I've always read in the many books that make up my running library that "You're only a virgin for the first time." The first time is special with any race distance, and I wish I had had a blog when I did my first 5k, 10k, 1/2 or full 'thon. Thankfully I do for this race that I did today because it was by far THE MOST FUN I'VE EVER HAD DURING A RACE IN MY LIFE! Maybe it was the excitement that came with trying something new, the very real possibility of "hypothermia, hyperthermia, exhaustion, animal bites, sprained and broken ankles" that lured me to Pittsfield State Forest in Pittsfield, MA. Maybe it was sheer stupidity. But despite the rookie mistakes I made today, my experience at Curly's Trail Half Marathon not only has solidified my desire to do next year's event, but has shown me that trail running is where the true fun is at. It's not like road running where you can just space out (Found this out the hard way several times today, especially at Miles 5 & 12). There is greater respect and comraderie from one and all. And people seem to share my desire for "running in the moment" and "enjoying the scenery". Man what a memorable run.
WARM-UP: Woke up at 5:45 this morning with a sore throat still lingering. There was a thick fog outside, but that eventually wore off about an hour into the race. I got dressed, made some coffee and got my race gear in order. Thankfully I was at Emmy's since I drove after work yesterday. Filled up my Camelbak, but didn't end up using it because my friend from the Saratoga Stryders, Laura Clark, brought an extra waterbottle holder that she let me borrow for the race. She was doing the full marathon, so after I finished the half I dropped it off at her car. Got my shirt and bib number and then went back to my car. Temperature said 37 degrees in the fog. Most of the trail runners were wearing winter clothing. I felt like the odd guy out. All these veteran runners seemed to not only know each other, but also know the secrets that come with trail running. At the prerace meeting @ 7:30 they were all downing Hammer Gel and weird concoctions of some of the weirdest looking racefuel I've ever seen. It must have worked though because they all took off so fast! The one downer at the Pittsfield State Forest is that there are no bathrooms at the Lulu Area where the race starts and ends. As the bathrooms were over a half mile away, I decided to opt for jogging into the woods a quarter mile and then back again. Took some of the sting out of the cold. Did .5 miles in 6:00.
THE RACE: The race started promptly at 8:00. I got the water bottle holder from Laura about 20 seconds before the race started and slipped it on. We wished each other good luck and soon the "Ready, Set, GO!" echoed from the race director, a slight and tiny built little lady named Beth who had more energy than my entire 8th grade class. We took off hard, as there was a last minute change on the course and we were told the first 3 miles were pretty flat. It was out into the trails and winding left and right and left again.
The first three miles were 9:04, 9:33, and 9:56. At about the third mile we passed the parking lot again and then beared to the right and up a huge hill. Miles 3-5 were tough because they changed to single track going up alongside a brook (I believe Lulu's Cascade). Footing was tough sometimes and treacherous. I almost slipped and fell into the brook on a wet slap of rock. It was here that I started to think about the wisdom I've read in all the ultra books "Fast-hike the uphills, and run the downhills". This would be something I would follow especially after getting lost between miles 5 and 6.
"LOST" : The course was marked with orange and blue pin flags and orange tape hanging in the branches. Despite being told to keep aware of my surroundings, somewhere between mile 5 and 6 I got caught looking down probably to keep from slipping and falling. I ended up heading right and up and over a small hill instead of bearing left. Luckily another guy did the same thing as me, and he came back to me after about ten minutes of running. We talked and decided that we must have missed a turn. He was doing the full marathon and I was doing the half. We turned and jogged back and caught a third would-be-wanderer on the way back. Got back on track after doing an extra 1.5 miles. Fun fun! It wouldn't be a very good first experience at trail running without stories, would it?!
RACE (continued): One of the funny things about this race is that they had papparazzi during the first three miles. And about every .25 miles there were various stuffed animals stashed on logs, in trees, on stumps. It was kind of funny because you didn't know if y ou were going to see a monkey, panda, squirrel, beaver, etc. etc. around the next turn! I got back on track and hit up the aid station around mile 5.75. I filled my bottle with half water and half HEED, grabbed 3 or 4 cookies and a fig newton and headed out. Did about .3 miles on pavement before heading back into the woods. Finally caught up to Laura and explained what Ed and I had done. Turns out the other guy lost is also a Stryder! Miles 4-7 were: 12:51, 12:13, 12:23, 12:56.
