Race Recap - Biltmore 15k

The race went pretty much as expected. Boring I know... Allow me try to narrate some of the more interesting points.

Dinner before the race: ate at The Laughing Seed Cafe, a vegetarian and vegan restaurant in Asheville. Amazing. Eat there if you get the chance and try something exotic! We filled up and then were sleeping like logs at 9pm in the hotel.

Race morning: woke up at 4:30 am and tuned into the Weather Channel. Asheville conditions: 60 degrees (perfect!) and 100% humidity (whaaaaattt?!?!?!?). 100% humidity is AWFUL. oh well - not much you can do about that. We picked up Chris' parents and headed to Biltmore at 6 am, watching the sun try to cut through the dense fog that engulfed the scenery. We got a good 15-20 min jog in to warm up and stretched out.

The start: The start line was a mess. 5k gun time was 7:15 am and 15k was 7:20 am. We headed to a mess of a crowd, groups of 5k'ers and 15k'ers jumbled up talking and spread out. When the 5k gun went off, let's just say there were lots of 5k people that had to be told to "go run." We quickly made our way closer to the start line and positioned ourselves in the front quarter of runners. It took ~9 seconds to get to the start banner from the time the gun went off.

The race: The race started with a decline for 1/4 mile before leveling out. I followed Chris down the left edge of the road, mixing a bit of gravel/shoulder in to get around the crowd until I found a pocket after 1/2 mile and settled in. My thinking was to keep the first half purposefully relaxed and to not push it too much because of the two hills. The first mile came in 8:30. A bit fast but I wasn't too worried because I was feeling good and pulling back a bit. Soon we passed a barn (I think - it was pretty foggy) and I caught a glimpse of the Morgan horses and heard some goats bleating/cheering us on. The first "moderate" hill came during the second mile. It was less than I thought. There was only a short steep part right at the end of the second mile as we crested the hill at the Deerpark Restaurant.

Mile 3 was predominantly downhill and somewhat steep but I love downhills like this. I was able to push the downhill, picking off people one by one, while concentrating on breathing to recover from Mile 2. I estimate mile 3 was close to 8:00. At the bottom of the hill we took a right turn and started what seemed to be the longest hill in all of western NC. Having "mapped" the course out online ahead of time, I knew that Hill #2 (mile 4) was a little longer than Hill #1 (mile 2). Um, wrong. Hill #2 was never ending, winding back and forth through the woods with nothing to pass that would distract you except trees. I wanted to push this hill a bit knowing that the top of it would be the end of hills for the course and I could cruise/push the downhill/flat parts of the course. I did not manage this hill as well as I should have, likely starting too aggressive at the bottom. The massive side stitch that I couldn't shake until the top probably didn't help either. I did manage to get my gel down without losing stride and it kicked in the last bit of the hill. Mile 4 cost me more time than I would have liked.

Just before Mile 5, we wove through the parking lots and passed another water station. Just after the aid tables, there were two Biltmore shuttle vans parked and an attendant standing beside them. I was feeling much better (having conquered the final bad hill of the course) and managed to shout a joking "Hey, you giving shortcut rides out?" to the chuckling bystander. Up a short hill and out of the parking lots, we approached the house. I picked up the pace a bit to shake another runner who wasn't keeping a consistent pace and relaxed down the approach drive of the house. With all the fog, the house was elusive until you made the turn the run across the front of the house. I ran past the photographers and headed away from the house and down into the walled garden.

I remember looking forward to running through the garden on the last weekend of the "Festival of Flowers" but in hindsight, I barely remember the garden and can just remember calculating pace when I passed the 6 mile mark and getting a time. Out of the gardens, we wound our way downhill to the next aid station. These guys rocked! I think they had Asheville Track Club shirts on (forgive me if it was another group) and they were the most encouraging bunch of people out there on the course. The bridge over the bass pond was one of those arched bridges you expect to see a carriage come across...too cute. I managed to squeeze out a bit more of the gel from my pack, realizing I was tiring and still had another 2.5 miles.

