A few months back, my running Thunder Buddy, Amy, had convinced me to do what's called "The Triple Crown Challenge." Essentially, you run two half marathons in Kentucky and a third half marathon of your choice and BOOM! Bonus medal. It didn't seem like a big deal at the time, but as the deadline to pick that third half got closer and closer, I was struggling to decide what my mysterious third half would be.
A friend on facebook posted about her planned trip up to Nashville, Indiana to run the Dances With Dirt 50k and once I realized they had a half, I was in. And, I managed to convince fellow trail runner and coworker Lauren along for the ride! Plus, the promotional video made it seem so enticing...
A friend on facebook posted about her planned trip up to Nashville, Indiana to run the Dances With Dirt 50k and once I realized they had a half, I was in. And, I managed to convince fellow trail runner and coworker Lauren along for the ride! Plus, the promotional video made it seem so enticing...
Besides fulfilling my commitment to running a third half marathon, this one also had the added bonus of being a trail half, and for me, a good way for my to get an understanding of where my training had me currently as I was looking towards preparing for StumpJump 50k in October.
I made my way north, from one Nashville to the other, slightly smaller counterpart in Indiana. It rained a lot of the way up, and I was hoping the storms would pass before I made it to the campsite. Lauren and fellow trailrunner/coworker Kurt had been kind enough to set up my tent for me after their voyage to the campsite a little earlier in the day. I arrive around midnight, tired, and ready to crawl in to my sleeping bag. Sleep came fitfully, with some small rain showers throughout the night and it wasn't long until we were up to watch the start of the 50k and 50 mile races and cheer on friends. A brief trip back to camp for a change of clothes and a quick nap, and we headed back to the starting line for our own adventures.
I made my way north, from one Nashville to the other, slightly smaller counterpart in Indiana. It rained a lot of the way up, and I was hoping the storms would pass before I made it to the campsite. Lauren and fellow trailrunner/coworker Kurt had been kind enough to set up my tent for me after their voyage to the campsite a little earlier in the day. I arrive around midnight, tired, and ready to crawl in to my sleeping bag. Sleep came fitfully, with some small rain showers throughout the night and it wasn't long until we were up to watch the start of the 50k and 50 mile races and cheer on friends. A brief trip back to camp for a change of clothes and a quick nap, and we headed back to the starting line for our own adventures.
Lauren, Daryl, and I were all running the half together, and while Lauren and I had run together on roads, it had been awhile since we'd hit the trails together. She figured that the three of us would all be pretty similar in terms of pace and ability though and so we grouped up together at the start to hit the trails. We were all a little intimidated by the elevation changes, I was dealing with some intense calf tightness, and we all felt a little underprepared. We reasonably set the expectation to finish in under three hours. We figured that a half marathon was comparable to three loops on the red trail out at Percy Warner Park, a 4.5 mile loop. Since I knew it took me about an hour a loop, completing the half in three hours seemed both doable and enough of a challenge to push us on the course. |
The rain the night before had done little to cool down the temperatures and plenty to increase the humidty. I was glad to be running with my new Nathan Vapor Airess hydration backpack my boyfriend had picked up for me for "good luck."
Lauren set out at a blazing pace, and as I struggled to keep up with her during the initial climb, I realized about a half mile in that we had already lost Daryl. Settling in to a pace, and picking my "rabbit" (The person I chose to follow during my runs and trust to set a reasonable pace), I settled in to a rhythm.
My calves locked up during that first climb, but once I got a couple miles in, they warmed up and stretched out, and I began to really get in to a groove. I had lost sight of Lauren, but was gradually picking my way through the field, occasionally getting passed, and occassionally passing others. I came to the first aid station at about the 3.5 mile mark and grabbed some gatorade to supplement the water I was already carrying.
I felt kind of bad for a moment, as I approached a young couple out running and settled in behind them, making them my new "rabbits." They offered to let me pass and I explained,
Lauren set out at a blazing pace, and as I struggled to keep up with her during the initial climb, I realized about a half mile in that we had already lost Daryl. Settling in to a pace, and picking my "rabbit" (The person I chose to follow during my runs and trust to set a reasonable pace), I settled in to a rhythm.
