NMTC Roughrider Trail Run

This past Sunday 75 or so brave souls met up just off of Beck's Road to tackle the NMTC Roughrider course.  I was hopeful this year as there was little precipitation in the previous day or so.  This would allow us the best opportunity to actually try to "run" the course as opposed to survive as we were doing last year.

I brought my Contour camera with me this year to try and capture what it is like to attempt to run up the power lines.

Note in the video below the following details:

• The camera is mounted on the right side of my visor...  At eye level...  Even when it appears it is a few inches off of the ground as I climb the power line section.
• While climbing the power line section I did not have to crawl this year, I was able to walk up all slopes, no matter how close to the ground the video makes it look.
• Yes, I do realize I sound like a dirty old man with my breathing while I run.  I think I will dub music over the next video I make...

So without further ado, here is a short chunk of the run I posted to YouTube.

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.  

2012 Running Schedule

I have added a few more running events to my 2012 schedule and they are both early season events.  I registered for two trail 25k races.  They both fall prior to the Garry Bjorklund half marathon so they should help me be in great condition come race day.

I registered for the Trail Mix 25k solo run in April in the Twin Cities area at Hyland Lake Park Preserve.  I am excited to give this race a shot.  I have heard good things about it and think it will be a good early season test of my run fitness.  Also, the extra couple miles of distance and the extra difficulty trails can bring will be a fun challenge.

The other race I am registered for is the 25k trail race on the Superior Hiking Trail starting at the Lutsen resorts area.  From what I have heard about this, it is one of the tougher sections of the SHT that we run on.  This race is in mid May so it should give me a great test as to where I am less than one month prior to Garry Bjorklund race day.

So basically, my early season will be run heavy.  Then I will need to make sure I get out on my bike so I am ready for the half ironman in August.

NMTC Fall Series Finale - Pine Valley

Today marked the final race of the fall NMTC Trail series, and it was held at the ski trails of Pine Valley in Cloquet.  In a previous life I went around these trails a bunch of times on a couple of skinny pieces of finerglass.  So I had a pretty good feel for the layout of the trails and the location and size of the hills.  And yes, there were hills. 

What Goes Up, Must Come Down...

The very first thing this trail does is go straight up a hill.  Well after a short straight section of trail and a hard right turn.  When Jarrow gave his quick command to go the whole crowd lurched forward and veered to the right and up the service road for a second or two before some loud yelling from a helper got everyone back on track. 

After the first hill, there is a whole lot of the trail turning back on itself and some good rolling ups and downs.  More than once you will be running and see people ahead/behind you through the trees on your left or right.  The signs marking the kilometers are a nice touch on this trail so you have a good feel for how much running you have left until the finish. 

One Last Uphill

What I always will remember about Pine Valley from high school skiing is the final steep downhill with the sweeping left turn at the bottom.  Many skiiers did not look forward to this downhill as the tracks would be washed out very quickly and invariably a few folks would not quite make the corner and skid off into the snowbank on the right side of the trail.  Skiing, this was my favorite part of the course.  I really enjoyed the fast technical downhills as that was my strength (as opposed to being a strong or fit skiier...).

Running up this hill, and then down, was not nearly the same as it was on ski's.  The uphill side of the hill was similar to skiing, however the down portion of the hill was harder on foot than on ski.  It turns out you do not carry your momentum on foot very well when running down a steep hill. 

Summary

All in all, I had a fun race.  I was not very fast again today, but I felt good and had a faster time than last year.  Taking a look at the season as a whole, I was generally pleased.  I had some very good runs, and a few I felt I may have been able to do a little better.  I am glad I got to run the power lines that I missed in previous seasons. 

I am also ready for an off-season from racing.  From now until next spring I will be simply running for fun, riding my bike on the trainer from time to time, and getting to the gym once in awhile to swim and lift a weight or two.  Sometime in maybe February I will put together my plan of attack for next season.  Currently I have the Garry Bjorklund half marathon on my schedule, I will figure out the rest soon enough.

