DATE: Saturday, February 20, 2010
LOCATION: Hagg Lake Park, near Gaston, Oregon
Hagg Lake has a reputation for being a muddy mess. In the first year I ran it (2006) it was pouring rain, and the mud was incredible. But since that time, the weather has been dry and nice. But the course is always going to be muddy. In 2009, I had a really bad run, and I was happy to just finish. This year, I just wanted to feel good.
I drove to the lake, and being just six days after my triple weekend, I just wanted a good run, and didn't really have any time goals. The race had a change in race directors and Kelly Johnson, who organizes my Monday group run, was know one of the race directors. I really liked what they did with the race, the communication was awesome, and they made the runners feel special.
The weather that day was nice, it was a little chilly, but dry and sunny. If I remember correctly, we had rain a few days before so the trails were muddy. In the first three miles, which is an out-and-back before heading around the lake, I ran pretty well, I didn't push too hard, and took it easy on the uphill and cruised down the hill.
Upon getting entering the loop around the lake, I saw many 25k runners, who were just arriving. It was nice to be cheered by Paul and Dave Harkin and a few other runners I knew. I knew the course was going to be muddy and I just wanted to have a smooth run. I settled into a groove and felt pretty good. The loop around the lake is about 14 miles long, I ran the first loop in about 2:24. This was fine, I felt pretty good, but wasn't able to cruise because of a few very muddy sections.
In the second loop around the lake, I slowed way down, but continued to feel pretty good. My friend Scott was running the race and really wanted to break 5 hours. I thought that was a good goal, but I knew I wouldn't have the speed for that given the triple the weekend before. Scott passed me in the second loop, but missed his goal by 6 minutes. I ran the second loop in 2:33, which was pretty close to the time of my first loop. This gave me a final time of 5:25. I enjoyed some post race food, before heading home.
This was my final marathon (or ultra) before my big 24 hour race in March.
LOCATION: Hagg Lake Park, near Gaston, Oregon
Hagg Lake has a reputation for being a muddy mess. In the first year I ran it (2006) it was pouring rain, and the mud was incredible. But since that time, the weather has been dry and nice. But the course is always going to be muddy. In 2009, I had a really bad run, and I was happy to just finish. This year, I just wanted to feel good.
I drove to the lake, and being just six days after my triple weekend, I just wanted a good run, and didn't really have any time goals. The race had a change in race directors and Kelly Johnson, who organizes my Monday group run, was know one of the race directors. I really liked what they did with the race, the communication was awesome, and they made the runners feel special.The weather that day was nice, it was a little chilly, but dry and sunny. If I remember correctly, we had rain a few days before so the trails were muddy. In the first three miles, which is an out-and-back before heading around the lake, I ran pretty well, I didn't push too hard, and took it easy on the uphill and cruised down the hill.
Upon getting entering the loop around the lake, I saw many 25k runners, who were just arriving. It was nice to be cheered by Paul and Dave Harkin and a few other runners I knew. I knew the course was going to be muddy and I just wanted to have a smooth run. I settled into a groove and felt pretty good. The loop around the lake is about 14 miles long, I ran the first loop in about 2:24. This was fine, I felt pretty good, but wasn't able to cruise because of a few very muddy sections.
In the second loop around the lake, I slowed way down, but continued to feel pretty good. My friend Scott was running the race and really wanted to break 5 hours. I thought that was a good goal, but I knew I wouldn't have the speed for that given the triple the weekend before. Scott passed me in the second loop, but missed his goal by 6 minutes. I ran the second loop in 2:33, which was pretty close to the time of my first loop. This gave me a final time of 5:25. I enjoyed some post race food, before heading home.
This was my final marathon (or ultra) before my big 24 hour race in March.
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