My body was feeling good leading up to the race. The race took place during the peak of my Vermont 100K training so I was a little less rested, but I was able to do a mini taper that week to try and get my legs ready. And they were. My legs felt great. The issue I did have was my stomach. I made some fueling mistakes, took some gels (which I don't normally do), and just had too much in my stomach for such a short race. I have never had GI issues running but from mile 3-5.5 I felt on the verge of puking. In retrospect I should have. I think it would have made me feel better and get running again sooner. Instead I walked it off, eventually felt better, and had a great finish for the last mile and a 1/2. That being said, this is a tough ass race that I underestimated to a degree. I did a lot of hiking and climbing this winter and spring, including multiple trips up Washington with skis on my back, and felt like I was more prepared than I was. The roads are cambered a lot so not only do you feel like you are going up all the time, but if you fall off to the side of the road it feels like you are going down hill and have to climb up even further. Even when you know it's all up hill, its hard to not hope that there will be a flat section around the corner! I had a goal of finishing in 1 hour 20 minutes and ended up finishing in 1:30:30. My split at the 1/2 way mark was 41 minutes which was right on track. But things started to fall apart right around then. I actually was surprised that I finished in 1:30 considering how I was feeling and that I walked almost two miles. It was one of those races that made me question why I run/race at all and at the same time made me eager to get in the lottery for next year and do it again! Thank you to Maine Track Club, Trail Monster Running, all the volunteers, and the Hoff girls for crewing and all the support.
Saturday, June 20, 2015
Mt Washington Road Race - Race Report
My body was feeling good leading up to the race. The race took place during the peak of my Vermont 100K training so I was a little less rested, but I was able to do a mini taper that week to try and get my legs ready. And they were. My legs felt great. The issue I did have was my stomach. I made some fueling mistakes, took some gels (which I don't normally do), and just had too much in my stomach for such a short race. I have never had GI issues running but from mile 3-5.5 I felt on the verge of puking. In retrospect I should have. I think it would have made me feel better and get running again sooner. Instead I walked it off, eventually felt better, and had a great finish for the last mile and a 1/2. That being said, this is a tough ass race that I underestimated to a degree. I did a lot of hiking and climbing this winter and spring, including multiple trips up Washington with skis on my back, and felt like I was more prepared than I was. The roads are cambered a lot so not only do you feel like you are going up all the time, but if you fall off to the side of the road it feels like you are going down hill and have to climb up even further. Even when you know it's all up hill, its hard to not hope that there will be a flat section around the corner! I had a goal of finishing in 1 hour 20 minutes and ended up finishing in 1:30:30. My split at the 1/2 way mark was 41 minutes which was right on track. But things started to fall apart right around then. I actually was surprised that I finished in 1:30 considering how I was feeling and that I walked almost two miles. It was one of those races that made me question why I run/race at all and at the same time made me eager to get in the lottery for next year and do it again! Thank you to Maine Track Club, Trail Monster Running, all the volunteers, and the Hoff girls for crewing and all the support.
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