with them.

The national anthem and the F-16 flyover. I am not a citizen yet and it will never be my national anthem but I have to say it’s a great one to start a race with. And the low flying jets never fail to make my heart skip a beat.

And we were off.

I was wearing my Suunto, having gone back to it after losing my Garmin, and soon realized that despite calibrating it on the track last week it was way off. So the pace I was seeing was about 20 seconds faster than I was actually running… it didn’t matter that much once I knew and I can’t blame it for putting me off my pace. No, that was all me. Still, I was thrilled to find that Paula was willing to sell me her new 405 that she got a great deal on but decided she didn’t need… so I’ll be back to that next week.

The first few miles felt good. The 3:10 pace group was moving a little farther away each mile as I kept a steady enough pace 7:25, 7:25, 7:24, 7:32, 7:27 for the first 5. I was feeling strong, well hydrated and happy to be a part of this great tradition. I didn’t talk to anyone and unlike previous years I didn’t really listen to other’s conversations. In fact I can’t really remember what I thought about in the early miles. Except that it felt like the time was flying by. I was really surprised by how quickly the yellow balloons in the sky kept appearing. I took this to be an extremely positive sign.

I’d taken a power gel about 20 minutes before race start and another at 5 miles. I had 4 remaining, planned for every 5 miles until 20 and then another one around mile 23. Along with the gel I was taking 3 S-caps. I recall mile 7 being an absolute joy – I have no idea why but I was full of beans – I think there was possibly a light breeze from the lake along here and I suppose I was still feeling strong and energetic at that stage. And the 7:22 felt easy. How quickly it can all change. Mile 8 was a little slow at 7:39 but still I wasn’t too worried. Though I was starting to feel hot. Somewhere along here a girl, with the body of an elite, was passed out on the grass with several people tending to her. The medics hadn’t yet arrived but she was in the recovery position and not looking so good. I never did hear who she was but I guess she ended up being okay or we would have heard about it.

I was running mostly on the left side of the road, grabbing shade where I could, though there wasn’t much of it so I cut corners where it made sense. The crowd was pretty spread out by mile 10 and I was pretty much in my own world. I was still feeling good enough and completely confident that I could turn it on in the final 6 miles. I just needed to get there in decent condition. But somewhere in my mind I knew I wasn’t going about it the right way. In 2007 my fastest mile was 23 in 6:36; yesterday my fastest miles were 10 in 7:09 and 13 in 6:50 - a dash to the 10 mile and halfway mats? Classy move for a 'veteran'. Especially when mile 14 took me 7:51.

I guess it around this point that I started to question how prepared I really was for a 3:12 race. Or a 3:15 race for that matter. Lots of recalculating kept my mind occupied as the miles seemed to pass slower and the water stops were not coming quickly enough. I was drinking 2 cups of water at each station and taking a cup of ice with me. Miles 15-16-17 were OK. Not great but OK. I saw Wayne along here. That was cool. It’s always uplifting to hear someone call your name!

And there was still a chance of the goal and a good chance of 3:15. And then mile 18. In 2007 this was like the best mile of the race. It was where I started to drop my pace, knowing I was going to have an awesome day. Yesterday, it was the first time in a long time that my watch registered over 8 minutes in a road race. I had to stop a few times with stomach cramp. It came on all of a sudden. Looking back it was pretty much exactly what happened that humid day in May on my crappy 18 miler. I guess more conditioning is the answer. I don’t think it was fluid or nutrition related. It seemed to go away again and mile 19 was OK. Back to 7:25 pace. Mile 20 wasn’t so hot. I saw the port-a-potty and went for it – I did need it but really it was as much for the rest as anything. 8:27. Ouch. Across the 20 mile mat in 2:30:01. I had given up looking at the 3:15 pace band by this point. The 3:10 pace band (yes, I actually had the nerve to wear one of them) was hidden beneath it at around mile 10 and didn’t make a reappearance.

Finally we were heading towards town. And somewhere in my mind I still thought I could pick it up. I actually felt like I was running much faster than I was. Well, I probably was doing 7:10’s or thereabouts but I had to stop at least once a mile with the pain in my side so that my splits were 7:44, 7:39, 7:43. No sub-45 minute final 10k today. But possibly I could still PR. Lemon Drop came and went without much fuss. John was about half way up though I was almost gone by before I saw him as my eyes were firmly fixed on the ground at this stage. And somewhere along here I came across Nic and Kurt. The conditions scuppering their plans also.

