Charlie Horse trail Half Marathon 03h18 15:44 pace
(What started as a short race report seem to have grown out of control, be warned)
For my first half marathon race I choose an awesome trail race. It's more challenging than a road race but that's just what I needed. My goal: finishing under 4h and running smiley 
Scott posted about the race on the PA Chapter Forum and offered a ride to the race so I jumped in. At 7:45 on Sunday morning I met with Scott and 2 other runners, Rachel and Bobbie, and we headed to the race. It was a treat to get to talk with such great people. All three of them are more experienced runners than I am and their experience was welcome.
The race was a point to point so we left the car that the finish line, picked up our packets and got in one of the school buses heading for the start.
The race started in a gravel parking lot and we had to cross a stream to get on the trail. I started at the end of the pack with my shoes in my hands.
I ran barefoot for the first mile and a couple of miles in the middle. Apparently I'm not doing too good barefoot on rocky downhills. With the shoes on (Merrel Pace Gloves) I discovered that my strength is going downhill, I was flying by everybody with a huge grin on my face, it was my favorite portions of the race. I walked most uphills, like all the people around me did. These hills were brutal, I need a lot more training to be able to run even half of them. I tried a little bit the hill running technique described in Chi Running: running sidewise, with a mid-foot strike, a more pronounced lean and pumping with the arms but my arms are too weak to sustain that and my heart rate was really climbing high.
I'm glad I had my hydration belt as I drank most of my 20oz bottle in between water stations. I carried Nuun tablets and added them to my water at most water stops. It was a really hot and humid day. 95 degrees at the finish. Most of the run was in the shade but we had a road portion in full sun. I made a mistake there, I took off my shoes thinking that I would run lighter barefoot. The asphalt was not too hot for running but after a while I started walking the uphills and that's when my soles got burned. In the evening I discovered a wide burn/blister under my heel from all that walking. Running on road with the Pace Gloves is not really enjoyable but considering the heat and the fact I was going to walk some I should have kept the shoes on.
In the last 3 miles they had us cross a stream many times, the banks were so steep we used ropes to pull ourselves up. We walked a few hundred yards in a stream, walked through water, muddy water pools (1 to 3ft deep) and deep mud puddles, the kind that pulls people shoes off their feet. In fact they had a pile of free shoes there for people who loose theirs in the mud. In that last section we crossed a short metal grate bridge and that would have been a killer barefoot.
This race was awesome, all volunteers were so nice and efficient, and all runners were friendly and courteous. There was even a guy seated in the raised bucket of a front end loader spraying water on runners near the end. The scenery was gorgeous, and I really loved the feeling of being alone in the woods in some sections. I would hear voices behind me and accelerate a little just to be able to run by myself. But when I ran with other people they were always extremely friendly, encouraging and didn't take themselves too seriously unlike some of the people I've seen at my previous road race.
At the finish line I met with Bobbie and Rachel who ran together and arrived a few minuted before me, and Scott who had been done for at least an hour, had time to shower, have a few burgers and drinks and looked as fresh as if he had spent the day by the pool. I am so happy to have had the chance to meet them and I hope to run more races with them. Thanks to the BRS chapters for making it easy to run with open minded people.
For experienced barefoot trail runners I think this course is doable barefoot, but not necesseraly super enjoyable or fast. There are some sections of gravel that would slow you down but not stop you. The grate bridge in the farm near the end is really short. Considering my lack of experience with trails I think I would be better off running this kind of race with my Merrell. The short section I ran barefoot gave me a few bruises under my arches, probably caused by the downhills in the rocks. If I had the luxury to train on trails I would probably train partially barefoot but I think I should stick to shoes for races. I don't want to give up those amazing downhills. During the race, I ran through different textures and could imagine how it would feel on my feet if I was barefoot and I missed that feeling but it would have been too time consuming to keep switching from shod to barefoot all the time.
For future races I need to do better in terms of nutrition. For this race I had normal meals the day before, then I couldn't eat anything for breakfast and just had a banana before the race. I carried a few Larabars (made from dates+nuts) with me as well as honey hard candies. At some point I tried to force myself to eat a piece of bar but couldn't get more than one bite once in a while. Eating was just not appealing at all even though I felt weak and thought some calories would help. So I had about 200 calories during the 3h race. In training I ran only about 2h and always on an empty stomach so I need to experiment with pre-run and in-run nutrition for longer runs. I would like to stick to real foods or food with familiar ingredients. Or maybe I will experiment with Saypays' warrior diet...
I think I'm hooked to trail races...but I need to learn how to run those hills without having a heart attack.
I'm quite proud to have run this race after just 1 year of running, and to be able to do so in a "reasonable" time. At the beginning of May 2010 I could not run 4 min without stopping. In this past year I ran a 10k on road, a 5k run/10m bike/5k run on flat trail and this hilly race. I've come a long way. But when I see how much walking I had to do I find it humbling. Some guys were running the course twice that day, to get a full marathon distance. I plan to keep training at low heart rate over the summer and try to add hills at the end of the summer. I think my heart needs more training than my legs at the moment, even though my upper legs feel quite stiff right now, in a weird spot on the outside of the leg.
