Red Rock Race Team

Red Rock Running Company is now accepting resumes for the 2012 race team. Send your resume to Brent Bowers by dropping off at either store or to his e-mail at brent.bowers@hotmail.com. Times are important but community participation and store event participation is also considered.

Hood to Coast 2011

Erica Schramm's August 26-27, Hood to Coast Race Recap:

Hood to Coast is a 200 mile race that starts in Mt. Hood, Oregon and ends in Seaside, Oregon. There are about 1000 teams and they start at 3:30 a.m. with about 15 teams and go every 15 minutes until 6 p.m. that Friday night.

 

I was asked to join team Baba Yaga 5 days before race day. One of their runners got injured the week before and I was fortunate to be the #1 alternate. Josh was awesome and sponsored our team at the last minute. Thank you!

 

Robin, my old college cross country and track coach is the race organizer for Baba Yaga and I was honored to finally join their all women's team. They have an awesome reputation at this event and have made submasters and masters records over the years. Their team had a featured article in the Portland paper the day before as they made the Master's record the year prior. This would be their 16th year running. Most of the women are from Minnesota.

 

I ran in a co-ed team from 2005-2008, thanks to Robin's invite then too. I had to take the last two years off, so I was no longer apart of my old co-ed team, Puke-N-Rally. Also on our team were three of my old teammates from CSB so I was looking forward to seeing them too!

 

Once I received the e-mail from Robin, I knew I had no choice but to run since this is one of the most awesome racing experiences I do. I booked my flight, and left on Thursday afternoon. I arrived around 7:30 p.m. and we ate out at a pasta restaurant. 
We stayed at Robin's friend's home in Portland. Our team was set to start at 10 a.m. I was in van 2. This was the earliest the team had ever started, so we did not have time to make it to the start for van 1, since we had to pick up three of our teammates at the airport.

 

We made it to exchange 1 and stocked up on grocery items for the next 20 hours. There were 6 runners in the van, two drivers and the runner I replaced also joined to watch. I was leg 11. Our van started running around 2 p.m. It was hot and only getting hotter. By the time I started it was around 4:30 p.m. and 93 degrees out. My first leg was 4.85 miles on a bike trail, gradual down hill. It was pretty miserable in the heat. I went out hard. The unfortunate thing about this leg is that there are about 5-7 cross walks and I got stopped three times. At one stop I had to wait 80 seconds which was extremly annoying as other runners caught up to me. I averaged 6:40 with the stops so I was ok with that, considering how hot it was.

 

After our last runner we headed to exchange two. We ate at Subway and chilled out for a couple of hours. I tried to sleep, but really just rested. I was looking forward to my next leg that would be in cooler temps. I started around midnight and it was probably 60 degrees, much better. I ran 4.1 miles, gradual downhill on a dark country road. We all have to have lights and reflector vests, but they don't work too well, as one of our runners fell pretty hard. I averaged 6:08 so I was much happier with this leg. We then headed to exchange 3 and again tried to sleep. We had a 12 passenger van, and I shared the first row with Laurie, leg 12. We tried to sleep but it was hard to get comfortable. I was really  not looking forward to my last leg which was 8.1 miles and gradual uphill the whole way. I didn't know what to expect but wanted to try and break 7 minute pace.

 

I started around 6:30 a.m. The temps were again great. I started out feeling really good. I averaged 6:30's the first 6 miles. I was very happy. This leg was beautiful on a country road with lots of rolling hills. I was starting to feel fatigued around mile 6 and just hit the wall with lack of sleep and no food in me. Mile 7 was all uphill and I ran 7:50, ouch...I just tried to hang on for the last mile. I was trying to catch a girl in front of me that started several minutes in front of me, and I closed the gap to about 20 seconds, so I was happy about that. I ended up averaging 6:47 for this leg. I was very happy to be done. Laurie then finished the race up and we were done and ready to celebrate! We ended up at 22:18 total time, for an average of 6:47 per mile over the 200 miles. We placed first in the sub-masters division (everyone over age 30) and 2nd overall. We ate an awesome breakfast and took a well needed nap before we went to the awards ceremony. We stayed in a beautiful beach house with plenty of room for the whole team and our four drivers. We walked around Seaside, ate pizza and ice cream and called it a night at 9 p.m. The next morning we ran along the beach very slowly, had another great breakfast and headed home.