I was looking forward to the next mile and nice downhill. This was my fastest mile in 2007. I remember it well as Susan had joined me for a few hundred yards and I was completely ecstatic. How different yesterday’s experience was! Mile 24 was a little better in 7:34 – no doubt helped by the cheers of Shelley (who'd ran well in the half earlier), Paula and the guys along Superior Street. But I quickly leaned that speeding up brought back the side cramps. I had to stop and walk a bit so that mile 25 was a miserable 7:59. Around the corner, over the concrete bridge and I tried to do what I could. The crowds along here are wonderful and it definitely helped me to keep going. I knew that Tanya was likely spectating somewhere along here. It is a winding mile though and I longed to just be able to see the finish. 7:34. And finally, the home straight.

I apologize if the race report thus far has been less than inspirational but if I can give one piece of racing advice it is this: no matter how awful you’re feeling, no matter how lousy the day has been, there is always juice left in your legs and more importantly in your heart, for a sprint to the line. Sure, it might not actually fit the definition of a sprint, but giving it everything you have for the final few hundred yards, with people cheering you to the finish, has the wonderful effect of making you feel like an Olympic champion. And that feeling, even for a few short seconds, is hard to beat.

Did I reach my goal? No, not the 3:12 one. But the “feeling completely spent at the finish line” one? You betcha.

----------
Congrats to all who participated in this event. It was a rough one but I guess we have to take the bad with the good. Though it wasn't bad for everyone... John's sub-3 was phenomenal - he was ready for it but still to be able to pull it off on the day that is was deserves huge credit.

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Photos courtesy of Tanya...

No match for Newskin.

The Olympic Finish.

The first smile in several hours.

Heaven.

A well deserved post race beer. In the shade.

Reality Bites

Well, that kinda sucked. It was hot and humid but I've ran well in those conditions before. I wasn't in shape for 3:12. I should have managed a PR but couldn't pull it together in the last few miles.

Finish time: 3:17:35

More to come later.

Congrats to all who raced today - especially John Maas who ran an awesome race to go sub-3:00 and PR by several minutes.

Are you ready?

I've only been asked about a hundred times this week. To which my response was always "We'll see..."

I've raced more than I planned this spring. I've traveled more than I planned. I've worked more hours than I planned. And I've eaten waay more than I planned. But all in all my training has probably gone as well as I could have expected it to. My training pace has definitely gotten faster and I've been happy with the races I've done. Well, for the most part. Chippewa still bugs me but I'll get over it. Someday :)

I'm going to start with the 3:15 pace group (7:26's) and see how I feel at mile 10. Hopefully good enough to kick it down to 7:20's... and downwards from there for the next 10 to 7:00 minute miles. Continue at that and I'll cross the finish line in under 3:12. If things start to go downhill I'll change strategy and try to stay strong enough to PR (sub-3:16:43). If things feel like they are still going well by mile 20, I'll try to push it a bit more for the final 10K. My goal is to feel completely spent at the finish line unlike two years ago when my immediate thought was 'damn, I could have run faster'. No, there'll be none of that on Saturday!

No doubt I'll feel a bit out of place lining up with the 3:15 group. Or any group under 3:30. I'm sure I'll be about 20lbs heavier than the rest of the females around me. At 150 I'm 15 heavier than 2007. NOT where I intended to be when I signed up in January. But then January plans never quite pan out... still, it doesn't seem to have affected the running much so far. Though I'd definitely be happier to be closer to 140 which I think is a good weight for me. Not that the donought I had for lunch would know anything about that.

GOOD LUCK to everyone running this weekend.

One more goal... that Grandma's remains my favourite race!!

The Weather

Keeps changing but I (really) like what it's telling me today (Thurs)...

