DATE: Saturday, August 28, 2010
LOCATION: Watershed Preserve Redmond, Washington
This is a race that is put on by the Northwest Trail Runs Series. They host this same race once in the spring and once in the summer. I first did this race in the summer of 2008 on my mission to get 13 marathons in 12 weeks. This time I did it in my mission to get to my 100th marathon by Seattle.
I drove up on Friday and spent the night in my car in Tacoma, like I normally do. Some people think I'm crazy for sleeping in my car, but I put the back seat down and have a foam pad, so it's really not that bad. The weather was not as nice as you night think for August. It wasn't raining, but it was overcast for most of the day.
I arrived at 8:30am for the 9:30am start, and realized that a bunch of runners (mostly Maniacs) were starting their run an hour early. The web site said nothing about an early start and had I know I would have arrived earlier and done the early start. A 9am start time is later than I used to and I would have enjoyed having the extra hour. Oh well.
The course is a 8.74 trail loop that you run three times. But the challenging part is that the loop has a lot of turns and it can be a bit confusing at times. There is one spot where you can have a water bottle (or bag) dropped but otherwise you are on your own for aid. I brought a water bottle, so I didn't feel like I needed a drop bag.
I had no real goal in mind, I thought it would be nice to break four hours. When the race started I was off and felt pretty good. I was running in the 8:30-9:15 pace range for the first six miles. It felt pretty good, but I knew I would have to slow down at some point. Towards the end of the first loop I was running in the 9:30-9:50 range. My first loop was about 1:16 which was pretty good.
In the second loop I did slow down, but I was still feeling pretty good. The trail was a little hilly then I remember, but wasn't as hard as some trail races can be. In the second loop I was running mostly in the 9:30-10:15 pace range. In that loop I ran a 1:23, which was good for a 9:30 pace.
As I went into the third loop, I felt like I was doing pretty well. I continued strong and was putting ip 10:00-10:15 miles for the first five miles or so. In the last few miles, I started to get a little tired and was looking forward to the finish of the run. At that point the sun started to come out and I was getting a little warm. I pushed but could only really manage 10:30-10:50 miles in the next two miles. At that point I knew I only had about a mile to go, so I pushed to the finish and ended strong. That last loop was a 1:26, which was about a 9:50 pace.
Overall it was a fun race. It was great to see some of the Maniacs. I ended up running a 4:05:53, which was a little slower then I would have liked, but overall I was happy with the time. I hung out for about an hour before I headed home.
LOCATION: Watershed Preserve Redmond, Washington
This is a race that is put on by the Northwest Trail Runs Series. They host this same race once in the spring and once in the summer. I first did this race in the summer of 2008 on my mission to get 13 marathons in 12 weeks. This time I did it in my mission to get to my 100th marathon by Seattle.
I drove up on Friday and spent the night in my car in Tacoma, like I normally do. Some people think I'm crazy for sleeping in my car, but I put the back seat down and have a foam pad, so it's really not that bad. The weather was not as nice as you night think for August. It wasn't raining, but it was overcast for most of the day.I arrived at 8:30am for the 9:30am start, and realized that a bunch of runners (mostly Maniacs) were starting their run an hour early. The web site said nothing about an early start and had I know I would have arrived earlier and done the early start. A 9am start time is later than I used to and I would have enjoyed having the extra hour. Oh well.
The course is a 8.74 trail loop that you run three times. But the challenging part is that the loop has a lot of turns and it can be a bit confusing at times. There is one spot where you can have a water bottle (or bag) dropped but otherwise you are on your own for aid. I brought a water bottle, so I didn't feel like I needed a drop bag.
I had no real goal in mind, I thought it would be nice to break four hours. When the race started I was off and felt pretty good. I was running in the 8:30-9:15 pace range for the first six miles. It felt pretty good, but I knew I would have to slow down at some point. Towards the end of the first loop I was running in the 9:30-9:50 range. My first loop was about 1:16 which was pretty good.
In the second loop I did slow down, but I was still feeling pretty good. The trail was a little hilly then I remember, but wasn't as hard as some trail races can be. In the second loop I was running mostly in the 9:30-10:15 pace range. In that loop I ran a 1:23, which was good for a 9:30 pace.
As I went into the third loop, I felt like I was doing pretty well. I continued strong and was putting ip 10:00-10:15 miles for the first five miles or so. In the last few miles, I started to get a little tired and was looking forward to the finish of the run. At that point the sun started to come out and I was getting a little warm. I pushed but could only really manage 10:30-10:50 miles in the next two miles. At that point I knew I only had about a mile to go, so I pushed to the finish and ended strong. That last loop was a 1:26, which was about a 9:50 pace.
Overall it was a fun race. It was great to see some of the Maniacs. I ended up running a 4:05:53, which was a little slower then I would have liked, but overall I was happy with the time. I hung out for about an hour before I headed home.
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