The first event since my last update was a trail half-marathon. I did exactly ONE trail run before this but that hasn't stopped me before. That seems to be my M.O.: sign up for something and then go for it, figuring out the how as I go. I was in the midst of full marathon training so it wasn't as if I was too far out of shape. However, I completely underestimated the mental strength required to fight the elements, the weather, etc. Oh, did I mention it was at night so the course was also dark? I sure do get myself into some crazy situations, eh?
Several of my local tri club members went up to this event and as we drove north from Louisville toward Indianapolis, we noticed several flooded farm fields from the recent rain and it wasn't getting any better as we got closer to the park. So we all figured we were in for a mud-fest. The course didn't disappoint. The temps were in the low 30s (about 0 C) with windchills several degrees below that. It was an unfamiliar park/course to most of us so that forced us to be both worried about the mud and ice and also not knowing where the obstacles, tree limbs and such, were. The course was 2 loops, 13.1 miles/21 km. I started off with my pal Kevin, but after a couple miles, he badly twisted his ankle and I had to move on without him. Toward the end of the loop, we reached the "mud mile." It was literally almost a mile of straight mud. At first, I tried to tip-toe through the mud and that worked for about 1/8th of a mile so I gave up and took my medicine.
As I started the second loop, with it being evening and windy, the course started to ice up in places. I think I hit the deck about 3-4 times total. The best fall was essentially giving a forearm smash to a nice big tree root. Apparently, I took more damage than I dished out on that one as I ended up with a decent scrape/bruise. I walked a fair amount and even the "running" part was slow as the unfamiliar course/icy-muddy conditions really took it out of me. I finished it in 3:06. For reference, my only other full marathon, in great conditions took me 6:12 so this was extremely slow. However, I did finish and got this reward:
It was made from a tree in the event's park. One of my favorite medals.
In February, begins the local winter tri series. The first was a reverse super-sprint tri: 3k run/6 mile bike/400 yard swim. It was a very cold day so we all bundled up and headed out. Not my best day and I stopped on the bike for a minute to possibly assist a flat victim and ended up with a 51:13.
The second tri was the same format but a bit longer: 5k run/12 mile bike/400 yard swim. Also cold, but except for a dropped chain due to pilot error (ME), this one was better: 1:23:11.
Finally, the 3rd in the series was the same length as #2, but in normal tri order: swim/bike/run. This one had most of us in short sleeves on the bike so the conditions were much nicer. Ended up with a 1:18:15, shaving nearly 5 minutes off my #2 time.
The last 2 events I've done since the last update were part of the local triple crown of running. I did the last 2 events and added distance in order to meet my KDF Marathon training goals. Both ended up being PRs. My 10K time was 58:16--my first ever sub 1 hour 10K and the 10 miler 1:38:37. That shaved more than 11 minutes off last year's time.
On Thursday, I have my big long KDF training run: 20 miles and the marathon itself on April 28th. I also have the last of the tri series races in mid-April, to complete the series.
I'll be back with more updates soon!
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