Double Training Race Weekend

Sometimes training gets a bit old, and you have to break it up with some races, with the plan to not go all out so you can resume training quickly after the event.  It's not easy to do because others are racing, and you've got both pride and prizes on the line.  I need to get better at holding back, but I combined fun and training this weekend with not one, but two races.

The first one was the Autumn Toast 5K on Friday evening at Barren Ridge Vineyards, part of the Corkscrew series.  I hadn't planned to run it, partly because I think their races are overpriced and mostly because I had a marathon in the morning, but I got a comp entry by responding to a Blue Ridge Life Magazine facebook post.  They are one of the race sponsors.

Beautiful setting, out in the country northwest of Waynesboro, mostly dirt road.  I took off a bit fast, with a 7:04 first mile, and reigned it in a bit until the final half mile when I decided to make a move on a few people.  I stayed out of the "pain cave" but ran fast enough to win my age group.  My prize was a bottle of their wine.



Saturday was the Belmead Trail Fest near Richmond.  I opted for the marathon, which was held along with a 50K and 50M.  I wrote a description of the race itself on the CAT blog.  I had planned to stay slow and steady and hoped to run the last miles around the same speed as the beginning, but I got caught up with a few people on the first loop and went out too fast.  Suffered some as it warmed up and I walked more of the last 10 miles than I'd have liked to, but mostly I just felt tired, not bad.  I did manage to take 5th overall out of 17 and 3rd of 11 men for a $30 gift cert to Lucky Foot in Richmond.  It was a really nice course and a well done race, one I'd like to do again.

Next up this weekend I'll be running as much as 35 miles at Grindstone, pacing Christian Dahlhausen.  I've run a couple times this week but my legs are a bit dead, so other than the pacing I'm tapering down for the Steamtown marathon in Scranton, PA, on October 12.