Fontana Dam 5k

After a very disappointing year, I'm starting to get back into the swing of things.  I'm not quite ready to race a 5k and will be way off of my PR, but tomorrow's 5k will get the gears going for what I hope will be a better end to the year in terms of running.  I'll be doing the Fontana Dam 5k and Chris will be running the 10k event.  We chose this event for several reasons:

•  it's down the road from where we honeymooned 4 years ago so it's very dear to us
• it's FLAT and fast - probably only 50 total elevation change in the mountains which is ridiculous
• it's got gorgeous scenery
• it's a small event that only had a few competitors last year (but those that were there were fast) so it'll give Chris a good race
• it had two events - given my setbacks, i'll be doing 1/2 the distances of Chris this fall so we found a series of events to do that had multiple distances:  5k/10k at fontana, 10k/30k at salem lake, 1/2 marathon and full marathon at savannah

I really have no expectations for this race and honestly thought I'd have to scratch all of this last week.  My hip flexor flaired up when I started training again this July and once that got under control, I had to go have two ingrown toenails partially removed.  Things got much better after that (last week) but then we went river tubing Saturday and my foot slipped on a rock and got wedged in the rock pile, peeling back my big toenail.  Lots of R&R and babying it this week led to a good pre-race shakeout last night of 2 miles, but the longest I've logged in the last 6 weeks was a 3.8 mi run.  My times are slowed right now and so I go in with the expectation not to PR, but rather to get a taste of what I've missed and reignite the fire!  

Catchup

This spring we had the great fortune of going out to the BIG SUR marathon weekend where I was able to slug out the 10.6 mi (breathtakingly beautiful) run with an injured hip flexor.  The next week I got first place in my age group at the New River 5K race, despite it being my slowest 5k ever.  The course had about 3/4 mi climb followed by a 3/4 mi decent that destroyed my knees.  That on top of my diagnosed rector femoris hip flexor tendonitis made for a rough go of the spring.  The summer was occupied with maintenance miles and dissertation writing.  But I finished (I'm now Dr. J) and am starting to get really excited about running again.  This weekend we pick up our new family addition - Oliver - an 8 week old German Shorthaired Pointer.  We're very excited to have a dog finally and maybe even more excited for a running partner!!  The breeder has been sending us pictures and he sure looks like a runner to me:

Oliver - 7 weeks

Recap

So the next 24 hours could be considered our "Puppymoon" (I've had several friends go on Babymoons before the baby comes...so why not Puppymoon?).  We'll be camping at the base of the Fontana Dam, getting up in the morning for races, stopping in Asheville for lunch (so many amazing choices!), and coming home to pick up Mr. Oliver.  Yay!  

Race Preview - The Bear!

I can't help but say the name of this race with a mountain scroungy voice "The Beeaaarrrr!"  

A bit over a year ago, Chris and I were joking on a run as I was telling him about some of the crazy races I heard about growing up in Boone including this "ridiculous race up to the very top of Grandfather Mountain.  I mean, it's like straight up, ha!  Those people are crazy."  His reply - "what about 2010?  If we were able to even finish it..." and a dream began.  Now, we know we will not only be able to finish (and not get picked up by the sag wagon) but also finish strong.  Times are not so important to us here - more of a race against one's self, although Chris wants to place top 10% of males and I'd be happy with top 25% of females and a time somewhere in the 55-60 min range.

The blog's been quiet this last month as intense training picked up after the Biltmore 15k.  Each week typically went like this:  Sunday = rest, Monday = track workout (8-10x 400s), Tuesday = 3-5 miles, Wednesday = hill workout, Thursday = rest or 3 easy, Friday = 3-5 miles, Saturday = Long run of 6-10 miles of hilly of a route as possible.

The hill workouts were a blast (well, somedays) so long as the heat wasn't too terrible.  After a 1.25 mile jog through the neighborhood to the park where the track is, there is a big ole hill with streets 1/4 mile long that go straight up it.  "Hanes Hill," as I've dubbed it, ranges from 8-20% grade with the last 150 ft leveling out which helps in the "up and over" a hill mentality and recovery training.  The first week I started with 3 laps of Hanes Hill before a recovery jog back home.  Each week thereafter, I added 1-2 laps and tried to notch my lap time down.

The real test came a week and a half ago - Pilot Mountain.  Our plan was to make it out there a few times, but schedules have been busy so we only had one chance at this.  The road from the ranger station to the top parking lot is 2.0 miles with an elevation gain of 974 feet.  The grade starts at 7% and steadily increases to 12% at the top of the mountain with many switchbacks.  It's a great analog to The Bear, being a bit steeper than the last 2 miles of that race.  The hope is that the long hilly runs in addition to track and hill workouts will give me the stamina and endurance needed to make it to the top of Grandfather.  I usually feel more confident if I can practice the course ahead of time, but this is not a public course for people to run.  I've visited Grandfather several times in the past though and am quite familiar with the famous switchbacks on the climb to the top.  