I had yet again an awesome time at Hood to Coast, spending time with old friends and new friends, who all have the same passion!

Although I have had no recent race reports or blog updates I have still been getting the miles in and even set a PR at the 5K.  With some good advice from my coach Brent Bowers back in the start of the year,  I decided to target a race 10 or 12 weeks out with a proper inclination of mileage and intensity.  Together with a short taper, was hoping to reach a peak fitness for the Carlsbad 5000 in April.  This was a drastic change for myself as I am used to racing every couple weeks.  Just this past Oct, Nov, I raced two 5Ks, one 10K, one half and two marathons.  I like to race, but I wasn’t making any progress.  Jan and Feb were great, my track times were improving and was already on course for a PR at the 5K and it was still 4 weeks away.  March was a different story.  Started with a chest cold, skipping workouts and cutting mileage to help fight the cough, then decided to do a course of antibiotics, then conjunctivitis in both eyes, more antibiotics, then an ulcerated cornea requiring more meds.  I could feel my PR slipping away,  I kept training but not with the same intensity or enthusiasm.
 
I did get a great shoe by Adidas called the Tempo.  Every time I wore them I was setting a PR on my 6 mile training run.  Even with the hacking cough I would set out the door and shoot for a tempo effort but end up going flat out and setting a new best time for myself.  This kept my spirits up for Carlsbad and made me realize my fitness was still there.  It got to the point where I would only allow myself to wear the shoe once a week because I knew I would end up running way too hard and was worried I would have nothing left come race day.  Those shoes are possessed!  If your looking for a fast effort training shoe or half marathon distance race shoe you have to try them.
 
There wasn’t much of a taper to do come race time as I missed so much training in March so just stayed loose and hoped for a good day.  The male masters event was the first one of the day I believe so a short warm up and a good position near the front, everything was happening so fast.  I did get some great advice from Mike Schramm and Andrew Duncan, truth be told.   We went through the first mile at 4:50 pace or so and as comfortable as I felt I only needed about 5:05 to PR.  I decided to slow it down and stick to the goal.  I played it safe.  I regretted this at the finish line, as I looked around at my competitors with their hands on knees and some dry heaving, I didn’t suffer at all.  I did get my PR though.  15:47 and 9th overall in the masters.  I went in knowing this was a fast race.  Not so much a fast course but lots of competition and sea level.  Next year I will follow a similar training schedule but come race day I will be on the limit and hopefully closer to the front.  At the end of the day, its only 3 miles.
 
Six days later I was doing some training in Oxford, England and got the chance to visit the track where Roger Bannister broke the 4 minute mile for the first time.  Even though I didn’t run on the track it was a very inspiring location to visit as a runner and what a great city of education and athletics.  So many runners and cyclists about.  I read on a post card there are more bicycles than people in Oxford.
 
Since I've been back the Seattle Half Marathon has been the new goal and training coming along as planned.   I did receive another stand out shoe in the way of Pearl Izumi.  The Peak II.  My first trail shoe and another recommendation.  Very flexible for a trail shoe and  lots of traction which was shocking to me after trail running in a road shoe for years.  There is even a light rock plate which works wonders.  You can still feel the sharp stones but just like the shoes review mentions you don’t get that stabbing pain like you experience with a road shoe.  If your in the market for a light trail shoe read the review on the stores home page, it is spot on.
 
A shout out to my team mates for all their local victories and Wiltse for such a great finish time in Boston!  Excited to see what Erica does at Grandmas Marathon soon as her fitness is really improving.  Thanks to the store and all the staff for their support and advice.  A race recap after Seattle, June 25th.  Hopefully a PR and some coffee reviews.  I don’t like to predict times but a 1:12 ish?  Definitely doable with my current fitness and decent for a master.

