Charlotte Running Company 13-mile Trail Race

One of One2Tri's Racing Team's great sponsors, Charlotte Running Company, held the first race of the Carolina Trail Run Series on Saturday, Jan. 22, 2011 at the National Whitewater Center.  The race offered 3 different distances: 4-miles, 9-miles, and 13-miles.  I was thankful for the later starting time of 9:00 a.m. because it was still a very chilly 27 degrees - with a light breeze - at the start.  Fortunately, the snow and ice from last weekend's trail run was gone and the trails were in excellent shape.  I had expected some muddy conditions, but everything was frozen.

I rode up with my good friends Steve & Leah Grace, who were also doing the 13-miler.  We huddled in the warmth of my car until the absolute last moment.  Even though my tights cutoff temps are usually around 30, I decided to run with shorts, which turned out be the right decision. At the start line, the wind was blowing and I felt under-dressed.  Fortunately, my One2Tri Racing teammate, Michael Beacham, was standing next to me feeling a little over-dressed.  So he quickly shed a windproof vest and I, as quickly, put it in.  Another good decision.

Holding up 1st place trophy for "Old Guys" Division!

My intent was to start out very slowly and gradually pick up the pace throughout, as that has been a successful strategy in the past.  However, when the 9- and 13-milers started out (we left together; the 4-milers would start 10 minutes later), everyone seemed to be out of the chute fast, so I went along for the ride.  Once we entered the trail, there was the predictable back-up on the single track for the first few miles, but that helped keep me in check.  I did have 1 minor spill about 5 miles into the run; I probably cold have stayed upright, but just did a soft roll instead.  No harm done and I kept right on moving.

At the 1 hour 5 minute mark, I refilled my Ultimate Direction Quickdraw handheld and was attempting to put another Elixir electrolyte tablet in when I dropped it on the trail.  With no thoughts of going back to get it, I wondered whether that would come back to haunt me.  I also ended up pacing a line of people behind me, but didn't know if they were 9-milers or 13-milers and, thus, was unsure if I was on the right pace.  Pacing others when I am not in that official capacity can often throw my race off.  Fortunately, neither a lost electrolyte tablet or leading a pace group had any ill effects.

Keith with 1st Overall Plaque

There were no mileage markers on the course and there were a lot of criss-crossing runners, so it was difficult to gauge my actual pace and confusing to know who was where on the course.  I expected the course to be similar to the River Bound 1/2 marathon one, but it wasn't.  When I came to the last aid station, I thought there was another 2 mile loop to complete, but the finish line was only 1/2 mile away.  The good news: the race was almost over.  The bad news was that if I had known I was that close to finishing, I definitely would not have taken that bathroom break 5 minutes earlier and I probably would have been pushing a little harder.  As it turned out, it didn't really matter.  I crossed the finish line in 1:55:20 to finish first in my age group with a comfortable lead of 7 minutes over the 2nd place AG finisher.  Average HR was 141 and burned 2,155 calories.

The One2Tri Racing Team had a great day as Keith Mrochek defended his 2010 title and came in first overall in the 9-miler and Greg Shore won his AG in the 4-miler.  And a shout out to Steve Grace for a very impressive 1:49:54 and Leah Grace for a 2:02:58, good for a 3rd place finish in her AG and just a little over 1 minute out of 2nd place (plus, she's coming off an injury!)  Congrats to all.