September 8 - 14, 2008

This week served as a bit of a cut-back week. It was sort of hard to think of it that way as I ran a trail race today, but the mileage wasn't nearly as high as it has been. So, here's the synopsis of my week:

M 9/8: 5.5 mile bike and lift
T 9/9: 6.25 mile progressive speed work
W 9/10: yoga and a 2 mile hike with the dog
R 9/11: 5 mile trail run
F 9/12: rest day
S 9/13: 7.5 slow miles
S 9/14: 8 mile trail race - Marble Quarry Hill Climb

I've been a bit lazy with my lifting lately. This week was pretty packed with school stuff, but that's still no excuse. My goal for next week is to lift three times.

I've also been trying to incorporate some new training scheduling into my current routine. The plan I'm following to train for the Denver Marathon is a combination of Smart Coach from Runner's World and Hal Higdon's Intermediate program. I've used Higdon's progression of weekly runs and distances for my training but I've used the suggested paces from Smart Coach. The component of the Higdon plan that I like the best is doing a tempo or speedwork run the day before a long run. The idea is to start the long run on fatigued legs to simulate the feeling your legs will have later in the actual marathon.

The new plan I'm trying to ease into is a 21-day cycle with 8 key runs during that time. The remainder of the days are a combination of recovery runs and cross training. Of the 8 key runs there are 3 long runs (one of them being a "race-simulator" run with negative splits), 2 hill runs (one is a steady climb, the other is repeats), 2 speed work sessions, and 1 tempo run. I still need to work through some of the details regarding the speed work and tempo runs. I hope to use this type of strategy during training for my next marathon in the Spring.

Anyway...all of that aside...I really want to share my experience from today's race!

The Lead King Loop 25K/Marble Quarry Hill Climb 12.5K was my first trail race. I entered at the suggestion of my husband. He is definitely a purist when it comes to sports and thought I was spending too much time on the roads. I should be in a more "natural" environment. So, I started running more hills and trails during the past month. Luckily, one of our local hills - Red Mountain - is virtually a twin to the course I ran today. That definitely helped build my confidence.

I woke up this morning around 6:00 a.m. Ate my usual breakfast of oatmeal with cinnamon, half a peach, and brown sugar, some yogurt and Kashi, and of course some coffee! I started gathering my "race gear", packed my post-race snacks, and dragged my hubby out of bed. We were on the road by 7:45. I was hoping we'd be headed out by 7:30, but that wasn't to be.

We arrived in Marble around 9:00. We parked near the Beaver Lake Lodge (race HQ) and I picked up my race packet. For some reason they had me registered twice - never did get that sorted out, but I was runner 309 today.

With about 30 minutes to assess the weather, get warmed up, and make a "costume" change I made my way to the starting line. I originally planned on racing in pants but it was about 60 degrees when the race started so I opted for shorts instead. I got my Garmin set - I was a little worried it wouldn't pick up the signals because of the surrounding mountains, but no trouble.

The course started off through the town of Marble with a few rolling hills (very little hills, mind you). After about 1/2 mile we hit the Jeep road that lead to the quarry. The first mile was at a pretty mild grade. The split for my first mile was 9:32. Pretty respectable for me on a flat course, much less one with hills. In this mile, I managed to get out to an early lead on most of the other women running the course. I was running with the eventual winner at this point following her pace.

The second mile was a bit more challenging and I took my first walk break at 1.25 miles. The rest of this mile was much steeper than the beginning of the course - my split was 13:16. Ouch! The race director did say that this was the steepest part of the course so I was definitely looking forward to mile 3! Jeanne (the women's winner) got a big lead on me during this stretch!

Thank goodness the course flatened out at this point. I think I ran the majority of this mile. I was leap frogging with a younger runner and an older runner (maybe a father-son duo?). I kept looking over my shoulder as well because there was another woman closing in. Yikes! I made it through mile 3 in 12:03.

Mile 4 lead right into the quarry. This was definitely the most scenic section of the course. We made our way up through the aspen and pine. The road followed the flow of Yule Creek. At the apex we crossed a couple of wooden bridges and ended our climb at a marble cave. I really wish I had my camera with me so I could share that view with you. I completed mile 4 in 12:07.

The path down the hill was much more enjoyable - thank you gravity! I was also able to enjoy the view of aspen beginning to change into their bright yellow hue. Somewhere during mile 6 I was passed by the woman who had been "stalking" me during the uphill. She was running really strong and there was absolutely no way I was going to catch her. I was just hoping that no one else would pass me! Even though I didn't want to use this race as a competition there was still a little part of me that wanted to place. The splits for the downhill were great - mile 5 - 8:14, mile 6 - 8:11, mile 7 - 7:46, and mile 8 - 8:29.

I was able to maintain my speed and ended up placing 3rd over all (women's division), and 1st in my age group! Not too shabby for my first trail race!

The post race food was absolutely amazing! A local smokehouse catered the main course - BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, and the local community provided the side dishes and desserts! Whoever made the lemon bars is an absolute saint! There were also great door prizes and almost everyone who participated in the 12.5K and 25K walked away with something! I got a free night's stay at a hotel in Redstone. We'll probably use it next year - the night before the race!
------------------------
As I look forward to this week's schedule it looks like another cut-back week, but I am planning to do a half marathon in Buena Vista next Saturday. I'm hoping to use this as a gauge for the marathon. It'll be nice to see what pace I can actually hold during a race. Plus, the colors will be gorgeous up there!