Standing in the shower this morning I could really feel all the little scrapes and cuts on my ankles. The scrapes came from the micro spikes on my shoes nicking my legs during yesterday’s race. This is the first time ever that I’ve had to use micro spikes for a race. I didn’t really know what to expect, but I figured they’d be a little bit uncomfortable. The way I had to use them was to have chains running between my toes, since I wore Vibram five fingers. Thankfully the set of micro spikes that I bought were the cheap kind, and the chains were not as robust as actual micro spikes. This meant the chain part was more comfortable as they were thinner. I purposely wore an old pair of shoes, so that I wouldn’t completely tear up my newer pair.

The race proved to have very difficult conditions. About five weeks ago a group went out with snow shoes to stomp down the trail. Around here at that time we had many feet of snow on the ground. Two weeks after that another group with snowshoes went out to stomp on the trail again. Then this past week, the day before the race, a final group went through without snow shoes. Through all of these tramplings, the runners of the race were presented with a hard pack trail that was about 12 inches wide. To either side of the trail a runner would surely “post-hole” into the deep snow. Meaning you would sink your leg into the snow to about knee level, at least for me. I would say about 50-60% of the course was 12 inches wide and hard pack. The rest of the course made quick tight turns where the hard pack was sometimes reduced to about 6 inches wide. Making these turns at speed often meant that your foot, or feet would go right into the soft pack, and you would end up at knee level.

Through the course of my four laps, knee deep snow running was simply a fact of life. It had to be done to pass people who wouldn’t yield, or to keep going on sections where are you have missed placed your footing and ended up in the soft snow. Yes this was difficult, but not impossible.

The course was laid out as a lollipop route, with the runners doing 3.5 mile laps. The first lap had an additional half mile added onto it, to spread out the running pack. However when we got to the trail itself, my first loop was mainly spent walking. I was able to do that first loop in about one hour and 10 minutes, a pace of 17m 30s per mile.  Ahead of me I could see a line of runners numbering about 20, and behind me when I caught a glimpse was about the same number. The walking pace was inevitable, since running on this trail the first time with so many people so close together, was very slow going.

Since there was nothing to do but walk, I settled into a very slow run, in order to keep my body temperature up, I was probably bouncing up and down more than moving forward. The course was very slick, and many times I did not accurately judge the location of the hard pack. I listened to conversations of people, and jokes that others were making about the course, and about the day. That kept a smile on my face, as well as many others! During this loop I was also going slow enough that I didn’t really need to think about where I was stepping. I basically just stepped where the guy in front of me stepped, unless he slipped and then I would step slightly to the side of that. Therefore during this loop I thought about new types of runs and races for the Davis Square Runners group–I figured I could be at least productive.

As we exited the circular portion of the first loop, there was about half a mile on an out and back, where runners going in toward the aid station met runners coming out. Since this is on the trail as well, a rule was enacted that runners inbound have the right-of-way, and runners outbound should yield. I would say this only happened half of the time. Since I was only there for fun and I didn’t have a mileage or time goal in mind, I found myself yielding most of the time for runners in either direction.

As the pack of 40 or so runners exited the first loop and crossed the timing mat, I followed the guy in front of me and went back onto the course immediately. I saw that many others were going towards the aid station.  This strategy worked well for me as reentering the loop meant there were fewer runners around of me, and I could gain some speed. This second time through was a little bit easier, just due to less people. I found myself stopping at the fire pit aid station, simply to catch my breath and grab some water from my pack. On the way back out, on the out and back section, I encountered a runner who didn’t yield to me, our shoes brushed against each other, and I went right down on my side. While she did stop to ask if I was okay, and to say she was sorry, I sort of brushed her away saying, “no I’m fine go ahead.” In reality I was a little irritated at her, as she basically just bulled me off the path. However I picked myself up and kept going. The two guys who were ahead of me had also stopped to make sure I was okay. I really appreciated that.  This is the one thing that I really dislike about trail races, maybe the only thing, that is how some people will disregard courtesy just for a time goal.

My second lap took me about 50 minutes, equaling a pace of 14m 18s per mile. I stuck around at the aid station a little bit longer this time, munching on some Munchkins and Fig Newtons.

Laps three and four were both completed in about 55 minutes each. I don’t think I could’ve asked for a better time, considering the course conditions. On my fourth loop I felt my left foot slip twice, almost causing an ankle injury. By this point the trail had become very slushy, and slippery. There was more slipping, and post-holing in the snow. After the second slip, I could feel that my Tibialis anterior, and my Peroneus longus on my left side were very tired. No doubt I had been slipping much more during the race and not realize that it was taking it’s toll on me. At that point I decided that four laps was enough for me. I could have done a fifth lap and another couple of miles on top of that, but I didn’t want to risk injury as well. I have 3 other ultras that i’ve signed up for this year, no need to get injured so early in the season. I had always told myself that I wanted to do this for the fun of being out in the woods, and I believe I accomplished that goal.

The people and volunteers who set up this race were awesome! Everyone was very friendly, which seems to be the TARC way, and also very helpful. Emily Trespas, the race director,  seemed as if she was always on top of everything that was going on, but also managed to keep a cool head. This translated to her volunteers always having a smile on their faces, and no one griping about the weather or any small issues that inevitably come up.

After I was done for the day, I had to wait about 45 minutes for my fiancé to come back with the car. I put on dry clothes and stood by a portable heater in the aid station tent. There was one or two other people there with me, also runners who had finished for the day. I appreciated the volunteers not kicking me out of their little area, and I did my best to stay out of peoples way. During this time one of the timing volunteers came over to see if I needed hot coffee or hot water to help me stay warm. Another volunteer offered a blanket to me.  I turned both offers down, as I really didn’t need it, and figured someone else might.  These acts were something I really didn’t expect, and am sort of surprised that someone would care enough for a person they didn’t know. I realize that this is the basic definition of compassion, but for me it’s important to recognize that when I see it. Unfortunately compassion can be a fleeting commodity, so it’s good to remember what it looks like.

Overall I love this race, yes conditions weren’t ideal, but that’s life. Part of the fun of life is embracing the uncertainties, and finding the possibilities.

Preliminary results:

Splits: (based on official results of when I came into the aid station, and screen shots of my phone indicating when I left)

Lap 1:  1:10:00.  Pace: 17.5

Lap 2:  0:53:00.  Pace: 15.1

Lap 3:  0:50:00.  Pace: 14.3

Lap 4:  0:59:00.  Pace: 16.9

Overall pace running:  15.6

48th out of 86 overall

3rd place of everyone who did 14.5 miles.