Category: Race Reports

Johnnie’s Run – A return to “fast”

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The last 5k race I ran was Zach’s Run on October 4, 2008. The last time I did anything resembling speedwork was about about 6 months ago, but even that was more like tempo running than all-out, out-of-breath, feel-like-my-lungs-are-going-to-explode running. Yup, it’s true: I can run 50 miles, I can do an Ironman, yet a 5k still scares me. It’s not the distance. It’s the speed. It’s the burning, searing pain that comes from pushing your body past the redline into anaerobic zone. True, it’s only little more than 20 minutes. But, those 20 minutes are grueling. It’s not like …

This is what we do: The Vermont 50

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  “Racing teaches us to challenge ourselves. It teaches us to push beyond what we thought we could do. It helps us to find out what we are made of. This is what we do. This is what it’s all about.” ~ Pattie Sue Plumer, U.S. Olympian Race morning… We stayed in a hotel that smelled of cigarettes and flatulence. The cigarettes were from the people who had the room before us. The flatulence, well, I guess we have to own up to that. John and I joked as we fell off to sleep, “At the starting line, people are …

Stumpy’s Marathon: A 10 year old’s birthday party

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In the process of training for the impending Vermont 50, John and I have completed several organized trail races. There are definite advantages to entering races, even if you are just doing the race as a training day. For example, the excitement of a race day along with running in a completely new place can help break up the monotony of training. I just love the feeling of waking up on a race day morning, and the excitement of wondering what’s around the next bend in the trail. Another key advantage is aid station support, which means you don’t have …

Labor Pain Endurance Run: A Labor of FUN!

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My husband John spends time on the internet looking for crazier and longer races. He succeeded in finding us a doozy to celebrate Labor Day Weekend: The Pretzel City Sports’ First Annual Labor Pains 12 hour endurance run. We managed to talk Tracy, my sister-in-law, into the craziness. Tracy’s plan was to use this race as training for the upcoming Atlantic City Marathon, October 17, during which she WILL qualify for Boston 2011 (oh, yeah baby – we will have quite the Boston Posse!). Our approach to this race was quite relaxed. In fact, I didn’t even commit to doing …

Losing control: Cannonman Half-Iron Triathlon Race Report

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I am neurotic about being prepared and having my gear organized. Perhaps you remember the pictures of my gear for Lake Placid, all carefully laid out and prepared. Or, maybe, you remember me writing about the packing lists I check and re-check to keep track of all of my gear. Apparently, I took a break from that approach for the Cannonman half-iron distance triathlon, which was held on August 22, 2010 at the Shawnee State Park, in Schellsburg, PA. I assure you, this break from the uber-Type A approach to racing was not freely chosen. There were several forces at …

Ironman Lake Placid: Running to the Finish

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The run course begins along Main Street, among thousands of people, cheering, ringing cow bells, shouting words of encouragement, and drinking lots of beer, which I could smell on the breath of some of the spectators. That is how close they get to you on the run course. A group of spectators held up a sign that read, “Free Beer!” I wonder if anyone took them up on that. One woman commented to me, “You are looking strong! Have some beer!” I replied, laughing, “Not sure I’ll keep looking strong if I drink that!” During the first three miles, I …

Ironman Lake Placid 2010: The Bike & T2

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Once clipped in, I had no choice but to go down… …the hill, that is. As you come out of the transition area on the bike, there is a sharp almost 180-degree turn that takes you down a hill. After that, you head down a sharp but short descent on a street that is in motion, with hundreds and hundreds of people, screaming their heads off. I tried my best to enjoy this part, but I was nervous. It was raining, I was surrounded by hundreds of other athletes, and it all seemed just a bit chaotic. As with the …

Ironman Lake Placid 2010: The Swim & T1

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At precisely 7:00 a.m., the cannon went off to signal the start of Ironman Lake Placid for over 2,700 age group athletes. I looked at Carrie, one of the athletes I was talking with prior to the start, and said, “Oh, is that us?” She laughed and said, “Yup, that’s us!”   I was in no hurry to start. My plan was to wait one minute before starting. So, I walked along the banks to the start line of the swim. (I had been standing about 50 yards from the official start line.) I looked ahead as the washing machine …

Ironman Lake Placid: The Morning of the Race

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Basking in the post-first Ironman glow, just a mere two days after the race, it is hard for me to remember any other day in my life that was more amazing, more inspirational, more powerful than the day I had on Sunday. It started at 4:00 a.m., to the sounds of the Rocky theme (what else?) as the alarm clock on my cell phone went off. I looked out of our hotel window. The sun wasn’t up yet, and the sky was dark. John asked, “Is it raining?” I smiled. “Nope.” Morning showers were forecasted, but they hadn’t started yet. …

Mooseman 70.3 Part 2: Some things I learned along the way

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This post will be a bit more technical than my previous posts. If you prefer a more narrative report of the Mooseman 70.3, please check out part 1 by clicking here. As I mentioned in my previous post, I learned more in the six and a half hours of racing Mooseman 70.3 than I did over the course of the entire triathlon season last year. And, I’m thinking that some of this information could be quite useful to other triathletes, or athletes considering triathlon. I’m breaking this post into more easily digestable segments, which should allow you to pick and …