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

Trail Running - 2010 Races in Charlotte

It looks like trail running is really taking off this year here in Charlotte, NC. Last year you had to search hard to find a race and this year it seems like you can find almost one every month starting in March.

Between the Carolina Trail Run Series and the River Bound Race there are plenty of races and distances to choose from...

The Carolina Trail Run Series
Races:
March 27th 2010 at the Whitewater Center - Sticks 'n' Stones Trail Run - 5K and 10K
May 16th 2010 at the Uwharrie National Forest - Uwharrie Rumble - 8K and 1/2 Marathon
July 10th 2010 at the Whitewater Center - Rock and Race Trail Run - 8K and 20K races


The River Bound Race Series
All races in this series are held at the Whitewater Center
March 13th 2010 - 5K
May 22nd 2010 - 10K
July 17th 2010 - 15K
Sept 25th 2010 - Half-marathon



I will keep updating this post if more races pop up in the Charlotte, NC area.

The Tough Mudder - Another Endurance Obstacle Course Challenge!

My good friend Anthony alerted me to another crazy mud challenge.  This one is coming up on May 2, 2010 up in Pennsylvania but they have other locations around the country coming up this year and next year.  It is called Tough Mudder and is a 7 mile challenge with 17 obstacles.  This one looks like it will be much more challenging than the other Marine mud races I have run primarily due to the longer distance and more challenging obstacles.

I am going to do the Warrior Dash which is  3.22 miles and 11 obstacles on May 22nd in Mountain City, Georgia but I hoping to do this Tough Mudder as well.

Speed Chute

Muscledriverusa.com is an online fitness store with their warehouse located in Fort Mill, South Carolina. It is only about 10 minutes from where I work in Charlotte, NC. They are currently having a blowout sale. They have some pretty cool stuff on sale but I was intrigued by their Speed Chutes. Online these usual go for $50 or more so when I saw that they offered three sizes for around $20 I was willing to pay them a visit on my lunch hour and pick one up. I bought the large one which is 56 inches in diameter for only $23.99. It comes in a little carry bag that fit easily in any gym bag. Can't wait to try it out.

Charlotte Running Company Trail Run - White Water Center 1/23/2010

Holy Cow! I won the Overall Male Master in the 3.8 mile race! Check out the results here!

The Recap - From My Perspective

It was an overcast chilly morning in the low to mid 40s and the trails were damp and muddy from rain we had over the past couple of days. There were three distance races: a 13 miler, 8.2 miler and a 3.8 miler. I opted for the 3.8. The 13 and 8.2 mile racers began ten minutes ahead of the 3.8 mile race.

Rather than stand around and be cold before the start. I did some quick sprints forward and backwards through the parking lot. That got me really warmed up. When the bullhorn sounded I was ready to go. I shot off the line down the parking lot and down the paths leading to the single-track when I realized that there were only a few people in front of me. I kept waiting for a few people to breeze by me before entering the single-track but it never happened. Once I got into the single-track, I only saw one runner visibly in front of me. He later vanished ahead of me within the next few minutes.

I sloshed my way through the trails and settled into my usual pace when I noticed that someone was pacing right behind me but not asking to pass. This made me pick up my pace - especially on the hills. Just after the first mile we started encountering the slower runners from the 8.2 and 13 mile races. One female runner had ear buds on and could not hear even when I shouted "PASSING LEFT!" a couple of times. The person pacing behind me turned out to be Amy Fach. She told me to tap on the woman's shoulder so we could pass. I felt like I was about to awaken a sleepwalker. I tapped her shoulder and she politely moved aside.

I ran a bit further with Amy still pacing me and we came to the toughest uphill on the trail. I shifted my legs into overdrive and started blasting up the steep hill. I widened my lead slightly over Amy but once I got to the top and still had a long slow ascent, I slowed up and Amy zoomed by me as I tried getting some wind back and overcome my burning quads. Within a minute she was out of eye shot.

I paced myself from there and relaxed a little more and enjoyed the run. There did not seem to be any pending threats on the horizon. Going forward the biggest challenges were the mud and passing people without stumbling. As the race progressed there were more and more racers from the 8.2 and 13 milers hogging the trails. At one point there was a line of what seemed like 20 people. Passing all them just about finished me off when I got to the fork in the trail where the 3.8 mile race separates from the longer races. That was a relief but no sooner did I breathe a sigh of relief, another runner came up behind me and passed me. There was probably a bit more than a half-mile left in the race. The runner turned out being Lex Irwin. A minute later a young guy, Dan Morgan, passed us both but Lex and I kept pace. For a minute or so it Dan, Lex, and I running in a pack with me in the back and Dan slightly in front of Lex. Dan started to take the lead as we headed for the final hill that led to the parking lot to the finish line. On the hill I made a move to retake my lead over Lex and was successful. Dan was still a few paces in front of me and I knew I would need to turn on the afterburners to catch him. Before I could shift into high gear Dan opened it up sprinting to the finish and I followed with Lex close behind me.

Dan's final sprint bested me by 8 seconds to finish 6th overall and first in the 25-29 male division at 31:19. I took 7th and won the overall male master division (all men 40 and over) at 31:27 while Lex finished just 3 seconds behind me in 8th at 31:30 and took first in the men's 35-39 division. Amy who passed me earlier in the race kept her momentum going and finished 4th overall and took 1st place for the women finishing at 29:51.

The overall winner was 46 year old Derek Kaat who finished in 26:41. The last time I had him in my sight was just before he entered the single-track at the beginning of the race. After that he was gone! He opened a nice lead from the start and never looked back. Second place winner, 14 year old Caleb Breeden was a full 2 minutes and 35 seconds behind him at the finish at 29:16.

Overall it was a fun and well-organized race. The trails were well marked and I have to give kudos to the Charlotte Running Company for putting on the event. Finally, to all the runners who came out on this chilly winter's day - GREAT JOB!