Tag: trail race

Rambling On 40

40?? Hot damn!

It’s Friday and it’s a 3 day weekend- shout it out!

I am looking forward to some nice down time this weekend, I don’t know about you but I really need that extra day. However I have to get through a race first.

I have a 5K on Saturday. A “trail” race. This race organization irritates me but I keep signing up for them. I’m already cranky. I have a feeling this “trail” race is going to be more golf course than trail. I am really hoping I am wrong. Only time will tell. But things were off to a rocky start when an email went out months back saying -Surprise! Venue Change! Oh and the 50 miler and marathon runners have all been bumped to the 50K and the 5 miler became a 5K. Ummmm???? The only distance that stayed the same is the half but I am not in trail half marathon shape right now. Although the last 4ish miles with a downhill elevation loss look like my favorite kind of trail. Sorry -fire road. Ok, I’ll stop being bitter. Maybe I’m wrong.

I’ve wanted to try running in my new PureFlow’s again but with a race coming I didn’t want to aggravate the blister anymore. Boo. Thankfully, I think it is nearly all gone.

My October continues to get more and more insane. I just found out my work trip may be 2 weeks. I have 2 travel races. I am currently only home 1 weekend and that weekend is potentially filled by a local half but then I found a trail race down by LA that looks super awesome. Ever heard of Space Rock? Someone tell me to stop!!!!! I should stay home. I should…. right?

What’s your random this week?

Vintner’s 5 Miler Race Recap

Dang those targeted Instagram ads that sneak up on you. I was scrolling my feed one evening when a cute wine bottle shaped medal jumped out at me. I don’t know why- I don’t even drink wine- but I saw that it was in Santa Barbara, fit my training plan, reasonably priced and vineyards usually meant dirt of some sort. So I clicked through and registered.

As race day loomed, I was tired and fussy and wondering why I even registered. They said the proceeds were for the Santa Ynez Valley Aquatic Foundation so maybe they could just use the donation? Then I noticed the winery wasn’t actually in Santa Barbara but Lompoc and spoiler alert- it wasn’t really there either. However I laid out a lazy flat runner and tried to get some sleep for the early morning drive south.

Race morning was actually a bit chilly in home town and made me question my shorts choice. After a little driving shenanigans, we arrived at the race location- Sanford Winery and were directed to parking. Then I had to decide on what shoes to wear. If you’ve never run in an actual vineyard before, they can be a mixed bag. They range from super nice fire road to ankle rolling hellish nightmare. I didn’t know what this was going to be. I wanted the cushion of my Levitates but chose my trail shoes. Smart choice.

Picked up my bib and shirt, used the port a potty and waited for the start. It was around 60 and overcast but at the last-minute I tossed my long sleeve layer to my mother. I normally run cold but something told me I wouldn’t need it. After a few announcements that I couldn’t understand over the spotty PA system, we were off through the winery.

Miles 1-2 10:14, 11:29

Dirt roads- yes! But woah, that is some loose dirt. And what the hell, my shorts just turned into underwear. I’d never had that problem with this pair before. I spent the next mile or so pulling my shorts down every 20 or so yards. It was super humid so my lungs weren’t happy and I was breathing hard but I wasn’t out there to set any records. Mile 1 had the cutest mile marker- a wine barrel with 1 foot painted on it. By mile 2 and the wine barrel with 2 feet on it I figured out the pattern but I am a horrible blogger and failed to take pictures of any of the mile markers.

Mile 3- 15:12

On the upshot, my shorts calmed down and behaved the rest of the race. Downside #1, we started a 300 foot climb. Downside #2- I hit a rock with my bad foot and rolled it in a bad way. Colorful words spilled from my mouth and I slammed to a halt. Then I hobbled my way up and on, trying to make sure that I didn’t step on any more rocks. The route was still mostly dirt path but the rocks were getting bigger. This also made them easier to avoid but I had to focus on where I was landing my feet. What was I thinking running a race?

