A Lesson in Patience

Within the first mile of today's Ridgeline Ramble 20K, I realized what the lesson of the day would be. Patience, my friends. This race required patience with myself, fellow runners and the course.

I think I will slowly get this trail running thing as time goes on. But today, I learned that you must be patient when runners get stacked up ahead of you. Unlike road racing, there's no need to get antsy and pass the person in front of you as soon as you come upon them. While they may be going a bit slower than you'd like at that moment, it's likely that they are simply conserving energy and will pass you down the path when you're fading.

Instead of getting aggressive, I remained calm and let myself settle into the race and appreciated a slower pace to get my body going. After all, I wasn't looking to win this thing, but simply finish and enjoy a good 12 miles on trail. I was patient with myself and even walked up a few hills to conserve energy. When I did run up the hills, it was clear I wasn't gaining much on other participants, but I was expending a lot more.

The race course is one I've run on before. It includes a lot of short up and downhills, crossing a road every few miles. The miles seemed to tick away quickly. It was fun to see the crazy trail marathoners who were doing an out and back (double what I did) and cheer them on.

The weather wasn't great, but it was manageable. Temps were in the 40s and we had some sprinkles most of the race until the last mile or so when the clouds opened up. By that time, the course was downhill and then flat so I focused on using the rain as motivation to get to that finish line.

Happy

WET

Muddy Brooks - must obtain trail shoes

So, as you know, I'm a bit crazy about mileage. I had my mind set on an Americano after the race. After parking downtown at a coffee shop, I changed shirts and headed out for 2.5 extra credit miles. Not gonna lie, they were a bit fuzzy and rough.

I had plans of pairing that Americano with a pecan sticky bun, but apparently the pastry eating gurus get their coffee before 11 am and snatched them all up. Instead, I was left with an apple cider muffin. Did not meet my expectations.

I had no intentions of purchasing something with a fruit or vegetable in it. Imagine my horror when the muffin didn't taste all that good, but also contained CARROT.

Okay, off to enjoy the rest of my Saturday (and find more tastebud friendly sweets). Happy weekend!

STATS:
Time: 2 hrs
Mileage: 12.18
Avg pace: 9:52
Extra credit mileage: 2.5

Pacing: 11:49, 9:43, 11:13, 8:59, 9:19, 10:30, 11:25, 9:27, 11:26, 8:57, 8:09, 7:52 (flat and fast -get me to the finish!), 8:11 (.18 mi across the road and up the hill to finish line).

Comments

Nice work! Your splits for the run are awesome. I have never done a trail run but I imagine it would be a very humbling experience for me as I know my pace would tank so much. And I am not fast to begin with. ;)
Lindsey said…
I remember watching the start of the race last year and it was a long single file line of runners. It's probably really hard to pass people since the trail is narrow most of the way.

Great job on the run and the extra credit miles! You are awesome!
Gracie said…
Hard core to throw in that last 2.5!
Amber said…
That's a GREAT pace for a trail run!

I ran for an hour on VERY hilly trails this morning and my Garmin died 10 minutes into it. In hindsight I think it was a good thing because rather than obsessing over my pace I was focusing on how I felt and walking the hills I needed to walk.

My friends boyfriend is a hardcore runner, he has ran several ultra's including 3 100-milers and is the race director of an ultra here in Kamloops. He leads us on our weekend trail runs sometimes and ALWAYS tells me not to even look at my pace or distance but just pay attention to total time because with trail running your training is more about time on your feet than anything!!

Good work today. I still can't believe you're doing 50K but I think that's AWESOME! Maybe next year for me, I'll stick to the 25K route for now :P
Amber - yes, it's hard for me to fight my road running instincts to obsess over the pace. But I'm really enjoying the trail running thing. 100 milers are crazy from what I've read. Yes, getting lots of good tips (like time on feet vs mileage being important) for the keys to trail running. Very fascinating. Nice work on your trail run!
Heather said…
Awesome recap! Sounds like a fun race, actually!
I can't imagine more than 5-6 miles on trails :) This sounds like the perfect training for your 30 miler, and a great way to learn the "lessons" of trail racing!

Sad day with the muffin though...
Raquelita said…
Nice job! It sounds like the patience paid off and that you had an enjoyable experience. I cracked up while reading about the horrors of that muffin. Carrots be damned!

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