Ran the Wild Hare Marathon today. Low key free event put on by Brown Mountain Running Club. Minimal support, but enough to get you through & not lost. This is the same (new) course as the Ridge to Bridge Marathon and it goes from Jonas Ridge to... I don't know. Sort of near Morganton? There's nearly a 3,000' of elevation drop which sounds easy but it wasn't as easy as I expected. The first 6 miles were on asphalt & rolling terrain. That's the only asphalt. The rest was on gravel roads through Pisgah National Forest. After the rolling 6 miles, you drop most of the 3,000' in the next 9 miles. There are a couple of decent sized uphills in there too, but for the most part, you're just descending. A little rough on the quads, knees, hips & back, but didn't feel like work. At mile 15, there's an abrupt change, as is flattens out and you come out of the woods & onto a different road. From there, it rolls gently for another 6 miles and the last 5 miles is mostly a gentle downhill.
I thought I'd be about 3:35. I finished in 3:49 after taking about 10 minutes to "check out the woods" a record 5 times. Without that, I would've been 3:39. Around miles 15-20, I didn't work as hard as I could've because I knew my time was shot. Had I not been in the woods, I may have pushed it in these miles & hit 3:35. If, if, if. Excuses, excuses, excuses. I felt fine. Enjoyed myself. Ran every step. No leg, blister or fatigue problems. Good experience. Had a good time going up there with Kevin & Brad who also ran.
Worst part is I sort of realized I'll never see the other side of 3:30 again unless I make some big changes. If I can't do it on a course like that...
Next stop, Hinson Lake 24 Hour Race Sept. 19-20. No concrete goals. Somewhere between 70-100 miles would be nice. More excited about the start of Cross Country season. First meet is Tuesday.
I thought I'd be about 3:35. I finished in 3:49 after taking about 10 minutes to "check out the woods" a record 5 times. Without that, I would've been 3:39. Around miles 15-20, I didn't work as hard as I could've because I knew my time was shot. Had I not been in the woods, I may have pushed it in these miles & hit 3:35. If, if, if. Excuses, excuses, excuses. I felt fine. Enjoyed myself. Ran every step. No leg, blister or fatigue problems. Good experience. Had a good time going up there with Kevin & Brad who also ran.
Worst part is I sort of realized I'll never see the other side of 3:30 again unless I make some big changes. If I can't do it on a course like that...
Next stop, Hinson Lake 24 Hour Race Sept. 19-20. No concrete goals. Somewhere between 70-100 miles would be nice. More excited about the start of Cross Country season. First meet is Tuesday.
1 comment:
Thanks for the report coach. I wondered what kind of run that was going to be. Good luck with cross county starting. Maybe I will see you here in Spartanburg at the Milliken 5K Eye Opener on 9/5?
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