Boston Race Report - Matt Wiltse

After running Boston in 2008, I couldn’t wait to come back again, but injuries and life got in the way over the past two years. The Boston Marathon has always held a special spot in my heart, as I often imagined running through Newton when I was on training runs in high school and always looked forward to issues of any running magazine that re-capped the historic race.  I still wasn’t sure if 2011 would bethe right time to return to Hopkinton or not, but when I found out how fast the race was filling up, I realized that I didn’t want to be left out and signed up over my lunch break.

This turned out to be a good decision as I had a great race and enjoyed re-connecting with some friends.

 Since my last marathon in February 2010, I’ve had a number of injuries that prevented me from running Chicago and made me cautious with my mileage.  Still, I’ve had a few good workouts over the past month to give me hope that a good marathon was still possible.  I didn’t know if my endurance would hold out past 23 miles or so, but thought I had enough experience to run a smart enough race to have a legitimate shot at a PR.  I decided to wear a 2:36:30 pace band,which would be about one minute faster than my last marathon.  I was also keeping in mind my splits from my first Boston, where I was on pace for a 2:35 or 2:36 time before hamstring cramps brought me to a stop with a mile to go.  This would be the first time I’ve run a marathon twice so I was hoping my experience would count for something.



After the walk from the bus drop-off point to Athlete’s Village, my friends and I found a spot to settle down and get ready for the race.  I had just enough time to get through the line of portapots and get my gear together for the race before heading to the starting line.  With the wind, it felt cold and I debated on how much to wear besides the usual singlet, shorts, and hat, etc.  I decided to wear my throw away gloves rather than my good ones and a friend of mine was nice enough to let me have some throw away arm warmers that he didn’t want anymore.  After a jog up to the start, I listened to the national anthem, did some strides, and headed to my corral.  It didn’t take long for me to realize that I wasn’t going to need the arm warmers at all, so they got tossed to the side of the corral.  As I stood waiting for the gun to start the race, I noticed that this was the most relaxed I’ve ever felt in the corral.  I was certainly happy to be running Boston, but I didn’t feel starstruck about it like I did the last time or nervous like I have in other marathons.  With my uncertainty about what I was capable of running, I didn’t know if that was a good thing or not.  I wasn’t sure where my fitness was and I didn’t want to get sucked out too fast so I tucked myself into the back of my corral knowing that lots of people were going to fly by in the first few miles. Before too long, the gun fired and I was heading towards the timing mats to start another Boston Marathon.



I like to go out very slow in the first mile and work my way back to pace, and I did a good job of keeping myself in check as runner after runner streamed past me (including someone in a wig).  Perhaps I did too good of a job of holding back as my first mile passed in 6:27 (mile 1 in 2008 was 6:18), but I never get worried about too slow of a pace early in a marathon.  However, I was a little worried about how my quads felt tired early in the race, but hoped it would shake out later.  During the first mile, I realized that it was plenty warm, so the throw-away gloves got tossed about 4 miles earlier than I planned.  At 3 miles, the runner on my right shouted “Go Joanie!” and when I looked to my left I saw the Olympic Gold Medalist.  My first memory of the Olympics is her winning the marathon, so I felt a little inspired at this point.  My 5K was 18:56—15 seconds slower than 2008, but I didn’t think it would be that hard to make up the time over the next 23.1 miles.



Perhaps inspired by the Joanie sighting, perhaps starting to loosen up a bit, my pace started to quicken at this point, and my mile splits were in the 5:40s as I went through Ashland and Framingham.  I wish I could say that I dropped the pace because I felt good and was eager to crank out the miles, but my legs still felt tired and I had visions of a spectacular blow-up in the hills.  I started praying for my quads to feel better at 10K or so, which I didn't think was a good sign for things to come, but it helped.  My legs still felt tired, but the fatigue seemed to lessen and the tightness in my quads went away (although every now and then some new niggles would appear to keep me from getting too comfortable).  At 10K I split 36:53—which put me 14 seconds ahead of my 2008 pace. I was a little concerned with how I felt, so I decided to dial it back a bit.  Well, my head said to dial it back… my legs had found the rate of turnover they liked and I continued to“hang out” in the upper 5:40s.



