Post by kenb321 on Feb 11, 2013 10:17:06 GMT -5
Dirty Love 10k started my racing season for 2013. This was a new event for me. Early season running races always give you a chance to establish your fitness level and give you advice on what needs work. The other new thing about this race was it was my first trail race. I was a little nervous about the race due to icy conditions. The last thing you want this early in the season is to get hurt. I did a few trail runs near the house over the last few weeks to get an idea of running on single track uneven trails. That helped my confidence a bit.
Got up at 6:15. Breakfast was Sweet Rice Porridge from The Feed Zone. Filling, tasty, made it the night before. Half a cup of coffee and got all my stuff set up. In my google search for tips on trail running, shoes were the key aspect of success. But I am picky about my shoes, so I stuck with Mizuno Wave Riders. This pair is getting tired but it is what I had to work with. I was tempted to buy some really cool Solomans on an Acitve deal, but passed. Took the dog out and realized it was really cold. Re-assessed my apparel selections, the first of many times.
Eric and Aimee Gibb picked me up promptly at 7:30. It is always good to ride with others to races and take your minds off the race for a while. The trip took about 30 minutes even with the small detour to check out the fire trucks and ambulances at an office building.
Did a short warmup with Jen P. prior to the start. Got a chance to see what the trails looked like after the rain/snow mix on Friday. They were going be slippery. I debated using Eric's snow spikes that slip on your running shoes, but decided against trying something new in a race. Should have used them.
The race started with a field run to the trail and a short creek crossing. I was impatient and trapsed through the creek instead of waiting for the log/ board to open up. Ran up a short hill instead of waiting for the stairs, but Eric told me I cut the course. Oops. Got to running, and other than my feet being wet, was going OK. The first hill was great. I have been leading hill repeats this winter on Mondays and it really helped on the hills. I was running with Ryan C. until the hill but then left him behind on the hill. (He caught me later) Great run until the first downhill. Shoes started slipping and it messed with my head. I should have borrowed the cleats. I slowed way down on all the downhills. It allowed Ryan and several others to catch me.
I predicted 9:00 miles at the beginning and I finished with 8:45's. The uphills were no problem for me, but the downhills were to slick on road shoes to maintain a good pace.
Great run, nice crowd and a good, cheap breakfast with Aimee, Eric, Micky R. and Theresa S. Great picture, Mickey!
Got up at 6:15. Breakfast was Sweet Rice Porridge from The Feed Zone. Filling, tasty, made it the night before. Half a cup of coffee and got all my stuff set up. In my google search for tips on trail running, shoes were the key aspect of success. But I am picky about my shoes, so I stuck with Mizuno Wave Riders. This pair is getting tired but it is what I had to work with. I was tempted to buy some really cool Solomans on an Acitve deal, but passed. Took the dog out and realized it was really cold. Re-assessed my apparel selections, the first of many times.
Eric and Aimee Gibb picked me up promptly at 7:30. It is always good to ride with others to races and take your minds off the race for a while. The trip took about 30 minutes even with the small detour to check out the fire trucks and ambulances at an office building.
Did a short warmup with Jen P. prior to the start. Got a chance to see what the trails looked like after the rain/snow mix on Friday. They were going be slippery. I debated using Eric's snow spikes that slip on your running shoes, but decided against trying something new in a race. Should have used them.
The race started with a field run to the trail and a short creek crossing. I was impatient and trapsed through the creek instead of waiting for the log/ board to open up. Ran up a short hill instead of waiting for the stairs, but Eric told me I cut the course. Oops. Got to running, and other than my feet being wet, was going OK. The first hill was great. I have been leading hill repeats this winter on Mondays and it really helped on the hills. I was running with Ryan C. until the hill but then left him behind on the hill. (He caught me later) Great run until the first downhill. Shoes started slipping and it messed with my head. I should have borrowed the cleats. I slowed way down on all the downhills. It allowed Ryan and several others to catch me.
I predicted 9:00 miles at the beginning and I finished with 8:45's. The uphills were no problem for me, but the downhills were to slick on road shoes to maintain a good pace.
Great run, nice crowd and a good, cheap breakfast with Aimee, Eric, Micky R. and Theresa S. Great picture, Mickey!