10th Cougar Challenge 8K October 15, 2016

It was a fairly short drive to Cal State San Marcos for the 6th race of the USATF SD-I Association Dirt Dog XC Series. The race is held by the CSUSM XC Team and includes a college race, open race and master's race, with everyone starting together. The men's race was scheduled to start at 8:45am, women's at 8:00am, and this gave me a little sleep in time. This was also a back to back race with last week's Balboa Boogie and I needed the extra sleep!

We arrived at 7:30 and walked up to the track to find the bib-pickup area. The women were warming up and some parents were milling around waiting for the race to start.

Arrival

We found the registration/bib-pickup tent. I filled out the appropriate form and handed it to the student volunteer. She took my cash and while writing my bib, asked for my preferred gender. I look at her with tilted head and replied, "I prefer women!" JoAnne promptly punched me in the arm and everyone had a good chuckle. She then asked if was running the men's or women's race. She checked the little box next to the word MALE and handed me my bib.

By this time the women were lining up and ready to start. We found a spot to watch where I changed into my running shoes and prepared for my warmup.

Ready for my Warmup




Women's Start

I previewed the course which was 3 laps on the campus of the university finding it was a mix of dirt, loose sand, gravel, cement, pavement, and a grassy loop around the track. There was a couple of rises that almost passed for hills and would fully annoy me on lap three. I headed back to start line and lined up behind some college kids along side some other grey bearded fellows.

 

Men's Start

The start was quick and I was soon well behind the front runners. We exited the track area and I could see some of the regular age groupers just ahead of me. They went out well below 6:00 pace for mile one and I stayed behind.  I soon realized that I forgot to reset my watch for auto-lap and was not going to see mile splits and the course was not marked. I was able to close up a bit on lap two but my legs were feeling heavy.  Lap three was again, just an attempt to hold pace. I managed to push the last hill and stride out a bit on the grass loop around the track.

 

Final Loop

Overall, I think I'm holding up ok despite running 6 races in 7 or 8 weeks, thanks mostly to a training schedule, developed by Amanda Kourtz, that gets me to the start line healthy.  

 

My finish time was 31:55, good enough for 3rd in the 55-59 AG and 5th in the 50-59 AG.

 

We headed out and made a brief stop  for refreshments at Stone Brewery in Escondido.

 

Refreshments at Stone

Next stop the Cayamaca 6k, the 7th race in the Dirt Dog Series!

 

 

 

 

Bonita Stampede 8K September 10, 2016

@ Sweetwater Regional Park, Bonita CA is described as "... a challenging European style race through scenic Bonita trails. Includes rolling hills, hay bales and cheering support along the way!

Uh... I clocked the first mile at a comfortable 6:08 pace. Then the fun began....

We woke early and enjoyed a couple of espressos in the warm Murrieta morning. The drive down took over an hour, including some wait time due to an auto accident on I15. We luckily grabbed a parking spot close to the start area. Running a bit late I jogged over to the registration tent and picked up my bib. It was 35 minutes to the start, so I quickly laced up my spikes and headed out for a warm-up. This was a single start race, both masters and open in the same race, and everyone was on the trails. It was low 60's with overcast skies, a perfect morning.

I headed back to the start area and found a spot on the left outside of the crowd as the first turn was a hard right about 50 meters out. The starter gave the instructions "if you miss a turn...it's your own fault." Then we were off and running.



Bonita Stampede 8K Start

Mile 1 was comfortable although I was breathing dust from the front runners. The course was a mix of sand, and loose dirt. About a quarter mile in was a wash created to control rain runoff. It was a bit shaky as everyone was stuffed through the short and narrow dip in the trail. At mile 2 an almost imperceptible rise began. At 1.9 miles it was "welcome" to the sandy zig-zaggy uphill. I clocked mile 2 at about 6:35. From mile 1.9 to 2.15 was a climb of about 100 feet. At the top of the rise I could see the leaders climbing a second hill and I knew this was going to be fun. The first climb was followed by a drop of 40 or so feet followed by another 90 or so foot climb. Cheering HS age kids were providing support along the way. Mile 3 was a 7:15ish, and I was ok with that!  Mile 4 was a rolling down-hillish run that I covered in 6:36 and I gathered myself enough to finish mile 5 in 6:22! I almost forgot...somewhere between mile 4 and 5 was the last of 3 hay bale jumps, I hurdled the 1st with grace, stepped on the 2nd, and cursed on the 3rd. Feeling pretty good overall I held the last mile together. This XC stuff takes some getting used to, and I feel stronger running on sandy trails.



Finish Line In Sight

The gory details...: 
Overall 53 of 154
6th in 50-59 year old age group
4th in 55-59 year old age group

We, SDTC, had enough runners to score in the Dirt Dog CX Series but the standings have not yet been posted. And I think(hope) my position (currently 3rd) in the 50-59AG will not change.

JoAnne and I then took a short drive over to old town San Diego for brunch and refreshments.

Refreshments at Old Town Mexican Café

Next stop Crazy 8's 5k at Rancho Bernardo Park on September 24, 2016