Duluth, Saturday June 20, 2009

7 AM / 52F / 50% rain - 10 AM / 56F / 10% rain

The Dream

Well, I had the pre-race dream last night. It was definitely one of the weirder ones. There was nothing familiar about the setting. It was in a city but not one I've ever been to. I was sitting in the sunshine on a grassy section watching the elites go by. I had on shorts and t-shirt but not my planned race gear. I was eating chocolate cake (imagine that). Somewhere in my mind it clicked that if the elites were running I should probably make my way to the start line - I think the main race started a half hour later. I went in search of my running gear bag - I think I knew where it was but then I got distracted by the fact that I had not picked up my timing chip. In fact I think I'd by-passed packet pick-up completely. I didn't know if it was still open but figured I wouldn't have time. Next think I know the runners are coming towards me. I didn't even know where the start line was but that didn't matter now... I spotted a girl coming out of a building and joining in the race and contemplated doing that. But then I remembered I'd wanted to run a PR and what good would that be without the evidence of the timing chip! The funny thing was I wasn't even panicking...

Good Run. Bad Run. Good Race?

Well, after a good run last Thursday along old Hwy 61 I was feeling all confident about Grandma's and was even harbouring dreams of a 3:10 (one of my 'lifetime' goals). I was all ready for taper and figured I'd just run a few miles twice before the race. Originally I'd planned an easy 6-8 miles today and then a few fast miles on Tuesday. But then last night I decided to consult "Run Less. Run Faster." Even though I am a strong advocate of this approach I have only vaguely followed the training plans laid out in the book - going between the 3:10 and 3:15 plans to figure out what I should be aiming for with my goal of 3:12.

So I opened the book to the 3:10 plan to see what was suggested for the final week. Two "key runs" - the first being speed and the second an easy run. Since the were so neatly laid out at #1 and #2 I decided I'd do them in that order. Note to self - stick with your original plan and not what it says in the book. Even though I think the book tells you to do the weekly workouts in whatever order you want...

Anyway, the speed workout plan was as follows:

10-20 min warm-up, 6 x 400m @ 1:24 (400m RI), 10 min cool-down.

Helen's "speed" workout went as follows:

15 min warm-up, 6 x 400m @ 1:50, 1:36, 1:46, 1:58, 2:05, 1:59, the RI were mostly walking (and sulking), and the cool-down was in the St. Croix. For reference, 1:57 is the 400m interval time for the 4:15 marathon training plan. Excellent.

I decided to run at Afton (along the river path) since I was going as far as St. Paul to climb and I figured it would be a nice flat surface and softer than the road or track. Which if course it was - and I suppose I can attribute a few seconds of each interval to the surface. But not forty. Oh well, maybe it's a good thing to have a crap run right before a big race. Keeps me grounded.

I worked off some frustration at the climbing gym on my way home. Actually had a great climb getting a few 5.8's that I've been working on. Slow progress - especially when you see 4ft nothing 10 year olds doing it in half the time - but fun and rewarding all the same!

Rather than accept tired legs and take the rest of the day off I wanted to be outside enjoying the sunshine so I biked 25M with Pam, Susan and Nic - hadn't been on the bike for a month so it was never going to feel great even with fresh legs... and of course our great intentions for a 'casual' ride went out the window almost immediately! And this after Pam's stellar 5:00:00 half IM at Liberty yesterday - awesome job. She came in 3rd female. And it was a "B" race for her with no taper!! Despite my legs it was a good ride and great to catch up with everyone.

Afterwards I decided to go to the track to calibrate my Suunto. I have this watch a long time but never got around to calibrating it and I knew it was slightly off (there's another 2-3 seconds I can take off the morning run... I'm down to a 4:05). I wouldn't be using this watch at all only I managed to LOSE my beautiful shiny relatively new garmin 405 sometime 8pm at FANS last weekend. I remember having it at the end of the 12hr race but no idea what I did with it after that. It was in my pocket as I'd taken it off when I'd got done running earlier in the day. Have searched the car and house several times but no joy. And nothing turned in after the race. So, it's back to the foot pod Suunto. Anyway, the calibration involved running 2 laps at 'marathon' pace - even on more tired legs this felt comfortable at 3:30 for 800m.

Moving on.

Weather for next weekend keeps changing - 2 days ago it said a high of 69. Perfect. Then it was predicting 75. OK. And now rain is forecast. Bummer. Hopefully it changes just as quickly again.

