This was kind of a spontaneous race sign up for me, but
turned out to be a pretty good decision. I was a little apprehensive because I
had just raced 38 miles the previous weekend in the WV mountains and was not
sure how my legs, not yet accustomed to back-to-back weekend racing and long
distances, would handle it. But I think I have missed the trails so much that I
was in…plus I really needed redemption after the wrong turn and 3rd
place finish from the weekend previous. Alan had been planning to come visit
and we had been searching for possible trail races we could do over the weekend
and this one was one of the only ones that really sounded appealing, and a
couple days before we decided the 3 hour trip would be worth it. Especially
since the race was sponsored by The North Face and we were sure to score some
good swag. We drove up on Friday night, got about 5 hours sleep in a motel and
signed up the morning of the race at the starting line.
After last weekends mountain climbing, I was looking forward
to this race which was described as “smooth” and “flat” from the course
description online. False. After the gun went off at the start what started as
a couple of minutes on the smooth grass soon turned into a steep rocky hill of
single track and I was power hiking up a wall within the first 10 minutes.
After I saw my first mile split was 11 minutes, I let go of any hopes that I
had for this to be a quick race. Again, after a week in the city, it felt good
to be back on the trails. These trails were pretty smooth single track, with
hard packed dirt, seemingly from lots of foot traffic or mountain bikes. It
reminded me of WCC, except with more rocks and roots. And there were lots of
logs and trees down in the middle of the trail that made me think that those
5am hurdle drills with my roommate training for the steeple chase might not
have been a bad idea…
After glancing at the times from last year, I was surprised
at the pace many people went out at. Only the top 5 times, including men had
been under 5 hours. I was mid-to back of the pack starting out, but I started
passing other people, including women, about 20 minutes in on some hills. No
one hill was ever really bad-just short and steep enough to resort to power
hike mode. About 30 minutes into the race and I had slowly closed the gap
between myself and two women in maroon Indianapolis running club singlets. When
I caught them they informed me that we were the top women. They were running at
a decently comfortable pace for me so I stuck with them for a while. I learned
that the younger of the two was the track and field and XC coach for Indiana
University and a reputable 5Ker. We joked how we’d stick together until 5K to
go, and then she’d make her move and crush me. At the pace we were going right
now, I wasn’t planning to pick things up much till then so I thought it might
actually happen.
So I played back and forth with these two women for most of
the first half of the race. They might pull ahead on a steep hill that they
went charging up and I chose to power hike. I would usually catch or pass them
on any technical segments, particularly downhill because I am not as afraid of
busting my butt on these things as most people. They would pass me again at an
aid station where I stopped to fill up my hand held and they breezed through,
water bottleless. The whole first loop I
felt decent, but never really great. I couldn’t really identify exactly what it
was that was preventing me from feeling great…my legs, my head, my sleep
deprivation from a long week at work…but I just felt like, while not feeling
horrible, I couldn’t find my rhythm. Still, I felt decent so I made due with
what I had.
This part of the race was not particularly my favorite in
the way it was structured. I was on my way out for the 2nd loop, and
all the slower marathoners and half marathoners were coming in from their first
lap and the narrow single track got crowded. Someone had to be pushed off into
the trees and it was usually me. Some people gave me words of encouragement
about how good I looked which seemed to give me more energy. We came out to the
strip of road in the middle of the race that was a steady up grade of about a
mile on asphault. That’s where I first noticed that I was passing other
marathoners. The standard guys that went out too hard too early and were
hurting now. After getting back on the trail after the road, I was by myself
for a few minutes without seeing anyone. Then I came across this younger guy, a
marathoner, who was walking looking completely demoralized. He was lean and
fit, probably a XC runner trying to go for the trail marathon and I felt a
little sorry for him. When I passed him going down the hill I told him to hop
on my heels. He actually did and for the next mile or so I had some company.
And my assumptions were correct. It was
short lived and he needed to stop to walk again, but by the time he dropped
off, I was feeling the best I had all day. Now we were on a gravel canal path
that looped around the lake and I just put myself in cruise for a while. I
really couldn’t gauge how fast I was going, but I guessed it had to be sub
8minmi pace.
