Pi Day River Rotation March 10, 2018

I didn't do much running in the two weeks between the Psycho Wyco and the Pi Day Run. I really needed the time to recover after running/hiking 30 miles in sandals through ankle deep mud at Psycho. Even though my feet were fine during the race, I definitely had some stiffness/soreness to work out of my toes, it took the better part of a week for them to feel mostly normal again. I did a lot of stretching and foam rolling over those two weeks, but I only ran three times, twice for about 5 miles each on the treadmill and one easy run of 6-ish miles on the Clinton Lake trails. This seemed to  be about right training-wise, as I felt rested and ready to go for Pi Day.

I'd signed up for the Pi Slam, which is a 5k (7:30 start time) and a half marathon (9:00 start time). Since I generally run longer races (marathon and longer) I train at a fairly slow pace that I can  sustain, so I rarely try to run fast. I would come to regret not training at a faster pace though since it  took the better part of a week for my calves to loosen back up after the Pi Day races. I'm writing this on Thursday after the race, and the lower part of my calves, just above my achilles are still tender. At least I can now walk down stairs without bracing myself on the hand rail.

I was pleased with both of my races. I think that I could've run the 5k a bit faster (25:14), but I held back for the first mile or so. Truth was, I was intimidated by the shirt that the dude in front of me was wearing. I figured that anyone wearing a Hitchcock Experience shirt is a beast of a runner and I'd be foolish to try and pass him so early in the race (I told him about this as we talked afterwards, very nice guy). I just run by how I feel, I don't use a running watch that shows my pace, so I wasn't sure how much to push it early on. After running on his heels for a while though, I figured that I needed to go around him if I could, I know that I don't like anyone following closely behind me for too long.

This is me trailing the Hitchcock Dude (Jody Pasalich), photo by Mile 90

The half marathon went well and I was pleased to finish under 2 hours. I really felt good through the two 5 mile loops. The last 3 mile loop though, I was starting to slow, and I got passed by 4-5 people in the last mile and a half. I could tell by the burning in my legs that I was going to be sore afterwards. My normal running pace doesn't make my muscles burn like that. Going hard enough to feel that burn in a longer race is a definite no-no for me as I'm not really able to recover and will be much slower from that point onwards.

This race is so much fun! I really love running the roller coaster-y river trails, they make me feel faster (for a while anyway). They are such a great changeup from the North Shore Trails at Clinton Lake. No roots, no rocks, no climbs. The weather was absolutely perfect, the swag was awesome, the pie was delicious, and the beer was cold. The race directors (Caroline and Libby) did an awesome job as always, I really love the engraved forks that were given out as finisher medals.

RDs Libby (left) and Caroline (right) presenting me with my Pi Slam shirt, photo by Mile 90

I'm a little apprehensive about my next race. I'm running the 50 mile version (2 loops) of the Rockin' K at Kanopolis Lake on April 7. This will be my sixth consecutive year running this race, but my first time going longer than the marathon distance. I plan to write up a race report afterwards and I intend to bug you about it until you read it. :-)