Today my haunches are pretty sore due to the half-running, half-hiking, half-obstacle coursing that took place over those 6.2 miles.
I get that there is no such thing as having three halves. So it was technically part-running, part-hiking, part-obstacle coursing that I participated in. I'll throw in a part-mental test since we're already using fuzzy math.
The race started at 11 and the website said that bib pick-up went from 9 to 10:30, and since I'm a
When we pulled up to the state park, I was a little nervous because there was no signage for the race and the woman at the entrance didn't seem to know anything about the race. But she directed us to the hut above, so we checked it out.
Luckily there were very enthusiastic raceday volunteers in the hut checking people in and handing out race t-shirts. But since were were on the early side, this whole transaction took a grand total of three minutes.
So at 9:37, Kenz and I decided that we should probably get some coffee. No point in waiting around for an hour and a half before running a race and not have any caffeine in the system. Granted, I had some coffee in the car on the drive to the park, but I've never turned down more coffee before 2pm.
Thanks to Yelp! we found this adorable coffee house right down the street from the state park. It was spacious with lots of sunlight pouring in, but it felt warm and comfortable at the same time. It also had bicycles hanging on the wall. And cool ones to boot.
This town was so cute and in true Wisconsin form, I struck up a conversation with a man at the "coffee stuff" table (lids, stirrers, napkins, milk, etc.) and he told me that I "definitely need to come back once they've decorated for Christmas. It's fantastic."
Duly noted.
After all of this we still hadn't actually raced yet. So we went back and were pleased to see that we weren't going to be racing alone - people had finally started showing up! The 10k-ers started only five or so minutes before the 5k-ers, which made it particularly easy for the guy who won the 5k to pass me. Frankly a lot of people end up passing me in races, but I'm also in front of people too, so that's cool.
Here's the really official look at the course:
Obviously this doesn't really do the elevation justice. Frankly, neither do the pictures that I snapped on the way, but you'll have to believe me when I say that these were some STEEP climbs. Steep climbs littered with rocks and slippery leaves and roots jutting out from the ground and mud puddles. I even wore my Minimus shoes because I love them and I thought it would be appropriate since they are in fact trail shoes. Just check this out:
Looking back on it, I needed a smidge more ankle support, and possibly a hiking stick. I was very thankful that there was a railing on the Stairway to Heaven. Not because I used it, more because it was reassuring to know that it was there if I slipped and fell so I wouldn't have to climb all of these stairs again.
The rockiest parts and the downhills I wasn't able to take pictures of because I was too afraid that I was going to take a misstep on the rocky parts and fall off a cliff if I went to whip out my iPhone, and the downhills were so steep that I going so fast that if I even tried to stop I would have most likely fallen right on my ass and slid the whole way down.
I mentioned the rocks and roots and mud, right? That would not have been pleasant.
There was also a portion of the race when I sincerely thought that I was lost on the mountain. I lost sight of the guy ahead of me and the two girls who were behind me were nowhere to be found either.
Images of having to pitch a tent made out of mud and leaves flashed through my mind.
I'm also prone to the dramatic.
Thankfully none of these scenarios occurred.
So yes! I finished the race in one piece and now my butt, hips, and quads are very sore. The race itself was gorgeous and it was a cool twist on a normal 10k since it was far more physically demanding. It was a fun and challenging way to mix it up, and for being my first real trail run, it made me excited to try another one.
And I'll tell you what, nothing beats having someone at the finish line.
Looks like a beautiful morning in WI! Congrats on another running accomplishment. I love those big smiles at the end!
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