9:30 AM - Temp was 50ish and blustery cold at the top of the mountains. 50 is an overstatement. After going to bed at about 8:30 last night, I woke up wide awake. Wasn't sure what to expect with my ankle but decided to do the race anyways. I've wanted to do it for the last four years but haven't had the chance to. Loaded up the car and drove down to Thacher Park outside of Albany in the town of Voorheesville. It's kind of weird driving yourself to a race, and I got there about 9:00. But didn't have to make small talk with anyone. Had just enough time for a warmup (the cars were about .3 miles from the sign in table) and then some light stretching. My friend Laura told me to go out faster than normal because since the HGH and the Squirrely Six Miler are run simultaneously, you get a lot of hooplah at the beginning that can cut you off and bog you down. I was shooting for about 2:30 I told Emmy on the phone because I didn't want to over do it. Ankle felt pretty good on the warmup so decided to go for it.
THE RACE
MILES 1-3: Ran pretty consistent. Started off a bit fast, but settled into a good rhythm. The first 100m of the race you run through a manmade graveyard that lists various entrants and supporters which is funny. In the mad dash from the line I saw a Gerard Butler 300 Warrior, A candycorn girl, Little Red Riding hood, A runaway bride, a few gorillas (on the side) and loads of other funny costumes. One girl was dressed as Superwoman and a guy yelled "Hey Supergirl can you carry me up the first hill?!" Haha. Ran to the 600m mark around a field and then we went into the woods. The woods are treacherous to say the least. Supposedly they were worse last year, but woo doggy they were bad this year! We got a ton of rain dumped on us yesterday and in Saratoga it was monsoon-like. The trails were washed out, filled with puddles, which, after about 600 runners go traipsing through them turn into thick mud milkshakes. What's fun about the HGH is that it's put on by the ARE (Albany Running Exchange), a running group founded by SUNY Albany college kids. They know how to put on fun races. And this one delivered! A couple uphills and then boom, somewhere between miles 1 and 2 I rolled my ankle again coming downhill. I caught myself before I actually stepped on it. I don't know if it's the shoes or what, but not cool. I slowed up and stood to the side of the trail to check it out. Nothing too major I don't think. It's a bit sore now 4 hours after the race. We'll see how it goes. Hit the 3 mile split in 26 something.
MILES 4-6: After further reflection I have come to realize the course, while loads of fun, was probably more suitable for the 6-miler than the half. As there was no 3 or 4 miler, the 6 miler was the "short" race. Most of the costumed runners ran in the 6 miler, though I did come across a witch picking up bananas during the last .5 miles of the course. (They have an award for whomever picks the most bananas up). No way I was letting a witch beat me! So I hightailed it and beat her to the finish. I popped out of the 6 mile mark and stayed to the left and ran under the finish line and on to the second half of the course. Turns out the runaway bride I ran most of the race with was named "Emily" and she was actually Emily Gravelle. Her fiance Chris was one of my buddies on the xc team at college and also he played a good zombie today at the race, scaring me three times jumping out of the bushes! Hahaha! I believe I hit the 10k mark around 55:00.
MILES 7-9: Here there were a ton of puddles, lots of mud, and loads of fun. I kept getting the song lyric "Slip sliding away" stuck in my head. It was fun jumping into puddles and slipping into them even when you thought you were staying on the "dry" side. There were a ton of out and backs during these miles (I think 3 total) which made for slow going in parts because you have a trail that's five or six feet wide with divits from 4x4s and ATVs that's hard enough to navigate. Throw in rain, mud, and runners coming AT you.. a whole new ballgame. It was fun though to challenge yourself and make it out of there alive.
MILES 10-13.11: These miles were mainly downhill, backtracking on the course we took in. There was a cool section at about miles 10-11 that was winding through conifers at the top of a ridge. Made it seem like you were running faster than you were. I started to gain ground during the last mile and was hitting a solid 8:00 pace in the last bit. Really surprised I ran so strongly considering I ran so poorly last week. Nice to get a good run in even if it's on a shaky foot. Will ice after a shower I think and see how it feels. Picked off a couple runners in the last mile including the witch. (No, I did not say "A witch? Burn her Burn her!) though I did laugh because it crossed my mind. Finished strong and got my medal, a stuffed orange gorilla!
**Results just posted. I got 94th out of 271 runners, good for 15th place in the 20-24 y/o division for guys. Not bad considering rolling my ankle on Tuesday and again today. I wish it would just heal already!
Total Time: 2:02:19 Total Distance: 13.11 miles Average Pace: 9:20
COOL DOWN: Stretched and did a cooldown mile in the blistering wind at about 9:40 pace. Changed and got in my car and drove to Albany. Emmy and I had lunch at a tavern on Wolf Road called JT MAXIES. Really good food! And had a Guinness to celebrate the loads of fun I had today :).
My finisher's award :)
My Brooks's are a bit dirty. But I love them that way!
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