There were so many things that had me concerned about today. The weather wasn't ideal ~ too cold, too windy. My heel is dealing with a bit of bursitis. I know the treatment but hey ~ it still hurts coming down hills. No one ever claims that they've put in enough trail miles this early in the season. Certainly not me. The road is *never* the same as a trail. You don't really have to lift your feet on the road.
So, I awoke with a feeling that I should just stay at home.
I got in the car and drove off anyway. I like proving myself wrong.
My car's thermometer read 24ºF. But, it was a sunny 24ºF.
I barely got a parking spot because so many people were already there (45 minutes before the race). Curious to see how many people entered. I got out of my VUE to register and was hit with a blast of something straight from Chicoutimi, Quebec. Not a good way to be thinking heading to the starting line.
The start does what most trail starts do ~ gains elevation...quickly. Up hill for about 9 minutes. Areas that normally have dried out by now with the dry spring winds were soppy. So, with the clumping of the packs in the first 2 miles or so, no one gets to see or plan their footfalls and the shoes get soaked and mud packed before the first mile. Areas that are normally swampy or are ponds were still frozen for the most part too. I saw a guy in my early pack try to take an alternative to a log bridge. He sunk in all the way up his leg to his shorts (yes, he was wearing shorts) in a weak spot in the ice. It also meant that we could run over one of the larger swampy areas (frozen stiff) instead of running around it. That actually slowed us down more than anything because running across a 20-yard sheet of ice is not exactly easy.
This was more technical running than the same course last year so I knew it would be slower going. There was no foliage on the plants to see the branches, thorn bushes and new shoots, but plenty covering the rocks & roots on the ground because it didn't decay over the winter snow pack (non existent). As such, I took a bad hit to my right thigh on a thorn bush (cuts through the tights), a solid branch to the left quad (nice bruise) and a thin shoot whipped me in my right eye making it water for a long while. I never saw it. Ever try to see sharp rocks with a watery eye while you're running?
The first quarter went well at exactly 40 minutes, but in the second quarter, the technical running caught up with me. Coming down a very sharp hill turning half way down, I simply did not see the root (or rock or whatever). Tuck & roll or Superman dive was the only question as there was no way to stay on my feet. I chose Superman (good choice) and have the forearm bruises to prove it. The turn around came at 1:28 which was 3 minutes off of last year so not unhappy, but knew that the sub 3 hour finish was highly in doubt.
On the way back, some leg tightness and fatigue which I addressed with some electrolyte, more water and a Snickers bar. I figured I downed about 2 liters of water during this course. Didn't cramp too badly this year and actually did a faster final quarter this year than 2006, so I guess that I have something to look on the positive about. There was plenty of dried salts on my face even in the 30º-ish weather.
Final: 3:11:30 (my watch). That works out to 11:58 / mile. I had wanted to break 3 hours for this race as I did a 3:03 in 2006, but it just didn't happen.
It was just a tough day to be a hero.
Sometimes just getting up, showing up and surviving has to be enough.
Here is an article from a Nashua newspaper: here
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