Monday, March 9, 2015

Ahmanson 12k

This was a last minute sign up to (a) support a local race, (b) start a legacy streak and (c) well you know…training! The trailhead is actually in a neighborhood that I used to live about 7 years ago and while I had run all of the trails I had never strung them together to get this route. This is a photo I took back then of the area. Race day didn’t have the low cloud, as you can see, it’s best described as rolling!

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The course was definitely one of two halves, the first a short sharp climb followed by a flat then a long downhill which of course resulted in a climb back up to the start.

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I got there nice and early and checked in, used a pristine clean Potta-John…that’s a first! My plan was to race this hard and pretty much go at 95% effort, lots of HR Z4 and Z5. I had estimated a sub 60 minute finish but it was going to only be by a couple of minutes if at all. In the end it was a bit like cyclo-cross, balls to the wall for an hour! With that in mind I decided to warm up…yes warm up! Shut-The-Front-Door! I ran up the first climb which was a good pipe opener and got my heart rate up.

After that there wasn’t that much time before the start so I grabbed a bottle of water and sipped it. I was already sunny and there was not a cloud in the sky. That said I know I can run for an hour without water. I was also phone and music free, very stripped down in my shorty shorts and shirt and KinvaraTR which are trail flats.

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After a quick briefing we were off. After the initial scramble I found a nice pace and passed a few people on the climb. I settled into a comfortable pace and just followed the people in front. I could see the line of people extending ahead of me which allowed me to gauge my effort. My HR was high and I knew I needed to ease off the pace on the downhill so I could get it down into Z4. With the exception of a small bump at the bottom I was able to and I eased off the gas going through the one Water Station where I grabbed a quick cup, drank half and poured the other half on my head. I was about 27 minutes in and halfway. For the record the first four mile splits;

  • 7:32
  • 7:22
  • 6:58
  • 7:43

From here it was three and a bit miles to finish and mostly climbing. I ended up walking a short section that from looking afterwards had a grade of around 12%. Then I just gritted my teeth to the end. As with most trail races folks were spread out, I passed a few and was passed by a few. In the end I rounded the last corner and pushed for the finish, max HR 177!

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Last three mile splits;

  • 9:40
  • 8:22
  • 8:55 and change for the finish

I squeaked under the hour with a 59:36 official time. 33/170 and 2nd in my AG. The AG Winner was 3 minutes ahead! Given the overall lack of speedwork in recent months I was really pleased with this result.

All in all a fun morning at a well run (no pun) and low stress race. As with all trail races the crowd is always friendly and egos are checked at the door. The RD, Nancy, has a great reputation for running a tight ship and this was no exception. A soft technical T Shirt was given to everyone and AG Winners got a really nice custom glass medal. It’s always nice to see familiar faces and I bumped into a few folks I knew. More than that it was a good start to a three day weekend of trail running!

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