Tuckfest - Day 4 - 5k Recap
One tired pair of trail shoes were laced up for the final
time, and I was headed to the starting line of for the last event of the
Tuckfest trail races.
I ignored the desire to skip the warm up, and I used the course
for my “get ready” miles. I just hoped that my body would take it.
The 5k course was the same as the 5k course on Thursday
evening so I was familiar with it.
The downhill start had everyone sprinting hard. I worked my
way around several runners just before we hit the single track. I felt that I
could run faster but I was struggle to make it past a several runners. The course
is extremely narrow and as such doesn’t provide a lot of opportunity for
passing.
Mile one was gone before I realized it. Mile two was a bit
tougher but my legs felt better than I expected them. I want to attribute this
to my warm up miles. Given my other no warm up races left my struggling through
the opening miles.
The final mile has 4 nasty hills in it. I had caught up to
the 2nd place runner, and we spent the final mile going back and
forth.
We climbed the final hill and were heading back to the
Pavilion when he blew past the left turn going to the finish. To his credit, he
didn’t miss the turn. There was no yellow arrow telling him to turn left.
Even thou, he was maybe 10 yards in front of me, and I could
left him just continue on while I finished 2nd, I didn’t even
hesitate. I called out for him to turn left. I would hope someone would do the same for me.
He beat me by a few seconds but calling out to him was the
right thing to do. When I look at myself in the mirror, knowing I always try to
do the right thing is important to me.
My time was slower than Thursday night. I ran 22:43,
finishing 3rd overall, and 1st 50-54. I took home my
first Tuckfest Medal. Which by the way, were awesome looking medals.
My legs are now ready for a few days of R&R
Tails from the trail,
The Cool Down Runner
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