2:14:27
39% of females
50% age group - 3rd place!
Course and Elevation Profile.
This might be my favorite race so far this year. I feel like they did everything right. It started early, there was water every mile. They were handing out pretzels and gu. Everyone got a medal, which I think is nice. Lots of photographers. The course is flat as can be. It was a very enjoyable race. Heck you even get an indian taco at the end! That's better than the pizza at the end of Route 66 last november. The only glitch I ran into was for once I wanted gatorade/powerade to which I got "next table" only that's what I kept hearing. I found a table that did have it, but on the return trip they said "next table". I normally am water only, but seeing as I had a long bike ride the day before in 100 degree heat, I felt I needed more.
I had a good time. My feet held up wonderfully. This was my longest barefoot run to date. They weren't too thrilled about the road south of Britton, which is a little rough, but they made the return trip okay. I carried my bikilas with me just in case, but never felt I needed them. Just cruised around the lake, wish the wind hadn't been so bad, it kicked up a lot of the exposed dirt due to the water level being so low. That was the only unpleasant part about this race. Will definitely be returning next year!
Tour de Meers, 65 mile route
4:44:18
avg pace 13.7
avg moving pace 14.5
elevation profile and course
I would love to come back in the fall to ride this course. It was beautiful. I saw wild turkeys, a friend of mine saw a buffalo, though she was also stung by a bee. Lots of wildlife and gorgeous scenery. Drawbacks to this ride: HOT. There is no cover, no where to hide, no convenience stores, no trees even near the road. There are hills in the first 20 miles that slow you down, the rest of the course is flat with rolling hills. It really is a great ride, I can see why so many people do it. Next year I'm starting a couple hours earlier, like around 6. There were not a lot of water stops, what they did have was placed well. If you venture out on this ride approach it as if it were unsupported, bring everything to get you through and be prepared. There were a lot of people apparently who nearly passed out from the heat many of whom were delirious and didn't realize how they got back to the fire station.
After a week of thinking about it, I decided to come back and give a brutally honest review: If you are considering this race, to be entirely honest, this probably was the hardest event I've ever done. This is the first time I seriously thought about quitting. Around 35 miles I did not want to pedal anymore. I didn't want to be in the heat anymore. I wanted to stop. I pulled over and dragged my bike off the road to a small tree which was the only shade I'd seen for miles. I pulled out my phone to call my friends and see where they were, hoping and praying they had sagged in and were waiting for me to get back, only to find I had no service. I dug out my mp3 player. It was only the music that kept me going on this ride. When I got to the final water stop, I felt good and thought I only had a few more miles. The last three miles were the worst because you keep thinking "Just over this hill", but each time you get there the fire station is no where in sight.
Last year I finished a 62 miler in 4:07 (not including the rest stop in the middle) so this route took me an extra 20 minutes riding time, but the one I did last was almost entirely flat. I have definitely made progress. This was 1749 feet elevation gain. The largest gain I've ever done on a ride, the closest I've done that compares was 1622 and that was 2 or 3 weeks ago. I shouldn't be surprised that this was a hard ride for me. 95% of my rides are relatively flat. I must work on hills this year, they just defeat me in every way. My feet hurt at 25 miles.. I've never had that happen before. I found myself not wanting to be on the bike anymore. I honestly don't know how I finished this ride. A challenge and an eye opener, must. work. hills.
avg pace 13.7
avg moving pace 14.5
elevation profile and course
I would love to come back in the fall to ride this course. It was beautiful. I saw wild turkeys, a friend of mine saw a buffalo, though she was also stung by a bee. Lots of wildlife and gorgeous scenery. Drawbacks to this ride: HOT. There is no cover, no where to hide, no convenience stores, no trees even near the road. There are hills in the first 20 miles that slow you down, the rest of the course is flat with rolling hills. It really is a great ride, I can see why so many people do it. Next year I'm starting a couple hours earlier, like around 6. There were not a lot of water stops, what they did have was placed well. If you venture out on this ride approach it as if it were unsupported, bring everything to get you through and be prepared. There were a lot of people apparently who nearly passed out from the heat many of whom were delirious and didn't realize how they got back to the fire station.
Our group at the start.... oddly enough there are no pics of any of us at the end.... I wonder why..... :p
After a week of thinking about it, I decided to come back and give a brutally honest review: If you are considering this race, to be entirely honest, this probably was the hardest event I've ever done. This is the first time I seriously thought about quitting. Around 35 miles I did not want to pedal anymore. I didn't want to be in the heat anymore. I wanted to stop. I pulled over and dragged my bike off the road to a small tree which was the only shade I'd seen for miles. I pulled out my phone to call my friends and see where they were, hoping and praying they had sagged in and were waiting for me to get back, only to find I had no service. I dug out my mp3 player. It was only the music that kept me going on this ride. When I got to the final water stop, I felt good and thought I only had a few more miles. The last three miles were the worst because you keep thinking "Just over this hill", but each time you get there the fire station is no where in sight.
