Carriage Hill 5k

This race took place at Carriage Hill Metropark in Huber Heights on Wednesday.  I'm a little behind because I was out of town for a few days.  This was my fifth race sponsored by the Ohio River Road Runners Club.  Surprisingly, despite doing around 76 races over the years, this was my first ever trail race.  Seventy-five percent of my training is on some tough trails so it's surprising that this was my first trail race.

We were supposed to start at 7:00, but there were so many people still needing to register that the start was delayed until 7:15.  The race director then told us at the start line that the course was actually 3.4 miles instead of 3.1.  I actually think it was around 3.5.  That actually took some pressure off so I wouldn't worry about breaking 22 minutes.  There was no way I could do so on a longer course in hot, humid weather.

I'll tell you how my first trail race went.  Within a half mile it was like falling in love with running all over again.  Seriously.  The trail wasn't too technical, but there were enough up-downs, tree roots to avoid, branches to duck under, and ruts to dodge to make it fun.  There's something different about trail running.  It's not glamorous and you can get pretty dirty, but it's a blast. 

I don't have splits for this race since there were no mile markers.  All I can go on is that I felt great!  I ran a conservative pace for the first mile or so.  Then I started picking them off one at a time.  In a half mile stretch somewhere in the middle portion I passed twelve people.  This is what I've been missing with my recent 5ks and I hope it continues.  I played back and forth with another runner for quite some time before I was finally able to pass him for good.  Battles like that keep you focused on the race and not on the pain.  The final mile was fast as I tried to catch up to some runners 75 meters ahead of me.  I wasn't able to catch them but it made for a strong finish.  My time was 26:07.  I was surprised to receive a nice little trophy for finishing 4th in my age group.  Not bad at all for my first trail race.  I will definitely be running more of these.

The next adventure will be my first 10k since 2002.  I'll be honest, this distance scares me.  I'm really not sure how to pace myself in a 10k.  It will be a challenge.

Next race: Ralph Wade 10k- Springboro, OH