Thought I would post this before another awesome week-end began, commenced, convened, took root, you get the picture. It's been almost two week, which is just long enough for my hip flexors to loosen-up, my black toe-nails to fall off, and my bruises to turn from nice deep purple to yellow.
Sunday morning. Post-cyclocross crash. Post-early morning mocha. No rain! Actually, kind of sad about this. I joined Dave, Stacey, and Syd at Dixon for a carpool out to Peavy Arboretum (how very green of us). At the race site, I ran into friend's Jeff and Meghan, at which point Jeff informed me that he was going to run with me the entire race (yeah) and Meghan told me about a famous ultra-trail runner woman that was entered (not Meghan). Oh (eyebrow raised)?
They were playing funky-town music over loud speakers to get everyone in the mood. Syd and I got our groove thing on while waiting in line for the Johnny-on-the-spots. Before I knew it, race time was here. I lined up near the front, pretty sure I would be finishing in the top 30 or so.
And we were off... the first part of the course (as you can see from the elevation profile) is somewhat mellow looking. It goes along a fire road for about a mile before diving into single track on Calloway Creek Trail. Then the ankle twisting turns and undulating little ups and downs begin. Jeff was nowhere to be seen, but I settled in with a cute tall guy from Eugene named Rob (he's married and we are now FB friends). He would catch me on the downhills and I would lose him on the ups.
Then the real "up" begins. Someone asked me a couple of weeks before the race if it was hilly. I replied that it was less "hilly" and more just "hill. Again I refer to the elevation chart. My race plan from the start was to run slightly too easy on the first few miles so that I could really work the giant climb to the top of Powderhouse Trail (1300'). And that is exactly how it worked. I missed Rob weakly-jokingly calling out "wait for me", but instead eased into my uphill mojo, passing numerous people. Leaving them to wonder how I was doing it.
Then the downhill started, and here is where I suck. My high center of gravity, long stride, Morton's toe, sense of personal safety all prevent me from letting loose down Bonsai Trail (refer to the 1100' to 500' nose-dive that the course takes which, despite the drawing, does not involve a negative slope or any sort or rappelling). Jeff passed me near the top, with a "I didn't think I was going to catch you" and "Come with me". Yeah, I'll work on it.
Here's the thing.... my realistic goal was to complete the 15K sufferfest in 1:10:00 and to feel really good on that awful last steep climb that comes in the final mile. And I felt great. The PF was a tiny bit sore, thanks to an ankle bauble at mile 8. But, I felt awesome, and I hauled into the finish line, almost catching a few of the myriad that passed me on Bonsai. And I finished in 1:09:36, 32nd overall, and 4th female.
And I had an awesome time. Even more awesome was the noodles and tomatoes and cheese sandwich that I had for lunch and the Sunday afternoon football game that I watched through my eye-lids (napping) that afternoon!
And guess where I got the picture of the elevation profile? The sadistic race organizers who came up with this course put it on the back of the race shirt. Guess they figured if they put it with the course map, no one would race.
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