Out Of Breath

Black Warrior 25k

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Location:

Falkville,Al,USA

Member Since:

May 17, 2008

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Marathon Finish

Running Accomplishments:

6 ultramarathon's completed

43 miles in 9 hours

Short-Term Running Goals:

50 miles

100 miles?

Long-Term Running Goals:

 

 

Run a ultramarathon Done 12/31/09

Run a 50 miler

Run a 100 miles

 


 

 

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Nike Vomero 3 Lifetime Miles: 380.86
Adidas Response 17 Lifetime Miles: 79.70
Rebok Verona Lifetime Miles: 131.01
Asics Gel-Pulse Lifetime Miles: 216.69
Race: Black Warrior 25k (15.5 Miles) 02:43:15, Place overall: 43, Place in age division: 43
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
15.500.000.000.0015.50

Today I ran the Black Warrior 25k trail run. This was my first trail run and I had a great time.I worked 10 hours Friday night came home around 4am, took a small nap and headed out by 5:15. I got to the race site at 6:05 and there was already a big crowd.I saw a couple of friends from work ,Eric Schotz and Sooi Ooi and we chatted for a bit and before I knew it, it was time to start.

The weather was clear and 28 degrees. Not to bad for a trail run. It seems to be warmer in the woods during a run because the trees block the wind,I guess.Sooi had asked me to run with her for a while and I was happy to because I didnt want to start to fast. The first 1.5 miles is a steep incline up a gravel road and then it levels out another mile before you make a right turn into the woods.

The first 2.5 miles went easy at a 9:00/pace and then we hit the trails.Sooi was rite behind me and I was tucked in behind a guy that was running a decent pace.At mile 4 I saw him twist his ankle pretty bad. I asked him if he was alright and he said yes, just go on. I questioned him but he said that he would be ok.I was off again.

I made it to the first aid station (5.9 miles) and I was feeling great.I grabbed a gel and a cup of water and was running again after about 30 seconds.Sooi and I ran together until mile 7 and then she fell out of site. I ran by myself for the next 2 miles and my mind began to wonder. I thought about where I was a year and a half ago. I had just started back running again and couldnt make it a .5 mile without gasping for air.And now here I was doing what others cant/wont do and enjoying every minute of it.:) Oh well, back to the race.

At mile nine I caught up with a guy and a lady that were runnning a ok pace and I thought that I would follow them for a while and take a little break. I was starting to feel a blister forming on the inner part of my right foot.After another mile (mile 10), the blister was starting to get painful.So I decieded to stay behind the two runners in front of me and take it easy.By mile 11 they were starting to slow so I passed them. The trail was now heading up a gradual incline.I tried not to think of the pain in my right foot but sometimes it destracted me.

I hit the last aid station at mile 12.I swallowed a gator aid and was off to the finish. I thought that the blister would feel better on the road but I was wrong.I tried to keep a decent pace but it was messing up my form.I crossed the finish line at 2:43:15. Not to bad but I know that there were several times that I could recall that I could have shaved off several minutes of my time.

Lessons learned--- Buy better trail running shoes. Dont wear your old ones because you dont want to get your nice running shoes dirty.Dont get lulled into a slow pace by following slower runners. The time and miles go by faster than you think.Drink and eat more during the race because I was starving at the end and starting to feel weak.

Everyone did a great job at the race and I met a lot of super nice people. I WILL BE BACK NEXT YEAR!! NEXT TIME IT WILL BE THE 50K.

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
Comments
From Nevels on Sun, Feb 22, 2009 at 10:46:45

Congratulations on a good race and an enjoyable day. There's something about trail running that keeps us all coming back. Solid run.

From jelmo on Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 01:05:35

way to go Mike!, you're hooked, it only gets better as the trails get longer, great run!

From Burt on Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 16:36:27

Great race.

Sounds like you learned a lot.

From air darkhorse on Tue, Feb 24, 2009 at 16:10:49 from 65.100.192.2

Oooh! Sounds like my work schedule.. Definitely eat well the days before the race. I used to hit the buffets in the days leading up to a big marathon. Especially if I knew I was working the morning of the race, that is the grave yard shift. Glycogen in the liver gets depleted overnight believe it or not.. But you had fun right?

From mikemac on Tue, Feb 24, 2009 at 17:52:51 from 136.229.5.44

I had a awesome time.I am hooked!!

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