Race Report: The Legend 5 Mile Trail Race

I am back!! I can’t believe how great it felt to be back to trail running.  My first trail race of the year was a repeat venue for me, The Legend race at Sleepy Hollow StatePark, but this year I ran the 5 mile rather than the 10 miler which I ran last year (see race report on that here).  There was also a half marathon available, which many of my mileage hog friends took advantage of.

There are a lot of great things about this race. One is that it is put on by Running Fit. Their trail races are always top notch. It is at a great venue. Sleepy Hollow has some really nice single track running, as well as a great post-area with a beach (and nice rest room facilities).  The race is growing in popularity, but it is still small enough to keep the friendly low-key feel. The course, at least for the 5 mile, is very runnable – long sections of flat and slight downhills but enough uphills to keep it challenging.

This year an added plus of the race is that I had a lot of friends there. I belong to a Facebook group called Training Academy for Bad AssWarrior Goddesses, and there were several goddesses, myself included, who were out for the race that day.  We got together for a group picture before the race so that we were still looking very goddess-like at this point.

 We had a great day for the race. The weather was perfect. It is very cool here in Michigan for August, but the sun was shining. The pre-race was uneventful, except for the fact that I did actually do some pre-race preparation for this one. I ate before I left the house, drank a Powerade pre-race, and did a warm-up. I had already decided the night before that I wanted to run a “no-excuses” race this time and give it my all (also something which I sometimes don’t do).  I wanted a true look at where my fitness was at this time.

As I lined up for the start, I lined up close to the front. Because of my goal to run a solid race, I knew I needed to start fairly fast so I would not get hung up once we got to the single track. The early parts of the course do have good spots for passing, but I really didn’t want the hassle. It turned out that I had made the right choice and seeded myself correctly because I was only passed by a few runners throughout the entire race. 

When the gun went off, I was out fast. I knew the pace was not one that I could sustain, but I kept the pressure on until we actually got onto the single track (around .5 mile) and then settled in to a more reasonable pace. I was hoping I hadn’t gone out too fast at that point, but knew I would not know for sure until later in the race.

The early part of the race was just tons of fun. I felt good. There were some very satisfying flats and downhills that just invited me to fly along.  I kept trying to watch my breathing and not press too hard. I did try to ignore the watch as much as possible and just go by feel. Somewhere around mile 2.5, though, I started to feel like maintaining the pace was a little bit of work. I was still okay, but I was starting to tire.

Well, somewhere around mile 3.5 things started to get a little ugly. After the 3 mile mark, the uphills get more frequent and more serious. The downhills and flats, while nicely placed, were entirely too brief to be to my liking.  Between 3.5 and 4.25 I struggled some. I got passed by two or three people (one of whom was a woman – Grrrr!). 

I would like to say I made the 5 miles without walking, but it did not happen. On two of the bigger uphills I walked for 15 seconds each. It may have hurt my time a little, but more likely it would have cost me more not to. I have not done a lot of hill and trail work lately, so I think I needed the rest. In miles 4.25 to 4.5 my legs buckled twice, and I almost went down. They were just too fatigued. By then, though, we were out of the woods and coming across the parking lots and grassy areas before the finish. I was able to pick it back up for a strong finish. As I did the last cruel little uphill to the finish and crossed the line, I felt good about the race. My pace was 8:15, which was much better than I expected (I was hoping just to be sub 8:30), and I felt I had a good overall finish.

I went back to the car to check in with Jerry, grabbed my Powerade and a muffin, and went back to watch the rest of the finishers and cheer in my fellow goddesses. One of my favorite moments was watching Jessy cross the finish line with her son. 

The awards ceremony for the 5 mile was next. I was happy to find that I had ended up 1^st in my age group, but even more happy to learn that I was 7^th woman and 20^th overall (out of 206).  I think that taking the time off from the longer trail runs early in the year to work some on the speed is starting to pay off. Also, the bicycle cross training seems to also be working well for me. The award was another Legend mug to add to my collection. 

The rest of the morning involved one of the things I really love about the trail races, hanging out in the finishing stretch cheering on people who are finishing the longer races. Jerry and I joined Jessy and her family to cheer for the finishers and to wait for our goddesses who were still out there  on the course. It was a great way to spend the morning. The only thing missing was the cowbell. Damn it! I forgot the cowbell!! I will definitely need to add that to my running bag for future races!!

Race Report: The Legend 10 Mile Trail Run

This was supposed to be the race report for The Legend Half Marathon. That is what I entered, and that is what I intended to run, right up to mile 7.5 – but wait. I am getting ahead of myself. 

Let me tell you a little about the race. The Legend is the final race of Running Fit's Serious Series, which includes the Trail Marathon and the Flirt with Dirt 10k, which I had already run. The Legend is my “home race” in the series, being only about twenty-five miles from where I live. There are 5 mile, 10 mile, and half marathon options. The race is held at Sleepy Hollow State Park in Laingsburg, MI.

