Well, how about that. I raced merely 8 days ago and am blogging about it already. I must be bored dedicated. Seriously, where's my cookie?
Well, spoiler alert. I did not PR at Oak Tree. I set my sights on those measly 4 seconds I missed out on last year - well- really - set my sites on a 1:48, which was totally doable, as my tempo runs up to 9 miles are easily averaging 8:15 min mile, which is super awesome toward my super secret yet to be revealed 3:45 marathon goal. Or.....not so secret goal. Anyways, I figured a great half time would give me the boost I needed mid training cycle. Oak Tree is a race I've done before (2017, 2011) and it was situated at the perfect time.
Famous last words.
Spoiler alert about this course - it ain't easy. It starts out nice and flat with a few rollers, then changes to dirt with a screaming down hill at mile 3, which you spend the next 3 miles making up for on dirt/pebble roads. You then descend again at mile 8 and do a few more rollers until you meet that b*tch of a hill you went down at mile 3 and Newton's Law of Motion goes into effect...and you go up....at mile 11...for over a mile. On dirt. Last year it rained and this was miserable, and I left the course with 4 seconds to go under 1:50.
So, in a nutshell, I had a bone to pick with this course.
Race morning dawned with no rain at all in the forecast. Sweet. It also was 75 degrees by 7am. Efffff. I made the solo trip to Geneseo (also my alma mater), enjoying the peace and quiet that I never get in the car. (I also did not listen to the Wheels on the Bus. Swearsies).
Arrived at 7:15, took care o bidness, and found some of my crazy running friends who also thought that runningthrough an inferno sounded like a good idea. We crazy. I actually had a hand held, which is something I never do during a race, but figured water every two miles when it was so damn hot was a bad plan. Race gun sounded at 8am, and we were off!
Miles 1-3 were pretty uneventful - I held a 7:50-8:00 pace which is perfect, since this is a race where a little time in the bank is essential for mile 11. I got passed by a few speedy friends, and settled into about the top quarter of the pack - this race attracts some seriously good runners, so I had no illusions other than to end in a 1:4x:xx. Game on.
At mile 3, one of my Roc Running Co friends caught up to me, and we played leap frog for a few miles...she is usually about 5 minutes faster in a half than I am, so I felt pretty good about my speed....until mile 5, when the wheels came off. Did I mention at mile 1 in town there was a clock with the time and the temperature...and it was already 83 degrees and humid at 8:05. Yeah. That. And 40 minutes into the race, it caught me. I just couldn't breathe. My 8 minute miles became 8:30s, and then a few 9...9:30s in, simply because I had to stop to breathe.
Crap. It's hot AF out here. (Tip - do not google hot AF images and expect good things to come up. Well....they might be good. But don't ever do it on a work computer. Just saying.)
At mile 7 my garmin read 59:49 and I knew for all intents and purposes a PR was not in the books for the day. So I held on. My Speedy Roc Runner friend leapfrogged again and I decided to try to see how long I could hold her off. Until mile 8 when I saw her ahead of me and I started to feel a bit delusional....when did she pass me?? Wow. Mile 9, 10...in 1:24...and then....screw you, mile 11. I employed a power walk strategy (thank you, Lake Placid hills) and the gods that run the race handed out mini water bottles to us trudging warriors in the 85 degree mess. I remembered fondly the mud and cold from last year at this point and wondered why on earth I thought this was a reason to complain....Rae, you are a moron. Mile 11= 10:53, and 1:46 on the clock as we hit mile 12. As soon as the hill was behind me I hit the gas, speeding by people with a force I didn't know I had (which tells me clearly my legs were not the problem!) I hit the track at 12.75, sailing it in for a 1:54 finish, a good 6 minutes slower than I was hoping for, and totally shot.
Then out of nowhere came Speedy Roc Runner (SRR) friend. What?? She congratulated me and I realized we had twinning Roc runners who fooled me at my mirage of mile 8. Whoops. And I decided to embrace the suckiness of the day - SRR told us she finished 8 minutes slower than usual, and the speed demon friend that passed me at mile 1 finished in 1:48, 11 minutes slower than last year. So I guess Oak Tree = 3, Rae = 0, but in the field I'll take it. I ended up with an age group award (as the winner was first overall) and 13th out of 137 women, which in a race like this, I will take all day.
Placid redemption? Not yet. But I gave it all I had, and managed a nice speed session the day after the race, which means my legs are ready for Green Mountain, and it just better not be 90 damn degrees.
In other news, I finally reconciled with my bike, and it looks like we might not be splitsville after all. She's still a pain in my ass, but at the end of the day, like most relationships, I love her. But that's a different story for a different day.
