Trail Dawgs Triple Crown Trail Race – Race Report

Three trail races – half marathon, 10K, 5K. Two short breaks – if you run fast enough. One morning. That is the idea behind the Trail Dawgs Triple Crown Trail Run. http://www.triplecrowntrailrun.org/

I arrived at White Clay Creek State Park in Newark, DE without incident just before 7 in the morning. I had a half an hour to get my race bib and packet and get settled before the start of race #1 – the half marathon. Not long after I arrived and received by race bib, my parents, who drove all night to run the third and final race of the day, pulled up. We said our hellos, hit the restroom, chatted for a bit and then it was time for me to line up for the half.

All the runners congregated at the top of a grassy hill next to the picnic area and waited as the race director first spray painted a line in the grass (the starting line) and briefed us on some pre-race instructions – run, follow the red then blue pie plates, enjoy the stream crossings and have fun. Then we were running!

It was in the 40s and overcast so I made the decision to pin my race bib with my three small tear away tags, one for each race, to my running skirt rather than my tank top or long sleeve shirt. I made the right decision, even though it did warm up slightly about half way through the half, we weren’t out in the sun for long and the long sleeves were nice in the shade of the trees and slight breeze.

We started the half bunched up but soon entered the woods so the single track trail forced us in to a single-file line. About a half mile in to the race I found myself behind an older gentleman with a navy headband and black calf compression-sleeves. He was setting a nice pace so I fell in line behind in and stayed there until mile 3.

The full marathon started 10 minutes after the half so I was expecting to be passed by marathon runners all day and the full marathon leader came ripping down the trail about 22 minutes after we started (only 10 after he did…he was flying) and there was a steady stream of “on your lefts” and “runner passings” for the rest of the race.

Around mile 3, we came to a creek crossing and I lost my pacer in the shuffle across the water. The water was about knee high and quite cold. I made it through without slipping and only noticed my wet shoes and socks for a few minutes after I got back on the trail. However, note to self, investigate wool socks, they will probably be more comfortable and dry faster.

The next four miles I followed the red pie plates, occasionally passing people but usually getting passed by the marathoners and walking up the steeper hills but keeping a steady pace on the downhills and flat bits. We hit a few aid stations along the way where I grabbed either water or Gatorade depending on how I was feeling (usually water) and a handful of goldfish crackers at each. This section of the trail also brought us out in to some fields for short periods and it was nice to warm up (and dry out a bit) in the sun. I was also on the look out for blue pie plates that signaled that we were on our way back toward the finish.

Before too long, I found the blue pie plates and got a little kick in my stride that always comes when I know I’m on my way back. Over the hills, through the woods…and over the fallen trees and through the mud…to the finish line we ran.

Around Mile 10 we circled back to the creek and by this time the water was higher than mid-thigh and even reached the bottom of my running skirt. The water was still cold but it actually felt great on my tired legs.

I reached this point after about 1 hour and 52 minutes of running and if I had just been running the half, I would have felt great about my time. However, I had a 10K to run in 38 minutes and I was hoping to have a break between the races. Over 3 miles of trails in 38 minutes was going to be rough. I knew I had to save something for the two other races I would be running but I also didn’t want to start the 10K late (its allowed but my goal for the day was to start all three races on time). I pushed just slightly on the flats (felt good) and downhills (felt, not as, good). I ran some of the smaller up hills but there was a long-ish climb about halfway between the creek and the finish line that seemed to go on forever. I power hiked up that hill, praying to see the top soon.

Finally, the top came and I took off, knowing that the finish line had to be close. I ran in to mud, deceptively hidden under the grass and my shoes were soaked for the third time that race. Sploosh! Sploosh! I didn’t even try to avoid the puddles.

