Weekend Results: March 3rd-4th

Camille Herron won her 5th marathon at The Woodlands Marathon in 2:37:18, only 4 seconds off of her Olympic Trials PR only 7 weeks ago! Herron states, “I wore the Inov-8 233s again-- they're perfect for the marathon.”

Amber Moran did some easy* climbing this past weekend at The Mind Over Mountain Trail Race. “It was a real trail event with lots of creek crossings, lung-burning climbs (2900 ft elevation gain in 5 miles), log crossings & technical single track,” says Moran. She finished as the1st Female & 3rd overall in 1:26:22 and received title, "Queen of the

Mountain".

Peter Maksimow had and intense two weekends in a row. On Feb 25th, he headed to the USSSA Snowshoe 10K Nationals. Maksimow placed 6^th in 47:30 just missing the National Snowshoe Team by one spot.

On March 4th, Alex Nichols and Maksimow ran the Pueblo Spring Runoff, which was the CO 10 mile State Champs. Talk about stacked, Robert Chesert (13:13 5k and 2010 road 5k National Champion, who also happens to be Bernard Lagat's younger brother) won, and three other Olympic Trials Marathoners cleaned up. Peter placed 8th OA in a pretty solid 53:44. Not bad for a trail and mountain guy J Alex was just behind Peter finishing in 53:58.

Abby Mahoney (baby on board!) raced in the WAMDA (Western MA Diatetic Association) 5k on Saturday in Florence, MA. She was aiming to run 7:45s for mile splits. Abby was a bit nervous about wearing her 230s since she is now 4 months pregnant and is carrying extra weight. “Once I put them on, though, I felt like my old self. The conditions weren't great... slushy and wet, so I figured the 230s were good for these conditions,” states Mahoney. Her first mile was 7:14, which was a little fast but she figured she could keep going that pace. The 2nd mile was 6:57. “I have not run under 8 minute pace in months, so this was very surprising and encouraging to see,” says Mahoney. Her 3rd mile was another 6:57. Abby finished in 21:48... about 3-4 minutes faster than predicted. She was 2nd in her age division, 6th woman overall. Not bad for 4 months pregnant. As for Abby’s experience with her shoes, she says, “The 230s were great in the slushy, snowy, wet weather. It was also nice to know that they were comfortable even with my extra weight and center of gravity being thrown off a bit!!”

As for our CrossFit athletes, Oliver Glass is currently 109th out of 2600 in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Glass thinks his 12.1 performance could have gone a little better which would have helped his standing. Ollie states, “I anticipate to be in the the top 75 by the next workout or so. I completed workout 2 with 72 reps. I feel 100% and of course the shoes are a big part of that.”  Keep the on the throttle Ollie!

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Ugly Mudder 7.25 Mile - Maria Dalzot

Ugly Mudder 7.25m- Reading, PA

We arrived in Reading on Saturday afternoon to walk/jog the course. I have been known to wander off course on more than one occasion so it was really important to me to see the course. After seeing the layout of the climbs and the terrain, I made a plan to play it conservative for the first 3 miles and then race the last 4 miles.  Since it was a short race, I chose to wear the X-talon 190s even though there wasn't much mud when we scouted the course.

The morning of the race, we woke to sunny skies and chilly temps, reminiscent of fall cross country. The 11am start allowed for a very lax morning of stretching, coffee and the Food Network. I checked my email and to my surprise found out that Gina Lucrezi, the Inov-8 team manager, was going to be at the race! I was very excited because I had not seen Gina since we were on the NACAC team together in Mexico last July.

We left for the course early, minding the race director's warning of limited parking. After packet pick-up, we met up with Gina and did a 2.5 mile warm up. The race was scheduled to start at 11:00am, but with an unanticipated number of late registrants - 180 on race morning for a whopping total of 900 runners - the gun didn't go off until 20 minutes after the hour. I made sure to position myself well on the line because there was only about 400 meters until the trail turned into a single path up a steep hill in the woods. The gun went off and as I began my ascent up the first hill, someone stepped on the back of my shoe and suddenly I was shoeless. After several choice words because this was certainly not in my plan, I was able to slide my shoe back on without having to retie it. In the meantime, people were just pouring over top of me.  I was now stuck behind people who were way over-dressed and wearing road shoes. I desperately found a way to start passing people by running through thorn bushes and jumping over fallen branches. Thus, my first half was not conservative as planned. Luckily, I was feeling pretty good and didn't let the bit of bad luck trigger negative thoughts. I stayed focused and calm and was able to position myself in the lead at about 3 miles. From there I continued to push, never feeling like I had to walk any of the steep climbs. I loved my X-talons! I never once faltered on the rocky, leaf-covered ground, but instead glided effortlessly atop them and had plenty of bite for the unexpectedly muddy second half of the race. Everyone raves about the X-talon 190s, no news there, so let me also tell you that I loved the ProSoc 22. What a combination! I finished as the first female, 19^th overall in 58:56. It was a great way to start my racing year. We celebrated with complementary pancakes and scrambled eggs, and I was able to catch up with Gina.  Next up, Hell's Hills 25k in Texas on April 7^th.

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Team inov-8 2012: Maria Dalzot

1) Primary sport (s): Trail, Mountain Running and Cross Country

2)  Team member since: 2012

3) City/state of residence: Morgantown, WV

4) Occupation: Master's Degree Student in Human Nutrition and Dietetic Intern at West Virginia University

5) Goals for 2012:

• Defend my NACAC Title
• Enjoy a jog up the Mountains of Temù and Ponte di Legno
• Compete in the Mountain Cup Series

6) Notable achievements/memories/PR’s in your sport:

• 2011 NACAC Mountain Running Champion
• 2011 USATF 10k Trail Championship runner-up
• Team Member of the 2007 Big East Cross Country Champions 

7) Favorite inov-8 gear:

• Roclite™ 286 GTX
• X-TALON™ 190

8) List one thing others may not know about you: I have a crush on Michael Palin.

9) Favorite energy drink/food: Peanut butter and banana sandwich with yogurt, coffee, GU

10) Your favorite race/event and why? I am most comfortable running cross country races, but after gaining more experience competing in technical, high caliber trail and mountain races, I feel that those will quickly take precedence. Mt. Chupinaya will always hold a special place in my heart.

11) Advice to other athletes: Don't be afraid to stray from "The Plan." Often times, when training at such a high caliber, injuries and life can cause a kink in your schedule. Runners are generally not the most flexible people, literally and figuratively. But in order to get back on track, you have to be able to modify and adjust accordingly. 

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