Fall Running

NMTC Fall Trail Series

It is once again time for the weekly fall trail series put on by the Northern Minnesota Track Club.  So far, the weather has been wonderful every week with dry conditions and cool temperatures.  The schedule this year has been switched around a bit, and the races have changed a little also.

Lester Park

This year we started the series at Lester Park.  This is the longest of the fall races at 10.5k.  I had a good evening at Lester and put together a solid run.  This course did not see any changes from the last time I ran it, we still ran out and then did two loops before coming back to finish at the main park area.

Rolling Stone

With the flooding earlier this year, the start area at Spirit Mountain for the standard Rolling Stone course was washed out.  This year we started at the zoo and used a modified course.  The course started with a slight uphill to a service road that was flat.  We then took a left onto a singletrack trail.  I was lucky that on the road Connie passed me and I tucked in behind her for the singletrack section.  I simply trusted her skill as a trail runner and followed her through.  I did not have to pay attention for the flags to find the course or worry about the trees or rocks or roots.  Wherever she ran I followed.  When we popped out of the trail we were at the very bottom of Spirit Mountain and we turned right and were looking at a line of runners heading straight up the ski hill.  Great...  I was forced to walk for a portion of the hill, but was only passed by one runner.  We then headed across the hill and connected with the normal Rolling Stone course.  On the quick open downhill, I managed to pass the gentleman who passed me on the uphill and I held him off for the rest of the run.

Overall I was pleased with my run.  I kept a solid pace and did a better job on the second half of the race not slowing down too much.  Luckily I was not one of the folks to run through the bees that were a little riled up.

Brown's Point

We were back to the normal Brown's Point course that is a 2.5 mile out and back that has a series of steep up down portions that really test your climbing ability in short chunks.

Coming into Brown's Point my knee was bothering me a little and it was a little sore during the run.  This caused me a little concern, but it was not bad enough to slow down.  I just promised myself I would take a day off after the race.  The whole second half of this course I was doing everything I could to not slow down.  Each time up the short steep sections I concentrated on keeping the legs turning over.  When I would hit the flatter sections I worked on getting back up to speed quickly and then getting back into rhythm.  When we came out onto the road for the last 0.4 miles, I tried to pick up the speed as much as possible to make sure nobody would catch me.

Again I felt good overall with my run.  My knee was a little sore, but now a few days later it is fine.  I think the steep downhills were not doing it any favors.  I am now looking forward to Rock Hill next week.

Wrenshall Fall Fest 10K

I saw this race and figured it would be a good practice run prior to the TC 10 mile next weekend.  The conditions this morning were perfect for running.  With a 10:00 am start time, the sun was up and the air temps were in the low 50's.  There was a little wind, but nothing to worry about for running.  My goal was to stay sub 7:00 for all of the miles., which I talked about with Dave at the start.

I started a little quick with a 6:40 mile, but I then found my pace in the 6:50 range after that.  A lady runner that was by us at the start line stayed with me for the first mile, but then started falling back.  I was a little worried that she heard me say I was planning on running right around 7 flats and then tried to stay with me when I ran a 6:40 to start.  Good at pacing at the start has never been said about my running skill.  In the end she did not fall too far back so maybe she just runs like I do and starts too fast.

Overall I ended with a 42:30 for a 6:51 average per mile.  This was a PR for me at the 10K distance and I was very pleased. Also, my knee was fine.  It did not feel sore at all while running and throughout the day continues to be fine. Some friends I saw at the race also had good races; Dave finished just ahead of me in the low 40's, and Amanda crushed her goal of sub 1hr in her first 10k.  All in all a great last strong run prior to next weekend's 10 miler.