| Date/Location: | January 1, 2013 – Auburn, CA |
| Distances: | Hill Climb – 1st Climb 3miles up Old Foresthill Road; 2nd Climb 1.2miles Foresthill Bridge to Lincoln Way 10m @ Resolution Run |
| Time: |
Hill Climb (PR 17:02, 2012) – 18:14 RR Run (PR 1:16:04, 2011) – 1:26:54 |
| Place: | Hill Climb – 2nd woman (non-age graded) RR Run – 3rd W30-39 |
| Teammates: | Hill Climb: Dave Malicoat, Eric, Flor Hodges, Jesse Warda, Jessica Bonner, Karen Nickel, Lance Loveday,Troy Soares 10Mile: Bryan Hacker, Dave Campbell, Lesley Hackett, Mo Bartley 10K: Lance Loveday, Scott Eckardt, Tom Barrett 5K: Anna & Troy Soares, Desiree Swift, Karen Nickel, Mason & Christine Kelly |
It's our annual challenge, biking up mountains & running up hills, all on a morning when most people sleep in. It's such a good way to start the year! Despite not climbing many hills lately, I'm ready to see how I rank this year.
Familiar diehards, Lance Loveday, David Malicoat, Karen Nickel, and Jessica Bonner are here. Jesse Warda and Eric are also game, along with Flor Hodges, and her husband, Rob, who has offered to time us up the hills.
The Bike
It's a chilly morning but bright and sunny. We start the warm-up (or freeze-up) down Auburn-Folsom. The ladies turn on Power House and the men on Newcastle. We all meet up on the Glenview climb for our practice. Lance, Jesse & Eric make it look easy, but it feels hard to me. On Indian Hill we all group up while Lance looks for Kayden at his house. No sighting.
I fall behind while putting on booties. I remember we didn't pray for the ride beforehand so say a pray now. It's so easy getting caught up with the fun of an event, but we know that safety and satisfaction come first from the Lord and that's what we want for this ride. I meet up with everyone at the Confluence after a scenic cruise down Hwy 49. We toss our warm gear to Rob Hodges and line up in order for the wave start. At the top, our times will be age and gender adjusted according to national standards. This means male & female times will be adjusted as if everyone was a 30-yr-old-male. The first to go is Robin and she's off! Then Jessica, Flor & Karen. Then David Malicoat. I stretch and review the plan: Take it easy at the beginning (it's steep), think about the spin-cycle rather than pushing hard on the pedals, wait for the 1/2-way point, surge on the flat and finish strong.
Climb #1: I begin with a rolling start while Lance, Jesse & Eric begin from the line. Did I not tell them that was allowed? They quickly pass me and form a paceline, pulling ahead on the steep section. That's gotta be hurting by now, going fast on this climb early is painful. They're pulling farther ahead but I have hope of catching at least one of them later on.
Far up the road I can see some of the ladies. Will we catch any of them? At 1/2 way, I've caught David and Karen is just ahead. It's very hard work but I'm on the plan. I see Eric within reach. But when I hit the flat section, after passing Karen, I don't have any snap in my legs to pick up the cadence. It's not the surge I wanted. In fact, my legs are barely hanging together as I try to keep up some speed on the final climb. Eric has pulled ahead and no sign of the other ladies. I finish at the top gasping for air, but glad to see Rob and the others that finished cheering me in.
| Female/Male Age/Gender-Graded Times | ||||
| Name | Age | Place | Time | Pace (mph) |
| Lance Loveday | 41 | 1 | 13:56 | 12.9 |
| Flor Hodges | 26 | 2 | 13:57 | 12.9 |
| Robin Soares | 38 | 3 | 14:04 | 12.8 |
| Jessica Bonner | 23 | 4 | 14:34 | 12.4 |
| Eric | 43 | 5 | 15:09 | 11.9 |
| Troy Soares | 44 | 6 | 15:23 | 11.7 |
| Jesse Warda | 38 | 7 | 15:35 | 11.6 |
| Karen Nickel | 33 | 8 | 16:13 | 11.1 |
| Dave Malicoat | 55 | 9 | 17:16 | 10.4 |
Climb #2: After rolling down to the bridge and enjoying the beautiful views on this clear day (and helping Eric fix a flat), we're ready for climb #2. Because of the bridge construction and only 1 lane open, we'll start together and paceline across if possible. Rob brings up the rear with the car. Lance is leading out with Eric & Jesse on his wheel. I fall back off the blistering pace. Flor & Robin are close behind. The climb up Raley's hill isn't long or steep but after coming off the flat bridge, the immediate change of grade is shocking. I slow down quickly. Ugh! Soon Flor and Robin both pass me. Good job! I think I lost too much energy on the first climb. Up ahead I can see Jesse taking the lead and Eric and Lance going back and forth. 2/3 of the way up I keep a good cadence and pass Robin & Flor and do one last push to the top. Ouch! That effort hurts. So good to be done, though! Rob gives us our times and we head back to the Overlook.
