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