Mile 8 was a tough mile with some hard uphills but then it leveled out. I started catching people and passed about six people during this mile as I got back on course. A lot of people were curious as to my "Fast Speed" since I was so far back in the pack. Mile 9 found us running down a very rocky ATV trail. Looked like a glacier had carved out the trail and left all these rocks in the dry river bed. Was fun weaving back and forth. Just before mile 10 I caught up to two more people. Mile 8 was 12:34 and Mile 9: 12:02.
As I came up on a huge uphill I saw another guy walking up it. After a couple minutes I caught up to him and found out his name was Mike and that he was upset because he thought this was a road race. I didn't want to make him even more irate but if he had only checked the website and/or read the application fully he'd have known what was in store! He was complaining and saying how he wanted to drop out at the next aid station, etc. etc. A bad apple. I didn't want him to get to me. So after awhile I kept quiet and let him listen to his iPod and stew over his predicament.
The second guy I came up on was the guy that I ended up running the rest of the race with, Wayne Wilhelm (age 42). Turns out he's from CT and we started talking about all kinds of history stuff because his twin girls are 11 and started middle school and absolutely love history. Talked about how he went on a cruise to Europe including stops in Rome, France, England, Pompeii. He was a really friendly guy and we settled into a really good pace. Miles 10-14 were: 14:08, 12:42, 11:05, 12:36, and 11:39.
Only other mishap came after the aid station at mile 10 (which was actually moved to mile 11; sucks for Mike because he wanted to drop out and probably had to run another mile to actually do so which seems pointless to just quit a race so close to the finish line. Eh, whatever. At the last aid station I refilled my HEED (which I'm really liking now!) and grabbed some FigNewtons and took off with Wayne. We jogged a bit on pavement and then got the turn into the woods. The ladies at the aid station told us the last 3 miles were downhill so we were pretty stoked about that. Got the conversation going really well, but then I stopped paying attention and took a spill at about mile 12. Cut my right hand on the palm a bit, but nothing bad. Actually it helped me in that my right quad had been tight until I fell and the knot was gone when I stood up. Had one other mishap on a root, but caught myself and got to the finish. I finished in the same time as Wayne. I couldn't bring myself to beat a guy that I just ran the last four miles of the race with. He's training for a marathon in October in Newport. I told him he'll do awesome! I was all smiles as I came down the hill to the finish. Someone had a cowbell, Beth the race director was clapping and yelling, and then I saw Emmy!! She made it to the finish for me! I was so happy to see her at a race that I was proud of finishing! I got my medal and shook hands with Wayne and then hugged Emmy. I got more food and then she and I ended up going jogging on the roads to do a cool down before coming back to the car. Ran a mile about 11:50 pace. I felt awesome!! What a great race! I only wonder how I would have faired had I not gotten lost.
Ended up getting 22nd place and was the 2nd 1/2 marathon runner in the 20-29 division, and the first runner under 25 years. Actually, I was the youngest runner in either race!!! Didn't get any swag though, as the race was small and only winners got stuff. Felt really great. Next year will be awesome!! Race Time: 2:44:32 Race Distance: 13.10 miles* Average Pace: 12:33
*= Really was closer to 14.6 or .7 miles because of getting lost.
This was the longest I've been on my feet running since I did my second marathon in 2007. Ran total about three hours for the day. Had a blast. Can't wait for my next race.
After the race I went to Emma's house, showered, changed and then went to North Adams to celebrate Skyler's 3rd birthday with family and friends. We had a great day. Just got home about 8:30 pm tonight. Going to have to prep early tomorrow a.m. for school I suspect. Oh cool fact was that we walked down the road from Skyler's house and went walking through a park. Saw the only white marble dam in the United States, operated from about 1845-1947 when the buildings burned down. Some really cool natural bridges and rock formations there! Today was truly a perfect day.
About 50 meters from the finish line with Wayne Wilhelm. He got 21st, me 22nd | 
