Land Between the Lakes 23K March 2005

This was my first trail race.

My first trail race, and longest continuous trail run to date. It was a blast- long for me- but a blast, still.

Molly and I met up with Mike and his family at the pasta dinner and packet pick up. The race directors are brothers who do a fantastic job. This is the second running of the race which includes a 60K ultra. The dinner was homemade and very good. The entry fee included the dinner ticket and additional tickets were $5. A bargain. I won a door prize- I can't believe he didn't win one, too, since there seemed to be as many prizes as people. A neat premium was that our LS Cool Max shirts had the names of the racers on the back. I watched the Louisville game and went to bed. we had a slight advantage since we changed from EST to CST, so It was like an extra hour of sleep. The race started at 6 AM sharp. We ran on an asphalt road about a mile and half before we hit the woods.

The trail was pretty much like the ones I run here- single track-barely big enough for one person- as I never passed anyone it was good enough for me. I ran with a couple of women for a few miles, but they were more experienced and we parted ways at 4 miles. They warned me to take it easy as the last half was more difficult than the first half. The only looking I did was ahead of my feet. I did discover that as I get moving it's my right leg/foot that trips me up on the follow through. I had a few near falls- but remained upright the whole time. The aid stations were great and the volunteers were fabulous. Another perk of a small race is apparently trail runners are the friendliest and most encouraging runners out there. There were some areas with more mature trees- very 'root bound' so I tended to be more cautious than probably was necessary, but my goal was to experience a good distance on trails and finish (and not get lapped by any ultra runners). No splits- although there were mile markers I used my watch rarely.

Miles 8-10 were the hardest 2 miles I have ever run in my life. Those women were right- the total elevation change took place in those 2 miles, I swear. Periodically I had to stop and catch my breath. To look back at where I started the climb and see what I had accomplished was very satisfying. I think that's where trails "hook" us.

By the time I finished my first trail race I was already looking forward to the next one.