Pfalz Point 10 mile Trail Challenge
Sunday, Sept. 25, 2005
2005 Pfalz Point trail race results
Pfalz Point trail race info
2005 Pfalz Point trail race photo slideshow
Actually, it was more like 10.5 miles for me. More on that in a bit.
Getting up at 4:30 AM on a Sunday sucks. The fact that I did that so I could drive 90 minutes to run in a race that I paid to be in only shows how crazy I am.
And clearly the channel 10 weather people were clueless Friday evening. The weather started out cloudy and got worse. Fortunately, the rain held off until after the race.
I'll get the two mishaps out of the way first...
About a mile and a half in I missed a turn (and the course marshall was distracted making sure two runners who sprained their ankles early on were getting help.) Took quarter to half a mile for me to find someone who could confirm I missed the turn... I wondered where all the runners had gone! Then I had to go back. So that added at least half a mile to my 10 mile run. (I think I should get an award to running further than everyone else... maybe the "Not Too Observant" award? Actually, the trail was tough to spot... I suspect the flour arrows had been wiped out by the 200-300 runners who ran over them before me.)
Just past the 7 mile point (7.5 for me!) there was a STEEP section of gnarly singletrack about 3/4 mile long. Halfway up it I landed funny and popped my right knee. A medium pop ie. hurt like heck and the knee contemplated calling it a day. Not a bad pop because I convinced it otherwise... hobbled to the top of the hill (THAT'S fun with a bad knee), chatted with the water stop people, then hobbled off down the trail with a little over 2 miles to go. The knee gradually loosened up, though never enough that I could get back to my previous speed. Should be OK in a few days, though I'll probably take my cane to work for the next day or two.
So much for the unfortunate stuff. Apologies in advance for any typos... the screen and keys are at an awkward angle as I sit here with my leg up and a bag of ice on my stupid knee.
The drive into Mohonk was gorgeous as usual, despite the grey sky. Got all set, suited up, and so on. And away we went... at first I was worried because I was all the way at the back and had a chattering group of magpies (oops, I mean runners) in front of me who were planning to "take it easy" - had visions of having to listen to them the whole way. I needn't have worried, since my missing the turnoff left me at least 8 or 9 minutes behind even the back of the pack. Guess that's what I get... had I been able to hear them chattering away maybe I wouldn't have missed the turn! The next five miles were pretty steadily uphill.... though fields, singletrack, and doubletrack. That was work. Once I got to the top, it started to get really fun... had a very slight downhill grade so I was able to crank up the speed a bit. There were a couple of miles that really felt good. Of course, then I hit that 2nd uphill and popped my knee... not much speed after that. But I did manage to finish in 2:16, which works out to 13 minute miles when the extra distance is factored in. Not bad at all, considering the amount of uphill and running on a bad knee for the last 2+ miles.
The volunteers at this race were GREAT... what a positive group of people. As all these folks at different spots kept applauding me and telling me how impressive I was (I think because I was running with 2 knee braces, but maybe they tell that to everyone who's way behind) I kept wanting to say "Hey, I'm just this crazy guy who runs. It's no big deal." At one point I came out into a clear area and had three people in rapid succession take my picture. Joked with the water table people and especially with the sweepers on their ATB's a lot... at no point did anyone seem the slightest bit put out that they had to wait out there for slow (and directionally challenged, apparently) me. Stopped about a quarter mile from the end to take photos of the sweepers, and then one of them took my camera and zipped ahead to take pictures of me finishing! The cheering from the people at the finish line was also incredible... you would have though someone important was coming across the line instead of just me. It was really quite unbelievable. (Some of it may be because I think people see the braces and that I'm slow and figure that I don't do this stuff much... at the end two people handed me an application for the 20K at Lake Minnewaska in November and suggested that maybe I should do that next... they seemed a bit surprised when I said my app was already in, I'd run it several years ago and loved it, and my next race was going to be a duathlon in Rochester next weekend. So maybe it's not inherently obvious just how crazy I am.)
The races at Minnewaska are prettier than this one... not many views along this course, though the woods we ran through were nice. The pictures should give a pretty good impression of what a nice place this is to run...
So all in all, a good race with some great people marred only by the knee incident.
JMH
Next week - the Rochester Autumn Classic Duathlon! 2 miles/10 miles/2 miles/10 miles/2 miles! The same course as the spring duathlon I did, so maybe I'll answer the question - have I gotten any better at this stuff?
Pfalz Point Trail Challenge - a correction
Just looked at the map and it looks like I ran an extra mile rather than an extra half mile... which makes me very happy because that brings me in at just under 12.5 minute miles. Very cool!
What can I say... I'm vain enough that the extra 30 seconds per mile makes a difference to me. Guess I need to work on this...
