Mommy's First Trail Race

Finisher Mug

Sunday, March 20th, 2016, Ostera (1st day of Spring) my running buddy, Pam, wanted to run a trail race, the Germantown 10 mile trail run.  She is a trail runner.  She runs trails for fun and excels at them.  I have just started running trails because I have read that it is very good for people with foot pain.  Up until this race I had only run 5 miles on trails very slowly.  Pam and I do a lot of training together since our paces aren't too different.  We both have days where we push the other one and that makes us great running buddies.  The thing that makes it difficult to train together is the fact that Pam is training for trail races where I train for road races.  She doesn't tend to get a lot of training runs on trails when she runs with me.  Due to this inequity, I agreed to run a trail race with Pam.  She needed the trails and hills, I needed the distance.  I didn't know what I was getting into.

Our race group

Two of our other friends, who also run a lot of trails, decided to come out for the race too.  For me, it was a free race.  My husband and I joined ORRRC (Ohio River Road Runners Club) back in December which gives us free entry into about 3 of their races a month.  When they have fit in our schedule, I have tried to go to them and this was my 2nd race with them.  For people who aren't members the races are $9 so it is easy for people to join in.

We all planned on going a slow pace and set ourselves at the back of the group.  The first part of the race was on the road, which was not that fun in trail shoes but it did help me warm up a little bit.  We got on the trails and started heading downhill, then uphill... then downhill... then uphill.  I was not prepared for the hills.  This was also the first trail I ran with my new glasses with Transitions lenses.  When we entered the trails my glasses were completely shaded and when I went onto shaded parts of the trail I might as well have been running in pitch black darkness, on hills.  I was essentially running blind and needed to adjust to this.  I tried to keep up with my friends, but it was not going to happen.  Pam was kind enough to stick with me.  She slowed down, stopped and waited, and warned me about dangers along the trail.  By the time I got to one of the more extreme hills my calves had turned into rocks.  My legs were screaming at me that they could not go up any more.  I wasn't even 2 miles into this race and I wanted to cry but Pam was right there encouraging me and keeping me moving forward.

Pam leading, me following

We got to a grassy, flat section and I was so relieved.  I walked and stretched out my calves.  Pam had me jog it out in intervals which helped me loosen up.  There were more sections in the woods but they were less hilly.  I was starting to get a handle on these trials and was enjoying it a little bit.  There was a wide open section that had tire tracks and was high above another section.  Pam and I let people pass us as they approached us, I wasn't going to get any faster and I didn't want to slow them down.  At this section we caught back up to one person we had let pass.  She was wearing a Flying Pig jersey and ran with us for a while.  We didn't really have a lot of people pass us and we only passed a few people.  So we chose our starting position well.

Route map
Germantown 10 miler was 9.2 miles (not complaining)

The next section was all about the mud.  Pam warned me that it would be muddy and I knew that she knew what she was talking about but we had not run into a lot of mud by this point.  The last 2 miles before turning around were full of muddy patches.  The mud was deep, gloopy, and at just the right consistency that it reminded me of brownie batter and tried to suck my shoes off.  We kept as close to the edges of the mud as we could, hoping we could keep running rather than walking.  We took little paths around the mud when available but even with these techniques we still ended up deeply in mud.   At one point along the mud we were running along the edge and I almost ended up falling face first into a mud pit.  I was on the left side of the path, my right foot went down on the branch of a bush, my left foot tried to take the next step and got caught behind the branch.  I was lucky to catch myself before falling.  We also started having people returning on the trail at about mile 3 which meant we had to make sure there was room for them to pass us on their way to the finish.  Our faster friends were coming back too and we ran into them close to the turn around.  They were shouting encouragement and enjoying themselves.  I was still struggling but I kept pushing through.

A couple times when I was really struggling Pam told me that I could turn around and it would be fine.  I know she wanted to make sure I didn't hate trails or her at this race.  I also felt guilty for holding her back since I know she is a beast when it comes to trails but I signed up for a 10 mile trail run, I was going to complete a 10 mile trail run.

Elevation profile of the race, steep hills

We got to the turn around, past a beautiful lake and headed back along the path we had already taken.  This is when it started to be fun.  I knew what to expect and how to handle the hurdles we were going to face a little better than I did on the way out.  Pam and I continued to stick together and discuss what we needed to prepare for.  The open area with tire tracks seemed shorter than before and the grass was tougher and longer than I remembered but it was nice to recall how hard it had been and feel that it wasn't that hard any more.  The only part I dreaded was the hills.  After each one, Pam assured me that the next one was the last one and even though I knew she was being optimistic rather than realistic, I let her stay positive and cheer me up.  We got to the road and picked up our pace.  We knew the trails were over and we were almost done.  There had been a pair of ladies behind us and we did not want them to pass us in the last stretch.  We crossed the finish line in 2:09 and I was so happy.  I gave Pam a hug and nearly collapsed on her.  I couldn't believe I had survived that.

Finishing

Pam made sure that I used "The Stick" on my calves which hurt so much.  They were still very tight and I didn't even realize it.  In fact it took about 4 days for me to start feeling normal again.  My calves, shins, quads, thighs, shoulders, and core all took their turns being sore and sensitive.  Running 4 miles on the Tuesday after was difficult and Pam, the awesome friend that she is, slowed down for me again and we had a fun easy run.

Looking back on the trail race, it could have been so much worse.  Yes, there was mud and we did have hills but the hills could have been muddy, slippery, icy, or snowy.  It was a little chilly that day but it could have been hot, humid, and swarming with bugs.  My calves struggled but I did not get a new injury and the injury I have been fighting did not hurt during the race.  I did not cry, fall, or give up.  I had Pam with me which made the whole race thousands of times better than if I had tried to run it on my own.  She kept me going and helped me with the hardest parts of the race.  I couldn't have finished this event without Pam by my side.  She is a wonderful friend!  She even listened to all my random thoughts as they arose during the race.  She made the event fun.

I think this trail races asks a question.  Will this be my only trail race or will I do another in the future?  The best answer I can give is that I don't know.  There were fun parts and hard parts.  I don't think I am ready to do one completely on my own yet (they are still scary) especially since you never know what might be on a trail.  I don't think I am ruling out trails either.  I might want to try some easier ones, get a little more experience, before doing more like Germantown.  I guess I am open to doing more trails and I don't think Pam will let me quit trails now that she has gotten me through this one.