6:00 AM - Yesterday was a crazy day. I got a call and found out my sister was flying in from Orlando with Rocco because his great aunt died and they needed to go to the funeral. I arranged to pick her up from the airport at 8pm and then go home for the night to see everyone before getting up at 6am today and driving back for the race to Massachusetts. Well I played one of the best surprises of all time. My mom was totally in the dark about it. She knew I was coming but I made excuses for why I was late. I had Su hide out on the back porch and then when no one was in the kitchen I had her come in and sit at the bar. I then called into the living room that I needed Mom's help because I have something at the bar for her. Well she eventually comes out and does a 1-2-3 triple take and then screamed and jumped up and down and I think she might have peed her pants a little. :D! heheheheh! Was so cool to see Jonn too back from first official week in college. Nice to have everyone under the same roof for a night. Got back to Pittsfield, and changed and headed over to the race. Saw my friend Laura Clark who was also in the race. I didn't know what to expect with the course because they changed it from last year and we essentially were doing the course in reverse! Last year if you remember I ran the course and got lost and ended up running about 14 miles total. This year they first toted the course as a half marathon 13.11, then cited their errors and listed it as a 13.6. THEN in the published results it said "about 14 miles". I think it was fairly accurate but I think the race was closer to 15 miles, not 14. WARM-UP: (1 mile; 9:02) After I got my bib number I did a slow warmup and stretched before the racer's meeting at 9:15. Beth Herder the race director is so funny. She said that if anyone got lost this year it was "their own damn fault!" haha. Note: I did NOT get lost this year despite running the last 11 miles by myself :). THE RACE MILES 1-4ish: (33:30) There was a 5k being run simultaneously this year and a few went out fast. I hung in the back near dead last. I knew I would be sore from Monday as it hadn't been a week yet since my last race. It is just about having fun and getting back in shape right now. I ran pretty close to Laura actually. Generally I finish well ahead of her as she is in the 60+ division. Hit the "5k" in 33 something. Everyone agreed the "5k" was long and closer to 3.6-4 miles MILES 4-6: "THE ASCENT" Went up the steep switchbacks to the top of the mountain by Berry Pond. Had to walk part of mile 4. Tripped and fell once in mile 5 and jammed my middle finger on my right hand. Still hurts. Ouch! Mile 6 had an aid station at the top of the mountain. Very windy however. Temp today was only 58 and gusts up to 20mph overcast. Yuck! MILES 6-11: "LOLLIPOP LANE" This section of the race was in the shape of a lollipop. You went out from mile 6, and did a nice 2 mile descent, then turned abruptly and faced one of the hardest climbs I have ever done. Even harder than the Greylock half marathon. Mile 9 took me 27:00 to complete! It was insane! Also had a hydration problem. Drained my waterbottle during mile 9 and still had 2 more to go to the next aid station. Also needed to tape my fingers. Got to the aid station and refueled knowing that the last "2" miles were downhill to the finish down Lulu Brook Trail. MILES 11-14+: "THE DESCENT" Struggled to maintain form and fight fatigue in the latter stages of the race. Around the 13.11 mark there was a multicolored banner across the trail so I figured another couple minutes of running and I'd be there. Well that turned into nearly 10 more minutes of running singletrack along the brook before I popped out and made my way to the finish. Kind of funny and sad because it had taken me so long to finish one loop that some of the spectators thought I was finishing the "second loop". LOL imagine me a winner of a race, let alone winner of a trail marathon. Oh to be able to run with the champions one day. Total Time: 3:03:58 Total Distance: 14+ miles Average Pace: 13:08 A plus - as is the case with almost every trail race I run, I was able to put significant time gaps between me and the next runner, over 6.5 minutes in this case. Generally no one finishes close to me. Next year I would like to be closer to 2.5 hours. Have to make an effort to get in better shape though.
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