Thinking about taking Eddy along to NJ for Thanksgiving, and maybe doing the annual 5-mile race with him on the Friday. I have never gone over 4 miles with him but I think it would be okay if we go slow.
Today I decided it is finally cool enough to start taking him along on short runs again. He always wants to come along! So I took him out for a 2 1/2 mile loop of the park, very slow and easy. After all, we are both still tired from the weekend of agility. And he was so sick last month. But I think he has recovered.
After we finished, I went back out for a one mile trail loop by myself. I am going to gradually increase his distance as the weather gets colder. I am looking forward to bringing him along on a few of the fall and winter races.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Harbin Park XC Maze
This was the next-to-last race in the trail series, on Sunday, Oct. 10. I love how these little trail races are getting me out to places that I'v never run before. This one was in Harbin Park, in Fairfield, OH.
I guess there are actually some real trails in this park based on my Google search, but our race took place on a double-loop maze marked out on the grassy open fields with yellow caution tape. The course was actually set up for a bike race, part of a cyclocross festival. I know very little about this event but I guess it was kind of a big deal. A much bigger deal, I suspect, than our little trail race.
Anyway, we got to run on the course before the bike races started, and they didn't start until an hour after we were done, so I didn't hang around. Supposedly there were 450 people entered in that (vs. 51 runners in our race).
Enough about the bikes.
I got there about 45 minutes before the race. We had to park in a little lot downhill from the packet pickup and start/finish of our race, so I got a bit of warmup jogging back and forth. Then I set out for a more proper warmup on the trails, so I could get a feel for what was to come. Basically non-stop rolling hills, mostly on a relatively packed and dry grass surface, but with a few sharp turms around trees/roots, one stretch of tall grass (did they forget to mow this part or was it intentionally left that way?). Also, a couple of "sand pits"---these I did not include in my warmup. They were really no big deal, just a bit of sandy area outside some playground equipment. Maybe 100 feet each time? Or less.
Spotted my age group competitor. I had decided on a strategy of running just behind her and kicking past her at the end. That was the tentative strategy, anyway. It really didn't matter too much where I finished in this race if I just want to stay in the Dirty Dozen. With so few women in the race, I could finish last and still improve on my 32nd place from the Ault Park Race. And no matter how far ahead I finished from my competition, it wouldn't change my spot in the Dirty Dozen because my first few placements were so uncompetitive.
But I wanted to do as well as I could, for myself.
The course was set up so we first ran around on one side of the park, then crossed over the road and hit the other side (where I had done most of my warmup). Then we would cross through the start/finish area again, and repeat the whole thing.
My competitor (whose name is Brenda), chatted me up a bit at the start. Asked me about my shoes (Saucony Grid Xodus). It's true, you don't see them much. She admired the pink soles, said they had street cred. Shouldn't that be "trail cred"?
And then we were off, and I just tried to keep her in sight. I didn't want to be too obvious about hanging off her shoulder, so I let her have a little distance in front of me. Basically, I was just not going to pass her. It was a challenging course, but the pace was not too uncomfortable for me. The sand pits and the grass were all on the back half of the course. The front half did have one very steep downhill section.
I learned that the best way to run through the sand is on your toes. No big deal even if you aren't trained for it if it's only for a short distance. The tall grass was no fun but at least I was prepared for it. There were also two little segments on the asphalt and it felt good to stretch out my legs and glide through those sections.
As we came out of the tall grass the first time, I pulled up closer to Brenda. Her breathing sounded pretty labored to me. Mine wasn't as bad, especially since I was trying not to sound so tired! So I pulled up even with her, and then, just after we passed the start line and began our second lap, I pulled ahead. I decided that she sounded so fatigued I would push the pace and see what happened. She did not go with me.
My first lap was 19:25. Since each lap was supposed to be a bit over two miles, I was pretty pleased with that considering the terrain. On the second lap, I really pushed on the downhills. I discovered that the best way to run them was to sort of leap in the air and skip down, rather than trying to maintain an even stride. There is so much about trail running that I still have to learn! How come I did not figure this part out until just now?
So, between really pushing the downhills and also anytime we went around a corner and I figured Brenda couldn't see me (something I learned from reading accounts of some elite races), I had soon pretty much dropped her. I didn't want to be so obvious as to turn my head to look, but with all the twists and turns and doubling back, I could pretty much check on her location without turning my head.
Managed to also pass a few old men before the finish. Didn't have to kick this time so didn't puke. Second loop was 19:11 (negative splits!), for an official time of 38:36. Interesting that it felt like I was pushing so much harder in the second half, but my time was just 14 seconds faster. It takes more effort and concentration to maintain the same pace in the second half of a race. Duh.
My latest nemesis finished about 1:30 behind me. So, I beat her by seconds two races ago, about 30 seconds last time, and 1:30 this time. Has she figured out yet that we are racing?
We chatted a bit after the race and formally introduced ourselves. She seems like a very nice lady. She works with someone I know from the dog world. She asked me for pre-race diet advice. I gave her my honest opinion (yogurt, banana, coffee), rather than trying to throw her off by telling her to eat a big steak five minutes before the start.
My finish put me 6 of 14 women and 37 of 51 runners (19 of 51 based on age-grading). Although this finish allowed me to lose my 32 points from the Ault Park Race, replacing it with the 6, it is still not enough to move me ahead of Brenda in the standings. At this point, I don't see that happening, unless there is some ridiculously large number of women showing up for the 27k race and a whole bunch of them finish in between me and Brenda. Actually, it's probably not even mathematically possible for me to pass her, no matter what.
In any case, it's unlikely, because the 27k field is limited to just 50 people and most of them will probably be men. And I'm going to have to take it really easy since I am intimidated by the distance. I have never run that far on trails before. There will be no deliberately hanging off Brenda's shoulder and hoping to kick past her at the end. I will start slow and just hope to finish. If I am able to run aggressively at all, it won't be until the second half of the race on the last small loop. But mainly I just have to finish. Any finish at all, even last place in the race, should improve my point total by replacing my 30th place points from the French Park race with some smaller number. It will keep me in the Dirty Dozen, probably still in 6th place, but not ahead of Brenda. Good enough.
I guess there are actually some real trails in this park based on my Google search, but our race took place on a double-loop maze marked out on the grassy open fields with yellow caution tape. The course was actually set up for a bike race, part of a cyclocross festival. I know very little about this event but I guess it was kind of a big deal. A much bigger deal, I suspect, than our little trail race.