As I got to 10 miles or so, I kept thinking that at halfway, you should feel like you’ve used a third of your energy.  I was pretty sure I would exceed that, but maybe I mis-judged how much energy I have.  What’s probably more likely is that I got a much needed boost from the Scream Tunnel.  I high-fived a lot of the Wellesley College crowd, but didn’t stop for any kisses.  It was tempting, but I didn’t think my legs would want to start running again if I stopped. I reached halfway in 1:16:47 which was about 1:30 faster than 2008 and a minute quicker than what I had said was the fastest split I wanted at 13.1 miles. 

As I entered the town of Wellesley, I knew where a friend’s family was going to be and spotted them just past the halfway point.  I waved at them and they waved back.  It was nice to see some familiar faces among the crowd, and I felt uplifted by their cheers.  Even though the wind seemed to be in my face at this point, my pace picked up some more.  My Garmin started registering splits in the 5:30s, even with some slight uphill sections.  I still figured I was heading for a blow up at this point, but I also felt that there was a chance at a great race so pushing it was worth the risk.  I was surprised that I ran the hill coming out of Lower Newton Falls as well as I did, although it did take a little bit out of me.  Once again,  I got a boost at just the right time when I heard someone cheer me on by name at the 17 mile mark.  I looked at the crowd and saw the mother of one of my high school teammates (her daughter was running her first Boston).  That kept me going to the fire station and the famous Newton hills.

I knew that I didn’t have enough energy to attack them with the same vigor that I did in 2008, but I thought I could maintain a steady pace through the hills. I thought the crowds were great in this stretch and I heard a lot of people say “Go Red Rock!” and “You look strong!”  That helped me to keep chasing after people and keep my pace from falling off too much.  I could tell that the hills were biting back, and for the first time, I really started to wonder when fatigue would overcome me.  I got a side stitch at around 19.5 and had to work that out on the run.  Once I got to 20 miles, I felt that I could hang on for a big PR if I could get to the top of Heartbreak without being spent.



I did make it to the crest of the famous hill with some gas left in the tank, but certainly tired.  When I got to the same spot my hamstring first twinged in 2008, history repeated itself, although thankfully with much less intensity.  I made sure I drank at every aid station from this point in and cranked my prayers up a notch.  I hoped I could make it to the line without having to stop or slow down too much.  At this point I knew a slow-down was coming, but I hoped I could keep it under control.  I still took time to high five a few more spectators, but learned that I should be more careful high-fiving the Boston College students.  One guy high-fived me so hard it almost knocked me back up the course.  I guess he was excited for Patriots' Day.

 

There were a few hills in the closing 4 miles or so that I didn’t remember from last time, and they looked daunting when I was at their base, but I survived them and got closer and closer to the finish.  My hamstring twinges were getting more and more frequent, but I was still able to run through them, albeit not as fast as before.  When I made it through the Citgo sign without having to fall down and stretch out my leg, I took it as a good sign.  Getting through the underpass felt more difficult than I wanted it to, but I knew I didn’t have much more than 4 minutes to go at that point.  Turning on to Boylston, I fixed my eyes on the finish line and tried my best to get there without my hamstrings going out on me.  I was able to pick up my pace a bit here, but at the 26 mile mark, my left hamstring seized up.  I refused to let it stop me though, and hobbled towards the finish knowing that a big PR was right in front of me.  Thankfully, my legs help up as I crossed the line in 2:32:39, almost a 5 minute PR, and good for 121stplace.

 

As I walked down the finish area, I was certainly tired, but not as emotionally/physically wiped out as last time.  However, I did get chills (not from the wind either) when I turned the corner towards the buses where my gear was and about 50 volunteers were gathered applauding the finishers.  Boston really loves it’s marathon, and makes the runners feel like rock stars.  It was another great Boston experience for me, and I can’t wait for my next one. Hopefully, it’s not another 3 years before I’m back.