This guy posted cool pictures of the course: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2045570707822&set=a.2045537426990.123979.1501022072&type=1&l=40aa72f3d1&theater&closeTheater=1
(What started as a short race report seem to have grown out of control, be warned)
Scott posted about the race on the PA Chapter Forum and offered a ride to the race so I jumped in. At 7:45 on Sunday morning I met with Scott and 2 other runners, Rachel and Bobbie, and we headed to the race. It was a treat to get to talk with such great people. All three of them are more experienced runners than I am and their experience was welcome.
The race was a point to point so we left the car that the finish line, picked up our packets and got in one of the school buses heading for the start.
The race started in a gravel parking lot and we had to cross a stream to get on the trail. I started at the end of the pack with my shoes in my hands.
I ran barefoot for the first mile and a couple of miles in the middle. Apparently I'm not doing too good barefoot on rocky downhills. With the shoes on (Merrel Pace Gloves) I discovered that my strength is going downhill, I was flying by everybody with a huge grin on my face, it was my favorite portions of the race. I walked most uphills, like all the people around me did. These hills were brutal, I need a lot more training to be able to run even half of them. I tried a little bit the hill running technique described in Chi Running: running sidewise, with a mid-foot strike, a more pronounced lean and pumping with the arms but my arms are too weak to sustain that and my heart rate was really climbing high.
I'm glad I had my hydration belt as I drank most of my 20oz bottle in between water stations. I carried Nuun tablets and added them to my water at most water stops. It was a really hot and humid day. 95 degrees at the finish. Most of the run was in the shade but we had a road portion in full sun. I made a mistake there, I took off my shoes thinking that I would run lighter barefoot. The asphalt was not too hot for running but after a while I started walking the uphills and that's when my soles got burned. In the evening I discovered a wide burn/blister under my heel from all that walking. Running on road with the Pace Gloves is not really enjoyable but considering the heat and the fact I was going to walk some I should have kept the shoes on.
In the last 3 miles they had us cross a stream many times, the banks were so steep we used ropes to pull ourselves up. We walked a few hundred yards in a stream, walked through water, muddy water pools (1 to 3ft deep) and deep mud puddles, the kind that pulls people shoes off their feet. In fact they had a pile of free shoes there for people who loose theirs in the mud. In that last section we crossed a short metal grate bridge and that would have been a killer barefoot.
This race was awesome, all volunteers were so nice and efficient, and all runners were friendly and courteous. There was even a guy seated in the raised bucket of a front end loader spraying water on runners near the end. The scenery was gorgeous, and I really loved the feeling of being alone in the woods in some sections. I would hear voices behind me and accelerate a little just to be able to run by myself. But when I ran with other people they were always extremely friendly, encouraging and didn't take themselves too seriously unlike some of the people I've seen at my previous road race.
At the finish line I met with Bobbie and Rachel who ran together and arrived a few minuted before me, and Scott who had been done for at least an hour, had time to shower, have a few burgers and drinks and looked as fresh as if he had spent the day by the pool. I am so happy to have had the chance to meet them and I hope to run more races with them. Thanks to the BRS chapters for making it easy to run with open minded people.
For experienced barefoot trail runners I think this course is doable barefoot, but not necesseraly super enjoyable or fast. There are some sections of gravel that would slow you down but not stop you. The grate bridge in the farm near the end is really short. Considering my lack of experience with trails I think I would be better off running this kind of race with my Merrell. The short section I ran barefoot gave me a few bruises under my arches, probably caused by the downhills in the rocks. If I had the luxury to train on trails I would probably train partially barefoot but I think I should stick to shoes for races. I don't want to give up those amazing downhills. During the race, I ran through different textures and could imagine how it would feel on my feet if I was barefoot and I missed that feeling but it would have been too time consuming to keep switching from shod to barefoot all the time.
For future races I need to do better in terms of nutrition. For this race I had normal meals the day before, then I couldn't eat anything for breakfast and just had a banana before the race. I carried a few Larabars (made from dates+nuts) with me as well as honey hard candies. At some point I tried to force myself to eat a piece of bar but couldn't get more than one bite once in a while. Eating was just not appealing at all even though I felt weak and thought some calories would help. So I had about 200 calories during the 3h race. In training I ran only about 2h and always on an empty stomach so I need to experiment with pre-run and in-run nutrition for longer runs. I would like to stick to real foods or food with familiar ingredients. Or maybe I will experiment with Saypays' warrior diet...
I think I'm hooked to trail races...but I need to learn how to run those hills without having a heart attack.
I'm quite proud to have run this race after just 1 year of running, and to be able to do so in a "reasonable" time. At the beginning of May 2010 I could not run 4 min without stopping. In this past year I ran a 10k on road, a 5k run/10m bike/5k run on flat trail and this hilly race. I've come a long way. But when I see how much walking I had to do I find it humbling. Some guys were running the course twice that day, to get a full marathon distance. I plan to keep training at low heart rate over the summer and try to add hills at the end of the summer. I think my heart needs more training than my legs at the moment, even though my upper legs feel quite stiff right now, in a weird spot on the outside of the leg.
This guy posted cool pictures of the course: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2045570707822&set=a.2045537426990.123979.1501022072&type=1&l=40aa72f3d1&theater&closeTheater=1
