As for the weekend, what a fantastic mini-vacation. Laura and I drove down on Friday after work and made it to the campground around 22:00, just in time to set up our tent and enjoy a pre-race Coors with Alison and Jason who made the trip from Atlanta to race with me. As I mentioned before the race I was worried about my knee as it was acting up again as I was packing the car. Laura, being the sweetheart she is, offered to drive so I could stretch and get my leg feeling better. Therefore, I spent 6 hours massaging my calf and stretching my legs. By the time we arrived, I was able to relax as I knew I'd be ready to rock (thanks L!).
The morning of the race was a breeze. I'm getting used to (i.e. spoiled) staying within walking distance of the race start. However, as we went to check in for the race I was starting to get a little worried as there were A LOT of people getting ready to run 13.1 miles of singletrack. I've run enough trail races to know that if you want to race at all you need to be in the front. However, the three of us were all pretty set on just chilling and enjoying each others company so we opted to start in the middle of the pack (a respectable thought since we were planning on keeping it around a 9:00 min/mile pace). Turns out, we should have started in the front with that plan. This race turned out to be an "Introduction to trail running" type of race. People sprinted out of the gate only to slam on the brakes as soon as a root or little hill came up. This resulted in, literally, a two-mile backup at the start of the race. We spent these first two miles walking/shuffling at a brisk 12:50 min/mile. However, the company was a great and we were enjoying pondering the fate of Teach for America, planning for the Cascade Crest and discussing a common topic for all runners.....#2. If we annoyed you during this first eight miles I apologize however I'd like to think we were good entertainment.
Anyway, the run pretty much stayed congested for the first 8-9 miles until there was a good climb (for the east coast) up a powerline. At this point I decided to try to pass as many people as I could in hopes of keeping a running pace for the last part of the race. I felt really solid on the climb and remembered why I miss Colorado so much, climbing Green Mountain in the early morning sunshine of Boulder is something that will always hold a place in my heart as this is where I started my running journey. At the top of the hill I was met with more congestion and accepted defeat and cruised/shuffled in to a 2:00 hour finish. I can't complain as the singletrack was really nice and the knee held up. I'm not sure if I'll make the trip back down to that neck of the trails but if you're in the area definitely bring your mountain bike for a loop or two. Congratulations to Jason on his first half marathon!
Here's a couple picks from the weekend:
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| relaxing after the race.....life's not too bad |
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| A picture from the trail. The race ran around the shoreline of this lake. |
