My experience with trail races lately has not been
great. In December, I tripped and fell
four times in a trail 50K, and in January I got hopelessly lost in another
trail race. I saw a photo on-line about “napping”
on the trail, meaning falling down face first.
I worried that I would do that again, or get lost.
So, I’m pleased to report that the Instant Classic Trail
Half Marathon was nothing like that.
First, the course is so well marked that even I could not possibly get
lost. On one sharp turn, a sign
admonished runners to turn, noting “NOBODY gets lost at the Instant Classic.”
Thank goodness. And I didn’t trip. I have this feeling that the tripping I did
in December resulted from fatigue brought on by many-a-Christmas-party plus
many-a-year-end-deal. Kind of a lethal
combination for the little grey cells.
The trails were beautiful and we had two creek
crossings. A trail run isn’t a trail run
if you don’t get your feet wet! On one
creek crossing, there was a huge log across the stream. I paused, and a couple came behind me and
began to use the log to cross the stream.
I recalled something my friend Jay once said about creeks: “Cross them
like you mean it!” I went splashing
through the water, like a big kid. A big
smile came across my face, and I headed into the finish.
About 30 seconds after I came through the finish, a man came
through. “He’s the winner!” someone
announced. Yep. I was running the half, and he had run the
full. “I beat you!” I told him. I’m usually half the speed of the winner of
trail races, so I do count my 30 second lead as “winning.”
I went home and reclined for just a few minutes. Two hours later, I awoke from my nap. At least it didn’t scar me!
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