A Winter Trail Half Marathon

It was a cold January day, with temperatures in the low 30's at dusk and a stiff wind driving the "feels like" temperature into the 20's. I was about to toe the line of my first trail race of any distance. Before I signed up I was contemplating doing the full marathon but someone wiser than I (my wife) talked me into doing only the half since coming off an injury from the Chicago Marathon. In hindsight this was a very wise choice.
Just to give you an idea of how cold it was here's what I was wearing to try and stave off the chill of the wind. A pair of running shorts (as a wind shield) 2 pair of running tights, a compression short sleeve shirt, a long sleeve technical shirt, a long sleeve thermal technical shirt, a wind proof jacket, a pair of winter running gloves, an ear warmer, and a face screen. With all that I was still quite chilly before the start of the race.
As the race took off there was about 200 feet before the trail went down to a single track so there we waited for the bottle neck to open up a little. Then we meandered on a two loop course of trail and paved trail through Eagle Creek Park on the northwest side of Indianapolis. Some of the hills were very steep and probably topped out at a 20% grade, or so it appeared. With the headlight on and running with a friend (Matt) we were out in the woods. Everything was going well until we got to about mile 4, then the mud started and didn't let up until we were almost finished with the first loop. For those keeping track at home that's almost two and a half miles of ankle deep mud, muck, puddles, etc... My feet were frozen, and according to the race director who ran the course the day before and today it was "a lot better conditions today than yesterday" Holly Cow! I couldn't imagine it being much worse, everyone was slipping and sliding all over the trail, and I think this caused extra fatigue for me. Especially my hips which were already calling in for reinforcements. But I was having fun, and it helped that I had a friend to run it with, who was taking pity on my lack of endurance after taking almost two full months off by waiting for me when I needed to take a breather.
The second loop was much the same but I did shed my outer layer at the half way point because I had built up so much heat I was now frying. After going through the second batch of mud I was trying to save a little energy so I'd have enough left for a kick at the end. (As stated before, I'm very competitive and like to finish strong) Making the final turn there was about a 5 foot drop that I had forgotten about and I almost took a header into the mud. After barely catching myself we sprinted to the finish and in a virtual tie (Matt beat me by 7 one hundredths of a second) we had a great time and congratulated each other on finishing what I am referring to as The Muddy Mucky Winter Half Marathon.
I look forward to doing some more trail races in the future, since this was so much fun. But I think it will be more fun once I have my endurance built back up.
Speaking of endurance, I've begun my training for the 500 Festival Mini-Marathon in Indianapolis this year as you might recall from the 35th running. This year I'm running for charity and fund raising or fundracing for an organization called Back on My Feet  more to com on this in the future but if you would like to help me reach my goal of $1800.00 you can visit my fundracing page and help out, any and all amounts help.

Until next time, run fun!

My Foray Into Trail Running

Trail running. When I think of trail running, I normally think of ultra-marathons run in remote places of the country or globe. I've never run an ultra-marathon. Heck, I've not even run a full marathon yet, but the idea of running on trails seems interesting to me. I listen to a couple of podcasts that talk about trail running and ultra-marathons but I've never done any of that type of running before. During our vacation a couple of weeks ago, we were staying just outside of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. As part of one of my runs into the park, I noticed a side trail that I knew lead to the visitor center near the entrance. So, being adventurous, I jumped on the trail and took off.

I noticed another runner ahead of me and tried to pick up the pace, so that I could chat with him as we ran together through this beautiful scenery. This trail is very well manicured and had a fine layer of crushed stone, making it softer than, but as smooth as a road, and I was able to catch up to him fairly easily. Upon striking up a conversation, I found out that the other runner was from a neighboring city to the one that I live in three states away from where we were running now. We ran together for 20 minutes or so, then split up once we reached the visitors center. On my run back to where we were staying, I thought about trying to map out a more adventurous trail run for the next day.

Log Bridge, over troubled water?

So I jumped on the internet and found a trail map for the park then decided on a loop run that would be about 12 miles. The trail map didn't have any elevation notations on it so I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into. So the next morning I filled my fuel belt, ate some breakfast, then headed out for my first "real" trail run. I've done some hiking in the Smokies before, so I knew what the trails were like, but I'd never even thought about running on them. I started down the main drag in Gatlinburg, then headed onto the trail that I'd run the previous day. At about three and a half miles I got to the trail head of my adventure and started up a slight incline. This slight incline quickly turned heavenward. I knew I would be a little slower than I normally run, but I was sadly unprepared for just how quickly my pace would slow. Over the first three miles, my average pace was in the 9:20's, with only 38 feet in elevation gain. However, the next four miles were all uphill. The time it took me to run those next four miles was just over an hour, with 1,108 feet in elevation gain. Being from a fairly flat part of the country, I'm not used to this type of elevation gain so I was spent. However, I was having fun and enjoying the scenery, which to me is part of the enjoyment of running, wherever you are. Near the top of the mountain, I came to a stream crossing, which I had to walk vs. run because the "bridge" was a cut log. I didn't feel like I should take a chance since I hadn't seen anyone else in about an hour and the cell coverage, if I was to get hurt and needed help, was nonexistent.

Throughout the run so far, I'd come to three trail markers, each one with other trails veering off in other directions. According to my research, I should have only seen one until I reached a scenic access road, which I was planning on taking back down the mountain and back toward town. I am fairly gifted (according to my wife) with directions, and being able to know which way I'm facing, where we are headed, etc. But being out here for as long as I had without a map, other than the one in my head, I was starting to get a little nervous because I thought I should have come to the road by now. I knew the names of the trails that I was supposed to take from my research, but all of the signs at trail intersections had different names on them. (I know what you're thinking, and that is, "What the heck are you doing; turn around and go back; you're lost, you idiot; are you trying to get yourself lost in the forest without any real supplies?") Nevertheless, I trudged on. After about another 1/2 mile of normal hills, I almost ran into a van, which came out of almost nowhere. It was kind of foggy, hence the name "Smoky Mountains", and I didn't even see the road, but there it was. A nice elderly couple was out sight seeing and I think they were as shocked to see me as I was them. The gentleman rolled down his window to ask for directions and I kind of chuckled to myself and explained to them that I wasn't sure about where they were heading. He then asked how rough the trail was, to which I explained that the last 1/2 mile or so was fairly easy and that there was some great sights to see.

We parted ways and I headed down the road. The road was, you guessed it, downhill. On the way down the mountain, I came around a bend to see a line of cars stopped with camera lenses sticking out the windows. This made my heart jump! Having been to the park at least 12 times I knew that this meant wildlife was near, and that sometimes this meant black bear. If this was the case, it looked like a great time to catch my breath and start walking.

Black Bears in the Smokies

I raised my glasses so that I could see more clearly, and was relieved when I saw not bear, but wild turkey strutting through the woods. Whew was I relieved to see Tom walking and not Yogi! The rest of the run was normal and without incident. I ended up with 11.98 miles and my first real trail run in the bag. I loved the experience, and got a real sense of nature just being out there with the mountain. I look forward to running some more trails in the future and think that I will have to add this to my training regimen if for nothing else than to break up some of the monotony that roads can sometimes have.