A few weeks before Afton, I strained a hamstring during a fitness class. Of course, I kept running on it and each day it was a little better than the day before. Going into Afton I felt it was at 95%. That wasn't enough and I was hurting bad after the race. So... I quit running completely to let the damage heal. I've been doing some aerobic exercise - spinning, swimming, kickboxing and also some moderate strength training. I've also spent some time walking on a treadmill with short bursts of moderate speed running sprinkled in. Right now, I feel about as close to 100% as I can get. Next Tuesday I plan to start running again outside. I can't wait but I feel it's better to do just a bit more cross-training before getting into running mode again. Next race: Urban Wildland Half Marathon on August 4th in Richfield, MN.
--Mark
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Afton 25K 2007
I've been wondering when a race would break me. It happened at the Afton 25K trail run on July 7, 2007. I ran with my friend Christine on that very hot and humid day. Christine and I stayed together for 13.5 miles. It was awesome to run with someone the same speed as I am. I think we both pulled and pushed each other to run faster than we would alone. After mile 13.5 Christine pulled ahead, or more likely I fell behind. I finished with an excellent time of 2:19:56.
This is the first time I took GU in a race. I tried it a few times during practice runs at Afton. There are 5 water stops in the 25K. I decided to just drink water at the first stop and all later stops I was going to take half a GU packet along with water. I had been reading that a half packet along with a typical drink of water during a race gives the correct ratio of GU/Water. Right or wrong? I don't know. That combination worked for me.
That run wore me out. I tried running with a friend two days after the race and had to quit after 0.25 miles. I was just too sore. I feel much better tonight, and will take a kickboxing class in the morning, the 4th day after the race. Although we have a family vacation planned for next year this time, I look forward to another Afton 25K in two years.
I record my heart rate during exercising. An anotated chart of my run is shown below. I'm not exactly sure where my anaerobic threshold is now. A year or so ago I had it measured at 160 on a treadmill.
--Mark
This is the first time I took GU in a race. I tried it a few times during practice runs at Afton. There are 5 water stops in the 25K. I decided to just drink water at the first stop and all later stops I was going to take half a GU packet along with water. I had been reading that a half packet along with a typical drink of water during a race gives the correct ratio of GU/Water. Right or wrong? I don't know. That combination worked for me.
That run wore me out. I tried running with a friend two days after the race and had to quit after 0.25 miles. I was just too sore. I feel much better tonight, and will take a kickboxing class in the morning, the 4th day after the race. Although we have a family vacation planned for next year this time, I look forward to another Afton 25K in two years.
I record my heart rate during exercising. An anotated chart of my run is shown below. I'm not exactly sure where my anaerobic threshold is now. A year or so ago I had it measured at 160 on a treadmill.
--Mark
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