Training- Race Update

I was able to have a little breather this past week after my Holcomb 33 mile ultra run. This past week was a planned "Rest" prior to my Triathlon Fitness Assessment which starts tmr at Triathlica. Monday will be the Bike portion, Wednesday Swim, and Friday Run. The purpose of this assessment is to evaluate where I am at fitness wise in order to help plan my Triathlon Training program for the OC Triathlon in Sept.

The past 4 weekends have been really fun :)
I did my first 1/2 road marathon after 2 year or so layoff...
May 25th-Saddleback half (2:01:40).

Then I did my first Duathlon, May 30th in Lake Forest. It was really cool, it started with a 5k run, 24mile bike, 5k run. I came in 4th in my group, I considered it great practice for the OC Tri in sept. (2:08:41). The Bike portion of the course was very wet and slick. I was very familiar with the bike portion with the exception of the turn-around point... but other than that it did stress my hamstrings to the point where I felt them on the last 5k portion of the race. Both of my 5k times were at 27 min. I was pretty happy with my run times, considering my lack of training for this event.

The following week I entered the June 6th-Corona Del Mar 5k (26:42)- this was very hilly race but fun at the same time. I was able to run right along the Corona Del Mar Beach- where I will be doing my future ocean swims.

On June 14th, I completed my 2nd Ultra Marathon for the year at Holcomb Valley in Big Bear (8:13). This was my 3rd year in a row at Holcomb, the previous 2 years I had completed the 15mile trail run. This is a very well supported trail race in Big Bear. I highly recomend this run for either the 15 mile portion and even more so the 33miler. The course is like a figure 8 course so you get see many fantastic views of the lake and best of all you get to run parts of the Pacific Crest Trail. I plan to come back next year for sure.

Up next is the Breath of Life Triathlon, June 28th. Which is a special day for me personally, I am sure I will have mixed feelings throughout the race.

Holcomb Valley 15 mile Trail Race Redux

This was my first race since Leona Divide about 6 weeks ago. Within those past 6 weeks I have been suffering from a IT Band issues. About 6 days prior to big bear I started to feel better. I had a aggressive treatment program, I guess my body just needed a rest.

Going into this 15mile race, I wanted to see if it was possible to run faster than I did last year. This year I finished at 3:17, last year I finished at 3:01. I must say I never really got into a running fluid while sucking wind. Yes the thin air did get to me this time, I had headaches and my legs felt tired. Once I figured out I would not come close to breaking my time from last year, I began to relax and stayed within the moment and enjoyed the awesome views of the lake and mountains. I will return next year to break the 3hr mark I promise.

Holcomb Valley Recap

Holcomb valley 15 mile trail race.

I had originally signed up for the 33mile race, but at the last minute, changed my mind to race the 15mile option. I am happy I did.

After running the Shadow of the Giants, I thought it would be wise to not overdo it and run a good solid race with the 15mile option. Between the shadow of the giants and Holcomb I only ran once. I went to big bear on Saturday, and stayed at a local hotel. Other club members from the OCTRAIL club also stayed at the same hotel. I felt well rested going into the race.

Race morning, I set the alarm for 5am, and went to the local am/pm for a hot cup of coffee. Wow I did not realize how cold it was outside, I had the shakes… I noticed there no cloud cover, which told me that will be very clear and hot.

I arrived at the race site, and chatted with the other runners that were doing the 33mile race. 30min later our 15 mile race started. This was my first trail race where they put us in waves. I was of course in the last wave. The race course was very rocky or technical at the start which reminded me of one of my local training runs at Modjeska canyon trail.

At the 4 or 5mile mark it opened up onto a smooth rolling fire road. I tried to stay in the shade as much as possible. I tried to maintain a constant pace throughout, I noticed plenty of free range horses out on the field and I forgot where I was for a while. The course was well marked if you follow the arrows. Towards the end I realized I could break my 3hr goal. I couldn’t open into full stride going down a rocky single track, just too risky. I was using this lady way ahead to help me pace myself in…Then I passed here, BUT now I was in the front with about 1/2mile left I was lost track of the arrows and orange ribbons. Going into the parking lot of the finish I was supposed to make a hard right, well I went straight. They lady I passed said I was going the wrong way, at this point I was way off track. I finished at 3:01, now knowing the course next year, I should shatter that time. This particular race was very well supported with volunteers and post race goodies. I recommend this race to anyone considering do a short trail race in the mountains.