I Run

At one point during the Pisgah Mountain Trail Race on Sunday I gingerly navigated a slippery log over a small pond that had formed in the middle of a trail, and I thought to myself, "This is a blast!" I felt like a kid exploring in the woods and I wanted to linger. So I had to remind myself constantly that I was running a race. And what a race it was. The Pisgah Mountain Trail Races consist of a 23K and a 50K trek through Pisgah State Park in Chesterfield, NH. I chose to do the 23K since this was my very first trail race, I really had no idea what the landscape was like, and I didn't think I was quite prepared to do an ultra. And it turns out that was a wise choice. The day started out with rain, and it really didn't let up until the middle of the race. After picking up my number, t-shirt, trail map, and complimentary loaf of bread from the Chesterfield Fire Station I sat in my truck to stay dry until the race started. I debated on whether to wear a cap since I don't race with a cap unless it's either really sunny or really raining. While it wasn't pouring, the rain was still steady and I figured that I'd eventually need the cap to shield the rain from my eyes. At 8:40 I got out to gather at the start, and at 8:45 we were off. The course starts out on a road with a slight downhill, then climbs as you run toward the trailhead. There was some idle chatter along the road, but as soon as I hit the trail the focus turned to where I put my feet. The rain had made a pretty good mess of the trail so I weaved around and leaped over puddles as best I could. The initial crowd of runners dispersed quickly especially after the 50K runners went off on a different trail, and I found myself within sight of at most two or three runners the whole race. At times I'd pass a woman who was running about the same pace as I was, then she'd overtake and pass me on some of the uphills that I walked. At first I didn't walk some of the hills, but I soon found that trying to run them - especially the steeper ones near the summit of Pisgah Mountain - was counter-productive. My legs would get totally spent and I'd have problems with the subsequent downhills, which might eventually lead me to do a faceplant in the mud if I didn't change my strategy. So I did some walking on the uphills. Then again, that caused me to be a bit reckless on some of the downhills to make up the time spent walking. There were plenty of slick roots and rocks embedded in the mud, and every now and then I'd feel my foot slip. The numerous wooden bridges were also very slippery. At one point there was a large puddle at the bottom of a hill and before I knew what I was doing I leaped off a large stone and realized immediately that the puddle was a little too wide for me to clear. But as I thought about the spectacular splash I'd make I spied another, much smaller stone just at the edge of the puddle on the other side and targeted that as my landing spot. It was a desperate move that could have resulted in disaster if my foot had slipped or if I turned my ankle. But amazingly, I nailed it and kept on going. At first I was determined to keep my feet as dry as possible to avoid blisters, but the more I ran the more my legs and lungs burned, and the less I cared about where to step. So sometime after summiting Pisgah Mountain I just started plowing through whatever happened to obstruct my progress. Fortunately, my shoes (Adidas Kanadias) shed the water weight pretty quickly. There were two aid stations (I think) - one at about 4 miles and the other at 9 - where there was plenty of Gatorade and water, cookies, and other refueling options (thank you, volunteers!). After the second aid station I tried picking up my pace. It was tough to tell on the trails how I was pacing with all the ups and downs, but eventually I caught up with the woman I'd been exchanging places with earlier and she voiced some encouragement as I passed. I tried to reply with (grunt) some encouragement of my own, but I think it just came out as "Nnght gawp" (translation: "Looking great, keep going!"). The final stretch of trail to the road was incredibly muddy, so when my feet hit terra firma it was like stepping on a cloud. I ran as fast as I dared without my legs cramping. As I approached the finish, I totally missed the chute and a woman standing nearby was kind enough to point out my mistake (I really just wanted to run the whole course again!). So I did a quick about-face, and into the chute I went. I finished at 2:11:12, which works out to an average 9:12 pace (2008 results). The post-race spread was great, including barbequed burgers and hot dogs, pasta with pesto, cookies, and yogurt. Thanks to Gary and Chris and all the other volunteers who made this a race to remember. It was a great initiation into trail racing. I think I'm hooked.

# posted by jm @ 6:05 PM