Only 2 weeks after the Red Deer 1/2 marathon, I was ready to run the Daily Herald Tribune Press Run. 4 days after Red Deer, we took our training group out on a 10km run to get them familiar with the race course. The conditions were perfect and we all finished with great times. The following week was an 8km training run which began the tapering down of our distances. We didn't want the participants to be overly tired on race day.
Karen had decided to run the 10km race, so she can support our training group and cheer them on. I had decided long ago that I needed to continue getting longer distances in, so I registered for the 1/2 marathon again. I was a little worried coming off of the Red Deer 1/2 in such rough shape. I did well in the training runs, but was never able to get into my zone and regulate my breathing very well. I also noticed that I was a little "shell-shocked" about running the hills on our trail system. Pschologically, I wasn't quite ready to be running 21km again. Physically, I needed to get some rest.
The day before the race, we put together a nice spaghetti and chicken dinner and had Marla over to load up on the carbs. I think we were all a little nervous and excited at the same time. Made sure we got plenty of rest.
Race day was sunny but very windy. There were 389 racers registered and because it was in Grande Praire, we knew a lot of people there. Everyone seemed pretty pumped up. A couple of runners in our group were just recovering from colds, so they were a little worried about how they would perform.
The race began with an uphill climb right away and then straight into the wind. Made it tough to catch your breath. Within a few minutes, we ran down into the RV park and then up another with the wind in your face. Finding it difficult to catch my breath, I decided to let the pack in front of me pull away. Most of them were 10km runners anyway who were running at a faster pace. I focused on running my own race and finding a pace that wouldn't hurt me in the long run.
The turn-around point for the 10km runners seemed to come up quickly. I was able to cheer on a few of runners coming back the other way. Since we've run the trails a lot, it was nice to know that I wasn't too far behind the pack. I ended up settling into my zone about 6km into the run. Slowing down made a huge difference. Another big difference for me was that I didn't bring a watch to this race. I found myself too focused on my watch last time, so decided to leave it at home. I gauged everything by distance instead. By 9km, I knew it was time to get a little food in. I studied the map beforehand and timed my food to coincide with the water stations. I made sure that I put a little bit of food in me at regular intervals as not to deplete my reserves.
I got back to Pavilion with plenty of energy left in me for the last kilometre. The last sprint down the hill and around the corner to the finish felt incredible. May have pushed it a little hard, but I felt good enough to do that. People were at the finish cheering me in and I even got a little bit of a push from a guy who was hard on my heels for the last few steps.
My official fisishing time, 1hr 53min 22sec. Wow!! What a race. Not only did it feel really great, I knocked over 10 minutes off my previous 1/2 marathon time. The volunteers were all great and made the event that much better.
We hung around for the medal presentations and it turns out that several members of our training group placed in their divisions. Congrats to Jeff (2nd), Derek (2nd), Gert (1st) and of course, my sweetie Karen, who took 2nd place in her division. No placement for me since I'm in a very competitive age classification. I'd need to shave another 15 minutes from my time to even come close. I'm very impressed by the first place runner in the 21km, Darren, who finished in an astouding 1hr 16min. That's not for me. I need to push the training distance out achieve the 42.2km goal by October. Maybe in another life, if I come back as a cheetah.
Showing posts with label 2009 Race Season. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2009 Race Season. Show all posts
Monday, June 1, 2009
The Effects of Red Deer
The Red Deer 1/2 marathon was really tough! There were a lot more hills than I was expected and it was the first time I tried to run a longer race without carrying any food or water. That turned out to be a big mistake for me. It was a beautiful day with the weather peaking to 20 degrees and the scenery in the trails was gorgeous. The water stations were well spaced and I was on track to make a great time. I think I crossed the 11km sign at just under an hour.
At the 15km marker, I noticed my energy levels depleting and having no food on me, began to crash pretty hard. By 17km, I was running on fumes and craving sugar like you wouldn't believe. The hills and the sun had taken their tolls and there was nothing left but sheer willpower to drive me to the finish. I had to walk a few times, which didn't seem to make my legs feel any better. By 19km I understood what it meant to hit the wall -- my legs felt slow and heavy and I felt like i was barely moving. Racers kept passing me and I wasn't sure the end would ever come. Every hill felt like torture.
