Week 10... Good running and a Review of the Hoot Half Marathon (Trail Run)

An interesting 5 mile run on Monday.  Had planned to do it at around 7:30 am as part of my morning routine but then a really bad thunderstorm was predicted around 8:00.  It was predicted, but didn't really get underway until maybe 8:30.  So I probably could have done it then, but the radar looked scary and I wasn't sure about risking it.  I estimated I'd be able to get a few miles in but if a really bad storm broke out, it could be a bad plan.

As a result, ended up going to work and running 5 over my lunch break.  Ran down a different trail but I did enjoy it.  Ran past the University stadium where the marching band was practicing.  Made for kind of a fun (but humid after the storm passed) kind of run.  Had to stop a few times due to heat, but overall it was a good one.  The only thing that's weird about running at work is then I have to feel gross for the rest of the day.  But you do what you have to do, right?

Wednesday I tried something new and ran to the local metropark.  It worked out well to get 8 miles in from my starting point and I needed a change of scenery.  You can only run your neighborhood or areas near where you work so many times and you get tired of it . Especially during marathon training.  So I kept hearing we were to get a bad storm that day again.  Mostly just rain, but downpours.  Lightning and thunder were not predicted and looking at accuweather again it was just a steady light rain.  So I decided to go for it . And I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.  I'm not a huge fan of rain soaked shoes but I managed to pretty much keep a 10:30 pace the entire time with minimal stopping.  One stop at halfway to gu up and go.  Solo run with new headphones, visor and pouring down rain but it was very nice.  Makes me remember why I ever started running in the first place during runs like this one.

Thursday was a shorter run, only 4 miles this time.  Managed a similar pace but it was a little bit more humid and less rainy.  Nothing too exciting about this one.  Just a typical neighborhood run.

Sunday was my first trail half marathon and my 5th ever half marathon.  I knew this would be a tough 13.1 as I looked at last year's times and found a few people I have known in my running group who run either the same pace or faster than I am in a typical race.  For the 10k, a person about my same pace (maybe slightly faster) had about 1:30... for a 10k.  For the half, one of the fastest people I've run with had just over 3 hours for the half.  So... I braced myself for a tough trail race.  Over 3 hours, most likely (and it was 3:35).  What makes this one so hard is that there are tons and tons of tree roots, rocks, creeks, bridges, downed trees to hop over, etc all along the path.  Most of the path is either grass or dirt with some gravel parts (but not many).  The elevation changes are constant. They aren't actually as bad as the elevation changes in the Wheeling Ogden Half that I wrote about in May but it feels like it because of all the roots and rocks and mud...

Yes, and my Garmin tracked a path that looked very similar to this!
I averaged a 16:00/mile pace.  But the funny thing was, I felt like I was moving the entire time.  There were a few stops but not many.  A group of 4 of us did the trail run and I think all of us fell at least one time (or more) over tree roots or some other obstacle.
The place actually is very beautiful and scenic.  I'd love to go there and just to a leisurely hike some day with my family.  The problem on this trail run was that to look at the scenery while running meant that you might forget to look at your feet and go flying over a tree root and injuring yourself!
I'm thankful for my awesome running friends for making it be actually not that bad.  I think doing it alone would be super tough.
Was very grateful to see some running buddies volunteering along the course at the aid stops. We did ok until mile 11.5 where it wasn't clearly marked where to go and we got to this section that went out onto the road.  We're running for maybe 0.2 mile and my friends and I start to wonder, what happened to all the arrows.  This doesn't seem right... We head back and retrace our steps. Turns out we missed an arrow.  I was pretty exhausted by that point about 3 hours in and made a joke about how maybe we slipped into another dimension and went to another period in time... Because it looked like a deserted finish line where we ended up.  We joked that maybe we had been out so long that they packed it up.  Luckily, it was just a wrong turn.  I was a little bitter about having to finish up 0.4 miles going back in the woods for a second after I saw how close we were to the finish.  The race organizers felt it was 0.4 mile short so they had everyone do that.  I think after getting lost for about 0.4 miles I felt like I should be done... after all, I already did the 13.1... I actually ended up with 13.49 for my final mileage.  But it's ok, we did it.  It was a relief to see our friend from the running group cheering us all in at the end.  Felt so good to finish!

A flat section of the trail

Traversing some of the terrain.  Don't let this picture fool you.  Tons of roots sticking up every where causing falls, and some sprained ankles from what I heard from other runners.  Really have to be careful on these trails.  They even do a winter series here!  Ice plus tree roots... wow!

Beautiful part of the lake trail where it's pretty flat.  There weren't many sections like this!

Anyway, I did get my mileage in for the week.

Week 11 should be a doozy.  6 / 8 / 4 / 18.... for a total of 36 miles.  Probably going to be one of my longer marathon training weeks with a nice wrap up on a new trail this Saturday.  I'm going to have to track the path I'm taking (out of town again) and try to figure out where some convenience stores, gas stations and fast food places are along the way.  I know there is a distinct possibility I may need to stop in somewhere to get water and other essentials.  I've learned now...