Anyway, we got to run on the course before the bike races started, and they didn't start until an hour after we were done, so I didn't hang around. Supposedly there were 450 people entered in that (vs. 51 runners in our race).
Enough about the bikes.
I got there about 45 minutes before the race. We had to park in a little lot downhill from the packet pickup and start/finish of our race, so I got a bit of warmup jogging back and forth. Then I set out for a more proper warmup on the trails, so I could get a feel for what was to come. Basically non-stop rolling hills, mostly on a relatively packed and dry grass surface, but with a few sharp turms around trees/roots, one stretch of tall grass (did they forget to mow this part or was it intentionally left that way?). Also, a couple of "sand pits"---these I did not include in my warmup. They were really no big deal, just a bit of sandy area outside some playground equipment. Maybe 100 feet each time? Or less.
Spotted my age group competitor. I had decided on a strategy of running just behind her and kicking past her at the end. That was the tentative strategy, anyway. It really didn't matter too much where I finished in this race if I just want to stay in the Dirty Dozen. With so few women in the race, I could finish last and still improve on my 32nd place from the Ault Park Race. And no matter how far ahead I finished from my competition, it wouldn't change my spot in the Dirty Dozen because my first few placements were so uncompetitive.
But I wanted to do as well as I could, for myself.
The course was set up so we first ran around on one side of the park, then crossed over the road and hit the other side (where I had done most of my warmup). Then we would cross through the start/finish area again, and repeat the whole thing.
My competitor (whose name is Brenda), chatted me up a bit at the start. Asked me about my shoes (Saucony Grid Xodus). It's true, you don't see them much. She admired the pink soles, said they had street cred. Shouldn't that be "trail cred"?
And then we were off, and I just tried to keep her in sight. I didn't want to be too obvious about hanging off her shoulder, so I let her have a little distance in front of me. Basically, I was just not going to pass her. It was a challenging course, but the pace was not too uncomfortable for me. The sand pits and the grass were all on the back half of the course. The front half did have one very steep downhill section.
I learned that the best way to run through the sand is on your toes. No big deal even if you aren't trained for it if it's only for a short distance. The tall grass was no fun but at least I was prepared for it. There were also two little segments on the asphalt and it felt good to stretch out my legs and glide through those sections.
As we came out of the tall grass the first time, I pulled up closer to Brenda. Her breathing sounded pretty labored to me. Mine wasn't as bad, especially since I was trying not to sound so tired! So I pulled up even with her, and then, just after we passed the start line and began our second lap, I pulled ahead. I decided that she sounded so fatigued I would push the pace and see what happened. She did not go with me.
My first lap was 19:25. Since each lap was supposed to be a bit over two miles, I was pretty pleased with that considering the terrain. On the second lap, I really pushed on the downhills. I discovered that the best way to run them was to sort of leap in the air and skip down, rather than trying to maintain an even stride. There is so much about trail running that I still have to learn! How come I did not figure this part out until just now?
So, between really pushing the downhills and also anytime we went around a corner and I figured Brenda couldn't see me (something I learned from reading accounts of some elite races), I had soon pretty much dropped her. I didn't want to be so obvious as to turn my head to look, but with all the twists and turns and doubling back, I could pretty much check on her location without turning my head.
Managed to also pass a few old men before the finish. Didn't have to kick this time so didn't puke. Second loop was 19:11 (negative splits!), for an official time of 38:36. Interesting that it felt like I was pushing so much harder in the second half, but my time was just 14 seconds faster. It takes more effort and concentration to maintain the same pace in the second half of a race. Duh.
My latest nemesis finished about 1:30 behind me. So, I beat her by seconds two races ago, about 30 seconds last time, and 1:30 this time. Has she figured out yet that we are racing?
We chatted a bit after the race and formally introduced ourselves. She seems like a very nice lady. She works with someone I know from the dog world. She asked me for pre-race diet advice. I gave her my honest opinion (yogurt, banana, coffee), rather than trying to throw her off by telling her to eat a big steak five minutes before the start.
My finish put me 6 of 14 women and 37 of 51 runners (19 of 51 based on age-grading). Although this finish allowed me to lose my 32 points from the Ault Park Race, replacing it with the 6, it is still not enough to move me ahead of Brenda in the standings. At this point, I don't see that happening, unless there is some ridiculously large number of women showing up for the 27k race and a whole bunch of them finish in between me and Brenda. Actually, it's probably not even mathematically possible for me to pass her, no matter what.
In any case, it's unlikely, because the 27k field is limited to just 50 people and most of them will probably be men. And I'm going to have to take it really easy since I am intimidated by the distance. I have never run that far on trails before. There will be no deliberately hanging off Brenda's shoulder and hoping to kick past her at the end. I will start slow and just hope to finish. If I am able to run aggressively at all, it won't be until the second half of the race on the last small loop. But mainly I just have to finish. Any finish at all, even last place in the race, should improve my point total by replacing my 30th place points from the French Park race with some smaller number. It will keep me in the Dirty Dozen, probably still in 6th place, but not ahead of Brenda. Good enough.
Monday, October 11, 2010
New Hampshire Marathon
Ok, it's been just a little over a week since this race on Oct. 2, and I find I am already forgetting a lot about it. It was a tough course, it was a nice day, I got it done. That's most of what I remember!
This was state #34, marathon #39 for me. Picked it because it fit my schedule and could be combined with a visit to see my daughter, Susan. She drove up with me from Boston and did the accompanying 10k. We tried to get my sister to come along also but that didn't happen.
The original plan was that we would drive up on Friday so we could attend the pasta dinner, but Sooze had to work. But with race day packet pickup available, that was no big deal.
Dinner with Sooze
I arrived Thursday evening, got the rental car and drove Susan home from work. I was all stressed out about driving in Boston, at night and in the rain, but it was honestly a pleasant surprise. Maybe it is because people in Boston actually know how to drive, unlike the drivers in Cincinnati? Parked on the street in Somerville, also no big deal.
We had dinner at Posto, an upscale pizza place a few blocks from Susan's apartment, and similar to this place. Our waitress, unfortunately, encouraged us to over-order by making it sound like the portions were small. We will blame it on her. We ordered two appetizers: meatballs and another type of balls that were made out of fried polenta with a rather unpleasant and heavy handed lemon flavoring. And we each had our own pizza. Sooze had one with sopressatta that she thought was a bit too spicy. I went with the mushroom pizza, which I did enjoy. We also had two draft beers (Smuttynose Pale Ale) each---big mistake.
