Back to it at the Mantua Potato Stomp Race

Last Saturday was my first race since the Canal Corridor 100 debacle. I've been working through tendonitis on my outer left foot and inner right ankle all summer. Fortunately I love cycling and have spent a lot of quality time with my new bikes this season! My running has ranged from 20-40 miles a week, which is much lower than last year but needed to help rest those pesky tendons. I've also been going in for physical therapy with Dr. Tim Pavlak of Physio Performance for the last couple of months for dry needling, graston and ART. I think all of this has helped tremendously.

I wasn't sure how I would perform in a 9 mile, hilly race. I had been doing some shorter speed sessions but nothing really under a 7-min pace as I've been nervous about the feet. The first couple of miles of this race are very fast so I was sub-7 for that and then the hills really start in mile 3 so my pace fluctuated between 7:15-7:50 for most of those miles. Fortunately I did not feel any pain in my feet just the normal exersion pain from racing! I remember fading hard in this same race last year but I felt very strong for this finish and beat my time from last year by about 90 seconds, finishing in 1:07:17 (7:29/avg). My secret goal was to break 7:30 so I am very pleased on such a challenging course. I placed 4th female so won $25 and was first in the 40-49AG. This was also my first race in the new AG!

Steve also raced and had a good time almost breaking an hour so he won the 50-59AG. It was nice to see some of our running friends from NERC and beyond out there.

Now in the aftermath I am having some left foot pain again so I went in for PT Tuesday and will be cross training more this week. I hope this is just a temporary setback and that I will be healthy to race Northern Ohio on October 7. I am debating dropping down to the half but will decide closer to race day based on how my body feels. The real goal now is to be healthy for Boston 2019 since I registered this week!

Prerace trying to stay warm and dry!

Coming in for the finish - happy to get out of that rain!

Potato Stomp 9 Miler Race Report & Season Check-in

This was a last minute race-day registration for me. I had planned to race a half marathon the weekend before in Millerburg but my dog broke his foot and had to be taken to the animal hospital for a last minute surgery the Friday before so the race was a no go.

I have not raced anything shorter than a marathon since May so this was my first time attempting to be speedy in a while. I have done some uptempo runs but was unsure how I would fare on race day. Since my 100 miler in July it's been an uphill battle trying to get back on track with my fitness - in part because I've been suffering from an autoimmune disorder since then, which is the same as what I experienced during my last Ironman training cycle. Some days I feel fine and other days I can hardly get out of bed let alone run. I think I am on the mend now and this race was proof to me that I am getting stronger and that I can still push myself physically. I am really looking forward to next season once I have a chance to properly rest and recover.

9 miles can seem both short and long I suppose depending on who you ask. I thought of it as short - maybe too short in the sense that I went out too fast with my first few miles at 5K pace. This made for a tougher 10K to finish it up. My fastest mile was 6:45, slowest was 8:05 for a time of 1:08 and change, which averaged out to a 7:39 pace. Honestly, I was pretty happy with this time for me right now. I figured I had a shot at placing in my AG being 9th female but I was 5th in my AG (30-39). I would have won the 40-49 AG. Since I will be 40 next summer I think I will fare better at some of these more competitive races - or at least I hope so!

The real silver lining in this race for me is that I now have more confidence going into the Northern Ohio Marathon on October 1. I hope to BQ there and with an extra 5 minutes in my qualifying time (since I age up for the 2019 race) I think I can get it done despite a little fatigue late in the season. While I haven't raced as much, I've done 3 - marathons, 2 - 50ks, a 100 miler and few shorter races like this one to date so I feel more tired than I have in previous seasons. After Northern Ohio I am signed up for a couple of Trail 50Ks but honestly whether I try to race, just participate or sit them out will depend on how I feel physically and mentally about pushing myself any harder this year. I have to be realistic about how much I can do and stay healthy enough to do well and more importantly to take care of my health. No matter what, I plan to recover and rebuild and go for a big marathon PR in the spring to start things off.