20 January 2012

Pullman Winter Ultra #2

We had a great time at this winter's second Pullman Winter Ultra event. The weather was again very spring-like with temps in the 40's and no snow or ice to be seen for miles.

I gave Sadie the day off as she's been showing a little bit of pain in her front left leg. This is the second time in the past three months I've had to give her some time off. Hopefully an extra-extended rest will be all she needs. I don't think a trip to the vet is necessary quite yet, but if she's hurting any after this break than I'll probably bring her in. :(

The course is four 7.75 mile loops on a paved bike path that loops around Pullman. I had a nice run and was holding on to a 4-hr pace (my hey-why-not-give-it-a-shot goal) through three loops. The last loop was tough and I slowed quite a bit for a finish time of 4:16:38, which was still good enough for a 50k PR.  (results)


On my third loop.

Post-race hydration at Palouse Falls Brewing Co.

On the schedule now are some light weeks and a few local for-fun races before I start upping the miles to get ready for Scotland.


Oh, and in the last few days winter has finally arrived in Pullman.




(click here for pano w/ sound)



7 comments:

  1. Oh, man! You beat my PR, hahaha. WAY TO GO! You still took a big chunk off your old time. How does a pavement 50K compare to a trail one? Was your old PR on trail? I know pavement *should* lead to a faster time, but I bet it also beats your legs up more. So it could be a toss up. Thoughts?

    I hope Sadie feels better soon!

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    1. My old PR was on this same course last year. All my trail 50ks have been in the mountains, so there's not much comparison I can do with this one. I'll drop this course below 4hr next year I bet. :)

      There's a loop I train a lot on and the first half is gravel/dirt and second half is pavement. Even on days I have a tailwind on the trail going out I find that I'm still faster on the pavement coming back into the headwind. I think the pavement is a definitely a lot faster.

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  2. I'm sorry to hear that Sadie is feeling a bit under the weather...I sure hope everything is OK after the extended rest.

    VERY nice time on the 50K PR, I personally know quite a few people who would consider that time absolutely awesome for a marathon.

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    1. She hasn't enjoyed the rest, that's for sure. I've seen the most pathetic puppy faces ever when I've tied up my shoes the last couple weeks and left her inside. :)

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  3. Maybe Sadie the Ultra Dog just needs some time off. Here's wishing her a quick recovery!

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    1. I think she thinks she's in trouble if she doesn't get to go on a run with me. She looks so sad and defeated when I tell her to "stay" as I'm walking out the door. Poor girl. :)

      Congrats again on your daughter's great news.

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  4. Um...that time is better than my marathon last week. Ok, granted it was just a "fun" marathon but still.... :)

    Nice job on the 50K!! Hope your puppy is feeling better soon!

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