Nice calm, quiet 13 miles (or 3 or 26 if you choose) in the Adirondacks.  What a great way to train for an upcoming marathon or as intro kick to the fall running season.  This race was an Adirondack trail event run at the northeast area of Old Forge, working it’s way to Eagle Bay if opting for the marathon. *A portion of the entry fee is tax deductible as it benefits Old Forge Little League, HS Key Club and other benefactors.

For some reason when the course description was “mostly gravel and dirt roads” I wasn’t thinking about rocks. There were a lot of rocks so don’t wear your thinnest shoes. Hills? Well yes because it IS the Adirondacks. Nothing too extreme but enough for some good training.  As for the temperature, it was a perfect day to race. Beginning temps at 52 degrees with a mild breeze of about 7 mph. After running in the heat all summer, I decided on long sleeves with some cut off socks as hand warmers.

The half marathoners and full started at 8:30 am, the 5K at about 8:40 am all from George T Hiltebrant Rec Center on North St. Old Forge.  It was very easy to find parking.

We were off on our trail run promptly at 8:30 am.  We hit the trail within the first mile and started rolling along the hilly terrain.  The rocks kept coming as I kicked some up and hit myself in the leg as well as kicking some out towards other runners.  It was a race where you wanted to keep your head down and watch the footing at all times.  The first miles felt good.  My paces were 8:34, 8:59, 8:33, 7:59, 8:18.

From miles 4 to 5 was an out and back where runners were passing each other coming and going. This is a terrific section to offer support to each other:  “Good Job!” “Looking Strong!” “Have a great run!”  I had marked the top climbs based on a mapmyrun elevation chart.  I knew that there would be small challenges at the 2  mile point, the 5 mile point and from about 8 1/2 to 10 1/2.  I was ready.

My paces from 6 – 10:   8:13, 7:59, 8:08, 9:07, 8:27.  At mile 8 3/4 to 9 was the split off from the full marathoner AND where the porto potty called. *Note to self: Don’t eat so much farro wheat before a race, or could it have been the cauliflower pizza?!

Still feeling pretty good. I was working my legs but not feeling like I was over doing it.  I had enough left to keep up the pace through those final miles.

Paces from 11 – 13: 8:10, 8:16, 7:57.  The mental celebration when seeing the 12 mile marker is always wrought with mental balloons and fireworks.  The only draw back was the minor climb that felt like a major haul getting back onto pavement before the final descent to the grassy finish.  I caught the guy in front and said “lets do this” and we gave it our all to cross the finish line.  Net time:  1:48:57.  That’s 2 minutes better than I had hoped and a full 12 minutes better than I originally planned when thinking I would run an easy paced race.  Awesome day!

Ted was waiting for me, having enjoyed his day riding his bike after initially wrestling with cinder in his brakes and cleats.  He unknowingly took the bike trail and suffered the “cinder” consequences.    We listened to the music, enjoyed the tomato pie, Chobani yogurt, donuts, cheddar popcorn, etc. while waiting for the awards.

1st in age group win today.  A bottle of Cayuga White, first prize!

This was a nice race for a half or 5K but not sure about running a full marathon. Didn’t seem to be enough water stops to run a full but that’s just me and of course I didn’t run the full. Nice venue for a fall run. Beware if it is a rainy day. Could get messy.  Oh! Watch out for those rocks and be ready to run some hills.

Next race: TCS NYC Marathon. Watch for me!

Joanne

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