Notes
Okay, for those who are interested, and have been pestering me, here is the long awaited race recap. Don't you people have lives? :)
After a much longer warm-up than this sort of race would probably necessitate, we had about 5 minutes until race time. Didn't care much for bathroom lines so we took advantage of the great outdoors.
We put ourselves up pretty close to the front of the group on the start. I wasn't overly concerned with position at the start, as it was a 10 mile race and there would be plenty of time to pass people. Given that however, we put ourselves in a good enough position to take in the competition lining up. We immediately spotted a young woman standing just off the start line who looked like she was the real deal. Prior to the race we had looked at results from last year, and the winner had been a chick named Hilary St. James, in about 1:18, just under 8 min pace. From pictures I could tell this girl in front of us looked like her, and we figured it was a pretty same assumption. Besides that we had seen a few other women who looked potentially threatening, however what can flashy shoes and over-priced arm bands really tell you about a person.
The gun went off and the field got off the line excitedly. It was a mass start of 260 people, and I bet Brenna and I were in the first 20 to cross the start line. The woman ahead of us tore off into the distance immediately, and it didn't worry me. The Luther way: patient start and build from there. I figured the strategy would serve us well, especially on trails. (It turns out we wouldn't see Ms. Hilary St. James, or any other woman for that matter, again for the entire race)
The first 2k were made interesting by the fact that there were two races happening simultaneously, an 8k and a 16k, that shared the first 1.2 miles of the course. There was no effective way to determine who was in which race. The first 2k flew by and the pace felt quick, probably because of excitement and because we were mixed in with the 8kers as well. After the two races split, I felt I was able to relax a lot more, focus on my pace, and also feel more comfortable in my position as the field thinned out and you could actually tell where you were.
The first 10k of the race was definitely the more challenging portion. We ran some ebbs and flows on single track and just-wider-than single track trail, around the top of a bluff for about 2 miles, before descending a couple very steep, single-track climbs to the bottom of the bluff. We probably spent ~1 mile running along the bottom of the bluff before beginning a huge climb back up towards the start/finish line. There were 2, maybe 3 distinct portions of the climb. Single track, roots and rocky in some places, and about the slop of Boa maybe? But definitely steeper than Boa in parts. Portions of it reminded me of the front side of Dunnings by the spring that at least the women's team usually chooses to walk up. The entirety of the two climbs wasn't that steep, but portions of it certainly were.
Brenna and I had been together up until this portion of the race, and had been running and working with a group of about 5-6 men. The climbs brought out the lung and breathing difficulties I have been having the last couple weeks. I soon found myself not able to get a full breathe, and the legs tiring too quickly due to the lack of oxygen. I unsuccessfully told Brenna multiple times to go, before she finally left me as we had agreed we would do if one of us was having a better day. I probably lost 2-3 minutes over the next 1-2 miles of climbing. I was passed by 5-6 men, but still didn't see any women, so was feeling okay about that. I definitely had to hike a significant portion of the second climb, which I was bummed about, but I tried to stay focused and remind myself it wouldn't do any good to run if I couldn't get any oxygen, and I would just make my legs red line even more.
After those couple miles of climbing it got better. At the top of the bluff we wound around a few wider trails before coming out into the clearing at the top and running through the start/finish area again. At this point we were 10K into the race, with the worst of the climbing behind us, and I was recovering quickly on the flatter ground and feeling optimistic again. It was fun to hear some cheering from spectators and also some of the faster 8K runners who had already finished. Every time somebody saw me they would shout 3rd woman, you're the 3rd woman. I had been pretty sure of this after the start, but it was good to be re-assured. The last 6k were more rolly (word?) than the first 10k, and I felt like I made up a lot of ground. The field was still think because I was towards the front of the race, but I was always able to see the next person ahead of me and pick them off one by one. I felt strong through this portion of the race, and my pace seemed to be faster than most of those racing around me. After the large climbs in about the 5th and 6th miles, I didn't get passed by anyone, male or female, so that felt good.
The terrain for the last portion reminded me of the prairie on top of Van Peenen. Wider paths with true cross country footing, and some good rolling hills with a few more significant climbs mixed in. I would imagine my last 2k was pretty fast relative to the field. At the last water stop I asked a worker how far it was to the finish and he said I had a short 2k left. I was able to kick it in and I think run a really solid last mile up to the finish. I was definitely tanked on the finish line, so I was happy with the way I had distributed my resources.
Turns out Hilary St. James ran 1:15:25, a full 3 minutes faster than last year, and averaged 7:36 on a very tough course. I was glad when I saw this, because it means I think she would have been out of my reach even if my lungs had cooperated better for that small portion of the race. We creeped on her on the way home and discovered she is a PhD student at Madison and a very good, well-known runner.
Brenna ran like a STUD, finishing as the 2nd woman in 1:17:27, averaging 7:48. Props B, that is a beastly average in this kind of race. I finished as the 3rd woman in 1:20:36.
Overall I am quite happy with it. It was an absolute blast, and I would definitely do it again. The second time I would be more prepared for a few of the really tough climbs, and perhaps be slightly more patient off the start and try to run the last 6k even better.
The post-race food was the best I've ever seen. All homemade bread and made-from-scratch soups and homemade cookies. I love the trail running community!
Brenna and I came away with a new pair of socks each and homemade maple syrup and homemade jam as our winnings. A good day.