My first adventure race will be Sunday.
Gotta admit that I'm nervous. It's very disconcerting to go from a knowledgeable, experienced racer to a complete newbie. I know I'm asking stupid questions. This drives me crazy. But it doesn't change the fact that I don't know the answer to my questions. Will my rental kayak come with a paddle? What gear can a borrow? What gear do I really need? What should I wear? Given that I'm racing solo, how am I going to carry all this required gear?
And there is a lot of gear. Adventure racing is just as gear intensive as triathlon. Once again I'm relying on the kindness of friends to get me through this first race. Riding my mom's old mountain bike. the same bike that took me through my first triathlon. Borrowed cheapo hydration pack. Borrowed bike multitool and extra bike bag. Might have to use ZipLoc bags for my map case. Ah!
On the bright side, I shouldn't run out of fitness. This is only a 3 hour race. On the other hand, this is not a triathlon on well marked roads with volunteers at every turn handing out water. It's me, the supplies and a map in a fairly large wilderness area.
For all of my pre-race jitters, it is fun to feel the excitement of the unknown again.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Adventure racing, Crossfit, and 5Ks, OH MY!
Hmmmm....too much to think about,
So, what would the adventure racers eat for a 2-3 hour race? I'm thinking of being lazy and fueling the day like a half marathon. 100-200 calories in the form of gels, maybe carbo pro/cytomax mix. Plus my usual hourly electrolyte/water mix.
Thoughts?
Crossfit/5Ks
Yes these go together. Today was one of the CrossFit workouts that keeps members away from the gym. 8x400m run with 90 sec rest. Crossfit will give you a great 20 minute workout but if that's all you do...8x400 seems very tough. Knowing that I have a full weekend of racing coming up, I wanted to start slow and build. 400s are a good way to see what could be in store for this weekend.
Per my usual routine, I warmed up with 10 minutes of running followed by 15 minutes of my strength warm up. Finished up with an easy "400m" to test the distance on my Garmin. Their "400m" course is barely 1/4 mile. Got it. Wanted to hit the first 400 in 2:15 and drop from there.
1@440yd - 1:57 very easy, no problems
2- 1:55 - sure it's easy but lets see what happens in the next few laps
3,4,5- 1:54, 1:52, 1:50, still feels solid. How badly can I crash in the last few laps?
6,7,8- 1:49, 1:46, 1:46 These laps tell you if you went out too fast. Apparently not. 26:20ish is my 5K PR? Really? Hmmmm.....
And for all the crap I get at Crossfit about not being truly fit because I do more than just Crossfit, I think I made my point. The closest woman on the board averaged over 2:45 per 1/4 mile. Very few of our girls can beat it.
So, what would the adventure racers eat for a 2-3 hour race? I'm thinking of being lazy and fueling the day like a half marathon. 100-200 calories in the form of gels, maybe carbo pro/cytomax mix. Plus my usual hourly electrolyte/water mix.
Thoughts?
Crossfit/5Ks
Yes these go together. Today was one of the CrossFit workouts that keeps members away from the gym. 8x400m run with 90 sec rest. Crossfit will give you a great 20 minute workout but if that's all you do...8x400 seems very tough. Knowing that I have a full weekend of racing coming up, I wanted to start slow and build. 400s are a good way to see what could be in store for this weekend.
Per my usual routine, I warmed up with 10 minutes of running followed by 15 minutes of my strength warm up. Finished up with an easy "400m" to test the distance on my Garmin. Their "400m" course is barely 1/4 mile. Got it. Wanted to hit the first 400 in 2:15 and drop from there.
1@440yd - 1:57 very easy, no problems
2- 1:55 - sure it's easy but lets see what happens in the next few laps
3,4,5- 1:54, 1:52, 1:50, still feels solid. How badly can I crash in the last few laps?
6,7,8- 1:49, 1:46, 1:46 These laps tell you if you went out too fast. Apparently not. 26:20ish is my 5K PR? Really? Hmmmm.....
And for all the crap I get at Crossfit about not being truly fit because I do more than just Crossfit, I think I made my point. The closest woman on the board averaged over 2:45 per 1/4 mile. Very few of our girls can beat it.
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Fwd: Thank you for entering the 2009 Squiggy Dash - 2 to 3 Hour Adventure Race
The next step. Bringing all my fitness together in one race. Pretty exciting.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Squiggy Entry Form <squiggy@wecefar.com>
March 03, 2010 11:10am [EST]
Skippy Goes Wild has submitted an entry to to the 2009 Squiggy Dash -
2 to 3 Hour Adventure (ironlinae@gmail.com)
Team's Entered Division: Solo Female
They are racing the Squiggy Dash - 2 to 3 Hour Adventure
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Joe's First Running Race
Doing it in style as only he can, Joe ran is first running race as part of a marathon relay team dressed as Capt. Jack Sparrow. Here is his post race photo. He's done a few low key triathlons but this was his introduction into LARGE races. He earned 2 kisses and several photo ops. Well done!
