General Discussion Race Reports! » Dirty Bird Rss Feed  
Moderators: k9car363, alicefoeller Reply

Dirty Bird - Run15k


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
French Creek State Park, Pennsylvania
United States
Pretzel City Sports
Total Time = 1h 31m
Overall Rank = 131/
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Got up, went to church, got coffee and a Clif bar (since I hadn't eaten yet), dropped off wife, and sped on down the road to the park. Checked in, got myself all ready, and headed over to the start where I met my friend Kate.
Event warmup:

Uhhhhh....stood around. Squatted down a few times, jumped up and down a few times.
Run
  • 1h 31m
  • 9.3 miles
  • 09m 47s  min/mile
Comments:

When the gun when off, I was somewhat in the middle. So, I moved to the outside, and started passing people. Since the first half-mile or so was open road, it's always best to go out a little faster to get a decent enough position. We turn into the woods, and it quickly narrows down to single track, making passing difficult. Oh, it was also the first uphill, which was about a mile or so long. Anyway, cruise on up the hill, pass a few people when I can, and start on a downhill. I'm trying to be careful and not bite it when BAM!!!!! Turn my left ankle. I catch myself, hop around a bit, then start limping/jogging along. Soon enough, I don't really feel it so much, so I start to try to resume some level of pace again. Feeling ok, had some water at the first stop, passing people and feeling strong.....BAM!!!! Turn the right ankle. Pretty much more of the same: hop around, limp/jog, start to feel better and drive on. Familiar situations so far (I've done this before), so no biggie.
BAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Turn the left ankle.....Again...... This time it's a little worse than before. This one hurt, and continued to hurt. All this before the halfway mark, too. I was tempted to pull my number at the half way point, but I decided that I would keep going to see how things panned out, and I'd be passing back again soon enough anyway. So I drove on. At this point, I'm basically walking all the downhills because A) They hurt like a SOB, and B) I didn't trust my ankles at this point to handle the terrain all that well, and it was really treacherous. I did run most of the uphills, though, so I would be passing people like mad, who would then proceed to pass me on the flats (HA! Like this course had flat parts), and the downhills. On the return of the small loop, I passed Kate, and she said she had hurt her ankles, too. Actually, it seemed to be a prevailing theme for the day, with a lot of people who had destroyed ankles. I digress...
So, back across the dam, last water stop, about 2 miles to go, eh, eff it, I can finish. So, I dig down, suck it up, and proceed to limp my hurting butt on through to the finish. It sucked. Royally. Especially the a-hole who wanted to sprint....
Oh, at some point, I turned the right ankle again, too. But nothing was as bad as the left one.

Afterwards, I sat there and waited for Kate to finish, had some soup, and watched my left ankle swell up some more.
What would you do differently?:

Not destroy my ankles.
Post race
What limited your ability to perform faster:

Injuries, and the course itself.

Event comments:

Not a race for the weak of spirit, that's for dang sure.




Last updated: 2006-11-16 12:00 AM
Running
01:31:00 | 9.3 miles | 09m 47s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance:
Course: This was the most technically difficult course I've ever run. The guys who normally sprint these things had to walk the downhills due to slope and difficulty in finding a decent path down them. The uphills weren't too bad (more on that later), but there was a fair amount of walking.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized?
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers?
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5]

{postbutton}
2006-11-27 7:18 AM

User image

Runner
Subject: Dirty Bird


2006-11-27 7:49 AM
in reply to: #608645

User image

Pro
4545
2000200050025
Orange Park Florida
Subject: RE: Dirty Bird

I sounds like they should rename that run to the ankle thrasher!

Way to finish strong even though you tore up your ankles!

2006-11-27 8:00 AM
in reply to: #608645

Subject: ...
This user's post has been ignored.
2006-11-27 8:24 AM
in reply to: #608645

Elite
2661
20005001002525
DC Metro, slowly working my way to NC
Subject: RE: Dirty Bird

Wow, that sucks about the ankles.  Your body isn't supposed to betray you like that!

But, jeez, you still go fast for someone with a busted wheel. 

2006-11-27 8:57 AM
in reply to: #608696

Cycling Guru
15134
50005000500010025
Fulton, MD
Subject: RE: Dirty Bird
Sucks dude .... that's the problem with true trail races .... too many opportunities to get injured! That's the biggest thing I worried about running x-country in school.

Congrats on getting to the finish. Ice those puppies down and recoup for the next round!
General Discussion-> Race Reports!
{postbutton}
General Discussion Race Reports! » Dirty Bird Rss Feed