My calves locked up during that first climb, but once I got a couple miles in, they warmed up and stretched out, and I began to really get in to a groove. I had lost sight of Lauren, but was gradually picking my way through the field, occasionally getting passed, and occassionally passing others. I came to the first aid station at about the 3.5 mile mark and grabbed some gatorade to supplement the water I was already carrying.
I felt kind of bad for a moment, as I approached a young couple out running and settled in behind them, making them my new "rabbits." They offered to let me pass and I explained,
Thanks, but I'm just gonna follow you.
You run, I run. You walk, I walk. It takes all the thinking out of running.
I hope they weren't offended, but that really is my strategy. I'm a horrible pacer and will be so sporadic when left to my own devices. I start to worry I'm going to fast or to slow and my brain gets itself all worked in to a tizzy. Now, I could just go on autopilot and follow along like a lemming.
It's about this time, I finally caught a glimpse of Lauren ahead of me on the trail a few hundred feet. I yelled out to her that I was coming and hiked a little faster up the hill to join her for the rest of the race. It was nice to have someone to talk to, complain with, and to suffer alongside. Within a few miles, Daryl had caught up to us as well and our little group was reunited before we reached the second water stop around mile 8.
It's about this time, I finally caught a glimpse of Lauren ahead of me on the trail a few hundred feet. I yelled out to her that I was coming and hiked a little faster up the hill to join her for the rest of the race. It was nice to have someone to talk to, complain with, and to suffer alongside. Within a few miles, Daryl had caught up to us as well and our little group was reunited before we reached the second water stop around mile 8.
As we made our way through the final few miles, we knew we were doing fairly well and ahead of our anticipated pace. Despite the heat, the humidity, and the hills, we all felt pretty good. Two more aid stations and we set course back down a steep decline to head towards the finish line. The hill going down was steep enough that I felt me toes jamming against the front of my shoes and we all jokingly bid farewell to a few toenails.
Once at the bottom, we reached the stream crossing, which felt GLORIOUS. After a long, hot run, even the added wet of wet shoes couldn't diminish the joy from cooling off your legs and feet. It felt so good I wanted to simply lay down in it and never leave, but with only a half a mile to go until we were done, we kept on trucking. When we finished, we had come in at 2 hours, 42 minutes, about 18 minutes ahead of our estimated finish time. Not too shabby! Overall, I finished 6th out of 16 females in my age group and 89th out of 168 half marathoners total. With cold beers and food waiting for us, it was good to be done and to have knocked this one off the list.
Once at the bottom, we reached the stream crossing, which felt GLORIOUS. After a long, hot run, even the added wet of wet shoes couldn't diminish the joy from cooling off your legs and feet. It felt so good I wanted to simply lay down in it and never leave, but with only a half a mile to go until we were done, we kept on trucking. When we finished, we had come in at 2 hours, 42 minutes, about 18 minutes ahead of our estimated finish time. Not too shabby! Overall, I finished 6th out of 16 females in my age group and 89th out of 168 half marathoners total. With cold beers and food waiting for us, it was good to be done and to have knocked this one off the list.
Having finished the half, we got ourselves settled and it wasn't much longer until we saw our friends come in from finishing the 50k. Everyone seemed to have done fairly well, despite some setbacks. (Like vomitting and having to poop in the woods... Oops!) Running with the Fleet Feet Dirtbags was a fun and supportive experience and as we stayed to watch everyone of our runners come across that finish line, we chatted, shared beers and drinks and food and talked about the day's race and races to come.
I know that I still have a ways to go in my training before I'll feel ready for StumpJump in October, but this race really did help me get a better understanding of where I am at right now and what I need to do in order to be prepared. (Namely, more time on my feet and more miles!) I've already decided I'll be back for more and intend to run the 50k next year at GnawBone! I can't wait!
#runlove, y'all...
-Brinksy
I know that I still have a ways to go in my training before I'll feel ready for StumpJump in October, but this race really did help me get a better understanding of where I am at right now and what I need to do in order to be prepared. (Namely, more time on my feet and more miles!) I've already decided I'll be back for more and intend to run the 50k next year at GnawBone! I can't wait!
#runlove, y'all...
-Brinksy
What about you? What's your favorite trail race?
Have you ever used one race to help gauge how prepared you are for a different race?
TELL ME! :)
Have you ever used one race to help gauge how prepared you are for a different race?
TELL ME! :)