Miles 4-5 9:36, 10:42

Mile 4 started by running through a barn and for some reason I found a second wind. We had a little bit of a downhill but because my foot was being an asshat I couldn’t really RUN downhill. I was still trying to watch where my feet were landing before they landed and avoid all rocks. As well as check out the cool outbuildings and the scenery in the vineyard as the sun had come out and it looked super pretty. I managed to find another rock coming down a little bump in the last mile and let another string of words fly. A guy running next to me asked if the hill was too steep, I refrained from being a smart ass and replying that it wasn’t even a hill in my opinion and just said I had hurt my foot a few miles back. The last bit of the race had us running literally in between the vines. Oh holy hell of rockiness. There was nowhere to put my feet that didn’t hurt. I damn near walked it but I was so close to being done. As it is, I slowed way down. Finally another few curves and there was the finish line!

Finish-57:44

If we consider this a true trail race- it was my fastest 5 miler by 7 minutes but as it only had 400 ish feet of elevation gain, I am not sure if I do.

Once across the line, there was some confusion. Registration claimed it came with a medal and wine glass for every participant but neither was anywhere to be seen. Now, I downgraded from the festival to just the race so the lack of wine glass was not a huge deal to me but the lack of medal was a little confusing as there had been zero announcements.

I was not the only one confused as evidenced by Facebook comments post race. We eventually received an email that said there had been a delay with the medals and that they would arrive Monday, then the race would be in touch with us after that. However it is now Thursday and that was the last time the race reached out. I have run numerous races with no medals but it’s another thing to say you are going to do something and then not do it.

Communication issues aside, I really did like this race and would consider running it again.

Week 30/ Rock n Roll San Jose Training Week 2

Upcoming Races-

Vintners 5 Mile-7/28
SLO ULTRA 5K-9/2
Rock n Roll San Jose 13.1 (Thank you BibRave!)-10/8
City to the Sea 13.1-10/14
Rock n Roll Los Angeles 13.1 (Thank you BibRave!)- 10/29
Monterey Bay Half Marathon (Thank you Bibrave!)- 11/12

So close, so close! I almost hit every work out. But I didn’t. I tried rearranging to fit life, the heatwave and my leg and it just didn’t work.

The plan for the week was 4 Liift4 workouts and 3 runs. The runs were originally laid out as an easy 4, a 30 minute tempo and a long run of 6 miles. I knew I had a 5 mile race on Saturday so I figured that would be my tempo and I would just run another easy 4 to make up for the shortened long run. Well, that was the plan.

Monday- Liift4/ Fair Stupid mistake #1. Possibly 1 and 2. I should have done the Liift4 workout in the morning. I didn’t- I did it after the fair, finishing around 11. I wore flip flops to the fair- which might have been fine if it was just the fair but I also walked home. Everything below my left knee was pissed. The funnel cake was awesome though.

Tuesday- Liift4 I packed my gear to run but my leg was still pissed at me for the flip flops. In the end I decided another day of rest was best and met my mother for dinner instead. However that may have been a bad idea as I spent the rest of the night violently ill.🤢

Wednesday- 4 miles With the temps in hometown around 110, I opted to run in work town where it was a pleasant 66. I always feel super awkward running in work town for some reason but usually settle into it around 1.5 miles in- around when I hit the eucalyptus grove. I feeling good and running an easy pace but the 80% humidity was making my breathing sound like I was sprinting. That said, this was a rare time I powered up the hill back and felt like I could have done it again. I didn’t.

Thursday- Liift4 I wanted to run but it was another 110 degree day and a late afternoon doctor appointment in another town messed with my plan to run in work town again. Traffic getting home due to the Luke Bryan concert irritated me and I really wanted to run but the temps didn’t really cool until after 9 PM and not really even then. I don’t run at night let alone at night during the fair.

Friday- Rest The Liift4 leg workout was on the schedule but I remembered being extra sore last weekend afterwards. Which normally would be fine but with a trail race on Saturday and my leg still feeling funky, I decided to push the workout until after the race. Possibly mistake #3.

Saturday-Vintner’s 5 Mile Race Race recap to come complete with vines, dirt, rocks, barns and medal snafus. My Liift4 workout did not happen that evening.

