We started next to an eyeglass sculpture. That was pretty cool. There were around 25 of us doing the run. Since we were at the top, it began by going downhill. That was great and I stuck with the fast guys for awhile. It wasn't too long before we hit the uphill though. I'm getting stronger, but some climbing is still tough for me. I already had to start walking. In this section we also ran through weird art sculptures.Going uphill, Sarah (who was on my relay team last year) passed me. Once we got downhill and into some flats I decided to pick it up and go by her and try to catch the fast guys. I was able to do that and stay with them again for a little while. At times, they stopped and waited for a bit for most of the group to catch up.
I found that I have to speed to fly downhill (which I love) and on flats and even up some hills. What hurt me is when the hill was too steep or too long. I ended up out of breath and walking. It actually didn't bother my legs too much though. I just have to improve my oxygen consumption.
After a little over two miles, Dave left a cooler and some snacks on the trail. We all took a rest for a few minutes. This combined with the water was a big help to my recovery. I was a little tired at this point, but not too bad.
We had come across some mountain bikers on the trail shortly before the stop. At the stop, we ran into them again. They had their dogs running along and the dogs went flying into the creek to cool off. That was neat.
The only thing that sucked is that it seemed like there was a climb after every stop we made. It made it tough to get the legs going again. My other problem is that it didn't string everyone out again. I was trying to stay in front of the main pack, so I didn't get in their way when I started walking. That was hard to do with the uphill so early on in this segment. Whenever I was walking uphill and the pack closed in, I'd pick it up again. There was so much up and down that this actually turned out to work great.
I did let Tom and another guy go by me at one point and then tucked in behind them. I decided to stay there for awhile to recover. Eventually we hit a downhill portion and I decided to go by and try to catch the faster guys. I love opening it up downhill. Someday it will probably lead to a nasty fall. I definitely need to practice that at some point.
I was a little disappointed that shortly after we started downhill we were back at the rest stop. I was hoping I might be able to catch the fast guys. We stopped again until everyone caught up. Once again, this was huge for recovery.
Starting up again was a difficult as always. What made it challenging was going uphill on the road for a short distance. The pavement isn't as forgiving as the trails and it was a weird feeling. Thankfully, we were in the woods again very shortly.
Again, I stayed with the fast guys for a bit. It didn't take too long for them to lose me as well as everyone else. I was running alone for most of the rest of the run. At times, I thought maybe I was lost because I didn't see anyone else or any pink ribbons. There were a section of downhill switchbacks where I saw the front guys and I could here the people behind me yelling, "there he is." After that, there was some more uphills and walking involved.
I was starting to get pretty beat at this point. I'd only run 6 miles max up to this point and we were approaching that distance. There were some amazing views at this point. I did notice the the Sands Casino at one point. I was too focused on the trail to notice much ahead.
As we got around 6 miles, I considered looking for a road crossing to cut back and finish up. There really weren't any though. I just kept going. Chris (one of the faster runners) passed me while I was walking uphill. I was wondering where he was during this segment. What really confused me was when I came to April and two others. They were behind and now suddenly in front of us. I didn't even realize it was them at first. I thought maybe it was some hikers. Apparently, they actually found a short cut. Smart girls!
After passing the girls, the climb was tough. I decided to try running it as much as I could though. I kept pushing on. I figured I was almost done, so I might as well give it what I had.
I then came out of the woods and was at the Mountaintop Complex. I could see the fast guys ahead, so I followed for awhile. The rest of this run was mostly on the road. It was still quite a climb at this point. Making it worse was the sun and heat (now that it was two hours after we started). Tom passed me going up some stairs. I still had to run/walk at this point. We then finished up at the glasses. It was 7.4 miles by my watch.
Since the course wasn't as long as some thought, there was a small group of us that went back out. I wanted to get to 8 miles. I was feeling good. I figured I'd do an out and back. Going out was easy because it was downhill. Not too far into the route, I came to a road crossing and just decided to leave the group and head back. Running on the roads was very tough at this point, especially because it was uphill. I walked quite a bit of it. Once I hit about 8.5 miles, I was at the Mountaintop Campus again. It was still uphill, but I trotted most of the way in and finished in front of my car and grabbed a water.
Everyone was hanging at the glasses for a while to relax and cool down before heading to Dave's post race gathering at his house. We were worried that we had lost Kim because no one had seen her in awhile. A search party was starting to go out when she appeared. She ran through the glasses and finished to cheers.
Because I can't run the hills, this run actually wasn't too difficult for me. When I run the whole thing again, it will probably kill me. Basically I ran it like ultra runners typically run a tough and long course. That is, walk a lot of uphill and fly on the downhill and flat portions. That worked and I was able to keep ahead of most of the pack in doing so, thanks of course partly to my speed. It also gave me a lot of recovery, so my legs aren't hurting too much.The course was great. It was well marked and the rest stops were amazing as well. I never ran there last year and I was glad to be able to. It is a little tricky finding your way, but I know the roads around there, so if I ever get lost I'll eventually find something familiar. There were some rocky sections, but most of it was smooth. It was a good combination of uphill, downhill and flat. Originally, I was thinking it would be a run down the mountain and back up. I'm glad it wasn't because I can't take a long climb. The mix was perfect and the trails were awesome. It will certainly become a staple of my trail running. Most of the other good trails in the LV are a bit of a drive for me. This is pretty close.
It was fun not only running with friends, but chatting with them afterward at Dave's house. He had some good food and maybe more importantly a pool. I joined everyone in dipping my legs in it for a recovery. That was good.
I'm definitely more sore than I have been, but overall not too bad. My legs took a pounding on the road, but the trails were great and the rest was a big plus. I shouldn't have too much trouble recovering even though I ran a lot farther than I have.
Tomorrow is definitely an off day. At some point this week, I'm going to help a girl from high school who is trying to get into running. I suggested meeting at Jacobsburg. That should be fun. No matter what, I plan on running for seven straight days after tomorrow's rest. I'm having surgery on June 11th and could be out after that, so I might as well bust my butt until then. I certainly won't be following the 10-15% rule though.
This was just another run to give me confidence. The way I flew downhill continues to make me believe that could be an even better trail runner than road runner. Obviously, I still have to get in better shape, but I working on that. I thought I'd get killed today, but I didn't. I might have to join some more of the group trail runs. in the future. Since I completed 9 miles today, I might consider re-entering the Quadzilla 15k next month. I love running in Trexler. Although the course is tough, I'm now convinced I could run/walk it. Some of that will depend how surgery goes. I'm not committing to anything until surgery is over. Overall, it was another amazing day of running. A far cry from where I was around 6 months ago.
9 miles - 1:43:40 (11:31 pace)
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