Ran the Paris Mountain 16k trail race Saturday morning. 16km comes out to a little under 10mi. But I knew in advance that it would not be comparable to the Army 10Miler I did a couple weeks ago. This is a very difficult series of trails at a park just outside of Greenville, SC. I've run it before, back in 2011. It was my first ever trail race, and oh man it did not go well. I was still very new to trail running and unfamiliar with the difficulty of the trails I would be facing. Not so much this year. I knew what I was getting into, and I've run on trails at least once nearly every week for 2-3 years.
This time around, I added in some Stairmaster workouts, a lot of plyometric exercises (box jumps, jump squats, and jump lunges), and intervals of running hills combined with other exercises. Everything felt good. I saw how easy the Army 10Miler was a couple weeks prior so I knew I had the endurance. But endurance on the road is different from endurance on trails climbing a mountain.
Got over to the park at 0730. Got my packet, warmed up, got my gear and apparel all set then made my way down to the starting area. It was low 50s with a fair bit of humidity, but with the promise of a sunny day, so I opted for less clothing rather than more. Wore both sets of calf sleeves, thin socks, my Peregrines, shorts, a singlet, a hat, and my hydration belt with a single bottle of watered down Powerade Zero.
The start of the race is in a small parking lot towards from the front of the park.
Mile 1 - Starting in the parking lot, it goes 600m down the paved park road before turning off onto the trails, where you stay until the finish. At the start line, I got to the front and stayed with the front pack down the road before turning onto the trails. Once onto the trails, its single file.
Mile 2 - Started to get strung out here. The lead group took off so it was just two guys directly in front of me, and who knows what behind me. The downside to trail running is you can't turn around to see who is behind you because you will almost definitely face plant. The two guys in front of me looked like they were friends. Both in pretty decent shape. The guy directly in front had the Ironman logo tattooed on his leg so I was determined to not let him leave me. There was a small section of maybe 20m where the trail widened and a few people passed us but I wasn't worried about that.
Mile 3 - Oh yes, the worst part of the course. Nearly impossible to run. The trail follows a stream. Unfortunately you are going up stream. Lots of sections of slick boulders and logs that you have to climb up, sometimes using nearby trees or branches for help. Lots of steps. Like, a lot of steps. My mile time plummeted. We would run up to a climb, get up it, run 5m to the next climb, get up that, repeat, for a mile. Couple people passed here and there, but for the most part it was very single track. Towards the end of the climb, the Ironman tattoo guy stepped aside for me to pass. His buddy took off. Another guy passed me, but then couldn't hold the pace and I was on his backside before he stepped out of the way. The trail weaves away from the stream, widens, and then does a few switchbacks going up the mountain. A taller guy (with a headband) who looked in good shape passed me but not all that quickly, so I decided I'd try to stick with him. I couldn't hear anyone else, and since the trail was wide and open, I took a peak behind and didn't see anyone for a little ways.
Mile 4-5 - Stuck with the Headband Guy to the top of the mountain and then for the very fun and very fast downhill. 2 miles of long swooping downhill switchbacks. Headband Guy and I were cooking. I let him stay maybe 5-10m in front of me in case he fell so I didn't just plow him over. We got to the bottom where it curves around this big reservoir. Started to hear footsteps and heavy breathing behind me and then bam, this tall lanky old guy passes Headband Guy and I like we're stopped. He gets maybe 20-30m in front of us and then stays there. Whatever, we keep chugging along.
Mile 6-7 - Knew this was coming, the second series of steep inclines. For the next two miles, it was basically steep .5mi climb, then it would fool you with what appeared to be the "top of the mountain," you make a turn, and then have another .5mi climb. I think I counted four .5mi climbs. The trail was a little wider than single track. We would randomly pass people going in the other direction. Headband Guy and I stuck together and actually chatted a bit.
Mile 8 - Got to the top of that series of climbs and then headed back down. Not as long a decline as before but still quick. Headed through a water stop where the lanky old guy was standing there drinking. Headband Guy and I kept going (we both had hydration belts) and I figured we'd never see the lanky guy again. Nope. There was a short incline after the water stop, and then a series of steep decline switchbacks. We were cooking, and almost to the bottom when lanky guy passes us again. What the hell.
Mile 9 - I'm starting to be annoyed by tall lanky old guy. I don't like playing leapfrog during a race. Headband Guy and I keep within 50m or so of lanky guy on a series of small incline and declines. I can tell that Headband Guy is starting to fade though while I'm starting to pick it up.
Last .9mi - I decide I've had enough of lanky guy. I tell Headbang Guy I'm going to catch up to the lanky guy, he steps out of the way and I'm off like a rocket. Within a few minutes, I catch up to lanky guy. Wait a few seconds for a good section then pass him like he passed us earlier. Immediately pass another guy. And then I put the hammer down. I have strong legs, the end of a race is where I like to show them off. I leave the lanky guy and start catching up and passing other people. Trail starts to look familiar and I can hear cheering. Sprint to the finish line and cross in 1:26:59.
Its about 1min slower than my first try at this race, but the race is also 1km longer. I think I did much better. My first try I had to walk a lot during the steps/boulders section, and then I tripped and fell during the series of .5mi inclines and had to walk for a few minutes. This second try, I only walked a little bit during the steps/boulders section. And I didn't walk for the rest of the race. Very happy with the result. And very happy that I could catch up and pass so many people in the last 1.5mi of a tough race. Have to love strong legs.
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