Last Saturday I ran the DINO 15k in Avon. Once again the weather could not have been better. The course is a 5k loop repeated three times. The course was changed a little from previous years. I liked the new course. The changes made the course a little longer than it was last year so comparing results is impossible. My main goal was to stay conservative at the start, to not get burned out in the first quarter mile like I have a bad habit of doing. I started a little further back in the pack than I normally do and since this course gets bottled up in single track trail within a couple hundred yards taking it easy was, well, easy. I wasn’t able to start putting the hammer down until past the one mile mark. This strategy seemed to work out well for me. I didn’t burn out early and the first lap was my slowest. Laps two and there were about the same. I think I ran well and finish in 1:10:11 which was good enough for 2nd place in my age group. My time was a little slower than last year at this race, but it was a different course so I can’t really compare the two.
Next race is the Mini Marathon in Indianapolis in two weeks. Unfortunately last Tuesday at the Indy Runners Mini Training program I pulled my left calf. We were at mile 5 of a 10 mile run when it happened. Fortunately there was a water stop set up at 5 miles and I was able to get a ride back to the start area. I’ve been nursing it all week with ice, ibuprofen and “The Stick”. It is feeling better, but definitely not 100%. We have an 11 mile run this Tuesday which I probably shouldn’t do, but we’ll see. I had planned to do about four hours on the trails today, but that’s not going to happen. I’m ready for the mini, but haven’t been able to train as I would have liked. Of course a bigger concern is Dances with Dirt the week after the Mini. I don’t know if I’m ready for that.
Photos by Michelle Craig Photography
