I Got STANKY!

I ran Stanky creek in Sunday. I ran a 5k trail run through woods as part of a winter cross country series put on by the Memphis Runner Track Club. This is one of the runs that I have a love/hate relationship with. I love the fact that it is a trail run and something different from the normal 5k's, but I hate that it is out on the woods. If I could find a climate controlled indoor 5k, then I'd be all in!

This is after the mud dried!

It was a beautiful day for this race. I ran the race last year and finished in 28:06, so I know I had to "Bring It" and beat last years time. Trail runs are tough to PR for me. In years past, I always have started towards the back of the starting line and hoped that would calm my nerves, I figure this way I can just pass alot of people and it will trick me into thinking I did well. Well, I took a new approach in 2012, The Year I Bring IT!  (That will be a noticeable theme throughout my posts this year)

The temperatures were in the upper 40s, lower 50s for the race and the sun was shining. I never really know what to wear for these type of races, but I figured I would warm up once I got going, so it was shorts and t-shirt for me and an older pair of Brooks Glycerins. (next race if the weather is right, I am rocking my newest tri top). I got to the race site about 20 minutes prior to the start of the race and jogged a little bit and talked to my boy Mickey. We postitioned ourselves about 1/4 of the way back and before I knew it, we were off and running.

The first 200 yards or so were on pavement till we made the turn into the woods. I knew that the bottlenecking would happen soon, so I started out faster than I normally would. To me, it seems like trail runs are like intervals. You run, stop, then run faster to make up time and then stop again. So needless to say, there was a lot of stopping and waiting to cross the bridges and ditches. At one point, I stepped on a rock or something and twisted my ankle. I just knew that I had lost my season. I thought I had tore up my ankle, so I took my time and figured out that I was OK and could start running again, which was a huge relief. So then it was just a matter of planning my passes and trying to get around people, which is one of the toughest things about a trial race. I did not wear my Garmin, because I knew it would not give me good information once I was in the woods, so I went with the old stopwatch. The trail was in good shape for the most part, but there was a lot of mud that I went through.

The toughest part for me was avoiding the trees!

When running through the trail, I was more focused on the ground, looking for roots, rocks and mud. Several times I would look up just in time to zig out of the way of a tree that was in the middle of the path. It seemed like they were popping up like in a a shooting range or something, and I did not want to get taken out of the race because I ran into a tree!

I was really happy with my over effort on the race and just kept focusing on my pace. I passed people when I saw the opportunity and stayed upright. I was shooting for somewhere int he 26 minute range, but I finished in 27:32. This placed me 21st out of 42 in my Age Group and 163rd out of 650 overall. I finished with an 8:52 pace. That beat last years time!  So far in 2012, I am 2 races into the season and I have 2 PR's already. I kinda like saying that!

What a Beautiful Day....

Sunday was a beautiful day. The sun was out and the temperatures were warm. It was 73 degrees in Memphis on Sunday. It was also a perfect day for the final race of the Winter Cross Country Series, which happened to be a 10K race through Shelby Farms! It was nice to run in shorts and a tri top once again!

The race started out like any other race. I had a goal time and I had no idea where I was going. The map they allowed us to download was very confusing. Look at this:
Not the easiest thing to figure out is it? Since I was unsure of the route, I decided to let some of the other guys take the lead and I would just follow them! J

Anyways, I really felt good for about the first two miles of the race, I was maintaining a solid 8:15 pace and I was feeling good about it. I got to about mile marker 4 on the map above before the terrain really started getting to me. It was up and down the entire way, very few flat surfaces for us to run. As I was passing that marker, I could see the leaders coming back my way and I thought, Wow, I am not that far behind them, but what I did not know was that here was a turn which took us around the amphitheater. So imagine my disappointment when I realized, "Yeah, they are far ahead of me!" The second loop got us running into a headwind that was strong. Before I left the house, I saw a wind advisory flash up telling us to secure any loose outdoor equipment you may have outside, so Yeah, it was windy. I was disappointed that I walked through the aid stations, but I tried to keep them short and sweet.

See that last little off-shoot to the finish line? When I came down that shoot, some old lady had just passed me, and I said No way Granny! (I didn't really say it) and I could see the clock ticking ahead. I saw that it was around 56:45 when I was entering the finishing chute and I emptied the tank. I had a goal of 54 minutes, but I wasn't going to make it, so I decided I was going to beat 57 minutes. So I went hard, and actually finished it in a sprint. My Garmin had me at a 5:27 pace that last stretch and my watch had me at 56:58. They recorded my time at 57 minutes, but as you can see, I have proof!
I finish 15^th in my AG and 120^th overall out of a field of 345 people. It was good, and I was happy. I think running this series has definitely helped my running and I look forward to the road series this summer.