8 Tuff Miles Update!

Finish line photo- I had nothing left in the tank.

Getting off the ferry heading to the start.

Cruz Bay before the start

Race director Peter Alter: the man that puts it all together!
Thanks Peter!


TJ and me at the finish!


WOW!!!
What a day!
I got a pretty good nights sleep on Friday before the race. Went to bed around 10 pm. Apache, our cat thought I should get up at 4am instead of 5am.... Oh well. So up a little after 4, stretch, make a lite smoothie, finish up the playlist for ipod and out the door a little before 6am to catch the 6:30am ferry over to St. John. Ferry was packed but I got an isle seat so I could stretch the legs a little. I picked up my number at the table. I was #70 for finishing overall in that place last year. Top 100 get to start in the front coral and get out with a clean start. That is nice. Weather was great. 75 degrees, partly cloudy. I felt pretty good. Started out a little fast but that first mile hill puts you in your place fast. I pretty much just ran my race and didn't worry about other people. There was an incredible 8 year old boy that had beat me in the training runs that I kept my eye on and did finally get by him about 2 miles in. We had a pretty strong rain shower come about halfway through the race. It was actually pretty nice but made the road a little slippery. My goal was to get to the 5.3 mile mark with a pace of 9 to 9:30 min per mile which i did. I was about a 9:06. From there it's 3 miles down hill. I pushed it a little hard from the top of Bordeaux on down into Coral Bay. My Garmin watch had me at a 5:29 pace for a little. That was a little fast but I was just trying to relax and flow with the hills. I was trying to run that downhill section around a 7 min per mile pace. I think it probably averaged out to about that. By the time I got to a half mile before the finish I was spent. Nothing left. And that last half mile flattens out and actually slopes back uphill just slightly. And the wind had picked up against us with more approaching rain. Anyways, I dug deep and finished strong. Last year I ran a 1:15:20 which was a 9:00 min/mile pace. I just wanted to beat that.....

1:08:32 finish time- 8:11 min per mile pace.
35 overall out of 800 runners
30 among males
5 in age group of 40-44

Post race party was great. Band was playing and we all had a great time. I ran into TJ from Illinois who inspired me to start this blog. Peter the race director had put a link to his blog on the front page of the race web site. So headed to Skinny Legs for lunch and beers around noon with a lot of the other racers. They always video tape the race and show it on the big screen tvs at the bar. So everyone gets there few seconds of fame.

After that it was back to Cruz Bay. A stop at Woody's for a beer and some "Shark Bites" and then over to watch the awards ceremony.

All in all a great day. But halfway up those hills I was wondering: "What the heck am I doing?" I know I can do better so it's speed work on the hills and the track this next year. I also have the Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon in July that I think I am going to be running in. At least that race is Flat!

Yesterday (Sunday) I was pretty sore and didn't do too much. A few projects around the house. Still pretty sore today but I'm heading out the door to take the villa guests out on Happy Hour for a day sail......

That's it for now......

Night before the Big Race!

We had 3 days without guests here at the villa so we finally got started putting the marble tile down in our living area downstairs. I'll post pics later.

Right now it's 9:15pm on Friday night. 8 Tuff Miles is a 7:15AM start in St. John in the morning. I have to be on the 6:30 ferry which means leaving here around 5:45 to be safe. I feel pretty well prepared this year even though those 1400 feet of hills don't get easy......Race update tomorrow.

Recover and Rest

So after the 5.5 mile climb up the mountain on Saturday for the 8 Tuff Miles Tune Up, I had the Magens Bay/ Peterborg 10K on Sunday. I thought the race started at 7:30 but as Victoria and I got down there a few minutes before 7:00 there were about 35 people lined up ready to go....... I grabbed a number and ran for the 7:00 am start. I have 2 little ipod shuffles. One had a good country mix and the other had my pump up running mix... Well I grabbed the country mix ipod by mistake. And while I love my country music, Carrie Underwood singing "Jesus Take the Wheel" wasn't helping me grind up those hills out to Peterborg point. I thought I was just going to take it easy and treat the race like an easy training run since I ran pretty hard on Saturday in St. John. But as we headed down towards the entrance of the beach I glanced down at my Garmin 305 and noticed I was clipping along at around a 7:00 min a mile pace...... So there I go... Can't let up now right? So I hit it as hard as I could and kept the 1st place guy within 50 feet for most of the race. I finished in 50:41. A 8:09 per min. pace. Fastest I've run that course by more than 15 seconds per mile. (8:24 per mile was my last best). So I was pretty happy about the race. Looks like I'm improving and I wasn't even fully rested . I really wonder if I keep up with good training , what is my potential? I mean the hills really do still suck and I'm sucking wind big time when I get to the tops. But I'm recovering on the flats and downhills much better.

So I rested for 2 days (Mon. and Tues). I'll run tomorrow morning. Planning on running the 6.2 mile Peterborg Point course again. Only 10 days till the 8 TUFF MILES!!!!!

Run, Run, Run......

Just ran the third of the 8 Tuff Mile Tune up practice runs in St. John yesterday. It's the first 5.5 miles of the course. 1400 feet in elevation gain...... Not easy at all but I finished in just over a 9:30 minute per mile pace. Hopefully I can do that for the race in two weeks and cruise that last 3 miles on down hill..

So it's 5:30 am this morning Sunday. It should be a rest and recovery day after yesterdays run but we have the Magens Bay/ Peterborg 10K race this morning. This is what I train on every week so it's like my home court. I'm heading out the door to go race. Update to follow......

My new Juicer Rocks!

Well I got a new juicer for Christmas and hadn't used it till this morning. (Thanks Jeff and Eileen) The old one was weak and a pain to clean. The new one is a Breville and it can take whole apples and carrots without cutting them first!. Also very easy on the clean up.

So I ran the 6.3 mile (Peterborg 10K+) course again this morning. I got out a little later than usual. Didn't start the run till almost 7:30am which is 30 to 40 minutes later. No real big deal but by the end the sun was getting a little hotter. That little bit of time makes a difference. Time was almost exact to the last time. 4 seconds difference. 8:30 min per mile pace. So an easy workout tomorrow, take the guests out sailing on Thursday, last of the 8 tuff miles tune ups is on Saturday and then there is the Magen's Bay/ Peterborg 10K race on Sunday. (And I should know that course by now!)

Saturday

Victoria and I have a 2 week rental here at Three Palms Villa this week. For those reading that don't know; we rent the top of the house out as a vacation villa. www.threepalmsvilla.com.
We are rented out about 30 weeks during the year. I was going to take the guest out sailing on Happy Hour today but it's still a little rough on the water so we'll wait till Monday. With the 2 week rental we do a midweek clean so we are going to get the guests out of here for a few hours and go freshen the place up.

Winter in Islands- Break out the blankets!

Weather has been a little unsettled down here. Very breezy and a little cold (for us----ha) low 70's at night... I guess we are very lucky for our weather down here. Especially for training. I ran the Peterborg 10K course again this morning. It's actually a little longer by a couple of tenths of a mile. Rest Day tomorrow and probably same course again on Sunday. 3 weeks till the 8 tuff miles. Main focus is to stay healthy and injury free.