Joe’s Ride, Jaguar 5K & Race to Donate Life 5K

Joe’s Ride (45K bike)

May 21, 2011
Olney, Maryland
http://www.joesanford.com/

This was Allison’s 6th consecutive “riding” (hell, you know she’s racing it!) of Joe’s Ride held annually for Joe Stanford who passed away in 1999 from a brain tumor. The 45K (actually, about 29m or so) ride takes one through the rolling countryside of Burtonsville and Laytonville before coming back into Olney for the finish. Rough country roads should be expected on the later half of the ride as this rider realized that she had been racing on a flat for 3-7 miles. Nevertheless, Allison shaved off two minutes from her previous best on a brand new road bike (had previously raced on a mountain bike, ugh) despite the flat tire and only 4.5m of training.

Race Results

Net Time – 1:47:35 (3:42/m)

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Jaguar 5K

April 30, 2011
Falls Church, Virginia
http://www.jaguar5k.com/

Allison was able to settle into a groove and place despite getting far too excited with the sound of the starter’s gun (and going out way too fast). She enjoyed the local event (frequents the track at Falls Church High School where the race is held) and had no trouble on the rolling neighborhood hills (people were complaining about them??) but struggled with the large amounts of walkers along the route (the route crossed back over itself so the runners collided with the walkers).

Allison placed 4th in her age group, notched a PR and went home with a medal (1st place in AG won the race over all so Allison received the 3rd place medal by default and has since scratched in “4th” over the “3rd” on the medal’s back) after an embarrassing awards ceremony (Stage, handshakes, smile for the photographer…oh, the photographer doesn’t want to take your picture? OK, hang head low and scurry away).

Race Results

Net Time – 23:33.94 (7:35/m)
Over All Ranking – 72/515
Age Group Ranking (F20-29) – 4/26
Female Ranking – 10/???
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Race to Donate Life 5K

May 7, 2011
Washington, DC

Allison ran this race for fun and attempted to be very conservative with the brutal climb at the end of the race and strained quads from going out way too fast in the previous week’s 5K (sub-6:00 on the onset). She was still able to tackle the long climb at the end of the run (in Rock Creek Park) and went home with a nice gift certificate for finishing in first place (age group)!

*Note, there were significantly more walkers than runners since this was a charity race.

Race Results

Net Time – 24:26.47 (7:52/m)
Over All Ranking – 35/281
Age Group Ranking (F20-29) – 1/???
Female Ranking – 9/???

Storming through Ramsey's Draft - NORSA Spring Backpacking

April 15 2011 - Team NORSA member Steven S, along with Cody L and Marvin W set out to conquer the challenging Ramsey's Draft wilderness trails.

Ramsey's Draft is quite an adventure, with 20+ stream crossings, remnants of virgin hemlock forest, and spectacular ridge climbs. If that wasn't enough, this expedition took place on a weekend with 100% chance of rain including thunderstorms and flash flooding.

The three hikers left after work on Friday with a 3+ hour drive to the forest. In what has become a NORSA tradition, the initial hike was mostly in the dark. The downpour started that night and continued through the morning. But, with a hot breakfast prepared under the tarp, they were ready for the day's challenges. These included: heavy thunderstorms that tested their rain gear, stream crossings that were knee deep, and bushwacking for hours to find a safe place to cross the rushing stream. In all the excitement, Steven S lost his water shoes.

Despite these difficulties, they made good progress by the time the rain let up to allow a lunch break. That is when the first hailstorm hit. Steven learned never to say things like "at least we know it can't come down any harder..." This kind of talk only tempted the skies to prove him wrong. After finishing the 20th crossing, the trail climbed to the headwaters of Ramsey's Draft. The trail literally became a running river itself, with many branching streams and waterfalls forming along the way. It was an impressive sight, and would have made for good camping in normal conditions.

A suitable campsite was waiting on top of the ridge. Everyone enjoyed a hot meal and looked forward to drying their gear overnight. Surprise! It got below freezing. Steven S was using his 40F rated bag and it was damn cold. Same thing in the morning as the wind cut through wet clothing. But eventually it turned out to be a beautiful spring day. The second half of the hike follows Bald Ridge with a lot of climbing early, and then has a steady downhill finish back to Ramsey's Draft. The ridge features many window views, white pines, and beautiful camp sites. At last the descent brought them back to the draft, and in a fitting conclusion, required one more bushwack and stream crossing to make it to the trailhead.

