January 1
I love this race, but I don’t love the little bit of anxiety I feel New
Year’s Eve knowing that I have to get up at 5am. However, this year I get to ride to the race
with my son, Nathan, so I don’t have to drive.
He picks me up at my hotel at 6am, make a quick stop at McDonald’s, and
get to Prince William Forest around 7:30am.
Perfect for the 8am start. I chat
a little with Quatro before getting my Camelbak ready.
Mile
11.5 2:17:38 Picnic Area – Loop 1
We
start about seven minutes after 8—this is a low-key run, and everyone is out
here to enjoy it. Nathan and I run the
prologue, following a handful of runners who take a wrong turn and lead us back
to the picnic area. We turn around,
retrace our steps and begin to pass the score of runners who didn’t make the
wrong turn. According to Nathan’s watch,
we got a bonus half mile for this error.
On this loop, Nathan and I play leapfrog due to pee breaks. I take one more break than Nathan, and he
finishes the first loop a little ahead of me.
He is at the car refilling his bottles when I get to the picnic
table. I trade out my hat for a buff and
leave my gloves in my drop bag. I grab a
generous, full handful of potato chips, and the two of us head out for the
second lap.
Mile
21.5 2:02:45 Picnic Area – Loop 2
Nathan
and I stay together this whole loop as I think he was trying to be conservative
and knew that I am a metronome when it comes to pacing. It was really enjoyable to spend a day in the
woods running with my son. Precipitation
threatened a couple of times with a few drops of rain, but nothing really at
this point. There are only a couple of
runners in our vicinity for this lap as most of the starters bailed after the
first. I am trying to run well on the
flats and downhills in order to make sure we are making good time. We get back up the hill to the picnic table
just under two hours, which is right on the pace I was trying to hit. Nathan goes to the car again to refill his
bottles, and I dig my gloves out of my drop bag. My hands were a little cold on the last loop,
and it is threatening to rain. I move
over to the potluck food on the picnic table and begin my feasting with a donut
hole, follow it up with two Oreo cookies, and then take a full chocolate
covered donut to eat on the trail.
Mile
31.5 2:14:27 Picnic Area – Finish
I
walk out of the picnic area eating the donut and wondering if I should wait on
Nathan or not. I stop by a tree for a
pee break, and Nathan catches me and moves by quickly. I chase him down the hill to the bridge, but
he has already opened up a healthy 100-yard lead. As we progress through the single-track, I
keep him mostly in sight. However, by the
time I get to the first climb up a gravel road, he is nowhere in sight—he is
gone! I am perfectly content with this
as the son (28 years old) should leave his 54-year-old father behind. I am still making decent time, but I know
that I have slowed down a little from the previous lap. I pass one guy who I guess is on his second lap,
and then a guy passes at a really quick pace.
I saw him at the aid station and now he is moving well. Somewhere during this loop, sleet started to
fall. So, I turned my buff into a hat to
cover my ears, and I am really glad I picked up my gloves. For the rest of the loop, I am by
myself. Overall, I feel okay, but both
of my ankles are cranky. I haven’t
rolled either of them (and haven’t in the last couple of months), but they
still want to let me know they are still down there working hard. With three miles to go, I start a surge that
carries me to the finish. I don’t catch
anyone, but it helps me finish well.
Official
Finishing Time 6:34:50
19th
out of 33 finishers (94 starters)
Nathan is
grazing at the picnic table when I finish.
I grab a few items to eat and then we head to the car. It is rather chilly, and there are only a few
people hanging around the finish area.
Race director Dave is there to record everyone’s finish, and the couple
of other runners that finished in the last 10 minutes are there. This is a fantastic way to start the new
year. Now let’s see if I can run more
miles than last year. My next race will
be the Mountain Mist 50k on January 27.
Until then,
never stop running,
Darin
