Castlewood Cup 15k

I didn't think this race could get any worse. Last year, it was colder and the ground was snow-packed. This year... MUDDY. The weather was great!! I do admit that I am undertrained, but damn.

Ready to head to Castlewood!

The line for the shuttle was way long... I made it to Castlewood with 10 minutes to spare; however, a lot of people were still waiting for a ride to the park, so the race was delayed for 10 minutes. I would have been annoyed it if was cold outside, but since the temps were nice... whatever.

I was in the last wave. Ok, fine. I'm slow, esp. on the trails. That first climb in the first mile is killer. I walked the entire hill because I wanted to save myself for the rest of the race (8-ish miles!). I was looking forward to a downhill segment, but it was super muddy. I ran most of it, and I do have to say that my shoes were amazing in the muddy conditions. I felt totally stable. The shoes were my only saving grace.

Mile 5

I got to mile 5 and was feeling okay. I conserved a lot of my energy and was excited for the finish. Then there was another uphill climb that I walked and as we got to the top of the hill, there was a fork and I followed the girl in front of me. So fucking stupid. I totally knew at the time that we should have went the other way, but I'm a follower, always have been.

I stopped and asked the two other girls behind me if they thought we were going the wrong way and we were all unsure. I asked the leader and she said that this is a training run, so it didn't matter to her anyway. BAH. I figured out where we were and then we met up with the trail that we already ran. I was back to mile 4 (seriously!!!). By the time I got to the mile 5 refuel area, they were closing down. They were informed that all runners had passed. Therefore, no water and then I'd have to run (ok walk) that big uphill part again. I told them I was going to drop out, but they told me that I could catch up with the race official walking the course. I went for it and started to climb the hill, but then I was like, I'm already at mile 7... I have 4 more to go if I continue on the race route, and then I got totally frustrated. I turned around, and told them I was going to drop out. I started to run towards the shuttle pick up, but then I ran into the runners at another street crossing. I informed the race crew person that I was one of the 4 who got "lost", and if I could pick it up right there. They were fine with it, but I felt guilty because I was a 1/2 mile behind the others. They let me go, and I was able to finish the race. So... I only ran 8.82 miles,

Finally done!

Once again I'll say that this race isn't for me. I hated every second of this race. If I sign up for this next year, please remind me (someone) that I hate it.

I had a 40 minute drive home and when I pulled into my parking pad, I opened the door and just puked violently. It was awful. I can't figure it out. Does this happen to anyone else?? I ran the Skippo 20k in November, and had such a great time!! I felt amazing!!

I'm supposed to do the Quivering Quads Half Marathon in 2 weeks, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to drop out. I don't want to feel like death, and I for sure don't want to drive one hour home after running maybe 5 hours.

I do have to say that I was passing some of the earlier waves before I got lost, and that was awesome!!

Here are some photos that someone posted on Facebook, showing the conditions of the trail (source):

Looking at these pictures is bringing back bad memories.