SHT Vacation

I decided last week that I wanted to take my b'day (yesterday) off... not that I care to make a big deal of it but a good enough excuse to take a day off. Work has been mental and will continue to be so through the summer so I have decided to take a day here or there when I can. So what would I do for the day? Chill out? Catch up on my reading? Cut the grass? I guess I may have done all of those things but then I saw a message from Lisa on the SHT construction project. Perfect!

So I spent the last two days up north (too far to just go for one day!) working with Larry Sampson and crew on a new section heading south from the Rossini Road trailhead (about 20 mins from Hwy 61). It's a very nice section - will be about 5.5-6mi when complete. Larry and a range of volunteers, including a group of school kids who spent a week out there, have been at it since early May and are about halfway in. It was pretty tough going due to the endless tree roots. Not many rocks though. But lots of bugs... the only downside to summer in MN as far as I'm concerned!

Took a few photos...

Rossini Rd trailhead - I ran a few miles of the section north towards Lake Co Demo Forest this afternoon - nice trail, some rolling hills and a few rocky sections

About a mile in along the new trail heading south from Rossini Rd - nice wooded trail with a soft surface - reminded me of the section north of Sawbill, around the base of Britton Peak

Despite all the trees... in the interest of saving toenails... not a root in sight...

Well, except for this beauty...

Some nice overlooks...

The trail doesn't climb much in this section but the road in does so it's quite high up hence the lake view.

We had a debate over this tree - beech (which would be unusual in this area, apparently) or ironwood - I have no idea so I took a picture.

Some boardwalks...

And a beaver pond. Albeit an abandoned one...

Last big run before Grandma's...

Before heading to the trail this morning I got out for a 12mi run along the course - started at mile 15, ran to mile 9 and turned around. Started around 6:30am - it was still very cool so I wore a longsleeve over my vest. I'm assuming it will be warmer on race day but I might go with my arm-warmers. I had planned to start out at just under 7:30's as my current plan for the race is to start with the 3:15 pace group which will be a 7:26 pace - so I figured I'd simulate the first few miles of the race. Well, I hope I didn't do that since I started out with 7:05's... slowed down a bit but then everytime I started to concentrate on form, tight core, aligned pelvis, shorter stride, landing on mid-foot etc - I would automatically speed up. Good, but then, not good. Averaged 7:12 for the first 5, had taken a gel at mile 4, had water stashed at the turnaround, and then took 2 clif bloks at around mile 8. Sped up in the last few miles trying to stay close to 7:00's or below, to average 7:06 overall. With a 6:30 final mile. Which hurt. A lot. Which is EXACTLY how I want to finish the race :)

Sat in Lake Superior for a few minutes after I got done. It was f-r-r-r-e-e-z-i-n-g, my feet could only stand 10 second intervals so I held them up while trying to cool off my hamstrings. The left in particular has been really tight. I really need to get in for a massage in the next few days...

So, the training, such as it was for the past few months, is over. And now the taper. I'll run a few easy miles over the weekend and a few fast ones Monday night. And then nothing. And we shall see...

A Fan of FANS

What can I say? After watching an amazing mix of athletes from aged 13 to 80+ circle Lake Nokomis time after time, in horrible conditions throughout most of yesterday into a chilly June night, I am at a loss for words... I have taken part in a variety of mostly tough races over the past few years but there was something incredible about this event. Watching Mike Henze crush the 24hr course record to hit 147 miles and being a part of John's team as he pushed his way to 80+ miles in 12 hours was sufficient reward for putting in a few volunteer hours throughout the morning and last night.

I had an absolute ball doing the record keeping for the 7-8am hour of short laps this morning. It was awesome watching runner after runner blast up and down the 1/8 mile strip to the sound of many cheering supporters. I have never seen so many tired bodies get a second - or most accurately a tenth - wind as they rounded the cone time and again to make every second count.

