Conquer the Castle 25K Race Report & Training Update

I'm finally getting around to my race report for the Conquer the Castle 25K, which is a trail race that takes place in North Chagrin Reservation in Willoughby. Steve and I used to run there all the time when we lived in Mentor and Concord Township and of course we did the inaugural race, which was a 100K (for him) and a DNF for me since I only completed 50K.

Since I am just rebuilding my endurance I did not want to take on the 50k or more this year. The 25K was a good distance for me to race because it pushed me a little farther than I had gone recently but not so much I would hurt myself. I had done a trail 1/2 marathon a week before and a road half marathon a few weeks before that so this 25K was my longest run since summer I think as I have had lingering tendonitis in booth feet.

This was a tough course for Northeast Ohio standards anyways and it was a very wet course! I think my feet were wet pretty much the whole race. Luckily it was cold but not freezing. Temps were around 35-40 degrees so still warm enough for a skirt and I actually overheated and lost my armwarmers and rolled up my shirt sleeves once we got warmed up.

For the first 8 or 9 miles I just tried to keep up with Amanda Debevec, she is a strong runner and I figured she was in better shape them me right now so I held on as long as I could and it was nice chatting with her for a bit about races. Once we got to the bigger hills she took off as I ran/walked the steep sections. At that point it was back to my own race. I ended up pacing about the same as a guy in front of me for the last 4-5 miles so that worked out pretty well because I mentally just tried to stick with him.

post race with my Sir runs a lot medal!

My time goal was 2:30 and I ended up with 2:25 and change so I was happy with that and came in second female. I was also pleased to hear that Steve had a decent race, finishing in around 2:13 and third male. I like the course - the beginning 1/2 of the loop is flatter and less technical than the second half I think but it's a great loop. The 50kers do it 2 x and the 100k 4x. I was glad to have been a 25Ker this time around!

After the race Steve and I got changed and went back to pavillion to say hi to race director Eddie and some of the other people we knew. We couldn't resist the post race pizza and of course we ended up stopping by Willoughby Brewing for a peanut butter cup porter on the way home!

We were originally planning to race the Made in America 1/2 marathon again the week after Conquer the Castle but to be honest my body needed a break. I have been  rebuilding my mileage to 30-40 miles week but have been struggling with GI troubles since early October and will soon be going to visit the gastroenterologist for a colonoscopy to see what the issue is (doctor thinks it is some form of IBS but won't know exactly what it is until after the testing). I've been training as much as I can and resting or going easier on days that I feel yucky.

This week has been a little better because I have been vegan/vegetarian (no meat besides eggs and no dairy) to see how I feel and it has been an improvement. Next up it's the Akron Turkey Trot 4 miler next week - hopefully my GI cooperates (fingers crossed). Then we will probably do some sort of holiday races TBD.

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!