Race Report: 2011 Buckeye Classic 10K

Run DMC and friends at the Buckeye Classic. 

It took me over an hour to run a 10K, and given all the factors involved I'm still thrilled with my time! Official time was 1:02:36, a 10:06 pace.

Let's just say I woke up this morning a bit dehydrated. Forgot my rule of thumb last night, 1 to 1. I didn't think it would be that bad, but it was.

That and the hills were evil! From here on out it's hill repeats twice a week until Salt Fork, and once a week thereafter!

It was the Buckeye Classic at Highbanks Metroparks in Lewis Center. This is one I decided to do on a whim, using my free race entry from volunteering at Emerald City.

My fledgling wall of accomplishments

It's cleaning/organizing day in the new apartment, and I finally did something with the small collection of medals from various races, and of course my 1st place plaque from the Nu Race Trial Run! 

A closeup of the medals: 

From left to right: Holiday Run at Sharon Woods, First on the First, Cleveland Marathon, Hocking Hills Indian Run. 

Maybe I'll put a small shelf up and display the beer glasses I got from Salt Fork and the Beerathlon! 

Race Report: Holiday Run at Sharon Woods

The finisher's medal and shirt (wrinkly from being crammed in my bag)

The Holiday Run at Sharon Woods in Westerville was just a teeny, tiny bit cold and rainy. But, when you knowingly sign up for a run on Dec. 12 in Ohio, you don't have much room to complain about bad weather.

With that said, it was an awesome time -- both in terms of me having an awesome time, and me running an awesome time.

If you're keeping track, that's three races in three weeks. I wasn't going to take this one very fast. Note the word "wasn't". The short of it: 4 miles in 34:45 -- that's an 8:41 pace, my second fastest! I was 98/245 overall and 5/12 in my age group.

Except for a quarter mile in kickboxing I haven't run since the Salt Fork 10-mile trail challenge Dec. 4. Been trying to shake it up a bit and give my legs a break at the same time. So, I didn't really know how I'd do today.

At 9 am the weather hadn't turned horrible yet. It was cold and raining but not snowy. I wore my LL Bean running tights, athletic pants, my tech shirt and my lined rain jacket.

I really only ran this one for the long-sleeved tech shirt, thus my mission was accomplished once I arrived and signed in. I got there at 8:20ish and warmed up with Bill, who I know from an online message board, I'll get to that in a bit.

Race Report: Salt Fork 10-mile Trail Challenge

Not as bad as they were when I finished, but
my muddy feet.

So I come home, tromp up to my 2nd floor apartment and show off my race swag, but Matt just glares at me.

"Umm, are you going to take those off?"

Oh, you mean my running shoes that are caked with mud, before I wander around the house anymore? Yea, probably not a bad call. 

I did the Salt Fork 10-Mile Trail Challenge this morning, about a half hour east of Zanesville. Final time was 1:57:42. On the surface that's nowhere near where I wanted to be. But, given the completely insane course and race dynamics I'm not disappointed. 


Edit: I'm feeling better about my time now. Top female was 1:33:46!

It's December and cold was a given, it was a nice day for a run. Chilly, but no rain or snow and not much wind. I wore my running tights from LL Bean and a pair of athletic pants on top of them. I wore my long sleeved tech shirt from the Nu Race Trail Run, and then my bright yellow polyester fleece from LL Bean. And, of course, my Asics Kayanos, which only have 20 miles left on them:(

I also loaded up my FuelBelt with Gu Chomps, Gatorade and fruit bites.

I forgot my watch. I decided to leave my lucky baseball hat in the car because there was a slight wind. And my cheap Target headphones finally went ka-put, so I ran in silence. Wasn't that bad, a lot of the other runners were chatty. 

Still, it was a great day, great crowd, great event. The course kicked my butt, thoroughly and completely. Even though it was a basic short sleeved tee, I love the shirt.

So not ready for Salt Fork... but haven't I said that before?

10 mile trail race, what on earth was I thinking! The Salt Fork run is next Saturday. 

Then again, I made this post about a week before the Nu Race Trail Run, and this post shortly before the Indian Run. 

Before the Nu Race run, I simply wrote: "Yalp"

Before the Indian run I wrote: "I think I'm in over my head."

After the Nu Race run I wrote: "My first 1st place finish!"

After the Indian Run I wrote: "I can't believe I did it in under an hour"

And believe me, I was saying similar stuff before my first 5k. So yea, I'll be fine! 

Race registration: All about the shirt

Just signed up for the Holiday Run at Sharon Woods in Columbus Dec. 12. More because it looks like fun and less because I want to race it.  It's the week after the 10-mile Trail challenge at Salt Fork so I'll absolutely be taking it slow! Plus they give you a long sleeved tech shirt, the one I got at the Mohican Nu Race Trail run is perfect for running in the cold so it would be good to have a second.

I hardly ever wear my cotton tees anymore while running or at the gym.

This one looks like fun, and the course looks very scenic. You get hot chocolate, cookies, and Michelob Ultra is the sole sponsor so there better be some adult beverages involved!