Today I ran the Black Warrior 25k trail run. This was my first trail run and I had a great time.I worked 10 hours Friday night came home around 4am, took a small nap and headed out by 5:15. I got to the race site at 6:05 and there was already a big crowd.I saw a couple of friends from work ,Eric Schotz and Sooi Ooi and we chatted for a bit and before I knew it, it was time to start.
The weather was clear and 28 degrees. Not to bad for a trail run. It seems to be warmer in the woods during a run because the trees block the wind,I guess.Sooi had asked me to run with her for a while and I was happy to because I didnt want to start to fast. The first 1.5 miles is a steep incline up a gravel road and then it levels out another mile before you make a right turn into the woods.
The first 2.5 miles went easy at a 9:00/pace and then we hit the trails.Sooi was rite behind me and I was tucked in behind a guy that was running a decent pace.At mile 4 I saw him twist his ankle pretty bad. I asked him if he was alright and he said yes, just go on. I questioned him but he said that he would be ok.I was off again.
I made it to the first aid station (5.9 miles) and I was feeling great.I grabbed a gel and a cup of water and was running again after about 30 seconds.Sooi and I ran together until mile 7 and then she fell out of site. I ran by myself for the next 2 miles and my mind began to wonder. I thought about where I was a year and a half ago. I had just started back running again and couldnt make it a .5 mile without gasping for air.And now here I was doing what others cant/wont do and enjoying every minute of it.:) Oh well, back to the race.
At mile nine I caught up with a guy and a lady that were runnning a ok pace and I thought that I would follow them for a while and take a little break. I was starting to feel a blister forming on the inner part of my right foot.After another mile (mile 10), the blister was starting to get painful.So I decieded to stay behind the two runners in front of me and take it easy.By mile 11 they were starting to slow so I passed them. The trail was now heading up a gradual incline.I tried not to think of the pain in my right foot but sometimes it destracted me.
I hit the last aid station at mile 12.I swallowed a gator aid and was off to the finish. I thought that the blister would feel better on the road but I was wrong.I tried to keep a decent pace but it was messing up my form.I crossed the finish line at 2:43:15. Not to bad but I know that there were several times that I could recall that I could have shaved off several minutes of my time.
Lessons learned--- Buy better trail running shoes. Dont wear your old ones because you dont want to get your nice running shoes dirty.Dont get lulled into a slow pace by following slower runners. The time and miles go by faster than you think.Drink and eat more during the race because I was starving at the end and starting to feel weak.
Everyone did a great job at the race and I met a lot of super nice people. I WILL BE BACK NEXT YEAR!! NEXT TIME IT WILL BE THE 50K. | 