Race Report - DINO Eagle Creek 15k

So, we returned to the scene of the crime. I have been running events in the DINO trail running series for about four years now, but I'd never been in a race like March 8, 2008. The night before, we had gotten about an inch of ice, and the night before that, we had about 4-6 inches of snow. All this made for a nice, pretty, hard-packed, treacherous course- some of which ran along an off-camber path that dropped off to the reservoir. That, combined with single-digit temps and below zero wind chills made for my least favorite trail run ever.

Fast forward one year- the sun is shining and it is a relatively balmy 30 degrees at gun time. We got to Eagle Creek Park way early, and had over an hour to kill after registration. While I wasn't too keen on burning off energy, I felt like I'd need a good warmup to start the race well. In the past, these 15k trail runs have been endurance challenges for me, but since I'm now deep in the heart of training for the Madison Marathon, the distance was not a mental factor. That mindset would definitely affect my performance today.

I was there with my friend Tom. Over the past few years, he and I share a friendly rivalry that has been horribly one-sided in his favor (as a younger, singler, slimmer guy with no kids, he has the decided advantage). But this year, the marathon training has helped my early-season fitness, and his serious girlfriend has, I think, detracted from his. Tom and I took off for a brief warmup jog, about .3 miles from the car to the start line. He decided to head inside to the warming hut, while I thought about finding a place to leave my two Diet Cokes I drank before the race. As I ran around contemplating "bush or port-a-pot?" I put in another quarter mile or so. I settled on the long line at the port-a-john and barely finished in time for the gun.

At the line, the RD Brian announced that they had changed the course slightly from last year. While the 15k course would still be 3 loops of the 5k course, it was a tad bit shorter (right around 9 miles), and certainly would be less slippery- mostly dry with just a few mud spots. That was good, since it took me over 1:40 last year.

Right before the start, I noticed I was up too close to the front. My normal position (pack right, 10 feet off the line) was probably great for the normal DINO race with 80-100 people, but it was then I realized over 200 people had shown up for the 15k (I never remember the 15k being bigger than the 5k, but it was today). So, the siren sounded and we were off. Tom decided early on that he was going to run behind me as long as possible in his normal strategic attempt to pip me at the finish. So, I decided to push the pace. All of a sudden, this nice, cool run through the woods became a nine-mile tempo run. Never mind that I had never done a 9-mile tempo run before, nor that I had never done a tempo run on the trails. I was determined to lose Tom.

2 miles- I'm running a fast tempo pace, but Tom is still with me. He's started to fade a few times around corners, or as I power up short hills, but he manages to bungee back to me as I recover. Just short of 3 miles, as we come back around to close lap 1, I notice that I have gapped him. While I want to take it easy on the second lap, I decide I need to keep pushing. First lap: 22:53. WAIT! That can't be right. That's less than 7:40 miles, which is my treadmill tempo pace. Oh well, push on.

Lap 2, my "speed" if you can call it that, starts to catch up to me. By mile 4, a few people are passing me, but I'm not usually this far up in the pack, so it doesn't bother me too much. Still, not wanting to fade, I decide to ingest a gel at 4.5. I'd been drinking Powerade from my handheld bottle every 1/2 mile or so, and after the gel, I think the sugar starts to get to me. By mile 5.5 or so, I'm feeling a little queasy and my legs are very heavy from the short but steep hills. Still, I finish lap 2 in 46:30, so the second lap was a slower but respectable 23:37. Still under 8:00 miles.

Lap 3 begins, and at this point, I'm thinking three things: 1) If I can run another 23:30, I'll finish under 1:10 (my previous PR for one of these races was 1:18 and change). 2) I don't see Tom behind me anywhere. I must have put some more time into him this lap. And 3) My stomach is not any better yet. Still, I soldier on, through the grove of pine trees, across the road and down the rope hill, then back up the steepest climb on the trail. At the 7.5 mark, this thought crosses my mind: "How long would it take to puke? I mean, could I just get it all out before Tom catches me?" But, with not quite enough in my stomach to throw up, I just push on. At 8 miles, I feel intense desire to run faster, but find my legs to be unwilling participants. Climbing up the last long hill, I turn around and see Tom only about 90 seconds behind me at the bottom. Now, I turn it on.

I run across the last parking lot, through the two mudholes, past the playground and toward the finish line. Wow, there are a lot of people up in this part of the pack. When I run toward the back, I usually finish alone, but I'm passing and being passed all the way to the line. As I crest the last little rise, I can see the finish clock. Darn! It's already past 1:10. I relax a little and cruise in at 1:10:33, 83rd place out of 200. Certainly not spectactular, but an 8 minute PR for me, and two minutes ahead of my younger, fitter comrade.

It was a great day, a great run, and a terrific start to the season. In two weeks, we'll be at Mounds State Park in Anderson, IN for the next race. Hope to see you there!