Today was my weekly run at Trexler. It was the T-Rex group run that occurs once a month. I actually haven't made it to this group run since before Quadzilla last year. It was good to join them again.
The group didn't end up being much of a group. It was just Aaron, Wayne and I. Still, it was a quality trio. I was thrilled just to have any company running here. All my runs here throughout the winter were solo.
Wayne is training for a 50 miler, so he was doing 3 loops. I can't even imagine that. I guess it wouldn't be as bad if you walk a lot of the hills. I'm just hoping to build up to 2 loops and then maybe one day I'll get to a 3rd loop.
Wayne said he was going fall behind us, but he didn't (at least not in the beginning). I ran up the big hill by the Environmental Center and was ahead of everyone. Then Aaron came flying by. He is so much stronger and more sound of a trail runner than I am. I guess that's what happens when you run trails a lot. I only get on them about once a week.
I always fall apart towards the end of the uphill, but I noticed that Aaron was so smooth and consistent as he flew by me. I definitely could use some form improvement on trails. I'm much more of a grinder. Still, I made it to the top of the hill and continued on.
I was talking with Aaron for awhile, but then he dropped back to chat with Wayne. I could hear them right behind me. I wasn't running hard, but I was surprised that Wayne was still that close, considering that he was doing 3 loops. I certainly wasn't going to slow down because I knew Aaron was going easy and would probably pass me on the big hills later on.
We went past the dogs on the gradual uphill and at first I thought we'd make it by them without them barking, but we didn't. There wasn't much wind today, which was nice. That made this part much easier than it has been. It was chilly and in the 40s. I had on a lightweight long sleeve top and shorts. It was actually ideal running weather.
I cruised along in front and was feeling pretty good. There was still some calf soreness, but that has been normal for me. It wasn't too bad. I really have this first stretch down pat. I just have to get better everywhere else.
There are two semi tough hills before the big hill, but they are quite short. I battled over them and then recovered. I can run to the big hill now without stopping, so that is great. I started up the big hill and then as expected, Aaron passed me. He gave me an idea of where is a good place to try to run to on this hill (to the turn). That's one of my big issues is, I still don't know the hills from this point on well enough. I'm good with the first 4 miles, but I need to learn this section better. Wayne fell back at this point and we lost track of him for the rest of the run. It was good to have his company for awhile though.
I walked up the hill and was struggling. I could've pushed a little more, but I didn't want to take a chance too early. It wasn't like I was going to run all the way up the hill anyway. I took the same approach on the 2nd big hill. Again, I probably could've ran more of it. I wouldn't have gained much time though.
I forgot how fast the downhill sections were in this area. I tried to go down easy, but I still almost fell thanks to the loose rock. It was fun though and I survived. This is one part that I have to be cautious with. At every other downhill, I can open it up and just fly.
Aaron stopped and waited for me when we got near the creek crossing. He asked if I wanted to run through it or take the longer loop. I love the creek crossing, so we went right through it. It was quite the shock to the legs. It was very cold. It was worse than it was a few weeks ago when I went through there. I guess that all the rain water we had yesterday made its way into the creek. My legs and feet were numb for about half a mile.
We crossed the road and headed a semi long hill near the zoo. I walked quite a bit of this because I knew I'd never be able to run it. I had no problem going up it when I parked near it and started there, but after the big hills, I was somewhat drained.
For the rest of the run, Aaron stuck with me. He had some heart issues in the fall and is trying to take it slow and run smarter. I was grateful to have him because I ran up more of the hills that I likely would've walked. One thing that is tough is that if you stop on a hill and start walking, your body isn't too happy because it still has to go uphill. It isn't like you can really recover at that point.
We were now on the grassy uphill section and that was just awkward. I couldn't wait to get done there. There was a relatively short uphill that I had to walk again. It was just too early to push. If I can get strong enough to run all these medium sized hills, I'll do much better on raceday.
I was then able to get some decent recovery in through the next part of the course. It wasn't as hilly. Aaron and I chatted a lot. He had some similar health problems to what I've been through, so we were discussing that quite a bit. I don't mind talking about that stuff, but some of it is unpleasant, so I don't bring it up with people that haven't been through it. The funniest thing was when he brought something up and I said, "yeah, I had that too!" It seems like I've had every problem and procedure. I guess it says a lot that the two of us have had issues and just keep going and are running a difficult course nonetheless.
We went through the tough wooded uphill section. Again, I had to walk before Aaron did. This hill is definitely one of the more difficult ones. I had to walk it during the race. It is early on when we run that route, so I'm hoping I can run it this year.
We were now on to a flatter section or rolling hills anyway. I looked down at my watch and was impressed to see the pace around 10 minutes flat. That was pretty good considering I had walked quite a bit. I ran most of the rolling hills, but couldn't quite run the whole way. At this point, we were a mile or less from the finish and Aaron just took off. That was fine since he helped me a lot throughout this run.
I enjoyed the downhill to the road crossing. I knew the uphill to the Environmental Center would be tough. As I was walking up the difficult hill there, I saw a deer run across in front of Aaron. He was looking at the ground and also not at the crest of the hill yet, so he didn't see it right away. It was pretty cool. I wish I would've had my GoPro camera with me. I did bring it along, but I wasn't going to wear it with only 3 people running. I definitely would've been able to get some cool pictures of Aaron when he was running up ahead of me, especially in this area.
Although I walked up this big hill, I knew it leveled off and I could run for a short distance and then I would have a short, but steep uphill finish. I had to make sure to run that hill and finish strong
I was very impressed when I looked at my time. I finished under 1 hour and 26 minutes. The last time I did this group run, which was almost a year ago, I ran it around 1 hour and 40 minutes. I then ran the race in 1 hour and 35 minutes. I walked a lot today and didn't push either and yet I completed the loop at a 10:03 pace. I am very happy with that. I was just hoping to go under 1 hour and 30 minutes and I blew that away. Having Aaron pull me along through most of the back half of the course was a huge help.
I'm still 3 months away from Quadzilla, so I have plenty of time to improve. I think running the way the race does will be a big help for getting over more of the hills. Those big hills will be at the end of the race and not the middle. Hopefully, there won't be a cumulative effect and I can run almost every hill during the race. I know that I'll have to walk the big hills and probably the medium length hill after that at the end of the race, but I want to be able to run the rest of the course. I definitely think that is doable.
Now that I've run the loop, I need to be able to do it solo. I also need to get stronger on the hills, so I can run more of them without so much walking. I want to work on my speed too. I'll run some shorter, but faster paced stuff here. All the running that I am doing here is going to pay off big time. I'll probably finish the race ahead of quite a few people that are faster than me, but haven't trained on this course as much as me. I want to know it inside and out and leave nothing on the table. I will even practice starting out fast on the paved section. I went too slowly there last year when everyone was flying.
I feel great after the run. My body isn't sore at all. I went over 40 miles this week too. I should probably add even more trail running into the mix. It is nice when the body doesn't take as much of a pounding. Tomorrow will be a long run. I want to run at least 16 miles again. I'd like to run 17 or 18 miles. It will probably be on the D&L, as I usually do. I have a race to take photos for in the morning, so it will probably happen late morning or in the afternoon. I might also ride 15 or 20 miles this afternoon.
8.54 miles - 1:25:53 (10:03 pace)
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