This morning Sophie and I got up early, sneaked out of hotel rooms so as not to awaken sleeping husbands and children, and excitedly headed over to the start of the Furtive trail half marathon!
There was also a 5K and 10K being run along the same course, so the turnout was pretty good (though there were not as many runners as there were at Hells Hills).
Turns out the map was bogus though. The race directors were misinformed about distances, so as they relayed instructions during the gathering at the start of the race, the 10K runners were told to run their loop twice, and us half marathoners had to run the 5K loop once plus the 10K loop FOUR times. Hamsters in wheels... No matter, we were still pumped! Sharpee race numbers will do that for ya.
The morning was blessedly cool (for summer in the Deep South - low 70s), though still quite humid. We ran the 5K loop and one 10K loop before taking our first water and refuel break at the aid station, which was located at the convergence point, about 4.5 miles into our run, then did the same for each of the other two times we passed the aid station on our loops (the 10K loop was about 2.5 miles, so our breaks were at the 4.5, 7, 9.5, and 12 mile marks). Other than that, we didn't walk except up one very short (but steep) hill. I was honestly really proud of us for running so much (I figured we'd need more breaks, simply because the heat and humidity this summer have caused me to need a lot more breaks than usual, even on my short runs). The course was mostly flat (so I'm sure that helped a lot - we don't have flat routes in Vicksburg), but the footing was terrible due to palm stumps, vines (big and small), giant holes, and branches fallen across the trail. I tripped at least two dozen times, but only hurt myself twice, and only fell once. What's a trail race without a little blood and stubbed toes though, right?
The morning was blessedly cool (for summer in the Deep South - low 70s), though still quite humid. We ran the 5K loop and one 10K loop before taking our first water and refuel break at the aid station, which was located at the convergence point, about 4.5 miles into our run, then did the same for each of the other two times we passed the aid station on our loops (the 10K loop was about 2.5 miles, so our breaks were at the 4.5, 7, 9.5, and 12 mile marks). Other than that, we didn't walk except up one very short (but steep) hill. I was honestly really proud of us for running so much (I figured we'd need more breaks, simply because the heat and humidity this summer have caused me to need a lot more breaks than usual, even on my short runs). The course was mostly flat (so I'm sure that helped a lot - we don't have flat routes in Vicksburg), but the footing was terrible due to palm stumps, vines (big and small), giant holes, and branches fallen across the trail. I tripped at least two dozen times, but only hurt myself twice, and only fell once. What's a trail race without a little blood and stubbed toes though, right?
When we got back to the finish (across the boardwalk at the nearby nature center, through the center of a throng of school children, and past the post race party where the raffle was well underway), we passed Jay and Alex with the kids, and Jay snapped this photo of our behinds...
We finished in 2 hours and 35 minutes according to the race clock. 2:33:16 according to my Garmin (which I paused during our one potty break). Since we expected it to take us anywhere from 2:45-3:00, we were very pleased with that time (it gave us an average 11:40/mile pace, so my guess is that we ran the trail at closer to 10:30/mile pace since we stopped for 2-3 minutes each time we passed the water station). We had a lot of fun out there together, keeping our pace comfortable enough to chat the entire way (well, except for the last 2 miles - we were both getting pretty tired by that point, with sore ankles due to the need to correct and overcorrect footing on trails), and even made a friend (an older guy who has run over 75 marathons and ultramarathons - we played leapfrog with him throughout the race since he didn't stop at the aid station, but we always caught him and passed him in between). We were happy with our race swag (tech tees, water bottles, stickers, and unlimited Clif bars and Shot Bloks), but disappointed that they didn't wait longer to start the raffle (it was basically over by the time we came into the finish) and that ALL THE BEER WAS GONE! One of the best parts about running trail races with Forge is that one of the race directors is a brewer, so there is always lots of homebrew at the finish. But either he didn't bring as much this time, or the racers were heavier drinkers than usual. Bummer too, because nothing satisfies your thirst and hunger after running for 2.5 hours better than an ice cold beer... On the plus side, I won first place in my age group. Why? Because I was the only one in my age group! Ha!
To end this race recap... Sweetest things... Not only did Jay and Alex watch the kids for us while we ran, but they met us out there to cheer in our finish, then took the kids afterward to pick up lunch for us while we went straight back to the hotel to shower in peace and quiet. Such luxury! AND, as we were leaving we sent Jay back to the cars via the race trail past the nature center (shorter than the trek across the soccer fields we all took on the way in) and James went with him to help. Apparently at each and every railroad tie across the trail James told Jay "Wait daddy, I'll help you", then proceeded to lift Jay's very heavy Rollabout (AKA scooter) over the hurdle while Jay hopped on one foot for a step. He also helped him over the gravel and up the stairs. I can't tell you how happy that made Jay, and how proud I am of our boy. He is truly growing up, and becoming such a considerate individual. He's always been sweet and loving, but the help that's he's been giving both Jay and I around the house since Jay's surgery is significant, and we REALLY appreciate it! James, thank you for being great kid!
And that's a wrap for this event. Our next trail race will likely be the Cajun Coyote 20-miler in early December (our anniversary weekend... yes, my husband is awesome and super supportive of my rekindled love of running and racing - though I'm pretty sure I owe him...). Hopefully there will be far more beer at that event. Perhaps even at the aid stations... What? It really is great for refueling! The plan will be to use that race as our longest training run for our marathon training plans (you are suppose to run multiple 16- and 18-milers during training, with one run at 20 or 22 miles about a month before the marathon, so a 20-mile trail race, which takes longer due to the terrain, will give us a great "time on feet" training run). It's another Louisiana race, and another relatively flat course, so we should have a fun time running there. And I'm actually feeling much more confident about that race now that I know we ran this half in a reasonable amount of time (I'd already had nightmares about us being out there running around Lake Chicot for 6 hours... and now I'm thinking we could finish it in 4.5 hours, so bonus for that!)
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