The Day Before---Not Off to An Auspicious Start
I felt okay the next morning when Susan left for work but a little while later I began feeling awful. Needed coffee but Susan doesn't have a coffeemaker, and it took awhile before I felt strong enough to go outside. Had three cups of Via. Still had a pounding headache, accompanied by nausea and the sweats. Spent a lot of Friday in the bathroom. Food poisoning? Some weird 24-hour bug? Later, we determined that it was just a hangover. Susan had one also, but she had to suck it up because she was at work.
Okay, I had meant to spend a fairly low key day anyway but this was ridiculous. Hung out in Susan's apartment until I felt well enough to venture out and put our suitcases in the car. Watched some New England cable news station, where they kept predicting torrential rainfall. They were making it sound like it was time to build an ark. So I wanted to get the bags in the car before the rain started since the car was a couple of blocks away.
I did this in two trips. On the way back from the first excursion, I stopped in the corner store and picked up some Gatorade, Lipton teabags, and bananas. Two cups of tea later, I was ready to take the second bag to the car. I was caffeinated, yes, are we keeping track? Three cups of Via, two strong cups of tea.
In the afternoon, as I began to feel a bit better, I was able to distract myself with a little television. I watched the Temple Grandin movie, starring Claire Danes. Pretty good. I had forgotten I wanted to see that, and there it was. And next, I watched a true classic of its genre, Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, starring a very young Keanu Reeves and some other guy who was, I think, more famous at the time but now nobody can remember who he is. This is the one where the evil robot likenesses kill Bill & Ted and try to rewrite history by wreaking havoc at the Battle of the Bands. In the meantime, Bill & Ted play games with Death in an attempt to win back their lives. Instead of chess, they play games that Bill & Ted have a shot at winning, including Battleship and Twister.
Susan's roommate came home just before I started watching Bill & Ted. She immediately retreated to her room for a nap, leaving me alone with Bill & Ted.
At the appointed hour, I got in the car and drove downtown to pick up the Sooze. Thank goodness for the GPS. This accomplished, we headed out to I-93, New Hampshire-bound. It was supposed to be a two hour drive, and it only took us about two and a half hours. In the rain. On a Friday night. I don't think that is so bad. I am really wondering what all the whining about Boston/New England driving is about. Seriously.
We arrived a little after 9 pm, and found a little family-style Italian restaurant down the road from our hotel. We were both hungry now so that worked out great. We took our doggy bags back to the room because we had a microwave and fridge, and I knew I would want to finish this food up after the race.
We were staying at a Comfort Inn, one exit up the highway from Bristol and an easy 10 mile drive. It had been recently remodeled and was very satisfactory. I had thought about booking us at a B&B but that can be such a crapshoot, and everything looked kind of scary/sketchy on the web sites. In any case, I knew at any B&B we'd end up with a cramped little room and maybe just a double bed to share, perhaps not even our own bathroom. We were a lot more comfortable at the Comfort Inn, and the breakfast was not bad, either.
Race Morning
The race didn't start until 9 am, which was great. We could get a good night's sleep and even eat breakfast in the morning. We departed around 7:45, and arrived around 8 am. We were directed to park behind the middle school that served as the staging area for the race. The atmosphere was not unlike a good-sized neighborhood 5k, with packet pickup in the school cafeteria, and small groups of runners gathered outside.
Susan was amused at the Marathon Maniacs (easy to spot in their bright yellow attire) and various other members of the 50 States Club whom I pointed out to her. Chuck Engle seemed to be the only person doing a proper race warmup, and I correctly predicted that he would win the race. It did seem that the vast majority of the marathon runners were members of the Maniacs or the 50 States or both. And most of them were doing a "double," with the Portland, ME race the next day. Susan told me that I should wear my gear Maniac gear, too, so I could properly "represent."
No timing chips for this little marathon. Can't remember the last time I ran a race without a chip. They even use them at some of our local 5ks now. The race shirts were kind of disappointing, light-blue, long-sleeved cotton with an orange, red & black (fall colors?) design that clashed with the light blue. Not much else in the goody bag, except a coupon for a free ice cream cone at the Newfound Bakery, which we made use of later in the afternoon.
The half-marathoners took a bus out to the mararthon turnaround at the Sculptured Rocks, which departed at 8:30 am. The 10k runners would start with the marathoners, and turn around just past the 3 mile mark.
We hung out in the car until it was time to line up at the start line in front of the school. Shared a laugh about one guy who was wearing a very threadbare pair of bike shorts. When he bent over, you could totally see right through them, and when he stood up, they were very saggy in the butt. Maybe they were his lucky shorts, but I think it is time to retire them anyway.
The Race
The start, like most of the race, was uphill (as I ponder once again how it is that a loop course can be net uphill). Susan stayed with me for about the first mile, then wisely dropped back. She was taking it easy. I was, too, but nothing was going to be easy enough. Mile 1 was a 10:57, mile 2 was a 10:15.
As we passed the mile 2 marker, I started looking for a water stop, which was supposed to appear every two miles. Nothing. Tried not to let myself get too irriated by this, but began to wish that I had carried my own water. After we passed mile 3 and still no water, I was becoming concerned. Also, worried for Susan, whom I assumed was having to run a 10k with no water. Finally at about 3 1/2 miles, we found the first water stop. Turns out this was really the second stop. The first one was at 1 1/2 miles, but it was on the opposite side of the street from where we were running, and we all missed it---or at least all the people running near me did.
From this point on, however, the water stops did come every two miles with regularity, so that was a relief. Mile 3 was an 11:25; mile 4 was 11:42. Mile 5 was 10:07---guess that must have been downhill. Mile 6 was 11:25; mile 7 was 11:16; mile 8 was 11:59.
The course was scenic but hillier than I expected. For some reason, although I knew New Hampshire was hilly, I thought that we were literally running around Newfound Lake which to me meant flat, despite what the elevation chart said. Plus there is the fact that I seem to be hopeless at interpreting elevation charts. Fortunately, I train on hills and I was not expecting to have an easy time of it anyway. But it was kind of crazy how hilly the course was versus my preconceptions of how it was going to be.
We passed an inn/restaurant with a big sign out front advertising a Japanese steak house with fine Italian cuisine. I puzzled over this and decided we would have to check it out later.
