Labor Day 30K - Run


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MIilford, Michigan
United States
Huron Valley Running Club
65F / 18C
Overcast
 		Total Time = 3h 02m 40s
Overall Rank = DFL/800
Age Group = M35-39
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Woke up, scarfed toast, banana (no mcdonalds) and DP, got my 'Hey, where are you?!" call from trix, and drove to race site. Watched trix pee up a river, was it more of a torrent? See the pics... Then, met up with Brian, and chatted with the Canucks.

I know it was just a training run, but frankly, I was a little worried. Usually, when you get to the race, you can see a little of everything...some BOP'ers, some Kenyans, and everyone inbetween. At this run, there were Kenyans, and chiseled people. Everyone looked trained, hard, and fast. And I was right...

But we stretched and hit the restroom, and got to the starting line in good shape. It was a spray-painted line labeled 'start'.

We kinda giggled about the guy with the gel between the strap on his visor and his bald head.
Event warmup:

Nuttin.
Run
  • 3h 02m 40s
  • 18.64 miles
  • 09m 48s  min/mile
Comments:

Started off with a 25 min run, 5 walk cadence. Held that for 4 intervals, maybe 5....Clicked away 8:20's for the first 13 or so, under 9's including walk breaks. INCLUDING walk breaks, which was too fast. Then, frankly, I died - I'm not trained for the full distance yet - and wanted to walk more. Trix was up for it, because our 'goal' was 10's, to protect her legs, and we were going MUCH faster thatn that. So we moseyed our way in from 13, partially out of necessity (me), and partially out of smarts (trix).

We made lotsa friends in the last 4 miles and I spent a lot of time talking like "goat boy".
What would you do differently?:

Train. Nutritionate. Run.
Post race
Warm down:

Finished, there was NO food (and I was starved), but I got a beer. Then we went and raided the Holden's Party Store. Or was it Holden Sparty Store? Either way, I scored some ice, a chicken and bacon stromboli, and a HUGE diet pepsi.

Then we bolted to go watch Sparty kick I-Da-Ho's ass, with ice on my knees and cramps in 3 of my 6 major leg muscles. Giddyup.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Train, and actually run. But this was a training run, so no worries.

Event comments:

Great training run for me.

Plusses:
- THE most challenging run I've ever done. The hills were out of control
- THE most beautiful run I've ever done
- GREAT race organization, and great race size (<800)
- Outstanding volunteer support. Tons of happy aid station people.
- Awesome participants. Everyone was happy, and fun to talk with
- The most fantastic Trix piss ever.
- Good company (Thanks, Trix, Brian), and good times.

Minuses
- No post race food
- Waterade was not quite full strength
- No post race massage as advertised?
- Shitty t-shirt robbed me of $8
- NO post-race food. Like None.
- Bad value...

Bottom line...I'll be back, without a doubt. It was an amazing, challenging run, with great support. They'll fix the food and t-shirt and waterade issues, I'm sure. But everything else was outstanding.

I couldn't think of a better fall training run; there is NO run that was more difficult than this one. And with Trix, it's good times. :)




Last updated: 2006-08-30 12:00 AM
Running
03:02:40 | 18.64 miles | 09m 48s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/800
Performance: Average
Course: Lotsa hills, long ones, short ones, longer ones, there wasn't a flat spot. One loop to the north, approx 11 miles, maybe 7 miles on dirt road, just beautiful. The most gorgeous scenery you can imagine. Start on pavement, through downtown (quaint) Milford, the out the other side to the north. Paved roads gave way to hardpacked (fast and comfortable) dirt roads, Beautiful neighborhoods, plenty of happy and encouraging volunteers, miles marked clearly. But th real bonus was the beautiful scenery...the vast majority of the course was dirt roads through old-growth forest canopy, creating just the most beautiful, still environment. Back through Milford, and a 7 mile loop to the south...beautiful, much of the same terrain. The only hoky part was the finish, where we had to run an extra .5 by taking a lap through the parking lot....an evil trick at that point in the race. All in all, a fantastic course. That was (one of the) highlights of the run.
Keeping cool Average 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 Too hard
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Bad
Race evaluation [1-5] 4