2016 Wild Horse Trail Half Marathon

Scroll all the way down to the end of the post for the tl;dr version.

Prologue

I was planning to run the San Diego Half Marathon a few weeks ago, but a friend’s wedding led me to change plans and travel out two weekends later.  Still, I wanted to run a race while I was out there.  I found the Wild Horse Trail Half Marathon through some internet searches.  I’d never run a trail race before and was excited to run my first.  I didn’t do any reconnaissance on trail racing in general or this race specifically before the race.

Training

I’ve been working with a coach for a couple of weeks now and averaging 40-50 miles/week.  The weekend before, I ran the Lawyers Have Heart 10K.  My only other workout that week was a tempo run on Wednesday, so I went into the race feeling pretty rested.

Goals

I didn’t set any goals for this race.  Here are the few things I know about trail races:

• times shouldn’t be compared to road races because of the terrain, and
• since the distances are not measured like road races, it’s not even helpful to compare one trail race time to another.

Plus, I told my coach I would treat this race as my long run for the week.

Course

The course is an out-and-back around Otay Lakes near the USA Olympic Training Center in San Diego, California.  The start is flat for the first mile and follows the dirt road around the lake towards the Olympic Training Center.  Then, the course goes onto a groomed single track.  This section also has a couple of footbridges.  The trail remains flat or slightly uphill until the turnaround at the 3rd aid station (which is also where runners get the most amazing view of the lake) a little after mile 5.  On the return trip, runners are diverted up a steep incline to Upper Otay Lakes for a short loop.  Then, the course returns onto the single track back to the finish line.

Playlist

I read the race rules beforehand and they said headphone are permitted but runners have to leave one ear free.  I actually find running with one earplug in more annoying than running without music so I didn’t bother with a playlist.

Weather

San Diego has several zones when it comes to weather.  The conditions can vary considerably at the beach, inland area, mountains, and desert.  I would guess it was 5-10 degrees warmer at the race site than it was at Lindbergh Field.

Pre-Race

The night before the race, I went out with some high school friends and went to bed at around midnight after grabbing a late-night sandwich at the hotel snack bar.

I haven’t been sleeping well so when I woke up after only 4 hours of sleep, it didn’t phase me much.  I bought a coffee and Luna bar at the hotel snack bar along with a bottle of water.  The race instructions said it was mandatory that all runners carry a minimum of 12 oz. of water.

When I got to my rental car, I realized I probably didn’t get enough food.  I meant to get a bagel, too.  I downed the coffee and nutrition bar on my way to the race and hoped there might be pre-race food for the runners.  I’ve heard trail races are good for food.

I arrived at the race site at 5:45am.  There were warnings on the website about parking but it wasn’t a problem for me.  I went to the port-a-potties and took some pictures of the beautiful sunrise.

Runners were lining up for the mandatory check in.   I didn’t get in line until a little before 6am.  I immediately noticed that most of the people didn’t have a water bottle on them.  Is this really mandatory?  I don’t drink a lot of water during races and would rather run without a bottle.  But, I’m also a rule follower so I cling to my bottle.

It didn’t take long before I realized a little reconnaissance would have been a good thing.

• Bugs.  As I was standing around, tiny gnats flew around my face.  I didn’t think to put on bug repellent.
• Socks.  The night before, a friend quipped about trail runners and long socks.  It didn’t register at the time but as tiny rocks became lodged in my socks, I understood.

Check-in only took 15 minutes.  With so much time before the race, I checked out some gear that was for sale and then went back to my car to sit down.  I listened to a playlist I’ve titled “Swagger” while I waited for the start.  With 15 minutes until the start, I made one more trip to the bathroom and made my way to the starting line.

While waiting to the race to start, a woman approached me and struck up a conversation.  Soon, a man – who I guessed was her boyfriend – joined us.  He gave me some tips about the course.  I mentioned I was from out-of-town and that this was my first trail race.  He gave me some pointers and when I told him my race PRs, he suggested I move towards the front, so I did.

The race director had a few good quips during the pre-race announcements.  My favorite was when he said the race organizers saw two rattlesnakes the night before when they were marking the trail.  Then, he said something like:

Do you know what group of people have the most accidents with rattlesnakes?  (Pause).
18 to 24 year old men. 

Then, he told all of us – but the 18 to 24 year old men in particular – to go around any rattlesnakes we saw on the trail.

A few moments after that, the race director did a brief countdown and we were off!

Miles 1 to 3 (Out on Lower Otay Lake – West)

The first section of trail wasn’t too difficult.  It was basically a dirt road.  I ran along side Start Line Guy and we chatted a bit about our upcoming training and race goals. I scanned the crowd and saw I was one of the few women up front.  Hmm…  Maybe I should race this thing.