Here's a little bit about the people around me through most of the race:
There was a tall, thin woman dressed (overdressed, I thought) in long navy blue flared pants and a blue turtleneck. She had what looked like a space blanket tucked into her fanny pack. There was another woman with blond hair in turquoise shorts. Both these women looked like they should have been going faster than back there with me, but perhaps they were saving themselves for Portland.
There was a couple, from Australia I surmise from their accents, wearing 100 Marathon Club singlets.
Mostly we were running in the road beside a heavily wooded area with the trees just starting to change color, and occasional glimpses of the lake below us to the left. At this point I was really thinking give me an urban, flat marathon any day over hills and scenery, especially if it is the same scenery all the time.
At about mile 8 1/2, we made a left turn for an out-and-back segment with the turnaround at the Sculptured Rocks. This was probably the flattest portion of the race, but even this was not that flat.
On the out-and-back, I got to see most of the people who were ahead of me---although, not Chuck Engle, who had probably already gone by. There were a lot of people ahead of me, and none of them looked like they were exactly flying, either. It's a toughie, this one.
Mile 9 was 10:31; mile 10 was 13:06; mile 11 was 12:11, mile 12 was 12:07; mile 13 was 13:23.
Things I do remember from this stretch: a Boston Terrier in a yard, barking. A couple of Pomeranians chained up (who chains up Pomeranians?) in front of a very slummy looking shack. The chains were bigger than the Pomeranians. Seriously, Pomeranians? Figures that most of what I would remember are the dogs. A Golden Retriever laying at the feet of some spectators, its head turned away from the action. Reminded me of Libby. Dog was not interested in the race at all--unlike the Boston Terrier and the Pomeranians.
The wind picked up and I had to put my jacket back on. Thought a few times about the possibility of turning around early and cutting a few miles off this race. But since I am only doing the 50 states for myself, it would mean I'd only have to come back to New Hampshire and run another marathon anyway. This is not something I am doing to impress anybody except myself, and I'm not lying to myself about what I have done and what I haven't.
At the turnaround, a woman with a clipboard recorded our race numbers. I guess that is how they controlled for cheating. It was somewhat comforting to know that they were not just relying on the honor system and honest people like me.
Mile 14 (14:57!) was not too long after the turnaround. I called Susan, to let her know that things were not going well, and it could be as much as 6 hours. Mile 15 was 13:44; mile 16 was 14:20; mile 17 was 15:50.
Mile 18 was 13:04. At this point, I was thrilled with any time below 14 minutes. Somewhere in here, we left the out-and-back and made a right turn to return to Bristol on the other side of the lake. The scenery was a little different now, as we were actually running closer to the lakeshore, and there were many little cottages (some even painted red) that reminded me of Sweden. On the other side of the street were (no doubt) expensive condos that reminded me that I was not in Sweden.
A complication which made for some unpleasantness in the latter miles of this race was the rather heavy traffic coming towards us. I understand that they can't close a lane to traffic for this tiny little race. So it is what it is. But it was kind of scary and not fun. There was really no berm for much of this stretch, so when you had to get out of the road there was often nowhere to go. This would be my only real complaint about this race. I don't think there is anything that can be done about it, so I would just warn people attempting the race to be ready for it.
Mile 19 was 14:30 and mile 20 was 14:38. A guy running in Vibrams commented that we just had a couple of 5ks to go. I told him that I preferred to think of it as just an hour and a half to go. That's because when you say 5k to me, I think it means that I have to run fast. And that was for sure not happening. An hour and a half is a long time, but it was realistic.
I keep using the word "running" but I guess it goes without saying that we weren't really "running" the way most non-runners think of it. We were making the motions of running, but in slow motion.
Mile 21 was 14:22; mile 22 was 13:18; mile 23 was 15:34; mile 24 was 15:04. Just a half hour to go! I called Susan again to let her know of my impending arrival.
I was passed by a woman who agreed with me about the traffic and said that the race was certainly not her favorite. Then I was passed by the woman in navy blue. The final woman to pass me was wearing a Maniac shirt with 8 stars or so on the back. As I am only a one-star Maniac myself, I was quite impressed. Mile 25 was 15:05; mile 26 was 14:10.
Sooze was standing by the side of the road. She tried to take my pic but said it didn't come out. I made the turn down into the parking lot and across the grass of the little park behind the middle school to the finish line. Somebody told me to smile but I didn't see a photographer. Last .2 took me 2:50, for a final, official time of 5:41:50..One of my worst times ever! Worse than Flying Monkey! Worse than Humpy's after Logan died! I think actually my second slowest ever.
I will blame it on being untrained, sick for a month before the race, sick the day before the race, and the race itself being quite challenging. The woman's winner didn't even qualify for Boston! That says something about the degree of difficulty.
Like the race shirt, the medal was nothing remarkable. This is a fairly low-cost marathon, so I guess you can't expect much, but they didn't even have the year engraved on it (it was printed on the ribbon instead), and it had a rather generic look.
Susan had my turkey sandwich ready and waiting, which was a good thing since there was not much food left. I was officially 211 of 246 marathoners, 59 of 71 women and 16 of 24 women in my age group.
Post-Race
We drove (that is, I drove, which is so much fun after a lengthy slog-fest) back to the hotel but at least it was not too far. After cleaning up and eating "lunch" of our leftovers from the night before, we decided to drive back to the Bristol area for our free ice cream cones. Unfortunately, the GPS decided that the best way to go to the bakery was over the backroads. Off-roading in the Yaris! Turns out there are a lot of unpaved roads in the Bristol area. It was like a roller coaster ride.
Found the bakery and got our ice cream plus coffee. The ice cream was disappointing. Seemed like they were trying to use it all up before shutting down for the season. Had a stale taste. We didn't finish our cones. Spotted the Italian/Japanese steakhouse across the street and decided on that for dinner.
What it was: a restaurant inside an inn which included a cozy inner room with American-style cuisine, a small room off to the side with a hibachi grill and a Japanese guy doing the steakhouse thing for people seated at a table around him, and a larger room that opened to a big deck where you could order American, Italian or Japanese. Oh, and what looked like a biker bar upstairs. Very confused place.
We sat in the larger, outside room and ordered steaks. They were okay. We took our leftovers back to the hotel to eat with breakfast. Steak and eggs!
