Swinging Bridge 35K Report

So, after the crappy weather training for the 35K, the day dawned beautiful, not hot, not too cold, not raining! ProK, MyK and our dogs all drove to the wonderful cabin at Bear Creek on Friday afternoon, and we relaxed and cooked my favorite pre-race meal as we waited for the remainder of the race crew and family members to arrive. They did so, but we had eaten already and we fed them the ground beef/feta/mushroom/pasta dish that I love to eat pre-race, along with salad and garlic bread. The gang numbered 8 adults, 2 kids and 4 dogs. Thankfully, we were in 2 cabins so it wasn't crowded.

Trail races are very low key deals, sort of milling around, a few announcements about flagging and markings to look for to stay on the trail and then off we went. Running nearly 22 miles on trails takes some time...for me quite a bit of time, but it was a nice run nevertheless! I pretty much ran with Jill and Lynn, and was a bit surprised that the first aid station took us over an hour and a half to reach, we thought it was at mile 5, but it was more like mile 6. Shortly after the aid station, the front runners started showing up...Tyler was running 3rd overall, and Bryan looked strong. I was also surprised when ProK sped by, close on the heels of the front women, running 3rd at about mile 14 or so. On and on we ran, and finally reached the turn-around point, with some people who manned the aid station, they were very nice. The food was not quite IM standards, but still, with M&Ms, pretzels, coke, and animal crackers, it was better than most! I Gued my ass off, taking and eating all 5 of them that I brought with me. As we approached the last few miles, my freakin back started seizing up, and it was hard to run. I had hoped to finish in 5 hours, but didn't quite make that goal. MyKaren ran back up the trail and met me with a little less than a mile to go. I struggled to the finish, in 5:11. I was tired, but other than my back, I was not as beat up as I normally am after a long run like that.

Turns out its good to be old...I came in 1st in my 50-54 age group, of course there were only 2 of us. ProK came in 2nd, as did Tyler. MyKaren came in 4th of the women, and I am very proud of her!

Next up? I think its the Shamrock 1/2.