Cathi Cannon from the Rock/Creek Race Team has a few race reports that I just read. She describes one of her favorite races of the year, the Shut-In Ridge Trail Run in Asheville:
Autumn colors were at their peak, the skies blue and sunshine abundant, with small patches of snow greeting me in the Mt. Pisgah parking lot as a friend and I dropped a car by the finish early. While it was probably in the upper 30s to 40 at the start of the race (at the Arboretum), we warmed up quickly and I shed my long sleeves at the 2nd aid station. (I was wearing our new team shirt from Icebreaker, which was the perfect weight. And while I’m at it, my shoes were Vasque Velocity – definitely my current fav, although I’m itching to test their VSTs.)
I started off too quick as always, but that tends to be my MO. I knew after a mile or two I’d settle into my pace and all would be good for the next few hours. With this new heart thing going on, I’m trying to be more aware of my heart rate so that I can actually make it to the finish line. (although my tight achilles was worrying more race morning!) It took longer than I anticipated to settle in, due in part to the nice climbs that greet us from the start – afterall, the race is basically uphill! Most of the time we run along the ridge, following the Blue Ridge Parkway. Crossing it usually meant a steep downhill and uphill; otherwise it was a nice rolling ascent. The colors were stunning – sometimes you’d just be glowing from the sunlight filtering through the leaves.
[continue reading on Cathi’s blog]
I also found her report from the StumpJump, which I missed somehow in all the rushing around after the race. The report is fun to read and there are some good photos on her site as well. Here’s the cliffs notes version, skipping to the fight for the finish. Cathi came in fourth female:
I tried to pick things up a bit, but a few climbs forced me to walk (I can tell when my heart & breathing rate is getting a bit too high, so some walking is better than sitting on the side of the trail trying to recover). I looked back during some curving areas and didn’t see her; great! I kept on… then bam, she appeared out of nowhere. Dang! We exited the woods together and had about a half mile of paved road before the finish line. There was a bit of a climb first; I picked it up slightly. I didn’t hear the footsteps responding. So a bit more… at the top of the hill I glanced back and saw I did in fact put some distance on her. Yeah! Next came that nice long descent to the finish line. I pushed it a bit more, not wanting to have a finish line sprint. Thankfully I didn’t have to, and I crossed the finish line in 2:10.27, good enough for 4th place overall female and 44th overall (out of 170 finishers). I lucked out when awards went through 4th place, so I snagged some new Salomon shoes, La Sportiva bottle, and my fav “this is not a plastic bag” cotton grocery bag from R/C.
[continue reading on Cathi’s blog]
Thanks for sharing Cathi! Keep it up and we’re hoping your heart condition doesn’t hold you back.
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