The last stretch was nice and flat (the 5k course) and wound along the French Broad River and the Lagoon. Runners were pretty spread by this point and I found this part of the course very relaxing. I set into a comfortable stride to push the flat part. A bit worried about burning out, I think I was holding about an 8:45 pace that was comfortably difficult after having run the rest of the course. I aimed to make it under 1:25 at this point. Turning over my legs, I started picking off runners. I find this is the most motivating thing I can do when tired and coming towards a finish. I put my laser sights on someone's back and slowly catch/pass them. There was a mixture of runners tiring out and slowing (much easier to pick off), runners keeping pace, and runners coming up behind me from nowhere (I suppose I was their target). Getting passed is okay though. I've gotten enough races under my belt this year to know when to latch on and follow and when to let them go, knowing they are running a different race than I. It's a good motivation and is humbling. I passed the Mile 8 marker and tried to pick up the pace a bit for the final stretch. I think I did get a bit faster, but it felt like I was locked into a pace and struggled with pushing it.

During the warmup jog, we ran by the final 1/2 mile of the course so I knew that not only was there a sign at Mile 9, but there was another sign that read "1/4 Mile to finish". I wanted to start kicking it in at this sign. At Mile 9 marker I picked up the pace a bit more, lengthening my stride and focused on smooth breathing knowing this "1/4 Mile to finish" sign would be upon me soon. I rounded a corner and saw it, thankful that the end was near. There was a (fast) runner who had made his way back to the sign and was cheering in other runners. His encouragement: "1/4 mile - just one lap around the track! You got it!" While I had 1/4 mile in my head, I hadn't thought of it as a lap around the track. It was exactly what I needed to hear. My head sung "one lap - that's nothing!" and my legs responded with an open stride while my arms swung along. Then I saw Chris and smiled. He was making his way toward me so that I could see him before the crowd at the finish - about a third of the way up the steep hill and corner that stood between me and the finish line. His encouragement was well placed. And just as I was coming around the corner thinking "where was this finish line?" I heard his parents "Go Jenni!" which fueled me right through the finish for that final third of the hill. A big thanks to all the Jordans for the cheers.

Gun time: 1:23:54

Chip time: 1:23:58 - 


Actual time:  1:23:45  -  just under 9:00 pace. I was expecting somewhere between 8:45 and 9:00 pace so I was happy with it. Too bad I didn't manage the hills as much as I would have liked...

The gripes:

• The start was quite disorganized/messy.
• The website, packet pickup, program, etc had no mention of whether the mileage would be marked, or if there would be aid stations and how many/what they would have. Turns out there were aid stations with water/gatorade, but I'm glad I brought my clutch anyway.
• The chip timing was a joke. The bibs were gigantic and the chip was a big wire that fit in a baggie on the back of the bib. Nowhere on the course were there RFID systems to get splits. There was no RFID at the start or finish either so the only time you had on the course was "gun time" + however long it took someone to grab you at the finish and hold a wand up to your bib/chip. Chip time is supposed to be less than gun time.
• Spectators had to buy $20 tickets each to come watch/cheer but the only place they could do so was at start/finish. My in-laws napped in the car for an hour so they wouldn't have to stand around (no place to sit).

The grins:

• Photography on course
• Nice tech shirts and medals
• Beautiful course and nice to have the road completely blocked off.
• Good charity
• I placed and got a medal! Hurray!

I wish this wasn't the last year of the race at Biltmore - would really like to run the course again and PR. There is talk of moving it somewhere else which would be great, but definitely not the same appeal.

We wrapped up the day by grabbing showers and checking out of the hotel before heading back to downtown Asheville to grab brunch at the fantastic Early Girl Eatery. Eat there - seriously worth the wait. I got a black bean and cheddar omelet with home fries. Mmmm. Chris' burger was made of local meat ground in-house. Super Yummms. I could eat my way through Asheville - so many good restaurants. The in-laws left after brunch to head home and Chris and I walked all over downtown A'ville for a bit to window-shop and get some of the lactic acid moving out of our muscles. We topped off the walk with a stop by Jack of the Wood and enjoyed a beer before heading back home. It was a great trip. I'd love to come back to Asheville to run some more races - they have a half marathon I'm eying up that is in September.

