Bradbury Scuffle 6 mile trail race

after fighting with my computer (wont save screenshots, wont edit anything in paint ((side note, paint? who uses paint?!)) i finally got things to kinda work (kinda)... and then all my pics loaded from last to first. hell if im going to waste any more of henrys nap time trying to fix that! so this blog will be written from the end to the start. cool.

bradbury scuffle

6 mile trail race

53rd out of 162

57:14

(totally my shirt and number. and car. not doctored at all from michelle. 

nope. look at the fancy frame!)

apparently i was again the 2nd crow member to finish (just like last years 9 mile race). i finished 9th female overall, 5th female age 30-39. not too shabby. who wants to join us for the 9 miler?

and when we got home we got to see daddy who finished his 2nd half marathon! yay!

 more post race selfie fun

again, were super serious about trail running

not a terrible elevation
(but a terrible crooked cut and paste, stupid computer)

post race with jim, leslie, and tom

the end. did you follow that? (i think it took me longer to write it this way than to just fix the original problem).

i was dripping in sweat and covered in bugs (barf) but overall everything felt awesome. i rolled my ankles a few times (normal, no pain) but i didnt fall and i think thats a huge plus. this race was a great intro to trail running and was nothing like the 9 miler! they had great volunteers and water, watermelon, and rice krispie treats at the finish (i didnt have any). jim had brought me a beer (miller 64... actually not too bad!) and we chatted for a bit before heading home.

coming in to the finish, blurry cuz im running super fast, obviously

the course was windy and had some good ups and downs, rocks and some mud and then some good flat gravel and grass towards the end (as well as two water stops with gatorade as well). i was able to speed up significantly towards the end and as we were coming around a turn i passed a woman... and she started racing me! i didnt mean for her to think i was trying to beat her right at the end (i honestly wasnt, i just thought there was more to the race and i was just going ahead of her), but as we rounded the last corner and i saw the finish line, i stepped it up and finished just ahead of her (by 4 seconds... dont worry, we arent in the same age group lady. i also really liked your outfit if that helps?)

at one point there were a few people in front of me and we were jumping over some tree branches and one of the people tripped and dove right into the ground. i stopped to make sure they were ok (they were) and headed on. i made sure that i kept my eyes on the ground for the rest of the run. there were parts that had some wooded bridges that scared me (going over a little bit of water, all i could think of was gators and snakes. ya know, cuz we live in maine. gators are everywhere obviously). but thats what it felt like. maybe that helped me run faster. and by faster i mean 11 minute miles. sweet.

i stayed with michelle and chatted for a bit, but it was hard to run side by side as the trail was not very wide and the start was a bit crowded. it thinned out within the first mile and then i felt alone for a long time. there were a few people ahead of me and every now and then i would pass a couple of them. i really wasnt trying to race but i felt good and thought i could at least get a good strong run in.

after some pre race thank yous and rules, we were off. we started the opposite side of the road from where the 9 miler went last year, which made me think this wasnt going to be quite as bad because the mountain was on that other side of the road (thank God, because who runs their 17 mile long run the day before a trail race... oh yeah, this girl. oops). people had said this 6 miler wasnt all that bad (and that the 9 miler was the really tough one) so i went in with a "lets just have fun" attitude. also needed to make sure i didnt roll my ankles or fall. or die.

....and then takes the spotlight (i was very concerned about tripping and falling)

michelle loves me so much she lets me be the star of the pre race selfie

(another quality pre race leslie pic- my massive calves? or my road running brooks launch sneakers that apparently double as trail running shoes, obviously)

 leslie was trying to take pics of my... tattoo? so she claims. i really think she was going to use this against me at some point... she has now nicknamed me "spiney" (wtf is up with my back?!) and note to self: a sports bra that is two sizes too small is not attractive. moving on...

i have clearly perfected the group selfie

 thumbs up for trail running!

shes not really that tall. but almost.

i know im short

or we took selfies. we take trail running very seriously.

michelle and i also convinced our friend jim to sign up for all three, and another friend leslie and her husband registered for the 6 mile race (they have other things to do on the other race days. whatever). i havent seen michelle or leslie in a million years so we spent lots of time pre race stretching and talking race strategy and obviously maintaining complete pre trail running focus.

bad ass = hoodie

last year shortly after having henry i ran the bradbury mountain breaker 9 mile race. i hadnt trained on hills or trails, (i basically hadnt really been running much at all) so why not sign up for a race in the woods on technical trails that runs up a mountain twice! smart life decisions. i actually had a lot of fun (see here) and was easily convinced to register for the trifecta of races for this year to become an official bradbury bad ass (i only did it for the hoodie. screw running).