the snow
When I look at the forecast for a race and it says at least a 30% chance of precipitation, that means 100% in my book. So when I heard the chance of snow was 40% on the morning of the Tecumseh Marathon, I fully expected it to snow -- it did. So much for my hopes to finish in less than 5 hours. The snow covered ground highlighted the topo of the area though -- it was very nice scenery for a run. The snow covered roads added 15 minutes for the bus ride to the start, but no motion sickness this time. Also, for this year only, I did not see any hunters!
the race
The main issue for me this race was traction. There were not very many times when I felt I could push off with full force without some small amount of slippage. Snow on dry leaves seemed the par for the course. Even on gravel roads it was a bit slick. The treacherous spots on the course were where the snow was packed down & glazed over at narrow points along the trail -- I could usually spot those areas by seeing the snow & leaves scattered everywhere -- evidence of someone having found it the hard way. So I just "plowed" along carefully at a slow but steady pace all day.
I had expected a larger crowd with 600 entries compared to 450+ runners last year, but I really didn't notice any difference. In trail ultras, I usually find myself running alone after the 1st few miles at most. For this race, I did seem to be situated in one line of runners or another much of the 1st half of the race (as last year) & I even ended up in a line of 15 runners at about mile 20 -- I hadn't had that happen before. We seemed to be all going at an ultra pace at the time, which was fine by me! My official finish time was 5:12:30.
A Google Earth pic of the finish line at Yellowwood Lake:
Well, the first half of my double is now complete. I didn't feel this race completely exhausted me as I felt like sprinting near the end (but didn't as the road was slick!), so hopefully I can improve at Otter Creek.
4 comments:
Sounds like you had a great run in less than great conditions. Sorry I missed it.
Congratulations on a good run! The slick conditions definitely made the race interesting...
Great job, Ed!!!
jeffro,
Yes, you missed a good one -- you would have done very well in this race, but sounds like you made the right choice in heading to California! -- GREAT effort! You're very versatile to be able to switch from trails/roads so easily! Maybe next year at this time I'll see you on the trails.
ragfield,
Thanks for your input!
Yes, interesting for sure -- not as slick as I've seen some courses -- watching so many people fall though, it seemed many were having a hard time.
I checked out your race report -- so you were one of those out in front breaking in the trails for us in the back! Must be nice to just casually "sprint" to the start of the single track & then actually "race" others all the way to the finish -- GREAT job!
cassie,
Thanks! I wouldn't say great, but I'll take it!
Good Luck at Caesar Creek?, I may try that one again.
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