I did not have too many expectations for this run because:
1- I had not run any distance over 6 miles since NO 70.3 in April
2- this was a trail run and I don't run trails often
3- it's trainng day, go with what the day throws at you

At the start line I turned on my iPod, told Matt "good luck" and gave myself the usual pep-talk "just run your race, don't worry about anyone else". For the first mile or 2 everyone was crowded together on the trail (passing was not an option), the race included a mass start for the half-mary, 10k and 5k races. I passed the first mile marker at 9:30 and was pretty happy with that. I let my mind drift away with my tunes and the views. I had never been on these trails, so it was nice to have new scenery.

The crowd thinned out and I had my own space, people in front and back of me were about 20 yards away. I hit mile 2 at 18:20 and the 3 mile mark at 27 minutes and change. A side-stitch started to creep up on me and I slowed my pace in hopes on not having to walk or have it get worse. The legs were feeling really good and I made a bet with myself to be at the 6 mile mark by the end of the first hour. There were some good climbs and I took advantage of the down-hills. I ran down them as I would on my bike "attack the down-hills!"

Matt passed by and we slapped hands, I finally reached mile 6 at 1 hour and 10 seconds, I was pretty happy about that. I passed people on the uphill, thinking that my strength training is really paying off! Right around the 6-mile mark I started to do some "half-marathon math", figuring if I could maintain about the same pace I could go 1:13, not bad considering my lack of run training.

I kept running, I did not stop or walk the entire course...a FIRST for me! There were plenty of aid stations, but I only ate a 1/4 of a banana at 2 different stops. I would slow, grab the banana and go right back to my pace. Wound up hitting mile 10 at 1:33 and than I really started setting my sights on going sub 2:10, plus I was really exicted that I had not walked at all during the race! The miles had just been clicking by without any problems until mile 11.

At the 11 mile mark there was a longer climb and the wind picked up, legs started to get a bit tight. I laughed to myself when I passed the beach that I had taken my Wicked Wesel pics on, one week earlier! I did not want to walk, figured if I did not go sub 2:10 that would be ok, but I wanted to accomplish the goal of not stopping/walking....so I shuffled up the hills.

The half-mile or so before the finish line...it's all up-hill, damn! I look at my watch, I can go sub 2:05 and yelled to myself "just push, you are almost there!" Crossed the line in 2:04 and some change.

AG Rank: 4 of 7 (Almost finished top 3 in AG, LOL!)
Femals Rank: 26 of 69
Overall Rank: 48 of 105


Figure out how to make a Playlist on my iPod, I shuffled the songs a few times and it kept playing all of my older songs! So I kept fast-forwarding until I got a new song I had down-loaded the night before.

This was a great race for me, nothing I would change!

Stretched and ate.....2 Krispy Kreme glazed donuts. Nutrition be damned, glazed are my favorite, plus I jut had set a PR 10 minutes!


Have not been running much distance yet.


Being on trail, there were certain parts we had to run twice to make the distance, some volunteers did not give people the right directions and they wound up running more than 13.1.

This was a great race for me! I'm excited about PR and the fact that I ran a half-mary without stopping or walking....a first for me at this distance!!!