Spring '10 Backyard Burn Race #1 - Run5 Mile


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Annandale, Virginia
United States
EX2 Adventures
50F / 10C
Sunny
 		Total Time = 35m 44s
Overall Rank = 7/250
Age Group = 30-39
Age Group Rank = 2/51
Pre-race routine:

Woke up about 5:45, had my normal two cups of coffee, bowl of cheerios with a banana and got ready for the race. Left around 7:00, was one of the first ones there, lol. Checked out the re-route of the race so I knew what to expect, also checked out the water levels of the stream crossings, they weren't too bad, I could leap over almost all of them.
Event warmup:

Jogged around for a mile to a mile and a half, did some stretching, had to find a spot to pee again since the two cups of coffee runs through me like crazy.. I need to make sure on the longer events I'm having my morning coffee at least three hours before the start so I don't have any emergency breaks during the race.
Run
  • 35m 44s
  • 5.2 miles
  • 06m 52s  min/mile
Comments:

Goal for this course was to start out fast and hold on as best I could. I was shooting for a podium spot in my age group, and this course is one where a lot of faster road racers sign up since it is the least technical and least hilly of the backyard burn series. I knew about 30-45 seconds in to the race that my training was going well since I was in the top 20 or so overall people through the open road sections before we went in to the singletrack. There were multiple re-routes on this course because of the snowmelt and snow still being on part of the trails, so I'm not sure on the exact mileage of the course today. My GPS said 4.9, but it cut a straight line through all of the singletrack sections, and the race director was claiming that it was pretty close to the original distance since they added sections in there. The overall finishing times seem to be in line with previous years, so I think it is pretty close.
What would you do differently?:

I don't think I was warmed up properly. It was cold at the start and by the time I finished warming up to the point the race started, I had cooled down too much. The first two miles were harder than the last two, and it shouldn't be that way. Next time I'll try to time my warm up to finish right at the start of the pre-race briefing. I'm also quite positive the last mile was one of the fastest miles, so I think it would be smarter to push harder through the middle section of the race.. but that is where the mental part of racing is so tough.
Post race
Warm down:

Just a lot of walking, drinking gatorade. I turned an ankle during the race and my chiro is there as a sponsor, so I got her to pop it back in place. She said it wasn't bad, which is accurate since I was still able to run strong on it until the finish, but I can feel a slight pain in it right now.

Event comments:

Always love EX2 races!!




Last updated: 2010-01-21 12:00 AM
Running
00:35:44 | 05.2 miles | 06m 52s  min/mile
Age Group: 2/51
Overall: 7/250
Performance: Good
Average HR was 164, Max 174, which is almost exactly the same as my last trail race. It's hard to gauge whether or not I have my LT estimate close enough because of the ups/downs and twisty technical running of a trail race. It's hard to maintain HR when running downhill.
Course: 5 mile race course (one loop) .5m .5m Start on road near the new softball fields. Run up the road to a left before the power station. .5m 1.0m Run down to the Cross Country Trail (CCT) to south on the CCT to timing area. Aid Station #1 near timing area (1.0 miles from last aid) .7m 1.7m Run around ball fields to entrance that leads to Accotink. Run north on CCT to Creek Trail trailhead. 1.0m 2.7m Run north on Creek Trail back to CCT Cross bridge then take right onto streamside trail to aid station Aid Station #2 near stream (1.7 miles from last aid) 1.9m 4.6m Run around singletrack trails, including Creek Tr. and Jeep Tr. to aid station Aid Station #3 near stream (1.9 miles from last aid) .9m 5.5m Cross stream and run south toward power station Pass power station and run west toward CCT Follow CCT south to trail that runs to soccer field and finish at timing area 5 mile race finish. Aid Station #4 near timing area (.9 miles from last aid)
Keeping cool Good Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5