Lake Antoine Classic 15K Race

**I was waiting on the posting of the results before I published this post.

August 7th:  A local race to support Special Olympics!  I signed up the for 15K and the oldest three children decided to run the 2 mile race.

This race was full of lessons.

Lesson 1:  Have everything ready the night before.  Make a race checklist.  We turned around once to get my handheld water bottle (good thing).  We turned around a second time to get the camera.  Luckily, this race wasn't too far away from home.

Lesson 2:  Go to the bathroom at least 30 minutes before the race ... you may be waiting 15 minutes for your turn.

Lesson 3:  Wear the right shoes.  If the course description sounds like a trail race, chances are it's a trail race.

Lesson 4:  Set up your Garmin before the gun goes off.  Make sure those satellites are in sync with you.  Yes, I stopped and waited until my Garmin was ready before I began my run.  It added 2 minutes and 30 seconds onto my time because I was impatient and not standing still.  And I was not going to run unless I knew how fast and how far I am going.  I guess I have some running OCDs.

Before:

After running for 15 Kilometers:

1:42:11 was the official finish time.

Lil' Chef, Mr. T, and Squeaker all started their 2 mile together.

Then Squeaker took off after the first mile leaving behind her two bigger siblings in the dust!

She placed 2nd in her age group with a time of  23:30

Lil' Chef and Mr. T finished together with a time of 32:19 and 32:18, respectively.

Keyes Peak Trail 10K Race

The night before the race, I picked up my packet and the person right behind me in line was no other than ultra runner, Eric Charette!  He was kind enough to shake this newbie's hand.

I didn't sleep well the night before.  My three year old decided that she wanted to scream for an hour before going to sleep.  Then in the middle of the night, my son was screaming from having a nightmare.

For breakfast, I ate a whole grain bagel with Nutella.

On the drive to the race, I realized that I wasn't wearing my heart rate monitor.  Ugh!  I also forgot to eat my SportBeans before the race.

I debated if I should wear my visor again or try to wear sunglasses.  I thought that I would try the sunglasses since it was very sunny.  Visor next time though unless I am blessed with some "running" sunglasses.

This is also my first race running with my ipod.  I usually don't run with my ipod except on my long runs.  I haven't decided if I like running with it or not.

The last trail race, I used my waist pack to carry the water bottle on my back.  Today, I wanted to try the handheld.  I did use it on a training run, so it wasn't new to me.  I'm undecided on which to use during my first half marathon next weekend.  I like them both.  Any comments would be appreciated.

Let the fun begin:

Mile 1:  11:25

The start and the finish was at the bottom of the ski hill ... so the entire first mile was up hill!  I was surprised at how well I did in the first mile.  I guess this was a 'fast' start for me.  I conquered that hill!

Mile 2:  9:50
Now, my garmin data says that this was downhill.  I remember it as mostly flat.  So maybe it was a slow descent that seemed flat to me.  I really opened it up.  My first mile ever under 10:00!!!!

Mile 3:  12:14
The scenery was beautiful.  A green canopy kept me shaded and cool.  One runner was 'relieving' himself on the side of the trail.  A little more modesty, please.  I had confused runners coming towards me.  They somehow missed a turn on the course ... not sure how they did that.  At the first aid station, I didn't stop; I didn't need to.

Mile 4:  12:26
Went through a puddle that stretched the entire trail.  I was able to pass a few ladies on the way up this hill.  Guess the hill training paid off.  =)

Mile 5:  11:06
Had a bit of relief from the hills.  

Mile 6:  13:04
This mile had hills that were the steepest of the course.  I had a hard time breathing.  My ears hurt.  They felt all plugged up.  I also felt a little dizzy; not quite sure what that was about.  I made sure that I kept drinking my powerade that I had in my handheld.  I ended up walking some of this part; guess more hill work is in my future.

Last 0.43:  10:15
This was the fun part.  The last stretch I jumped down into the snowtube run and really opened up my stride and let gravity help me down.  It seemed like I was flying to the finish line.
Coming down the snowtube run:

Coming into the finish:

This race was very well organized.  Everything was done online ... green, you know. 
The trail was marked well.  All I had to do was follow the blue flags and make sure that the blue flags were on my right.  Apparently, there was a group that lost their way and ended up doing the loop twice.  Ouch!

This race had timing chips.  The results were posted online the same day!

01:14:32 PR

7.27/K or 12:00/mi*

9th out of 21 females

1st in age group!**

*Yes, the route was a bit on the long side by 0.23 miles.  My true 10K time would have been 1:11:47 with an overall pace of 11:35, which is what my garmin shows.  Yes, it's a PR (Personal Record), because it's my first 10K ... but which time do I use?
**There was one other female in my age group, but she finished 1st overall.  Since I was the only one in my age group then, I finished first in it.

My award for finishing first in my age group:  pure Wisconsin maple syrup, YUM!

My goal was to beat my pace of the last trail race.
Mission accomplished!

Remember the ultra runner, Eric Charette ...

He won the marathon with a time of 3:19:55!!!  How awesome is that time!  Great job, Eric!
He was so gracious to allow a picture with him.  Thanks to Laura his wife for taking it.  Super nice couple!
Here's a recap of the marathon.

My three year old took this picture of me stretching after the race:

I ate three bananas (that I brought) after the race along with a large dose of mangosteen juice.
No leg cramping here!

For the runners, there was a lunch of bison burgers; but by the time it was ready, the kids were antsy.  Maybe next year, I'll get to eat the lunch.

My son took this picture of me soaking in the local lake (modified ice bath):

Elevation:

Garmin data: