Blueberry Ridge 12K Trail Race

A nice cool morning for a race.  The rain had finished and the temperature was 57 degrees.

After picking up my race packet, the children asked if they could race too.  There was a 1 mile fun run scheduled just before my 12K race.  How can you say no to this:

The kids at the starting line:

Mr. T was the first to make it to the finish line.  He sprinted at the end to pass a girl.

Squeaker was with him the entire race.  You can see her in the picture behind the boy in the upper right hand corner.  My husband didn't get a picture of her coming into finish.  He was surprised that she had kept up with brother the entire race.

Lil' Chef coming in.  I was so proud of her.  She really struggles with exercise.  She said that she was getting side stitches.

The kids with their finishing 'awards' (tomato plants).


Hubby took a picture of me getting ready for 12K of hills.  The trail is used for classic skiing in the winter.  The majority of the runners ran the 5K event.

I even saw a barefoot runner.  He was going to run the 12K, but his daughter wanted to run; so he ran with her on the 5K route.  I didn't get a chance to chat with him after the race; hopefully, he'll be at the next trail race.  I've been reading a lot about barefoot running lately.

The event was to raise money for a local charter school.  There was no timing equipment, just a lady with a stopwatch.

The first three miles were all hills.  Up and down, up and down, up and down.  At a few of the hills, there was a sign at the top saying, "Caution, steep descent".  The first time I saw the sign, I was chuckling ... yeah, right.  Well, you could have almost jumped down from the top, the descent was that steep!  I had at least four of those type of hills.  I prayed my knees would hang in there on the way down.

Here is the elevation chart from my garmin:

The stats from my garmin stated that I was on flat ground 17% of the race.

The satellite image of the race:

The trail was beautiful.  I was glad that I didn't bring my ipod.  It was so peaceful to be out there running, looking at the trees, and hearing all the birds.

I had my Virtual Partner set for 11:45 pace.  I would stay close to my goal pace and then lose a bit of ground on the hills.  I was alone for most of the race.  At mile five, I started seeing more runners and passed a few of them which felt good.  For the last two miles, I kept my focus on the lady ahead of me.  I was slowly closing in on her but ran out of miles.

I don't know my 'official' finish time and placement as of yet.  My garmin stats were:

7.33 miles  (12K should be 7.456 mile)

1:26:14

11:46 / mile

938 calories

Almost beat my virtual partner!  =)  I received a lily for finishing.

After the race, we met a wonderful family with six children.  The mom and the older two kids had run the 5K.  They graciously invited us over for lunch at their house.  I hope that we can return the favor after the race in our town.

Pre-Race jitters

My first trail race is tomorrow.  Currently, it's raining and the rain is predicted to continue most of the night.  I would imagine the trail will be muddy tomorrow.  This will be my second race.  I'm already missing my two comrades who raced with me last time.  They were willing to listen to me jabber on and on about how excited I was to run in a race.

I am excited.  If it's raining tomorrow, it will not dampen my excitement.  I've ran in rain before.  Since reading the book, "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall, I've been intrigued by trail runs.  For training, I've ran on the snowmobiling/orv trails near my house.  Some of the trails are all sand; other parts of the trail are rocks and hills with tree roots running across.  It will be fun. 

My gear for the race:
-------------------------
Tank top
Running Skirt
Moisture wicking socks
New Balance Trail Shoes
Road Id  (I do not run without it!)
CamelBak Hydration Belt
Garmin
Visor
Directions to the race
Camera
Post run outfit
Mangosteen Juice (to drink afterwards => helps reduce inflammation)
Picnic lunch for the family after the race before shopping at Menard's

Mmmm, what am I missing?

Hey, I have four followers now.  Cool!

Wordless Wednesday - Well, almost

Homemade Granola

for Breakfast