Sunday morning, after breakfast, we drove back along the race course so I could show Susan what she missed by not doing the marathon. We stopped at Sculptured Rocks. Small, and quite underwhelming. Looked kind of like a section of an amusement park water ride. Or Class 5 rapids for Barbie and Ken? So after a couple of minutes of looking at that, it was time to hit the highway.
And that's the story. In summary: a nice little race but nothing fabulous. But overall, not bad. Challenging course. I stunk, but that was not unexpected.
This was state #34, marathon #39 for me. Picked it because it fit my schedule and could be combined with a visit to see my daughter, Susan. She drove up with me from Boston and did the accompanying 10k. We tried to get my sister to come along also but that didn't happen.
The original plan was that we would drive up on Friday so we could attend the pasta dinner, but Sooze had to work. But with race day packet pickup available, that was no big deal.
Dinner with Sooze
I arrived Thursday evening, got the rental car and drove Susan home from work. I was all stressed out about driving in Boston, at night and in the rain, but it was honestly a pleasant surprise. Maybe it is because people in Boston actually know how to drive, unlike the drivers in Cincinnati? Parked on the street in Somerville, also no big deal.
We had dinner at Posto, an upscale pizza place a few blocks from Susan's apartment, and similar to this place. Our waitress, unfortunately, encouraged us to over-order by making it sound like the portions were small. We will blame it on her. We ordered two appetizers: meatballs and another type of balls that were made out of fried polenta with a rather unpleasant and heavy handed lemon flavoring. And we each had our own pizza. Sooze had one with sopressatta that she thought was a bit too spicy. I went with the mushroom pizza, which I did enjoy. We also had two draft beers (Smuttynose Pale Ale) each---big mistake.
The Day Before---Not Off to An Auspicious Start
I felt okay the next morning when Susan left for work but a little while later I began feeling awful. Needed coffee but Susan doesn't have a coffeemaker, and it took awhile before I felt strong enough to go outside. Had three cups of Via. Still had a pounding headache, accompanied by nausea and the sweats. Spent a lot of Friday in the bathroom. Food poisoning? Some weird 24-hour bug? Later, we determined that it was just a hangover. Susan had one also, but she had to suck it up because she was at work.
Okay, I had meant to spend a fairly low key day anyway but this was ridiculous. Hung out in Susan's apartment until I felt well enough to venture out and put our suitcases in the car. Watched some New England cable news station, where they kept predicting torrential rainfall. They were making it sound like it was time to build an ark. So I wanted to get the bags in the car before the rain started since the car was a couple of blocks away.
I did this in two trips. On the way back from the first excursion, I stopped in the corner store and picked up some Gatorade, Lipton teabags, and bananas. Two cups of tea later, I was ready to take the second bag to the car. I was caffeinated, yes, are we keeping track? Three cups of Via, two strong cups of tea.
In the afternoon, as I began to feel a bit better, I was able to distract myself with a little television. I watched the Temple Grandin movie, starring Claire Danes. Pretty good. I had forgotten I wanted to see that, and there it was. And next, I watched a true classic of its genre, Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, starring a very young Keanu Reeves and some other guy who was, I think, more famous at the time but now nobody can remember who he is. This is the one where the evil robot likenesses kill Bill & Ted and try to rewrite history by wreaking havoc at the Battle of the Bands. In the meantime, Bill & Ted play games with Death in an attempt to win back their lives. Instead of chess, they play games that Bill & Ted have a shot at winning, including Battleship and Twister.
Susan's roommate came home just before I started watching Bill & Ted. She immediately retreated to her room for a nap, leaving me alone with Bill & Ted.
At the appointed hour, I got in the car and drove downtown to pick up the Sooze. Thank goodness for the GPS. This accomplished, we headed out to I-93, New Hampshire-bound. It was supposed to be a two hour drive, and it only took us about two and a half hours. In the rain. On a Friday night. I don't think that is so bad. I am really wondering what all the whining about Boston/New England driving is about. Seriously.
We arrived a little after 9 pm, and found a little family-style Italian restaurant down the road from our hotel. We were both hungry now so that worked out great. We took our doggy bags back to the room because we had a microwave and fridge, and I knew I would want to finish this food up after the race.
We were staying at a Comfort Inn, one exit up the highway from Bristol and an easy 10 mile drive. It had been recently remodeled and was very satisfactory. I had thought about booking us at a B&B but that can be such a crapshoot, and everything looked kind of scary/sketchy on the web sites. In any case, I knew at any B&B we'd end up with a cramped little room and maybe just a double bed to share, perhaps not even our own bathroom. We were a lot more comfortable at the Comfort Inn, and the breakfast was not bad, either.
Race Morning
The race didn't start until 9 am, which was great. We could get a good night's sleep and even eat breakfast in the morning. We departed around 7:45, and arrived around 8 am. We were directed to park behind the middle school that served as the staging area for the race. The atmosphere was not unlike a good-sized neighborhood 5k, with packet pickup in the school cafeteria, and small groups of runners gathered outside.
Susan was amused at the Marathon Maniacs (easy to spot in their bright yellow attire) and various other members of the 50 States Club whom I pointed out to her. Chuck Engle seemed to be the only person doing a proper race warmup, and I correctly predicted that he would win the race. It did seem that the vast majority of the marathon runners were members of the Maniacs or the 50 States or both. And most of them were doing a "double," with the Portland, ME race the next day. Susan told me that I should wear my gear Maniac gear, too, so I could properly "represent."
No timing chips for this little marathon. Can't remember the last time I ran a race without a chip. They even use them at some of our local 5ks now. The race shirts were kind of disappointing, light-blue, long-sleeved cotton with an orange, red & black (fall colors?) design that clashed with the light blue. Not much else in the goody bag, except a coupon for a free ice cream cone at the Newfound Bakery, which we made use of later in the afternoon.
The half-marathoners took a bus out to the mararthon turnaround at the Sculptured Rocks, which departed at 8:30 am. The 10k runners would start with the marathoners, and turn around just past the 3 mile mark.
We hung out in the car until it was time to line up at the start line in front of the school. Shared a laugh about one guy who was wearing a very threadbare pair of bike shorts. When he bent over, you could totally see right through them, and when he stood up, they were very saggy in the butt. Maybe they were his lucky shorts, but I think it is time to retire them anyway.
