Charlestown, RI
Sunday, November 18, 2018
This was the 27th running of the race. This year we added a new course distance of 4 miles ("half" Runaround) in an attempt to bring in additional runners that we might not get otherwise. That was fun to design and setup, but in the interest of time (my time, that is; it's all about me!) I am just going to write about this race from the aspect of race participant this time, and not RD.
The first half: It's time. I ran into Leslie walking up to the start, and then lined up in the second or third row, and chatted up with my faster compatriots on the front line: Tommy 5K, Greg, Jonny, Muddy, Chris, etc. The gun went off, and I followed the decision I had made to let them go, which in hindsight I regret. The high school XC crew (Sam, Sebastian, Thomas, Colby, Aaron) was just next to me for the first half-mile or so on the puddle-laden dirt road, but unlike last year when I was chasing them, they dropped behind me before entering the single-track session.
Coming into the campground at the mile mark (split 6-flat), I could no longer see Chris or Greg, but there was a group of about five not far in front of me, with Muddy bringing up the rear of that group. Heading out of the campground and onto the single-track, Muddy and Tommy must've switched positions as it was Tom's derriere that I now saw and followed. Tommy is cute, and while not quite the same as following a cute chick at the Blessing, it was motivating to follow him through the trails. When we got to the long series of bog bridges before the covered bridge, I slid right off the rails and just caught myself by grabbing and hugging a tree. Going through the covered bridge, I saw Matthew filming on the other side and this section quickly brought me out to the Klondike Road intersection.
After the short technical section paralleling Klondike, I noticed I was gaining on Tommy, or wait a minute ... is that Tommy after all? Nope. Get your eyes checked, buddy. Orange shirt just like Tommy, so it must be him, right? Oh yeah, everyone is wearing orange shirts. Duh. Tommy must've passed this guy recently. So who is this mystery character? He's tugging at his orange shirt, and off comes the shirt. Faux pas. MUST WEAR ORANGE. Now he's tugging at his next layer, and then the next layer, and then ... What is going on? You're familiar with Mexican 7-layer dips at parties, right? (I think I make a decent one myself, but I digress.) Well, it just so happens that this is 4-Layer Guy. As 4-Layer Guy slows to an almost stop to shed his unnecessary extra layers, I go past him and mutter to him that he needs to be wearing orange. He nods and agrees. Ok, then. By the way, this guy is the same as "Person Kid Guy Thing" in Muddy's race report.
While I'm happy to pass 4-Layer Guy, who I'm sure is a great young guy, the downside is I'm running as an island for the first time in the race. I don't end up seeing 4-Layer Guy again until the finish, when he crosses carrying his extra costume remnants in a giant ball. The time to the water stop seems to go by quickly, and I'm happy to take a water gulp. Thanks to Justin Pearce, his dad Rusty, and crew for being out there!
The second half: Turning onto Buckeye Brook Road, I once again see Tommy! Way ahead of him, just about to turn back into the trail, is a small gaggle of orange clad trail runners. I later find out that was Muddy, Jonny, and Brightman. I'm surprised that I'm not as far behind as I thought, but when I finally make it to the trail entrance myself, that was the last of the runners that I'll see on the course today. (Well, other than an orange clad female runner that appeared out of nowhere and then stopped to let me pass.) I spy Matthew again as he films my ascent up the rock scramble.
Shortly after that, it's Rhody Seth on the trail as he follows and films me splashing through the soaked trail, and then taking a digger sliding on wet leaves. Seth often seems to catch me in trail carnage!
The back half of the course featured some really wet and flooded sections. During pre-race remarks as RD, I had given fair warning to the 8-mile runners that their feet would NOT stay dry. I had more than one person come up to me post-race and say at the halfway mark, they were thinking, what is this guy thinking about, and when they hit the second half, reality hit!
Just before crossing Cool Spring Road onto the very short and final section of trail, I tripped and fell hard on my knee. I'd like to tell you that it was a slippery, gnarly, rock garden that did it, but the reality is this was a dry leaf-free section of trail and I tripped over seemingly nothing. I can only guess my legs were getting tired and sloppy in lifting them up and I tripped over a small root or something. That one hurt, and I limped off before regaining my composure.
Onto the road for the final mile - ugh. I had hoped to see visions of Tommy here, but he was no where to be found and had put a minute on me. I'm sure my two falls didn't help.
Final results: 51:58, 7th place out 151, 1st in age group. Full results here.
While I'm sure I wouldn't have kept up with Tom for the race duration, I was kicking myself for not going out with the second pack of runners (Brightman, Jonny, Muddy, Tom, 4-Layer Guy), as they didn't go out that much faster than me. Would I have been able to hang for a while and post a better time?
While my time was a far cry from my 2015 PR of 49:10, it actually wasn't too far off the mark from the past two years (51:07 and 51:27). Factor in the slower wet course, and I'll take it! Another fun Rhody race in the books.
