Taters and bees....

Fall brings unpredictable - but super fun - racing.  I love it! (settle in...this is a long one)

Potato Stomp 2005

If you're from Northeast Ohio and you've never Potato Stomped, I don't know what you are waiting for.  I first ran this race back in 2005, back when I was so cool (or maybe far more confident is a better way to look at it) I would race in a sports bra.  Evidence to the right.

The beauty of the Mantua Potato Stomp is the beauty of the course.  This is a stunning course through the countryside of Portage County....that is, if you are like me and love farm land.  The course probably passes more cows, horses and goats than there are runners on the course. 

And there are the hills.  I love running hills (insane, yeah, I got it, stop picking on me).  This course rolls for 9 miles.  Flat parts?  Few and far between. 

This year I wanted to return to this race (haven't run it since 2006 or 2007) to do a early fall fitness check.  Basically, I wanted to use a course I was comfortable with (not flat but not excessively hill....my best running conditions) and a race I didn't have much chance in placing in.  My goal - shoot for a solid 8:30 per mile average pace.

It was supposed to be a rainy day.  It was cool (LOVE IT!) and most people hung out inside until race time to keep from turning blue.  I even got caught by the race camera pinning on my number (sorry, I just sort of like this photo for some reason...not your typical race photo).

When it came time to cozy up to the start line, we almost had a false start when the race director noticed that the traditional potato chips hadn't been spread across the start.  Problem solved, we headed out. 

I made two mistakes.  I went out too fast.  My first mile was an 8:02 and my second mile was a 7:44.  I burned too much keeping with the front pack instead of running my race.  I settled down in mile 3 and then just enjoyed the scenery, determined just to focus on my own goal and not what others were doing around me.

My body was feeling great.  I was mentally in the run and felt comfortable just holding a pretty steady pace wavering in the 8:20s.  I was already winning because I was beating my goal.

That's her, back there kicking in....

I played a bit of leap frog with an older lady for much of the course, but was happy to finally put her behind me (she was a bit smelly) around mile 5 or 6.  Coming into the home stretch, I checked the watch, knew I was going to achieve my goal for the race and smiled to myself...happy.

That's when it happened.  I was approaching the finish line, happy with what I accomplished and knowing that there was no reason to push the limits when a women caught me in the last 100 meters.  After all, I had no shot of placing.  Grrr, here's where it's hard to be happy with achieving your goals some times. 

I let that girl pass me and didn't make an effort to hold her off, though I could have.  I crossed that finish line happy as a crow knowing I came out and crushed my goal.  Then, knowing I would at least walk home with the consolation prize for having traveled the farthest for the race, we waited for the awards ceremony. 

We chatted, we read travel literature, we pulled Baby K out of a gazillion mud puddles.  Then the awards began, and disappointment set it. 

Wouldn't you know, that woman who passed me in the final stretch went home with third place in my age group.  Third place.  Though I didn't know it, that was mine for the taking and mine for the losing.  I remained very happy with my performance but that one moment, when the girl who passed me took home the age group award, I started "what if" 'ing myself.  Don't do that.  If you hit your goal, then celebrate and ride the high.

More recently, I took to the NCR Trail in Maryland for the Charm City Run 20-miler....another race and course I really like, though for very different reasons.  My bud Lara introduced me to this one four years ago on a super sweaty, steamy August day.

This year, the race moved a month to the end of September and the weather couldn't have been much better.  It was cool, the rain held off, the leaves were green, and I had my great running buddy Kelly by my side.     

The start line butts up against the Pennsylvania state line, and shoves 350 runners onto a narrow old railroad bed about a quarter mile from the closest parking drop off.  The walk warmed us up a bit and gave us the opportunity to check out who else was among us crazies for this year's jaunt back to Cockeysville.

The trail is a very pretty rail trail (I like running these trails....check out my post from July on the Headwaters Trail in Ohio) cut through the hills of Hunt Valley.  The trail meanders past large, carved boulders, over babbling brooks and past railroad bridges that have seen better days. 

Best of all, it runs right past the gnome hill.  I have no idea what prompted these folks to turn this hill into a village for garden gnomes, but God love them.  Kelly and I decided that next year we'll run with a garden gnome of our own to add to their collection.  It's truly a Kodak photo spot.

