ASYMCA Mud Run - Run


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Camp Pendleton, California
United States
Camp Pendleton Race Series
60F / 16C
Overcast
Total Time = 43m 21s
Overall Rank = 2/1405
Age Group = M130-34
Age Group Rank = 1/187
Pre-race routine:

Alarm clock went off at 6am. Got up, got some coffee and a banana from the lobby, and headed for the race. I hadn't officially registered yet so I found Dawn and she got me all set up.
Event warmup:

Went out and got a nice 20min jog and did some good stretching.
Run
  • 43m 21s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 06m 59s  min/mile
Comments:

Strong run. I pushed my way up to the front of the start line and within 50m I was in the lead. By 200m I settled down a little and slowed my pace a bit. I figured I'd just run fast enough to stay in front so I adjusted my pace to hold the lead but nothing faster...it felt slow to me but I wasn't going to waste energy that early in the race so I just coasted. Most of the footsteps behind me faded away...maybe 3-4 people still hanging on. About 1 mile in a young kid zipped past me and I got on his heels. He was pushing the pace a little and it felt like we were right about where I thought I could maintain for the rest of the race. From this point out he opened up maybe 25m on me every mile. I talked myself into letting him go. I knew I was running the right pace...anything faster and I probably would have faded at the end. I figured, either he's going to hard and I'll get him down the stretch or he's just a faster runner and he's gonna win...I just had to run my own race. Every once in a while we'd turn a corner and I could see the closest guy behind me about 75m back...he didn't seem to be closing. 2 miles in is where you hit "Suicide Hill". It's a 1.5 mile continuous climb up a ridge. My strategy here was to keep the foot speed up and take small steps. Trying to power up this monster would have just burned my quads out. I just kept thinking about how I ride up steep hills keeping the cadence up and just spinning. Seemed like forever but eventually I made it to the top which meant it was time to go back down. Long steep downhills are tough on the legs and feet. I opened up my stride and tried to just let my legs spin free. I was on the edge of loosing control for a good 3-4min but I knew that everytime my foot hit the ground I was resisting gravity, slowing myself down, and stressing my muscles so I just let it fly. Once I made it down I had a chance to relax a little and cruise on some flat ground (aside from the mud pits and climbing wall). The kid in front was still in sight but had a good 100m on me and seemed to be just as strong as me at the end. When I hit the final super steep 100m hill I knew I was almost home. Just as I crested the hill I saw the water truck coming around the corner. Seems I beat them to the spot...they were about to open up the fire hoses on that dirt hill and make the climb miserable for the other 3498 people behind me. One last steep downhill and I turned the corner for the finish line. There was a big mud pit maybe 50m long and they had a set of bleachers set up on the side. I wish I could have enjoyed it more because there were a few hundred people yelling and cheering me on. i didn't know how close the guy behind me was so I just focused 100% on getting under the ropes strung about 2ft over the mud, over the dirt pile and pouring all I had left into that final 150m run down the grass to the finish line. I got a peek over my shoulder with 50m to go and realized that there wasn't anyone close so I shut it down and coasted to the finish...that's probably the only thing that kept me from puking at the end.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. Considering that I didn't train specifically for this race I did the best I could.
Post race
Warm down:

The usual...concentrate on NOT passing out as I SLOWLY make my way down the finish chute. Also try not to be an A-hole to the volunteers who are trying to get me walking and out of the way for the runners coming behind me. Trust me, I move as fast as I can but that doesn't amount to much when I've just given everything I have down the last 400m. Once I got my senses back I spent some time walking and stretching.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Hill and speed training. I'm peaking for a marathon so I haven't been training to the 10k distance. Also, we have no hills here in SE VA so any climbing at all is tough.

Event comments:

This was a free trip/race. We have a similar Mud Run in August here at NAB Little Creek and the grand prize is a free trip out to Camp Pendleton for their race in October. I was 4th overall at the Little Creek race but the first three guys must not have been able to make the tip for whatever reason so I got to go. It was a quick 36 hour round trip to the west coast and back. I caught a 6am flight out of Norfolk on Friday and was back on a plane heading for home by 10pm Saturday night.

The race was a blast...so happy I took advantage of the opportunity even if it was a fairly exhausting coulple days. There were about 3500 people running (lots of teams) so this is a relatively big production. They had lots of space for everyone and the organization was very good. My only complaint is that the beer wasn't free. Our version of the Mud Run has free beer and pizza for everyone after the race. Aside from water, gator, bananas, and oranges, you had to pay for the food and beer.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2005-10-20 12:00 AM
Running
00:43:21 | 06.21 miles | 06m 59s  min/mile
Age Group: 1/187
Overall: 2/1405
Performance: Good
Didn't wear my HRM.
Course: Very fun course with several water crossings and a bunch of obstacles. They had tires, tunnels, walls, and mud pits. Definitely not a flat course either. At about the 2 mile point you start a 1.5 mile climb up a ridge covering about 450 verticle feet brfore hitting the top and screming down the back side over the next 1 mile. Then about 800m from the finish you hit another very steep ~100m hill. Luckily I got there before the water truck was set up and dumped a few 100 gallons down the dirt road turning it into a mud slide. http://www.camppendletonraces.com/images/map_mud.jpg
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4