Arctic 5k Trail Race Report

Photo Credit: Alicia Roberts

In early December I became aware of a new trail race debuting the end of January on Liberty Mountain. Always on the lookout for trail races, especially in the cold winter months, I added it to my race calendar. I didn't give the race much mind until a few weeks ago when I decided it might be best to preview the course. There was a race map online but I still don't know my way around that mountain as well as I should so I asked my husband Todd to take me out and help me find the course.

Flash forward to Sunday a week ago Todd and I went out intending to preview the course twice. We planned to run it once just to get ourselves acquainted with the course and then a second time to get ourselves a little seasoned on the course.  It was a day following a long run so I wasn't aiming for any kind of tempo run, just running a nice, easy recovery pace. We started out and almost right away became a little confused as to which way the race would begin.  It was clear from the terrain we did cover that the race was going to be hill laden, not something I was particularly excited about as I am still coming back to hill running after a hiatus that lasted the duration of my pregnancy with Brodie.  One of the hills we covered was entirely new to me and it was a what I call a 'heater', a hill that pledges fatigue no matter how fresh the legs.  When we found ourselves back at the Snowflex parking lot my knees were begging to call it quits for the day and my Garmin had us at only 2.5 miles. Crestfallen I walked to the car.

A short conversation with the race director a day later confirmed my suspicions, we had only covered fragments of the course and had, unbeknownst to us, bypassed difficult sections entirely.

For the rest of the week I did the opposite of what I would normally do on a race week. I pushed that trail 5k as far back in my mind as it would go and then I covered it with thoughts of laundry and bills. And there I left it until Friday evening. Friday I made my pre-race checklist and gave myself a pep talk. You're still coming back, I told myself.  So pick a time goal, Alexis. Focus on that and forget about everything and everyone else.

Saturday morning I made it to the mountain with time for a decent warm-up. I ran the last section of the race backwards with a friend's father and that boosted my confidence a little, I at least knew where I would be coming out for the finish. I found the start line and focused hard on not biting my nails. Next thing I knew there was the sound of the starting bell and off we went.

I ran as strong as I thought I should through this first section, but nowhere near as fast as I could. I knew I needed to get ahead of some of the runners who would ultimately be slower than my pace and yet I knew that within the first mile we had the hike up the back of the Monogram which I knew would result in my first walk break. Sure enough I walked it, even parts that I told myself I wasn't going to walk I walked because there were just so many people on the single track trail ahead of me who were walking. I figured I would expend too much energy at this point to get around them so I just waited until the top to pick up my pace.

The next section which included running down to Monogram hill and then back up and then running down Psycho-Pathe I ran powerfully.  I knew that I would be hiking the next section so I tried to cover that ground as quickly as I could. All too quickly though came the hill I knew I had to hike. And hike I did. I didn't stop but I slowed to a snail's pace and was passed by many stronger legs. I focused on my own race and vowed to not let being passed bother me.

I continued on, running when the course was rolling or downhill, hiking the steep climbs. I felt good. In retrospect, too good. Racing in a 5k shouldn't be about feeling good. This is where not knowing the course did hurt my race, I knew the course was tough, but I didn't know how tough because I had only previewed bits and pieces and not in the correct order. I kept some in reserve for the unknown parts, fearing that otherwise I would bonk. On the last hill I hiked my way to the top, not bothered by the several people who passed me, I thought we had further to go and I would catch them elsewhere. However, when I found myself back on single track trail I realized my Garmin was off and we were nearer the finish than I had expected. I quickened the pace but I knew I didn't have the distance left to recover from the long hike uphill.

I finished in 34:00, a minute faster than my goal. I even came in first in the 20-29 age group. And I know that I shouldn't really complain, but I will. I had a lot left in me after the race. I came home and worked out for an hour. I went back out for another six mile run on Liberty Mountain that night. I feel as though I had a lot of unused fuel left in me, that I played it too safe. I followed through with not letting people passing me get to me, and now I wish I had let it bother me. That I'd let myself compete with the group a little more than just compete for an arbitrary finishing time I had chosen for myself.

Fortunately, this was not a goal race but rather a stepping stone race. I know I am not a particularly strong hill runner at this point but I think I may be a stronger runner than I gave myself credit for going into the race. It isn't a matter that I think I could have been faster, I'm just a little discouraged that I may have pulled the reins too far in on those hills.

Next up, the Liberty Mountain 5k, on February 25th. That race last year gave me my first inkling that something was going on in my body.  That something turned out to be a someone who currently resides nestled in my lap as I type.

Alexis