It was shortly after (or maybe before...I can't really remember) that we ran through the swarm of bees.  Yep, no Savage Race made up obstacles for us.  Who needs them when mother nature sends you swarming insects to sting you?  Many people got stung (I wasn't one of them....though a good 10-12 bees did swirl around my face for a short period of time.  I feel bad for the woman who got stung five time in the....derriere.  At the next water station (as my husband tells me) she whipped down her running tights with no care for who was watching to ask her friends how bad it was.

The race field was friendly, people were jovial and we had some laughs along the way.  Most of all, it was truly a strong 20-mile effort in advance of the fall marathon season.

I can't wait.  I'm feeling strong, my training has been solid.  I've got two more weeks before my first marathon of the season, but first I'll tackle Ragnar DC and the Metric Marathon this weekend.  Hope my legs stay on.  Happy trails!!!

2015 miles to date:  942.47 miles

Observations:  I'm going into a tough weekend of rainy running with a soleus that is a little sore.  Hopefully I can work that out in the next couple days with shorter, slower shake out runs.  Other than that, my body feels ready.  I can do this and I will. 

Running on the go...

Training and travel are a tough combination.  I've seen even the most dedicated of athletes skip workouts when on the road, often for silly reasons.  But, it doesn't have to be that way.

It's true...I did eat that bowl of goodness.

Yes, I sometimes skip a workout or two when on vacation.  Maybe even on a business trip.  But when that guilty voice in the back of my head reminds me that I opted to finish my dinner with the famous apple streudel at Café Schwarzenberg or that I spent most of the day sitting in conference rooms, I can't help but push myself into the gym even if it means getting in the miles on the dreadmill.

Oh yeah, traveling often means not running outside, either because it's not particularly safe, or I don't want to risk getting lost.  So, I spent two sessions on the dreadmill this week.  That's about all I can take before I have a flair up of my good old buddy - lower back pain...excruciating lower back pain.  And a little bit of boredom, that comes into play too.

But today, what a breath of fresh air.  Sometimes you find that spot on a business trip that gives you the freedom to stretch your legs and catch the sites in a beautiful city after a long day of meetings.  Today I got to run through The Hague - or Den Haag if you're a local.

My hotel offered a decently (we'll get to this in a minute) outlined map of several running routes based on distance.  Though none of them went through the section of town with the Parliament and Prime Minister's offices (some really cool buildings architecturally that sit along a canal as if built into the water...I got to see them during lunch), I did get to cruise through some residential areas and a couple of parks along canals.

Have I mentioned the weather yet?  Oh boy what a treat!  If you've been slogging through a central Maryland summer, you will understand the sigh of relief I released when I walked outside the hotel to run in 60 degree weather (and a slight sprinkle for the first part) with a nice stiff breeze coming in off the North Sea.  It felt like fall already, but with sunlight until 9pm.

While Den Haag isn't the tourist destination that Amsterdam is, it isn't without some pretty cool sites of its own, like a few museums, the OPCW and all the embassies/ambassador's residences.   Though honestly?, I wish the street signs were a bit easier to follow.  Yeah, that map the hotel handed out may have included street by street directions, but the map only included major streets, most streets turn into other streets, the signs aren't in obvious places and often only on one side of the road.  That said, I successfully fumbled my way along the route.

Ultimately, toward the end of my journey, I deviated from the route offered by the hotel so that I could plod along the narrow paths of one of the canals.  The canals provide a pretty break from the buildings and rowhouses, and are soothing in a way I don't have the words to describe.  I'm glad I made the detour to capture some of the spaces tucked away in one of the parks.

In other news that I like to categorize under "awesome," I've finally broken through whatever barrier sat between me and increasing my speed again.  I'm feeling like I'm finding my stride and it's all downhill from here (not really, actually I should say uphill because I'm a better uphill runner).  If this keeps up, I'm on the right path toward achieving one of my big speed goals.  So, I'm going to add today's fun run through Den Haag, to last week's two great races (including pacing the Annapolis 10-miler and conquering the brutal hills at Dreaded Druid) and the fact that I am caught up on my mileage for the first time this year (logged 145 miles running in August) and call it a win.

I'm hoping to ride this tidal wave of great running vibes through the fall racing season and come out on top.  Happy trails!!!

2015 miles to date:   824.77 miles

Observations:  Not to beat my own drum, but I feel like I'm killing it.  Aside from that dreaded back pain as a result of treadmill runs, everything else is holding together.  The added strength training sessions are also paying dividends.  I just may make it out of my overzealous fall racing schedule unscathed.  The one thing I need to do soon is buy new shoes.  I can feel this current pair beginning to give and I'll need time to break in another pair before the race season kicks into high gear.