WWC River Jam Virtual 10k Race
So the rain finally let up enough that the WWC trails opened. Actually, they opened yesterday, but I couldn't make it work to get there. I prayed that the rain didn't fall too much yesterday evening that they would close the trails for today.
As today, I planned to run my River Jam 10k effort.
For a Tuesday, the trail were super quiet. I met no one on my run today. This is social distancing at its best.
I cruised over the 5k course to warm up my legs and get a little sweet started. I followed this by stopping my car to dry off and get a sip of water. Then, time had come to get this on.
I headed off from the starting line flag. Having been over 5 weeks since my last virtual run and even longer since I did something covering more than a mile or two, it felt good to run hard. I was probably a little over zealous starting out. My breathing was labored for sure.
I entered the wood and focused on treading lightly. While the trails were not muddy, there were plenty in slippy spots. On the hard decent to the South Main trail, my feet were going in all directions as I attempted to maintain my balance.
Running along the river was nice. A slight breeze blew in from the water. This helped push away the sweet running down the sides of my face.
I passed by the Tower, Wedge, and Goat trails. My breathing was settling down, and I was starting to lock in to a good pace.
Sweet continued to roll down my brow probably faster than I was running.
The first three miles seemed to fly by, and before I knew it; I was running along the Lake Loop.
My heart was racing right along with me, and I wasn't sure how much more that it could take. Then, I got a major dump of adrenaline in to my system. There was a huge black snake about 1/2 way across the trail. I didn't even slow down. I just took one long sweeping stride and headed on. I didn't even look back.
Aside from a couple of muddy spots, the Lake Loop was in good shape.
I heard my Garmin chime at 5 miles. I don't recall the exact order of events so I am not sure if this was just a moment of inattentiveness or a glance at my Garmin, either way, I stepped on a rock awkwardly, rolled my ankle, and sent myself hurdling toward the ground. All of my momentum was directed at pushing my face right in to the dirt. Out of the corner of my eye, I spied a tiny White Oak tree. Out of instinct, with my left hand, I grabbed and held tightly on to it. My palm acted as my brake pad tearing at the bark and my skin while I did 3 complete circles before I could regain enough control to not go completely down. With one smooth motion, I came up running. Although, I ran gingerly for a few steps while I shook off the pain in my ankle.
I stepped around a couple of more fallen limbs and hurdled a small pine tree which had fallen over the trail. Finally, I exited the trail and was back on the gravel. I love the run around the channel back to the finish.
Six miles chimed from Garmin. I glanced at the time. Push harder was the only thought that came to mind.
I finished in 47:58. This was about 40 seconds faster than my May race here.
I have to say. I have done pretty much nothing other than log miles. Yet, my times are pretty much on par with last year. With a little competition, I feel good that I could probably do a little better. I have to admit; if I had someone either to chase or pushing me, I would be digging a little deeper. Me, myself, and I just don't do enough. Oh, well, for now, we have to take what we can get.
In May, I finished 3rd overall. I'll submit my GPX file, and I will see where I place for June. I so hope that July is a real race. Solo runs are nice but I crave competition.
The Cool Down Runner
As today, I planned to run my River Jam 10k effort.
For a Tuesday, the trail were super quiet. I met no one on my run today. This is social distancing at its best.
I cruised over the 5k course to warm up my legs and get a little sweet started. I followed this by stopping my car to dry off and get a sip of water. Then, time had come to get this on.
I headed off from the starting line flag. Having been over 5 weeks since my last virtual run and even longer since I did something covering more than a mile or two, it felt good to run hard. I was probably a little over zealous starting out. My breathing was labored for sure.
I entered the wood and focused on treading lightly. While the trails were not muddy, there were plenty in slippy spots. On the hard decent to the South Main trail, my feet were going in all directions as I attempted to maintain my balance.
Running along the river was nice. A slight breeze blew in from the water. This helped push away the sweet running down the sides of my face.
I passed by the Tower, Wedge, and Goat trails. My breathing was settling down, and I was starting to lock in to a good pace.
Sweet continued to roll down my brow probably faster than I was running.
The first three miles seemed to fly by, and before I knew it; I was running along the Lake Loop.
My heart was racing right along with me, and I wasn't sure how much more that it could take. Then, I got a major dump of adrenaline in to my system. There was a huge black snake about 1/2 way across the trail. I didn't even slow down. I just took one long sweeping stride and headed on. I didn't even look back.
Aside from a couple of muddy spots, the Lake Loop was in good shape.
I heard my Garmin chime at 5 miles. I don't recall the exact order of events so I am not sure if this was just a moment of inattentiveness or a glance at my Garmin, either way, I stepped on a rock awkwardly, rolled my ankle, and sent myself hurdling toward the ground. All of my momentum was directed at pushing my face right in to the dirt. Out of the corner of my eye, I spied a tiny White Oak tree. Out of instinct, with my left hand, I grabbed and held tightly on to it. My palm acted as my brake pad tearing at the bark and my skin while I did 3 complete circles before I could regain enough control to not go completely down. With one smooth motion, I came up running. Although, I ran gingerly for a few steps while I shook off the pain in my ankle.
I stepped around a couple of more fallen limbs and hurdled a small pine tree which had fallen over the trail. Finally, I exited the trail and was back on the gravel. I love the run around the channel back to the finish.
Six miles chimed from Garmin. I glanced at the time. Push harder was the only thought that came to mind.
I finished in 47:58. This was about 40 seconds faster than my May race here.
I have to say. I have done pretty much nothing other than log miles. Yet, my times are pretty much on par with last year. With a little competition, I feel good that I could probably do a little better. I have to admit; if I had someone either to chase or pushing me, I would be digging a little deeper. Me, myself, and I just don't do enough. Oh, well, for now, we have to take what we can get.
In May, I finished 3rd overall. I'll submit my GPX file, and I will see where I place for June. I so hope that July is a real race. Solo runs are nice but I crave competition.
The Cool Down Runner
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