Long Play Race

So apparently I am only writing in this blog after races these days.  That's okay.  I have to admit that I have been more conscientious about Crossfit as of late than running. Probably you don't want to read post and post about how bad I am at all things Crossfit (mind you, if you follow this blog, then you read a lot about how bad I am at running).  Anyway, I did have a race today and I do have something to say about it.

Today's race was a trail half-marathon called the Long Play Race.  It's called the Long Play Race because there is also an ultramarathon of 33 1/3 miles, so it's like a long-play record.  And in fact, for finishing, we all got to choose a record with a distinct cover.  Mine is the 101 Strings, 'A Night in the Tropics.'

So much more awesome than a medal.

I really enjoyed this race for a number of reasons, not the least of which was the fact that we had almost perfect running conditions (in my opinion).  And I don't mean that it was almost perfect for Florida and only started at 72F with humidity in the 80% range or something.  I mean perfect.  Due to a freak dip of the jet stream, it is cold here.  As in, it was in the 40s for the entire race.  With low humidity.  I can still hardly believe it myself, so I want to preserve this graphic forever as a token of remembrance:

Best.  Racing.  Weather.  Ever.  (By Florida standards)

Compare this to Gasparilla last weekend, when I started with the second wave of runners at 9:45, at which time the temperature was 73F and the humidity was 93%.  That is totally over the threshold of ick.  DUDE.  That is almost summer weather.  At least it stayed overcast for most of the race, so we didn't all die.

Anyway, back to the Long Play.  Not only was the temperature pretty much perfect, the course was awesome.  It was in the Withlacoochee State Forest and once I separated myself from the other runners (which took, like, no time at all because the other runners were mostly pretty fast), it was so crazy quiet and peaceful.  Sure, the course was a bit too hard for me because it had hills and copious amounts of relatively loose sand, but I truly enjoyed being in the woods, pretty much by myself, and not dying of heat.  Yet it was still an eventful race in some respects:

1) Some of the forest was on fire.  Well, smoldering.  For real.  I jumped over a smoldering log at one point (then again on the way back).

2) There were hunters somewhere in the woods.  I heard them fire two shots.

So I never have to do Tough Mudder now, because I have been in a race where hunters were shooting stuff near the course and trees were on fire.  This ranks up there with the gators in the lake when I did a triathlon down here.  Ah, Florida.

I have saved the best for last, which is that I placed first in my age group.  Here is a re-creation of the conversation:

Race person: And....congratulations, you are first in the 30 and up division. [I think they meant 30-39]

Me: (stunned) No.

But I was.  And I got a hat as my reward.  And if you are curious, there were two other people in my age division, so I will take it as an achievement.

My time was pretty bad for a 1/2 marathon, even taking out the extended bathroom break (it was extended because the bathroom was being cleaned and added at least 5 minutes to my time)--which means that I totally earned my 1st place because I passed someone in my age group in the very last part of the race.  A lot was on sand, which makes running more difficult, and I am definitely not accustomed to running on this kind of surface.  Also, the course was likely longer than a 1/2 marathon according to the race director--my Garmin is typically useless on trails, although it did record more like a 13.3 instead of a 13.1 (race director thought it was more like 13.8).  People were pretty casual when they learned this news.  I guess if you hang out with ultra people, you learn to be pretty casual.

I decided a few days ago that I spend too much time thinking about bad runs that I have experienced instead of focusing on the good ones.  So I am making an effort to identify good ones and remember them, so that I remind myself that there will be benefits while I am slogging through less enjoyable runs (by which I mean, runs that are too hot).  Today's race definitely ranks as one of my favorites in a while.

Did I mention the baby goats?  No?  In the last part of the course, I passed a fenced-in area that had a goat. She (I am assuming) looked around, then two little, teeny goats came out and hung out with her.  Seriously.  So cute.  Winning my age group, perfect temperature, beautiful course, my very own 101 Strings record, and baby goats.  What more could you ask of a race?