After last night’s run on the trails with Christine, I was looking forward to the run this morning. The race was at the same park and covered a small amount of the same trails we ran last night. Unfortunately, we ran on more of the trails which are the reason the trail is name The Beast.
It was a cool 33 degrees when we got ready to head out. Paul & Marci were hanging back and I was heading out with Susan, Kristen and Debbie. It didn’t take long to get into a pack of runners that was being led by a guy with small running shorts that his ass had eaten. The first chance I got, I put in an uphill sprint to get around the group and spare my precious eyes.
Susan and Kristen came with me and Debbie was no where to be found. I still don’t know where Debbie is. Anyway, we proceeded on at a decent pace up and down and up and down and…….you get the point. I was probably running faster than I should have, but we were having fun. I could feel my leg on the downhills, but other than that it was okay.
At one point, we thought we were lost but we were just all alone. The trail popped back out at the half way point, so all was good. I ditched my jacket and gloves and we started back on the second loop. On the second loop, we all got separated with Susan hauling butt and Kristen slowing down to meditate. I eased off the pace as well trying to limit the jarring on my leg. I slowly began to pick off some walking wounded.
As I was making an easy turn on the trail, a root jumped up and grabbed my foot. I did a quick face plant straight into the dirt. I got up muddy, but nobody saw it so we can say it didn’t happen. With about a mile to go, Kristen showed up again and we ran in together. She did decide to lay on the path and take a nap for a few minutes, but we were only about a quarter mile from the finish so she got up.
We finished in about 2 hours and 20 minutes or so and I was glad it was done. No age group awards for me, but I did get a cool medal for running both races. Susan got third overall female and Kristen got first in her age group.
Paul and Marci came in a little while later looking like the Beast chewed Marci up and spit her out. But she did not quit and finished the race!
Now for the pros and cons with respect to my condition.
PROS
- I did two races back to back without any apparent injuries.
- My night lights worked well enough to keep me from tripping.
- My leg did not hurt enough to stop me from running.
- This course is much more severe than Rocky Raccoon.
CONS
- My leg did concern me enough to pull back on the pace, especially on the downhills.
- This was only 13.1 miles and I was feeling it on the second loop.
- I ended up with a monster blister on my big toe (I think sock and trail camber)
Like I always say, I will know more about my leg tomorrow. If it is going to hurt, that will be the time it screams the loudest.
A huge thanks to Jeff & Forge Racing for another awesome race!
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