Each and every person out there was an inspiration. But a few runners come to mind - Karen Gall smiled even more than Carl which says something! I was blown away by her good mood as the day wore on and right through the night as she ran her way to over 100 miles. Janine Knutson - who just ran her first ultra at Chippewa - ran a super 12hr race to hit something like 55 miles. Wow! Kim Martin never seemed to slow down - I couldn't believe her pace on the short laps - to end with ~121 miles. It was awesome to see so many trail running friends - Julie (glad to hear Topaz is on the mend), Adam (who just made me laugh with his lack of enthusiasm when he stopped by on what was to be his final lap - never before did it seem so okay to not encourage someone to keep going!), Zach (where did you disappear to?!), John Taylor, Joel (way to run those short laps!!), Wayne, Kurt and several other familiar faces including Holly who was at AS 1 with me for a few hours in the middle of the night. And the kids out there were something else - Sue Olson's son John and his friend Nick who are 13 and 14, respectively, and another Nick who is also 13 - these guys ran the 24hr and all hit over 50 miles. I think John was close to 70 by the end. And they were so humble and good natured every time they came by the aid station. Really something.

No question I will be back at FANS next year. To volunteer again? I suspect not. More than once I have said this isn't a race for me but by 8am this morning that attitude was forever changed. A year is a long time but please God I will continue to stay healthy and (relatively) injury free... and find myself toeing the line at 8am. As for when to finish... I guess I have a while to think about that one :)

In the other big race this weekend... HUGE congrats to Matt on his awesome 6th place at Kettle Moraine 100M!! What an achievement. And so very well deserved after a dedicated early season of training. Congrats to Kevin on his first 100 mile finish. To Steve on his second in 2 months!!! To Pierre for... yet another one! And to Wynn on a new 100K CR. Sweet! Looking forward to the race reports.

FANS

Nooooo I have not decided to sign up at the last minute. I do some crazy things but not this one :)

But I will be down there bright and early for the 5:30-8:00am shift and again tomorrow night for the long haul. Though nothing compared to the runners... especially with the weather forecast. I know that it can be very hot some years but I'm not sure that high 40's and rain - possibly up to 1 inch tomorrow - can be that much better. Hopefully it doesn't come down quite as heavy as that.

Planning a 10-12M tempo run after I get finished up in the morning. Aiming for sub-7:30 pace though I haven't run 3 days in a row for a while so perhaps I'm being a bit optimistic. Will run from Nokomis up the parkway to Harriet and back - or something like that - and see how the runners are doing. Myself and Val had a blast at Afton this afternoon. Work has been mental all week, including a trip to DC with a flight that took 5.5hrs instead of 2.5... via Pittsburgh to refuel... what fun. So I badly needed to get out early today. We met up with Pam who'd biked with Colin from the park up to Stillwater and back and some more... 2hrs at a good clip and that after a tough swim workout this morning (and our track session last night!). Needless to say she was a bit tired so we did the Snowshoe loop and then Pam headed home while myself and Val went back out and over to the bike singletrack. Love it! I haven't been over there since last fall. I need to do it more often... there is something about singletrack that just makes you want to go FAST. Not that we were really going that fast but it felt like it. Legs felt great. Though my right knee was a bit sore by the end. We finished up with a run up the first hill on the race course and then soaked in the river for a few minutes before heading back to the car.

Got stuck into some gardening this evening. I am the least green-fingered person in the 'hood but I'm hoping the lawn fertilizer and a few flower pots will do the trick. Of course if it rains an inch tomorrow the fertilizer will end up in the drain. Though some moisture should help the little tree I planted. It'll need help seeing as I planted it about a foot shallower than instructed and used potting mix instead of tree stuff... can't be that different right? Not for the first time I imagined my neighbours looking out their window at me shaking their heads in dismay. Pam had given me a load of Iris' from her Mum's garden last night so I put them down also. Ha, 'put them down' - most likely.

Better think about bed soon I s'pose. 4:30AM won't be long coming around.

Hopefully all the FANS and Kettle Moraine runners are sleeping soundly. Good Luck to all!!

Racing Goals

I am off to run the Burnsville Half Marathon. If you happen to be there keep your distance at the finish line. I have only one goal. To throw up at the end.

11AM Update

Well, I didn't quite achieve the puke goal but I did run a nice race to finish in 1:31:56. Thrilled with that! Ran most of it with a girl from Burnsville - it was nice to have company and she definitely kept me on good pace. Couldn't keep with her in the last 2 miles but was able to maintain sub-7:00's for the last 3 miles. Garmin read a bit longer to give me an avg pace of 6:57 but if the course is correct it was 7:01 pace. I'll take that! Great conditions - a little windy on the way out but we had that at our backs on the return. Almost completely flat course. I ran in my brand new extremely lightweight Saucony Fastwitch 3 (2009 lighter version of what I wore last weekend - which I'd also wore for Grandma's in 2007). Top of left foot is a little sore but nothing else. No problems with the knees. Not sure if I'll wear them for Grandma's.

