Grasslands Half: The Trail Is Calling

I wish that I had more hours for swimming, biking, and especially running because the first thing I would add would be more time on the trails.  I almost always have a blast when I am out there, but I just don't get to do it often enough with all of the other races and training that I want to pursue.  I do make time every March, however, to run the Grasslands Trail Half Marathon.  It was my very first trail run back in 2010 (and what a day that was!) and I have only missed one year since.  The conditions have varied wildly with each year: rain, sleet, ankle deep mud, hail, heat, and sand to name a few.  Two years ago, the trail was nearly perfect and I ran my course/trail PR.  When I saw that we would have optimal trail conditions again this year, I knew that I had a shot at keeping my 2016 PR streak alive!

Spoiler Alert: This guy killed his race! (Pic: Mark O)

Texas weather is all over the spectrum in March - while it was warm for St Paddy's Tri just 6 days before, it was around 40 degrees on the morning of Grasslands. I love running in sunny and cool weather, so this was about as close to perfect as one can ask for.  We all shivered a little as we waited for the start, but I don't think that anyone was complaining.  Mr K and I started together, but he was out of sight before the first mile was done.  He is so strong on the trails, much more of a daredevil than I am, and he had went on to have a heck of a race that day with a time of 1:56:51!  I decided to settle into my own groove instead of chasing him, which is good because I don't think that I could have kept up that day.

Post race with Mark O and Stude (Pic: Jesse S)

My pace was consistently in the mid-9:00 range all the way through the race with a few outlier miles here and there.  I ran alone, occasionally passing (or being passed by) another runner, and it was pretty awesome.  There is something overwhelmingly peaceful about running through nature on a beautiful day while saying precious few words to any other humans.  I really should do this more often.  

I knew that Lesley and Shama would be manning the aide station at mile 10, so I focused on getting there and then running strong for the last 3.1 miles of the race.  The weather really was perfect and the trail was in just about the best condition I have ever seen it.  The race directors, Chris and Anne, have done a great job putting this race on the last few years and I know that they must have been thrilled with the weather after the mudfest we all endured last year.

Mile 10 aide station (Pic: Llama Race Pictures)

I was greeted with a hug and big smiles from Lesley and Shama when I reached the aide station at mile 10.  They topped off my water bottle and sent me on my way, telling me how strong Mr K looked when he ran through there a little bit earlier.  Just a 5K to go!  There was a girl who I'd been following the whole race.  At times she was probably a quarter mile ahead of me, but the longer the race went the closer to her I got.  My course PR was 2:12 and a glance at my watch told me that I was on pace to come in faster than that if I just kept running strong.  I was expecting to see Stude somewhere in the closing miles of the race and he did not disappoint.  The end of this race is such a mental beatdown because the trail loops around the parking lot and right by my car.  I was thankful that Stude was there to distract from my impatience for the finish line.

I was getting closer and closer to the other girl, but I honestly didn't think that I could catch her as Stude suggested.  Once we got off the trail and back onto a little more paved surface I gave it my best shot and found myself pulling ahead of her!  I slowed up just a bit as we hit the finish line and she caught me.  We ended up in an exact tie with the time of 2:03:39 - good enough for about a 9 minute trail PR and tied for 5th overall female.  How fun is that?! My 2016 PR streak continues - what a year! Of course, now I wonder if I could have found another 3:40 seconds out there for the sub 2:00 finish.  Either way, I felt terrific about my run and I had such a great day on the trails.

My pacer is more fun than your pacer!

The post race hang out is always the best at trail runs.  There is BBQ and camp chairs and lots of good people.  Grasslands also has a marathon and a 50 mile race, so there are plenty of runners to cheer for and support as they pass through the start/finish area between their loops.  The sun was shining so brightly, it was just a beautiful day.  Signing up for Grasslands is always a shot in the dark, but I'm always rewarded (some ways more fun than others) for taking that chance.