PsychoWyco 5k Trail Run Report

Thanks everyone for the good vibes for the hubby! He started his new job today after 3 weeks on being unemployed!! He is going to be working in outside sales, which is a new challenge for him. One of the biggest issues he had in trying to move into working for a pro sports team (where is what he wants to do) was the lack of sales experience. So this is a good step in the right direction and I’m confident he will do well. The only flip side is his work schedule. He went from working 5.15am-1.15pm at his old place, to working Noon to 9pm in this job. So I am re-evaluating my workout/running/training schedule to ensure we maximize our time spent together!

Speaking of new experiences and challenges…I completed my first ever trail race this weekend! The PsychoWyco Summer Intro 5k Trail Run was this last Saturday. The race organized by the Kansas City Trail Nerds was actually 2.8miles and was truly a well spent $8!!! There were no t-shirts, no goody bags, no fancy aid stations, just a bunch of people there to have a good time running through the woods!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Never having done a trail race before I had no idea what to expect!! We got the designated shelter around 8.20am and found a open grassy parking spot. I signed up, paid my $8, plus a $2 donation and got my plain #45 bib and two safety pins. Yes, bare minimum, which was kinda refreshing! This year was the 6th running of this race and had a record 160 people sign up. Makes me wonder how they will manage the race if it continues to grow as it seems to be doing just that. I pinned my number, stretched. chatted with a older gentleman and his wife from Colorado who happen to be in the KC area for the weekend and simply decided to do the race:) There was a lot of picture taking, dogs chilling out, stretching, chatting and all in all a very not so race-like atmosphere which instantly put me at ease. I sprayed myself with tick repellant (critical item) and hit the porta potty before walking down to the starting area….and we were off!

Since a was a virgin trail runner, I decide to go Garmin-less, so I wasn’t worrying about any time or distance, just running purely for fun! So I had no idea what time or how far I was at any given moment. However, I do know as soon as we got going I was moving pretty quickly. The area at the start was fairly open and it very quickly funneled into a narrow trail and this kept me moving at a pace faster than I was used to.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Road races have plenty of open space for faster runners to pass slower runners(that would be yours truly), Ummm….not so much in trail races. I kept moving fairly quickly during the first segment up to the turn around point, no slowing down except to jump over tree roots, duck under some and climb over some limbs that had fallen across the course. Oh yeah, the slightly muddy areas did slow me down as I felt my shoes loose grip on it! I wore my Mizuno Inspires for this run.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once I got to the halfway mark, the fast starting pace began to wear on me. That coupled with temps above 80F and pretty high humidity were slowing me down and I knew heading back would be slower. Since I have no other trail races to compare this to, I’m not sure how difficult of an intro course this was. They did say that this was a easiest trail by far of all their race. Wow…because let me tell you it was tough…for me anyway!! Most of it was a little flat, mixed with a lot of rolling inclines. Of course you had to be aware of the gradients, tree limbs, roots..one of which almost got the better of me. There was one steady incline which completely wore me out as I kind of shuffled up it and another slight one which I ran up. I had no clue how much longer I had to go, but kept on going!! A few final twists and turns and there it was the clearing and finish!!! Was I glad to run towards that :)

And I was done…2.8mi completed in 37:22. I did say I was slow and wasn’t going for time right?!!! I’m completely fine with the time. This was by far tougher than any of the 5k races I’ve done before. Trail running is a lot of focusing on things that you don’t really have to worry about during road running! But except for the start, for the most part I didn’t worry about any aches and pains as my concentration was completely on trying not to trip and fall flat on my face! I’m also sure that I sweated out a good pound or two during this one. Be warned the picture below is pretty gross and sweaty, I was trying hard to to get my breathing back to normal right here. Embrace the sweat and wear it proudly!! Not pretty, but oh Well!!!Hubs..trying not to get too close to my sweaty self! :) He’s so awesome for all the picture taking and just kind of hanging out while I go do my crazy things!!

This was a great race for a first time trail runner as the crowd was wonderful and laid back and there was no pressure at all. Check out some of the pictures from these races! Thanks to SeeKCRun for some awesome pics and BadBen and the KC Trail Nerds for a wonderful event.

So will I ever do trail runs in future?!!! Abso-freaking-lutely!!! I need to invest in a pair of trail running shoes if I want to do this more. Road running shoes definitely lack the grip needed for trails. And of course some training on trails would be helpful for sure. Its key to go your own pace, which is tough since there are likely going to be people behind you pushing your pace. I know I didn’t pace myself right at the beginning, but it was a lesson learned and I still finished! This is by no means the last trail run for this Running Sri Lankan!!! And to top it all off…zero ticks!!!