Race Report: Tippy Trail 10 Miler, Winimac, Indiana
Yes a Race Report! I was looking for a 10 mile race to use as a POT for the W&D HM and the Marathon Weekend M. The Tippy Trail about 150 miles from suburban Chicago where I live, smack dab in the middle of nowhere. About 100 runners with the course along the Tippecanoe River (remember "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too" from high school history class?)
From a pandemic perspective, the organizers did a great job, aided by the small number of runners:
- Packet pickup on race day with social distanced lines.
- Mat timing so we spaced out a lot at the start. I started near the back and probably started 2-3 minutes after gun time. Indiana is a lot more "open" than Illinois, and I am one of just a few people wearing a buff before the race started.
- We were given our own collapsible cup and volunteers poured water from gallon jugs as we held the cup, so no contact.
I wanted to run a steady 11:15 overall pace (run/walking) which, based on
@DopeyBadger 's calculations would give me a sub 2:30 HM equivalent time with a minute or two cushion. My current POT HM time (under almost ideal conditions) is 2:30:34 (11:29 per mile), so it seemed reasonable for the shorter distance. T+D was a worry since it was in the low 140s at the gun and about 150 at the finish. It had rained hard the evening before but was just cloudy with maybe a bit of a very light passing sprinkles from time to time.
Miles 1-2: Wow, this is different from the wider, flat, crushed limestone trails I train on. Close to single track, with lots of spots with about a half inch deep water which were slick as..... (insert your own regional expression). Still completed the miles right on pace. A lot of roots and branches (the pre-race pep talk mentioned steeplechase but I sort of put it out of my mind)
Miles 3-5: Most of the water went away, replaced by short, steep up and down hills. I had to walk up some and could not bomb down the other side because it was just too slippery with too many roots. I don't see anyone ahead or behind; its now my own private race. But I worry that I'm working way too hard to maintain pace for the final 5 miles.
Mile 6: Approach a spot where the trail turns into 3 branches. The volunteer at the junction is playing with his phone and does not notice me waving and then pleading which way to go. I make my own choice. 100+ yards later I hear him chasing me yelling Wrong Way!, Wrong Way! I loose about 3 minutes backtracking.
Mile 7: Now I'm in trouble. I was having difficulty maintaining pace during mile 6, and now I have to make up 15-20 seconds per mile over the last 4 miles. I can barely do the simple calculation in my mind (cushion minus lost time divided by 4 miles left). I decide to pick up the pace and go until I can't. I finish the mile in just over 11:15 so I don't make up any lost ground.
Mile 8: I hit a bunch of hills and start bombing down them in a mad scramble to make up time. I take a bad stumble/tumble and lose any hope of making my goal time.
Miles 9-10: I walk too much, without any motivation left to move faster. With apologies to The Clash, I am singing to myself, "I fought the law and the law won, I fought the trail and the trail won." I don't even look at my watch as I stop it crossing the finish line.
I'm surprised to learn that I finished 2nd in my age group and received a fun wooden coaster. You have to love small races with age group awards. There were only 4 folks in my group (male 60-64) and one was a DNF.
So after my initial disappointment that the weather, trail conditions, detour, and my own mental fortitude derailed my attempt, I'm now just grateful I was able to get back to trail racing.
A bad day on the trails is still better than a good day sheltering at home!