I saw a woman running
back towards me on the single track, who must be a marathoner who was way ahead
of me, but didn’t look like she was moving fast enough to be beating me by this
much right now, or even beating me at all actually. I told her good job and she
responded that she started the marathon early and wasn’t actually officially
racing. So I was winning right now. It lifted my spirits more, especially since
I was feeling pretty good already. But I
was still being chased, or so I thought.
I was really cruising on the single track now. I continued
to chick the field of out-too-hard guys, which was particularly dense for this
race I thought, and people coming towards me encouraged me on “First woman!”
This sounded all-too-familiar from last weekend I thought, but it did make me
laugh a little inside my head. No wrong
turns.
I was actually looking forward to the long gently down grade
of road for a mile so I could pick up some speed on the way back in and I was
feeling pretty good, but when I actually hit the asphalt, something suddenly
hit me. I felt the heat of the sun on my face, body, in my eyes and suddenly
felt dead. Within a minute my legs seemed to retaliate against me and every
stride took some effort. I felt like I was hitting the wall and hitting it
hard. The only thing that kept me moving as quickly as I could was the fact
that I was being chased by a 5Ker and running scared. There were about 4 miles
to go, and if she caught me now I knew I was done.
So I kept cranking out whatever I could with my fear of
being caught, but I could tell my pace was dropping drastically. Still, no
woman had ever passed me in a long distance race past mile 2 or 3 and I was
going to do everything in my power not to let it happen now. I was getting a head ache. Then I realized I
couldn’t remember the last thing I had eaten during the past 4 hours and
considered it was probably combination heat, tired legs from the previous
weekend, and nutrition. I was a little ashamed of my rookie mistake and quickly
sucked down a gel, even though I knew it was probably pointless. I don’t really
know why I had forgotten to eat. I really wasn’t hungry and had been drinking
the watered down HEED at the aid stations, but it wasn’t enough.
Even with my drastic drop in pace, I was still passing guys,
which offered some encouragement in my state. I was headed back on the single
track again with about 3 miles left to go, going down a hill, when I saw this
older guy swaying a little bit in his stride walking up the hill I was going
down. As we approached each other all I heard him say was “It’s so humid…” Then
he puked on me. UGGGHHHHhhhh!!! All
down my left leg. It looked like mostly fluid with minimal chunks, fortunately
I guess? Welp, in all my adventures of
trail running, that’s never happened
before. And of all the places to get puked on, the middle of the woods in a
trail race…I had always imagined this could be a risk of going to a college
bar, but never considered it for these types of events. But I did what any girl
winning the race would do—kept running!
I was pretty happy to hear the voices and music of the
finish line as I approached. Of course I still found it in me to kick it in for
the finish, giving a quick glance over my shoulder before I did so for the 5K
girl, who I was sure could probably also beat me in an 800 too. But no one to
be seen. I crossed the finish line happy. Happy it was over because I had been
dead for the past 4 miles, but mostly happy that I knew I was back to running and
had finally won a race again. My time was 4:20, the second loop being 6 minutes
slower than my first, which was slow for me in peak condition, but I wasn’t in
peak condition, and I was happy with this. In actuality, I had been running
scared for the last few miles for no real reason; I had put almost a half hour
on any woman in the field.
I waited for a long time for the next woman to come in and
made friends with some of the top fast guys. During the time the awards
ceremony for the top 3 men was announced and after a while the RD even asked me
if I would like them to just announce me as the female champion so I wouldn’t
need to wait for the others, which I thought was funny. But I was waiting on
Alan to finish anyways. He finished in about 5 and half hours, the humidity
getting to him a bit. TNF awarded me
with a $125 check and a $150 TNF gift card along with a nice plaque for the I
Love Me wall. Then we went to the distillery on the way home and I spent about
half my winnings in Wild Turkey 101 bourbon. Good day all aroundJ
Middle Podium once
again! Unfortunately, this race didn’t have tape for the champions to break
through so can’t cross that off the bucket list just yetJ
Although I wasn’t thrilled about my 4:20 marathon time, it
did feel good the be the female champion again in a race. I have been smart
with coming back from injury, trying not to do too much too fast, but just
thinking about how hard a 4 mile run felt about a month ago to winning
marathons and ultras (well, almost), my exponential improvements are very
encouraging. It certainly give me the boost I am going to need when it’s time
to run with the big dogs at UROC in a few weeks!
Happy Day!
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