Tuesday, May 21, 2013

The Athleta Race recap + an amazing new running map

Ten Mile Race Report & Review: The Athleta Race (warning: boring no photo post)

I signed up for this race a couple weeks ago, since it was cheap ($37 since I procrastinated- it was $32 until May 7) and would be a good training run for Grandma's Half in June. It was also a smaller race so there wouldn't be the craziness of a large, popular event. It was drizzling when I got into my car and ten minutes into the drive it was full out pouring. Once I made it to the race I parked and just hung out in my car for a few minutes, to see if the rain was letting up at all. Nope. I had to sprint to pick up my packet.

This brings me to annoyance #1 about this race: Pre-race packet pick up was held from 2-6 pm on Thursday at the Mall of America Athleta, and 2-6 pm on Friday at the Edina location. Not exactly convenient for those with jobs. At least they offered race day pickup.

So anyway. I got my packet and went back to my car. I basically sat in there until 20 minutes until race time, because it was still pouring out. I jogged over to the start of the race, which was a sign on the road-not exactly easy to see. This is annoyance #2: the race was not super organized. The start line wasn't close to packet pickup and it wasn't really clearly marked, so I just ran behind some runners that I hoped were running the ten mile and not the 30k. As it happened the two races started on the same road, but on opposite sides and running towards each other. Recipe for disaster? Sort of. A lot of runners lined up with the wrong race so there was some last minute scrambling.

The race itself was fine- a few small hills, but mostly flat. Of course it was pouring the entire time. But the field was strung out fairly quickly so I could just pick people off as the miles wore on. I felt good but my splits were all over the place:

7:13, 6:52, 7:00, 6:38, 6:57, 6:47, 7:00, 6:45, 6:39, 6:34

I guess I could look at the race as one mile easy, one hard, one easy.... but it felt pretty even to me until mile 7 when I made a conscious decision to run harder. In any case,  I ran 1:08:28. At about mile 6ish something weird hurt in my left butt/hip flexor area. It went away mostly for the rest of the run but reallly hurt on Sunday (I took the day off). Yesterday i ran three miles with Rodgy and it hurt a little during the run. I've been foam rolling and stretching like crazy so I hope that helps....

Oh and I lied....of COURSE I'll add a picture...of Rodgy! He sat in this spot for an hour just watching me weed the yard. He probably was waiting for me to step into a hidden pile of poop. 
so freaking cute!!


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Speaking of poop........the greatest running map in the history of 2013:

http://minneapolisrunning.com/bathrooms/

File:Porta Potty by David Shankbone.jpg
looks like heaven....
A map of all the runner-friendly bathrooms (indoor & porta-potty) in the Twin Cities area! If you have never experienced the panic of needing a bathroom RIGHT NOW then you are lucky and I hope you appreciate your GI system of steel. For those of you who have dealt with that feeling.... this is amazing (as long as you live in the St. Paul/Minneapolis area).

Have you every purchased workout gear from Athleta? Thoughts on quality/value? They seem to have cute stuff but I've never tried any of their stuff.

Do you prefer small races or larger races?
I love the energy and organization at big races but love the lower cost & convenience of small events. How's that for a non-answer?

7 comments:

  1. Great race! Those are the splits I aim to see one day! Sigh... one day.

    The butt/hip flexor thing could be piriformis. I had a really severe case of it last fall, but there are less severe cases too. It's a deep aching that feels deep, deep in the glute. I went to physical therapy for it and my PT had me doing some exercises to strength my medius gluteus (clams and leg raises, mostly). You could try that to see if it helps at all (while you are doing the exercise, the pain might become more acute--I think that's a sign that you are targeting the right/affected muscle).

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    1. Thanks for the tip on the pain! It feels a little better today but I'm definitely going to try some exercises to help it along!

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  2. I'm jealous of your speed!!! Was this one of their first times doing the race? I hadn't heard of an athleta race or a 10 miler....Which would have been nice when I was planning my Grandma's Marathon training (let me know if you want to meet up at packet pickup for grandma's on friday!) I've never bought Athleta clothing, although I might start since they offer a discount for yoga instructors (which I am) at the same time, I like old navy's stuff for yoga just fine (for running clothes I stick to nike). I like small races (and grandma's) big races can be inspiring, but they tend to have more issues.

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    1. I think this is the first year Athleta sponsored the race. It is run by Final Stretch races- they actually have a lot of races in the twin cities area! It would be great to meet up at packet pick up! I'm so excited to go back to Duluth!

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  3. OMG that map rocks.

    Nice race -- congrats! I've tried to wear Athleta stuff (because of their affiliation with Girls on the Run) but to be honest, I just haven't been super happy with anything I've bought. No issues with quality, it just doesn't fit me quite right.

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    1. Thanks! I've always wanted to get involved with Girls on the Run but I'm not sure about what kind of time commitment is involved!

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    2. I'm happy to give you more info! I used to sit on the Board and still volunteer with them and I love talking GOTR!

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