Blaze Pioneer Trail 50k - Race Report
Dec. 11th, 2022 05:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pshaw_ravenThis is a somewhat image-heavy post, so I'm putting most of it behind a cut to save your bandwidth if you're on mobile or something.
So, the trails we ran were in Jennings State Forest, and the trail was far more technical than anything I'd run on around my house. The trails in Belmore are really just old WPA-era roads, so they're not too bad. JSF actually had a lot of roots and stuff, and early on I put my foot down wrong and wrenched my knee ... this came back to bite me later in the race.
Look at us. We have no idea what we're in for.
This trail is very different from most trails in Florida because there's a LOT of up and down. It started fairly flat, but quickly started heading up and down switchbacks around the creeks. Some of these were incredibly steep, and I mean, I grew up around the Smokies, and used to go hiking up in the Cumberland, and I was not expecting this.
That knee I twisted earlier? By the time I left the halfway aid station, my knee was screaming at me every time I had to go downhill, and there were a LOT of them. I was in a serious amount of pain by the time I managed to drag my carcass to the final aid station - 2.6 miles from the finish. The halfway aid station had quesadillas, bacon quesadillas, cokes, PBJ, Cokes, etc. It was great.
On my way back I also tripped and fell. Not the only time I tripped, but the fall was nasty. I wasn't bleeding or anything, but I fell, rolled (hurt my shoulder), then rolled into a tree, which hurt. I laid there on my back for a long moment wondering WTF I was doing out here. I also wondered if I could get back up, which I did ... slowly. And hobbled on. But it didn't do my aching knees any favors.
That last stretch back to the final aid station was kind of depressing. I knew I was the last one, and with all the knee and ankle pain, I was slowed to a walk. Speed walk in some places. But I knew I was still on pace to finish ahead of the cutoff time. It was mentally tough. But I did manage to push through it and make that last aid station, where the co-directors were hanging out, and when they saw me, they started yelling, "Hey! There she is! Yay!" It was awesome. :) The lady had specially saved a mini-coke for me, and I hung around for a little while chatting with them and petting their dog, before I headed off for the final stretch.
I was dead freakin' last. But ... I finished! There were still about a dozen people hanging around (including Fox, obviously LOL) and when they spotted me coming up through the saw palmetto, they started calling out, "HEY RUNNER!" and ringing bells and everything. It was awesome! There was also pizza.
It was amazing. I hope to be able to train more for long races like this in the future - my inability to get any real distance hampered my ability to run these races without feeling like hammered dog shit. But I would probably run this one again - it was a great adventure, beautiful trail, and I do like a good challenge.
Plus I can take glamorous foot photos like this one.
And remember, pain goes away after a day or two. But the accomplishment is yours forever.
So, the trails we ran were in Jennings State Forest, and the trail was far more technical than anything I'd run on around my house. The trails in Belmore are really just old WPA-era roads, so they're not too bad. JSF actually had a lot of roots and stuff, and early on I put my foot down wrong and wrenched my knee ... this came back to bite me later in the race.
Look at us. We have no idea what we're in for.
This trail is very different from most trails in Florida because there's a LOT of up and down. It started fairly flat, but quickly started heading up and down switchbacks around the creeks. Some of these were incredibly steep, and I mean, I grew up around the Smokies, and used to go hiking up in the Cumberland, and I was not expecting this.
That knee I twisted earlier? By the time I left the halfway aid station, my knee was screaming at me every time I had to go downhill, and there were a LOT of them. I was in a serious amount of pain by the time I managed to drag my carcass to the final aid station - 2.6 miles from the finish. The halfway aid station had quesadillas, bacon quesadillas, cokes, PBJ, Cokes, etc. It was great.
On my way back I also tripped and fell. Not the only time I tripped, but the fall was nasty. I wasn't bleeding or anything, but I fell, rolled (hurt my shoulder), then rolled into a tree, which hurt. I laid there on my back for a long moment wondering WTF I was doing out here. I also wondered if I could get back up, which I did ... slowly. And hobbled on. But it didn't do my aching knees any favors.
That last stretch back to the final aid station was kind of depressing. I knew I was the last one, and with all the knee and ankle pain, I was slowed to a walk. Speed walk in some places. But I knew I was still on pace to finish ahead of the cutoff time. It was mentally tough. But I did manage to push through it and make that last aid station, where the co-directors were hanging out, and when they saw me, they started yelling, "Hey! There she is! Yay!" It was awesome. :) The lady had specially saved a mini-coke for me, and I hung around for a little while chatting with them and petting their dog, before I headed off for the final stretch.
I was dead freakin' last. But ... I finished! There were still about a dozen people hanging around (including Fox, obviously LOL) and when they spotted me coming up through the saw palmetto, they started calling out, "HEY RUNNER!" and ringing bells and everything. It was awesome! There was also pizza.
It was amazing. I hope to be able to train more for long races like this in the future - my inability to get any real distance hampered my ability to run these races without feeling like hammered dog shit. But I would probably run this one again - it was a great adventure, beautiful trail, and I do like a good challenge.
Plus I can take glamorous foot photos like this one.
And remember, pain goes away after a day or two. But the accomplishment is yours forever.
