Race Report: I picked my nose twice in one week-end.

The conditions were perfect for a half-marathon-ish trail race through the single track of Cuivre River. A week's worth of snow, rain, and thaw ensured that there would be mud, creek crossings, and questionable footing. In hindsight, I suppose there was one mudding section, from about 0.01 to 13.2ish miles!

Getting to start in the first wave (me and "the guys") has its advantages, among them being first on the course. It really didn't matter much today. From the first steps in my new Brooks PureGrit trail shoes and my bright green Big River Running jersey., I was ankle deep in puddles, mud, and horse tracks. The start and finish proceeded along an out-and-back dirt road for a half-mile each way, which meant that 618 legs, with feet at the end, tread that course at least once before I came along for the finish.  But, I get ahead of myself.

From the start I settled into a comfortable pace. The steady downpour hadn't materialized yet, and I was one of the first (sixth) to enter the trails. I had someone on my keester for the first few miles, which was great because it helped me set a good pace and be aware of hazards to call out. I spent a lot of time scissoring from one side of the trail to another to avoid the worst of the mushy bits, dancing around trees, fallen logs, and the occasional briar bush. 

By mile three I had lost my tail and was running "alone" (relatively speaking since I was still aware of unseen and unheard competitors in front and behind me). The course entered a gloomy, scented cedar forest. Here the trail was slippery with pine needles, and more than once I found myself doing a passable impression of The Roadrunner as I tiptoed my way around sharp turns. There was little room for error with the tight trees and low boughs. I passed a few aid stations, very much running a solo race at this point, when I spotted a white shirt running about 30 seconds ahead of me, a pacesetter materialized.

I picked up the pace, gaining valuable seconds as we ascended uphills and into even more questionable footing. I lost sight of the white shirt at a section that required superior focus and masterly foot-placement, as we ran a hairs-breadth from the edge of slight ridge that hung above the swollen river, all while negotiating mud, roots, and moss-covered rocks. It was hear also that we ran through an almost surreal setting - remnants of snow on the ground, a verdant fog hanging in the air, and the sound of footfalls and running water simultaneously muffled and jumbled into a cacophony of suspended animation.

I was perhaps less than 10 seconds behind white shirt when I came around a corner, and, my eyes on the trail, almost ran into the back of him. He was paused at the widest and deepest creek crossing yet. The water moved swiftly over an unseen river bottom. I simply said "onward", took one short step, and then long-jumped into the rapids, my foot hitting bottom just as my knee became submerged.

Now I was in front, and white shirt hung with me, even chivalrously allowing me to remain in front as I took four steps down the wrong trail. But he was running his race, and I was running mine (in pursuit of Boyfriend), and soon, my footsteps were alone again.

At 10ish miles (the mile markers all read "6ish miles", "9ish miles", etc), a cheery aid station volunteer and friend indicated that Boyfriend might not be to far in the distance... "How come you are letting Doug beat you?" to which I responded, "He never does what I tell him, ha!" It was at this point that the course doubled back on itself so that for the briefest of sections, runners run both ways on a single-track, and I got to glimpse the faces of fellow runners as they calculated their foot placement. It was also about this time when the thought popped into my head that I was "sure glad that steady rain never started", and right then it started.

And suddenly, I emerged onto the same mud road we hit in the beginning, this time a quagmire of bi-directional footprints. Just ahead of me, a blue shirt, with a familiar gate, if slightly altered by the degraded conditions. I added some steam, shortening the distance as much as I could over the next half-mile before Boyfriend hit the turn around and realized it was me splashing along behind him. I didn't catch him, but he gave out a pleased holler when he made the turn-around and saw me.

We finished about 30 seconds apart. I managed a 1:50:50 for first overall female and fifth place overall. I'll post links to the race picks when they are up - I hope the photographer posts the one of me giving a comical "nose-pick" to the camera as I ran by. (Apparently, I didn't get enough nose-picking at yesterday's Runnin' of the Noses 5K, which I also won!)