Trail Nut Half Marathon

5/10/08 - Trail Nut - Trail 10k and Half Marathon,
at Falling Creek Park
Bedford, Virginia

What was he thinking with this license plate?

Great day for a race. Temps were in the mid upper 60's with a cool NW wind blowing. The trails were a little slippery due to rain the night before. I hope they are that wet next week for the Mtb race. Ryan Middleton and I took out Sat. morning heading to Explorer Park. Yeah, that's right Explorer Park. WRONG PLACE! I'm the one that usually gets lost or has the wrong location for races so I thought Ryan was correct when telling me that it was at Explorer. We arrived at the park around 7:45 with no one in site. My first thought, "ha, I'm right. Its in Bedford." My second thought, "Oh crap, I'm right it's in Bedford." I figured we had just enough time to make it to the Falling Creek Park. So off we went. However, neither of us could remember how to get to Falling Creek. After calling several folks, I found Mr. Instant Info (real name withheld for security reasons) and he guided me to the park. With about 15 minutes to spare, we were registered.

The bell rings and we take off. There were about 35 runners doing the 10k and 40 doing the 13.1 mile half marathon. Ryan is a good runner and I knew he would be near the top. I'm not much of a runner and was hoping to finish without much walking or problems. I figured my best time might be a 2:20 or 2:15.

We take off and I'm taking it easy for the first lap. The trail was really slippery so I tried to focus on technique, efficiency and not losing traction. About to finish the first lap, I'm feeling good and start to pick up the pace a little. I'm working on relaxing and letting my body fall downhill and not working too hard going up. Usually my legs give out before my lungs with running. I even played around on some log hops wishing I had my bike. I'm maintaining about a 9 minute mile pace and feeling good. Around mile 10 my calves started to twinge a little. Oh crap, that's not good. I took some Hammer E-Caps which help prevent cramping for me. Nothing locking up so I keep running. Mile 11, I'm still holding my 9 minute pace. Mile 12, wow, 1 more mile to go! My feet start to hurt a little but all is good. The finish is much like the Mtb finish. You come out into the grassy field then a short, steep hill on the left. I pumped it as hard as I could and crossed the finish line in 2:02:40. I was so stoked. Couldn't believe I ran it that well. I took 2nd place in men's 40-44 class!

Ryan had a great run finishing 2nd overall with a time of 1:41:53.
Mark Tuggle for Asheville won with a time of 1:34:17

Oh yeah, I was beat by only one girl:)

Now the fun begins. Ryan has completed the Richmond marathon and Charlottesville half marathon. Each time he got severe stomach cramps after the race. This leads him to dehydration and a depletion of nutrients. Same thing happened again. We brought our bikes to ride the course after the run but we didn't even stay for the awards. Off to the ER

Well, I guess he did get several awards.

3 bags (7lbs) of fluids

1 urinal flask

1 poop catcher

2 shots of Demerol

Admiring his trophies

Josh Gilbert and the Mountain Junkies do a great job with all of their events. The race runs smooth and awards are always unique. Thanks Josh and all your help!