Yet another trail race

These are getting frequent....I guess because it's not winter any more. And there are more races. Because you don't have to be crazy to run in the weather we're having. So people actually show up! Imagine.

Anyway.

Today was my absolute favorite running weather. 65 degrees (but windy so it felt just a little cooler) and raining (but not pouring). The medium-but-not-heavy rain factor is important because if it's raining TOO hard, you feel a little like you're drowning. But I LOVE to run in the rain. Don't know why, I just do. It was perfect!

I've been trying to re-up my mileage in hopes of still managing the 50K in two weeks. I took two weeks off (well, as "off" as I ever am from running these days - I still tested the ankle three times for 4, 5, and 6 miles) for the ankle injury. I still feel a little gimpy, and running long distances makes it swell a teeny bit and ache. But no pain that's truly worth the word. So this morning I rolled out of bed at 7:30, grabbed the first running clothes I could find, and set out to the 7-mile loop I train on.

During that run the rain started. That made the trail a little slick, and I was feeling sissy-ish with the ankle, so I reined back a bit in hopes of not putting too much strain on it from sideways motion. I finished in an hour and 15 minutes, wishing I had checked the weather before I left home so that I wouldn't have worn a white shirt. I only had 35 minutes to get to the race start at 10, so there was no way I could go home for a change of clothes. I rooted around in the car and found a lightweight sweatshirt that I use sometimes, and switched into it. I wasn't terribly excited about that because it's not cold...if it's over 50 degrees I always run in short sleeves because it's just more comfortable. But I decided that between the stopping and subsequent getting cold, the sweatshirt would be better than being a complete exhibitionist and running the risk of cooling down too much.

I made it to the start with enough time to register and hang out for 5 minutes or so, then they did announcements and we were off. This course was interesting because it was varied. There was a lot of flat or very barely rolling meadow, a pond, a good mile along a large creek (out west it'd be a river, here not so much), forest, and LOTS of hills. And lots of mud. Like this much mud:


Early in the race I passed several people (men and women) who seemed really concerned with keeping their shoes dry/mud-free. On a rainy day and a 6-mile course, you just have to get over that. I'm more tortoise than hare anyway, and the added miles from the morning took their toll on me. I ran about 40 seconds per mile slower than usual for this distance, but managed to run all but about 100 yards up a very slick muddy hill. I told myself that the walk was because I was babying my ankle, just to make me feel better, but I was grateful for the rest. Even though I was slow, I consistently passed people. From the "okay now we're settled into pace groups" point at the start of the race to the end, only one person passed me, and I stopped counting how many I passed.

Downhills were tricky because of the mud....it was clay-y dirt, so it was really slide-y. So not a lot of "let it all go, careen down like a crazy person"-type running. And I was okay with that, for today.

The end was hilarious because it was this monster hill....not TERRIBLY steep (okay, pretty steep), but just endless. You could see the finish for a full 5 minutes or so, and it didn't get any closer until the last 100 yards. Fortunately I'm sort of a glutton for punishment when it comes to hills, so I had a great time. Passed two guys....which is lame and I try not to do at the end of a race, especially if the people I'm passing have led me the whole time. But alas. Today I had to just run. Because it was a hill. And I was not going to walk.

I finished the 6.5 miles in 1:10:18, was second in my age group and just barely into a bottom half finish (yuck, I HATE that). The 10th woman overall, so there must've been more short-distance men at this race than the normal crowd (which I guess you'd expect for a 10K - well a 10K plus a bit, but you know....do what you can with trails).

It was a good day - 13 miles logged. If I can do 20 next weekend, I'll believe that I can do the ultra.