Hosted by Bill Bartley of Indiana Running Company and with an appearance by the Mag 7 van and always-friendly Kelly Smith, the race was headquartered from the Lower Shelter where check-in was fast, easy and sociable. There was a big fire in the hearth, large pots of chili already starting to smell great, and tasteful music mixed with the wood smoke in the air. I had plenty of time before the race start and really enjoyed visiting with several runners I haven't seen for awhile. See, I used to do A LOT of the Mag 7 races, but not so much last year. So it was great to see that gang again and I hope to do more of that series this season.
Have I said it was cold? The early a.m. low was 7 here at the house that morning and by the time I had made the hour drive over the the park it was climbing toward 20 according to the car thermometer. After having being spoiled by a very mild Winter so far this felt worse than it was. It could be worse. Much worse.
Long sleeve tech shirt with long sleeve half-zip top, my fav Asics Thermopolis tights, hat and gloves were my ensemble for the day. I wear the cheapo brown cotton gloves you get bundled in packs of three down to the farmer's implement store, and have never had a pair of actual running gloves. I'd hate to pay that much for something I will be wiping my nose on and perhaps leaving behind as I have done once. This was last year, after a strange tug-of-war with a race volunteer over a paper cup of Gatorade which he was weirdly reluctant to let go of. My gloves got soaked with the stuff and became very sticky and extra gross, so after spying a trash can a few miles later they never made it to the finish line that day.
I had wanted to wear the Merrell Mix Master trail shoes but figuring the snow and several days of freezing temps would probably make for some slick conditions I opted for the Saucony Peregrines, traction master supreme. The Merrell's also have great traction but are not race tested and I wanted to play it safe. The Peregrines, see my review here, were perfect and I ran without undue worry of footing, a good feeling to have. I also tried some Smartwool socks for the first time in a race, a little bit thicker than I like but not bad at all, and very warm. Warm feet = happy heart.
There were about 40-50 of us there as we headed out on the trails at the start. The course was well marked and the woods were very scenic, though I mostly focused on the ground in front of me and on making my way in the crowd. I hadn't planned to charge out hard at all, just wanted to push a little harder than usual and go for a good run in the woods with some good like minded people. I'm not overly competitive with others as a rule, but I do prefer to pass rather than be passed and was happy to be moving forward pretty steadily. The crowd thinned as we each found our pace and soon I was in mental zoneland. I'm not one to do calculations of split times and related pace regulation and follow a pre-race scheduled chart of times to mark along the way. In fact I totally suck at all of that and prefer to look at the trees and hear the birds and let my mind wander as it will. The topic this time was mostly "running is life: cliche or applicable creed?" I decided it was bona fide since; the more you put in the more you get out, it's better with a challenge, unseen twists in your path are always ahead, sometimes you can coast downhill, sometimes it hurts, it mostly makes you happy, it gets better as you go. And more I can't remember.
The course was interesting and not as hilly as I would have guessed, and I was happy to have more juice than I thought i would during the climbing, a general weakness of mine. It took us out of the woods and onto a road for the last 3/4 mile or so and most of that was downhill. This was great, a time when I love to try and charge to the finish anyhow, and the downhill made that even better. I crossed the line and stopped the Garmin, realizing later it had not stopped. Again. I've done this before, hit the button at the finish and then realized later it was still running, sometimes seeing the drive home included on the map when I download it later. Oops. I figured 46:23 was probably about right.
I talked some with racers who had finished around me, went up to the shelter for some great chili, visited with friends in the parking lot, and finally headed back home, generally happy with this first race of the still new year. Thanks to everyone involved for putting this well-run race on for us to enjoy.
Next race- DINO Eagle Creek 15K, unless another one is around a twist in my path...
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