Walked a mile or more at the finish and stretched a little though will do more later. First the ice bath... stopped on the way home for a 20lb bag of ice and then another stop for a large hot americano. Good combination.

8PM Update

I think my stomach is getting me back for even mentioning throwing up - instead of feeling queasy I am absolutely famished all day - a huge avocado/salad wrap for lunch, followed by chicken curry for late lunch, a week's worth of fruit servings throughout the day... and dinner is in the works now. And desert. Figure I deserve it today. Probably didn't yesterday. Or the day before. And a very large glass of wine. To make up for the traditional ice bath earlier Nic!

Swam this evening with Tanya - felt great. Had not been in the pool for a month but with company it went by quick. Heading to Afton in the morning for some easy trail running. Will probably be my last long run before Grandma's. Hopefully the weather stays good through the morning.

The Burren Marathon

It's been a shit week. And I really wanted to rant quite a lot tonight. But then I read THIS interview with Cynthia Brochman and thought WTF do I have to complain about? Amazing, amazing lady.

Before the week started to go downhill I had intended to post about last weekend's race. So now that I am over my feeling sorry for myself spell (at least temporarily) I'll give the download...

I was excited to be running a marathon in Ireland again. Especially this one with approx. half of it off-road. The Burren area is a huge (300 sq km - huge by Irish standards) area of wilderness. It is a karst limestone region in the north west corner of Co Clare, in Ireland and made this pretty neat list of unique destinations.

But perhaps the best way to describe it is to borrow a well worn unattributed quote...

"The Burren. Where there are no trees to hang a man. Where there is not enough water to drown him. And if you finally succeeded in killing him, it's too rocky to bury him."

Unfortunately, there was plenty of water to drown a few runners last Saturday. Or at least enough to ensure we all looked like drowned rats within a few miles. And when the drizzle did finally stop, there was more than enough on the ground to keep us nice and soggy. The again it's the West of Ireland in May. Summer - maybe a week in July or August - or more likely September when the kids are back in school - is still a long way off.

We started out from the pier in the small picturesque town of Ballyvaughan. Mum and I had travelled down the night before as it's about a 2.5hr drive from home. We met Dee about 15 mins before the start and headed over to join the crowd. Brendan Gleeson, the award winning actor, said a few rousing words to send us on our way. Apparently he'd been on hand for course set-up also...




All 3 races, the 10K, half marathon, and full marathon, started off together - on the main road out of town for about 3 miles and then turned off onto a small country road. Soon after the 10K walkers and runners - approx 500 of them - peeled off to the right as the rest of us continued. Dee and I ran together keeping a 7:40ish pace those first few miles then slowing down a bit as we found ourselves on the first of several "green roads"... where there was a lot more brown mud that green grass! There were about 700 in the half and maybe half that in the full. In only the second year running the field has doubled. Many walkers participate in all three distances as the race is organized by the local walking club and the Burren Way, which we followed for much of the race, is a very popular walking trail.

Along here Dee got chatting to Johnny Donnelly of The Sawdoctors fame but more importantly an avid marathon runner raising money for a great cause. Check out his website. Dee signed up with him to run the Dublin Marathon this October so it was cool that she got to meet him in person. Soon after the half marathoners continued along the front ridge while we headed left and up across more dirt trails and bog roads. I was running with a bunch of lads, a few others not too far ahead, assuming there were plenty more ahead out of sight. Before long the few in front of us came to a stop at a cross-roads in the middle of the bog. Hmm... after a few moments deliberation we took a left and were relieved to see the mile 7 marker soon after. Phew. I had heard quite a few got lost the year before.

