This is my second year doing the Lil Woods Ultra. It is a "last man standing" format where we all ran 4.1 mile loops with each loop starting at the top of the hour. So the sooner you got in from your loop, the longer you had to recover, but also get cold and tighten up. Definitely some strategy there. The loops were nice in that it let people drop when they were ready.
I didn't train for the race again this year but my mileage for this year is slightly higher than my total mileage last year so I figured I could top last year and hit 50k.
Pretty happy on the first lap :-).
The temps were in the mid forties and we had significant rain the night before making the trails the sloppiest I'd ever seen them. By the second lap, my glutes were barking about all the work they were having to do dodging puddles, and keeping me upright whiled sliding around.
Concentrating on staying vertical.
After lap two, it was obvious I wasn't going to make it eight laps. It was also obvious I have a weak core.
More concentration. :-)
Nice shot of me sighing, yep, I was about done.
I bagged it after four laps. It just wasn't my day but that's ok. It's a very well done, free race with lots a great people. I sat around for an hour afterward cheering on other runners, chatting with other racers that dropped out and eating pierogis that the race director Travis made. They were delicious!
When I got home I was curious if it was just the bad conditions or if I wasn't as well trained even though I ran 100 more miles this year than last year. What I found surprised me. I didn't remember being so much more consistent last year than this year. Check out the weekly mileage from August through December last year vs. this year.
Over 20 miles per week (except for 3 weeks) last year.
100 mile months middle year loaded in 2014
100 mile months were on the back half of the year last year.
Interesting how perception doesn't always match the graphs. The lower mileage the last three months probably explains the couple extra pounds I'm lugging around too. Maybe I'll train for real next year. Maybe...
Posted with Blogsy
6 comments:
Nice way to end the year - 4 laps in bad conditions is nothing to sneeze at. Happy New Year!
Cannot believe it's been a year since you last ran this race. I feel like I was just reading last year's account of it. Running in mud/snow changes SO much. That race I did with the finish on snow really jacked with my hamstrings. Interesting to compare training year over year. I'll have to take a look as 2013 is ancient history. Here's to a great 2015!
Sounds like a great race. I like the format a lot. Given the terrain, you still had a good day.
It looks like a fun race and you can't beat free.
That's some good data there, Mike! Very useful! It helps to pour over things and know why they happen like they do. Still, you did well. Being wet and muddy doesn't usually lend to fun racing conditions for long trail races. The times can drag out and the body gets tired! I bet with better weather you will knock serious time off this race next year.
Happy New Year!!
-R
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