Wow,just logged in and saw I haven't done this since before Croft. So time for some race recaps and looking ahead.
Camp Croft Half Marathon, Camp Croft State Park, Pauline, SC: My first ever half marathon and despite fracturing my left big toe on a training run, training went very well and I woke up the morning of November 12th to 30 degrees and ready to conquer the trails. Oh yeah and I jammed a toe on my right foot week of the race... Warmed up a little and watch the clock inch toward go time, time for my strategy, stay close to my training partners, the gun goes off and after half a mile, that idea goes out the window since I decided to take in conservative, not stop for water until mile 11.5...more on that mistake later. As I move along paying attention to all that is around me (trail races require more focus on the ground below that do road races where you can use the elements as a visual distraction), pass mile 5 water stop and I am feeling rather well, hear my friend tell me to loosen up some but I am looking good, take his advise and make down past Lake Johnson onto the Lake Johnson loop trail (the one where I tripped up and paid for it with a trip to Urgent Care and a fractured toe) thinking uh-oh, Dan stay upright. Well I did mostly with only one minor spill, pass by the mile 8 water stop, thinking I need water but that's NOT the strategy, so I pass, and trip just past it. Half a mile later I about kick myself, I'm slowing a little, but geez it is mile 9, shouldv'e taken the water. Keep on trucking to the third and final aid station mile 11.5, get a drink, man I am ready to rock, keep going and pick up some steam, get to the final turn up the Palmetto trail to the finish where I see my friend again and this time he tells me 'just up this hill, punch it and go, you got it!' Make it up and to the opening where a lady with a walkie-talkie calls out my number, which to my surprise goes to someone at the finish who says my name and city over the loud speaker. Haul it in cross the finish and get my Pint Glass reward and my time 1:58:45, made it under 2 hours, I feel wonderful and warm and accomplished, until I cool down some and that wind hits my sweat the I go to the car to get some warmer clothes on.
Turkey Day 8k-Spartanburg, SC-TOP 85 GET SOCKS!! compared to a half marathon in the woods, an 8k in downtown Spartanburg should be a breeze! This is one of my fav. races, canned good entry fee, 8k race with the reward of Green and Orange Turkey socks, and a reason to pig out later. Go time! Hit the road running, I get off great and not too fast, go my first miles with some high schoolers, keep blazing through Hampton Heights and on the up and down back to town--5 miles 30:48, son that's blazing...and got my socks!!!
After that I decide it is time for a two week rest, but my sciatic nerve has other ideas, I am down for all of December and parts of January, as well as sick in January. But I have already signed up for the IDES 10k....here's that recap.
IDES 10k-Asheville,NC 1/21/12: Usually when you say you are running a race in Asheville in January you get one of two questions: 1. Is it indoors? or 2. Are you nuts? Well compared to 17 at go time last year this year it was 47...with rain...the drive up was off and on rain, midway through the kids race it was on and stayed on through the 10k, I was still recovering from a nasty cold and sciatica, but made a go of it, although not a very good go, but made the right decision to take a water before the beastly last half mile uphill: 47:52, lets forget about that and about going for Dad's Reedy 10k record this year...
Milliken Earth 5k-Spartanburg, SC 3/17/12: Yes I dropped down to the 5ks for training purposes, and this race known for its beauty on the Milliken Campus is all grass, well I was sick the weeks before, I really am hating 2012 to this point. 21:45
Well that's the recaps, next races are in April: Palmetto Hearts 5k-Duncan Park, Spartanburg, SC-we are doing tempo runs there and I race really well there. The following week is one I have circled my second half marathon, first on the roads. Greer...
Dan
