Sacred Mountain Prayer Run 10K

I set the alarm for 4:20am and true to form, my babies did not sleep well that night.  Boohoo me.  I woke up, put my hair in pig tails, made some coffee and ran out the door with a banana and peanut butter on bread.  I met another Mountain Miler in a Bank of America parking lot and he drove us up to Flagstaff.  He had done the run before so I picked his brain about the course and race in general.  I knew it was a trail run, but learned there would be quite a bit of "uphill".  Okay.

We arrived at Thorpe Park in Flagstaff at 6:40am on a crisp, sunny Arizona morning.  This race is put on by the NACA(Native Americans for Community Action) and had a great feel to it.  The awards were not generic medals, they were handmade pieces of art that change from year to year.  This year it was beautiful ceramic tiles for 10K age group winners (3 deep), ceramic turtles for the 5K and for the overall male and female - original canvas watercolor paintings.  So classy!  The race is professionally timed, but the vibe was relaxed and carefree.  Because the race is in Flagstaff it naturally attracts very fast runners.  Flagstaff is one of those towns that, at 8000 ft. in elevation, is home to some very elite runners who have moved there specifically to train.  For instance, Ryan Hall is a resident although he didn't make an appearance at this particular race.  243 people ran the 10K and 201 people ran the 5K.  Many others did the 2 mile fun run.

I was feeling pretty relaxed at the start and set my goal conservatively for under 55 minutes.  The gun went off at 7:38am.  My plan was to go out in 8 minute miles and for the first half mile I did.  Then came the gradual uphill followed by something they affectionately call "killer ascent".  I am proud to say I didn't slow to a walk, but it was damn tempting.  I huffed and puffed up the hill as I watched more than a few people run by me.  My pace was at least 12 minute miles until I reached the top of the plateau.  Up on top it leveled out a bit, but minor ups and downs continued.  The course went from fire road to wide path to single track path.  The condition of the trail itself was very rocky, the biggest challenge as far as I was concerned.  It was hard to take in some of the gorgeous views because my eyes were so glued to the ground and the next rock to avoid.  Twice I turned my ankle and nearly wiped out in the process.  My pace bounced around from 9 to 10:30.  I breathed hard.  At the middle point my time was 31 minutes and it seemed this would be a 60-minute 10K for me at best.

At around mile 4 I wished I had signed up for the 5K instead.

At mile 4.5 I was finally getting into my groove and coming up on the glorious downhill.  The same "rabbit" guy, Mountain Miler Steve, from my POW MIA 5K and Skull Valley 10K passed me and said, "good job!"   Oh, the irony.  That was great timing for me and I chased him.  I didn't let him out of my sight and we traded lead position a few times per our tradition.  Down the "killer ascent" I slowed and he ran ahead.  Then a volunteer, who was clearly a runner herself, yelled, "It's all downhill this last mile, let your legs fly!"  It was what I needed to hear and I did just that.  I just opened up my stride and prayed (how appropriate) that my knees would hold on the tricky dirt and rocks.  My pace reached 7 minute miles and I was able to keep it there.  On the wide fire road I passed Steve for the last time and pushed, growled and grunted to the finish.

At 55:00 I was 10th out of 38 women in my age group (1st place was 45:38!).  I was exhausted and found some water, a banana and some oranges and sat on a lone rock to catch my breath.  After 5 minutes I found my friends and we rehashed the race and I felt, as I usually do, that I could have pushed it harder.  It was a tough trail race, my first, and I feel good about my performance overall.

Afterwards we had breakfast at Criollo which came highly recommended by the locals.  Their blue corn pancakes with fresh blueberry preserves did not disappoint.  It was at breakfast that I noticed my "leakage" stain on my shirt.  Time to get home to Emmy to nurse:)

Great day!