2013 Hippie Chick

Today, I ran in the 2013 Hippie Chick all womens' race.  There are Half and Quarter Marathon options, I ran the Quarter.  That's 6.55 miles for any non-runners out there.  :)

It was a great day for a race.  It started out on the cool side with a bit of cloud cover... a day made to order for a race.  It was nice to not be too hot while running.  The race course was also very well planned, over mostly flat country and on roads that offer at least some shade from time to time.  Towards the end of the race, as the temperature was rising, one of the volunteers even had a hose out and was spraying runners as they ran by.  I took advantage of that myself, and it felt good!

All the ladies were so supportive of everyone too, which was awesome.  I got a high-five from someone I didn't even know!  We were all cheering for each other and encouraging each other... which is yet another reason why I love this race.

Except for the three water stations where I walked (so I could drink the water instead of spilling it all down my front LOL), I ran the entire race.  I didn't have any IT band pain either, so my Rumble Roller (a.k.a the Medieval Torture Device) plus all the stretching and cross training are doing their jobs.  Towards the end I could tell they were getting a bit tight, so I did some butt kicks and that stretched them just enough to ease the tension I was feeling.

So, now for the important parts:  Times and statistics!  The race was timed with chips, these are the official numbers off the race website.

Finishing time (per my chip): 1:07:36
Finishing place overall (for the Quarter Marathon):  207th out of 1056 participants
Finishing place for my age bracket (for the Quarter Marathon):  41st out of 166

I really want to do the Half Marathon next year.  Hopefully my good luck with training, cross training, and stretching/rolling will continue and I'll be able to get there without injuring myself again and setting my training behind.

Race Report: Go Girl Trail Run

This morning I competed an all female event called the Go Girl Trail Run, hosted by Run With Paula.

http://www.runwithpaula.com/go-girl-trail-run

It was called a 10k+ race.  I guess the "+" means it was a bit more than 10K but they don't say exactly how much more.  That's OK though, I don't mind LOL.

The run was primarily on the trails within Forest Park, one of the largest urban forest reserves in the USA.

http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/finder/index.cfm?PropertyID=127&action=ViewPark

I will say this...  I've never done a trail run like this before (other than the Warrior Dash, which is more about the obstacles than the running), and I usually don't run up hills.  And BOY were there killer hills!

The first 1/3 of the course was uphill, the second 1/3 of the course was downhill (boy did that feel good!), and the last 1/3 of the course was split... half uphill and half downhill.  On the steepest of hills, EVERYONE was walking, not just me.  On the gentle hills, flats, and downhills, I was running!

One of my concerns was having IT band pain.  I always have it, though with the proper training and stretching I can delay how soon it onsets.  Today, I didn't start feeling any discomfort until I was about 1 mile from the finish line... and even then it never got very bad.  Woo hoo!  

Of course, I made sure to stretch out after I finished, and there was a gentleman there giving free 5-10 minute massages so I signed up.  He worked on those IT bands and I'm positive that helped a lot.  If anyone reading this is in the Lake Oswego, OR area, I recommend their services.

Bodywork for the Active

http://www.bodyworkfortheactive.com

I don't have the official time yet, but the time on the clock when I crossed the finish line was 1:15:12.  The race started in waves, I was in the fourth, so my official time might be less than this.  Honestly, I don't care.  I was in the race to challenge myself and see if I could finish.  I was challenged LOL, but I finished strong and that's what's important to me.  :)

Now, time to let these poor sore and tired muscles rest and recharge.  :)