While at work on Wednesday, one of the other analysts mentioned that she was going to run a trail race on Thursday night and insisted that I come along. I was pretty hesitant since I never like to race when I know I am going to do poorly, but after browsing the event link she sent me, I gradually talked myself into it. It seemed like a fun little race, and I was itching for some trail running. The race was the 3rd in a series called the Flash Mob Series which is put on by a local sports store called Sun and Ski. I didn't make the connection at the time, but apparently, it's the same chain as Joe Jones Sun and Ski in North Conway which I visited for the first time in years just a few days before going to Texas. Weird coincidence.
The race was at 6:30pm Thursday night and took place at a park about half an hour from the office. I changed at the office, and we left at about 5:15 to allow for traffic. Unfortunately, the traffic was worse than anticipated. We rolled into the parking lot at 6:28, and I was sure that we'd miss the race. I jogged over to the starting arena just as someone announced that the race would be starting a bit late. Around then, it dawned on me that I was actually going to run my first race in 9 months. Until that point, I hadn't been fully committed, but being there in the starting area set me straight. The race was completely free. So, all I had to do was sign a waiver, and I was ready to roll.
Hoka had a tent where they were offering free demo shoes to anyone who wanted to race in them. If I hadn't been so late, I definitely would have tried a pair. I hadn't planned on racing when I came to Texas, and I would be running in my Nike Lunarglide 3 trainers. As it was, I had just enough time for a quick shakeout and stretch. Other runners who tried the Hoka demos during the race later remarked that the shoes were comfortable but more suited to road racing.
Demo Shoes: Hoko One One Clifton
As I waited in the crowd of about 60 runners, I started to get nervous which surprised me. It was an extremely small field with nothing on the line other than a gift card for some free shoes, and I was fairly certain that I would be left in the dust. What was there to be nervous about? My body didn't quite follow that line of logic because my legs were shaking.
Before coming to the race, I had done a quick scouting of the field via Google and found that the previous 2 races in the series had been won in a decent margin by the same person, Erik Hill. On the car ride over, my co-worker told me that he was an 18 year old with solid ability. There was a prize for winning the overall series of 3 races, so he would definitely be back for the third and final race. The talk on the starting line also informed me that there would be another runner in the mix, Chris Strait. The other runners were basically saying that he would be the guy setting the pace, and it would be a tight race between him and Erik. I later found out that he has been focused on and doing well in the Masters division of Ironman races. My plan going into the race had been to tuck in behind the leaders if they went out slow enough.
As soon as the gun went off, my plan went out the window. My racing instincts took over, and I went out stride for stride next to Chris with Erik on our heels. I hadn't brought a running watch with me to Texas, so I had very little concept of pace or distance during the race. I felt good with the early pace and decided to race for the win for as long as I could. I assumed that I would get dropped before the final sprint, but I wanted to see what I could do. The course was a flat out an back on packed dirt paths made by ATVs and bikes with a half mile grass section at the turn around point. Guessing at mile splits with accuracy is difficult because I had no watch, no mile markers, and I'm still not certain what the distance of the race itself was. It was advertised as a 3.5 mile race, but they said at the starting line that the course was longer than that. How much longer? I don't know. My guess is about 3.8 miles give or take a tenth of a mile.
Based on my limited info, I'd say we went out at about 5:40 pace. It felt faster, but that is likely due to the fact that I am so out of shape. Things stayed the same for the first half of the race. Chris and I were in front rolling at our 5:40ish pace, and Erik was within a few strides the whole time. At times, I even felt the familiar need to push the pace which I ending up doing because..... who knows.... instinct? As we turned onto the grass section approaching the half way point, my fitness began to show as I fell in step because Chris. He briefly took a wrong turn which gave me the lead back for a hundred meters or so, but once he got back in front, he started to gap Erik and me. With what I judged to be a little over a mile to go, Erik pulled up along side me. By that point, Chris had a solid 30 meter lead on us. Erik turned to me and said "Let's go get him". I looked back at him, laughing a bit, and said "I've got nothing left". I felt bad though because I was kind of hanging him out to dry. I half halfheartedly tried to help him bridge the gap but began to fall back after maybe 30 seconds.
This was taken on the grassy area near the middle of the race
After that, the wheels fell off as Erik put 45 seconds on me over the last mile or so. I could really feel my lack of fitness, and I hit the wall...hard. With Chris and Erik quickly leaving me behind, I noticed that we had built up a big gap on the rest of the field, and I settled into a manageable pace to finish in 3rd. I'd say my last mile was in the 6:30 range. Surprisingly, I wasn't terribly upset about it. When I finished, I was actually in a really good mood. I don't know why, but something about running that race turned my perspective around. It felt great to just get out there an race regardless of how poorly I ran. All of my frustration about my heel was gone, and I felt a new sense of determination.
Overall, this was a really cool event. Completely free, free demo race shoes, gift cards to the top two male and female finishers (I got a water bottle for 3rd), and they had a raffle after the race where everyone who ran in the race got a prize (running socks, shoe laces, running hat, etc.). Kudos to Sun and Ski for a great event.
Men's Results:
