Pfalz Point 10 Mile Trail Challenge
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Pfalz Point Trail Challenge info
2007 Pfalz Point results
photo slideshow
What a great day for a race in the 'Gunks!
The Pfalz Point Trail Challenge is run as a fundraiser for the Mohonk Preserve, a private organization that manages 6500 acres on the Shawangunk ridge. I ran the race in 2005 and was a bit disappointed with the course - most of it is through woods and fields, lacking the wonderful views that the races in nearby Minnewaska State Park Preserve have in adundance. I also missed a turn about 1 1/2 miles into the race, and ended up adding roughly an extra mile to my run... and I popped my right knee, badly, with 2 1/2 miles left to run. Combine that with not knowing whether or not I'd have recovered from the marathon the previous Sunday, and initially I wasn't sure I was going to run it again this year... but after spending the day at Minnewaska in late August, I decided I really wanted to have an excuse to visit the 'Gunks again and sent in my registration. Definitely a good choice
The drive down was great - other than the sun rising a little while after I left Albany, another sign that fall is here. I arrived at the Spring Farm trailhead early enough that I actually got to park near the race HQ, instead of almost half a mile away like last time. Picked up my packet and then wandered around taking photos and waiting for the race to start. What a cool, sunny, glorious day! The trees were just beginning to turn, so there was a hint of color, and there was a clear view of the Catskill Mountains off to the west.
The start was typical - a huge crowd of runners clustered at the start line, I found my place at the back, the RD said a few words (mostly about being careful on the more technical parts of the course, though he also said something about there being a few hills...) and then - off we went!
The first two miles took us along a dirt road and around the edge of a field before we hit rolling singletrack through the woods. We had a decent-sized crowd running at the back of the pack. I hit the first mile marker in just over 11 minutes and decided to take it relatively easy on the singletrack - didn't want to run out of gas too early, and I also didn't want to lose a knee!
At about 2 1/4 miles we came out of the woods and I actually got to run past my car! Fortunately the run was going well so there was no temptation to hop in and drive home. From there we ran along the edge of a field and then headed steeply uphill on singletrack again... I ended up walking a lot of that, until we finally came out on the carriage roads. And then - it was time to really run!
From mile 3 to mile 5, the course goes non-stop uphill on carriage roads... which are absolutely wonderful to run, in my opinion! I started passing folks along this stretch who were walking up the hill, presumably because either the almost non-stop hills or the distance was beating them up. I was having a great time cruising along on the easy-to-run paths. Stopped briefly just before the halfway point to take in the view, and then the path turned downhill and I could really begin to cruise... I was sure many of the folks I'd passed on the way up would overtake me along here, but very few actually did.
Between miles 6 and 7 we ran through some fields and had a wonderful view of the cliffs off in the distance. Then we hit the mile-long uphill between mile 7 and 8... that was no fun, and I ended up walking the steep bits (that was also the stretch where I blew my knee two years ago!) Of course, coming out at the top of that hill is great, because from there the last two miles are mostly either level or downhill, though the footing is a little rough in spots.
I opened it up as best I could and blew down the hills and along the level stretches (well... blew down them for me) Passed a few more folks, but definitely began feeling the strain in the last mile... there was no question I was low on gas, and my legs decided to remind me at everything even vaguely resembling a hill that I'd run a marathon a week ago! Had one or two folks pass me in that final mile, and had someone almost literally breathing down my neck for the last quarter mile, but I managed a good finishing kick and held him off, crossing the finish line in 1 hr 53 minutes even... substantially better than the 12 minute miles I was hoping for!
After that I enjoyed a delightful plate of salad, bread, rice, and chili while enjoying the relative peace-and-quiet near my car. Toyed with the idea of staying down there for a while longer, but given the amount of work waiting for me at home I decided instead to do a little driving around the area to get some pictures of the ridge (including some nice shots of Sky Top) and then after a break to treat myself to some TCBY frozen yogurt, it was time for the very pleasant drive back to Albany on a beautiful September afternoon.
So in the end I'm definitely glad I did this one... after last week's slow plod to the finish, this was a nice boost to my running self-esteem, between running a bit faster than I expected to and actually passing a few folks during the race. Not to mention the excellent surroundings and getting to be out in the woods on a fantastic first day of fall.
Next up: the Rochester Autumn Classic Duathlon, put on by the wonderful folks at Yellowjacket Racing. This will be my 3rd Autumn Classic and my 8th Du with Yellowjacket... should be a fun morning!
JMH
2007 EVENT TOTALS
Running 211.9 mi, 49 hr 41 min
Cycling 26.2 mi, 1 hr 55 min
Snowshoe 31.3 mi, 9 hr 11 min
states visited: CT, MA, ME, NH, NY, VT
