Sticks and Stones 5K Trail Race at the USNWC 3/27/2010 - Recap

I didn't  think I would be waking up and scraping frost off my car windshield when I woke up for this race as earlier in the week temperatures were hitting highs in the 70s but unpredictable weather struck again and by the 8am race start the mercury was was only hitting the high 30s to low 40s.  The good news was that there was no rain in sight and the sun was shining at the start.

Although the race was billed as a 5K, the race director, Marcus Barton, said it was more likely 3.3 miles than 3.1 miles.  As with the Charlotte Running Company Trail Race back on January 23rd also at the US National Whitewater Center, the start to the race was from the parking lot, down through the back of the rapids and into the woods and on to the rather challenging single-track trails. 

By the time we hit the woods, the top six runners got well out in front.  Fifteen year old Andrew Bradley led the pack and shortly after Kelly Hoce established himself right behind him.  I followed as my distance behind the front runners widened. I was then passed by Todd Daczkowski and then by my running partner Terry Summerfield.  I kept pace with Terry, as  I am used to doing, and heard one more runner pacing behind us.  It turned out to be Dan Morgan.  The same person who passed me in the last race. 

Things got interesting in the final mile or so.  Apparently, Andrew Bradley ended up slowing down and got a bit nauseus allowing Hoce and Daczkowski  to pass him.  They ended up finishing first and second respectively with Bradley taking the 3rd place spot.  As for Terry, Dan, and myself, we battled for 4th, 5th and 6th.  I was keeping pace with Terry with Dan just behind me when Terry tripped on a root and took a tumble.  He got back up to his feet immediately and continued but it allowed us to pass him.  Dan paced with me for awhile before overtaking me.  I made one attack on a long uphill  toward the end of the race that got me even with him but did not have enough gas in my tank to regain my lead.  I slowly dropped back keeping Dan within striking distance and made an attempt on the final hill climb to the parking lot but Dan seemed to pick up his pace and I was unable to get close enough to even think about overtaking him.  Meanwhile, Terry fell back considerably following his tumble but managed to finish 6th behind me.

Overall, it was another enjoyable race, the trails were well marked - and in some places with a bit of humor.  Shortly after the second mile marker was another marker that read "Mile 8 - Just Kidding!"  Kudos to Marcus Barton and the race volunteers for another great Saturday morning on the USNWC trails!

For full race results click here.

More New Workout Ideas

I stumbled upon a kettlebell study by ACE Fitness that only further validated what I love so much about kettlebells and what it does for my strength and endurance.

The study used kettlebell snatches which gave me an idea to vary my triad of death. Rather than doing the 2 handed kettlebell swing with my 24kg kettlebell. I think I may on occasion convert the triad of death to the Quadrangle of Death by substituting kettlebell snatches - one interval for the right arm and one interval for the left arm with the 20kg. This should be just as brutal as the triad. We'll soon see!

I also want to try the workout that was done in the study which uses 15 second intervals versus the usual 20 seconds on and 10 seconds off of the tabata. The entire workout is nothing but snatches for twenty minutes - 15 seconds of snatches followed by 15 seconds of rest and so on until 20 minutes. Another fine task for my trusty gymboss interval timer!

Back From The Dead With A New Personal Best!

I have avoided getting sick for quite awhile. For most of 2008 and all of 2009, I did not miss a day of work due to illness. That all changed on March 6th when I caught a nasty stomach virus which lasted a few days. After missing three days of work I have slowly worked my way back to normal and last Sunday, March 14th I did a warm-up and a short workout just jumping rope and from there got back to my usual work week workout routines. I had to miss the March 13th Riverbound Race 5k as I was still recovering.

Perhaps the stomach virus was my body's way of telling me to take a break. Prior to the illness I was on top of game and most notably I was able to set a personal best 22 intervals on my triad of death workout back on Thursday March 4th. I am yet to try that workout since fully recovering but I will likely try it next week. This week I shocked myself and my trail running partner when we did our lunchtime Renaissance Park run in 20:41! This broke the old best at 21:56 by one minute and fifteen seconds! Not bad for my first run in almost two weeks! March 27th is the next 5K at Whitewater and I would say we are ready!

I have been doing my running in my new Inov-8 X-Talon 212s that I purchased back in January. I love these trail shoes! The only thing I was not crazy about were the laces so I bought a pair of yankz! sure laces at TrySports and now I no longer worry about my laces becoming untied. The X-Talons are a minimalist trail racing flat with terrific traction and extremely lightweight - the 212 is the weight in grams - approximately 7.5 ounces. The day I got sick I ran about 8-9 miles in them at the Whitewater Center in the morning and my feet and legs never felt better - even running the longer distance. I purchased mine on Zappos. I am a 9 1/2 in most shoes and the 9 1/2 in the Inov-8 also fits me perfectly!

Inov-8 X-Talon 212 at Zappos