I came to a fork in the trail....and did not go the right way! (Yankee 5 Mile race report)

I have to admit that I spent a few minutes questioning my sanity yesterday morning when my alarm went off at 5:45 a.m. I spent all week waking up super early for work, and what was I doing on the one day I could actually sleep in? Waking up early to race a 5 mile trail run down at Yankee Springs. Clearly I'm crazy.

After a quick breakfast I spent 10 minutes trying to squeeze into the one pair of running capris that I own. Scott put them in the dryer the other day and they now look like they belong to a small child. I guess the silver lining to all of this is that I now own my first pair of compression wear!

I picked up my friend Roxane and we made good time to the race venue. It was still dark when we arrived and there was much more snow in the area then I expected. Brrrrrrr.....

Since we got there an hour early there was no need to rush. Just plenty of time to get nervous and worry about falling on my face during the run. Before I knew it I was pinning on my race number and lining up with all the other runners. There were several races going on that day, and we were starting with the 5ok runners. BTW...I would never, ever consider running that long. Because I would die.

The promoter told the 50k racers to follow the orange flags, the 5 milers to follow the blue flags and then said "GO!" We were off. I was near the front at the start and noticed that there was only one girl in front of me. I should have gotten behind her for the first half of the race. But instead I ran past her and tried to hang with the lead guys. Smart, real smart.

The guys were running at a good pace. They were all talking with each other and clearly weren't working that hard, which meant I could stay with them without completely exploding. I glanced behind me and noticed that the second place female wasn't that far behind. Shoot. We hit a short steep hill and two things happened at once. The group of guys I was running with disappeared and the women behind me caught and passed me. I decided that I would just try to stay with her as long as I could.

The first place female would put a little distance on me every time we would hit a hill but I always had her in sight. However I started to feel pretty tired at the 3 mile mark. I'm not sure what happened but my body suddenly felt like it was losing all coordination. So much for endurance!

Then I came to a fork in the trail. Literally. I could either choose to go left or right and both were marked with blue flags. This was NOT a good situation for someone who is directionally challenged AND oxygen deprived. I came to a complete stop but then noticed that the lead women had gone to the left. Phew!!!

I ran down a hill (wheeeee) up a hill and then found the lead women talking to a volunteer. Apparently we had gone the wrong way. Noooooo! He sent us back in the direction we had come from and we ran into another volunteer who sent us on trail marked with all orange flags. We got so turned around it's surprising we found the finish line at all :-)

Once I got back I was very happy to find this. Those runners know the way to my heart!!
My friend Roxane warming up by the fire. She actually ran the wrong way on the trail too but has a good sense of direction (unlike other people who will remain unnamed) and realized that she was going the wrong way!
Besides getting lost it was a really great time! The trail was in great shape and I couldn't have asked for better weather in January.

Once I got home I ate a quick lunch and then it was time to go riding with my BFF. Juli and I ended up riding for 3 hours. My legs felt tired when I was walking from my running race but they didn't feel that tired when on the bike. Phew.
Of course we had to stop for some fuel at the half-way point....
I really, really need a Payday and Rockstar sponsorship!!!