I was listening hard for the cheers that would mean the finish line was, pushing the pace, watching my time. I had hoped to finish the half in 2:15 but that time came and went sometime in the mud. Then, up ahead, a dirt-bare hill, through the trees and the final turn before the finish. Just as I reached the top of that hill, with a few fans cheering on the runners, one shouted, “Final turn. Go catch him!” There was a tall guy about 10 seconds ahead me and my initial thought was, “No way. I have to run two more races today” but then my competitive spirit got the better of me and I slowly reeled him in as we made our way to the finish. At the last second, I felt bad about blowing past this guy right at the line so I slowed a bit and we crossed the line at the same time – 2 hours and 25 minutes.

Thank goodness that’s over, I thought. But, of course it wasn’t and the 10K race was lined up right next to the half marathon finish line so I let the volunteers tear off my half marathon tag, found my parents, sipped some water, told them I was feeling tired but OK, took off my long sleeve shirt and got in line for the 10K start, which I expected any second.

Four minutes and 19 seconds after finishing the half, I started running the 10K. I was tired and I was having some pain on the outside of my left knee (Where did that come from?) but I was having fun. The 10K course was the last three miles of the half course, running back out to the creek crossing and then cutting back to the first three miles of the half course. It was fun running the opposite direction of the full and half marathoners still running, giving them encouragement. It is one of the things I adore about trail runners, everyone is supportive – I said as many “good jobs,” “keep it ups,” and “looking strongs” as were said to me.

Another advantage of the 10K course is that I had already run the course once so it felt familiar. Just run to the creek and then come back, I told myself. That’s all.

As I took off for the start of the 10K, I told my parents to start the 5K on time and I would try to catch up with them if I didn’t finish the 10K on time, which seemed more and more likely. However, I knew I’d be upset with myself if I didn’t make it for the start of their race and I really want to run (or at least, start) with them so I used that as motivation to push through the 10K. I walked the bigger uphills but I kept a steady, strong pace the rest of the time.

Finally, I came out of the woods, power hiked up the last, grassy hill, saw the finish line and ran. I finished race #2 in 1 hour 11 minutes, just as the race director announced that there were only three minutes to go before the start of the 5K. My mom came running over, “you made it, we’re just lining up over here.” I joined the crowd for the 5K start feeling tired but thrilled that I had achieved my goal.

And then we were off and running the final race of the day. Dad was running a run / walk schedule but Mom was going to see how much she could run. I told her I would let her pull me along and for a half mile that plan worked out great. However, we came to the first hill and I knew I had to walk so I watched her ran away from me. I kept an eye on her but after the turn for the 5K cut off I lost sight of her. Oh well, I’ll see her at the finish.

I ran along the, now familiar, trails, enjoying the lack of pressure and time-crunch of this last race. I took my time and just went by feel, happy to not once glance at my watch. As I got closer to the finish, I caught sight of Mom up ahead quite a ways just as I hit the mud. I toyed with the idea of just taking it easy but then I decided that, if I could, I’d like to cross the finish line together. I picked up the pace and slowly reeled her in, finally catching up with her about a half mile to the finish. We ran up the last hill, made the final turn and saw the finish line. We decided to pick up the pace to squeak in under 40 minutes.

We grabbed some water and went back to the finish line to cheer Dad in for his finish. We didn’t have long to wait and he soon came out of the woods, running strong. “Yay, go Dad! Looking good! Finish strong!”

Everyone had a good race and I couldn’t have been happier that they came so far just to run a race with me. Eating our hamburger and hot dogs, chatting about our different races – when we walked or didn’t, who we passed, where we ran through the mud, leapt over logs and almost got lost – I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end the race and celebrate the day.

Trail Dawgs Triple Crown Trail Race Result – 4 hours 25 minutes, including three races and the two short breaks in between

Pros:
• Gorgeous trails to run along
• Well marked course
• Excellent volunteers
• BBQ at the end was delicious
• Perfect running weather – 50ish and overcast
• Fun, unique race set up – something to for everyone

Cons:
• If I have to have one, and its minor, I wish the shirt was more distinct and not cotton. I’d rather let the shirt do the bragging for me that I had run 3 races in one afternoon.