Last year I finished a 62 miler in 4:07 (not including the rest stop in the middle) so this route took me an extra 20 minutes riding time, but the one I did last was almost entirely flat. I have definitely made progress. This was 1749 feet elevation gain. The largest gain I've ever done on a ride, the closest I've done that compares was 1622 and that was 2 or 3 weeks ago. I shouldn't be surprised that this was a hard ride for me. 95% of my rides are relatively flat. I must work on hills this year, they just defeat me in every way. My feet hurt at 25 miles.. I've never had that happen before. I found myself not wanting to be on the bike anymore. I honestly don't know how I finished this ride. A challenge and an eye opener, must. work. hills.
Sooner State Games 5K
SECOND PLACE IN MY AGE GROUP!! WOOHOO!!! This is the first time I have ever placed! Not only that, but it was also a new personal record for me! Yeah! Go me!
25:25
50% age group....... this is where I fess up and tell you, there were only 4 of us.
22% females
Course and Elevation Profile.
This race had a lot of firsts in it for me. PR, first medal, first time to see another barefoot runner, and the first time I really felt like a runner. I've been going to a lot of meetings and group practices, so I'm beginning to get to know people. I showed up and people remembered who I was (okay, mostly cause I'm the only barefoot woman they probably know), but it felt good. Especially after a lady at the Triokc meeting made a snarky remark, but I won't get into that.
Another first, a girl, much younger than me, who I passed (she passed me at the very end), came up to me at afterwards and thanked me for telling her "good job" when I passed her. She said it was the encouragement she needed to keep going and to put it all out there in the end. I have never had someone thank me for encouragement before. It was really great :) All the more reason I feel all runners should have a smile on their face and say something nice to every person they see! Whether it be good job, looking great, doing awesome, almost there, or anything you can think of to lift the person up and keep them from thinking about what hurts. I usually don't do this as much as running events. It's something I picked up more from the sprint tri and the trail running events I did, but I will definately be doing this more from here out!
All in all this was a really nice small race!
Pros:
Had no problems getting my packet or chip, they seemed very well organized.
Nice shirt, bag had some neat pins in it.
Really nice medal! :)
I dropped my glasses and the turn around, the girl said she'd take them back to the start with her and the guy with her actually found me in the crowd and gave them back to me while they were giving out the awards! I couldn't believe it! Totally awesome young people working this event!!
Cons:
Water, I wish they (and every other 5K) had the water stop around the mile mark instead of 1.5. There are people that will take an hour and they deserve water more than once.
They did have two people calling out 10K left and 5K right. Maybe they could hold some signs next year cause I had to focus on one of them and ask, I couldn't understand between the two of them yelling.
25:25
50% age group....... this is where I fess up and tell you, there were only 4 of us.
22% females
Course and Elevation Profile.
This race had a lot of firsts in it for me. PR, first medal, first time to see another barefoot runner, and the first time I really felt like a runner. I've been going to a lot of meetings and group practices, so I'm beginning to get to know people. I showed up and people remembered who I was (okay, mostly cause I'm the only barefoot woman they probably know), but it felt good. Especially after a lady at the Triokc meeting made a snarky remark, but I won't get into that.
Another first, a girl, much younger than me, who I passed (she passed me at the very end), came up to me at afterwards and thanked me for telling her "good job" when I passed her. She said it was the encouragement she needed to keep going and to put it all out there in the end. I have never had someone thank me for encouragement before. It was really great :) All the more reason I feel all runners should have a smile on their face and say something nice to every person they see! Whether it be good job, looking great, doing awesome, almost there, or anything you can think of to lift the person up and keep them from thinking about what hurts. I usually don't do this as much as running events. It's something I picked up more from the sprint tri and the trail running events I did, but I will definately be doing this more from here out!
All in all this was a really nice small race!
Pros:
Had no problems getting my packet or chip, they seemed very well organized.
Nice shirt, bag had some neat pins in it.
Really nice medal! :)
I dropped my glasses and the turn around, the girl said she'd take them back to the start with her and the guy with her actually found me in the crowd and gave them back to me while they were giving out the awards! I couldn't believe it! Totally awesome young people working this event!!
Cons:
Water, I wish they (and every other 5K) had the water stop around the mile mark instead of 1.5. There are people that will take an hour and they deserve water more than once.
They did have two people calling out 10K left and 5K right. Maybe they could hold some signs next year cause I had to focus on one of them and ask, I couldn't understand between the two of them yelling.
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