At my very first trail race, we saw that the race company had a trail half marathon in December, and my friend told me we had to do it together. I figured the timing might work because I had no races planned after my Olympic tri in early September. Fast forward to the fall, and due to life circumstances my friend had to take a break from running and I ended up training for the bike leg of an October 70.3, so neither of us were ready for an early December trail half marathon. But the idea was in my head. I looked for other ones nearby that I’d have time to train for. I settled on Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (WTF).
Signing up for this race, the two river crossings were a bit intimidating. I wasn’t worried about it being cold because I've run plenty in the cold (although I always hate trying to figure out what to wear when it's cold so that I'm not too hot later in the run). The day before the race I did a shakeout trail run and realized how muddy the trail would be. We had snow last week, and it was still melting in the woods and the ground was super wet and muddy. The river actually was very low, but the trails were very muddy and slick.
I got to the race early, parked, and realized I didn’t bring my race belt. But that’s a minor issue for a running race, and I had everything else. I usually get to races early because race parking stresses me out, but I was there extra early for this one so I could be situated in time to register my kids for summer camp. That’s right - the summer camp my girls really want to go to most weeks of the summer was opening registration half hour before my race and goes to a waitlist quickly. So there I was with my phone held outside my car in the drizzle trying to get enough signal to talk my husband through registering one girl while I registered the other. (Seriously, why is this so stressful and demanding?) It was a stressful way to spend my pre-race time, but we got them registered and I ran to the long portapotty line. I chatted with two women in line, eventually got to go, and then came out in time to line up and do some dynamic stretching. Then it was race time!
Like the other trail races I’ve done, this started with a long stretch on the road, which gave us a chance to spread out. Unfortunately, the half marathoners and five milers all started at the same time, which meant it was quite crowded. We hit the single track trail and very quickly our run turned into a walk as a bunch of people ahead of us carefully maneuvered around/through the mud. We’d get to run a few steps and then be back to walking. Whenever there was a chance the person in front of me, me, and the person behind me would pass on the left. Somewhere in the second mile, we were able to get ahead of enough people going slowly to get some good running in. I started running steady, with some brief moments of walking when it got too slippery (someone commented at one point that he didn’t realize we signed up for a mud run - it really did feel that way throughout!), and kept checking in with myself on heartrate and rate of perceived effort. I knew it would be a long morning and wanted to be sure I had enough for the end, especially since I’d been warned about the elevation gains in the last 2-3 miles.
I was around people until close to around mile 4 when the half marathoners and 5 milers split, and then it got more spread out and I was mostly alone. Shortly after the split, I came to the first river crossing. I ran across the river with joy - I’d been waiting for this part of the adventure. On the other side of the river, there were some out-and-back stretches and some loops, which were nice because I got to see other people and a couple volunteers. On this side it wasn’t quite as muddy, so I also got in some long stretches of running. I was pushing myself but still keeping heartrate and effort in check. At one out-and-back segment, I hit a particularly muddy section that was pretty technical with some roots and trees, and one of the faster runners coming the opposite direction complimented me on my technique, which totally made my day!
After the halfway point, I found myself catching up to other people. It felt good to know I was still feeling strong and executing my race plan. Just after I passed one runner and was coming up on another, we came to the downhill to the river. We took it slowly given it was muddy, and then the other two women started carefully walking across the river while I went running and splashing! I ran up the hill and was off again. My feet were definitely cold, but it didn’t last long. My watch said 4 more miles, but a volunteer told me 5. I was hoping she was wrong, but I wasn’t going to spend energy worrying about that.
We were back on the muddy side of the river. I hit mile 10 and started increasing my pace, pushing my heartrate and perceived effort since I was feeling good. I kept passing people, which was a confidence booster. This side of the river had a lot of slippery sections of trail, so I would run when I could and do some fast hiking through the mud when necessary (often when I started sliding from going too fast and realized it would be more efficient to slow down a bit). Those fast feet going downhill I learned from Liz and that Coach Sara had me practice the week before kept me upright more than once. As I was slipping, I was already be taking more steps and finding my footing again. I did hit one steep incline that was a sheet of mud, started to slide down, and had to put my hands out to stay up. I grabbed a root and pulled myself up. I wiped my muddy hands as best I could on my shorts and kept going.
I hit 13.1 miles and was still in the woods. Every once in a while I’d wonder if I had missed a turn or something, and then I’d pass someone. Soon, I came out of the woods. Now for the long run up the hill and around to the finish line. I kept running strong. I was surprised at my pace given I had already run a half marathon and was going uphill. I kept pushing knowing this was the end, and I finished strong.
I’m so happy with how this race went. I executed my race plan really well, with a steady heartrate and running stronger once I hit 10 miles. I didn’t fall, always a risk trail running and more so given the mud. I got a compliment on my technique, a highlight and bonus. And most importantly, I had a lot of fun. I approached the race as an adventure and chose joy throughout.
I definitely am not done trail running, but I do need a break from this distance for a bit so I can go back into tri training refreshed and reenergized.