Just before hitting the first mile, the course went onto a single-track trail.  I asked my new guy friend to go ahead of me since this was my first trail race and he knew the way.  I struggled to get my stride right and figuring out where to land safely.  I remembered my fall from last winter and didn’t want to go down again.  It was great having someone to follow.  Plus, there was a guy in front of us that kinda slowed us down but the trail was too narrow to pass him.  It kept my pace relatively easy in the beginning. We ran through the first aid station.  I took some sips of my water bottle and he had a fuel belt with fluids.

A couple miles in and I felt more comfortable.  In fact, at one point, I could barely hear myself breathing.  I checked my Garmin and saw we were running sub-8:00 pace through the first two miles!  So much for running this at long run pace.  I continued to struggle a bit with the footing.  There were narrow wooden bridges to cross and each time I felt like I was going to lose my balance.  I was yelping, Whoa!, every time I almost fell.

My running buddy stopped at the second water stop.  I hesitated, and then went ahead.  (Despite the mandatory water claim, it seemed a lot of runners ran with little or no fluids.)  I thought I was one of the leaders in the women’s field and wanted to go for a placement. Wasn’t this supposed to be your long run?  I wondered if my coach would be upset with me.  I hoped she would appreciate my competitive spirit!

Mile paces: 8:56, 8:11, 8:12.

Miles 3 to 6 (Out on Lower Otay Lake – East)

This was my first trail race and I didn’t know how to read the markers.  I figured out the “X” on the trail meant “Do Not Enter”, but what did the pink tape mean?  Now that I’d left my friend, I tried to keep visual contact with the runner in front of me so I’d know where to go.  This meant running much harder than I wanted but I caught up to the guy in a black and yellow shirt who had been in front of me.  Surveying the women’s field up ahead, I could see a woman in a grey-green shirt and compression shorts.

I started to struggle a bit not only because of the extra effort but it also seemed like the elevation had changed and was more uphill.  I could hear footsteps behind me.  I wished whoever it was would pass me so I could follow them and save the mental energy.  I let up a little but whoever it was wouldn’t pass  After a quarter mile or so, I picked up the pace again.  Compression Shorts wasn’t pulling away and I felt confident I could catch her.  Eventually, the runner behind me passed.

We reached a ridge and I could see the front runners above us heading back the way we came.  I saw one woman in black with a long pony tail, then a second.  There was a bit of a blind spot where I couldn’t see any runners.  But, at the turn around, the only other woman I saw was the woman just ahead of me was Compression Shorts.  I thought, Okay, I’m no better than 4th place.  The course turned back at the 5.3 mile mark.  I checked to see how far back Start Line Guy was.  He shouted some encouragement my way and I waved.  

Mile paces: 8:21, 8:05, 8:06.

Miles 6 to 7.5 (Back on Lower Otay Lake – East)

About 40 minutes into the race, I started a Crank Sports e-Gel (Tropical Blast) that I brought with me.  I thought it was a little early for a gel but it was very hot.  I felt like I was baking!  I wanted to stay ahead of dehydration.  I was nursing it, though.  I knew that wasn’t a good sign and eased off the pace a little to get it down along with some water.  I wished I had music to take my mind off of how badly I felt.

I’d been running behind the same pack led by Compression Shorts and 3 or 4 men for at least a mile.  They started pulling away a little while I was trying to get my fueling and hydration right.  Then, I thought I heard a woman’s voice behind me.  In my head, I shouted, Don’t lose this pack!  I sped up to catch them.  It was hard, though.  I felt like I’d been running for much longer than 6 or 7 miles.

The trail was very narrow and it was a little tricky running against the runners who were still heading out on the course.  But, they were yielding the course most of the time.  I started to feel better.  In fact, I passed one of the guys in the pack when the trail opened up slightly on a downhill.

Mile/half mile paces: 8:01, 8:25.

Miles 7.5 to 10 (Upper Otay Lake)

At the 7.5 mile mark, the volunteers directed the runners to the right and into a tunnel.  We had to showcase our best parkour moves by planting our right foot on a short ledge and leaping up to the tunnel entrance.  What did my new running friend tell me about this part of the course? On the other end of the tunnel, was a steep rocky crag we had to navigate and then, a nearly vertical uphill.  We all down-shifted to a shuffle.  This section of the course seemed unnecessarily cruel.  The woman in the compression shorts was in my reach, though.  Once we hit the downhill, though, she was gone again.  Maybe I won’t catch her after all, I thought.