Lester Park Trail Run

Earlier this afternoon was the Lester River Trail Run.  It was the second to last race in the NMTC fall series.  The weather once again cooperated.  Cool with a bit of a breeze, a perfect crisp fall afternoon.  I decided to ride my road bike over to the park as a sort of warm-up for the run.  The idea was a good one, but my toes were a little chilled when I got to the park. 

Loop-De-Loop

The course for this week was going to be three loops of the "C" loop.  I have run the trails in Lester a few times this summer, but I had no idea which was the "C" loop.  Once we got out on the trail, most of it looked familiar but I do not think I ever ran the course in that order before.  However, the course was the classic Lester run.  As you head away from the lake you are going uphill, and then at some point you turn back towards the lake and go down. 

For the first loop I felt pretty good running.  On the second loop, I seemed to lack any real energy.  I kept running and all, but just could not find any speed in my legs.  All the running I did to be ready for the Twin Cities 10 miler had me running well early this fall.  The lack of running since then has really shown.  No big deal though, these trail runs are a lot of fun no matter what.  They are not races I schedule my training around.

Next Week

I am looking forward to Pine Valley next week.  The final run in the series for the fall.  I have circled the Pine Valley course multiple times on skinny skis, and it is a good circuit for running. 

Trail Running Galore

Never checked back in after last week's run at Haw Ridge.  The weather was perfect for a run other than the wind.  I was still getting over a little chest cold so that made it a little hard to really get rolling at a solid speed.  But I was happy to be back out running on a nice trail. 

Roughrider

This week's run was nicknamed Roughrider and has a reputation as the hardest course in the series, when the trail is dry. Of course the rain that started drizzling down early today took care of the dry part. 

We started at 2:00 pm and the course was good and wet by then.  The singletrack start was a little slippery and I managed to not slip off the trail with the help of the trees on the trail.  After a short distance we pop out onto the power lines.  Here is where the fun begins.  A bunch of up down sections that were wet and muddy. 

The trail is an out and back so you got to see what you will be facing later.  This had two disadvantages on a day like today.  First, you know what you will be running up at the end of the race and it festers in the back of your mind.  Second, with the rain and all of the runners going over the trail on the way out, it was even muddier and more slippery on the way back through.

On the way out, I managed to stay up on my two feet the whole way.  There were a couple of spots where I slipped pretty good but I always managed to catch myself and stay upright. 

After tagging the pink turnaround tape, I headed back into the powerlines.  The first up down valley produced my first fall.  I lost my footing and onto my ass I went.  Not too bad, and I was up quickly and kept moving. 

Through the middle section of the trail I tried to preserve a little energy for the tough section on the powerlines I knew was coming and had a few folks cruise by.  As I came out onto the last section on the powerlines I had a few more episodes of planting my ass on the trail.  On one of the sections, I tripped and went head first into the brush.  Luckily I did not slip too far, but when I caught myself my thumb jammed a little. 

On the next downhill, I had a couple slips with one providing me with a very quick 50 foot drop on my ass.  I did however allow me to catch back up to another runner who had passed me earlier.  That is not worth noting, other than when he passed me on the outbound leg he heckled me telling me to "quit running like a girl" and then telling me to run faster.  At the time he was ahead of all of the ladies running and passing me.  However, karma slapped him upside the head and he finished behind two ladies and me.  So, note to everyone: if you feel it is necessary to talk shit to other runners, don't let your mouth write checks your legs cannot cash.  On top of that, if you are a middle of the pack runner, making a comment about running like a girl (many of whom finish in front of you...) is not the best smacktalk to be using.

I worked my way back up the singletrack that seemed tougher than what it was on the way out, and then finished up.  After finishing it was amusing to watch everyone come through to finish and see the huge mud streaks on everyone's legs and butts.  There were very few people who were finishing without a large mud stripe somewhere. 

Next Sunday we get to try out the ski trails at Lester.  I have run the trails a few times this summer.  Not sure the exact route we will follow, but I am looking forward to it.