RR: Gasparilla Half Marathon
Short version: 2:04:57 which improves my PR by 8:41. Not the 1:59 I wanted but who can complain about that level of improvement in a few months, especially on a chaotic day.
Brew a pot of coffee version:
Race morning was almost a disaster. We got a late start from the house which stressed me out. I tried to calm down because Saturday, we needed only 20 minutes to drive to the race start. Even with the late departure we should arrive 45 minutes before the race. Or not. Traffic was backed up from downtown onto the interstate. My "easy warmup" was a 10 minute dash to the starting line. 5 minutes to spare. They were playing the National Anthem as I exited the porto potties. We tried in vain to move towards the front of the pack.
The Race:
There is nothing more frustrating than being caught far back in the pack on a crowded course. When we reached a narrow overpass, people started to WALK!!!
Mile 1 was 40 seconds slower than planned Mile 2 was 20 seconds off. As was mile 3. There was open space. Sprint to get around this pack. Immediately slam on the breaks as everyone crowds around the next turn. The crowd was so thick I missed several mile markers. Forget about most of the water stops. They were randomly placed in the middle of every other mile. No way to get over to them.
So I had a good sulk for about a mile. Fester, fester, fester, rot, rot, rot. Yes, the Garmin pushed me to stay under 10 minute miles but it cannot part the runners. 1:59 will have to wait for another day. The remaining question was: do I mail it in or do I race?
For all the talk about speed and potential donations if I broke 2 hours, the point of the race was to run as fast as I could. To see if I could push the pace over a long distance without backing down. Racing is a skill that must be practiced. Maybe the first 4 miles were doomed but there was still a lot to learn in the last 9.1 miles.
Around mile 6, the course moved out onto the wide and beautiful Bayshore Blvd. Finally some space! I can find a steady pace! No time to wonder if I can hold the pace for 9 miles. Ask only if I can hold it for one more mile. With room to run and a 3 mile straight path, surely I could make up some time. Nope. 9:26ish miles. Disappointing. It felt like I was running much faster. As always, the internal committee took the opportunity to remind me that I was failing so why bother.
Fortunately, mile 10 appeared. 5K was left on the course. Time check. 30 minutes won't cut it. Gonna have to be about 29 minutes if I want 2:05 (my initial goal). Ouch. The only thing I really remember about the last 5K is this guy with a thick accent yelling at his girlfriend. "Run faster, don't slow down, push through the pain. You want to cry? You want to go home? Well the only way home is that way." I was willing to trip the man in order to silence the piercing tirade. Eventually the yelling stopped. Maybe she threw him in the bay. The negative comments were was replaced by my gasping breath. Pure effort. My right hamstring started to quiver. This has to be a joke. Since when does my hamstring cramp? You.will.not.cramp.now. There's no time. Rounded the corner for the last 1/4 mile, thinking I'd be happy with 2:05:59. Happy until I glanced at my Garmin. Forget it. If I can find a little more speed from somewhere...2:04:57! 3 happy seconds!
Hindsight 20/20 Evaluation:
The weather was perfect. Cool but not cold. Manageable winds. My nutrition went well in the sense that I never ran out of energy, however, missing half the water stops will bite you in the butt. I cramped pretty badly after finishing the race and most of the way back to the car. Thank goodness I had set up a little recovery center in the back of the Element. Didn't have any problems with GI distress.
Pace: I did everything I wanted to do except break 2 hours. The Garmin was my enabler for the early miles where all the dodging made it hard for me to get a feel for my pace. During the mid-sections I used it like stopwatch. The nice part about the Garmin is that you get a lot more data than just time. Several runners commented that the course was long (13.4+) so I checked my data. Similar figure. Looking at the splits, most of extra mileage came during the straight sections so it's not a matter of dodging runners or missing the tangents. Doesn't really matter for the record books but, in the armchair quarterback version of the day it does explain why the mile splits disappointed me. Give me a less crowded race where I don't waste energy in the first 3 miles, 1:59 is there.
For future races:
Distracted. would be a good word for this race. All the pre-race confidence disappeared during the week, leaving me with one thought as I cheered the 15K finishers: what the hell happened to 2 hour girl? How can all the gusto disappear so quickly? Carrying the positive energy into race day is one of my challenges as an athlete.