Finally reached the last hill and I moving pretty slow by now. Only half a kilometre left I though to myself. A few steps onto the the hill and I found myself need to walk. It seemed so steep and long, at the pace I was going, I'd never get to the top. My legs burned, but I decided to go for it. Just then, one of the volunteers ran down from the top to give me some encouragement. She ran me to the top, cheering me on all the way, "It's all down hill from here... push through it!" Thank you, whoever you are, I needed that.
I hit the top and coasted all the way to the finish, picking up speed the closer I got. Karen was waiting for me, cheering me in with her friend, Orlene. I finished in 2hrs and 3 minutes. Not the best time for this distance of race, but I was glad to take it. Karen kicked butt and finished in about 1:59 with no problem and full of smiles. She tried to get a little playful with me when I told her I needed some sugar, but I would have none of that -- straight to the food tent for me to get some oranges, juice and cookies.
Lesson learned after this race -- pack some food or suffer the consequences. We had a nice lunch with Karen's aunt and uncle and then drove 6 hours back to Grande Prairie. Pretty tough on the legs sitting all day after running a grueling 21km.
At the 15km marker, I noticed my energy levels depleting and having no food on me, began to crash pretty hard. By 17km, I was running on fumes and craving sugar like you wouldn't believe. The hills and the sun had taken their tolls and there was nothing left but sheer willpower to drive me to the finish. I had to walk a few times, which didn't seem to make my legs feel any better. By 19km I understood what it meant to hit the wall -- my legs felt slow and heavy and I felt like i was barely moving. Racers kept passing me and I wasn't sure the end would ever come. Every hill felt like torture.
Finally reached the last hill and I moving pretty slow by now. Only half a kilometre left I though to myself. A few steps onto the the hill and I found myself need to walk. It seemed so steep and long, at the pace I was going, I'd never get to the top. My legs burned, but I decided to go for it. Just then, one of the volunteers ran down from the top to give me some encouragement. She ran me to the top, cheering me on all the way, "It's all down hill from here... push through it!" Thank you, whoever you are, I needed that.
I hit the top and coasted all the way to the finish, picking up speed the closer I got. Karen was waiting for me, cheering me in with her friend, Orlene. I finished in 2hrs and 3 minutes. Not the best time for this distance of race, but I was glad to take it. Karen kicked butt and finished in about 1:59 with no problem and full of smiles. She tried to get a little playful with me when I told her I needed some sugar, but I would have none of that -- straight to the food tent for me to get some oranges, juice and cookies.
Lesson learned after this race -- pack some food or suffer the consequences. We had a nice lunch with Karen's aunt and uncle and then drove 6 hours back to Grande Prairie. Pretty tough on the legs sitting all day after running a grueling 21km.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Half Marathon in Red Deer
Karen and I will be participating in the Woody's RV marathon in Red Deer on the May long weekend. We've both registered for the half marathon as part of our full marathon training. We're both pretty comfortable with the 21km distance at this point, but as always, have a bit of the race jitters. We both want to do well at this race, which means getting finished in under 2 hours for us.
We've been helping the Grande Prairie Run/Walk club with their training program for participants of the Press Run at the end of May. This has been good training for us as well since it forces us to keep up with the training. I found it tough at first, since there were a few very fast runners in our group whom I had a tough time keeping up with. After discovering that trying to run faster was counter productive to my distance training, I learned to hang back a bit.
Last weekend We ran about 20km on Saturday and then another 9km on Sunday for the training group. Haven't done much since. It's time to take a bit of a break and rest before the long weekend race. Karen's uncle Claude and aunt Brenda have been nice enough to let us stay with them while we're in Red Deer. They've even offered up a feast of pasta the night before the event. How can you say no to that?
We've been helping the Grande Prairie Run/Walk club with their training program for participants of the Press Run at the end of May. This has been good training for us as well since it forces us to keep up with the training. I found it tough at first, since there were a few very fast runners in our group whom I had a tough time keeping up with. After discovering that trying to run faster was counter productive to my distance training, I learned to hang back a bit.
Last weekend We ran about 20km on Saturday and then another 9km on Sunday for the training group. Haven't done much since. It's time to take a bit of a break and rest before the long weekend race. Karen's uncle Claude and aunt Brenda have been nice enough to let us stay with them while we're in Red Deer. They've even offered up a feast of pasta the night before the event. How can you say no to that?
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