Despite the tough stuff on this trip, everyone had a good time and took it all in stride. Ramsey's Draft East gets a NORSA seal of approval. For a less intense version of this hike, try it during a drier time of year or just rearrange your plans if the weather forecast looks terrible.

Yuengling Shamrock Marathon

March 20, 2011 Virginia Beach, Virginia

Allison ran her first marathon.

And it hurt. No, actually it went really well! The wind, though, was downright brutal (which was a ghost-town as racers filled hotel lobbies looking for a break from the 35-40 mph gusts). It died down a bit yet provided a steady 10+ mph force for runners; normally nothing terrible but the “wind tunnel” along Atlantic Avenue took its toll on many-a-runner including tough-as-nails Michael Wardian who was upset with his time due to the strong winds.

Nevertheless, Allison was able to achieve her “A” goal of finishing in 3:50 (website says 3:51 but, umm, potty break, yo!) despite having been given a range of 3:55 – 4:35 (more than likely 4:15-4:20) for a finishing time by the experts (what now?!).

Miles 1-10 were a breeze, no pun intended. Allison tagged along with the 3:50 pace group and, despite a varied amount of mile splits (8:55, 8:15, 9:15, 8:37, 8:20), she was able to run under pace and still feel good about it. As described, the wind began to take its toll as Allison ran back up Atlantic Avenue (major wind gusts) and her quads began to ache around miles 15 and 16. A grab of Gu packs at mile 15 (thanks to her husband!) helped to gear her up for the lonely miles 16-23. Her pace began to dip a little bit but it didn’t pose a threat to the 3:50 goal since she “banked” 3-4 minutes with the overaggressive pacers.

The dreaded mile 20 loomed when Allison struck up a conversation with another runner who asked if she minded if he tagged along with her for the last 10K. Did she mind if a shirtless and incredibly fit naval officer ran with her? Heck no! The pain of the last 6 miles was offset by the feeling of floating on air as Allison enjoyed a 40 minute run with the handsome hunk. Reality set in, though, as she realized that she was floating a bit too much and had to haul if she wanted to finish in 3:50.

So she dropped the hunk and kicked it into gear.

What seemed like a mad sprint on shot quads wasn’t anything more than flopping around at an 8:45/m pace into the finish (and nasty headwinds). The turn onto the boardwalk was incredibly uplifting yet horribly terrifying at the same time as she could see the finish but realized that getting there would involve the longest 3/4th of a mile that she ever ran. And the wind was in full force. She gritted her teeth and used the crazy-awesome crowd (cow bells?! You shouldn’t have!!) screaming her name (note to racers: if offered, have your name printed on your race bib – it does wonders to one’s moral when strangers cheer for you by name) and helping to push her to cross the finish in 3:50:51. Not one to showboat at a finish, Allison couldn’t help to throw her fists in the air in celebration not only for having completed her first (of many!) marathon but for doing it in a time that many deemed impossible for her.

And then her quads seized up and she buckled in pain as the running gods punished her for bieng such a fruitcake upon crossing the finish.

This won’t be the last marathon for Allison and, for the time being, she will be filling her time with a handful of small road races (45k bike race, a Duathlon, the Disney half marathon (??), a 5k here and there) up and through June 27th when she begins training for the Marine Corp Marathon.

Race Results

Net Time – 3:50:51

Pace – 8:48/m

Over All Ranking – 807/ 3,159

Female Ranking – 191/ 1,276

Age Group Ranking (25-29F) – 50/263

My "fuel" to the finish (shirtless Naval officer "Jay")

Running with "Jay"

"Do I mind!?"

Tobacco Road Half Marathon

Tobacco Road Half Marathon
March 20, 2011
Cary, NC

Author's note: this post marks a number of firsts. It's my first blog post ever on NORSA, and the subject matter is my first ever race. I will now enter the 3rd person narrative, as is NORSA custom.

