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Monday, February 21, 2011

Hagg Lake Trail 25k Recap + 10 weeks left!

J and I spent last weekend out volunteering at Hagg Lake Trail (MUD!) 50k and 25k races. We spent all of Saturday volunteering at the finish line (which was also an aid station before the second loop) and then on Sunday, J volunteered at an aid station and the finish line, and I ran and volunteered at the finish line. (It was packed when I finished, and I jumped right into the same duties I did yesterday.) Volunteering was fun, and there were a lot of great runners out there this weekend. How they finished as fast as they did on those rough trail conditions just leaves me in awe!

Onto the 25k recap!

Mud. Mud. Mud. If you ever do this race, don’t let the first 8 or so miles deceive you. The last half-ish of the race is a big dirty, slippery mess. I don’t think I saw anyone finish the 50k who didn’t fall! My goal going into this race was to stay on my feet. And, as long as hand contact on the ground doesn’t count…I succeeded!!!

The first several miles entailed what I consider “average” dirt trail, much like the Wildwood Trail. This section was tough with the hills and and all, but overall not too bad. There was a section of washed out trail where you have to get through some mud. I didn’t mind since I knew what was to come. But others tried their best to get around it. I didn’t feel like hurting myself trying to do that, so through the mud I went!

I saw J at the aid station about 6 miles in, and quickly moved on after refilling my water bottle. A few more miles later, the muddiness began, and didn’t end until we crossed the finish line.

First up was the slick mud. Easy goes it with shuffling and trying to stay on my feet. This is where I pulled, what I refer to as a Spiderman pose. One foot out to the side and both hands on the ground. But I was still on my feet! This continued on for miles, with slick up hills, slick down hills, and slick flats. There were a few breaks in dry dirt and on the road, but the slipping really takes a toll on your legs.

I was counting down the miles, hoping for some glimpse of the finish as my legs were begging me to stop! And then I saw the boat ramp at the parking lot, and knew it was only a small bit of trail afterward to the finish line! But first, holy boggy mud!!! Mud up to mid-calf. This section went on longer than I expected it seemed like it could, and when I finished I only had to slug my 5-lbs blocks of shoes a little ways farther to the finish line.

3:14:13 – later, and the finish line was packed, and I could tell all the volunteers were scrambling to get things done, so I jumped in and started helping out. Which probably explains the extreme soreness I’m grappling with today! Ouch!182409_10150098831612771_243070527770_6341336_2181750_nNot the best picture of the mud, but pretty much knees and below = mud.

On the marathon training front, we are about 10 weeks away from the Eugene Marathon and everything is going well so far. I’ve decided against doing any speed training at least this go around because I want to avoid any injuries as we up our mileage. So far so good! Next weekend is our first 20-miler!! And it doesn’t seem nearly as daunting as it once did! I’m actually kinda looking forward to it! :)

Monday, February 7, 2011

Lazy Blogger

Not much new to report.

We’ve kept up our training for the Eugene Marathon. Since we started our training, I’ve felt a little tenderness in the shin area, and since last week was a cut back week, I took it seriously and ran a total of 2 times, and made sure to massage and ice my shins as much as I could! They have definitely felt better the last few runs, so I think I made a good choice. When cutting back like that, it’s hard not to feel lazy, but I just had to keep telling myself: “It’s better to take a few lazy days now, than a few lazy months later!” And truthfully, my goal for this (my first) full marathon is just to finish! And I can’t finish if I injure myself during training!

So I don’t have anything too exciting to post. January was my highest mileage month ever, about 0.4 miles more than my only other month over 100 miles. Not too shabby. I’m expecting the next few months to be even higher; I just hope my shins hold out for me!

The weekend before last, we finished a 15-miler for our long run, our longest consecutive run ever. It felt pretty good, too, except for the last 0.5-0.75 miles. That’s when our legs started to feel heavy, but I expect that’s probably going to happen as we continue to increase our mileage; it’s kinda far to run!

We have 16 miles planned for next weekend, plus I have to work Saturday. I predict I will be tired next week! Oh the joys of marathon training!