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gretriever
Hipster Doofus
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Joined: 16 Jul 2003
Posts: 19385
Location: A moving target in a firing range.
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 Posted: 04/26/04 - 12:07 Post subject: (Inaugural) Making Great Strides Half-Marathon
This new event was held in a very scenic location. Independence Grove Forest Preserve is a county park about ten miles north of our house, and was once a stone quarry. They've done a terrific job with the place, putting in a man-made lake, with trails for cycling, running, and horseback riding. Canoes, paddleboats, and rowboats are rentable at reasonable amounts.
This race was 90% on trail, exiting IG, and going into the Des Plaines River Trail system, essentially an out-and-back run. Having never run a race on a trail, I was going to play conservative (2 hours), and try not to get hurt. Got neither. Finished in a surprisingly good time of 1:53:39 (a bit on this later), coming in 85 of 205, 66 of 118 males, and 11 of 20 for AG. But at about mile ten, I got what feels like a high ankle sprain on my left leg. I can walk on it, and I was able to finish the run (as well as get the additional miles in for the 20 needed for Mad City prep). I know I didn't tangle up with anyone, and I know I hit no holes or ruts, so where this came from is a mystery. Conditions were wet from the previous night's rain, and from dense fog at the start of the race.
The true problem with the race was the timing. No chips. While my watch gave me the above time, the moment I crossed, I turned around to see the clock flip to 1:53:50. The posted time was 1:53:53. There were four people in front of me with the last .1 mile - I passed three of them and almost ran up the back of the fourth. Yet, again the posted time had him in five seconds ahead of me. A lot of people were not happy with the times that were posted. I'll cut them slack as it's the first year - hopefully they'll work that out.
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gretriever
Hipster Doofus
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Joined: 16 Jul 2003
Posts: 19385
Location: A moving target in a firing range.
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Posted: 04/27/04 - 09:44 Post subject:
It's much better, thank you! It started feeling good once I got home last night. Lil' coach thought I should do no running - I upped it one and did not go to the gym period (Monday is my non-running day anyway). Ice-massaged it periodically yesterday. Even though it feels fine today, LC, Coach, and I figured it best I cut a mile from each day's run this week, and slow the speed down as well, and will evaluate as the week goes on.
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