Hit the Trail

Have you ever agreed to do something, then once you got started wondered what the heck you got yourself into? That would sum up my morning at Hartman Creek State Park.

The Hartman Creek 10K Trail Run, part of the Great Lakes Endurance series, was my first "trail run" ever. I didn't know what to expect and boy, was I in for a rude awakening.

We got a chilly, bright and early start from the neighborhood, leaving at 6:45 a.m. for the park, located about 45 minutes away. Running the 10K today were my next door neighbor Cindy and her son, Isaac (the elite athlete in the bunch) and my "half" sister Chris, who ran the half marathon with me a year ago. Notice we both are sporting our shirts? We didn't plan that, honest.

So what I knew about a trail run is that it is run mostly on trails versus pavement and there are hills -- probably quite similar to Carter's cross country meets. Only this one was twice as long at 6.2 miles. I've done a flat 10K before and did fine. Throw in a million, well 100, hills and it is a challenge. That's putting it mildly.

Don't you love showing up for a race and the organizers inform you they tacked on an extra mile? Yeah, me neither. But that's what they did. It was going to be 7 or 7.1 miles. I haven't run that since last fall! Of course, as I alluded to earlier, there was no backing out at that point. No escape.

My plan, since I really haven't trained for this, was to run a mile, walk a minute, run a mile, walk a minute, and so on. After each of the first 2 miles, I did that. I was astonished at the hill running. Not huge hills necessarily, but pretty constant. Uff da. What the heck did I get myself into?

After 2 miles we got off the wide trail and we were in the woods following a narrow, one-runner-wide trail up and down and back and forth. I just kept an eye on the person ahead me and hoped I didn't veer off the marked route. It was a tough trail because you had to be so careful of sharp turns and roots sticking up and branches and uneven ground. A fast person could really get hurt. I was OK, though. And quite relieved I hadn't watched any park- or camp-related horror movies lately!

Since I was concentrating on the path ahead of me, I really didn't notice the miles go by like you normally would on a wide open out and back race route. That was nice. Not boring at all. I ended up running the 4 "inside the woods" miles without having to stop and walk.

When we got out, I walked a little bit but then finished as strong as I could anyway. Let's just say my time was awful, but I didn't care. I wasn't last. I was just glad to say I did it!

 I told my "half" sister that I thought that was even more difficult than our half marathon. This was way more challenging on the heart and legs. I don't even want to guess how this old body is going to feel tomorrow!

We did get a cool shirt out of it -- made out of recycled soda bottles! Seriously, it's all about connecting with nature and our planet ... and taking care of it. Neat neat concept for these races.

Here's our survivors! Isaac ended up finishing 2nd overall (he rocks) and his mom took 3rd in her age group (Yay, Cindy)! Mya, the 12-year-old girl from next door, finished 1st among girls in the Kids 2K Race. Awesome!

Would I do it again? Heck yeah. With training, of course.

All of these trails runs in this particular series take place in parks of some sort. The scenery is so beautiful you can't help but enjoy yourself mile after mile... after mile... after extra mile!