The Race
The start, like most of the race, was uphill (as I ponder once again how it is that a loop course can be net uphill). Susan stayed with me for about the first mile, then wisely dropped back. She was taking it easy. I was, too, but nothing was going to be easy enough. Mile 1 was a 10:57, mile 2 was a 10:15.
As we passed the mile 2 marker, I started looking for a water stop, which was supposed to appear every two miles. Nothing. Tried not to let myself get too irriated by this, but began to wish that I had carried my own water. After we passed mile 3 and still no water, I was becoming concerned. Also, worried for Susan, whom I assumed was having to run a 10k with no water. Finally at about 3 1/2 miles, we found the first water stop. Turns out this was really the second stop. The first one was at 1 1/2 miles, but it was on the opposite side of the street from where we were running, and we all missed it---or at least all the people running near me did.
From this point on, however, the water stops did come every two miles with regularity, so that was a relief. Mile 3 was an 11:25; mile 4 was 11:42. Mile 5 was 10:07---guess that must have been downhill. Mile 6 was 11:25; mile 7 was 11:16; mile 8 was 11:59.
The course was scenic but hillier than I expected. For some reason, although I knew New Hampshire was hilly, I thought that we were literally running around Newfound Lake which to me meant flat, despite what the elevation chart said. Plus there is the fact that I seem to be hopeless at interpreting elevation charts. Fortunately, I train on hills and I was not expecting to have an easy time of it anyway. But it was kind of crazy how hilly the course was versus my preconceptions of how it was going to be.
We passed an inn/restaurant with a big sign out front advertising a Japanese steak house with fine Italian cuisine. I puzzled over this and decided we would have to check it out later.
Here's a little bit about the people around me through most of the race:
There was a tall, thin woman dressed (overdressed, I thought) in long navy blue flared pants and a blue turtleneck. She had what looked like a space blanket tucked into her fanny pack. There was another woman with blond hair in turquoise shorts. Both these women looked like they should have been going faster than back there with me, but perhaps they were saving themselves for Portland.
There was a couple, from Australia I surmise from their accents, wearing 100 Marathon Club singlets.
Mostly we were running in the road beside a heavily wooded area with the trees just starting to change color, and occasional glimpses of the lake below us to the left. At this point I was really thinking give me an urban, flat marathon any day over hills and scenery, especially if it is the same scenery all the time.
At about mile 8 1/2, we made a left turn for an out-and-back segment with the turnaround at the Sculptured Rocks. This was probably the flattest portion of the race, but even this was not that flat.
On the out-and-back, I got to see most of the people who were ahead of me---although, not Chuck Engle, who had probably already gone by. There were a lot of people ahead of me, and none of them looked like they were exactly flying, either. It's a toughie, this one.
Mile 9 was 10:31; mile 10 was 13:06; mile 11 was 12:11, mile 12 was 12:07; mile 13 was 13:23.
Things I do remember from this stretch: a Boston Terrier in a yard, barking. A couple of Pomeranians chained up (who chains up Pomeranians?) in front of a very slummy looking shack. The chains were bigger than the Pomeranians. Seriously, Pomeranians? Figures that most of what I would remember are the dogs. A Golden Retriever laying at the feet of some spectators, its head turned away from the action. Reminded me of Libby. Dog was not interested in the race at all--unlike the Boston Terrier and the Pomeranians.
The wind picked up and I had to put my jacket back on. Thought a few times about the possibility of turning around early and cutting a few miles off this race. But since I am only doing the 50 states for myself, it would mean I'd only have to come back to New Hampshire and run another marathon anyway. This is not something I am doing to impress anybody except myself, and I'm not lying to myself about what I have done and what I haven't.
At the turnaround, a woman with a clipboard recorded our race numbers. I guess that is how they controlled for cheating. It was somewhat comforting to know that they were not just relying on the honor system and honest people like me.
Mile 14 (14:57!) was not too long after the turnaround. I called Susan, to let her know that things were not going well, and it could be as much as 6 hours. Mile 15 was 13:44; mile 16 was 14:20; mile 17 was 15:50.
Mile 18 was 13:04. At this point, I was thrilled with any time below 14 minutes. Somewhere in here, we left the out-and-back and made a right turn to return to Bristol on the other side of the lake. The scenery was a little different now, as we were actually running closer to the lakeshore, and there were many little cottages (some even painted red) that reminded me of Sweden. On the other side of the street were (no doubt) expensive condos that reminded me that I was not in Sweden.
A complication which made for some unpleasantness in the latter miles of this race was the rather heavy traffic coming towards us. I understand that they can't close a lane to traffic for this tiny little race. So it is what it is. But it was kind of scary and not fun. There was really no berm for much of this stretch, so when you had to get out of the road there was often nowhere to go. This would be my only real complaint about this race. I don't think there is anything that can be done about it, so I would just warn people attempting the race to be ready for it.
Mile 19 was 14:30 and mile 20 was 14:38. A guy running in Vibrams commented that we just had a couple of 5ks to go. I told him that I preferred to think of it as just an hour and a half to go. That's because when you say 5k to me, I think it means that I have to run fast. And that was for sure not happening. An hour and a half is a long time, but it was realistic.
I keep using the word "running" but I guess it goes without saying that we weren't really "running" the way most non-runners think of it. We were making the motions of running, but in slow motion.
Mile 21 was 14:22; mile 22 was 13:18; mile 23 was 15:34; mile 24 was 15:04. Just a half hour to go! I called Susan again to let her know of my impending arrival.
I was passed by a woman who agreed with me about the traffic and said that the race was certainly not her favorite. Then I was passed by the woman in navy blue. The final woman to pass me was wearing a Maniac shirt with 8 stars or so on the back. As I am only a one-star Maniac myself, I was quite impressed. Mile 25 was 15:05; mile 26 was 14:10.
Sooze was standing by the side of the road. She tried to take my pic but said it didn't come out. I made the turn down into the parking lot and across the grass of the little park behind the middle school to the finish line. Somebody told me to smile but I didn't see a photographer. Last .2 took me 2:50, for a final, official time of 5:41:50..One of my worst times ever! Worse than Flying Monkey! Worse than Humpy's after Logan died! I think actually my second slowest ever.
I will blame it on being untrained, sick for a month before the race, sick the day before the race, and the race itself being quite challenging. The woman's winner didn't even qualify for Boston! That says something about the degree of difficulty.
Like the race shirt, the medal was nothing remarkable. This is a fairly low-cost marathon, so I guess you can't expect much, but they didn't even have the year engraved on it (it was printed on the ribbon instead), and it had a rather generic look.