Garmin splits:

6:27-5:56-5:51-5:45-5:48-5:43-5:49-5:50-5:46-5:46  (10 miles in 58:44)
5:50-5:43-5:42-5:37-5:37-5:30-5:37-5:35-5:33-5:46  (20 miles in 1:55:17--2nd 10M in 56:33)
5:58-5:47-5:48-5:53-5:56-5:59
“0.2” @ 5:41

Official splits:

5K:      18:56

10K:    36:53

15K:    54:57

20K:    1:12:57

Half:    1:16:47

25K:    1:30:24

30K:    1:47:53

35K:    2:06:00

40K:    2:24:24

Finish: 2:32:39

Carlsbad 5000 - Erica Schramm

April 3rd, 2011

My husband and I have gone to Carlsbad the last 10 years.  I love watching all of the age group races and especially enjoy the Elite race at the end of the day. This year I decided to try the All Day 25k which is each one of the 5k's except the Elite race.

 

We got in Friday afternoon and relaxed. Saturday morning we watched the kids races which are between 400 meters for 4 y/o up to 1 mile at age 12. We relaxed in the afternoon and had dinner with about 10 of our Vegas friends, including Red Rock teammate Steve Morgan. We filled up on pasta and got to bed early. I slept really well. For some reason I wasn't too nervous this year. My goal was to run the Master's men race as my warm-up and run the rest of the four races hard.

 

The first race started at 7:05. I just ran an easy pace. It was fun to see the leaders on the other side of the road. I cheered on Steve, and Andrew Duncan from Las Vegas, who were close to the leaders. I also saw my husband and other friends. I finished in 23:32.

 

I felt fine and geared up to start the Master's Women's race which started at 8 a.m. I got some striders in and felt ready. I was hoping to be close to 18:00. The gun went off and I started with the leaders. The pace felt good. I saw the first mile in 5:34, which is a tad too fast, although I was battling back and forth with another lady and still felt strong. I finally pulled away from her, and I must have lost my focus becaue my next mile slowed considerably to a 6:03. I was thinking I was around 5:50, so I was not happy. The next lady was about 15 seconds ahead of me and behind me was about the same. I tried to keep a good attitude and stay strong and I finished at 18:23. I guess the first mile was too fast. I was happy to PR on the course, although I felt I should have been about 10-15 seconds quicker.

 

I then had a bit of a longer break before the 30-39 y/o men's race. It stared at 9:20. At first I was thinking about taking this one easy again and try hard in the next ladies race, but I saw another lady who was also doing the all day 25K and I got motivated to beat her. The gun went off and I just tried to go at a cruising pace. My first mile was 6:02, then 6:05, which wasn't too far off my last race for the second mile, which made me realize I definitely went too hard at the start. I was also surrounded by other racers which helped me as I was passing a bunch of guys. I finished in 18:52.

 

I then went back to the start line to get ready for race #4 of the day, 30-39 y/o women, which is my normal race. I ate a little food and had some protein drink, which after I started running again was not smart, as I got a bad side ache during most of this race. I went out too hard again in 5:46 and then slowed to a 6:15 and then felt my legs getting tired, but tried to stay strong and finished in 19:03. I was happy at this point as my last three races were all faster then last year's time.

 

I then went back to the start area for the last race of the day. I was very tired at this point. One of my friends, Bryan Porter was gracious enough to join me in this race. It started at 11:25 and we were off yet again. This was the 29 and under men and women and it was packed. We started out strong in 5:55, but then I totally hit the wall and was just ready to be done. I finished in 19:21. I was very pleased with the all day 25k and I stayed ahead of the other lady on the last four races. I ended up 3rd overall in the all day 25k and second female. It was a great challenge and I really enjoyed the experience. We then finished the day up by watching the Elites in world class style. We had yet again another great time with friends and running in Carlsbad.