TWO 25k Race Reports

Race #1

On Saturday April 9, 2011 I ran the Jackson Laughs 25k (16.14 miles) in Kent, Ohio. We started just after 8 am on a cloudy, 50 degree morning. The race took us all over Kent by way of roads and a bike path. I really enjoyed the course filled with some rolling hills, the flat bike path, and one really steep hill around mile 12.5.

Garmin Mile Splits
1 10:30
2 10:27
3 10:24
4 10:20
5 10:25
6 11:03
7 11:59 - This might be when the place where a dog chased me down the road!
8 10:58
9 11:08
10 10:30
11 10:24
12 10:59
13 11:23 - HILL!
14 10:34
15 10:19
16 9:42
.14 1:19

Total Time = 2:52:32
Average Pace = 10:41

Race #2

Then, this past Sunday, April 17, 2011, I ran the Forget the PR 25k (17.41 miles) at Mohican State Forest in Loudonville, Ohio. Friday night I drove down to our cabin at Mohican Adventures with A and S. We stayed up late enjoying a camp fire and chatting with other friends already there. Saturday more friends arrived and we spent some of the day hiking a portion of the race course. The 8 am race time came early on Sunday morning, but at least we were staying just yards away from the starting line. The temperature was in the mid 40s, it was partly sunny, and sometimes pretty windy.

PreRace Grunt Girl Photo:



The race course was BEAUTIFUL, but VERY HILLY! One hill was even labeled "Big Ass Hill." They went on and on... Plus, we had to climb over and under fallen trees, run through streams, climb up hand-over-hand using rocks and roots next to a waterfall, run behind a waterfall, AND the course included crossing through a RIVER. It was about 25 yds wide and up to thigh deep - and cold!

Garmin Mile Splits
1 10:32
2 13:01
3 13:49
4 19:49 - this was where the "big ass hill" was located
5 14:34
6 14:23
7 16:52
8 13:02
9 19:42 - this might be where we were climbing
10 17:09 - very technical area
11 15:27
12 15:36
13 19:34 - water crossing / covered bridge
14 13:58
15 15:19
16 16:25
17 15:04
.41 4:32

Total Time = 4:28:57
Average Pace = 15:26

Thankfully, I had the wondeful company of my fellow Grunt Girl Stacy for the entire race. It made the experience that much better. :-) Here we are MidRace:


I should probably point out though, that I was officially DQ'd from this race. My name and time will not appear on the race results. I did NOT cross the river in the water. It was deep and cold, and there was a bridge right there to use, so I did. I was particpating in the race to have fun - which I did! If I had gone in the water, the last 5 miles would have been miserable for me, and I didn't want to have negitive feelings about this experience. I watched Stacy cross the river, and unfortunatly she ended up wet up to her neck after slipping. I might have quit if that had been me! So, I did not follow the course, but still had FUN.
Me, just after finishing:



This was my longest race / run ever! I can't believe how much running distance I've been covering this year!

Next up: My very first marathon ever... The Cleveland Marathon on May 15th!

Fools 25K Race Report -

This past Sunday I ran my first 25k race. AND it was a trail race; the Fools 25k, in the CVNP. When I arrived at the park, it was still totally dark. I watched the sun rise and then did a .75 mile warm up in the cool 20 degree weather. Thankfully it was at least sunny, and it probably warmed up to about the mid 20s during the race.
The race began at 7:30 am, and I made sure to start near the back, knowing I'd be slower than a lot of the other runners. Many of those racing were running the 50k - two loops of the course I was running!
The course was very hilly - almost no flats. I was happy that I had experience running on every trail that the course consisted of - thanks to my fellow Grunt Girls! (Of course, I had never run them all at once before though!)
A few miles in, I felt a blister on the arch of my left foot. Ugh. I tried to shift my sock around and eventually I was able to not feel it. (It was still there, but at least not causeing any pain.)I tried to keep a good pace and was enjoying the run.
THEN - around mile 11.5 of the race I was running downhill and felt some pain in my right knee. Ouch. Every downhill step hurt. Around mile 12 you can see the finish line in the distance and I thought about heading there and calling it quits. Two things kept me going - one was knowing I had some good Grunt Girls friends at the finish line (didn't want to quit with them there) and knowing that I really liked the last loop of the race - a trail called Salt Run. So, I walked the downhills because of my knee, and I walked the uphills because I was tired and they were steep. That didn't leave me with much running for those last few miles. BUT, I finished.

Garmin Mile Splits
1 - 11:44
2 - 11:25
3 - 10:18
4 - 11:49
5 - 13:26
6 - 12:20
7 - 11:09
8 - 10:48
9 - 13:32
10 - 12:11
11 - 11:26
12 - 14:26
13 - 15:37
14 - 16:11
15 - 16:35
.7 - 10:06

Total time - 3:23:13

A pic of some of the Grunt Girls at the Fools Run: (Some ran the 25k and some were just wonderful and greeted us at the finish line.)


I made the mistake of making this face when I crossed the finish line:


It was a nice day, but with my knee hurting, I was GLAD to be done!

Race day was supposed to be an 18 mile running day in my training for the Cleveland Marathon, but with my knee pain, there was no way I could finish my miles. So, it was just a 16.5 mile day with my warm-up and race.

I took off from working out Mon and Tue, and was able to bike on Wed. I planned to run yesterday, but life got in the way - big time! - - - I found a local school district that is hiring TWO teachers (grade one and five) and the deadline to apply is today. SO, I spent almost all day yesterday applying for the jobs. WOW!

Today I hope to run some, and then I hope to run an 11 miler this weekend. We'll see how that goes, and then I'll decide whether to run another 25k race next weekend.

THEN - the week after that is the "Forget the PR" 25k (17.1 mile) race down at Mohican. I'll really have to be careful on the downhills there!!!