Veteran’s Day 10K – A Race Report

Or, a lesson in how to overdo it.

Who knows where thoughts come from?  They just appear. 

Sometime on Saturday, I decided that I was going to run to the race on Sunday.  I could have ridden my bike or taken the metro, although that would have been cutting it close since the race started at 8 and the metro didn’t open until 7:30.  I thought back to the GCF Half Marathon last November and thought, What the heck?  Why not?

The few problems with this idea – this race being a time trial to judge my current fitness during this marathon cycle and that weekend’s schedule being a cutback week in terms of my overall training schedule, to name a few – didn’t seem to deter me.  I rationalize them out of existence, telling myself that with my left shin bothering me I probably wasn’t going to get a PR or have a good time trial so why not get some more miles on my feet since I missed a few runs last week. 

Plus, how bad ass is it to run 5.5 miles to a race, race it and then run back!

I woke up Sunday morning, got dressed and ready for the race, ate a banana, drank a glass of water, and headed out the door with a bagel in hand to munch on as I ran.  As I ran through the quiet Arlington streets I wondered how many people noticed me running by with a bagel in one hand and a race bid pinned to the front of my shirt and wondered what I was up to. 

I made it to West Potomac Park, about 5.5 miles from the house, in exactly 1 hour.  Not overly speedy but definitely a good warm up.   As I ran I questioned whether I was going the right thing?  Whether I should even shoot for a PR (faster than 8:19 pace)?  Maybe I should just enjoy the crisp fall weather and be happy with that?   If I didn’t get a PR, would that mean a sub-4 marathon was out of reach?  I hate that I have been so full of doubt this past week but Sunday, before the race, was not the moment I would shake that monkey off my back. 

Eventually, we lined up at the start line and before too long the race was underway.  I decided to run what felt like a fast 10K pace and let the first mile decide my approach to the rest of the race.  If my pace over the first mile was anywhere near 8:20, I’d shoot for a PR.  If it wasn’t, then I would just find a relaxing but quick pace and put all thoughts of PR times out of my head. 

As always, people were passing me constantly even and I am getting much better at letting that happen.  I no longer feel the urge to try to keep up with the people shooting out of the gate, confident that I’ll see them again before too long.  The first mile felt like it was taking forever but I eventually passed the first mile marker and hit the lap button on my watch.

I was pleasantly surprised to see 8:28.  Well, that is sort of close to an 8:19 PR pace and even though 9 seconds seemed like a long time to make up over the remaining 5.2 miles, the pace gave me the confidence to try.  Just a pick up the pace a little bit, I told myself.

Mile 2 ticked off in 8:18.  Well, that is more like it.  If I can just stay with this pace for the next 4 miles or so, I wouldn’t be far from my PR.  I started to focus on just making it to the turn around and before I knew it I hit Mile 3 with an 8:11 mile.  As it turned out, I made up those 9 seconds pretty easily.

I swung around the turn around and headed back “home.”  That’s what I tell myself on out-and-back long runs after getting to the turn around spot – “Now, I just have to make it home.  Just gotta get home.  That’s it.” 

It was also at this point in a race that I expect to stop seeing so many people passing me and to start picking off all those people who started off too fast and zoomed by me in the beginning of the race.  However, this wasn’t happening.  People were still zooming by me and I felt like I wasn’t gaining on anyone.  In fact, it started to discourage me and I started questioning my decision to run to the race.

What was I thinking?  I’m fading 3 miles in to a 10K!  Stupid. Stupid.  Stupid.

Mile 4 was not an easy mile but I told myself to just relax in to the pace.  If my pace dropped below 8:19, I told myself it was OK to let the PR go and not try to push myself to accomplish something that was out of reach.  I ended up running an 8:18 that mile even though I felt like my pace had slowed significantly and that people were passing me with ease.  I couldn’t quite give up on the PR so I pushed Mile 5, just to see what I could do at that point. 

