I ran this race 5 years ago, when I was about 4 months postpartum. I remember liking it, loving running through nature. This year I sort of defaulted to it - I wanted something in late January, and it was close-ish to home.
I should begin by saying: I have NOT been running. I mean not at all. Not since the Santa Stampede 5K back in early December. So the trail run also appealed to me because I knew it would naturally be slower than a normal 5K, and I'd need to walk around obstacles, etc, so I figured I would both survive and also not get too caught up in time.
The folks that organize this race are super laid back, so I try to go into it with that attitude. There were conflicting messages about timing, etc - I just went with it. They are also very reasonable - they ended up doing two starts so no one got screwed by their conflicting messages. Good people.
Start of the race: indoor restrooms and a swingset for the Z = WINNING. Packet pick-up was quick and easy once I figured out where to go. Race briefing held next to the generator without a megaphone = inaudible. All I got was go right where the 10 milers go left. Cross my fingers!
And we were off. Ran just a little bit on the road, over the bridge, and then into the woods. I started quite near the back and by some miracle, I started just at the appropriate place - very little passing or getting passed. Once we were in the woods, I was behind two women who were clearly going to chat the whole time. They were right about the same speed as me, but their chatting was interrupting my silence, and they were choosing to walk in some spots where I still wanted to run, so I made a pass as soon as I could. That was actually a mistake, since I could hear their chatting even louder from in front of them. It was frustrating me so badly that I finally pulled over to the side and waited for them to pass me and let them get over a hundred yards ahead of me before I continued on so I wouldn't have to listen to them. (I figured out after I saw the results that this along with one other thing probably cost me a PR, but whatever, it was worth it.) Then I was running along in beautiful woods and lovely silence. I glanced at my watch and realized I had been running for 10 minutes, but I felt no need for a break. I lightfooted over some roots and some icky ground and felt goooooood. Very good. I did have a trip and a gentle twist of my right ankle on a tree root somewhere before I passed the chatters, but it wasn't an issue.
Then I heard the thump of someone falling in front of me and I came back on one of the chatters on the ground. I slowed, but she was already being helped and insisting that she was fine, so I passed hoping to get far enough ahead to not have to listen to her again.
Eventually in this race you come out onto a dirt/gravel road and run maybe a mile on it. Everyone was well spread out at this point. All the turns and trails were well marked, and even though I spent a lot of time running alone I never worried that I was lost.
At the 2 mile aid station, I turned right for the 5K when the 10 milers went left. I didn't feel the need for water and so ran through the aid station - at this point I hadn't stopped for any walk breaks other than 5-10 steps here and there to get around mud spots. There weren't too many mud spots this year. Eventually I turned left off the road and back into the woods. This was the only turn that was poorly marked - the sign was about 20 feet past the turn, and I was assuming that I'd be turning AT the sign. One of the volunteers was yelling at me to turn left and I was thinking, "I know, but I'm not there yet" when it turns out I had already passed it. Anyways, that was quickly fixed and I was back in the woods.
The second woody section was harder. I don't pick up my feet as well towards the end and I was struggling more with my footing. My quads were starting to feel dead. At some point I looked at my watch and I had been running more than 30 minutes and I was SO PLEASED that my endurance was so good on zero run specific training. Shortly after that I tripped and twisted my left ankle HARD. I ran a few more steps and every heel strike on the left killed me, so I took my first and only real walk break to try to shake it off. This was factor 2 in my lack of PR, but nothing I would/could have done differently.
I started running again after a minute or two, then got passed by a 20 miler (wow!) on her first loop. She chatted a bit and then I could see the finish line. P and Z took my picture as I ran by and then it was over.
Here follows the disappointment: there was supposed to be BBQ at the end, and beer. None of that was ready. We hung out about 45 minutes and it STILL wasn't ready and I was starting to get shaky due to hunger, so we left. That really needs to be better done for next time. I remember when I finished a few years ago everyone was already eating - what happened???
Anyways, yesterday I checked the results and 38:48 - missed a PR by 34 seconds. But, BUT I WON MY AGE GROUP!!!! Ok, now, granted, there were only 4 women in the 30-39 age group. BUT I WON IT! And by 4 minutes, too! I'm totally stunned and I don't care how many qualifiers I attach or how few people were there, this is really cool for me!
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