Cassandra's Running Page

In an attempt to keep myself motivated, I've made a training page.

Races in my Near Future:

Looking for some nearby races to do in the next few weeks.... maybe more like 5 miles or less to take a break from high mileage races.  If you know of any good races in Laramie and surrounding areas email me:  cassandrapaul@hotmail.com

Races I've run:

As the Crow Flies Race: 10/29/05 Happy Jack Rd, WY Map Results Pictures

This was a really fun race.  This year it was a free event put on by fellow WART member Gail.  The race was different in the sense that it was a check point (token) race.  You had three places to go and pick up proof that you were there.  So the route was up to you, and the tokens could be picked up in any order.  When the gun went off (actually someone just shouted 'GO!') people took off in all directions.  My friend Sarah and I decided to go for the furthest one first.  (This also happened to be the one where we had the least idea of where it was.)  Oh and I neglected to mention, since the race was so close to Halloween, racers were urged to participate in costume.  Sarah and I dressed like super heroes.... and went pretty much all out... head to toe in spandex, I wore face paint, and Sarah even had a cape! However when we got there, we found that we were some of the few people that had taken the plea to dress up seriously. So there we were, running through the woods dressed as super heroes.  We must have looked pretty funny.... every hiker we passed laughed at us, and because everyone took off in all directions, no one thought we were in a race.... just out for a nice jog in our capes and face paint.  Great.  Anyways, we had many adventures, I fell in a bog and dirtied my unitard. (How many people can say that?!) We took 5 min to cross a stream only to find out when we reached the other side, that a bridge lay not 20 ft from where we crossed.  Oh and we got hopelessly lost for about 45 min. At one point we even decided to split up and each run in opposite directions for 5 minutes to see if we could figure out where we were, or better yet, where we were going.   Even with all that, we managed to be the first place females!  (Well actually one team came before us, but we went the extra miles to pick up a time bonus that took 20 min off of our time, and that therefore placed us three minutes ahead of the other team.)  It took us 2hrs and 27min to finish the course, but had we done any planning or reconnaissance, we think a solid 45 min at least could have been taken off of our time... oh and maybe if we didn't sing our own super hero songs, we could have been faster.... but I doubt it.  Theme songs always make super heroes move faster right?  Our prize for winning?  A belt buckle with the picture of an elk on it.  Classic Wyoming!

Silent Trails Race 10/08/2005 Tie City, Happy Jack Rd, WY Results Pictures

This race is beautiful.  It's a 10 mile race through the woods in Happy Jack recreational area. It's run in memory of the 8 cross country runners on the UW team that died in September of 2001.  Because my toes are still recovering from the Jelm race, (yes still)  I knew I wouldn't be able to hammer the down hills, and instead decided to use the race as a workout and go fast on the up hills while jogging the down hills. It was frustrating.  I did not have a very good race.  I ran slower than last year by quite a bit, and even though I'd like to blame in on the 2:30 in the morning drum concert that my down stairs neighbors decided to have the night before, I know it's my fault.  Last year I died around the 7 mile mark, so this year I tried to take it out a little more slowly.  It didn't really help.  My head wasn't in the race, and there were a few times I actually forgot I was racing, and thought instead I was out for a nice jog.  Oh yeah, and I fell.... hard.  This is not the most groomed course I've ever seen.  So it was too bad I didn't race well, but it was a good workout anyway, and that's what I set out to do, so I can't be too disappointed.  Don't let my experience discourage you from the race.  It really is one everyone should try, the course is fun, it's coordinated well, and there are great prizes at the end. A few of my friends raced it too, and they all did well.

Jelm Mountain Race: 09/17/2005 Jelm Mountain, Woods Landing, WY Results Pictures

I love this race!  This is the second year I've done this race.  It's 5.5 miles up to the top of Jelm mountain and then 5.5 miles back to the bottom.  It's on a road up to the observatory (WIRO) which holds a special place in my heart because I've worked up there many nights.  The course has an elevation gain of about 2000 ft (topping out at 9656 ft).  It has some beautiful views all the way up, because the road isn't too 'tree enclosed.'  It's particularly fun because it's an out and back course, so you can cheer everyone else in the race on, and even though it's out an back the way back is significantly faster than the way there. (For me, 67 minutes up, 38 minutes down.)  On the way down I ran so fast down some of the hills that my toes slammed into the front of my shoes.  I did the crazy runner thing and ignored the pain, and I paid for it later... never had bruised toes before.  Oh well.  It paid off, I passed 4 people over the final 2 miles, and my time was between five and ten minutes faster than last years time.  I ran 1:45 and came in fourth woman over all.

Dog Gone Race: 09/11/05 Optimist Park Laramie, WY

Should have been a fast course, but the race wasn't measured properly, the real distance was probably much closer to four miles than 5K.  I felt tired, and didn't have a good race, but still managed to pull off second place female.