The Down2Earth Endurance Half Marathon takes
place monthly at the Oleta River State Park in North Miami. This one, set in
the dead heat of August, had 79 5k participants, 31 10k runners, and 32 half
marathoners. I was one of the 14 female half marathoners. I definitely felt out
of my league.
I came across this race when I couldn’t find
any other half marathon in the hottest month of the year, that had an
affordable flight as well. My plan was to do 2 races then, 2 weekends back to
back, that would total a half marathon. Not really what my ‘mission’ was, but I
settled. That was until I found this race and was super excited it was in
driving distance!
I glanced at previous trail races with this
organization, and it looked like a great time! I was so amped up to get into
nature, and off the usual hot pavement! I knew that it would be a new kind of
challenge, and that is what made it exciting. Little did I know.
I drove down the day before and stayed at the
Fairmont Turnberry, which was only about 10 minutes from the park. I got my
carbs in, and got plenty of rest, but the morning there was just unsettling
feeling. I soon realized I forgot to bring my camelback. I remembered that they
had strongly suggested you bring your own water. Hesitant, I was racking my
brain on where to buy a water bottle holder at 6am. I decided I would just grab
a bottle of water from the gas station.
I started driving, and 2 miles out, I realized
I left my Garmin and Ipod in the room. How in the world could I run without
those!??...i raced back to the hotel! I finally got what I need and I headed to
the park. I still had about 15 minute, so I decided to go over to Walgreens and
see if they have a water bottle holder. No such luck. I made my way to the
park. $4 entrance fee had the line backed up. Why wouldn’t they include that in
the registration fee?? I finally got parked and made my way to packet pick up,
which I then had to turn around and make it back to my car to drop off what was
in the packet I didn’t need. I made it back, and knew I had to get in line for
the porta outlets. As I was 10 deep, they started making the announcements for
the line ups. Great. Thank god I made it just in time! The half marathon was to
start first, followed by the 10k and 5k. The race included 1 lap for 5k, 2 laps
for 10k and 4 laps for half marathon. Simple enough. That was until I was half
way through the first lap and asked myself…what the hell did I get myself
into!??
Within the first mile we found ourselves
crossing 2 ditches of pure muddy water, and then a log crossing. I thought
about taking pictures, but thought we have 3 more laps, I would just take
pictures then…little did I know, we only crossed this area once!! =(
The second crossing of water left me thigh
deep, including getting my tutu wet!! We had warnings that people have lost
their shoes before in that crossing, and I became hesitant when my shoes
started to get lodged in the mud! Luckily my shoes survived…but now I had 12
more miles to run with soaking wet feet!...this will be great for blisters!
The log crossing was fun, but scary…I did NOT
want to land into the water below! It was bad enough I was muddy from the
thighs down, but I did not want my whole body disgusting this early or it was
going to be a looong run! I held my breath and put one foot in front of the
other and made it!
Mile 3, or first lap, was ridiculously never
ending!! Several turns and cross backs, left me dizzy…I wondered how I was ever
to complete the other 3 laps without motion sickness!!
It became very packed on the tight trail quite
quickly. The fast 10k runners were already passing us pacers! And then came the
fast 5k runners!
I knew within the first lap that this was not
what I was expecting!! The hills were intense. Well, they seemed intense, not
ever really running on anything like this, and then adding in the unstable
footing. It was a bunch of steep drops, going up, and then jumping down. Lots
of ducking under trees. And lots of tree roots. When we came to the flat
running on loose rocks, I was actually happy. It was fun, but I was going
slower than I estimated! After lap 1, about 3.5 miles, I was so far behind my
regular racing pace, that I decided to not pay attention to time, but to pay
attention to footing, and survival without a broken bone!
Lap 2 went a heck of a lot faster than lap1. I
figured it was because I found my footing, and I was able to navigate the roots
better…that was until I found myself falling at mile 5!! I was sprawled out on
my left side, scared at first, but then realized nothing was broke, so laughed
it off.
