Brrr-lingame 10-miler

I haven’t had a truly disappointing race in quite some time. Rather, I hadn’t had a truly disappointing race until the Brrr-lingame 10-mile trail race two weeks ago. My confidence was high going into the race, as my knee and hip were feeling good enough that I’d started to re-introduce some workouts into my routine a few weeks back. I’d also had several runs of at least 10 miles since December, which is a pretty big deal for me.

There was one X-factor, though: the trail conditions. The feet-deep snow cover of early March had not yet fully retreated. I did a short preview of parts of the course the day before the race and was surprised to see sections of dense snow interspersed throughout. Fortunately, most of the trail was snow-free; we’d all just have to trudge through the short frosty segments. But Mother Nature and Mike Galoob wouldn’t permit such conditions. When I awoke on race day, the ground was again shrouded in snow.

Now, you might think I’d be excited to see snow, as I have raced relatively well in it at Belleville the past two years, most likely due to my aggressive cross-country spikes / murder weapons. But this was a different situation. The combination of a longer race distance and light snow cover would not be ideal for the dagger spikes. I had some intense forefoot pain running just six miles in them at Belleville, and I didn’t want to risk something worse at Brrr-lingame. I was also worried that the inch-long spikes, while useful in the deep snow, would be a hindrance while running the rest of the course. I instead chose to try out the Kahtoolas during my warmup. Within minutes, I was running on platform shoes, or so it seemed. The new snow had clumped on to the microspikes and wasn’t coming off. I was going to have to go with the fallback for my fallback option – plain old trail shoes.

I ran the second half of the warmup with Jonny and Jeff and chatted about the conditions and our footwear choices. As we got to the starting line, it was evident that the field would be small but top-heavy. Nearly all of the front-runners (minus Muddy) would be in the mix. I hoped to win the race but knew it would be a tall order, with Lonergan and Brightman from Rhode Runner, Jackman from TNT, and WTAC comrade Jonny all vying for the top spot. Another goal for the race was to secure at least a tie for first place in the overall series standings. Coming in, I was 4 points ahead of Jackman and needed to beat him by at least two places to lock up the top spot. I wouldn’t be at the series' final race next weekend, so it was now-or-never to get those crucial points.

The race started, and I made a conscious effort to hold back. As expected, I landed in 5^th place heading into the woods, behind all four of the guys mentioned above. This was right where I wanted to be. Last year, I’d learned the hard way how painful a positive split on this course could be, and I was determined not to let history repeat itself. The five of us ran single-file for the first mile, when the top 3 (Lonergan, Brightman, and Jackman) gapped Jonny and me by a few seconds. This was OK by me, as my effort seemed right, and I was happy to have someone to run with. I was also becoming aware that my feet were slipping quite a bit more than I’d anticipated. It wasn’t terrible, just noticeable.

During the second mile, I realized that we’d been dropped, but I was still OK with the effort. Something told me that Lonergan wasn’t going to be coming back, but I was holding out hope that the other two would. I thought about going by Jonny before the ridge section but didn’t want to expend any extra energy on this technical segment and figured it would be beneficial to have a trail-running master as my guide here. Once we’d descended, Jonny told me to let him know when I’d like to pass, but I said I was fine where I was. This next section was awfully difficult, with deep snow and frozen footprints, and I struggled to stay with Jonny. When we reached the dirt(?) road and had a several-hundred meter view ahead, we could see just how far back we’d fallen. I counted 15 seconds to Jackman and nearly 30 seconds to Lonergan and Brightman. I finally told Jonny I’d like to pass and he gave me a helpful push in the back to get me going.

I set out to catch Jackman and gained on him surprisingly quickly over the bog bridges and into the campground. He didn’t put up much of a fight when I went by, but I still tried to keep the pressure on to ensure he didn’t latch on. (I later learned that he’d won a race the previous day, which explains why his legs were less springy than usual. The guy’s a warrior.) At this point, I had to either catch Brightman or hope that Jonny would catch Jackman in order to get the point separation I needed for the overall standings. I only had control over one of those outcomes, so I remained focused on chasing the leaders.

Shortly before the end of the first lap, I took a GU, which sat like a lump of molasses in my throat until I was able to wash it down with some water at the start of the second lap. This was a good spot to check on the race in front of and behind me. Far ahead, I saw Lonergan enter the woods with Brightman a little farther behind than before but still 30 seconds or so ahead of me. I hadn’t gained at all during my surge over the fifth mile. Behind me, I saw Jackman and Jonny not too far back. Jonny was doing his part to help me in the series standings, but I still had to do mine.

The second loop was a lonely affair. The two in front of me only appeared once during the remainder of the race – they were up on the ridge above me while I was still making my way along its base in the opposite direction. On a few occasions later on, I thought I’d spotted Brightman’s orange jersey only to discover it had been a flag marking the trail. I ran the ridge hard hoping to make up some ground but was having trouble getting traction. Twice I nearly fell off the steep sides of the ridge, slipping into the deep snow off the trail. Coming off the ridge, I was surprised to see Jonny so close behind me. I shouted some encouragement his way and then got myself moving again. Teammate or not, I couldn’t let him reel me in.

I tried to pour it on over the final quarter of the race but became increasingly frustrated with my traction. I hadn’t remembered slipping so much on the first loop. I wondered if it was my tired legs, the changing temperature, the more well-trodden trail, or the fact that I just didn’t notice the first time through. Whatever it was, I hated it.

My hope of catching Brightman faded with every passing second. It wasn’t meant to be. When the finish line appeared, I saw Brightman and Lonergan casually chatting on the sideline, as if they’d finished hours ago. Crossing the line, Mike Galoob was nice enough to announce, “podium finish!” It lifted my spirits for a moment. Jonny was not far back in fourth, followed by Jackman, Chris Fox, and Jeff over the next five minutes. We’d gotten dominated by Rhode Runner. (I did come away with a box of Girl Scout cookies, though, so it wasn't all bad.)

A cooldown with Jonny, Jeff and Jackman followed, and we struggled to maintain single-digit pace. The race had taken a toll on us all. But any pain I felt afterward paled in comparison to what followed. My hamstrings were useless for three days. I can’t remember the last time they were so sore. It made sense, though; every time my feet slipped during the race, my hamstrings sprang into action. In retrospect, I’m not sure that trading out the spikes for the trail shoes saved me any pain. 

As for the series standings, I beat Jackman by exactly two places, which gave me 21 points to his 15. With a race victory worth 6 points, he could at best tie me with a win at the final event. Adding to the drama, both Brightman and Lonergan also had 15 points after this race. With all three of them racing the following week, there would be a three-way battle for a share of the series victory. [Post-race note: Lonergan would win the final race to earn a tie of the top spot.]

This concludes another 4^th Season Trail Series for me. As always, I’m grateful to the Galoobs for putting these on with such a small crew and in less than ideal conditions. I'm already looking forward to next year's edition.