Fun and a little bit Muddy
Getting my groove on the trails.
Photo credit: Coates Photography
Guest blogger and mother of two, Traci, shares her take on the IRONBULL Ultra Trail 15k, her first trail race!
Taking on new challenges!
The IRONBULL Ultra Trail 15k would not only be my first trail race, but also the longest run in my life (and ditto for my husband)! With the entire summer to train, including opportunities to see the trails first-hand at the monthly training runs held by race director, Mellissa Gilbert, we were ready and we conquered!
What rain?
Looking at the forecast a few days before the race I thought I’d for sure be getting wet. Which I figured would be fine, a few of my training runs had been done in the rain and I thought I could handle it.
Luckily race day morning I woke up to beautiful weather! (I’m not sure if the 50k racers can say the same thing!) I think I mentioned in a previous blog that my ideal running weather was about 65-75 degrees and sunny so it was the perfect day for me! However, it had rained the night before, so there were some slick muddy spots on the course. More about that later.
Concentrating to not to slip on the damp rocks.
Photo credit: Coates Photography
On your mark, get set, go!
My pre-run warm-up is pretty basic, just a few stretches and using the first mile or so to find my stride. Since I knew I had quite some distance with this race I wasn’t worried about switching it up and trying to be fast right out the gate. In fact, after reading Race Director Mellissa’s tips, I knew I didn’t want to push too fast right away. So I warmed up my way and started the race nice and slow.
While the weather was perfect, the rain the night before created some damp rocks and slick muddy spots. By the time us 15k racers started, the beginning portion of the course had already been ran twice by the 50k racers, so those spots were very slippery and muddy. My husband and I had been discussing our race strategy the night before and our plan was, ‘To finish and not get injured'.’ After learning how easy it was to fall during my training, I took it really slow over the wet rocks and muddy parts. With my methodical, steady pace I held my position even through the technical sections.
I had another goal in mind for myself, I wanted to pace at roughly 15 minute miles. Based on what I had been running on the trails during training, and talking with a few other people who ran trails more frequently than I did, I thought that seemed like a reasonable goal for the my first trail race. I’m happy to report - GOAL MET! I actually ran an average pace of 13:42 per mile with my fastest miles 2, 3, 5, and 9!
Running the race with my husband was one of my favorite parts.
Photo Credit: Sarah Bailey
Favorite Parts!
Ultimately, my favorite part of running this race was proving to myself that I could run 15k. It was also great that I was able to do it with my husband and we found a great activity that we can do together now. I also really love how much the other runners and aid station volunteers cheered us on. Shout out to the Trail Sisters crew at the High Point Aid Station! Even though I was clearly not the fastest or ‘in it to win it’ they still made me feel like I was doing a great job and helped increase my motivation.
The course was so well marked I never got lost! I actually found it easier to follow the IRONBULL marked trail than the official Rib Mountain Trails other times I’ve ran there. This was the first time I’ve ever made it to the quarry area because I’ve gotten lost on the Rib Mountain Trails trying to get there before. The beer (I had to try the Red Eye IRONBULL Amber), food from Urban Street Bistro and camaraderie after the race was great too.
First trail run - mission accomplished!
Going forward…
I plan to return to race the IRONBULL Ultra Trail 15k in 2022. I think the course was well marked and the event was exceptionally organized. The only changes I would make are to be better prepared with hydration during the race, especially if it’s warm again, and better shoes. Even though I had been training in my shoes with no problems I ended up with blisters. I think because my feet slipped around in my shoes a bit when I was trying to navigate the mud. Good lessons learned from running into uncharted territory!
See you next year IRONBULL Ultra Trail! I’ll be back.
Related: