Race Report: Sutallee Trace Trail Challenge 10M

It’s been almost two months since my last trail run, the Olde Rope Mill Trail race.  I’ve got to rectify this situation because I paid for it after running the Sutallee Trace Trail Challenge on Saturday.  My ankles were sore for two days after the race!

The race director’s site is called “Mountain Goat Adventures” and I never contemplated what that meant prior to the race.  I found out on Saturday.  That meant tons of fallen logs, tree roots, rocks, tight trails, deer paths through the woods and hills meant for goats only.  This was a very challenging race and I can’t wait to do it again next year to improve my time.

I finished 8/14 in my age group and 21/55 for the women.  I fared worse in the general population coming in 80/142 a little bit below my usual midpack status.  There were way more male runners than females and they were just better able to handle the trails.  I felt this race was a lot harder than the Red Top Rumble or maybe it was the temps?  I thrive when the temps are in the 40s but not so much when they are in the 70s.  This 10 miler took me 5 minutes longer to complete than the 11.5 mile Red Top Rumble.  Crazy!

Whatever.  I had a good time and learned a lot along the way.  Some lessons learned from the race:

• I’m Superwoman! I was cruising along the trail zooming down some switchbacks and having a blast when I tripped over a something and went flying.  I’ve been doing a lot of reading on trail running so I have an idea of how to fall properly.  Instead of running through that procedure in my head, I instinctively threw my shoulders back and somehow managed to right myself.  Whoa that felt so cool!  I amazed myself because all signs pointed to me biting it *hard*.  I haven’t fallen on the trails yet but I know it is coming.  Saturday was not that day.
• Sometimes other racers know better than you do. I was trailing a girl who was absolutely crushing the hills.  She ran, I walked.  Eventually, I would catch up with her and on and on we went.  At some point, she asked if I wanted to pass and I refused.  I hate passing someone only to be passed again a few minutes later.  I wasn’t sure I could match her pace.  During the last 1.8 miles she stepped aside and forced me to pass her.  I appreciate the vote of confidence because I really blasted the last 1.8 miles out and I would have been fine holding back.  I need to have more confidence in myself sometimes.
• I am swift and sure of foot. My new trail running mantra.  I didn’t know where this phrase came from in my mind on Saturday.  I Googled today and it is a reference to horses in Shakespeare’s Macbeth.  My English lit minor rears its head from the deep recesses of my mind!  I repeated this phrase to myself numerous times during the race – when I felt unsteady, when the hills got tough, even when I was walking.  Why not will yourself to have all the things necessary for a successful trail race?
• Don’t get cocky. Before my “fall” I was in a zone on the trail.  I forgot I was a girl with clumsy tendencies and not a wood nymph.  Sometimes you can enjoy the trails and scenery and the feelings of freedom but most often you need to just pay attention you are going.  The moment you stop paying attention is the moment that rock or tree root meets your toe and you go flying.
• Like fine wine. Checking out the results of the race showed very strong performances from the women 35 and up.  In fact, they were generally faster than the younger women.  This gives me hope for the future.  I have a lot to learn about trail running and room to grow.  I love the idea that I can be 45 years old and kick butt on the trails.  This is the type of scene where speed matters but not as much as on the roads.  You need strength and endurance in this game.
• I’m scared. I am fearless on hill descents (wheee!) but my uphill running game needs work.  I also need to learn to how to run with my feet at a 45 degree angle!  There was a good stretch of trail cut out of a hill such that my left foot was angled during the run.  The trail was narrow and dropped off steeply enough that I was scared to run under this type of condition.  What if I slipped and rolled down that hill?  I lost a lot of time walking but I saw others running.  It was flat and I wasn’t tired – I was just scared.  This is more incentive to hit different types of trails more often to get used to running under all types of conditions.
• Oranges are the fruit of the gods. Trail races often provide an array of snacks at aide stations.  At this race, there were cookies, PB&Js, bananas, gels and oranges.  The only thing that appealed to me after emerging from the woods was oranges.  My goodness a cold orange quarter tastes so freaking good when you are exhausted and hot and sweaty!  How in the world do people have an appetite for cookies when they are running?!?  I don’t get it (yet).