Red Top Rumble 11.5 Mile Trail Race - RunOther


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Cartersville, Georgia
United States
45F / 7C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 34m 29s
Overall Rank = 39/213
Age Group = M-35-39
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Easy drive from Atlanta to Red Top. It's only 30 minutes north of 285 and 75 on the top end. Drank a Mocha on the way up.
Event warmup:

None.. Zero. Probably a mistake.
Run
  • 1h 34m 29s
  • 11.5 miles
  • 08m 13s  min/mile
Comments:

First race of 2009, and first race in two in a half months. I knew it would not be a peak performance. First, it was a little more difficult than I expected. Second, the hills really slowed me down. I was fast on flat ground, and on the decents without an issue, but get to a climb, and I seemed to have more difficulty than others. I was watching J22 fly up the hills with ease and wondering if I was just too heavy right now, or what.. I am a few pounds over where I want to be. Working on it though. Anyway, I ended with a respectable 1:34:29. I truly don't think I had another mile in me under those conditions.
What would you do differently?:

Steep hill work. Even stair climbs to prepare for this one.
Post race
Warm down:

Cooled down a bit, chatted with some folks, and watched others come in. Ate a great bowl of home made soup.. how awesome was that? .. also, watched the awards. Top male did that course 30 minutes faster than I did.. WOW.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Weight.. about 8 pounds too much.. aka 1 gallon of milk.
Lack of hill work. Decidedly, this was the biggest issue.
Lack of racing. I am not in race shape.. but used this to help that along.

Event comments:

This is a keeper on the schedule. I imagine it will become more and more difficult to get into in the coming years as it's now out of the closet so to speak. There was a feel to this race, that I had not felt since my Michigan running days. A true running community. It was awesome.




Last updated: 2009-01-13 12:00 AM
Running
01:34:29 | 11.5 miles | 08m 13s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 39/213
Performance: Average
Course: Trail race. Easy first two miles, difficult the rest of the way. Here is a link to the course. VERY technical. http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/training/map.asp?routeid=79401
Keeping cool Average Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5