100k WC 2011

100k WC 2011

Gagarin Half Finish

Gagarin Half Finish
Gagarin Half Finish

Awards Gagarin Half

Awards Gagarin Half
Awards Gagarin Half

Cosmonauts give out the awards:)

Cosmonauts give out the awards:)
Cosmonauts give out the awards

snowshoe

snowshoe

Sunday, November 9, 2014

From Valmiera to Chicago and Everywhere in Between!

I have been too busy travelling and racing to keep up here. I had started a Valmiera report just before leaving for the US last month and just got too busy to keep up. In six weeks, I have done 2 marathons and a 50k and several races in between in three countries and 2 continents, so, yeah, I've been busy. Here is what my fall season has looked like since Sept 21:
Valmiera
28-09 Marina Rodchenkova's 4.5k HILLY run on the course we had the hilly 10k earlier
5-10 Autmn Thunder -Trail Half
12-10 Chicago Marathon (totally unplanned and on a whim )
19-10 Care For Breast Cancer 5k Woodstock, Il
26-10 Shannon McNamara 5k Rolling Meadows, Il (xc)
1-11 Chicago Lakefront 50/50

In short, it's been no rest for the wicked.
So, this year Valmiera was a little better than last year, but I had a scary issue. I was doing fine and at about 36 37k I started feeling not right. Something to the effect of tummy issues and nausea. With so little left to go, I just pushed through it. Bless Anita Leipina's heart for pacing me in th last 4-5k We ran 100k Worlds together in 2012. The stomach thing was scary. After I got back to my room about 30 min later, I definitely must have eaten smthg. I was passing blood and that finally settlend down after a couple hours but not totally until the next day. Still not sure how that happened. Valmiera is never an easy race because the course is not easy peasy. I ended up 5th overall and 1st master here.






Marnia Rodchenkova's 4+k HILLLLLLS!
I took an easy week after Valmiera and next speed session was 7 days later on the hills I ran the 10k before Valmiera. Marina is a former xc world champion and still looks great and is in damn good shape. She finished not too far behind me! She used to be on the national team with my coach back in the day- really nice person. She did a great job putting on a nice competitive race (the kind where there is more running and less show). I am a bit sick of the less running more show types of races we have seen in Moscow over the past couple seasons. I prefer the honest competitive ones. I finished 7th overall and first masters at this one and managed to have an overall pace of 4 min/km on a tough tough course. That's faster than I was pre Valmiera!


Autumn Thunder XC Half
5-10
After Marina's run, I returned to regualar training for the Chicago 50k Nov,1. I felt good and was going to use this half as a tempo training type run to prepare myself for the 50. I got off to a decent start and felt well, but at 12,13k once again tummy troubles started brewing. My coach suspected chicken I had the day before but who knows. All I know is that with 3-4 k to go I was eyeing bushes and immediately ducked into them after the finish. WTH? Finished in distress just over 1:30. 2 races marred by tummy issues in 2 weeks...ugh.



Next posts will cover my racing in the US ;=)



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snowshoe

snowshoe