Oak Tree...we are not finished. I'll be baaaaack (My Schwarzenegger sucks).
Well, spoiler alert. I did not PR at Oak Tree. I set my sights on those measly 4 seconds I missed out on last year - well- really - set my sites on a 1:48, which was totally doable, as my tempo runs up to 9 miles are easily averaging 8:15 min mile, which is super awesome toward my super secret yet to be revealed 3:45 marathon goal. Or.....not so secret goal. Anyways, I figured a great half time would give me the boost I needed mid training cycle. Oak Tree is a race I've done before (2017, 2011) and it was situated at the perfect time.
Famous last words.
Spoiler alert about this course - it ain't easy. It starts out nice and flat with a few rollers, then changes to dirt with a screaming down hill at mile 3, which you spend the next 3 miles making up for on dirt/pebble roads. You then descend again at mile 8 and do a few more rollers until you meet that b*tch of a hill you went down at mile 3 and Newton's Law of Motion goes into effect...and you go up....at mile 11...for over a mile. On dirt. Last year it rained and this was miserable, and I left the course with 4 seconds to go under 1:50.
So, in a nutshell, I had a bone to pick with this course.
Race morning dawned with no rain at all in the forecast. Sweet. It also was 75 degrees by 7am. Efffff. I made the solo trip to Geneseo (also my alma mater), enjoying the peace and quiet that I never get in the car. (I also did not listen to the Wheels on the Bus. Swearsies).
Arrived at 7:15, took care o bidness, and found some of my crazy running friends who also thought that running
Miles 1-3 were pretty uneventful - I held a 7:50-8:00 pace which is perfect, since this is a race where a little time in the bank is essential for mile 11. I got passed by a few speedy friends, and settled into about the top quarter of the pack - this race attracts some seriously good runners, so I had no illusions other than to end in a 1:4x:xx. Game on.
At mile 3, one of my Roc Running Co friends caught up to me, and we played leap frog for a few miles...she is usually about 5 minutes faster in a half than I am, so I felt pretty good about my speed....until mile 5, when the wheels came off. Did I mention at mile 1 in town there was a clock with the time and the temperature...and it was already 83 degrees and humid at 8:05. Yeah. That. And 40 minutes into the race, it caught me. I just couldn't breathe. My 8 minute miles became 8:30s, and then a few 9...9:30s in, simply because I had to stop to breathe.
At mile 7 my garmin read 59:49 and I knew for all intents and purposes a PR was not in the books for the day. So I held on. My Speedy Roc Runner friend leapfrogged again and I decided to try to see how long I could hold her off. Until mile 8 when I saw her ahead of me and I started to feel a bit delusional....when did she pass me?? Wow. Mile 9, 10...in 1:24...and then....screw you, mile 11. I employed a power walk strategy (thank you, Lake Placid hills) and the gods that run the race handed out mini water bottles to us trudging warriors in the 85 degree mess. I remembered fondly the mud and cold from last year at this point and wondered why on earth I thought this was a reason to complain....Rae, you are a moron. Mile 11= 10:53, and 1:46 on the clock as we hit mile 12. As soon as the hill was behind me I hit the gas, speeding by people with a force I didn't know I had (which tells me clearly my legs were not the problem!) I hit the track at 12.75, sailing it in for a 1:54 finish, a good 6 minutes slower than I was hoping for, and totally shot.
Then out of nowhere came Speedy Roc Runner (SRR) friend. What?? She congratulated me and I realized we had twinning Roc runners who fooled me at my mirage of mile 8. Whoops. And I decided to embrace the suckiness of the day - SRR told us she finished 8 minutes slower than usual, and the speed demon friend that passed me at mile 1 finished in 1:48, 11 minutes slower than last year. So I guess Oak Tree = 3, Rae = 0, but in the field I'll take it. I ended up with an age group award (as the winner was first overall) and 13th out of 137 women, which in a race like this, I will take all day.
Placid redemption? Not yet. But I gave it all I had, and managed a nice speed session the day after the race, which means my legs are ready for Green Mountain, and it just better not be 90 damn degrees.
In other news, I finally reconciled with my bike, and it looks like we might not be splitsville after all. She's still a pain in my ass, but at the end of the day, like most relationships, I love her. But that's a different story for a different day.
Oak Tree...we are not finished. I'll be baaaaack (My Schwarzenegger sucks).
1. *passes cookie*
ReplyDelete2. Heat like that blows...and blows up race plans.
3. Glad you made up with your bike.