Hoffmaster 10k Trail Run

[limewave]

Saturday was my last race in the Running Club Point Series. It was at PJ Hoffmaster State Park located on Lake Michigan. The approximate distance was 6 miles.

There were about 100 runners. All of us huddled together and jogged in place to stay warm. The director issued a warning before the start--the trails were slippery from the fallen leaves, rutty, and sandy in parts--so be careful! We started off in the parking lot and then up a big hill before we hit the trails. I was passed by many joggers in the parking lot and then had the pleasure of passing some of THEM on the uphill (I like hills--or so I thought . . . )

The race was like running a roller coaster--lots of steep, shorter climbs. By mile 2 I was starting to curse the hills. The pack of runners was spread out. I couldn't see anyone behind me and only a few runners in front. The two men in front of me kept walking up the hills. I wanted to catch them so badly I could taste it. As much as my legs and lungs burned, I forced myself to jog up every climb no matter how steep or long--I could let my heart rate recover AFTER the race!!!!

By mile 3 I was running with the 2 men. They picked up their pace to stay with me. I applied my sneaky Lance Armstrong technique and engaged the two in a casual conversation. Pain? Me? None at all. This course is great! Yay, another hill! And more sand! This is the best! Surprisingly, I could keep decent conversation with them while they panted and weezed. I knew I had both of them beat. So the next climb, I attacked. Lance would be proud.

This last climb was long and steady, about 1/3 mile to the beach. The last mile of the course was along the lake. It was my favorite part of the race because it was flat I kept a nice steady pace to the end.

I finished with 47 minutes! So, there's no way I can run 6 miles that fast, I later found out the actual distance was closer to 5.3 miles. That's 9 minute miles!!! More than a minute/mile faster than my last trail run! YAY!

Weather: 34 degrees, cloudy

~Heather

[Tri Girl]

Wow Heather!!! Nice job out there! That's a smokin' pace for a trail run (IMO).
Sounds like a fun, yet challenging run. Great job catching those men and then running away from them! Feels so good, doesn't it?

Anyway, congrats on a great race! Very fast, and very exciting for you!!!

[rocknrollgirl]

Great Job. I always love when I get done with a race and the distance was not really as far as they advertised...my usual thought is.....hmmm, either that was a short 5 miles or I am ready for the olympics.

9 min miles on the trail during a race is great. Awesome job!

[yellow]

The two men in front of me kept walking up the hills. I wanted to catch them so badly I could taste it. As much as my legs and lungs burned, I forced myself to jog up every climb no matter how steep or long--I could let my heart rate recover AFTER the race!!!!

I did a 20k loosely-organized trail run today (only it was actually 21k!) and saw a lot of men doing this (of course there were maybe 4-5 women total out of about 40, so I saw lots of men). I could catch them on the uphills but they would smoke me on the downhills and on the flats. I kept telling myself it was because they had longer legs . However, I am a tentative/careful downhill runner, so I take little itty bitty steps. I fall too much to get much gutsier.

Most of these guys out today were experienced ultra runners and many of them seemed to walk the uphills. I may experiment with walking some of the uphills on future trail runs and see if I really lose that much time. I run pretty slow up them, and if I were to walk maybe I would use that much less NRG that I could apply to the flats...and my time might be the same or better. Have you tried that?

I can't imagine sharing the trails with 100 people, but it sounds like they got pretty spread out. I agree with RRG, 9 min miles on the trail is really smokin'! Good job!

[colby]

Great job, limewave! It sounds like an awesome run, and you did REALLY well. Congrats

[run it, ride it]

Great work! I can almost taste your victory after passing those two guys!

[KSH]

Great job and fast pace! Those hills sound brutal!

Good job on sucking the men in... and then making them eat your dust!

[kaybee]

Good job, Heather and Yellow! Don't you just love outsmarting the guys and then outrunning them?

KB

[Offthegrid]

Nice work and a great pace!