Yes, you read that title correctly. Before I get into the recap of the one loop that we ran, I will state that both of us felt great and did not DNF for physical reasons.
Backing up a bit. A few weeks ago, an email from the race surprised me because I thought that we had decided not to run this race again. I checked the participant list and confirmed that we did indeed have spots in the race even though I have no memory of registering us.
I even considered skipping it altogether after reading another email from them that came the week of the race that mentioned potential wet spots along the course from the midweek rain that we received. After getting a full foot dunking the last time we ran, I did not look forward to the possibility of something similar happening again. I eventually decided to go ahead with the race since the temps would be cold enough to keep those sections frozen, potentially.
Mom and I arrived to the race early after miscalculating the amount of time it would take to arrive. Thus, we waited in the car for a while before heading to the portopotty line, finishing just in time to start the race.
Shortly after we started I experienced an example of why you should usually avoid trying new things on race day. Due to the cooler weather, I wore my new capris. Something about the fit/the stretchiness made them feel like they were inching down with each stride. Although they likely weren’t coming down that far, it certainly felt that way and thus I resigned myself to having to pull them up every so often.
When we slowed to walk at mile 2, I rolled the capris above my knee, not knowing if that would help but willing to give it a try. Thankfully, it ended up working, likely due to the fact that it no longer pulled downward every time I bent my knee.
Some time around this point we encountered a section that had not completely dried out or frozen. I tried to bypass it on the left but the taller, un-mown grass hid the fact that this section also had not dried out or frozen. Thankfully, it was only a wee bit squidgy. I still did not like it though. At this point, my mind reminded me that we would have to come through this section again on the second loop and thus started to have declining interest in running. Another part of me countered that thought by pointing out the smallness of the section and the easy navigability of the squidgy section. I decided to suck it up and deal with the section on the second lap.
Around the third mile, we encountered the portion that got a lot of people lost the last time we ran the race. This time, however, race organizers clearly marked with ribbon/string separating the out and back sections. I took this as a sign that they had learned how to properly mark the course. If only.
We headed onto the portion of the course that forms a lollipop with me thinking that we had managed to navigate this section fairly well. Third time’s the charm, right?
Unfortunately, this section had the added detraction of stiff twigs littering the ground with portions sticking up at ankle height seemingly for the sole purpose of scratching as many ankles as possible which I did not enjoy.
WhenI had become particularly irritated with these ankle scratchers, we reached a poorly marked portion of the course, along with a few other runners. From my memory, the actual lollipop portion of the lollipop (not the stick) was quite skinny, more like a thin oval rather than a circle. The turn that the other runners ended up taking went in the opposite direction than I expected. mom and I ended up taking the turn that brought us closer to the back portion of the loop and cutting across a portion that I knew was not part of the course.
This sealed the deal in my mind. I had zero desire to attempt to navigate this portion on the second loop or try to pick my way through the ankle grabbers. I brought up the possibility of stopping after the first loop to Mom, who also did not appreciate those same things. She agreed to DNF the race with me when we got back towards the end of the first loop.
Immediately, I felt like we had made the right decision, especially after we emerged from the single track onto the road for a short portion. I felt so good on this section even though it was a significant hill. I told Mom that I’m definitely a road girl not a trail girl. She agreed with me; road’s are her preference too.
At the top of the hill we turned off the road and started the traverse over an open field. We had another chunk on a paved walking trail. Again, this section confirmed to me that I prefer pavement. We had to navigate around a couple of the 5k walkers who chose to take up the whole path and look askance at us for passing them.
I knew when we reached the only hill on the course that we did not have much more to run. Sure enough, we made a turn, ran for a little bit (including a slip on slightly muddy ground that I, thankfully recovered form almost before I realized that I had slipped) and then saw the building and neighboring parking lot in which Mom had parked. I stepped off to the side and paused my Garmin, hoping to wait for only a little bit before turning off the course so we wouldn’t accidentally lead them off course.
Although Mom mentioned that she kind of wanted to finish, she set that aside after I reminded her of that muddy section as well as the task of trying to not get lost again.
After waiting for a little while, we went ahead and jogged towards the parking lot. No one followed us so, thankfully, we avoided leading anyone astray.
For my first DNIF, I do not mind at all. i had nothing invested in this race, did not even remember registering for it, and had an overall dislike of the course itself. Plus, this race helped me confirm that I do not prefer trail races.
Stay tuned for the race in which we actually finish the race.