Sunday- Rest Oh, what the??? Not only did I not do the Liift4 workout I missed, I did not run. Without going into too many details from Saturday, there are some lingering issues and anything weight bearing sounded and felt like it would do more harm than good. I wish I could say I made that choice easily but I kept telling myself that things were going to improve right up to 5PM. Nope. Crap.

So yeah, 9 miles for the week, 5 out 7 workouts. Which on the surface might not look so bad but I am a little for how it going to play out this week.

How was your week?

SLO Ultra 5 Mile Recap

I say my legs love hills but this tested that theory.

I didn’t look at the elevation chart until the Friday before the race.

Walking to the start line, I could see the half marathoners on the first climb– no one was running.

At one point during the race, I heard a woman huff out- “rolling hills, my ass”.

At the end, a woman wearing a Leadville jacket is talking to another 5 mile finisher asking how she’s feeling. She then says she would never do these races because if you are under trained they’ll wreck you. Ummm, what??!

Ok, backing up. SLO Ultra is a trail races that offers a 50 mile, marathon, half marathon and 5 mile. I had originally planned on running the half but then conversion month and the stupid antibiotic non running episode derailed me. I figured I would downshift to the 5 miler. I’ve done multiple trail races, how could this be worse than the 25K? I could handle 5 miles.

Then I checked the website the Friday before and saw the elevation profile. 1500 feet and change over 5 miles, WTF? Combine that with the abnormally busy Saturday I had ahead and I almost considered a DNS. But I followed through.

The race was run on trails on private property out by Avila Beach but they all had staggered start times so my race didn’t start until 9:30. I was able to still get parking on site about an hour before the start and slowly made my way the 1/2 mile or so further in. As I said, I could see the half marathoners on the first real climb and it was not reassuring. Hanging out near the start didn’t help. I saw runners coming back through the start and they looked rough so I figured they were the marathoners finishing a loop (didn’t have enough gear to be 50 milers). Nope. Just the half marathoners finishing mile 3. Oh crap. Then it was time, so we all lined up. Only to be warned the first 3 miles were Hard. Yay.

Mile 1- 16:37

We were off! And we ran for all of .25 miles. If that. I take consolation that 95% of us slammed to a crawl. There were still some speedy people out there (Pepe, Racheal I’m looking at you) but us mortals all were struggling just to power hike the damn mountain. Like hands pushing down on knees trying to get leverage going up the hill. We were all breathing so hard, it was a symphony of wheezing and gasping. But the views halfway up? Awesome. But damn that thing was steep.

Mile 2-11:41

Does this climb ever end?! Oh damn, I think something is in my shoe. Oh look, downhill! I shouldn’t run fast but, on your left! Hey, this woodsy part is cool, let’s take a pic. While running down a hillside. Looks at watch- at a 9:20 pace- living dangerously. 😛 Oh- my first water crossing! Ok, it was tiny but it still counts! Then there was a portion of single track where some people didn’t have the best trail etiquette. Stay on the trail! This is why we can’t have nice things.

Mile 3-16.53

Another climb. Not long but steep. I made friends. We were commiserating. One woman asked her friend is she was doing the mountain bike races the next day, (same course) she was no longer sure. Another asked if these hills were worse than those of the San Francisco Marathon, 3 of us shouted out Yes! I cracked a joke that I don’t think this is what my doctor meant when he said to return to running slow and easy. We had a downhill and I ran on to the flat and back to the start to the aid station but I was noticing a problem. I couldn’t run the flats. My legs were shot. My Achilles’s were the tightest they have ever been and the flat surface felt like it stretched them out too much, kind of like they were going to tear. So I backed it off and walked.

Mile 4- 17:02

Ok, maybe I backed off too much. Yes, there was another big climb in this mile but I think I lost the most time on the flat section truthfully. I chatted with a man I had been yo-yo’ing with most of the race. My GPS had also been off since the tree covered section in mile 2 so I really had no idea how far I had left in the race. Oops!

Mile 5- 8:40 pace

By mile 3.8ish I could see the turn around point at the aid station and I was done. I jogged up to it, grabbed a cup of water, drank and then decided my legs had wings. I almost ate trail in a section that was like running through a sandbox. I hit the flat section and my legs suddenly felt ok so I kept going. Slowed down so as not to face plant over the rickety bridge over the stream right before the finish line- almost did anyways- and ran through the finish.

