This morning Ryan and I tackled the
Cinco de Mayo Trail 10K in Poway. Although the trails aren't normally my forte, Ryan loves them so I hide my nervousness with a smile and lace up my running shoes.
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Pretty stoked on our #FlatMcDots... Whatcha think?! We went with #CincoDeGibblers and #AllTheColor! |
Lake Poway is about 45 minutes away, so with a 7:30am start time we ended up having to leave around 5:45am so we could make sure we got into the parking lot (there was limited parking at the race, which does cost $5 for non-Poway residents, but there were shuttles offered for free off-site parking) and had time to stretch, use the bathrooms {YAY for no port-o-potties} and pick up our bibs without feeling too rushed.
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And of course I was out of bed before 4:35am ;) |
We were slightly nervous about the weather because it had been raining for the past day (and was actually raining at the house when we got in the car). They were calling for a break in the clouds, but I wasn't sure how muddy the course would be. Thankfully the sun was shining by race time and there were only a couple puddles remaining on the trails.
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Pretty stunning backdrop for a trail race, right?! |
The 10K started at 7:30am (they also offered a 5K and kid's race later in the morning). Unlike
the last time we ran it (you can read the recap
HERE), the race started on time and it was easy peasy! They had signs so folks could line up based on their estimated per minute mile pace, all self-seeding. And,
HALLELUJAH, it actually seemed like most people knew how to line up (also, most of the course was wide enough to pass another runner if you needed to).
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The finish line is about 50 yards behind the starting line |
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Ready to get this party started! |
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He looks thrilled, huh?! |
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Startling Line SELFIE! |
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Floating heads waiting for the race to start! Thanks Pavey for teaching him this one... |
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Once we moved up, we were ready to go! |
Since we had run this race (and hiked in the area multiple times) before we knew what we were in for. You do
A LOT of climbing! Like a lot, a lot! We had approx 1,150 feet of elevation gain in the 6.2 miles. So, we knew our game plan going in would be to take advantage of the flats and downhills, while taking it slow and steady on the ups. There were some parts where we could walk faster than we were "running", so walk breaks were totally fine with us!
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Ryan thought we should rename the race #Dam2Damn |
I think knowing the course definitely helped us out. Don't get me wrong, there were plenty of volunteers and "chalk" arrows in the dirt, so no one was getting lost, I more meant that we knew what to expect, when the hills would continue to climb (as opposed to thinking they were done "just around the corner") and how to best prepare for everything. When we ran it last time we finished in just over 1:10. Before we started I told Ryan our goal would be to not fall or break an ankle
AND shoot for under 1:10. We ended up conserving enough energy to beat out previous time by
OVER 7 MINUTES!
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Some of the uphill... This was the only 'paved' part of the course |
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Can you see all of the little colorful dots?! Those are the runners using the switchbacks to get up the final climb... |
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"We beat the second mountain" selfie! |
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Ryan heading in towards the finish line! |
Not only are there two pretty steep climbs during the race, but then there is another uphill to get to the finish line,
HOW RUDE! But again, thankfully we were well aware. Also, they had a live mariachi band near the finish to bring us home.
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Not too shabby for all the elevation changes... |
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Source Funny how I wait for Ryan the whole race and then he sprints in at the finish leaving me in his dust by 5 seconds... |
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The guys were stoked that I asked for a picture with them! |
There are medals for the first three finishers in each age group for both men and women, but everyone after that just gets a high five (which I am totally okay with, especially if it helps to keep the cost of the race low). Kids under 7 all get a finisher ribbon and they actually gave them to the dogs that finished the race too!
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This is Dolly. She came in FIRST out of the pups! |
There was quite the spread for the finishers - bars, fruit and pastries a plenty! I grabbed a bar and half a banana, but the hubby stocked up on everything and anything (of course he went back for seconds of the mini cinnamon roll type treats).
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Post-race loot! |
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What's your favorite post-race snack? |
All-in-all I would
TOTALLY recommend this race (and I'm not just saying that because I was given a free entry... we paid full price for Ryan's registration and would totally have paid full price for both of ours had I not been generously gifted an entry). Like the description says, it is definitely a grueling 10K, but having to work for it makes the finish line that much sweeter,
right?! And being able to do something with the hubby that we both thoroughly enjoy (even if we are cursing the hills at the time) is
PURE PERFECTION!
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*~* FINISHERS! *~* |
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And if anyone wants to run it next year with us, put it on your race calendar NOW! |
What are your thoughts on trail races? Would the description "grueling" prevent you from registering for a race?
2 comments:
That looks amazing Carlee! I love me some trails and have a race in a few weeks 🖒
Come join me at the Carmel Valley 10K in September!
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