Castlewood Cup
I toyed with the idea of giving my race bib away for the past month. Winter in Saint Louis has been miserably cold. Having been sick for much of December and pulling my hamstring, I have not been running as much as I should. Some will say, yeah sure. But I really mean it. I'm averaging 2 runs a week for a total of anywhere between 16 and 25 miles. Running the Boston Marathon hasn't even been motivation enough to run.
So, race day rolled around and I had no idea what to expect. One thing was for sure though. It was also my day to run long. So no matter how the race unfolded, I was running home to tack on some extra miles. Jason and Alex dropped me off at the race start with plans to meet afterwards so I could change shoes and get some dry clothes. After getting out of the car, I shivered near the portable heaters until I nearly missed my wave start. Wave 2. Got to the start line with about 15 seconds to spare. And we were off. I wasn't feeling particularly speedy but I wasn't too bothered as I had resigned myself to thinking this was merely a training run with other people to push me a little. Not knowing what shoes to wear with the icy conditions, I settled on my Brooks Racer STs. Crazy. No trail shoes, no Yaktrax (don't even own any), no screws, etc. Everything was frozen so what good would they have done anyways... Of course, I was rethinking my decision when I slipped on a solid bed of ice going up the first hill climb.
The first 3 miles or so were very slow going. Everyone was feeling each other out and being extra cautious given the conditions. I mean a group of about 20 of us walked for nearly a half mile on the ice covered trail before finally spreading out. I passed a lot of people in frustration after the first few miles. Literally throwing caution to the wind and descending like a madman because I couldn't take the slow pace.
The middle of the race was pretty uneventful - lot of ups and downs. Didn't feel great but I didn't feel bad.
Now the last 3 miles of the race were actually pretty awesome. Most of it is flat or downhill. Very icy but at this point I just wanted to be finished. So I told kept telling myself that if I fell, I fell. Oh well. I had some bobbles but managed to stay upright the rest of the way which is quite the feat for me. I bombed the flats and downhills as much as I could and was super glad that I wore my flats instead of my trail shoes. My feet were amazingly comfy. I came upon a teammate a mile or two from the finish who looked like she was having a rough go. I knew how she felt. My ankles were killing me as it was clear that mountain bikers and hikers alike did not stay off the trails when they thawed the past few weeks because the ruts were really, really bad.
Jason appeared about a minute after I finished and offered to drive me outside the park to start my run home. Our original plan had been to meet outside the park so it wasn't an unpleasant surprise to see him. The 2 miles out would have been hilly and I was appreciative of the short break. I changed shoes, got my jacket loaded with nutrition, dry mittens, and some water. And I took off like a snail for home. My legs hated every step of the way home. Lesson learned: do not add miles after a race. It hurts. It hurts really, really, really bad. It still hurt the next day. And it still hurts 2 days later as I type this report.
Found out later that I finished 4th OA female and 2nd in my age group. It was something new to me to have almost no socialization before or after the race. That's usually why I do these things in the first place. I think I'll go back to that because this left me feeling pretty lonely.
So, race day rolled around and I had no idea what to expect. One thing was for sure though. It was also my day to run long. So no matter how the race unfolded, I was running home to tack on some extra miles. Jason and Alex dropped me off at the race start with plans to meet afterwards so I could change shoes and get some dry clothes. After getting out of the car, I shivered near the portable heaters until I nearly missed my wave start. Wave 2. Got to the start line with about 15 seconds to spare. And we were off. I wasn't feeling particularly speedy but I wasn't too bothered as I had resigned myself to thinking this was merely a training run with other people to push me a little. Not knowing what shoes to wear with the icy conditions, I settled on my Brooks Racer STs. Crazy. No trail shoes, no Yaktrax (don't even own any), no screws, etc. Everything was frozen so what good would they have done anyways... Of course, I was rethinking my decision when I slipped on a solid bed of ice going up the first hill climb.
The first 3 miles or so were very slow going. Everyone was feeling each other out and being extra cautious given the conditions. I mean a group of about 20 of us walked for nearly a half mile on the ice covered trail before finally spreading out. I passed a lot of people in frustration after the first few miles. Literally throwing caution to the wind and descending like a madman because I couldn't take the slow pace.
The middle of the race was pretty uneventful - lot of ups and downs. Didn't feel great but I didn't feel bad.
Now the last 3 miles of the race were actually pretty awesome. Most of it is flat or downhill. Very icy but at this point I just wanted to be finished. So I told kept telling myself that if I fell, I fell. Oh well. I had some bobbles but managed to stay upright the rest of the way which is quite the feat for me. I bombed the flats and downhills as much as I could and was super glad that I wore my flats instead of my trail shoes. My feet were amazingly comfy. I came upon a teammate a mile or two from the finish who looked like she was having a rough go. I knew how she felt. My ankles were killing me as it was clear that mountain bikers and hikers alike did not stay off the trails when they thawed the past few weeks because the ruts were really, really bad.
Jason appeared about a minute after I finished and offered to drive me outside the park to start my run home. Our original plan had been to meet outside the park so it wasn't an unpleasant surprise to see him. The 2 miles out would have been hilly and I was appreciative of the short break. I changed shoes, got my jacket loaded with nutrition, dry mittens, and some water. And I took off like a snail for home. My legs hated every step of the way home. Lesson learned: do not add miles after a race. It hurts. It hurts really, really, really bad. It still hurt the next day. And it still hurts 2 days later as I type this report.
Found out later that I finished 4th OA female and 2nd in my age group. It was something new to me to have almost no socialization before or after the race. That's usually why I do these things in the first place. I think I'll go back to that because this left me feeling pretty lonely.
posted by Nikki Reed Difani at 2:12 PM
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