Early in 2011, Eugene decided he would join a few of his UNC Kenan-Flagler friends in training for this race. After all, he had always been jealous of NORSA members who possessed the ability to wake up early on a weekend to bike, swim, and run competitive distances. After seeking out the advice of some experienced NORSA runners he began a 10 week training process which involved a calculated series of hills, intervals, tempo, and long runs. In true BSchool fashion, Eugene created an elaborate spreadsheet that tracked not only time, distance, and pace for each training run, but also how he felt after each workout. The first week required that he complete a 4 mile run faster than race pace. Prior to this, the most miles Eugene had ever run in a row was three. It scarcely needs to be said that some of those early workouts were very difficult but slowly but surely they became more palatable. Then in late January, Eugene lost his cousin James unexpectedly, and he decided he would dedicate his training to him for some extra motivation then wear a commemorative T-shirt on raceday. The week before his spring break was the most difficult training week requiring a 6 and a 12 miler with one day's rest in between. He knew he would be partying it up in South Florida for the next 2 weeks, so even though he felt like absolute death at the end of the 12er, he finished and was mildly pleased with the time. Needless to say, not much training occurred during spring break 2011, but some limping did, so it was back to the drawing board again for the last 2 weeks leading up to the race. Nevertheless, he felt that a 9:15-30/mile pace was reasonable and made his raceday playlist accordingly.


After waking up at an ungodly hour in freezing temperatures, Eugene and friends waited in the bus lines to bring them to the course. When they finally got on their bus, it immediately became lost and drove around Apex, NC making awkward U-turns in inopportune spots. It was later learned that many buses became lost on the way to the course that morning. In fact, logistical snafus were a theme throughout the event. Had it not been for several intrepid UNC souls who came out to watch the finish of the race in their SUV, the 9 people who bussed over from the parking lot would have had to wait in another two hour-long bus line after the race ended. Evidently someone forgot to tell the bus company that their buses would be needed again. Eugene speculated that they were still simply lost. It always helps to do a practice run. Once in place, the race was delayed by 30 minutes or so which caused a bit of consternation and warmth-huddling, but did provide the opportunity to keep hydrating, as Eugene had left both his breakfast and his water on the kitchen counter.

Once the race finally got moving the course itself was incredible. Very flat and straight. Eugene hit the 4.5 mile split in 8:24/mile, which is way faster than he had ever trained. He recalled some sage NORSA advice that this would be the case and briefly thought of slowing down, however he decided to ride out his pace as long as he could. By mile 9.5 or so, just as the beer he chugged with FUPA's Raleigh hash team was beginning to feel like not the greatest idea, the old man with whom he had been pacing took off and torched him the rest of the way. The proverbial wall was being hit and Eugene estimates his last 2 miles or so were done at about a 10 minute pace. Nonetheless, the last split indicated that there was a chance that he could finish in under 2 hours. Right on cue the theme from "Last of the Mohicans" came over the iPod speakers. With the exception of being burned by the old man, Eugene was happy with his sub 9:00 pace (albeit only by 2 thousandths of a second by excel's calculations) and finishing in the top 50%, and can probably still bench press more than the old man can.

After the race ended the organizers had cookies, pizza, wings, beer, and other food for the finishers from local establishments. A few days later the race directors issued a statement saying they are working through the transportation issues for next year's race which is expected to be closer in number of participants to this year's race than this year's race was to last year's (i.e. they weren't prepared this year, but they will be next year, trust them). Regardless, it is a fine race and I highly recommend it. See you after the Tar Heel 10 miler in April.


Race Results:
Net Time - 1:57:53
Pace - 9:00/mile
Overall Place - 751/2,300
Male Place - 441/903
Age Group Place - 34/76

Late 2010 Updates: Steven L. did some additional things

Hey y'all - I ran the Giant Acorn Triathlon back in October. For the second year in a row, I chose the Olympic-distance option. I cut off about 7 minutes from my previous time!! (Completed in 2:40:44). Much of that time off came from the run, where I actually stopped to heed the call of nature. Despite the time lost from stopping, I was able to run significantly faster after doing so...A trick to keep in mind for future races. Per tradition, I stayed at Lat-Man's crib in Richmond for the rest of the weekend. Per more tradition, we did the pipeline walk on the river.







Additionally, I did the Turkey Chase 10K again, making my 5th consecutive appearance. I posted a 46:56 for that, which is a PR!