Beartrax Brownie Shuffle (4.2K)

Beartrax Brownie Shuffle (4.2K) - April 27th, 2014
time = 21:48
pace = 8:10 average
placed 1st in my age group (40-49) out of 29
placed 3rd in women out of 110
placed 8th overall out of 163

i was much slower this year than last.  my time last year was 19:53 but given i was uninjured, running consistently, and the weather was nice enough for shorts... well, i think i'll take my time today and be happy with it.  i should mention that i was signed up for the 20k but given the way my leg has been feeling i went early this morning and changed my registration to the 4.2k to be safe.  i'd rather finish well in something short than have a DNF in something long that i'm ill prepared for.

kellie, me, and amanda pre-race

it was raining this morning and the wind is really gusting something fierce.  makes for a cold and clammy day in spite of the temperature being in the upper 30's low 40's.  last year at this time i was lamenting running in lapham peak as i could not call myself a trail runner yet.  i hated trail running because it was hard and i simply wasn't up for the challenge.  this year... i LOVE it.  i was so happy to be on the trails.  i wasn't pushing myself very hard because as of this race it had been 12 days since my last run.  so i was running comfortably and not balls to the wall as i had suspected i might run.  my foot had gone numb pretty quickly into the run and i was just being cautious of any pain that might arise.  thankfully there was no pain... just the numbness.  so i powered on.  i started near the middle of the pack so as to not take off too quickly (plus it makes me feel faster if i pass people which is always a bonus).  so i started passing people right away and continued to do so most of the race until there was only one large teenager in front of me.  he was so gross!  he kept stopping (in the middle of the trail i might add) to spit and then he'd lope off like a lanky golden retriever who hasn't quite mastered his legs yet... only to stop dead in his tracks and spit again.  seemed like maybe he was fighting a cold.  i caught up to him pretty quickly.  then i got passed by a woman in blue.  i stayed on her heels for awhile and then passed her on a downhill to be quickly overcome a moment later.  i assessed her age and determined that she was  younger than me and therefore not worth killing myself to beat so i held my pace as she quickly became a speck ahead of me.  yes... i actually had that conversation with myself about whether or not she was in my age group because all that matters is that i place in my age group because i'm freaking old.

the course (as recorded by my garmin)

about mid-way through the race the beautiful trail gives way to pavement and that's about where the gap between the woman in blue and i got too large to close and for what it's worth... she was fast.  the golden snot boy on the other hand... had he just held his pace and figured out how to spit WHILE running probably could have stayed ahead of me.  no such luck for him and i was in front of him in no time.  i like to think that i rocketed past him at light speed but it was more of a gaining akin to a snail overtaking another snail.

in the final downhill stretch another teenage girl passed me and i made the decision to not try and get ahead of her because again... not in my age group and for fuck's sake... my leg was numb.  the whole time i was trying to figure out how many people were ahead of me because well... that's how i roll.  why is it that running looks so effortless for these kids?  i mean... i'm busting my ass out there and this girl just glides past me like she's doing a little waltz.  when i look at the stats tho' it looks like i came in just before her not exactly beating her as we both have the same 21:48 time... our milliseconds must be different tho'... i really pulled it out around the last bend but i didn't notice where she was at that point as i was looking at the finish.  no matter how hard i try i simply cannot shrug off my competitive bug.

lastly, a little kid passed me up around the same time that teenage girl did.  earlier on i passed him and 2 others who were 3 deep, but man, those little kids get that second wind and they are fast.  again... no effort was made in this 10 year old's passing me.  none... he just slid right past me like he was on some of those heely shoes or something.  *sigh*  that kid beat me by 3 seconds!  i wish i could get a second wind like that but no dice... i was simply glad that i was still on my feet given that i have no endurance from all NON-running i've been doing lately.

i really love this race.  it is really short and always beautiful.  it is well organized and if you're not a trail runner per se it's a good way to get your feet wet (or muddy or dusty as the case may be) considering that only 1/2 of the race is on the trails.  today could have been muddy given the rain this morning but the beauty of a forest is that it protects the trail from a lot of the rain and the trail was totally dry.  i can't wait to get out in lapham again for my weekly runs.  i miss it so much.  all that nature just wrapping it's arms around me.  also, once in the woods the wind was mostly nonexistent which helps a lot. the only thing i don't like about this race is that they don't do age group awards.  i'm guessing because it's so short of a race.  the after race foods are awesome!  this is the only race i've ever been to that makes fresh oatmeal.  i cannot say enough good things about this race, lapham peak, or my community.

if you get a chance to come out and run this next year please do.  it is so worth it.  if not... there's always the colorama which is in fall.

the finish as photographed by my husband

obviously i need to work on my "finish face"