My reward for a hard earned finishers medal - a weekend in paradise!  The hubby and I will be pampered Friday morning with massages (and a birthday pedicure for me) before heading out to Valle Crucis to stay at a bed & breakfast for the rest of the weekend.  I'm quite excited about the vacation and can't wait to sneak a run or two in on the side of the Watauga River.  I used to spend summers at Camp Broadstone on the river and have many fond memories of capture the flag and catching lightening bugs.  Did I mention that I can't wait!?!?!  :D  

Race Preview - Biltmore 15K

Blog's been quiet lately - it's been crazy busy at work but not to worry - the mileage hasn't slacked. I'll try to post April totals after this weekend.

This Sunday we'll be up in beautiful Asheville NC to race at the fabulous Biltmore Estate for the 13th Annual (and last) Biltmore/Kiwanis 15K. With a 7:20 am start, it'll be an early morning but the weather should be crisp and perfect for 80 minutes of racing.

The Course: The race starts at the winery and climbs to the Deerpark Restaurant (about a 1 mile hill at 2-3%). The course continues down to the main road, ducking under I-40 twice through stone covered passages before heading up the next hill on the Approach Road (about 1 mile at 2-3%). Topping out in elevation as you wind through the parking lots at 4 1/2 miles, the worst is over. The Approach Road then approaches (ha!) the estate manor, following the u-shaped drive that passes by the massive front doors and lion statues at mile 6. From here on, it'll be easy breezes downhill as the course winds through the walled garden and past the Bass Pond at mile 7. The final stretch of the race will be on the flattened Approach Road back to the winery parallel to the river. At mile 8 the peaceful lagoon will be on the left before coming across the finish line with spectators cheering loudly.

To summarize: 9.3 miles with two challenging hills with a mostly flat-to-downhill second half. It should be a great run if I don't get too distracted by the grounds and estate! In terms of a goal time, I've left it pretty broad on this race because I'm not very familiar with the course and won't be acclimated to mountain air. 8:30-9 min pace would put me at 80-85 minutes. With the infrequency of 15K races, I'm not too worried about PRing anytime soon in this distance so I plan to just go out, run hard and have some fun. The in-laws will be there as our personal cheering section and are allowing us to take them out for a epicurious exploration of Asheville's vegetarian/vegan restaurants afterwards. I love Asheville and don't make it up there enough considering it is less then 2 hours down the road. After this crazy week at work, I'm excited about getting out of W-S and playing in the mountains with the hubby!

Race Preview - Pilot Mountain Payback Half Marathon

Several months back, I decided to do a half marathon and saw this event - the Pilot Mountain Payback. It's the inaugural running, it's local, it's cheap, it's small (capped at 200 runners), and it's a cool trail run. There is a half marathon and full marathon (the full goes to the top of the summit!). So I bit and signed up for the half. The race was scheduled for February but was postponed due to all the snow we were having. So here we are on race eve - time for a quick preview.

I've been training all winter. Logging lots of mileage and lots of long runs. I've gotten some trail running on my feet, but not as much as I would have liked. The trails ranged from wide/flat packed dirt, to super technical, to a path in the woods. I wanted to check out the Pilot Mtn trails all winter but they kept closing them due to the wintry conditions. The race is predominantly run on the Corridor Trail which links the Yadkin River area of the park to the base of the Pilot Mtn summit. Sunday Chris and I were able to stop by and take a peek at the Corridor Trail. We were too warn out from our busy weekend to do a short run on the trail so we walked it for a few minutes. I'd have to say it is more difficult than I had in my mind. I thought this bridle trail would be more like Salem Lake or the New River Trail but in all reality it falls somewhere between Owl's Roost Trail and Claytor Lake Trail.

Two days ago we got an email from the race director with more detailed information. There were two shockers in the packet. First, the trail is an out and back (as expected) but there are 6 streams that cross the trail. When I signed up I knew there were a few water crossings, but 12 water crossings with "up to 6 inches of water" is more than I was bargaining for. (Any water crossing tips from trail runners welcome!!!). I figured I'd just go with the flow and see how others go across. The other shocker - the course is 14.50 miles instead of 13.1 miles. This prompted me to begin referring to the race as a "Half" - air quotes used when said aloud too. I already bought my 13.1 Euro magnet for my car - too bad they don't make 14.5 magnets :D. With the delayed race date, I was able to increase my mileage and increase my long runs to 15 miles which I'm very thankful for. I just wish the race director had posted that information earlier! I feel bad for any who are doing this as their first half but have not done runs longer than 12 miles.

With this information, I promptly threw out all paces, goal times, and strategies. There are no age group awards (there are only two 24&under females) and I'm sure I'm no contender for the overall female awards. My new goal: run hard, have fun, and enjoy it. The terrain is 1.5 miles of dirt road and 13.0 miles of trail with 12 water crossings and a 2,000 foot cumulative elevation gain/loss. With over 5 months of training for this under my belt, I'll be glad to check this off my race list and begin training for the other races we have signed up for this spring/summer. I'm curious to see how I'll like a trail race - I have enjoyed logging miles on the trail but races can be a different experience.