Susan had my turkey sandwich ready and waiting, which was a good thing since there was not much food left. I was officially 211 of 246 marathoners, 59 of 71 women and 16 of 24 women in my age group.
Post-Race
We drove (that is, I drove, which is so much fun after a lengthy slog-fest) back to the hotel but at least it was not too far. After cleaning up and eating "lunch" of our leftovers from the night before, we decided to drive back to the Bristol area for our free ice cream cones. Unfortunately, the GPS decided that the best way to go to the bakery was over the backroads. Off-roading in the Yaris! Turns out there are a lot of unpaved roads in the Bristol area. It was like a roller coaster ride.
Found the bakery and got our ice cream plus coffee. The ice cream was disappointing. Seemed like they were trying to use it all up before shutting down for the season. Had a stale taste. We didn't finish our cones. Spotted the Italian/Japanese steakhouse across the street and decided on that for dinner.
What it was: a restaurant inside an inn which included a cozy inner room with American-style cuisine, a small room off to the side with a hibachi grill and a Japanese guy doing the steakhouse thing for people seated at a table around him, and a larger room that opened to a big deck where you could order American, Italian or Japanese. Oh, and what looked like a biker bar upstairs. Very confused place.
We sat in the larger, outside room and ordered steaks. They were okay. We took our leftovers back to the hotel to eat with breakfast. Steak and eggs!
Sunday morning, after breakfast, we drove back along the race course so I could show Susan what she missed by not doing the marathon. We stopped at Sculptured Rocks. Small, and quite underwhelming. Looked kind of like a section of an amusement park water ride. Or Class 5 rapids for Barbie and Ken? So after a couple of minutes of looking at that, it was time to hit the highway.
And that's the story. In summary: a nice little race but nothing fabulous. But overall, not bad. Challenging course. I stunk, but that was not unexpected.
Wednesday, October 06, 2010
State-to-State # 8
I ran the 8th annual State-to-State Half-Marathon on Sunday, Sept. 26. I have to keep doing them to keep up the streak. It is far from my favorite race but maybe someday I can be the last woman or even the last person from the inaugural race still running it. Maybe they will give me some kind of really cool recognition or prize. And that is really the main reason I keep showing up every year because it is not that great of a race, and if it didn't fit my schedule as a training run there are plenty of other things I could do with my time (like usually a dog agility trial).
I just wanted to get it done and recorded and not push too much since after all I did have that marathon to look forward to less than a week later. Had a bit of stress getting to the race this year because Tommy was out of town and I had to make sure the dogs were taken care of. Decided not to bother walking them beforehand. Was almost cool enough that I could have brought them along and left them in the car, but decided they were better off at home. Worst case scenario was I would have to clean up some poop, and even that was unlikely. They are good dogs.
Anyway, did get there a little later than usual so as not to leave the dogs for too long, and did have to park a little farther away than usual, but no biggie. The race shirt was a bit nicer this year---long sleeve, technical top. It's white but at least the hideous race logo is small for a change.
One funny thing but all too typical for the somewhat scattered organization at this race---they had run out of pins by the time I arrived to pick up my number. They sent somebody out to Walmart to get some more. A little while later when I checked back at the registration table, they handed me two gigantic baby diaper-style pins. Note to self: always bring a set of pins along to the race just in case.
Sunny but cool and windy weather, certainly not the worst I've experienced at this race. Overall time was about the same as last year, just a hair slower. I was actually faster until mile 8, then slowed down a lot in the last five miles. This did not bode well for the upcoming marathon. I could tell myself I was taking it easy but we know the truth.
One thing new at this race is we were interupted by a train in the first mile. Apparently the race committee was unable to get the transportation company to change their train schedule this year. I made it across the track before the train, but some did not. This was the closest I have ever come to getting run over by a train, but I was not letting it get in the way of my race.
Here are the splits:
1) 9:56
2) 10:11
3) 10:02
4) 10:07
5) 9:55
6) 9:45
7) 11:06
8) 9:42
9) 11:16
10) 11:30
11) 12:01
12) 11:20
13.1) 12:21
So you can clearly see that the wheels did come off after mile 8. Or maybe it was even earlier than that. I'm not really trained to go farther than a 10k. But I do.
My official time was 2:19:10.7, which put me 390 of 513 overall and 5 of 8 in my age group. Creeping up in the age group through attrition!
I just wanted to get it done and recorded and not push too much since after all I did have that marathon to look forward to less than a week later. Had a bit of stress getting to the race this year because Tommy was out of town and I had to make sure the dogs were taken care of. Decided not to bother walking them beforehand. Was almost cool enough that I could have brought them along and left them in the car, but decided they were better off at home. Worst case scenario was I would have to clean up some poop, and even that was unlikely. They are good dogs.
Anyway, did get there a little later than usual so as not to leave the dogs for too long, and did have to park a little farther away than usual, but no biggie. The race shirt was a bit nicer this year---long sleeve, technical top. It's white but at least the hideous race logo is small for a change.
One funny thing but all too typical for the somewhat scattered organization at this race---they had run out of pins by the time I arrived to pick up my number. They sent somebody out to Walmart to get some more. A little while later when I checked back at the registration table, they handed me two gigantic baby diaper-style pins. Note to self: always bring a set of pins along to the race just in case.
Sunny but cool and windy weather, certainly not the worst I've experienced at this race. Overall time was about the same as last year, just a hair slower. I was actually faster until mile 8, then slowed down a lot in the last five miles. This did not bode well for the upcoming marathon. I could tell myself I was taking it easy but we know the truth.
One thing new at this race is we were interupted by a train in the first mile. Apparently the race committee was unable to get the transportation company to change their train schedule this year. I made it across the track before the train, but some did not. This was the closest I have ever come to getting run over by a train, but I was not letting it get in the way of my race.
Here are the splits:
1) 9:56
2) 10:11
3) 10:02
4) 10:07
5) 9:55
6) 9:45
7) 11:06
8) 9:42
9) 11:16
10) 11:30
11) 12:01
12) 11:20
13.1) 12:21
So you can clearly see that the wheels did come off after mile 8. Or maybe it was even earlier than that. I'm not really trained to go farther than a 10k. But I do.
My official time was 2:19:10.7, which put me 390 of 513 overall and 5 of 8 in my age group. Creeping up in the age group through attrition!