By the Numbers

The Month of April By the Numbers:

Total Miles Run: 88.92
Total Calories Burned: 11,073
Max/Min Weight: 138/137
Longest Run (miles): 14.5

This post is a bit late due to hectic work schedule. The big event of the month was the Pilot Mountain Payback (also my longest run of the month)- the lead-up, the race, and the recovery. Overall it went well and I was able to jump back into some harder speed work after recovery. The next race is the Biltmore 15K so my mileage is dropping due to an emphasis on speed before this shorter race. Summer is creeping up on us and there have several medium-high ozone warning days which I always struggle with as part of my asthma. I am in a research study currently for asthma and my testing shows that my airways are only 85% of what a "normal" person with my profile would have. I can't imagine what it would be without running - am very thankful for the respiratory strength/capacity I've gained this year.

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!

And onto the next...

Recovery week is over and boy am I glad! It was tough trying to back off paces and run slower last week, especially because my legs were bounding with energy on the roadways and ready to forget the trail. My quads were rightfully "tore up" after the PMPB but are feeling healthy and strong again. During my race I noticed my feet were cramping up because I was trying to grip with my toes on the trail. I have had "bad feet" since I was put into Toeshoe/Pointe ballet class at the age of 9, well before my growth plates were done developing. Alas this was my own fault because I knew the risks and begged night and day. So ever since then, my arches will cramp and charlie-horse with ease on some days in a very painful manner. Such was the case once I pulled off my shoes after the race which made me realize that I treat my poor feet terribly for all that I demand from them. I never stretch them, I never massage them, I never strengthen them.

In a kind gesture of sorts, I headed over to REI this weekend to pick up a new gizmo - the FootRubz! For a $5 investment, I thought it would be worth the curiosity. I l-o-v-e it! I'm notorious for ditching my shoes under my desk at work so I tossed the FootRubz ball under there too. A few times a day I'll sit at my desk and roll my feet with it. Its a massage and stretch in one and I can tell a difference! Love it!

My other purchase was a new pair of shades for being out on the road. I've been running in my "driving sunglasses" - not sporty in the least bit. They are a thick heavy plastic with polarized lenses but they slip off my face and bounce around. The tortoise film is peeling off. These poor things have been through a rough year. Over at REI they have Pepper's brand sunglasses. For $30 I was able to pick up a stylish, sporty pair of sunglasses with the rubberized nose and ear grips to stay put. I'm not even kidding when I say they are half the weight of my old ones. And with the polarized lenses, they'll be great for running and driving. It's been rainy the last few runs so I'm looking forward to taking these out for a spin today.

I decided not to purchase a Garmin Forerunner watch while I was at REI. I had been considering it the last few weeks but after putting it on, I ditched the idea quickly. I have itty-bitty wrists and the watchband was on the smallest notch, which worked, but worried me. The watches (I tried several models) are quite cumbersome and heavy too. I'm always open for other ideas or opinions, but I think for now I will table the idea of investing in a $400 computer for my wrist.

In other running news, I've gone music-less for nearly two weeks. I ditched the iPod in preparation for the trail race and haven't picked it up since. I'm finding that I run more in tune with my body and can keep pace much better. It may come back out for a long run here or there, but for the most part I'm going to try to keep earbud-less out on the road. There are so many benefits (safety and running -wise).