Sunday, November 18, 2018
This was the 27th running of the race. This year we added a new course distance of 4 miles ("half" Runaround) in an attempt to bring in additional runners that we might not get otherwise. That was fun to design and setup, but in the interest of time (my time, that is; it's all about me!) I am just going to write about this race from the aspect of race participant this time, and not RD.
 |
| There was a snow covered field to cross on the 4-mile course! When is the last time we had any snow on the ground at Rhody? |
The first half: It's time. I ran into Leslie walking up to the start, and then lined up in the second or third row, and chatted up with my faster compatriots on the front line: Tommy 5K, Greg, Jonny, Muddy, Chris, etc. The gun went off, and I followed the decision I had made to let them go, which in hindsight I regret. The high school XC crew (Sam, Sebastian, Thomas, Colby, Aaron) was just next to me for the first half-mile or so on the puddle-laden dirt road, but unlike last year when I was chasing them, they dropped behind me before entering the single-track session.
 |
| Cool viewing angle from Seth |
 |
| ... and we're off (Pic courtesy of Jana) |
Coming into the campground at the mile mark (split 6-flat), I could no longer see Chris or Greg, but there was a group of about five not far in front of me, with Muddy bringing up the rear of that group. Heading out of the campground and onto the single-track, Muddy and Tommy must've switched positions as it was Tom's derriere that I now saw and followed. Tommy is cute, and while not quite the same as following a cute chick at the Blessing, it was motivating to follow him through the trails. When we got to the long series of bog bridges before the covered bridge, I slid right off the rails and just caught myself by grabbing and hugging a tree. Going through the covered bridge, I saw Matthew filming on the other side and this section quickly brought me out to the Klondike Road intersection.
 |
| Slick bridges with snow and ice (Courtesy Kellie Armstrong's Strava pics) |
 |
| Through the covered bridge |
 |
| Coming out of the bridge, still shot from Matthew's video |
After the short technical section paralleling Klondike, I noticed I was gaining on Tommy, or wait a minute ... is that Tommy after all? Nope. Get your eyes checked, buddy. Orange shirt just like Tommy, so it must be him, right? Oh yeah, everyone is wearing orange shirts. Duh. Tommy must've passed this guy recently. So who is this mystery character? He's tugging at his orange shirt, and off comes the shirt. Faux pas. MUST WEAR ORANGE. Now he's tugging at his next layer, and then the next layer, and then ... What is going on? You're familiar with Mexican 7-layer dips at parties, right? (I think I make a decent one myself, but I digress.) Well, it just so happens that this is 4-Layer Guy. As 4-Layer Guy slows to an almost stop to shed his unnecessary extra layers, I go past him and mutter to him that he needs to be wearing orange. He nods and agrees. Ok, then. By the way, this guy is the same as "Person Kid Guy Thing" in Muddy's race report.
 |
| Pic courtesy of Beth |
While I'm happy to pass 4-Layer Guy, who I'm sure is a great young guy, the downside is I'm running as an island for the first time in the race. I don't end up seeing 4-Layer Guy again until the finish, when he crosses carrying his extra costume remnants in a giant ball. The time to the water stop seems to go by quickly, and I'm happy to take a water gulp. Thanks to Justin Pearce, his dad Rusty, and crew for being out there!
The second half: Turning onto Buckeye Brook Road, I once again see Tommy! Way ahead of him, just about to turn back into the trail, is a small gaggle of orange clad trail runners. I later find out that was Muddy, Jonny, and Brightman. I'm surprised that I'm not as far behind as I thought, but when I finally make it to the trail entrance myself, that was the last of the runners that I'll see on the course today. (Well, other than an orange clad female runner that appeared out of nowhere and then stopped to let me pass.) I spy Matthew again as he films my ascent up the rock scramble.
 |
| Heading up to the rock scramble, so far so good (From Matthew's video shot) |
 |
| Summiting the rock scramble |
 |
| What is my friend T5K doing at the rock scramble? Kneeling? Praying? |
Shortly after that, it's Rhody Seth on the trail as he follows and films me splashing through the soaked trail, and then taking a digger sliding on wet leaves. Seth often seems to catch me in trail carnage!
 |
| Following T5K's fall at the rock scramble, it's my turn: Frame 1 (from Seth): My left foot is sliding out from underneath me. |
 |
| Frame 2: down we go |
 |
| Frame 3: and down! This is no way to run a race. Get up, and get going! |
The back half of the course featured some really wet and flooded sections. During pre-race remarks as RD, I had given fair warning to the 8-mile runners that their feet would NOT stay dry. I had more than one person come up to me post-race and say at the halfway mark, they were thinking, what is this guy thinking about, and when they hit the second half, reality hit!
 |
| Yes, the orange flag is marking the course; it's somewhere under this large flooded section. By this point in the race, just best to run straight through this, as I did. |
 |
| More slick bridges to traverse |
 |
| One of the final streams we crossed; usually this isn't even flowing in November |
Just before crossing Cool Spring Road onto the very short and final section of trail, I tripped and fell hard on my knee. I'd like to tell you that it was a slippery, gnarly, rock garden that did it, but the reality is this was a dry leaf-free section of trail and I tripped over seemingly nothing. I can only guess my legs were getting tired and sloppy in lifting them up and I tripped over a small root or something. That one hurt, and I limped off before regaining my composure.
Onto the road for the final mile - ugh. I had hoped to see visions of Tommy here, but he was no where to be found and had put a minute on me. I'm sure my two falls didn't help.
 |
| Matthew's finishing shot, from Seth's combined video |
Final results: 51:58, 7th place out 151, 1st in age group. Full results here.
While I'm sure I wouldn't have kept up with Tom for the race duration, I was kicking myself for not going out with the second pack of runners (Brightman, Jonny, Muddy, Tom, 4-Layer Guy), as they didn't go out that much faster than me. Would I have been able to hang for a while and post a better time?
 |
| Battle scars! |
While my time was a far cry from my 2015 PR of 49:10, it actually wasn't too far off the mark from the past two years (51:07 and 51:27). Factor in the slower wet course, and I'll take it! Another fun Rhody race in the books.
No comments:
Post a Comment