trail running: a miracle 10K

I needed to force myself to log some damn miles. So I signed up for a 10K and then on Saturday, I did it.
There was mention of some hills in the course description.
What actually presented itself was a mountain.  Elevation gain close to 2,000 feet.

Within 5 minutes of the start, I was no longer running, but walking.  And very quickly, even the walking was a torment.

It took me about an hour to get through the first 2 miles.

As you may already know, I am never loving the running while it is happening to me.  But this was the first time that I almost started cursing out loud (or in my head, for that matter) because of the high degree of suckage.

Things definitely got better once it started going downhill, but even then I was treading carefully… since I was in the woods on a narrow path, with rocks and woodland surprises.  All told, it took 2 and a half hours.  Which is about how long it has taken me to do a half marathon in the past.  It was so slow, it was like a miracle 10K.

Also, I fell, at a steep slidey downhill bit.  And I got a bloody hand.  Bloody and dirty.  And still like a million miles to go.

It was definitely the hardest race I’ve done.  But whatever else there is to say about it, the most important bit is that it got done.

Here are some pictures of me being slow: