Let's start at the beginning shall we? There was no packet pick up the day before, so we had to be there the morning of to get our packets. No big deal, I didn't set out a flat Michelle, but I did gather everything and put it in a pile. I got my tailwind bottles filled and in the fridge, and got my other tail wind scooped and in bags. I always feel like a drug dealer doing this LOL!
We got to bed fairly early for a wake up call of 5:30 am. We planned on leaving at 6:15 am to head out. Lucky for me, Teri agreed to drive, again, since I have the propensity to get lost. Now that i know where the trail is, it was actually pretty easy to get to since it was just right before you went over the bridge to go to Fancy Creek.
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| A beautiful start! |
We got there with plenty of time and had a potty break and then sat in the car for a little bit staying warm. They had a fire going but it was super smoky. Even though it was chilly then, we all knew it would be warming up later. I chose to wear a long sleeve shirt (my new shirt I got from the AMR podcast) and tights with my normal trucker hat and no gloves (yeah thumb holes). I wished I had layered a tech T or a tank under my long sleeves, but I was able to push up the sleeves and it was okay for the most part. It was a SUPER small race with I think most people in the 10K option.
Before I start the story about the race, let me tell you a little bit about me. I am a natural blonde. I can get lost in a paper sack. My sense of direction is horrible. This is a problem when I run by myself at the back of the pack of a trail race. No other runner should ever listen to me. Now let's start the real story.
The race starts out by doing a few miles around a camp ground with you being on trail and then mowed grass. I started at the back to be respectful of all. Of course Stella did her war whoop at the beginning and then proceeded to pull like a crazed oxen for the first 3 or so miles. By then most of the people had left us and we were alone in the forest.
I don't mind being alone when I know where I am going. I started getting a little freaked out. I had in my mind that the first water stop was at mile 4 and it was past mile 4 and I hadn't seen ANYONE, let alone an aid station. I was having to really watch and find the blue flags that sometimes were tiny or wrapped around trees up high. I run looking at my feet mostly so I miss the high up flags or I trip constantly looking for them. Since there are TONS of switch backs, I called out to a girl behind me and asked if we were lost. She said she was getting concerned since we hadn't see the aid station yet. I let her catch up to me and we stuck together for a while. I read my email again on my phone, and still thought the aid station was at mile 4 and that we had totally missed it. This was NOT good because I only had 2 bottles and needed refills on one and water for Stella.
Since she pulled like a crazy dog the first 3 or so miles, she was ready for some water and I was beginning to get panicky. How far off were we??? We were still on the blue trail so how did we miss anything??? We came to a spot with signs. One was a letter Q (which looked like a D to me) and one said this way. We knew at some point we were to turn left and the 10K runners were to turn right so we interpreted that this was the spot. Except we went under the highway bridge when we were suppose to go over it the first time. WHAT? Now we are really confused. We have runners coming at us from the half and they are confused. Well, what to do? I told my new friend that we should back track and go up and if we hit the start/finish then we would get a 10K and be done. She liked that idea, so we headed back. Except some how I got way ahead of her and she got side tracked again. Followed the signs and finally found the aid station which was just a water jug and a few people standing around. Got Stella to drink (she drank 4 bowls full of water!) and then filled my bottles up and argued with the guy about where we were. He very nicely but firmly convinced us that we were in fact okay and just needed to finish 6 more miles by turning left. I was getting very nervous about going back on the course if I had already gotten lost twice (got lost in a smaller spot and did some minor back tracking before getting majorly lost or so I thought).
We decided to go on even though we were both kind of nervous. We headed down a road, over the high way and back out onto mowed grass. Once again we came to a big fork in the road with no clue which way to go. I think I vaguely remember the guy at the aid station saying something about stay left, but of course i ignored him and went right. I saw the white flags but there weren't in the right place, so once again I back tracked and headed down the hopefully correct path. I was rewarded with a sign at the trail head saying this way, WHEW.
White trail was hard, not going to lie. Mel had warned me about the switchbacks and she wasn't joking. I don't mind running up hill but running downhill on loose rocks is not my thing, so lots of walking happened. I was still able to keep my 3 mph goal though. I would catch glimpses of my new friend so I knew she was still behind me.
Don't let this pic fool you, Stella mostly was on leash or very close. I let her get a little ahead to take a pic. We came up on some horse and riders, so I called out and let them know I was coming up and that i had a dog. They were super nice and got off of the trail. I honestly don't know how they ride on this trail. The pics I took were when it was wider, but it was a ton of little narrow rutty stuff that I am not sure how a horse would even navigate.
Pretty soon we were going back under the bridge the correct way and back up to the aid station again. One more bottle fill and more water for Stella before heading back around the camp grounds backwards and right by the finish line. I so wanted to be done and so did a confused Stella, but we had 2 miles to go. There was a TON of up and down and my right hip was feeling it. Plus, I had kicked a root and instead of stubbing my toe, my whole foot felt like it scrapped over the top of the root and was on fire. I really, really, really need new trail shoes. It was starting to warm up and most of this part of the course was mowed grassy area with no tree cover, so we were both getting hot.
I LOVE this picture and wished it really did the scenery justice. It is turning into a beautiful fall in the Flint hills. The reds, yellows, and oranges are amazing. Before we knew it, we were back on pavement headed home.
We finished DFL = DEAD FUCKING LAST, but we had fun doing it, minus the minor panic a few times when I felt lost. The other runner that was behind me finally just got lost one too many times and gave up and came to the start/finish. I hate that we couldn't stick together so she could finish. My BRF's hubby got first place overall and my travel mate Teri got one of those awesome age group awards I posted about in my weekly wrap up. I am SO proud of both of them. They are awesome!!!!! I am SO thankful that Teri doesn't mind hanging out waiting on me, since she finished a good hour and 15 minutes ahead of me.
The swag was awesome, the one trail station had some really helpful volunteers (thanks for getting my VERY impatient dog some water both times), the photographers took a ton of pictures, and the race director (who was almost 9 months preggers WOW) stayed till the bitter end to wait for me:) . She not only had doughnuts but also burritos and beer. This is a fun, very small trail race so close to home with some pretty technical trails. I can't wait to go out and run the trails more often and get a little better at those crazy switchbacks. Till next year Randolph's Revenge!
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