1:09:43

So much slower than I would have liked but I survived! And I was still in the top half of the pack so that’s how damn hard this freakin’ course was. I am also having trouble walking 3 days later. 😛 Good thing about slower? I never got misdirected like more than a few of the lead runners did. Oops.

I will run this again, stronger and faster. I think I can, I think I can. Plus, that’s the only way I can get back on those trails.😊

Week 36- Not Quite

Upcoming Races-

SLO Ultra 5 Mile
Rock n Roll San Jose 13.1???
Rock N Roll Las Vegas 5K
Rock N Roll Las Vegas 13.1!!!!!

I had this cutesy little plan that if you lined up weeks 34, 35 and 36 the title modifiers would all add up to say “Kind of Back To Normal“. Except this week wasn’t the normal that I wanted it to be hence the title change. While I ran 4 days, when you add up the mileage it looks quite sad. And adding a run on Sunday became laughable when I was hobbling around and had trouble just walking.

Anyways, moving on. Last week was an odd one. We found out on Tuesday that my boss is turning in her 2 weeks so the week just felt a little off. Well, all weeks after a 3 day weekend feel off but this one felt more off. Then I realized I seriously overbooked my Saturday and couldn’t figure out how to fix it. I had a race, a shift at the Avocado Margarita Festival, a bed delivery and a possible haircut appointment. I needed a clone.. or a teleporter. Everything took place in a different town.

Monday- 3.1 miles With the day off for Labor Day, I had thought about getting a long run out of the way early in the week but then I overslept. It was another triple digit day and my motivation flagged as the day went on. At the last minute I threw on running clothes and managed to get out the door for a late evening 5k. It was short but I am glad I did something other than laze around like a sloth.

Tuesday- Rest I rarely run the Tuesday after a 3 day weekend. Work is usually crazy and runs late. Theory held. 😛

Wednesday- 2.0 miles This was supposed to be 4 miles but work ran late and this was all I squeezed in before the light really faded once I got back to town. Oops.

It looks so much brighter in this pic than it was

Thursday- 1.5 miles Failed kitten rescue! I set out to run but only made it about 3/4 of a mile up the hill before I heard a little meow then saw a tiny kitten in the storm drain. He looked like he needed help so I tried to rescue him. I managed to coax him out of the storm drain and noticed he was limping but he wouldn’t let me near him. I followed/chased him through bushes, freaked out a dog in a yard, almost fell down a little hill, got odd looks from other runners passing by but couldn’t find him. He went into stealth mode! After more than 30 minutes I gave up, sad. By then it was getting dark so I just headed back to the car.

Friday- Rest I worked then out to Avila Beach to pick up my race packet. Packet might be a misnomer- it was a bib and shirt. And I almost got lost in the parking lot- a few more signs would have been nice.

Saturday- SLO Ultra 5 Miler Recap to come but I will say -oh my quad—the hills.

Then I attempted a quick change before heading to work town for the Avocado Margarita Festival. Where I had to park way too far away and book it down to the volunteer tent in flip flops. My haircut appointment was a no go and my dad was a champ and met the delivery guys to accept the bed delivery. Even though that was an adventure in itself. His solution to making sure that the cats or dog didn’t get out while the guys were there was to just have them deliver the new bed to the garage. Then when I got home we carried it into the house and set it up. 😛

Sunday- Haha! Oh my god, I’m broken. I can’t move. I can’t even remember the last time I’ve been this sore. Like I wish my bathroom had those handicap accessible bars in it for I need to use the restroom. 😂 I kept telling myself that I was going to run but the very idea of going down my driveway actually scared me. Ouch!!!

11.6 miles for the week. Haha. I really should have run that long run on Monday. Maybe I also should have looked at the elevation profile of the race sooner than Friday too. I might have anticipated my broken-ess a little more. Right now I am just hoping I can walk normally on Monday. 😛

How was your week?

When was the last time you felt abnormally sore?