Thursday, Aug 3:
The previous day, I finally felt like I was starting to recover. 5.0 in 41:48, 8:21 average, 2 degrees of incline, at the gym. It went better than expected. I could've biked instead, but I wanted to run if I could handle it. Splits> 8:35, 8:26, 8:26, 8:19, 8:00.
Saturday, Aug 5:
50 min strength session at the gym. Still continuing work on the Deez Nutz WOD.
- Sit-ups: 70 + 45 = 115
- Squats: 145
- Plank: 3 + 2 + 2 = 7 min
- Flutter Kicks (4-count): 50 + 45 = 95
- Pushups: 30 + 25 = 55
- Adductor/Abductor = 60 / 100 - need to bring these back into the rotation, to keep my hips strong and therefore my knees happy
- Lunges: 55
- Mt Climbers: 100
- Assorted dumbell rows
Monday, Aug 7:
I was going to bike at first, but my legs were feeling good, so I decided to try a run. I would've done long slow distance, but it seemed like it would be drudgery, so I decided to go for intervals. I haven't done speedwork in so long (5 months!!!), but it ended up going super well. Good prep for Terrain!
1 mi warmup in 8:18, 3 x [0.75 mi in 5:00 (9mph), 0.25mi in 1:58 (7.5mph)]. Still got it! 4.0 in 29:16, 7:19 ave, 2 degrees of incline.
Wednesday, Aug 9:
75 min of biking, more than my usual 60 min. Wouldn't have been able to run safely. This was a good shakeout from the intervals.
Saturday, Aug 12:
Trail run to go for some distance while I can... not too much, but something a bit longer than the weekday runs. 8.5 mi in 1:22:48, 9:42 ave. I hit the trails at Latta Plantaion, at 6pm. Pretty hot. Body felt fine, but the effort was much harder than it should've been, probably because of the heat. My whole body, especially my legs, felt heavy. 508 feet elevation gain. Got thirsty. Had to work in the morning, felt bleh. Getting out and getting in some movement makes me feel better on those bleh weekends, though.
Tuesday, Aug 15:
5.0 in 41:27, 8:18 ave, 2 degrees of incline. Last run before the race. Splits> 8:43, 8:21, 8:17, 8:06,
7:58.
THE RACE:
I had signed up for the competitive 10K, hoping that my endurance would be a strength, vs. signing up for the competitive 5K. The course was a 5K course, so I'd be doing 2 loops. Terrain is one of the race series that has mandatory obstacle completion, so that would be my primary focus.
A unique thing about Terrain is that we start off in a pool of water, and have to get out of it at the gun. We were off. We ended up going onto the kids course early on. Some realized it quicker than others. I wasn't sure, so I did the obstacles anyway. I didn't want to get DQed or anything, in case the people who felt like we were on the kids course were wrong. The obstacles did seem oddly easy, but it was my first time doing this series, so I wasn't sure what to expect.
We got back on course, back to the big obstacles. 5 foot wall, tall wall with rope, tire flip was heavy with no differentiation in weights for men vs. women, short and light bucket brigade, cargo, tubes, wading, tire drag (really heavy, too, and no differentiation between mens and womens weights), light wreck bag, rope climb, tire golf, tire yolk, rig with balls and handles and foot rings, rig with alternate rope and arm rings, wading, monkey bars, monkey roll.
A little before the last gauntlet, a guy said that I was fourth, and that third was not behind, and that I should try to chase. As I was on the last obstacle, I heard the announcers say that 3rd place (not me) was nearing the finish line. It was impossible to tell who was signed up for the 5K or the 10K, but if I was already 4th, and some of the top 3 were doing the 5K only, I was feeling pretty good. I'd just have to survive the mandatory completions for the second lap. But as I crossed the line, expecting to be directed right onto the second lap, I found out that they only gave awards based on placement after the first 5K. I was sooooo disappointed. I had been going very conservatively, thinking that I had twice the distance to do. I felt like I could've gotten at least third, since they were just like 20s in front of me. Why advertise it as a competetive 10K, if it's really only a competetive 5K with the option to run a second untimed lap afterwards? Oh well... fuels my embers to come back with a vengeance next time. And I'll be able to go even faster, now that I'm familiar with all of the obstacles and know that I can do them. I did them all, twice.
The way I dealt with that disappointment was trying to keep the end game in mind. I may have lost on prize money, but my big goal for this year is getting as far as I can at OCRWC. Keeping my band there will be really hard, but this practice with obstacles and getting stronger and focusing on completion will help.
Afterwards, volunteered!
Interesting race series. Small, fun culture. Unique twists on obstacles. Lots of creative uses of tires. Challenging rigs. I'll be back!
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