Today's planned run: my first speedwork in over two weeks due to tapering and recovery. I've decided to try a new type of track workout for me - a Pyramid. My next race is the Biltmore 15K so I'm focusing on hills and distance, but definitely want to get some good speedwork in. The pyramid will be:

1 mile warmup run to the track

400 m

800 m

1200 m

1600 m

1200 m

800 m

400 m

1 mile cooldown run back home

The pyramid will be at goal 10K pace (8:20ish) and I'll do all the steps at this pace rather than trying to run the shorter steps faster and keeping up with a million different target times. With a 400 m recovery between each, it'll be a pretty long workout - about 4 "hard" miles and 2 "recovery" miles with 2 miles warmup and cooldown. The recovery laps may end up being walked just so I can take off some of the running mileage. I fully anticipate that tomorrow morning's 3 mile run will be even more of a crawl than it usually is...

3 1/2 weeks till Biltmore...

The proof is in the pudding

Pilot Mountain Payback results and pictures have been posted.

Results: http://www.pilotmountainpayback.com/docs/Finishtimes.pdf

I came in 7th overall female - better than I thought when I came across the line. Happy with my finish given the course. Can't wait to smash that time next year!

Pictures:

http://www.backprint.com/view_user_event.asp?PID=bp%19%7FNw&EVENTID=64151&BIB=46&S=230&PWD=

http://www.backprint.com/view_event_photos.asp?PID=bp%19%7FNw&EVENTID=64151&PWD=&START=596&SHOW=35&CAT=0&SUB=0

Nothing glamorous, but just to quiet all you non-believers - I did it! :D

Adventures in the Kitchen

This weekend, one of my favorite running blogs posted a recipe for homemade LaraBars. They looked so easy and yummy that I had to give it a stab. For Julia's recipe, click here (I made the peanut butter cookie ones). After yesterday's Pilot Mountain Payback Half Marathon, my legs are pretty ripped up. With a beautiful spring day not to be wasted, Chris and I went for a walk to our Whole Foods (exactly a mile away) to buy the ingredients - dried dates and peanuts! We came back and 15 min later, voila! Yummy yummy energy bars for the week at a much cheaper cost!

Peanuts + Dates = Yummy Energy Bars!

Race Recap - Pilot Mountain Payback Half Marathon

Yesterday morning started way before the sun was up (5:30 am). Chris made me some coffee and hearty oatmeal to start the day right. Mom came in the night before to help with race support because Chris had to leave a few minutes before the race started to go to a mandatory Saturday workday for his job (bummer!).

The drive to the race was uneventful, but scenic as the sun started to rise over the foothills of the piedmont. Uneventful, that is, until we arrived at the entrance to the Yadkin River Trail area of Pilot Mtn State park. The event directions said to "drive through two streams" and park on the left. These streams were more like swollen creeks after the rain we had this week and nearly came up over the hood of the car (and took off the undercarriage of several cars that came through). With temperatures barely above freezing, the steam coming off the bottoms of the cars was a bit startling to see after the week of 80-degree temps we've been enjoying. I was thankful for the *sweet* PMPB marathon arm warmers we got in our race packets because I was going to be a little cold in a tank top without them.

At 9 am we toed the dirt and were met 50 yards later by the first of 12 water crossings. At about 6' wide and 6" deep it wasn't one to be tiptoed across (water crossing #1). But not to worry - there was no time to fret over wet feet because around the corner from the water crossing was a well placed steep hill (~350 yds and 5% grade) to over a distraction. I'm not a fan of running uphill on loose gravel but it definitely kept me from running out too fast at the start. The course left the dirt road 0.75 miles from the start and we began running a more technical portion of the Corridor Trail which looped back around to the entrance dirt road just after the 2nd stream crossing of the park. We headed north on the dirt road to run through the 1st stream crossing (water crossing #2) which resembled the 1st one. Before reaching the end of the road we hooked left and caught the trail again to find a shallow stream (water crossing #3). Up a short hill and we came to Hauser Rd, running across the road and into the woods for the next 6 miles.

