Danny's Halloween Howl Race Report - Oct, 2011

Swim Run Bike
Distances n/a 10 km n/a
Finish Time n/a 1:05:50 (or so) n/a
Other info n/a Max HR – 178, avg – 150ish n/a

Race Preparation Followed training program. Did take an extra day rest as I wasn’t feeling all that well (fatigue from work, I think, plus a lot of sick people at work).
Tried a new restaurant, House of Kabob, the night before. Wasn’t a great idea as it turned out. Had a decent sleep and all seemed well. I forgot to pick up my race package though and got a mild panic attack.
Race Day Pre-race:
I got up at 7:30 and felt a bit off. Didn’t feel like eating so I had a powerbar and some water. Then I had to go the bathroom for a while. Took some pepto bismal and hoped for the best.
I got to Eau Claire at 8:40 and picked up my race pack. Parking was good at that time. Found Kelly and Mitch, then Pam, Leane and her husband (not running) a little after 9 and we waited inside. I grabbed a coffee and muffin as my stomach seemed to be holding up. We generally agreed that we would “take it easy” for the run.
A lot of people dressed up for the run: some avatar people, a group of “where’s waldos”, the Count from sesame street, numerous superheroes, one glucose test equipment (yes, really), fairies, etc. Steve Wood found us, but he wasn’t dressed as one of the Incredibles as was rumored.

Race
The race start was a bit muddled as few could hear the announcer. The 3km people started first, then the 5 and 10 km people went for the next start time. Since this wasn’t a chip event, they probably didn’t worry about it.
We tried to run as together at the start but there was too many people to stay close. Steve was off to the races (eventual third place finish) and the rest of us were fairly close. I think we were on pace for about 1:10 or so.
My friend Chloe ran by me at the end of Prince’s Island and we started to chat. I didn’t realize she was running as she was leading the pre-race stretch. She didn’t think she was running, but the organizers told her she could run if she wanted to. So she ran.
Her 5 km pace was about 25min but she slowed down to chat. I was feeling pretty good, so I picked up my pace to not slow Chloe down too much and we got ahead of the gang. I was able to keep a conversation going so I wasn’t pushing too hard either. I thought we were about a 60 min pace, until Chloe went to pass a lady on the outside of the path and rolled her ankle badly on the edge of the path. This was at about 2km. I helped her to the bench and she rested. She said she would hobble back to Eau Claire as her ankle was swelling quite a bit.
I told her to take it easy, said see back at Eau Claire, and kept going. While we were at the bench, the gang had passed us. I could see them in the distance, so I picked up my pace to catch up. I caught up to them a little after the 4 km marker. I think I spent a fair bit of energy trying to catch up to them and I could feel it. I was able to keep up with them from there on. I didn’t realize until after the race that they were on a 9 run + 1 walk pace so I just thought they were resting.
I was feeling better and could see that Pam was ready for slightly faster pace so the two of us went a bit faster and got ahead. We had one short walk at about 8.5km before getting back to Eau Claire. We finished pretty strong at about 1:06 and the rest came in closely behind us at about 1:08.

There was only one water station on the route so that was a bit disappointing. I could have used another one.
Post Race I felt pretty after the race, and thought I could have pushed harder to finish at one hour. This definitely not what I thought before the race, but I did surprise myself. I didn’t have any foot, ankle or knee problems and didn’t feel anything out of sorts. I didn’t cramp up (definite concern with my stomach) during the run or after. I didn’t really feel a need to stop either during the race.
If it were any hotter, the lack of water stations might have been a concern though. I’ll have to think about bringing water with me for future races.
I was a bit surprised to see my heart rate was fairly high during the race. I didn’t feel it in my breathing or too much in my legs.
Later in the day, my hip flexor was very tight. It was almost back to normal the next morning. That was about the only thing that came up. Plus my stomach issues came back, but I’ll leave out the details.