| Female/Male Age/Gender-Graded Times | ||||
| Name | Age | Place | Time | Pace (mph) |
| Robin Soares | 38 | 1 | 04:52 | 14.8 |
| Flor Hodges | 26 | 2 | 05:06 | 14.1 |
| Lance Loveday | 41 | 3 | 05:07 | 14.1 |
| Jesse Warda | 38 | 4 | 05:11 | 13.9 |
| Eric | 43 | 5 | 05:13 | 13.8 |
| Jessica Bonner | 23 | 6 | 05:21 | 13.5 |
| Troy Soares | 44 | 7 | 05:49 | 12.4 |
| Karen Nickel | 33 | 8 | 06:04 | 11.9 |
| Dave Malicoat | 55 | 9 | 06:11 | 11.7 |
We have some good chats and Jessica remembers that Rob was her Basketball coach during High School. Funny thing is that Rob was my Wrestling coach during High School. He was also my boss when I worked at Humpty Dumpty's Kitchen and even my Bible Study leader during those years. That guy is really involved in the foothills community!
| TOTAL BIKE RESULTS Female/Male Age/Gender-Graded Times | ||||
| Name | Age | Place | Time | Pace (mph) |
| Robin Soares | 38 | 1 | 18:56 | 13.3 |
| Flor Hodges | 26 | 2 | 19:03 | 13.2 |
| Lance Loveday | 41 | 3 | 19:03 | 13.2 |
| Jessica Bonner | 23 | 4 | 19:55 | 12.7 |
| Eric | 43 | 5 | 20:22 | 12.4 |
| Jesse Warda | 38 | 6 | 20:45 | 12.1 |
| Troy Soares | 44 | 7 | 21:13 | 11.9 |
| Karen Nickel | 33 | 8 | 22:17 | 11.3 |
| Dave Malicoat | 55 | 9 | 23:27 | 10.7 |
The Run
I'm glad to have my daughter, Anna, as part of my relay this year. Last year I did the bike and the 10mi run and that was brutal. Anna wanted to do the 5k and someone has to run with her so I volunteered. This is going to work out great :) Meanwhile, Robin is taking on the Beast, the 10mi hilly trail run. Dave Campbell is here to put the pressure on her. Lance is running the 10k.. his only run of the year.
Go! Anna I start out with a 10 min pace. Our plan is that I'll pace her at 10min pace on the decent, 12 across the bottom and about 14 back up to the finish. We've also tried to minimize what she drank beforehand to help the nasty side aches she gets. The first mile is all downhill and we're doing well in the middle of the pack. But her side starts to hurt, as well as her shoulder. We discover it's the downhill that brings on the pains. She's a trooper and tries breathing easier and relaxing to get through it.
Mile1: 10:29. A little off our pace, due to the side aches. Along the bottom, with more gentle rolling hills, she's still struggling on the down sections. She wants to walk and is losing desire to push the pace. Right at the perfect time, her friend Mason Kelly comes by with his mom, Christine. "Mason!" Thanks, God, this was just what Anna needed. She immediately picks it up and they start running together.
Mile 2: 12:49. We're a minute behind but as we start climbing, the side aches go away and Anna and Mason are doing great! Anna shows Mason how she takes water at the aid station and pours some on her head. Then she feels her 2nd wind and start taking off up the trail. Mason had slowed to drink and now him & I are trying to catch up to Anna. I was encouraging him and telling him about the food at the end waiting for him. Maybe I distracted him because at that moment he tripped and fell pretty hard. He just wanted to walk with his mom for a while now, so I sprinted off to try to catch Anna.