The next 6 miles are a blur except I know there were three more water crossings and a LOT of long, steep uphills followed by long, steep downhills. Around mile 4.5 there was a beautiful vista of the Pilot Mtn summit when we came around the corner at the edge of the woods. Somehow, it didn't seem any closer than it did at the race start. We crossed a few more roads, popping out of the woods and then back into them, which broke up the distance nicely. At mile 8 we go to the base of the summit which was the turnaround point for the half marathon. The lead runners were long gone back down the trail (and flying!) but I was glad to get to the turnaround because Mom was waiting with a 2nd Clutch Bottle of gatorade for me to trade my empty one out for. After a quick dash to the restroom (seeing as how I didn't have finish time in mind), I was back on the trail and heading home. The route back was only 6.5 miles so I knew I was already past the halfway point. Thankfully, the worst uphills were on the first half of the course, but there were still plenty of ridges to traverse to get to the finish. My legs were burning, but my mantra was to "not stop running." There would be no walking for me!

With the goal finish time gone even before the race started, I felt like I needed some kind of goal for running the race. Smile & Push it were my pre-race thoughts, but as the race wore on I saw more and more people start walking. They always say slow and steady wins the race and while I knew I wouldn't win the race, it would help me win my goal of not walking. Granted, I was like a tortoise slowly trucking up the hills. Runners would come up on me in flat/downhill stretches and start walking 50 feet up the hill. I would slowly truck past them at what seemed like a snails pace but each hill I gained more and more distance on them because their run/walk was not as speedy as my "tortoise run" overall. At mile 11 I was met by the last aid station where the group I was with stopped to grab water/food but with my Clutch of Gatorade and Clif bar I brought with me I did not have to stop at all - it was a fantastic plan to bring along my own fuel/nutrition and having trained with it for 5 months I knew I could count on it to get me to the finish. As I was nearing the end of the main Corridor stretch I started looking at my time. My legs were dead and I knew I was closing in on the last 1.5 miles of the 14.5 total distance. It was 2 hr 32 min and I had a mental check with myself. Do you have enough? Can you push it? Is it crazy to try for 2:45 at this point? "What the hell! Let's do it!" I caught a 2nd (or 3rd or 4th) wind and pushed on. I'd already done the hard part - 10 water crossings and about 1600' of the 2000' elevation. A few more hills and I'd be back to Hauser Road (14.0 miles). I popped out of the woods at Hauser and checked the watch: 2:41 and change.

Push it! I tore across the road and made it back to the final stretch of trail. The trail was soft pea gravel/sand and traction was difficult. I came around a corner to the low stream crossing and skimmed over it to the dirt road. Now I just had to make it through the two streams that the cars had to go through and down the final, flat stretch to the finish. I caught sight of a shallower area of the #11 water crossing and went down & up its embankment. One more! The water was icy and cool but some runners who had finished were coming up the course to cheer us in. I came to the last water crossing (and by far the worst). At this point, I'd run over 14.25 of the hardest miles I could have ever prepared for and I just plum didn't care. I plowed through the creek without a thought. The water came up to my knees and I splashed a spray of muddy water behind me. I came up out of the creek embankment and could see the finish at this point. The watch read 2:44:30ish and I had about a 100 yard dash to push through. As I started to kick it in, I realized that my legs were numbed by the creek water and my feet were lead, heavy with water. I pushed and threw a smile up as I saw the finish clock.

2:44:55!

I was able to set a difficult goal mid-race and achieved it in addition to not stopping for the entire race. Yes, it was much slower than my "goal half marathon time" (1:55 for a flat, road course) but this was a time I could be quite proud of given the course. And hey - the elevation change, water crossings, and extra 1.4 miles can only mean a great PR on my next half marathon! The weather was a beautiful 65 degrees and I revealed in my personal victory while stretching out in the open field by the finish line, cheering on the others coming in.

With only 100 half marathoners and 60 full marathoners, this was a small well-organized race. It's great to have it so close and I will definitely be back out on the Corridor Trail logging some miles this summer. I hope the race doesn't grow in size as I loved the small intimate feel of the trail race. For many miles I was by myself in the woods on a spring day reveling in the peace and quite while I uncomfortably pushed my physical limits. I l-o-v-e-d it through and through and can't wait to do it again!

Pics will be posted w/ official results soon.