It was very hard to hold the positive vibe with all the bustle of race weekend: packet pick up, sponsorship activities, transporting runners, orienteering class, getting everything together Joe's first running event, and general duties that go along with hosting a house full of guests. It was a fun weekend with friends but it definitely brought home the point that for big races, I need to limit my responsibilities to me, myself, and I.
Brew a pot of coffee version:
Race morning was almost a disaster. We got a late start from the house which stressed me out. I tried to calm down because Saturday, we needed only 20 minutes to drive to the race start. Even with the late departure we should arrive 45 minutes before the race. Or not. Traffic was backed up from downtown onto the interstate. My "easy warmup" was a 10 minute dash to the starting line. 5 minutes to spare. They were playing the National Anthem as I exited the porto potties. We tried in vain to move towards the front of the pack.
The Race:
There is nothing more frustrating than being caught far back in the pack on a crowded course. When we reached a narrow overpass, people started to WALK!!!
Mile 1 was 40 seconds slower than planned Mile 2 was 20 seconds off. As was mile 3. There was open space. Sprint to get around this pack. Immediately slam on the breaks as everyone crowds around the next turn. The crowd was so thick I missed several mile markers. Forget about most of the water stops. They were randomly placed in the middle of every other mile. No way to get over to them.
So I had a good sulk for about a mile. Fester, fester, fester, rot, rot, rot. Yes, the Garmin pushed me to stay under 10 minute miles but it cannot part the runners. 1:59 will have to wait for another day. The remaining question was: do I mail it in or do I race?
For all the talk about speed and potential donations if I broke 2 hours, the point of the race was to run as fast as I could. To see if I could push the pace over a long distance without backing down. Racing is a skill that must be practiced. Maybe the first 4 miles were doomed but there was still a lot to learn in the last 9.1 miles.
Around mile 6, the course moved out onto the wide and beautiful Bayshore Blvd. Finally some space! I can find a steady pace! No time to wonder if I can hold the pace for 9 miles. Ask only if I can hold it for one more mile. With room to run and a 3 mile straight path, surely I could make up some time. Nope. 9:26ish miles. Disappointing. It felt like I was running much faster. As always, the internal committee took the opportunity to remind me that I was failing so why bother.
Fortunately, mile 10 appeared. 5K was left on the course. Time check. 30 minutes won't cut it. Gonna have to be about 29 minutes if I want 2:05 (my initial goal). Ouch. The only thing I really remember about the last 5K is this guy with a thick accent yelling at his girlfriend. "Run faster, don't slow down, push through the pain. You want to cry? You want to go home? Well the only way home is that way." I was willing to trip the man in order to silence the piercing tirade. Eventually the yelling stopped. Maybe she threw him in the bay. The negative comments were was replaced by my gasping breath. Pure effort. My right hamstring started to quiver. This has to be a joke. Since when does my hamstring cramp? You.will.not.cramp.now. There's no time. Rounded the corner for the last 1/4 mile, thinking I'd be happy with 2:05:59. Happy until I glanced at my Garmin. Forget it. If I can find a little more speed from somewhere...2:04:57! 3 happy seconds!
Hindsight 20/20 Evaluation:
The weather was perfect. Cool but not cold. Manageable winds. My nutrition went well in the sense that I never ran out of energy, however, missing half the water stops will bite you in the butt. I cramped pretty badly after finishing the race and most of the way back to the car. Thank goodness I had set up a little recovery center in the back of the Element. Didn't have any problems with GI distress.
Pace: I did everything I wanted to do except break 2 hours. The Garmin was my enabler for the early miles where all the dodging made it hard for me to get a feel for my pace. During the mid-sections I used it like stopwatch. The nice part about the Garmin is that you get a lot more data than just time. Several runners commented that the course was long (13.4+) so I checked my data. Similar figure. Looking at the splits, most of extra mileage came during the straight sections so it's not a matter of dodging runners or missing the tangents. Doesn't really matter for the record books but, in the armchair quarterback version of the day it does explain why the mile splits disappointed me. Give me a less crowded race where I don't waste energy in the first 3 miles, 1:59 is there.
For future races:
Distracted. would be a good word for this race. All the pre-race confidence disappeared during the week, leaving me with one thought as I cheered the 15K finishers: what the hell happened to 2 hour girl? How can all the gusto disappear so quickly? Carrying the positive energy into race day is one of my challenges as an athlete.
It was very hard to hold the positive vibe with all the bustle of race weekend: packet pick up, sponsorship activities, transporting runners, orienteering class, getting everything together Joe's first running event, and general duties that go along with hosting a house full of guests. It was a fun weekend with friends but it definitely brought home the point that for big races, I need to limit my responsibilities to me, myself, and I.
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