Luckily I still had a couple of runners around
me and they asked if I was Ok! …but what if there wasn’t, what if I was by
myself, no one around, and I wasn’t ok…what if I broke something? The fast,
experienced runners where long gone, and I think a couple of them had already
lapped me! I knew I was the last one of the half marathoners and I would
eventually be alone. Would I make it out of the woods? Would I be able to find
my track? Would I remain uninjured since I have a race next week?! These
thoughts raced through my head repeatedly, and I those thoughts were draining
my energy.
But I had to keep reminding myself, so what?!
So what if I’m the last one? As long as I finish right? I asked the water boy
if there was a time limit, and he said no. So my mind was made up, I would
complete the 4 laps, no matter what time it took.
This race was definitely a mind game. There
were no supporters lining the road, no people running next to you to help keep
a good pace, no motivators yelling your name to cheer you on! There were
thankfully 2 water stations in each lap, and one of the water boys was my
support. A few runners that had lapped me also gave good motivating words. It
is nice to run with such kind people to support runners that are not as
experienced as them.
So somewhere around mile 6, I realized the back
of my shirt I made was hanging off. Note to self, no more hand making a shirt.
It was very bothersome the entire time. It did not stay in place from the first
few steps. I had to fasten it down by tucking it into my energy belt. It was
constantly raising up, and falling off my shoulders and I had to repeatedly
adjust it. Again, another mental energy drainer. There was no way I could fix
the broken shirt, so I did the unthinkable for me, and I took it off and ran in
my sport bra! UGH! I figured no one was really around, so it would be Ok to
bring out the bloated belly! I hiked up my shorts to cover as much of my belly
as possible and continued on.
Lap 3 lingered, and left me walking a good
portion. This was definitely the hardest race I have done. I laughed to myself,
because from previous races I loved doing the bridge parts or hill parts. But
with this race, there were large dirt mounts back to back around every turn,
and I started to curse every single one of them. I could feel my legs turning
to jello. I was unable to lift my feet as high as I need to get over some
roots, which left me tripping every so often.
Finally the last couple half marathoners past
me, and I could not hear anyone else in the woods. The mountain bikers were
out, and now they were passing me. I made it to the finish line/turn around
point, and it was confirmed I was the last one. I still had one more lap to do,
but they were waiting on me to pass out the awards for the half marathoners.
All the 5k and 10k people had already left. It was so embarrassing. 10miles
completed at about the time I usually complete all 13. I was defeated by the
trail.
I walked over to a guy standing alone and
talked to him a bit, saying I didn’t realize how difficult that was going to
be, that I’d rather run a full 26 mile marathon, than have to do that trail
run. He was a nice guy and even offered to run the last 3 miles with me on a
flat trail in the park. Next thing I knew they were passing out the awards, and
he was announced as the winner! He had been waiting about an hour and 15
minutes for me to finish! So embarrassing! It was going on 1030 already, and I
had a plane to catch to Curacao, so there was no time do to the last 3 miles
now.
I was so disappointed in myself. I do not like
being defeated, and that trail run definitely kicked my butt! I feel like I not
only let myself down, but I let everyone else that has been following my
progress down. And also everyone that is on my tutu down. I don’t think I will
ever get over the feeling, and there is no control of that. There is no way I
can change the past, but I can plan the future. I can plan to run the last 3.5
miles as soon as I can when I arrive to Curacao. And I can plan to run this
half marathon trail run again later in life, when I am stronger and a better
runner!
Update...next morning….So to keep my word of
doing a half marathon a month for this Pink Ribbon Tutu on a Mission, I kept my
promise and ran 6.5km (4miles) this morning in Curacao! And then raised my
glass of 'Dolphins Foam' (pina colada with blue curacao!) in honor of all those
kick ass trail runners!
Update #2...4 days later...Okay, so looking at
the results page, there were 2 other half marathoners that did not even make it
3 laps (as far as me), and then 2 more that also stopped at lap 3 and had
slower times than me....so technically I was not dead last. =) That does make
me feel better that I am in company. We ALL did a Great job!!
9.8 miles-trail run 2:31
4.0 miles-untimed