Wahaneeta 5K

Let me start this with a short aside. As anyone who has read this blog in the past knows, I have a love-hate relationship with my ankle braces. They’re a near necessity on the trails at this point but are so bulky that I can’t help but get frustrated at how slow I feel in them, especially in races. Well, I now have access to a small scale, so I can start to quantify the source of my frustration. Each brace, it turns out, weighs roughly 4.5 ounces. That doesn’t sound like much, but think of it this way: My Nike Wildhorse shoes (which I’d be wearing in this race) are 10 ounces. By wearing the braces, I’m adding 45% to my footwear weight, turning 10 oz. shoes into 14.5 oz. clunkers. I would never knowingly wear 14.5 oz. shoes for anything other than working on a construction site, yet I’m intentionally doing it to run a trail race?!

After this discovery, I considered cutting off some of the many straps on the brace, as it seems that just one of them is needed for my particular ankle issue, but I worried about trying this out on race day for the first time. I think there’s a market for a light-weight, durable, effective ankle brace.

NOTE: After writing that, I recalled seeing a study that calculated the effect of shoe weight on running performance. I believe the one I’m remembering is by researchers at the University of Colorado (summarized here). In short, their conclusion was that increasing a shoe’s weight by 100 grams (3.5 oz) reduces speed in a race by roughly 1%. Assuming this is a linear relationship, then my extra 4.5 oz equates to ~1.3% drop in speed. So, for a race that lasts ~20 minutes, this represents a 15-second slowdown. That’s not nothing, but it's also not terribly significant. Probably the most important thing I can take away is that there is essentially no value in cutting off those straps (which combined can’t weigh more than an ounce) and risk an ankle sprain for a gain of a couple seconds max.

With that out of the way, let’s move on to the race. I got to the course a little early to help mark it. I was not surprised when Jeff assigned me the field that we would pass through four times during the race and that I’d provided constructive(?) feedback on after last year’s race. Now the pressure was on. Jeff equipped me well with flags, stakes, string, and a hammer. The very first stake I hit with the hammer immediately broke into two pieces. Great start! The rest went smoothly, and after scratching arrows in the dirt with a stick, I was feeling good about my small contribution to the race.

After my community service was complete, I still had enough time to run the first loop of the course, and I discovered two things while doing that. The first is that the course out in the woods was extremely well marked by Jeff and Justin. I’d been worried about taking a wrong turn out there, but that just wasn’t a possibility. The second was how interesting and varied the course terrain was. I didn’t really remember feeling one way or another about the course last year but for some reason was really appreciating it this time.

Five of us stand with rapt attention while Jeff describes the course. And check out those flags. What a nice job some volunteer did hanging those. (Photo from WTAC Facebook page.)

After a quick stretch and drink by my car, I headed over toward the start, where the SNERRO bus was blasting its version pump-up music: Peter, Paul, and Mary’s “Blowing in the Wind.” OK, so not exactly a song that will get the adrenaline flowing, but the SNERRO crew is so endearing, I couldn’t possibly find fault in their song choices.

Last year, I was blown away (in the wind?) by Matthew, but with him unfortunately out of the mix this year, I knew there was a chance to win the race. Muddy was there, as were some younger guys I didn’t know, so anything was still possible.

An intimidating lineup.  Meanwhile I'm looking for inspiration in the grass. (Photo from WTAC Facebook page.)

Off the line, I was in fourth place almost right away, totally unable to match the sprint by three of the younger crew. The course takes you up a pretty long but gradual hill just after the start, so I knew I’d soon figure out who the contenders are. I tried taking my time moving up on the group of three, not wanting to waste too much energy too early. But after noticing the pace had dropped sharply, I abruptly went by on a straight stretch of trail just before the technical downhill. It was a rare smart strategic move, and I ran pretty quickly down the trail trying to get some separation. I noticed at roughly a mile into the race that I was breathing hard. I was trying to remember if I’d normally be breathing like this just a mile into a road 5K, and the answer was probably not. I tried to relax for a few minutes before pushing again toward the end of the first loop (where I very carefully ran past my dirt arrows without obliterating them). I looked down toward the field as I ascended the hill past the ‘registration house’ for the second time. The next group was just entering the field as I passed the house.

Wondering what to do about the youngsters ahead of me, with WTAC brethren right behind. (Photo from WTAC Facebook page.)

I was feeling confident that I’d win at this point; the question was now whether I’d run close to my time from last year. I was in much better shape, I thought, at this time last year, and was certainly more race-ready. Still, it was something to shoot for in order to keep the motivation high. I was getting rubber-legged, though, and was noticeably slower down the technical hill than the first time through. At one point, I was fighting my brain, which for some reason had gotten the music from the NES game Dr. Mario stuck inside. I never minded the little ditty, but it was too aggravating at this point in the race, when my body was feeling like the equivalent of a nearly full pill bottle on level 20. And then it came to me: “Blowing in the Wind”! It was actually the perfect antidote to a brain that was racing faster than my body. I felt a peaceful wave wash over me. Really, I’m not making this up. It actually relaxed me. I felt my stride get smoother and my breathing come under control. Those SNERRO guys sure know what they’re doing!

I came past Vuono a second time, where he directed me onto the final bit of trail before the field teaser. I was happy to see that the string I’d put up on this side of the field really was a good deterrent to anyone thinking they’d go straight to the finish. I turned onto the little lollipop loop, where Jeff had promised a double stream crossing. This was the one part of the course I hadn’t run before the race, and that was apparently a tactical error. As I got to the stream, I noticed flags off to the left, which I ran toward, only to second-guess myself after a few strides. Instead of going back to the actual crossing, I went through a totally overgrown, mucky part in the middle. I more or less waded across, like I was out for a stroll in the bayou. What a dope! Only after taking the turnaround at the end of the loop did I realize I was now coming to those other orange flags during my return stream crossing. Ah, now I see how it works. I hope I read this section again before next year’s race. If it had been a close battle for first, my poor wayfinding would certainly have cost me the race.

One bridge that Jeff wasn't able to move out of the way. (Photo from WTAC Facebook page.)

As it was, I came back out to the finishing field as the second guy was entering the lollipop. I crossed in 19:47, just seven seconds slower than last year. I have to admit, I was surprised by this, especially as I would’ve been awfully close to matching that time if not for my screw-up at the stream crossing. I was happy to see Muddy in 3^rd and Jeff in 4^th, both representing the club well. I know Muddy wasn’t thrilled with his race, so it was also appropriate that CCR’s “Bad Moon Rising” was playing as he finished, with the lyrics, “hope you are quite prepared to die" blasting the exact moment he ran past me.

I had to leave shortly after the race for a day full of birthday parties, but Jeff snagged a women’s running hat for me off the awards table, so I still made out pretty well. Overall, it was a really well organized race on awesome trails. I’ll be back and ready to run the course the correct way next time!