Mud Mountain 5K Recap

Just wanted to give a quick weekend update before jumping into this busy week. This is going to be a crappy blog entry because I still feel like poop from the weekend and quite frankly don’t remember all the details. Tim was back in town, so we did it up like we know best – 188%. Friday, met up with him for dinner and drinks, stayed out WAY too late especially with the race early next morning.

Race Morning

Saturday morning, was awoken by Stacy’s phone call, then got ready for the race. Weather was sprinking all morning and was a bit overcast. The Mud Mountain 5K is over at SIUE – typical cross country race which starts on a huge grass field, then navigates through the woods and some pretty crazy hills. They had an amazing turnout this year, in fact a record of 647 runners, so was excited to see so many people.

At the Start

Did a quick warmup with Stacy and Tim at the start, was not feeling too hot, drank a ton of water and lined up towards the back. Was already starting to get humid and sticky outside despite the clouds, so wasn’t happy about that. Lined up, got ready for a painful race, and away we went!

Mile By Mile Report

Mile 1 - First mile is actually more of a downhill grade, but weaves around a ton. Kind of regretted lining up so far in the back, as we were running through a mob trying to establish position. About halfway through the first mile, watched a girl lose her breakfast right in the middle of the race, so swerved to avoid that. Went up a small hill, then went down a pretty steep decline where Tim completely kicked into 5th gear and zoomed ahead. Looked down at Garmin and realized we were going much faster than I anticipated, so was trying to get myself mentally prepared for this. Settled into a more rhythmic pace, felt ok. [Mile 1 – 7:30]

Mile 2 - Started to feel more looser, but then this is where the course gains its reputation for being one of the toughest in the region. Punishing hill after hill. At this point, we were still passing a lot of people, so was weaving in and out. Tim had started to slow down a little, so was trying not to get too carried away. Hills didn’t feel too terrible, but were still punishing. Was counting down the minutes till the end. [Mile 2 – 8:13]

Mile 3 and Finish - Last 1.1 miles, finally stopped having to weave in and out, hit the hills slow but gained back speed on the straightaways. We actually jumped on the bike trail for a second, then weaved back to the final stretch where you have to run up a long slow hill to the finish. Passed the 3 mile marker, was yelling at Tim for a closing kick. He got the message, picked it up pretty well, hit the finish hard and he outleaned me for the victory. [Final Time – 25:19.3 (Tim was 25:19.1)]

RESULTS

Peter Kim M29
Clock Time 25:19.1
Overall Place 239/547
Gender Place ?
Division Place ?

Pace 8:02/Mile

Final Thoughts

Happy having run a tough 5K that morning, accomplished my task of getting in some miles for the day. Course was difficult as I remembered it, and will be back again someday to give it a go. Fun to run with Tim and Stacy, she was not too pleased about the hills but finished in a respectable time. Wasn’t terribly happy about getting outkicked by Tim at the end, but fair is fair and he gets props but don’t rest on your laurel’s too long Timmy, because I’m coming after you ;) We hung out afterwards talking with some friends, then stayed for the awards ceremony and took off.

Headed back to my place for a victory bloody mary and some wii, hung out for a little bit and got cleaned up. Went over to Tim’s parents house for a pool day and BBQ. Last year we did this, and had awful weather – completely opposite this time around, as the sun came out and we enjoyed a really fun day just hanging out. Got scalded by the sun, drank waaaay too much sangria and bud light, but still had an amazing time. Thanks to the Allison’s for hosting us!!!!

Woke up the next morning pretty much regretting life. Had left my car over at Tim’s the night before and caught a ride home with Pat, so decided since I was scheduled to get in 16 miles that day to try to get some of it out of the way. Weather was SUNNY and hot – mid 80’s, ugh. Ran to the bike trail, and headed towards Maryville/Troy area. Started out at a decent pace, but nothing too crazy. Felt like crap, but running surprisingly didn’t feel too awful. Right around the 3rd mile, the sun started to take its toll on me, and contemplated slowing down. Went over a bridge, saw a couple runners way ahead, then my competitive instincts took over and I guess my stupid body decided I was going to catch and pass them. Well I picked up the pace, and a mile later succeeded in catching them but at a great cost as I officially felt dead. I thought Tim’s place was about 6 miles away, but was more like 7 and just struggled the last 2 miles. Wasn’t much shade once I got off the trail, and the weather was just punishing me. Walked/ran in certain places, was completely out of gas plus legs were just done. Finally made it over, got my car, grabbed a quick lunch, then back to bed. Total a.m. miles: 7 miles - splits averaged 8-9 minute miles

Slept for a few hours, didn’t feel too much better but really wanted to get in my 16. If I cheated on the first week, that would just be BAD. Around 7ish, it had cooled down some so decided to brave the elements. Felt considerably better starting out, but legs felt like I had done 7 grueling miles earlier so was trying to be conservative. Ran the same route I did in the morning, looped back and had thoughts of getting in 13 miles. At mile 7, legs started to get that really heavy feeling, so had to walk a little. Started to really feel crappy, and was losing the fight with the sun, so was forced to pick it up so I wasn’t stranded in the dark on the heavily wooded trail. Walk/ran the last mile, started to feel a little dizzy and ended my run abruptly. Total p.m. miles: ~10 - splits factoring in walking averaged about 9 minute miles.

So I got in 17 for the day, I guess somewhat impressive considering my condition but not happy I had to split it up. Have a long run of 17 miles this week, but in a wedding in Chi so need to get it in sometime on Thursday or Friday because it isn’t going to happen over the weekend. After run #2, showered and stretched, and watched Entourage with Pat and Crystal. So got in about 41 miles last week, pretty good for week 1 of marathon training but could have been better.

Friday night Shenanigans


Pool Party!