Just two weeks after the backyard ultra, I was toeing the line at my next 5 Peaks trail race, this time at Chickakoo. I'd purchased a season pass this year as I wanted to use the shorter trail races as good tempo or hard workouts for the bigger things, and so far, the plan had been working perfectly.
It was another hot and sunny day for Chickakoo although storms were in the forecast for later in the day. I wasn't sure how recovered I was from the BYU but it turns out that I was more recovered that I realised, and I ended up having a really good run/
The course at Chickakoo isn't easy. It starts on wide double tracks, but then as you turn into the trees and hit the single track, things become much hillier and more technical. I was surprised at how well I was running and how confident I was feeling, and I ran the hills feeling stronger than I had done for a while. I'm sure my marathon training earlier in the year had helped with this to some degree, and I was keeping a pretty good pace going.
I successfully navigated the single track without any falls, and I was moving steadily through the ladies field, feeling strong as I went and not afraid to take on the competition. I hadn't felt this competitive in a while, so it felt good to push myself and the other runners around me to see who was the strongest mentally and physically on the day.
As with many of my trail races though, the cockiness for want of a better word became my downfall, and the next breath, I was sprawled out on the floor having tripped on the tiniest of rock on the wide double trail. I brushed myself off only to do the same thing again around 10 minutes later, my poor knees taking yet another battering in my enthusiasm to run a hard trail race!
As with all 5 Peaks events, the course was very well marked, the volunteers amazing, and the entertainment was certainly entertaining. There is no doubt that the 5 Peaks is a huge family that sticks together, and everybody is encouraging everybody else out there, whether at the front, the middle or back of the pack. It's one of the reasons I keep going back to do these races - they really are for everybody!
I ran strong that day, the distance covered was close to 10 miles again, and the elevation came in at around 1500 feet or more - far more than I'm used to when training in my home city! But I felt amazing, and ended up finishing 3rd lady on the day, and I do believe 2nd in my age group :) Sadly I never expect to win anything these days so I left without collecting my medal - I think I've podiumed in my age group at all 5 peaks races this year, but it has been so unexpected that I've not been there for the presentation - doh!
With one race remaining in the series, I was looking forward to the final race in Devon in a few weeks time, and in the meantime, the plan was to just keep training hard, keep things varied, and to continue to enjoy my running. So far, so good :)
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