Run
Comments: Only one of the usual top two in my AG for this race showed up. I had hopes of dueling with the usual winner and, indeed, stayed with him comfortably through the big climb up from the start to the fire road where all but 1/2 mile of the course runs, but he left me on the first descent and I knew I was destined for no better than 2nd in the AG. I've been running with a trail running club since after my first ultra (a 50K) in the fall and we had quite a few runners entered. I spent a good chunk of the first third of the race running stride for stride with a club member who ended up 2nd overall woman, but she separated from me at an aid station and I never caught up to her. (I'd beaten her in the last trail race we'd both done, but she was feeling it today.) I've run on this road ("dirt Mulholland"...the closed-to-traffic section of Mulholland Highway) a zillion times over the years. We live in the flats down below it, so it is a go-to route for marathon training runs. Footing is generally good and the track is very wide, but it is never flat---the course had three major grades, each of which you had to climb and descend and it finishes with a nasty 3/4 mile ascent, followed by a treacherous, rocky slope back down to the finish at a parking area below the fire road. My PTT and back injury both held off enough that I was able to race to potential. I was targeting 1:40 or better (my PR on a flat road course is 1:35:30)--at the summit before the final 1/4 mile drop to the finish, I was at 1:38:45. I decided it wasn't worth a broken arm (or neck) to try to get in by 1:40...settled for 1:40:08. What would you do differently?: Nothing, really. I missed some training while nursing the arch injury, but still had a ton of fitness from LA Marathon (and had both marathon and 5K PRs this spring). Post race
Warm down: Walked around a bit, but portapotty was--frankly--the first priority. :) This was my first ever age group podium finish at a race longer than 10K (I did finish 2nd in a trail 12K, previously, but they only gave medals for 1st at that one). Got a cute little acrylic plaque and a pair of Injinji toe socks (which were in my wife's size...and she loves them, so she got them). What limited your ability to perform faster: Arch and ankle injury necessitated switching back to an older--and relatively heavy--pair of motion control shoes. That, along with the sore arch and ankle, probably cost me a little. Event comments: One of the more established trail races in LA. Course is not USATF certified as a half marathon (and is shown as long on the Map My Run course map on the race website). Very much a grass roots, trail run/ultra run vibe, but well-organized. Last updated: 2015-06-11 12:00 AM
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United States
Trail Run Events
70F / 21C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 27/351
Age Group = M 55-59
Age Group Rank = 2/20
Last minute decision to enter (Thursday afternoon for Sunday morning race). Had been doing a lot of group runs on the course with my trail running club over the last month or so, but have been working through a flareup of my chronic post-tib tendonitis since mid-April, as well as some recurring mid-back spasms since late January. Saw my orthopedist/sports doc about both on Thursday morning and decided I was healthy enough that I wouldn't be wasting my money signing up.
This was the 14th year for this trail half marathon, but I'd never done it. (Hadn't done a trail half since 2010, actually.) Looking at the results, the same two guys had been 1-2 in my age group for the last 5 years. Both were a couple years older and slowing down, but still probably a stretch for me to knock off one, let alone both.
Some easy jogging around the starting area.