Yesterday I ran my first ever 6 hr trail race, River To Sea 6/12 hr Race. Over the past few months since I registered, I had a few oh my God, what did I get myself into, and why did I let Monica talk me into this, especially over the past month or so when my training runs got long. But I pushed through and completed all my training runs, so I knew I was as prepared as I could be, at least I thought so.
My friend Dori and I decided we would tackle this experience together and rode down the night before to packet pickup. Super organized packet pickup at a great little restaurant in Flagler Beach called the Beachfront Grille decided for me that this race was going to be good. We decided to eat there, and we both had amazing meals. Dori had a cheeseburger, but I pulled out all the stops and had prime rib..... both were super delicious and the waitress was amazing.
Sleeping was crap, because this was my first long distance trail race, and I was super nervous. We got up super early and headed out to Gamble Rogers Park. I have to say this is one of the most organized races I have ever competed in. Super easy parking and easy to find starting line. We started about on time, and I continued with the intervals I was training with.... 30/30s. Everything was going on point and according to plan... though I didn't have much more of a goal than to finish without dying, until about mile 6 when I tripped over a stump and jarred my back. From there on I could do 2 laps of intervals and 2 laps of walks before I took a ten minute break and that was how I completed my race.
I had really hoped to get over 20 miles in, but in the end 16 was all I could manage. I was a tad disappointed but the race experience was so much more than the run itself. This trail run was SO MUCH FUN! Great people, great food, and just a great experience overall. Dawn Lisenby is an amazing race director and she has the best volunteers. I have never seen a race director interact so much with the participants. I considered her a friend by my first rest break. I truly recommend doing any races put on by East Coast Trail Racing. This easily became my favorite race even though it was the most difficult race I have ever run, and I cannot wait to run Jack's 30K Trail Race next month. If this looks fun, register here and run it with me :D
A few takeaways from the race -
1. Even if you have a goal, don't be disappointed if you don't meet it. Just enjoy the experience.
2. Trail races are awesome, everyone becomes a friend.
3. Great race directors make a race!
4. Nothing feels better than a pair of flip flops after a race.
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