It turns out I could run an 8:08 mile for Mile 5.  With 1.2 miles to go, I started to doing the math – if I stayed on this pace, if I didn’t let up for even a second, I just might be about to squeak in a PR but it would be close.  I ran harder.

Before seeing the sign for Mile 6 – Where it is?  Where is it? – I saw the finish line ahead of me.  All I had to do was run to it.  It seems to simple and easy.  Mile 6.  I hit the lap button on my watch but didn’t even look down.  Just run to the finish.  Keep pushing.  Stay strong.  Just run!

It turns out Mile 6 was my fastest mile at 8:06 and I covered the final .2 miles in 1:32 minutes for a 30 second PR at the 10K distance.  My official time was 51 minutes 5 seconds.  I couldn’t believe that after putting over 5 miles on my legs and claiming it was a warm up once again resulted in a strong PR.  I felt great.  Tired.  Out of breath.  But great. 

I was the 188^th woman to cross the finish line and 58^th in my age group. 

I grabbed an apple, a banana, a water and two cookies and sat down to stretch as I cheered on the rest of the people finishing the race.  After scarfing all that down, I had to make a decision, am I really going to try to run home?  My legs felt heavy but they didn’t hurt.  I was definitely tired but I wasn’t exhausted.  I decided to give it a try, sticking close to the metro line so that I could jump on if I needed to.  I ended up running all the way home, (except for the last 3 blocks but only because Mike happened to drive by so he gave me a ride home). 

I paid for it the next few days – the most sluggish, cement-legged run ever on Monday and more shin pain on Tuesday and today – but I still enjoyed it.  Honestly, I can’t say I won’t do it again.

Pros:

• Convenient-ish location
• Great time of year to race in DC and pretty location along the river
• Good organization
• Cookies!

Cons:

• A bit crowded (not for most people, especially for a DC race but this is just a personal preference)

Clarendon Day 10K - Race Report

Most of the times I line up for a race and can tell whether I am having a good day or a bad day; whether breaking a PR is even worth contemplating. At the start line for most races, I know whether I have the focus to stay on pace for the entire distance (even when that focus isn’t equal to the task of keeping me on pace because I just don’t have it in my legs). On the other hand, I also know at the start line whether the race is just one to be enjoyed, that I am better off taking it easy than going for a fast time.

In this respect, I have been pretty good about predicting races and this is probably why I don’t have many races that result in me completely blowing up on the course – my second marathon and the Jonas Cattell 10-Miler. At the start line of the former, I felt good, not great but I didn’t have the discipline to stop myself from running it much too fast, and I simply shouldn’t have lined up for the latter because of an injury (that one was just dumb).

However, on Saturday morning, I was honestly unsure how the race was going to unfold.

This race, the Clarendon Day 10K, was the inaugural event but I’ve run the course numerous times (the now defunct Battle of the Boulevard 10K was moved from the spring to the fall, renamed and the course was altered to remove the mile and half uphill slog at the end…too bad, I enjoyed the challenge of that course). Pacers put on the race and they always do a nice job with their events.

I woke up Saturday morning, dressed and headed out the door. I’ve never been one who saw much merit in warming up before a race. I’ve always just figured I warmed up in the first few miles since my racing paces were never drastically different from my training paces. However, the location of this race (less than 2 miles away) in downtown Arlington made it a good one to test out a warm up. I ran to the start line of the race, leaving about 15 minutes (next time I want to be done warming up even closer to start time) to stretch and get in line.

As I waited for the start of the race, I thought about the pace I wanted to run. After plugging in my 5K time from my last race, the McMillan Running Calculator suggested I could run a 10K in 52+ minutes, maintaining an average pace of 8:30 or so. I was leery of this prediction because my previous 10K times have been in the 54-55 minute range and I had a hard time believing I could sustain such a fast pace.

I decided that “just run” had been working well for me in training so it would be smart to employ it in racing. My plan was to take off running at a fast pace but one that felt “right,” like I could sustain it; check my pace at the first mile marker to see what exactly that “right” pace was and go from there. I would assess how I felt and see if I could home in an 8:30 pace. I had no idea how this strategy would turn out but I will say I was feeling good after having warmed up for a race for the first time. I can honestly say, physically, I felt ready to go.

