2014 Autumn Leaves Race Report

This was my second year of racing the NERC Autumn Leaves 5 Miler at the Lake Farmpark in Kirtland. This is a grassroots cross country style race with a fun vibe and some solid competition. It is definitely not a PR course but a great race to challenge yourself and have some fun. Each year the course is altered some, which also makes it interesting.

Steve raced also so we were able to eat breakfast and get in our warm ups together. It was a chilly morning so we did our best to stay warm up until the race start. The start is fast as it begins with a downhill section and quickly winds down through some of the dirt roads within the farmpark before heading into some lengthy sections of pasture. The grass was long and muddy from rains the night before. As usual this made for some slower footing. After about 2 miles the course winds through a corn maze. This year the maze section was longer. The twists and turns through the maze and the slippery sections definitely make it a challenging part of the course. If a corn maze won't get your heart rate up then I don't know what will!

I'm in the pink chasing 1st in my AG ahead of me after the corn maze

Coming out of the maze you reenter the pasture and there are some nice hills to keep that heart pumping. I had been passed by two women (including the one who won my AG) not long before entering the maze but was not able to close the gap as I had hoped. The rest of the race I just tried to run within myself and give what I could that day. After coming off a bad race the week before where I pulled out halfway due to lingering foot issues I wasn't sure how I'd fare a week later, especially in harder conditions. Fortunately the foot held up okay for me.

When we finally got out of the last pasture section and hit the dirt road leading back the finish I felt both happy and annoyed. My garmin had showed 40:01 (a slower time than last year by about a minute) but it also showed the course as 5.18 miles. In my mind I ran as best as I could on a hard course and ended up placing 9th female and 2nd in the 35-39AG (which is where I placed last year). All in all I am happy with the result and looking forward to tacking the the Salt Fork 10 Mile Challenge next weekend.

Post race with our award beer glasses!

Steve had a great race and finished with the same time as last year (33 & change), given the longer course. He placed 8th overall and 1st in the 45-49AG. We both won new glasses, which were perfect to enjoy the tasty IPAs we had that night to celebrate another race in the books.

Maybe Offroad 5 Milers are My Sweet Spot

For the sake of efficiency, I'm combining race reports for my last two races: The NERC Autumn Leaves 5 Miler and the Twinsburg Turkey Trot 5 Miler. Both races went well for me and I am thinking that this distance is a good sweet spot for me in terms of effort.

Race # 1 - NERC Autumn Leaves 5 Miler 

The Autumn Leaves race took place on Sunday, 11/3 at the Lake Farmpark in Kirtland. It had rained all day and night beforehand so it was a slippery, muddy mess but it was a blast. Steve and I both ran it. I felt pretty crappy on our 1 mile warm up so I wasn't sure what kind of day I would have out there. I heard the course was going to be challenging so I went into with the mindset of just wanting to finish and challenge myself. The women's field was actually pretty competitive at this race including a couple of outstanding younger girls.

Running along one of the scenic trails

The race included some gravel trail, a good bit of muddy pasture running, some horse barns, some paved asphalt trails and a very muddy and slippery corn maze! Needless to say it was NOT a boring race at all. It was very scenic with the colors of fall and just a very fun race.

I definitely pushed myself but it was not a day to PR with the conditions. I held on pretty strong for the duration of the race but did get passed by 2 ladies to finish at 39 minutes (10th overall and 2nd in my age group). Steve also did well running under 34 mins and placing 2nd in his age group as well! NERC did a nice job with the race and the awards and gave us all huge trophies for the effort. I will definitely look forward to running this one again!

Post race celebrating with Steve 

Race # 2 - Twinsburg Turkey Trot 5 Miler

Prerace with Steve

The Turkey Trot was this past Saturday, 11/9. This is always a fun fall race. It combines road and trails so it it more challenging terrain than your average 5 mile road race. Last year I had run it but didn't really have a great day. This year was another story! I just felt better this week. Again my husband raced too and we both felt pretty good on our mile warm up.

It was chilly but I opted to race in shorts with a baseball cap, long sleeve and my gloves. This turned out to be just right although it was very windy and cold for a few minutes waiting for the race start. The first mile of this race is always very fast and this year was no exception. I felt like I was going to be in trouble going out in the low 6's but luckily I was able to hold on and slow my tempo as we hit the trail for some climbing. There were a couple of younger girls who were ahead of me but I passed one before we exited the trail. The other girl and I went back and forth for maybe a mile before I passed her. At that time I thought maybe I was in second or first as I wasn't 100% if there was another woman ahead of me or not. I did my best to just hang on and push.

My first 1st place finish!

As I hit the homestretch I reached down to adjust my bib and tore my number so I was running across the finish line holding it. I could see/hear Steve cheering. I didn't see a ribbon so I assumed I was in second place. I was a little out of it but heard my name and Steve came over to see me and I asked him what place I was I was in and he said FIRST! I was excited and surprised to have been first overall female! This was the first race I've ever won first in (officially).  My time of 36:22 (7:16 pace) was not a PR for this distance but it was for this race and this course.

Post race celebrating with my #1 fan!

I won a trophy and a turkey for my hard work! Steve also had a great race placing 5th overall and 1st in his AG! I am looking forward to seeing what I can do in this race in the years to come. Thanks to Northcoast Multisport and Champ Racing for helping out with this race.

Special thanks to sponsors: Rev3 and Powerbar Team Elite for keeping me fueled and ready to go all season!

Going With the Flow This Fall

Sometimes in life things happen that alter our plans no matter how awesome those plans might be. Unfortunately I am experiencing one of those "shit happens" moments myself this Fall. Having been sick on and off for the last six weeks and visiting the doc again last Friday it seems I need to alter my fall plans. While this sucks tremendously I need to get healthy. I cannot focus on getting healthy with a fall marathon and ultra marathon hanging over my head. So, I will not be doing them. And I am okay with this. My health is more important.

My plan is to go ahead and  run the Lake Health 1/2 marathon. Since I have already paid for the full and am basically trained to run a half, I think I can do this without much intense training. It may not be a PR but I can still give the best that I have to give right now.

The only other scheduled races on my calendar now are a trail 5K this weekend and 5 miler at the beginning of November. I think I can do these with no issues. The ultra will have to wait until I am 100% healthy. I plan on being around for a while so I am confident that this will happen when the time is right.

I am very happy to have had a successful 2013 season including the Rev3 Cedar Point half. Being sick and still being able to push myself to a new 70.3 PR on a tough day is something I am proud of. In retrospect maybe I pushed a little harder than I should have. Hoping these next few shorter races are a little easier on me and looking forward to winding down for a nice, long off-season and getting healthy for a strong 2014 season!