This was the first year that the Whitewater Center offered a 12K distance, along with their traditional 6K distance. They called it picking between a 12-pack or a 6-pack. It would be nice to try their 12K event, but I haven't been doing running training, so I couldn't count on sustaining hard efforts for long periods of time. Maybe next year.
TRAINING LEAD-UP
Sunday, Jun 9:
To try to salvage a bit of speed in my legs, I did a mini interval session on the Sunday before the Brew Dash. The rule-of-thumb is supposed to be that the last speedwork that you can do and gain benefits from should be done 10 days out, but I figured that with almost no speedwork under my belt in many months, I could try to do something 7 days out and hope that it helps. Maybe it would at least wake up some neuromuscular pathways.
It ended up being "mini" since I couldn't complete the full distance or full number of intervals that I normally do in a workout. I started with a 0.5 mi ruck to the gym. 1 mi warmup in 8:17, followed by 3 x [0.5 mi at 9mph, 0.25 mi @ 7.5mph, followed by 0.25 in 1:53 for a cooldown. It's probably good that I didn't try to do the full thing, since I don't want to overdo it so close to the event. I noticed that my arms were harder to move than usual. I don't know if it's from extra bulk, or residual fatigue from ruck workouts, or if it's just that I haven't had to pump my arms like that in a while.
3.5 in 26:06, 7:27 ave, 2 degrees of incline.
Monday, Jun 10:
A big full-body core workout that hit all cylinders... a good warmup with moves to grease the grooves for the workout, endurance from the duration, the perfect amount of intensity for that duration and for the weight, work on all the body parts, and some mobility to finish! It took 1:40, and I finished it off with a 3 mile ruck.
BREW DASH 6K
The course this year was different from the course last year. We went through the North Main trails this time... my least favorite, because it's more technical, and it has a lot of switchbacks, but it's good to switch things up and keep things fresh. We started with the Figure 8 trail. Some of the competition looked fierce, but I was leading from the start, which was a good sign.
I remember my first ever trail race at the Whitewater Center. It was a half marathon that I did before I moved here. I was not a regular trail runner then, and was amazed by the runners who trained on these trails regularly. The hills and technical terrain were normal to them, they knew the trails like the backs of their hands, and I wanted to be like them one day. A couple years later, and the Whitewater Center is my go-to spot for running outside, when I'm not relegated to the treadmill. I know these trails now. I'm still not fast on the uphills, but I know how to manage my effort to lessen the impact.
Things were going pretty well. I didn't really encounter any bottlenecks on the single track. I didn't have anyone right on my tail. My lungs did kind of cramp up about halfway through, which was odd. That sometimes happen when I have a high dose of sugar, but I didn't have any of that before the race. Maybe it was just unfamiliar intensity. It was bothersome, but not detrimental. On one of the switchbacks, I caught a glimpse of the #2 behind me, but we were maybe a mile from the finish, and I still had a pretty good lead.
Then came the slew of arrows. There were arrows all along the course, pointing out the way, since there are different trails that intersect in the network, and there are course variations for the 12K vs. the 6K. The front-most arrow on the nearest tree or post pointed left, so I was going to left. Behind that arrow was a series of additional arrows, all sort of pointing left. It was kind of weird that there were so many arrows. There might've been arrows for the other course mixed in there, too.
I went left, and then I started coming across 12Kers going the opposite direction. I asked the first one whether they thought I was going the right way. He said probably not. I kept going. I ran across more 12Kers. I asked them the same question. They also said no, and I had gone a ways without signs of nearing the finish that was supposed to be like a half mile away, so I must've gone the wrong way. I turned around with a new fire in my belly... angry about the mix-up, and feeling the urgent need to get back to the arrows and make up for lost time. Based on how far I went down the left trail, though, it might've been like 0.3 miles that got added. I had a gap over #2, but not a gap that big.
Back at the arrows, I realized that the arrows meant to take runners on a u-turn. I gave it everything that I had to get back to the finish as quickly as I could. This race is special to me, so it stung all the more to lose it like that. I should've taken a few seconds to figure out why that cluster of arrows was there. Under pressure during the race where seconds can mean the difference in finishing spots, you make judgement calls. I made the wrong call. Oh well... next year. With more fire than ever.
3.9 in 36:08, 9:42 ave.
POST-RACE
After the race, there was no full beer festival this year. However, they did have 4 breweries give tastings. I was out from the overall podium, finishing 4th, but I still got 2nd in my age group. I got a gift card which I spent on some coupon straps and a carabiner for GORUCK events, so all was not lost. One of my rucking friends was also there, so we went for an easy 4 miles afterwards to take advantage of the trails, enjoy rucking, and do a little bit more before Star Course.
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