Groton Town Forest Trail Race

The 9th Annual Groton Town Forest Trail Races were on Sunday. I say “races” because there was a 9.5 & a 3.4 miler. I opted for the 9.5 because the entry fee was the same for both.

I showed up a little later than I had planned (the race is about 15 minutes from my home) because I spent the morning raking. I came solo. Priyanka was buried with homework (we’d spent Saturday night making a model of a Golgi Apparatus) & Alka opted to stay at home. I didn’t think it sounded like a spectator friendly race & it wasn’t.

I was handed a course map when I picked up my number. I saw a large part of the race was the 6.5 mile trail I had run the week before but, in reverse.

There was around one hundred runners at the starting line. The race started promptly at 12:30. The course was blazed with white spray painted dots & arrows chalked on the ground at intersections. I started right off with a rookie mistake & allowed myself to get swept up with some jackrabbits & knew right away I was pacing myself too fast. At the first mile marker I was under an 8 minute mile. Way too fast. I can’t (yet) keep that pace for 9.5 miles on the road & certainly not on this terrain.

The first couple of miles crossed some railroad tracks & swerved through some low ground but, after mile 2 we were taken into some wicked hills. Very steep & nasty. If I wanted to pass anybody there wasn’t enough room & the extra energy required would be extreme. Plus, I didn’t have the extra energy. Because of my dumbass start I could feel the lactic acid building up in my legs already. I was pissed at myself & was afraid I was going to wind up walking a lot of the race. You know how you get a little hysterical when things don’t go perfect during a race.

Well, I settled down & found my groove. Miles 3-4 had some more hills but, I slowed down & kept pumping & my legs started to recover. I saw my pace had settled down to under 10 per mile & I was pleased. I Gu’d after 30 minutes & that seemed to help. The first of two water stops weren’t ‘til after Mile 4 so, it was tougher swallowing the stuff but, I choked it down & felt even better quickely. The water stop was just some guy at a table in the woods filling up cups of water. Mostly everybody was stopping to drink, not on the run. That was different. There was also less litter too than at a road race. Most people were careful to throw the cups in the trash. Commendable.

After the water stop I ran behind a couple. A guy & a girl who were running at a pace that pretty much matched mine. So, I ran behind them for about 3 miles. Miles 4-6 were fairly level. The course at this point went along an Oxbow of the Squannacook. I’d run this part the week before. I also took my one digger of the race along this stretch. Foot caught a root & I went sailing. I made a Superman dive into some pine needles but, got right up, none the worse for wear.

Mile 6-8, more level ground at first but, then back into some of the worst up & down hills of the run. They were steep & the ground had been dug up pretty well by the preceding runners so, you really had to concentrate going down them. I did start to walk some of the steeper uphills at this point. At these acute angles the difference in speed were negligible. I stopped at the 2nd & final water stop. I think it was at the same place as the first stop but, I’m not sure. The intersection looked similar & the guy was dressed identical to the guy at the 1st stop. Whatever.

The last couple of miles I ran past two sets of photographers. The first guy was after Mile 8 & at first I thought I was looking at an injured runner. He was lying on the ground with his arms up in the air. At first I thought he was pleading for help but, then I noticed he had a camera in his hands. Smile. Flash. Later buddy.

The 2nd photographer was after Mile 9, as the course goes off the forest trail back onto the dirt road the you started on. They had actually lined up a bunch of hay bales so, you had to leap over them to reach the road. I tried to do it as gracefully as possible. I don’t think I was gazelle like.

The final stretch was a straightaway to the finish. The final 100 yards took forever. You know in horror movies when the killer is chasing somebody down a road, the camera lens makes a long, weird zoom so the road looks like it telescopes? That’s what it felt like but, of course I made it.

I spaced & didn’t hit stop on my watch ‘til a few seconds after the end. I took at pit stop during the race & stopped the watched then so, I think it pretty much evens out. I took off right away because the family was going to temple to celebrate Diwali so, I didn’t get my official time. The website will post it eventually but, right now I’m satisfied to say I ran 9.5 miles through some challenging, forested terrain in 1:33:58, that’s a 9:52 pace. I’ll take it.

The best part is unlike after Applefest I had some left in the tank. I could’ve gone further. I’m not saying I’m ready to run Jay Mountain today but, I’m one step closer.