The course hit a section of soft bark.  This is what my starting line friend had warned me about.  He said it might feel like running through quicksand but it didn’t feel too bad.

We reached a section of the course where the leaders were coming back – another opportunity to count the female runners.  The first woman in black looked strong.  In fact, I thought she was 4th runner overall!  The second woman was a good deal behind her.  I didn’t see another woman except Compression Shorts.  I thought, I’m in 4th place!  Heading back towards the tunnel on the loop, Starting Line Guy yelled that there were 3 women ahead of me – confirming my count.  It gave me motivation to run harder.

I passed one of the guys in my mini pack and felt confident that I could run hard for the last 3 miles.  Step-by-step, I started reeling in the woman in front of me.  I had to watch my footing on the rocky area leading back to the tunnel, though, and slowed down.  Meanwhile, she glided down the rocks like a gazelle.  She was pulling away again.

Mile/half mile paces: 9:37, 8:17, 8:15.

Miles 10 to 13.1 (Back on Lower Otay Lake – West)

Then, coming out of the tunnel, Compression Shorts stopped at the aid station!  Really?  This is how I pass her?  Next thing I knew, I was leading our pack.  Immediately, I got us off the trail and almost had us running along the main road.  I apologized and course corrected after only a few steps, though.

It’s hard to describe how uncomfortable I felt trying to finish strong on the single track trail.  I could feel the runners behind me on my back.  I kept doing head checks to make sure I wasn’t impeding their progress but they weren’t as close as I thought.  In fact, I wanted someone to pass me so I could follow them instead of leading the way.  I just didn’t want it to be Compression Shorts.  I thought this was an interesting tactical element to trail racing – how the terrain can impede your ability to pass an opponent.  I concentrated on all the markers – looking for pink tape ahead and seeing if I could get a visual on someone in front of me.  At one point, my foot went through one of the footbridges but I maintained my balance.

As soon as the single-track opened up, I got passed by Compression Shorts and a couple of the guys in the pack.  It was disheartening.  They pulled away very quickly so I knew I wouldn’t catch her.  I slowed down a little knowing that I wouldn’t place and, Wasn’t this supposed to be your long run anyway?

At mile 12, I saw a woman walking.  Was that the woman who had been in 2nd place?  I tried to remember what she was wearing when I saw her at the upper lake.  I told myself, This is why you don’t quit.  I passed her thinking I was back in 3rd place.  But, there was also a 10K at this even.  Could she be a 10K finisher?  From then on, I ran with everything I had for fear there was another woman behind me.  I finally see the finish line and what appeared to be another woman just ahead of Compression Shorts.  How did I miss her?  I cross the finish line proud that I’d done so well in my first trail race!

Splits: 8:30, 8:30, 7:52, 0:51.

Post Race

I got my medal at the finish line and then walked over to a tent to pick up my race shirt and a beer.

I waited for my new friends to finish and hung out with them until the awards ceremony.

Result

[Log Details]

Shortly after the finish, I checked the results at the finish line tent and thought I was 4th woman overall.  I didn’t double-check my count because it confirmed what I suspected – that perhaps the woman walking at the end was a 10K runner.

During the awards ceremony, though, when the overall female runners were announced, I was surprised that the woman in the compression shorts wasn’t the 3rd place finisher.  So, I was 5th?
I started wondering if I was shut out of the awards all together.  But, I won the female 40-49 category after all.  I got a medal, a $20 dollar gift certificate at the Movin Shoes running store, some RunGoo foot cream, and a can of beer from Mike Hess Brewing Company.  Not bad.

It took a few days for the results to post.  Officially, my time was 1:48:09 (8:17 pace) and I was the 5th woman overall.

Epilogue

I’m glad I ran my first trail race!  At this point in my running career, I’m running out of firsts.  My favorite part was the atmosphere.  From the race director’s pre-race commentary to the free post-race beer, I thought it was much more relaxed than most of the road races I’ve attended.  However, I found trail running mentally exhausting.  I was so busy watching my footing that I didn’t enjoy the views as much as I wanted.  The trail also beat me up pretty bad.  My body – my ankles in particular – still felt pretty sore days after the race.  I can’t say I’d never run a trail race again, but at this moment, I definitely prefer the roads.

Abridged Version

This was my first trail race!  I ran 1:48:02 (8:16 pace), which was fast because this was supposed to be a long run.  I realized early on that I was in contention to place in the women’s race and picked up the pace.  I made new friends before the race and ran with one of them in the beginning.  He also gave me some tips on the course.  At one point, I was leading a mini pack, which made me very uncomfortable since I didn’t know how to read trail markings.  In the end, I finished 5th woman overall and won my age group.