Woolly Hollow Inaugural Half Marathon

This morning was the Inaugural Woolly Hollow Half Marathon, which is also the first race of my 2020 season and crazy running goals I've set. It is all single-track. This race was one that I wasn't planning to sign-up for, but one of my close friends loves these trails and really wanted to do it. She is my trail running buddy and so we've been out there many times to run. I love inaugural races too so she didn't have to twist my arm much to get me to give in.

A little backstory...on December 22nd we went out to the trails there to get a long run in. As we were coming down one of the hills her knee just quit. She wasn't able to bend it at all, could barely walk, and was in quite a bit of pain. We made our way back to the car and cut our 10 mile run down to about 8.5 miles. For the most part, she rested and felt like it would be okay today and, like me, she's a bit stubborn and so not trying was out of the question.

We started the run and it wasn't long before she said she was kind of feeling her knee. By 2.4 miles into the run, her knee did the same thing it did on our long run a few weeks earlier. Unfortunately, it was time for her to drop. She told me she would be mad at me if I didn't finish what we started and I know her well enough to know she was serious. There is a lot of things she and I know about each other and some recent experiences that we've been through that she knew it was meant for me to keep going. I would've made her go on as well if it would have been me hurt instead.

So, after a few minutes stepped off the trail talking to her and letting her stretch, I got back on the trail and took off. I was behind a group of nine that were running, but very slowly. I walked a lot and was keeping up with them slow. At 3.75 miles the whole line of nine started running on the side to stay out of the mud and water that covered the trail. I took this as my opportunity to pass them. When I got to the eighth person, he slipped and fell in front of me. I am still not sure how I avoided stepping on him, or tripping over him. Maybe those hurdles from junior high paid off...I seriously have no idea how I didn't end up on the ground the way he fell. I checked to make sure he was okay, because I honestly felt bad since I was passing him, although he was already off the trail running on the slick leaves before I ever got to him.

Mile 4.0 was our first true creek crossing. It was just at calf-deep so nothing too bad. By mile 4.2, we crossed that creek at that depth four times. I didn't really mind much though because it was 64 degrees and felt great. The whole trail was pretty much water and mud so there wasn't much chance at keeping dry feet regardless. Every time your feet would start to feel warm again, you would come to more water whether it was a mud hole, drainage down the hills, or a creek. I've not mentioned this yet, but totally my happy place!!!

This race that started out all about getting my friend through it turned into my race. It became about running the last 10.8 miles for me and at my best. That meant I continued to push and pick people off when I needed to or could. It was around mile 5.8 that I kept coming up on a group of four guys and one gal. They walked most hills and were staying about 15-20 yards in front of me. The next incline I decided to see if I could push through and get up it, passing them. I did! At this point, I just passed my 12th-16th persons...and on a hill, which is a weak area for me really. I passed a few more and had a few times I found my pace and had no one coming up on me or in front of me to worry about. The trails weaved through so much that you could see people a mile in front of you at times and that far behind you. Although it would appear they were just yards in front of you. There were people always there...until the last half mile, which I will get to shortly.

Somewhere around mile 6 or so, I came upon an older lady that was running with some vengeance. She was running like she had something to prove. I eventually passed her; she was number 20. She stayed with me for the most part the rest of the run, especially by around mile 8 she was right with me. We had a similar stride and pace. We passed a few more, for a total of 24 runners passed by me. This lady was from Little Rock and ended up being awesome! At first I wasn't so sure about her, but when things were getting difficult, she was right there and ended up being one of the most friendly and enjoyable people. I usually don't chat while running, but we did. And she was a great running partner. I was setting our pace, and she was speaking encouraging words to keep us going.

The last few miles the temperatures drastically dropped and did so quickly. I went from warm and sweating, to putting my hat and jacket back on and still so cold. I know I ran the Iceland year of Sylamore, but I felt colder at this point than I ever did at that race. We got on the lake side of the trail and the winds were so strong, it was raining and felt like sleet even though I don't think it really could've been. At one point a chunk of a tree limb about two foot long and around 2.5 or 3 inches in diameter came across in front of me at chest height. The wind was tough through that section! Rain was sideways and muscles and hands were getting so cold.

We will just skip through those three or so miles of horrible cold. It really was just brutal. Temperatures dropped 19 degrees by the finish line, but I am not sure what wind chill and wind speed was, just actual temperatures. By this point I had the lady from earlier behind me and two men. We hit mile 12.5 and the four of us just stopped. There was no one around to tell us where to go and the green markers we were to follow went in all different directions. We knew where we came from and where we'd been already, but still had no idea where to go to finish this thing. We were cold, wet, and really wanting tacos and warm clothes. We saw the aid station from earlier a little ways up so we asked them. At first they pointed us the wrong direction, then we told them we had half a mile left and so they had us run through their aid tent and another aid tent to the trail leading to the finish line. We spent probably three minutes at least trying to figure that out.

So, my end time was around 2:46 including the stops from early on and late. There was probably around 3 or 4 minutes total not running between the two stops. It was a great race and knowing that even with the necessary stops, I still was only around 20 minutes slower than my last half road race. I'm ecstatic with that time. The experience was awesome. Trails are my happy place, especially single track. I love the focus it takes to make sure your feet land in the right places, I love the mud and water that we run through, I love how free and fun trail runners are, I love being surrounded by trees, I love that my mind is so lost in the enjoyment and focus that every stress in life fades away for the time I'm there.