Glenwood Gardens Night Race
I am back from New Hampshire (which I did manage to finish but not in a respectable time) and trying to catch up on a lot of things. And I realize I never wrote about the trail race I did a few weeks ago, nor about the State to State half marathon.
So this is about the trail race. Technically, not really a trail race. We ran around a park, and about half the race was on a paved trail, and the other half on gravel. But it was at night, so that should count for something. They are considering it part of the trail race series and it counts toward your points.
I was still recovering from the bronchitis so I didn't want to push too hard, but I also wanted to demonstrate that my placement in that last race was no fluke. So I ended up pushing it anyway.
Wore my new Petzl headlamp, and it seemed like everybody else had theirs on also. They gave us little red blinking lights to clip on our backsides so you could see the runners in front of you, and they had also marked the trail with little red lights. But other than that, it was completely dark.
For a warmup, I did multiple loops of a little grassy island up near the park clubhouse/pavillion-like structure where the race registration took place. I was one of the few people warming up, and many people were not even dressed in running clothes. Bob Roncker said we would have food after the race, which raised unreasonable expectations in my head. Turned out it was just the usual bagels, bananas and apples you might find at the end of a morning race. Bummer.
I had a brief chat with a woman at the start who had moved here from Minneapolis and she was all about how much better the racing scene was there than here. She was also whining about how she had nobody to run with because she had young kids and couldn't ever meet up with any of the groups. My heart bleeds for you. If you were looking to hook up with me, guess again because you are clearly too much of a whiner. Left her in the dust right away.
We started out downhill, and it was hard to figure the pace because I couldn't see. Just tried to stay out of trouble. We did about a mile loop on the paved part, and then came out of that loop and onto the gravel. I felt like there were plenty of people behind me. I was wearing my new Saucony Xodus trail shoes and they might have been overkill on the pavement but they were great on the gravel, and very comfortable.
On the gravel I was running next to a guy who started running on the side where the grass was. I gave that a try and decided the gravel was easier, and eventually I did leave him behind, although it did take awhile. It was so dark and I had never been in the park before, so I had no idea where I was or how much longer we had to run.
I had passed a bunch of men and a few women, and then about a quarter mile from the finish I passed an older, fit looking woman, who turned out to be one of the women from the previous race who is just a year older than I am. I want to beat her everytime. She is so much more fit looking than I am. I totally kicked her butt this time. She is still ahead of me in the standings because of me goofing off in the first couple of races, but now that has changed for good.
Really pushed it crossing the finish line just to make sure she didn't catch me, and I managed to both throw up and pee my pants. It's been a long time since I've pushed that hard! Official time was 32:39, my fastest trail race so far. This put me 14 of 33 women and 61 of 93 overall. But my age graded time put me 32 of 93, not too bad.
Notice that the smaller trail races yield a better point value towards The Dirty Dozen...wonder if they will adjust for that next year. I'm hoping that in my last two races I can wipe out yucky scores from the Ault Park and French Park races. Looks good for a better score in the 27k at least, since the field is limited to just 50 runners and there probably won't be that many women competing.
Got the updated Dirty Dozen rankings the other day, and I am # 6 woman, just behind the woman I have beaten in the last two races. I don't know if I can pull ahead of her or not, even if I do beat her in the next two races, because she has run well all the way through and I am just starting to figure this trail racing thing out.
So this is about the trail race. Technically, not really a trail race. We ran around a park, and about half the race was on a paved trail, and the other half on gravel. But it was at night, so that should count for something. They are considering it part of the trail race series and it counts toward your points.
I was still recovering from the bronchitis so I didn't want to push too hard, but I also wanted to demonstrate that my placement in that last race was no fluke. So I ended up pushing it anyway.
Wore my new Petzl headlamp, and it seemed like everybody else had theirs on also. They gave us little red blinking lights to clip on our backsides so you could see the runners in front of you, and they had also marked the trail with little red lights. But other than that, it was completely dark.
For a warmup, I did multiple loops of a little grassy island up near the park clubhouse/pavillion-like structure where the race registration took place. I was one of the few people warming up, and many people were not even dressed in running clothes. Bob Roncker said we would have food after the race, which raised unreasonable expectations in my head. Turned out it was just the usual bagels, bananas and apples you might find at the end of a morning race. Bummer.
I had a brief chat with a woman at the start who had moved here from Minneapolis and she was all about how much better the racing scene was there than here. She was also whining about how she had nobody to run with because she had young kids and couldn't ever meet up with any of the groups. My heart bleeds for you. If you were looking to hook up with me, guess again because you are clearly too much of a whiner. Left her in the dust right away.
We started out downhill, and it was hard to figure the pace because I couldn't see. Just tried to stay out of trouble. We did about a mile loop on the paved part, and then came out of that loop and onto the gravel. I felt like there were plenty of people behind me. I was wearing my new Saucony Xodus trail shoes and they might have been overkill on the pavement but they were great on the gravel, and very comfortable.
On the gravel I was running next to a guy who started running on the side where the grass was. I gave that a try and decided the gravel was easier, and eventually I did leave him behind, although it did take awhile. It was so dark and I had never been in the park before, so I had no idea where I was or how much longer we had to run.
I had passed a bunch of men and a few women, and then about a quarter mile from the finish I passed an older, fit looking woman, who turned out to be one of the women from the previous race who is just a year older than I am. I want to beat her everytime. She is so much more fit looking than I am. I totally kicked her butt this time. She is still ahead of me in the standings because of me goofing off in the first couple of races, but now that has changed for good.
Really pushed it crossing the finish line just to make sure she didn't catch me, and I managed to both throw up and pee my pants. It's been a long time since I've pushed that hard! Official time was 32:39, my fastest trail race so far. This put me 14 of 33 women and 61 of 93 overall. But my age graded time put me 32 of 93, not too bad.
Notice that the smaller trail races yield a better point value towards The Dirty Dozen...wonder if they will adjust for that next year. I'm hoping that in my last two races I can wipe out yucky scores from the Ault Park and French Park races. Looks good for a better score in the 27k at least, since the field is limited to just 50 runners and there probably won't be that many women competing.
Got the updated Dirty Dozen rankings the other day, and I am # 6 woman, just behind the woman I have beaten in the last two races. I don't know if I can pull ahead of her or not, even if I do beat her in the next two races, because she has run well all the way through and I am just starting to figure this trail racing thing out.
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