The next section was really muddy so I was completely destroyed by the time we reached the paved road and the next water stop. I had to laugh - the next several water stops were basically an ould fella sitting on the boot of his car with a few large bottles of water, a stack of cups, and a box of fruit and chocolate. Great supplies to be fair but it would have been nice if the water bottles were open and maybe even a few cups filled. But we helped ourselves anyway and off we went - after being told we were the leaders! Funny... myself and Mike from Co. Mayo led off from here - we ran together for the next 10 miles - good company. Though after he told me about his recent 3:04 at Belfast I was a bit worried that I should find myself running his pace. But he'd run this last year in around 3:30 so I figured I was safe enough as that seemed to be a reasonable target when I'd signed up a few days earlier. Mind you, that was before I realized how difficult parts of the terrain might be. Not along here though - a few miles of mostly downhill on nice quiet country roads... and the rain had stopped!

At around mile 11 we turned off-road and started the longest climb of the race - about half of it runnable but not really worth pushing it so my pace for the mile was over 11 minutes. Two of the other guys decided to run it so they passed us along here - a Kiwi and a Scot. Quite the international event! Upon reaching the top we were rewarded with a nice flat mile of relatively dry green road along with amazing views out over Galway Bay all the way to the Aran Islands. More than made up for the chilly, rainy start. Before long we found ourselves back on paved road and winding our way down towards the seaside town of Fanore - a really beautiful spot. Popular with surfers. After a quick refueling - filling our own water again while the volunteers told us we were going too fast and really should take it easy :) - we had another mile on the road heading north towards Black Head with the Burren up to our right - along here we passed the Scot while the Kiwi had taken off well ahead of us. Then a detour down towards the beach for a mile - thankfully we weren't actually running on the sand!

Back on the road at mile 18 and soon after we took a right hand turn, quick break at the AS for water and a mini-chocolate bar, and back on trail just before the mile 19 mark. I was a little ways ahead of Mike at this stage and continued to run at a decent pace. The mile markers appeared to be a little closer than what my garmin was telling me but I wasn't complaining! The trail continued to climb so that soon we were a few hundred feet above the road that ran close to the coast around Black Head and then all the way back to town. This was the muddiest section of trail resulting in me losing my shoe at one stage. A deliberate soak in the next clean water puddle was actually quite refreshing. I was wearing pretty lightweight Saucony Fastwitch road shoes so they shook off the excess water easily enough. Met a few sheep along here also and saw a few cows up ahead in the distance - luckily they had made their way off the trail by the time I got there - turns out they had held up the guy in front of me as he tried to pass them several times along the narrow ridge!

I was really having fun for these few miles. On a somewhat technical trail, enjoying the beautiful views and nearing the finish... can't beat that! Then it was a steep downhill across a meadow to the road, an AS at the gate, and mile 23 marker just up ahead. Sweet!! The last few miles on the road were a blast. I mean, I felt like I was going to have a heart attack any moment and my legs were scearming at me - but apart from that it was a great feeling. The half marathon course joined back up with us along here so I was getting lots of encouragement from the walkers which was awesome. Another one or two water stops along here and before I knew it we were at the edge of town. My Mum had walked out along the pier so it was cool to see her about 500 yards before the finish. Tried to sprint the last bit but I'm not sure you'd call it that. Felt good to be done! 3:24 which given the garmin I'd say was more like a 3:27. Several of the middle miles at just over 7:00 min pace and the last few a bit under so I was happy enough with that. I have no idea what it means for Grandma's but I think at this stage there is no point worrying about it!

Thanks a million to the race organizers (photo with the RD Gerry Reidy below) and to all the volunteers, and especially to Mary for letting me enter the race late and then for sending me the pics!!

Dee was at the finish having won for the ladies in the half - nice one! I chatted to the Kiwi and a few of the other lads that came in a few minutes after me before heading down to the water with Mum and Dee. It felt so nice to stand in the cool seawater. Not quite ice-bath temperatures but I'm sure the sea minerals do some good...

It was shaping up to be a beautiful afternoon but we wanted to get on the road for home so after a quick look (and purchase of delicious cheese) at the Farmer's market, I got cleaned up and we headed off. I took the picture below a few miles north looking back across the bay. The final section of the race followed a ridge about halfway up from around Black Head on the right - towards the town of Ballyvaughan on the left.



We stopped off for a late lunch at Linnane's on the pier in New Quay. After a yummy open crab sandwich and two large coffees Mum took a picture of the winning ladies -



As crazy a week as it was over there with work spilling into the wee hours every night, it was so much fun to run this race in such a beautiful location.