day 204~Los Chupacabras de la Noche 10K!

I saw several of these little guys during my run, an armadillo, and lots of glowing beady little eyes staring at me. Maybe one was a chupacabra? Aaaaheeeee!Route marker.
Headlamp? Check. Music? Check. Pre-race jitters? Big old check!
It's 9pm and we're off. The sea of headlamps winding their way through the woods was impressive. Looking ahead and behind the lights were like a snake winding along the trails.Yay! Crossing the road at mile 4 and it's time for a drink. It was so humid and running through the trees meant we got very little breeze.
This race was amazing and probably the hardest I've done so far! We started running for about 3/4 of a mile on the road then narrowed onto a small paved trail for about 1/2 mile when we finally hit dirt, roots, and rocks. Everyone slowed down as we got used to the terrain and tried to focus on keeping our feet under us.

There were so many variations on the trail. Some points were wide open with soft grass. Other parts were narrow and we had to run single file. During these parts I literally could keep up a fast walk and still be right behind the person in front of me. Several sections were only as wide as a single bike tire! After mile 4 the trail got more hilly with more roots and lots more rocks!

I loved the camaraderie between the runners. If somebody fell on the rocks we would stop, make sure they were ok before we kept on. If someone stumbled on a root or a rock they would shout out "root!" at the top of their lungs so others wouldn't trip. This actually saved me from wiping out several times!

Anyway, enough rambling. I could go on & on about how much fun it was! I didn't necessarily love every mile, but seeing that finish line made it all worth it. I'm so glad I did it! Now I'm off to put some ice on my knees.

Here are the stats:

overall place: 536/1000

overall place by gender: 235/516

average pace: 13:30

gun time: 1:29:14

And most importantly...

chip time: 1:23:53

Very happy trails,

Jessy