Even though it is so close, I had never been out to Sleepy Hollow State Park. I did not to know what to expect from the course. I decided to volunteer at packet pick-up on the Friday night before the races to scope things out. I had a great time working the volunteer shift with the really great Running Fit crew. It also gave me a chance to see that much of the trail would be on grass, as well as some nice packed dirt and single track.

I did not know it, but my problems with the race started when I got home Friday night. My volunteer shift was 5-8, so I had skipped dinner. When I got home, I didn't feel like a big dinner at that time of night, so I ate a bowl of brussel sprouts and a pita bread – not really a great pre-race meal. My first clue that things might not be right was when I woke up at 2:30 am starving. I briefly thought about getting up and eating a bowl of cereal or something, but decided I only had a few more hours to sleep anyway and went back to sleep.

I woke up Saturday morning and everything was going great, except I was still hungry. I was thinking about how hungry I would be by the time I finished the half marathon and wondered whether I would have the energy for the race. I broke a cardinal pre-race meal for me and ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I knew better, from previous bad experiences, but I was hungry and all the articles say eat...

I got there on race morning ready to go. It was hot and humid, as we all knew it would be. Several of my friends were also running a road race that morning, and we were all aware that the dew point was in the “expect pace to suffer greatly” range. I had my hydration pack on with Power Ade ice cubes in it that I had made the night before and plenty of electrolyte caps in my pocket. I felt ready.

The race started well. I lined up at the front of the second wave. I went out a little fast, but I did not want to get trapped in a line in the areas where passing was difficult. When I saw my first mile split I dialed it back some, but was still probably too fast. I was having trouble settling in for my target pace. I pulled it back a bit more for mile three. Still too fast. Finally at mile four, I hit my target pace, which was 9:10. I relaxed and settled down. Mile 5 went pretty well.

Then a little after mile 6, I hit the wall. Yes, the wall, like in the marathon wall. It was exactly the same feeling. As I was contemplating what to do, I had not brought any gels (although I did have some M&Ms in my pack), things got worse. I started to feel a little nauseous – then a lot nauseous. I was seriously regretting the PB&J when suddenly I knew it was coming up. I hate to throw up and don't do it often, but the few times I have thrown up in a race, it has been a relief and I always have felt better after. I was hoping for that here, but it was not to be.

As I started back up the trail, I swallowed an electrolyte cap and attempted to rehydrate. I was worried about dehydration more than anything else at this point. I was also feeling pretty awful. I started to walk – a lot. It didn't help that there were some hills popping up. They would have been nothing major if I was feeling good, but in the state I was in, they felt like Mt. Everest. As I was going along at this point, feeling horrible, getting passed by lots of people, and trying to do at least some running mixed with the walking, the second wave of nausea hit and again I lost what was in my stomach, which at that point was just blue Power Ade and the electrolyte cap. That really worried me. I started wondering how much longer I could go in the heat without being able to keep down fluids or electrolytes.

It was at that point that I wished I had spent more time studying the trail map. I knew the 10 mile had to split from the half marathon at some point, and I was really hoping that they would let me switch down because I had serious doubts about whether I could finish another 6 miles. I had missed the series mug last year because I ruptured my spleen before this race. I did not want a DNF for the series. After what seemed like an eternity, I came to the split for the 10 mile and half. I asked the volunteer if I could switch down, and she said she thought it would be okay. I thankfully headed for the finish.

I don't know if my system was finally getting itself back together or if I was just like a horse heading to the barn, but I did start to feel better in the last mile and even passed a few people. Still, I was super happy to see the finish.

Anna and Me after The Legend

As I crossed the finish line, I heard my name and saw my running friend Anna and her husband Jake waiting by the finish and cheering. She had run the 5 mile and had a good race. I was so happy to see her there and also happy that her experience had been a good one. After I crossed the finish, my fellow volunteers from the night before (the kids of one of the Running Fit staff) were there to greet me and handed me my really awesome Serious Series mug, medal, and pin, as well as an ice cold bottle of water, which was much appreciated.

Unlike many previous races, this was not one where I made a beeline for the food tables post-race. After talking to Anna and Jake for a while, I headed over to take a look at the results. Amazingly, I had managed to win my age group in the 10 mile, despite the total breakdown, which I guess proves the saying “it is better to be lucky than good.”  

This best part of the day for me was post race. By a stroke of luck, a group of my road racing friends were running the Mint City race in a neighboring town, so we were all able to meet and share our race stories at a little diner called the Wheel Inn, which is a fixture in that community apparently. There is nothing runners love more than food, coffee, and rehashing races, so it was a pretty good end to what was an otherwise horrible morning. 

I am hoping to get a chance to run The Legend again next year. It is a well run race, and I think I would have really enjoyed the course if I would have been feeling better. I looked forward to heading out there to explore the course in the future. 

Related Posts:

Dew Point and Runners

Race Report: Trail Marathon

Race Report: Flirt with Dirt