Dirty Love Race Report & Training Update

What running couple doesn't want to kick off their Valentine's Day with a race? Especially a trail race close to home such as the case with the Dirty Love Trail 10K. This was the 3rd or 4th time my husband Steve and I have run it. Last year we missed because we were on vacation but this year we were ready to tackle the sloppy, snowy trails again. And just as I recalled it was a tough one.

Enjoying the down hill!

Steve and I got in a little warm up, used the facilities and lined up in the field of snow to head into the woods of North Chagrin Reservation. As always the start was fun and crazy. Sprinting in a field of snow in cleats will sure spike your heart rate! I tried to position myself close to the front of the ladies. I think I started in 2nd or 3rd and pretty much stayed in that position until late in the race when a couple of ladies overtook me. I ended up finishing 5th female, 1st in my AG. This was pretty consistent with the last times I have run it. Steve also finished 5th or 6th male and 1st in his AG so it was a good way to start the Valentine's day festivities.

Following the race we got in a cool down with our Snakebite Racing teammate Ken Hagan then we headed into the shelter for some food and the awards. After that we headed over to Willoughby Brewing with some Cleveland Tri Club friends for some hard-earned Peanut Butter Cup Porters! 

In general my training for the upcoming Green Jewel 50K, Boston Marathon and Cleveland Marathon have been going well. I just wrapped up a close to 60 mile run week including a tough 20 miler on Saturday and a hard week of core work/lifting. This was the second 20 miler Steve and I have done in the last couple of weeks so I am feeling pretty good going into the Green Jewel next weekend. I am cutting back the running to about 40 miles this week and adding a little more bike then next week will be pretty light with a couple short runs and rides leading into the race on Saturday. I am hoping for a speedy recovery as I have been recovering from the 20 milers pretty quickly. We are running a local 5K this Sunday so that will be a nice change of pace to do something short and fast versus longer and slower. I am hoping for semi decent weather for that because in Cleveland in February you never know what to expect!

2014 Dirty Love Trail 10K Race Report

I'm happy to report that the first race of 2014 is in the books! Despite a tough day physically and mentally I am happy with how it went. Anyone who runs or has ever tried to run knows it can be hard at times. This race was one of those times for myself and probably every other person who ran that day.

I had questioned whether I would even toe the line for the Dirty Love on Sunday. With lingering IT band issues that had improved within the week or two before I didn't want to overdo it. I made the decision to give it a go and just try to have fun with the race versus trying to get on the podium.

It was somewhere between 15-20 degrees at the start and snowing a bit. We had gotten fresh snow all week and the trails at North Chagrin Reservation were already covered. Needless to say this made for an interesting and slow race.

Staying warm prerace with the hubby!

Steve and I tried to stay warm in the car and the heated shelter for a little while and then we did a mile warm up on the bridle trails about 30 minutes before the start and my Garmin indicated a 12-minute mile. Really I thought. This is going to be a tough one!

At 9:25 a couple hundred brave runners lined up in a field ready to take off...in a foot of snow. To describe it in words doesn't do it justice. You MUST see this start and luckily there's a video here.

After maybe 200-400 meters through the field of deep snow my heart rate was definitely sky high and from there we got on the trail to start the long journey through the snowy woods to the finish. The trails were snowy and slippery and mostly single track with some amazing views. There were some hills too including one BIG hill that will make even the strongest runners walk a few steps!

In the pain cave!

For most of the race there was not much passing. I was not even sure where I was place wise but hadn't seen a woman pass me until the last 1/2 mile of the race. That woman who ended up being 3rd overall finished about a minute ahead of me. She looked strong when she passed me and I certainly didn't feel the energy and desire to try to catch her. I thought the finish would never come but when I saw it and heard Steve yelling for me I was a happy girl! I finished 4th of 100 females and 1st in the 35-39AG with a time of 1:09 and change (11:13 pace! to put it in perspective about 3-4 minutes off my normal trail pace). So I am happy with how it went and I'm not in a bad place with my running in February and coming off an injury. I'm hoping things can only get better from here.

Nice race swag!

I was rewarded with some nice swag for my hard work including a sweet pink mug and some gift certificates to Vertical Runner. And then I rewarded myself with a couple hard-earned beers and pizza at Willoughby Brewing with Steve and some friends. Beer and pizza taste even better after running in the woods for 90 minutes.

Next up it's the Fools 25k trail race in late March - another Western Reserve Racing production. This will be my first 25K so I am excited! Now it's time to start logging some mileage! If only the weather in Cleveland would cooperate!

Dirty Love 10K Race Report

Over the last year or so I have really fallen in love with trail running. There are a number of beautiful places in Lake County to take advantage of running. Not only do we have Lake Erie in our backyard but we also have many trails such as Chapin Forest, Girdled Rd, Penitentiary Glenn, The Holden Arboretum and North Chagrin Reservation to name a handful.

When I learned that there was a trail 10k at North Chagrin this month I thought it would be a fun way to start off the 2013 racing season. My hubby agreed so we decided to sign up and see how it went. It was a great decision because we had an absolute blast at this race!

The race was on Sunday, February 10 at 9am, which was nice because we did not have to get up ridiculously early. We woke up around 7, had a nice breakfast, got dressed and left around 8:00 for the race. We arrived at the start around 8:20. There was a nice crowd of runners including some folks we knew from Cleveland Tri Club and other friends. We picked up our bibs and race schwag and headed to the car to get ready. After a brief warmup and a trip or two to the restroom, we lined up.

The race was to be mostly on single track trail with some miles on the bridle trail as well. With the recent snowfall and temperatures in the low 20s the hubby and I both decided to wear or yaktrax to help with traction. That was a good decision as they really helped on some of the icy up and downhills.

The start of the race went through a field of snow coming to a creek crossing. I was a little bit of a sissy with the cold and snow and manuevered my way around the creek versus going right through it like my hubby. This cost me a minute or two early on in the race. After the creek we had to hop a fence and bench to get onto the single track trail. There was a big hill early on that a lot of folks walked. It was difficult to get around the pack of runners so I think this slowed me down a bit as well. Once we approached the top I took off and found my groove.

Finishing the race

It was a fun and challenging course with a lot of winding and some good climbs here and there. It was a pretty technical trail with tree roots and the yaktrax helped with the stability on the icy trail. I finished the 10K in 57 and change, which made me 8th overall female and 1st in the 30-39 age group. Considering the conditions and my newness to trail racing I was happy with the result. It was nice to hear hubby cheering for me at the end as I finished in a sprint the last hundred or so. Steve had a good race as well finishing in around 48 and around 20th overall.

Hubby and me after finishing the race

After the race we said hello to some friends, met some new friends and headed home for a hard-earned lunch and beer. It was a very fun and well-organized race and we will definitely do this one again as well as some other races that the Dirty Trail Series puts on this year.