Harbin Park XC Maze

This was the next-to-last race in the trail series, on Sunday, Oct. 10. I love how these little trail races are getting me out to places that I'v never run before. This one was in Harbin Park, in Fairfield, OH.

I guess there are actually some real trails in this park based on my Google search, but our race took place on a double-loop maze marked out on the grassy open fields with yellow caution tape. The course was actually set up for a bike race, part of a cyclocross festival. I know very little about this event but I guess it was kind of a big deal. A much bigger deal, I suspect, than our little trail race.

Anyway, we got to run on the course before the bike races started, and they didn't start until an hour after we were done, so I didn't hang around. Supposedly there were 450 people entered in that (vs. 51 runners in our race).

Enough about the bikes.

I got there about 45 minutes before the race. We had to park in a little lot downhill from the packet pickup and start/finish of our race, so I got a bit of warmup jogging back and forth. Then I set out for a more proper warmup on the trails, so I could get a feel for what was to come. Basically non-stop rolling hills, mostly on a relatively packed and dry grass surface, but with a few sharp turms around trees/roots, one stretch of tall grass (did they forget to mow this part or was it intentionally left that way?). Also, a couple of  "sand pits"---these I did not include in my warmup. They were really no big deal, just a bit of sandy area outside some playground equipment. Maybe 100 feet each time? Or less.

Spotted my age group competitor. I had decided on a strategy of running just behind her and kicking past her at the end. That was the tentative strategy, anyway. It really didn't matter too much where I finished in this race if I just want to stay in the Dirty Dozen. With so few women in the race, I could finish last and still improve on my 32nd place from the Ault Park Race. And no matter how far ahead I finished from my competition, it wouldn't change my spot in the Dirty Dozen because my first few placements were so uncompetitive.

But I wanted to do as well as I could, for myself.

The course was set up so we first ran around on one side of the park, then crossed over the road and hit the other side (where I had done most of my warmup). Then we would cross through the start/finish area again, and repeat the whole thing.

My competitor (whose name is Brenda), chatted me up a bit at the start. Asked me about my shoes (Saucony Grid Xodus). It's true, you don't see them much. She admired the pink soles, said they had street cred. Shouldn't that be "trail cred"?

And then we were off, and I just tried to keep her in sight. I didn't want to be too obvious about hanging off her shoulder, so I let her have a little distance in front of me. Basically, I was just not going to pass her. It was a challenging course, but the pace was not too uncomfortable for me. The sand pits and the grass were all on the back half of the course. The front half did have one very steep downhill section.

I learned that the best way to run through the sand is on your toes. No big deal even if you aren't trained for it if it's only for a short distance. The tall grass was no fun but at least I was prepared for it. There were also two little segments on the asphalt and it felt good to stretch out my legs and glide through those sections.

As we came out of the tall grass the first time, I pulled up closer to Brenda. Her breathing sounded pretty labored to me. Mine wasn't as bad, especially since I was trying not to sound so tired! So I pulled up even with her, and then, just after we passed the start line and began our second lap, I pulled ahead. I decided that she sounded so fatigued I would push the pace and see what happened. She did not go with me.

My first lap was 19:25. Since each lap was supposed to be a bit over two miles, I was pretty pleased with that considering the terrain. On the second lap, I really pushed on the downhills. I discovered that the best way to run them was to sort of leap in the air and skip down, rather than trying to maintain an even stride. There is so much about trail running that I still have to learn! How come I did not figure this part out until just now?

So, between really pushing the downhills and also anytime we went around a corner and I figured Brenda couldn't see me (something I learned from reading accounts of some elite races), I had soon pretty much dropped her. I didn't want to be so obvious as to turn my head to look, but with all the twists and turns and doubling back, I could pretty much check on her location without turning my head.

Managed to also pass a few old men before the finish. Didn't have to kick this time so didn't puke. Second loop was 19:11 (negative splits!), for an official time of 38:36. Interesting that it felt like I was pushing so much harder in the second half, but my time was just 14 seconds faster. It takes more effort and concentration to maintain the same pace in the second half of a race. Duh.

My latest nemesis finished about 1:30 behind me. So, I beat her by seconds two races ago, about 30 seconds last time, and 1:30 this time. Has she figured out yet that we are racing?

We chatted a bit after the race and formally introduced ourselves. She seems like a very nice lady. She works with someone I know from the dog world. She asked me for pre-race diet advice. I gave her my honest opinion (yogurt, banana, coffee), rather than trying to throw her off by telling her to eat a big steak five minutes before the start.

My finish put me 6 of 14 women and 37 of 51 runners (19 of 51 based on age-grading). Although this finish allowed me to lose my 32 points from the Ault Park Race, replacing it with the 6, it is still not enough to move me ahead of Brenda in the standings. At this point, I don't see that happening, unless there is some ridiculously large number of women showing up for the 27k race and a whole bunch of them finish in between me and Brenda. Actually, it's probably not even mathematically possible for me to pass her, no matter what.

In any case, it's unlikely, because the 27k field is limited to just 50 people and most of them will probably be men. And I'm going to have to take it really easy since I am intimidated by the distance. I have never run that far on trails before. There will be no deliberately hanging off Brenda's shoulder and hoping to kick past her at the end. I will start slow and just hope to finish. If I am able to run aggressively at all, it won't be until the second half of the race on the last small loop. But mainly I just have to finish. Any finish at all, even last place in the race, should improve my point total by replacing my 30th place points from the French Park race with some smaller number. It will keep me in the Dirty Dozen, probably still in 6th place, but not ahead of Brenda. Good enough.