Now it was just a matter of getting the mental game in check.

“Just run” I told myself as the starting horn blasted and with that I took off.

I maintained a fast pace along the slight downhill of the first mile or so but missed the marker so I had no idea whether I was hitting the 8:30 pace I wanted to hit. I felt good, my legs were strong and I had started focusing – fast but not too fast, pass people as needed but don’t start racing anyone this early, run strong, run steady. Finally, I hit the second mile marker – 16:29.

Woah! That’s 8:15 per mile. OK. Now I’m feeling great.

I tell myself to back off the pace just slightly but then I change my mind. I’m really in the zone, why break the spell? Let’s see how this plays out. One of two things would be the result: I would have great race or I would start slowing down and the ending would be less than fun; either way I will finish the race. Let’s see what these legs can do!

Mile 3: Great, near the halfway point. 8:17. Man, this pace feels great. I’m running strong and steady. I’ve got 3 woman in front me that I want to hang on to – “Bibs” (she had a long sleeve shirt tied around her waist and her bib was showing in the back) who was directly ahead of me, “Reds” (red shorts) who was slightly in front of Bibs and ultimately “Blondie” she was a good bit ahead of me but I didn’t want to lose sight of her. At this point, I didn’t necessarily want to pass them just keep them in sight to know I was staying on pace in between mile markers.

Mile 4: 8:21. Maybe I really can keep this pace up, don’t lose the 8:15 pace. Only 2 more miles to go and all 3 women are still in sight. Legs are strong but that could be a hint of fatigue I detect. I’ll choose to ignore it.

Mile 5: Holy crap! I’m not slowing down – 8:16. Fine, I’ll admit it: my legs are feeling slightly tired but at the same time I’m still running strong. I tell myself to just keep a steady pace for the next mile and that what I was feeling wasn’t tiredness. It just wasn’t…not ifs, ands, or buts about it. All 3 targets are still accounted for but Reds has fallen behind Bibs. I start thinking about whether I want to try to pass them but tell myself to keep running my race, don’t get caught up. I decide to keep them in front of me until we hit Mile 6 and then to see what I could do in the final .2 on the way to the finish.

Mile 6: I hit the lap button but didn’t bother to look at the split. As we headed up the exit ramp toward the finish line, before setting eyes on the Mile 6 sign, I decided to make my move. I picked up the pace and easily passed Reds and then Bibs. For a second, I thought I may have been too hasty; maybe I should have waited until the finish line was in sight but I couldn’t help myself. Now was the time and just as I passed the final mile marker, surging uphill faster and faster, I passed Blondie. I am surprised, and incredibly excited, that my pace for this mile was 8:06. (That’s quarter mile interval pace!) Just call me Furious Feet!!

Mile 6.2 – The Finish Line: I get a boost of adrenaline as I pass Blondie and round the corner to see that the finish line clock stays 51 minutes. My brain is exploding as I thunder to the finish, crossing the line with a gun time of 51:35 – chip time 51:04.

Unbelievable, I think, as I stop my watch and look down at the 51 minutes 4 seconds staring back at me. Not only have I bested my 10K PR by over 3 minutes but I beat my goal time by nearly a whole minute. On top of it all, I feel great. My legs are powerhouses, workhorses, locomotives…they will carry me to great things. (Oh yeah, and maybe warming up for a race really is a good idea).

Miles Splits:
1 & 2 – 16:29
3 – 8:17
4 – 8:21
5 – 8:16
6 – 8:06
6.2 – 1:33

Total 51:04

Pros:
-Location
-Pacers puts on a great local event
- Race shirt was nice

Cons:
-No corrals or pace groups, the start can be congested
-Finish line 2 miles from the food…uphill! (There was a shuttle but I didn’t take advantage of it)