Wild in the Woods – Klondike Park

In my previous four races I hadn’t finished lower than fourth place overall. The small Klondike Park 7 mile trail race two weeks ago seemed like a perfect fit for me so I went into it thinking I would probably win. That was my first mistake.

Wild in the woods klondike park
Photo from here.

I started out at what felt like comfortable pace. The first mile was on a paved path through the park. Four runners stayed together in the lead pack. I let the others set the pace. It felt slow. Just before the first mile marker we hit The First Big Steep Hill. Feeling great, and seeing the others seemingly struggle, I took the lead, thinking I would probably just finish the last six miles alone. Towards the top of the hill my watch beeped, indicating the first mile had passed. I for some reason chose not to look at my time, which I have since come to regret. I now know we ran the first mile in 6:07… including the big steep hill.

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Much to my dismay the others stayed on my heels as we entered a section of very technical single-track trail. I pushed the pace, but they all were able to follow. It was sinking in that I did not have this thing in the bag. We exited the woods together onto a wide flat crushed gravel path. I started paying attention to my mile splits, a few 6:15-ish splits in a row, as two guys pulled away from me. I was slowly beginning to pay the price for starting too fast, a tale I’ve told many times before.

There was another big hill around mile 5, which completely destroyed me. I passed Melissa & Will shortly after that. She said I looked fine, but I was totally faking it. I then entered another section of very hilly technical single-track trail. In the span of one mile my splits ballooned by 3 minutes. It felt like a death march. Another runner caught up to me from behind, got lost, caught up to me again, then passed me… which didn’t do much for my confidence.

I finished in fourth place, extending my streak of top-four finishes to five consecutive races, though this was by far the ugliest of the bunch. At some point the following will sink in:

  • Don’t start too fast, stupid.
  • Don’t underestimate a trail you haven’t run before.
  • There’s a lot of good runners out there.

September 2011

Photo of the Day

FlickrCalendar 1

Running

Men's start

I raced a total of seven times in September, which is more than usual, and trained a bit less. As far as running goes, I finished 4th at the Forest Park Cross Country Festival, 2nd at the Litchfield Triathlou, 2nd at the Gateway Cross Cup 4.1 mile cross country run. Not bad.

Month Distance # Workouts Avg per Workout
January 13.54 Mile 3 4.51333 Mile
February 33.47 Mile 7 4.78143 Mile
March 71.64 Mile 10 7.164 Mile
April 31.12 Mile 6 5.18667 Mile
May 71.9569 Mile 10 7.19569 Mile
June 85.87 Mile 11 7.80636 Mile
July 49.47 Mile 7 7.06714 Mile
August 116.34 Mile 13 8.94923 Mile
September 82.89 Mile 12 6.9075 Mile
Total 556.297 Mile 79 7.04173 Mile

Running 2011 9

Cycling

It wouldn't be a St. Louis outdoor event without lots of beer

I rode quite well in two of the three Gateway Cup races I did, though didn’t finish well. At the Gateway Cross Cup I finished 4th in the Cat 4 race.

Bike Distance # Rides Avg per Ride
Bianchi 89.4 Mile 11 8.12727 Mile
El Fuego 14.81 Mile 1 14.81 Mile
Lynskey 33.96 Mile 3 11.32 Mile
Pocket Rocket 18.2 Mile 5 3.64 Mile
Thundercougarfalconbird 113.83 Mile 4 28.4575 Mile
Total 270.2 Mile 24 11.2583 Mile

Month Distance # Workouts Avg per Workout
January 35.32 Mile 4 8.83 Mile
February 0 0 0
March 3 Mile 1 3. Mile
April 36.25 Mile 7 5.17857 Mile
May 272.94 Mile 25 10.9176 Mile
June 344.02 Mile 26 13.2315 Mile
July 306.77 Mile 12 25.5642 Mile
August 418.39 Mile 25 16.7356 Mile
September 270.2 Mile 24 11.2583 Mile
Total 1686.89 Mile 124 13.604 Mile

Cycling 2011 9

Walking

The long way home

Month Distance # Workouts Avg per Workout
January 56.9 Mile 16 3.55625 Mile
February 47.6 Mile 14 3.4 Mile
March 83.4 Mile 24 3.475 Mile
April 84.3 Mile 26 3.24231 Mile
May 64. Mile 19 3.36842 Mile
June 57.3 Mile 17 3.37059 Mile
July 14.5 Mile 7 2.07143 Mile
August 31.7 Mile 9 3.52222 Mile
September 42.2022 Mile 16 2.63764 Mile
Total 481.902 Mile 148 3.2561 Mile

Walking 2011 9

Swimming

Lake Lou Yaeger

It’s been over two years, but I finally have a non-zero tally here.

Month Distance # Workouts Avg per Workout
January 0 0 0
February 0 0 0
March 0 0 0
April 0 0 0
May 0 0 0
June 0 0 0
July 0 0 0
August 0 0 0
September 4096.81 Yard 5 819.361 Yard
Total 4096.81 Yard 5 819.361 Yard

Swimming 2011 9

Scooter

Month Distance # Workouts Avg per Workout
January 0 0 0
February 0 0 0
March 0 0 0
April 0 0 0
May 0 0 0
June 3. Mile 1 3. Mile
July 0 0 0
August 1.8 Mile 1 1.8 Mile
September 3.9 Mile 3 1.3 Mile
Total 8.7 Mile 5 1.74 Mile