Race review: Buffalo Wallow 6k

I’d better get this race review off my chest before I’m two behind, huh?

Last Saturday I dragged B and E, master of the marathon and 50k running partner, down to the Buffalo Wallow 6k. For $11 we got to run a chip-timed event on the 2003 collegiate XC championship course. There were awards 3 deep but we knew beforehand we stood no chance of getting them. Before I saw the course, my goal was initially to break 35:00. Then it was to break 34:00. Then it was to run 8:30 miles (not too hard for me on a track) to end up under 32:00. E and I drove down in my stinky truck, parked with almost an hour to race time, and headed to the course.

It looked familiar. It was the last place I’d done hill training; one week I did the whole workout and nearly puked and was thankful that the second time I saw those hills I was tapering for Wisconsin and therefore got to cut out early. These were serious hills. Sure, they weren’t long, but they were steep. And muddy.

I changed my goal to back to under 35:00.

E and I walked the course while she made fun of the layout; the course was marked on either side with orange flags, something I considered adequate since XC races are often marked with cones, flags, or spray paint. The race consisted of 3 2k loops with about 4 very steep hills and one gradual one. As we finished walking the course, B showed up. He too made fun of the course (hello? Didn’t anyone run cross country at any point in middle school or high school? Didn’t anyone go to at least one race in grade school or college? Geez.) and expressed surprise that we were getting chip timed. To be honest I was too; I’d missed that part on the race description.

Anyway, after a few mins of stretching and putting on our chips (“Where are the plastic ties to hold the chip on? Ohmygosh I have to untie my shoes to put it on?”) It was time for the Open race. I was surprised when there were only about 40 people there because there had been a lot more the year before. Oh well. The gun went off and so did those crazy runners! Through the mud, up a hill, down a hill, up a hill and whew! I was pooped. Only 30+ more minutes! B and I were pooped within the first quarter of the first loop. We chatted for a few minutes, and then he ran off to chase some skank who’d just passed me. I never caught him again and he beat me by just over a minute.

With B and the skank gone so quickly, I settled into what I thought was a quick pace. I had my new HRM on (to be reviewed later!) but didn’t have the foot pod calibrated for my pace yet so I couldn’t gauge my speed with the hills and mud. I wasn’t feeling great and cursed myself for not warming up. How many times do I have to learn this lesson? Sure, an IM has a built-in warmup of a swim, but a running race doesn’t. By the end of the first loop (11:24 back to the start line) I was sucking wind. Get my lap time, up a hill, down a hill, up a hill, check heart rate. 165. Not too bad. I continued on my way and got passed by a frail looking man with bad form and Bill, a thicker 30-34 yr old in a marathon finisher shirt. I tried to keep up with them but failed. This race wasn’t fun at all! I resolved that I had to pass at least one person in the second half of the race--it didn’t matter if it was someone with a broken leg or an 8 year old--it just had to be someone.

75% through my second lap I saw my track coach sporting a HRTC sweatshirt. “You look like you’re having fun, girl” he commented cheerily. No I didn’t. “Welcome to cross country.” I don’t know if it was having sufficiently warmed up, wanting to impress my coach, or realizing I only had one lap, but I kicked it in gear. By the end of the second lap (11:47) I had passed frail man and was breathing down Bill’s neck. Bill and I joked back and forth about how much we sucked through most of the third loop, but on the last hill I destroyed Bill and never looked back. It was all downhill from there, just a few minutes from the finish. I’d also passed another man and another boy in the third lap and had another boy in my sights. Roar!

It was all well and good til we saw the finish line. Bill was about 4 yards behind me when he started sprinting the last 300m in, passing me and my new target. I tried to sprint but couldn’t... I was looking at a pukefest if I sped up at all, and while that’s always a sign of a well-fought battle, I wasn’t inspired to prove my effort. I came in at 33:34 (8 seconds behind Bill! If you can kick like that you’re just not racing hard enough), a decent effort and just over 9:00 pace. Considering the hills and my lack of spikes, I was thrilled.

I didn’t snap any pictures. Sorry. Here are some stolen one from 2003 though (it wasn’t that muddy last Saturday):
The first hill:

No, my ass doesn't look like this. But the hill did!

These pictures snagged at http://www.fast-women.com/photos/usaxc03/index.html.

Afterward there was quite the surprise for me. Bottled water--cool. Bananas, oranges--better. Clif bars--superb. Kolaches--holy shit this is the best $11 I ever spent. B and I waited at the finish for E, who’s not as much into the speed running... especially considering she ran six miles before I picked her up. Why I’ll never understand. We ate, talked about how great of a time we had, and left after the Masters race began and before the awards ceremony.

So you can imagine my surprise when I found out I came in third. Sure, there were only 4 women in my age group, but there are also all those invisible entries who never even got out to the race. I’m happy. Besides, it was a great race, very cheap, and super fun. Hills are good for me, right?

Afterward I dropped E off and hit the Y for a power lifting session, my first one. It didn’t go well considering I pulled a muscle in my neck doing some back/tricep machine. I don’t care if I’m boring my acclimatized muscles--I’m sticking to my normal routine of lifting Monday and Wednesday and doing single side exercises on the weekend! After lifting I ran out to Memorial, did a loop, and ran back to the Y to give me about 14 miles for the day. Not too shabby. After peeking in the pool to look for K, I decided to go home and take a nap.

Funny story about my run. Saturday was the second time I used my HRM. As I left the Y, my HR crept up from 144 to 150, and I decided I’d stay there the entire run. Sometimes I ran faster. I stopped at red lights. I got water. Never ever did my HR move from 150. “Wow my ticker’s a consistent mofo” I thought. But as I headed home I got mad. I was pooped! This was way harder than it was when I started, and my HR should reflect that. I started doing sprints between telephone poles (bad idea). 150 HRM. This blasted thing doesn’t work!!

Then I realized I had it on avg hr the whole time. I clicked it over and my heart was chugging along at 157--no, now 156--like I’d expect from a sprint that wasn’t very sprinty. I’m an idiot.

Next stop: Surfside half marathon!