ORRRC Week 9 + Brokeman's Winter Warm Up Recap

Meeting Devon Yanko + Q&A and a big crowd

Happy Monday! I'm back with the Weekly Review linkup from Hoho Runs and MissSippiPiddlin. I'm training for about a dozen races. This week I'm recapping my latest race. 

Week of January 9–15
Monday: rest
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: 3 miles
Thursday: rest + walk to work
Friday: rest + walk to work
Saturday: 3 miles
Sunday: Brokeman's Winter Warm Up 13.1 (recap below)

Total (running) miles: 19.1 miles
Elevation gain: 157 ft
2017 total: 42.1 miles

Honestly, I didn't intend to take off so much time this week. Not to be evasive or mysterious, but there was a lot of life stuff this week (all will be revealed) and it was not my week for running. It's kind of funny because I was stressed and NEEDED to run, but I couldn't fit it in.

Kind of sums up my week.

On Saturday we drove to Athens after a morning run and nap (for some reason I was also exhausted this week). We met up with a fellow Oiselle Volée teammate for dinner and drinks, then went to Ohio Valley Running Company to watch Billy Yang's Life in a Day: Wester States 100 (trailer).  Devon Yanko, one of the runners in the film and a hero of mine, was there and held a Q&A after. The director, Billy Yang, also answered a few questions over Skype. I highly recommend the film. It will be on Youtube in a few weeks after the tour is over.

Studio 35!

On Sunday I ran a half marathon (below), then we went to a beer tasting / movie with 11 Bell's Brewing beers and a screening of The Big Lebowski. I could have gone to bed when we got home at 6:30, but somehow I powered through.

Brokeman's Winter Warm Up Recap

On Sunday morning I ran the WWU. This was my second year, but it was in a new (better) location. I got there early for packet pickup, chatted with Chelsea for a while, then sat in my car to keep warm for as long as possible. I haven't run farther than 9 miles since October (and that 9 was before Christmas!), so my goal was to finish in a decent time. It would have been spectacular to run a sub-2, but I wasn't ready. Mainly because I didn't remember I'd signed up for this race until it was too late to add mileage.

There was a wave start, so the 13.1 runners went first, followed by 8 and 3.5 milers. Despite my frozen hands and feet, I tried to keep my pace in the mid-9s as we looped around a field. We encountered a few icy bridges and the field spread out around after 2. The first time I remember wanting to walk was around 3.5. Uh oh. The turn around for the 8 miler was somewhere between 4 and 5 and I considered switching distances. SO MANY people ahead of me did this. I somehow powered through and I'm glad I did.
Miles 1–6: 9:30, 9:18, 9:29, 9:29, 9:18, 9:04

(I stole this from Chelsea.) Brrrrrrr at the start.

The half turn around was just after mile 7, so we got to the see the leaders. They were all so friendly! (I don't want to be a turd, but the official results list a woman in second place and I never saw her. I think she switched to the 8 miler midway because I always notice and congratulate the first woman. I could be wrong, but...) Anyway, I ate my gel just after mile 6 and took my first walk break. I felt kind of bad, but whatever - it wasn't a long break. To get to the turnaround we had to go across a pedestrian bridge over Route 33. All of the bridges along the course were slick, but this one was the longest, tallest, and most treacherous. I ended up walking the second half and then almost the whole thing when I turned around and had to go back over it. I wasn't alone. Most people (besides the leaders) were walking.
Miles 7-8 (bridge miles): 9:50, 9:49

The course

I appreciated the break and felt energized post-gel. I kept a decent pace during the rest of mile 8 and into 9. I saw Chelsea after the turnaround, which gave me another boost. I didn't feel too bad, but I was more tired than normal. Alex texted me at mile 9, so I took it as an opportunity for another walk break (#lazy). From here to the end I walked 3 more times - almost always at the mile marker. I passed some people, they passed me, etc. I probably could have kept running because I wasn't very tired after. Oh well. The finish line was visible for the last six tenths of the race and it was a struggle to keep moving. We were on flat land without tree coverage and the wind was picking up. Brrr. I increased my speed, passed a woman, and crossed the line in 2:04.
Miles 9-13: 9:14, 9:48, 9:53, 9:37, 9:23

Finals Stats and Thoughts
While I was glad to be done, I had a lot of fun. I am happy I ran the full distance. It wasn't my fastest, but it was no where near my slowest. Hindsight is 20/20 because this was an excellent course for a PR and the weather was decent (overcast and 30º). I'm also not sure I can run my goal race on April 9, so it would have been pretty awesome to get a sub-2. Oh well. At least it was a good long run!

Final time: 2:04:20 (9:29/mi)
Overall: 80 / 188 (42%)
Gender: 33 / 105 (31%)

The woodal was pretty cute.

Did you race this weekend? 
Have you watched any trail running films? (Recommendations? I've watched 4 Deserts and The Barkley Marathons.)