Beartrax Brownie Shuffle (4.2K)

Beartrax Brownie Shuffle (4.2K) - April 26th, 2015
time = 21:01
pace = 7:52 average
placed 1st in my age group (40-49) out of 30
placed 4th in women out of 86
placed 12th overall out of 121

photo by jeff crosby pre-race

47 seconds faster this year than last so that's something.  i love lapham peak and i love the people who put on this race.  the energy is always the best part.  this race is in memory of nancy sellars who was killed by a drunk driver in 2008 while out riding her bike.  the proceeds from this race go to help support the nancy sellars memorial foundation which in turn does awesome work to enhance public trails and waterways in southeastern wisconsin, promote bicycle safety and cyclists rights, as well as to educate the public on the dangers and impact that drunk driving has on our community.  it is a very worthy cause and one i wholeheartedly support with open arms and the smile i'm sporting in this picture.  with that being said... i am not a fan of the short and fast race yet here i am again.  last year i figured out that i'm a distance runner through and through.  i greatly enjoy running and getting to do it for a significant amount of time.  what i do not like is how i feel when i'm trying to run as fast as i can for a short period of time.  i hate the way it feels.   i even tried to warm up with a short run before the race and that didn't help as much as i thought it might.  i'm just not much of a sprinter at this point.  i mean... i could be if i worked on my speed but my goals are longer distance as opposed to short and fast.  those short races are no joke.  ugh...

did my best.  started out too fast per usual.  had about 5 guys and 1 girl in front of me who pulled away pretty consistently as the race progressed.

the start ~ photo by annie weiss

there was a little snafu at about a mile in where the course branched off of the 20K and the volunteer at that marker wasn't clear so i all but stopped to ask which way.  that sucked.  right then is where 2 people passed me.  one turned out to be a 5mo pregnant woman and the other was a heavy set man.  both of which i feel like i should have maintained pace with or been faster than... i'm disappointed in my performance from that point on.  before that almost stop i was hauling ass like nobody's business and i felt pretty good.  my ankle (oddly) doesn't hurt while running but is really really awful when i finish.  limping and everything.  *sigh*

why do i think i should have been able to stay ahead of those other two runners?  well, mainly because they had physical obstacles that i do not have and therefore i expect more from my body.  i feel like my body should be able to perform stronger and faster than someone who is in the midst of growing another human as well as someone who is carrying 2-3 times my weight.  it seems logical.  not that i would be a better runner exactly... just that my genetic makeup should make it easier for me to run harder and faster given that i am lighter and smaller. guess it doesn't work that way tho' and that is disappointing.  i need to work on my speed if i'm going to do anymore shorties.

the start ~ photo by kristine hinrichs

the start ~ photo by kristine hinrichs

this course is pretty nice.  just a few hills and mostly rolling trail.  the last (maybe less than) half is pavement AND downhill!  i kept coaching myself to make it to the downhill so i could just catch my breath there.  i thought i could catch up to the guy in front of me there but i simply couldn't make it happen.  he was just too fast.  i think he was maybe 15 feet ahead of me and while i was closing in i just couldn't catch him before the finish.  he finished 3 seconds ahead of me.  the amazing pregnant woman finished a whole minute ahead of me!  so fantastic!  all in all i'm happy with my time.  i was shooting for 20min but i'll take the 21min for now.  maybe i can get it down for next year. lol!

the finish... the guy who i simply couldn't catch
~ photo by kristine hinrichs

my typical "pained" finisher look ~ photo by kristine hinrichs

finished!  ~ photo by annie weiss

team instep! ~ photo by jeff crosby

2 weeks

iceage is 2 weeks away and my ankle is still being a brat.  i had some great running weeks and then my ankle was sore and oddly swollen on the outside just below my ankle bone.  i saw my PT and he was not concerned about the swelling as long as there was no pain.  lots of icing, some aleve everyday and taking a few days off with the hope that all would be well by my wednesday run.

on wednesday dave and i ran the majority of the beartrax 20K course since we both are supposed to race it tomorrow.  we cut it short because i was just having a really challenging time.  i haven't run since...

my ankle still does not feel right and since my A race this spring is iceage i'm making the decision to drop down from the 20K to the 4.3K tomorrow.  i'm disappointed but i know this is probably the right choice if i want to be my best for the 50K in 2 weeks.  i feel prepared for the race.  i ran the first part of the iceage course the past 2 saturdays to the tune of 21mi and 19mi respectively.  i felt like dying the first saturday and then absolutely fantastic the second saturday.  i am banking on my current fitness to get me through the race.

it turns out (after being examined and reviewed by one of the podiatrists i work for and my PT) that i am a light heel striker but a heel striker none the less.  what this means for me is that a zero drop shoe is not the best choice for me and they believe it is what has caused my ankle injury.  heel striking in a zero drop shoe is no bueno.  so i'm back in my new balance 1400's and that's just fine with me.  it's really too bad tho' because those altras were tax and now i've got two pairs of shoes i can't wear.

i just hope that the ankle thing isn't going to plague me through my whole racing season.  the podiatrist told me that 12 weeks of no running is what i would need to heal my ankle completely and what that would mean is another 12 weeks (give or take) to get back to my current level of fitness.  i took 2 weeks off last month and it was so incredibly challenging cardio-vascularly to do what i want to do... i am absolutely not interested in taking 12 weeks off.  that will have to wait until october after lakefront.

while this is disappointing it is also becoming my "norm" to run through some sort of stupid left leg, ankle, foot injury.  that left side is just a bummer.

i'll post my race report once everything is said and done.  i love running at lapham and i hope the weather is agreeable.  it's a beautiful course and i'm bummed i'm dropping down again this year due to injury.  i did the same thing last year.  gotta roll with the punches and keep my eye on the prize... under 6 hr 50K finish in 2 weeks.