Recap: Ohio Outdoor Series Race #2

After a week of Parent/Teacher Conferences and a presentation in Columbus, I ran the second race in the Ohio Outside Trail Series in Munroe Falls. I am really, really tired, Peeps.  I was in bed by 8:30 on Friday night to wake up at 6:30 for the race.

I really wasn't feeling it much.  I dragged my butt around the house until I HAD to get in the car, and I arrived at 8:05 for an 8:30 start.  As I walked quickly to the bathroom (only one person waiting in the women's line!), a woman who was walking next to me looked at me and RAN AHEAD so she could be in the line ahead of me.  Seriously.  Now I was miffed.  Then she wanted to make general conversation while waiting, but I wasn't having it.  I collected my bib and my beer glass and went back to my warm car to wait it out.  No socializing for me.

This is EXACTLY how I look when I don't want to get out of my warm car.

I lined up at the very last second.  Right next to me was Tracy, who told me that she hadn't decided whether she was going to run or race, which was exactly my dilemma, too.  When we took off, I decided that the chilly air actually felt really good for racing, and so I made my decision.  The trail was swept clean of leaves, and the packed dirt was perfect for running.  I especially liked the downhill parts this time because I didn't see a lot of rocks and roots, and I allowed myself to open up. Just like last time, the finish came quicker than I expected (weird GPS stuff going on), so I was pleased to see the steps that led to the flat sprint at the finish.

Pretty finish along the lake

I actually shaved over a minute off my time from the first race in the series!

This is EXACTLY how I look when I shave over a minute off my time.

I attribute it to the cold weather (lower forties/upper thirties seem to be the best racing temperatures for me) and the fact that I know the course a little better.  I was able to push myself on the hills because I knew the downhills were coming shortly after.  In any case, I'm happy with my time, and I'm super happy with the two carrot cookies I shoved in my pie-hole immediately after the race.  Seriously, they are that good.

Today I ran ten miles with Mandy, who is great at picking new spots for us.  We started at the Mustill Store in downtown Akron, and we turned around about a half-mile past the Wilbeth Road Trailhead.  This took us past Summit Lake, which I had never seen before.

Summit Lake

We had all different surfaces to run: pavement, road, soft track, dirt.  We even ran across a few bridges:

See the birds?  Mandy was freaked, but I felt like they were our honor guards.

The best part was running the last mile completely downhill.  I forgot that I was sore and tired and hungry, and I let it all go.  Totally worth climbing that hill in the first mile.

Our reward was the potluck dinner for The Ohio Runners Network, which will be the subject of next week's post.  Until then, run happy, Peeps!

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