It's a steep hill coming out of the Western States Trail. I'm huffing and puffing while I pass other runners, looking ahead for Anna. I really hoped she could get 40min today to beat her old time of 54. It's a big jump but I know she's capable. But I can't see her.. which is a good sign. I pass a woman and tell her good job. She says, "I'm just trying to keep up with the girl in the yellow shirt". That's Anna, so I say, "I am, too". I see Anna across a ravine running well. Good job, Anna!
Finally I catch her and give her some water. We see 2 girls ahead. 1 in pink who looks like Anna's age. I cheer for them and tell Anna that the girl in pink might be in 3rd place. Anna's legs are "burning" she says and she wants to walk. She pushes through. I'm so proud of her. I also remind her that Ariel is waiting to run the final stretch with her. We come out of the trees and there is Ariel with a big smile ready to run. That is a huge help. Anna pushes as hard as she can to stay with Ariel. They run together through the parking lot and then there's the clock! It says 39 min. I watch and take a picture as Anna and Ariel run to it. "Go, Anna, Go". It looks like 40 min when she goes through. Wow, she did it! Thanks, God, for putting all the right motivations in place for her. I'm also thankful that Anna was so encouraging to others out there.
| Resolution Run | ||||
| 5k Times | ||||
| Name | Dist | Place | Time | Pace (mph) |
| Karen Nickel | 3.1 | 1 | 28:15 | 09:07 |
| Desiree Swift | 3.1 | 4 | 35:57 | 11:36 |
| Anna Soares | 3.1 | 7 | 40:04 | 12:55 |
| 10k Times | ||||
| Name | Dist | Place | Time | Pace (mph) |
| Lance Loveday | 6.2 | 6 | 56:16 | 09:05 |
| 10mi Times | ||||
| Name | Dist | Place | Time | Pace (mph) |
| Dave Campbell | 10 | 1 | 1:15:06 | 07:31 |
| Robin Soares | 10 | 3 | 1:26:54 | 08:41 |
First thing Anna does is lay down on the grass. Probably because I always tell her that's a promise I make to myself during Ironman races… "if I keep pushing, I can just lay down on the grass when I'm done". The next think she does… eat race food. She loves the after-race food.
Anna placed 7th in the run & I placed 7th in the age-graded bike. Together (14), we placed 3rd in the relay division. A great way to start the New Year :)
| New Years Challenge Combined Results | |||||||
| INDIVIDUAL | |||||||
| Bike Age-Graded | Run | Combined | |||||
| Name | Age | B Time | B Pl | R Time | R Plc | Plc | Award |
| Robin Soares | 38 | 18:56 | 1 | 1:26:54 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| Lance Loveday | 41 | 19:03 | 3 | 0:56:16 | 6 | 9 | 2 |
| Karen Nickel | 33 | 22:17 | 8 | 0:28:15 | 1 | 9 | 2 |
| RELAY | |||||||
| Bike Age-Graded | Run | Combined | |||||
| Biker | Runner | B Time | B Pl | R Time | R Plc | Plc | Award |
| Jessica Bonner | Desiree | 19:55 | 4 | 0:35:57 | 4 | 8 | 1 |
| Dave Malicoat | Dave C. | 23:27 | 9 | 1:15:06 | 1 | 10 | 2 |
| Troy Soares | Anna | 21:13 | 7 | 0:40:04 | 7 | 14 | 3 |
| Flor Hodges | NoName | 19:03 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 17 | |
| Eric | NoName | 20:22 | 5 | 0 | 15 | 20 | |
| Jesse Warda | NoName | 20:45 | 6 | 0 | 15 | 21 | |
| Name | Race | Place | Time |
| Anna & Troy Soares | 5K | 7th | 40:03 |
| Mason & Christine Kelly | 5K | 10th | 43:36 |
| Karen Nickel | 5K | 1st | 28:15 |
| Desiree Swift | 5K | 4th | 35:57 |
| Tom Barrett | 10K | 1st | 45:58 |
| Lance Loveday | 10K | 6th | 56:16 |
| Scott Eckardt | 10K | 3rd | 1:02:39 |
| Bryan Hacker | 10M | 2nd | 1:10:01 |
| Dave Campbell | 10M | 1st | 1:15:05 |
| Mo Bartley | 10M | 1st | 1:21:27 |
| Robin Soares | 10M | 3rd | 1:26:54 |
| Lesley Hackett | 10M | 2nd | 1:30:14 |