Sims' Stage Race: Day 2

6:30 am: 5k run. time: a tad over 24min. tough course running back and forth on the bridges. plus 2 times up 1st street. not exactly fun when you're still rubbing sleep out of your eyes :) the weather felt pretty great this early though!




6:30pm: 15k run. time: 1hr 9min 59sec. (no, not 1:10!) however, it was a tad short of 15k. it was a bit messy running along manufacturers where construction for Two North Shore is. This run is brutal. thankfully cloudy and post-rain, but it was long, flat, and seemed to never stop. Tonight I'm definitely stiff. Tomorrow night will feel...uh.... just dandy. (not.) -> 8k run UP signal mtn.

Sims' Stage Race: Day 1

With the end of summer comes the low key stage race put on by Matt & Natalie. Last year was tough, as I hadn't been running on the road much and had only been living here a few months. Tonight's crowd was a good one, with a few new faces. The route was the same as last year - a there & back course starting at the south end of Walnut Street, run along the northshore, head back over veterans bridge and east along the riverwalk. We had a storm late this afternoon so the temps had cooled down a bit but things were wet and a bit muggy. Still, I pulled out a pretty good time for me - 48:08.

a quick lok at the rest of the event:
tomorrow am: 5k
tomorrow pm: 15k
friday pm: 8k hill climb
saturday am: big daddy trail run (13miles)



the course:

record temps

i swear i've never experienced temperatues this high this much ever. i think this is the 3rd week of 100+ degree readings - today was a record at 105. !!! it is not easy (and entirely safe) to be training in this heat. i've been getting up in the mornings to do a little bit to supplement shortened evening sessions.

this weekend is the bmw of chattanooga omnium. i bit the bullet and signed up for the whole thing: river gorge road race (37 miles, including a final climb all the way to the top of raccoon mountain. i hope i make it!), river gorge time trial (4.11 miles, around the reservoir on raccoon), then the downtown criterium - 30 minutes of maximum effort. this will be my first crit and i am nervous!! i figured since it is here, at home, why not... it's a fairly short, non-technical race so it seems to be a good introduction. my goals are: 1, not to crash; 2, not get lapped and pulled from the course. i really have no idea what to expect - wish me luck!

mini orlando vacation

I came down to Orlando for a few days to visit my sister, brother-in-law & nephews... for some fun and suffering in the Florida humidity.

Sunday, Liz and I woke up early to run the Track Shack's Celebration of Running 3.0 mile race. It was their 30th anniversary, so there was a 70s theme throughout the day (70s funk music, costume contest, and their . They always put on a great race and this really was no exception, with one of the best swag bags I've gotten (next to the Stumpjump!) It was a hot morning, but despite added humidity, wasn't worse than what we've been having up in Chatt. I haven't run any short races since starting speedwork with Joey and crew, so I was really interested to see just how fast I could go. I was hoping to average 7:30min/mile. I think I was around an 8:15 for the country music half marathon, so I thought this was a doable estimate.

The first mile was a great start - 7:11, even with the crowded start (over 1500 runners started!) The second mile was at 7:19... a little slower, but still ahead of pace. Just a bit after the 2nd mile marker, the funky thing with my heart beat happened. I got a bit lightheaded and slowed, but didn't stop (I really didn't want to!) I took about 30sec easy and seemed to shake it off, so I pumped it up for the last bit. My final chip time was 21:57, which translates to a 7:19min/mile pace. Yeah!! Since this was a bigger event, seems like all the speedy peeps came out. I got 13th in my age group (out of 116), 47th overall woman (out of 882).

After we had a chance to cool down, the kid's fun run started. Both Evan & Ethan got shy right before the start and got Liz & Erick to help them across the finish line. They both got bright yellow ribbons, which they thought were pretty cool.

That afternoon we headed to New Smyrna Beach to relax - although the boys kept me very busy! Here's a few shots of the fun...

Allanti Cycling Classic

Last weekend was the Allanti Cycling Classic, in Leiper's Fork, TN (just south of Nashville). I headed up there with Michelle, where we met several other Velo Vixens for a day of road bike racing. The cat 4 women's race started at 9am (with the Masters 50+ men) and would be 40 miles of rolling and flat roads with a few short climbs. The rollout is always interesting, as you don't know what riders have up their sleeves. At the Raccoon Mtn race, it was slow and easy. At Avery Trace, the break started right away. Today we stuck together for 20 minutes before the first hill broke things up. At this point, I was spit off the back but joined up with Cecelia and Beth to work together for much of the race. It was really quite uneventful. It was a hot hot day and drinking alot was essential. I really had wished someone was at the feed zone with bottles for us. I had to ration what I had, but made it to the end with 1 sip to spare. The finish was a 200m sprint that I wasn't entirely ready for. Fellow teammate Beth edged me out by a half wheel, finishing 6th in my division.


We then chilled for a few hours, seeking refuge in the a/c of a cute deli in Franklin while we had some lunch. The time trial began at 3pm, right in the worst heat of the day. This was my first time doing one of these and I wasn't really sure what to expect. The heat had tired me out, giving me a slight headache. My body was beat from the morning race. I was 4th person out - so at least I'd get it over with quick! At the line, I was clipped in while race officials held my bike up and gave me the countdown. Go! What I failed to remember was to adjust my gearing for a proper start. I was in too hard of a gear and without much of a push, barely stayed upright. (but thankfully did!) From the first pedal stroke, it was all business. The course was 5 miles with small uphill grade nearly the entire way. wow. This was TOUGH. I was hot, hurting, thirsty and my calf was all but cramping. I don't have a computer on my bike so I really had no idea how far I'd gone, and how much was left. Finally someone on the side shouts 1k left. yeah! but.... how far is 1k? I really don't have that concept of distance yet. Finally at the top of a hill I see what looks like official tents, so I crank up the pace one final time. I felt like I crept over the finish line - certainly nothing like some of the juniors I saw crossing at full throttle. impressive stuff! I finished in 16m51s, good enough for 4th. (not bad for being whooped, not having a tri bike or aero bars, and using my old mountain bike shoes still!)

At the time I thought I didn't want to do any more multi-event road races, but now that a week has gone by, I'm considering.... There is an omnium coming to Raccoon Mtn / Downtown Chatt at the end of the month that I'm toying with.... def will do the RR & TT... but the crit has me curious. I know nothing about them, but... since it's right here.... I'm considering :)