My first bike race!

I rode the short course.

Fun times!





Pre-race photo with my Fezzari Shafer aluminum gravel bike:


Photo credit: Cathy Bester

I finished the 47 mile course in under 3 hours (2:54:12).

I was happy to avoid any mishaps, learned that I am a pretty good climber, and that I need to start closer to the front.

Results:

https://southeastgravel.com/pages/202...on-results

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/7479985447

Here is a late race report from a 4th of July race I ran, the Red, White, and Blue Shoes 5k. Organized by the Greenville Track Club, the race was held on the Furman University campus and is probably the largest 5k in which I have participated (over 800 finishers).


Photo credit: Cathy Bester


Photo credit: Cathy Bester


Photo credit: Cathy Bester

Considering the name of the race I wore my blue Inov-8 Bare-X Lite 150 shoes:


Photo credit: Cathy Bester



I finished in a time of 19:45 which was good enough to win my age group.

Results:

https://runsignup.com/Race/Results/43...tId-326859

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/7413498862

Last month I ran the United Community Bank 44th Reedy River Run 10k in Greenville, South Carolina.

Not much to say except I feel like I had a good race and gave a good effort. The course is really nice, with the start and finish on city streets in the downtown area and the middle of the race on paved trails near the river.

The 6th mile is a long long gradual uphill climb!

Photo credit: Pace Magazine (via Facebook)

And finally a nice downhill sprint to the finish:


Photo credit: Stephen Moore


I was able to win my age group with a finish time of 38:36, averaging 6:13 per mile. I wore Saucony Endorphine carbon "super shoes" but not sure if they made a difference. I received a piece of artwork for the age group award:



Greenville has some fast runners, so if I want to break into the overall awards I have some work to do.

The race was held on April 23, 2022, results are posted:

https://runsignup.com/Race/Results/32...erpage:100

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/7027385728

My goal was to run under 1 hour... and with a furious kick... I made it!


Photo Credit: Marathon Photos Live


Photo Credit: Marathon Photos Live

My training leading up to the race went well. I did a lot of hill training and a fair amount of tempo and speed work.

We stayed in the race hotel by the river which made race morning so much less stressful.




More...

I was definitely not fresh for the Life South Half Marathon 2022, having two hard workouts earlier in the week. I wanted to use this as a hard training effort in preparation for an upcoming race and I feel good that I accomplished what I set out to do. I hit my expected paces and felt strong on the hills, happy that my hill training seems to be paying off.

Photo credit: BB Action Photo

I cranked the pace down after the midway point, suffered a bit after the big hill on 16th Ave, but pushed hard to the finish.


Photo credit: BB Action Photo


Photo credit: Justin Keefe

I enjoyed the free post-race beer:



Finished in 1:28:13, averaging 6:44 per mile.



T-shirt, medal, and Topo ST-3 shoes:



Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/6712494412

For the 2022 Newnan's Lake 15k, the story of the day was the weather... cold and breezy. With the temperature in the high 30s plus variable amount of wind chill it was hard to decide what to wear. Some people were all bundled up and later regretted it. I think I chose wisely... tights and a lightweight long sleeve shirt, thin hat and gloves. Occasionally I pushed my hat up over my ears to modulate the temperature but then the breeze kicked in and I pulled the hat back down, glad to have it on my head!

The ladies field was strong. I had to kick hard to keep from getting passed by the 4th place woman who is barely visible as a grey blur over my shoulder in this photo of my sprint to the finish:


Photo credit: Doug Waldo

Finish time was 1:00:24, averaging under 6:30 per mile. I ran a pretty steady race, actually a bit faster than I thought I would be able to go.



Official results:

https://results.raceroster.com/en-US/...3kdbrn422d

Long-sleeve race t-shirt and my Inov-8 Bare-X Lite 150 racing shoes: