Spokane River Run - Run25k


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Spokane, Washington
United States
60sF / 0C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 56m 10s
Overall Rank = 11/218
Age Group = M19-29
Age Group Rank = 1/12
Pre-race routine:

arrived in spokane on saturday afternoon. went to fitness fanatics, checked out some bikes for the gf. fell in love with the qr chicqilo (actually got it for her this past weekend!!!) anyway, the night before had tomatoe street food and ate a pretty much vegan meal (thankfully).

large group of runners from the tricities...ben and robyn did the 50k, ro, fred, erin, lori, and myself did the 25k.

Event warmup:

up at 5 for bagel pb and banana, then light jogging at the race start..cheered robyn off for the 50k.
Run
  • 1h 56m 10s
  • 15.53 miles
  • 07m 29s  min/mile
Comments:

2nd 25k, learned a lot at hagg lake, really wanted to break 2 hours...so the plan was to start at 8 minute pace and slowly build to a nice 7/730 pace...didn't happen :)

first miles were 7 give or take 5 seconds. i felt like i was hanging out, so i wasn't too worried, but my HR was a little high.

mile 3 had a massive climb in it, well, not massive for ultras, but massive for me. got up no issues, except a little slower time. got moving again and ran over the 'moon' rock portion with no issues. actually like this old railroad section b/c it was flat, the rocks were slightly annoying, but the flatness of the section was a welcome sign.

around mile 6 i saw a trail sign outta the corner of my eye, and quickly made a hard right, leading the 3-4 ppl behind me as well. several comments were stated "thank goodness you were leading, i would have missed that!" i was a little worried tho, b/c the guys in front of us had disappeared. but finally, i saw another marking and knew that we were good, but felt bad for the other runners. (they caught up, so i got over it!)

right at mile 7/8 there was a massive downhill, pretty much a cliff. it was slow going, as i made sure to avoid the ankle breaking rocks that were everywhere. i took my only gu right at mile 7. i was starting to feel the 7 minute pace,and knew i needed to fuel (even if it was a mile early).

the gu re-energized me, and i felt good through the hill on 9 and on to mile 10, passing through at 1:14. around here i was passed by 2 guys running 630s, i was really confused, b/c we had some decent milage left for this speed increase, but i kept running my race...i had recovered from my slow miles , and i was really getting back into a good rythym and started catching the guy who i was following for the ENTIRE race...then it happened.

mile 12-ish was where the 25k loop met back up with the smaller races, in our case the 10kers. in my particular case, it was the hour + 10kers. luckly, i wasn't going for a PR or really focused on time, b/c the single track trail, with rocks and stumps, was tricky enough running alone. it was impassible when you added bunches of 10kers running 9 minute pace!

on your left was a crucial part of my vocabulary...as i sprinted around smaller groups, or just plowed through the brush on some occasions, i tried to be as polite as possible, and honestly think i was pretty damn fair, i even walked a hill b/c of the line of ppl.

ANYWAY, the miles kept dropping off, and i didn't get passed by any 25kers. and i could see the other runner still a matter of yards a head in the conga line.

finished the race feeling strong and wanting more...very happy with sub 2, but now wish i could have pushed for 155
What would you do differently?:

run the race like those two guys who passed me at mile 11. start easy, race the middle, and i mean race it, push into the red b/c you will be slowed by the 10k traffic, then coast into the finish.


Post race
Warm down:

stopped, ate awesome pineapple and drank my own water...for such a large race, it was strange that the finish area was so barren of water



What limited your ability to perform faster:

10kers...but not only them, i should have had 2 gus, and i should have known more about the course.

Event comments:

good race on the eastern side of washington...shirts blow tho. i know the race is to aid in elementary school funding, but damn, let the kids design a shirt that is printed on a tech shirt, not one that is poop green...that said, ill prolly do it again.

great races by the tri cities runners!!




Last updated: 2010-03-22 12:00 AM
Running
01:56:10 | 15.53 miles | 07m 29s  min/mile
Age Group: 1/12
Overall: 11/218
Performance: Good
Course: 1 cracked/messed up lollipop loop
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers?
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3