Crag Crest!

 Okay - running a technical 10 mile trail the weekend after a 100 mile race isn’t the smartest idea. But when the running club is having another low key race on some trails you haven’t seen before, it starts to sound like a decent idea. Add in the chance to mountain bike another new to me trail and it’s an even better idea. After all, no one said that I had to run fast. The mountain biking wasn’t the first idea - Nick and I were gonna ride easy at Lunch Loops before heading up to the Mesa. But when we got up Saturday morning, it was hot and sticky and neither of us felt like dealing with the heat. So we loaded up some extra food, cycling clothes and the bikes then headed up the hill. We figured that Mesa Top trail would be easy enough for me to ride given how tired my legs were and it would be a chill out and back. We’d tried riding up there back in 2019, but the bugs were crazy. I was worried about that again, but hey - bug repellent works well and everyone had assured us they weren’t ‘that” bad. 

And they weren’t. Unlike the last time we were on the mesa, when we got out of van, we weren’t swarmed with mosquitoes. We changed to ride and headed out. Nice and flowing trail, with just enough rocks and turns to keep it interesting. And the flower! Fields of wildflowers. Of course, since I was riding with Nick, I didn’t get a chance to take any photos of the flowers. But so many colors every time we broke out of the trees, just layers on layers of colors. We ended up riding longer then we planned since the gradual downhill out of the parking lot turned to an gradual up getting back. And I was definitely feeling the fatigue when we started heading up! We had to push the pace a little on the return - at 10,000 feet the building clouds growing darker were a good indication that thunderstorms were on the way. Sure enough, shortly after we got the bikes loaded on the van, the sky opened. Rain, hail, and an instant temperature drop of about 30 degrees. Since we got up there early to ride, we knew that the rest of the Striders wouldn’t be at the cabin yet. That meant it was nap time! 

Rainbow during supper

The plan was to meet at Tom’s cabin and do a community supper. Nick and I were bringing potatoes and a meat sauce, one of the other couples some salad and charcuterie stuff. We had a pasta dish, peaches, garlic bread, garden fresh vegetables, and garlic sautéed kale. Perfect community supper - eating around a long picnic table in a cozy cabin. We were treated to a rain storm, a gorgeous double rainbow and great conversation. 

Sunrise from the cabin

Sunday. Race morning. My plan was to just run comfortably - hike when I needed to, take some photos and just behave. At least that’s what I kept telling myself! Hard to behave when it’s a “race” though. I ensured some behaving by starting a little further back in the group then usual. I figured a chill start, letting the fast ladies go and all that would be the best way to attempt behaving. And sure enough, when Tom started the race, the front end of the field took off, with three ladies bolting up the singletrack. I was perfectly fine letting them go. I just wanted to survive the day and not completely screw my recovery. On the first hill, I was power hiking. Had plenty of practice doing that in the last week! When we got to next runable section, I realized I wasn't happy with where I was in the line. I wanted to run just a little faster, at my own pace and to be able to see the trail. That meant putting out a little more effort then I wanted at the moment, but it worked. Open trail, some great views and fun running. I could tell my legs were tired, but the running felt better then I anticipated. Surprisingly, I was still ahead of Nick at that point - but he was right behind me. On the next big climb, I happily let hin around. With the climb up to the Crest still coming, I didn't think I would see him again. But even more surprising was that I still had visual contact with the lady in 3rd place. I wasn't really making up much ground on the climbs, but where it was runable I was slowly catching up. Huh. 

One of the many lakes on the Grand Mesa

Before I could think too much about that, we turned to the north and the trail started climbing higher and higher. We were on the Craig Crest climb. I settled into my power hike, just focusing on one step at a time and forward momentum. I was a few switchbacks behind the third placed lady, but slowly, so slowly closing the gap. It would all depend on how the top of the Crest looked for running and how my legs responded as the miles added up. My legs were definitely tired. The climbing didn't feel too bad as long as I hiked. Every switch back took us higher into the sky - I kept slowing to look around, take in the view as best as I could. The smoke was blocking some of the views, but it was still awesome up there. Then we hit the Crest - a thin ribbon of rock slicing into the sky. The trail wasn't crazy technical, but my legs were tired enough that I didn't feel like running all of it. Even so, I was still making up ground on third. Nick had also come back into view as we neared the high point where the trail reentered the trees. 

  

Runners on the Crest, the ground dropping away on either side

When I made the catch - both Nick and the third placed woman, I knew I needed to take some chances. There were less then 3 miles left. I could run that hard and not suffer too much. It was also downhill and I could still fly on the downhills with tired legs. Time to go. I didn't let myself look back with the sounds of footsteps behind me. Eyes ahead, scanning the terrain and floating over the rocks and roots. In my element of quick footsteps, full body trail running. I love that kind of running and the mental processing it requires to be successful. Gradually the footsteps behind me faded - I didn't know if they were Nick's or the other woman's. I wasn't going to look back to find out. The trail dropped off the Crest as quickly as it had climbed up and then leveled out for the last mile. I was feeling the miles and the fatigue, but not willing to let up at that point. I was too close to breaking 2 hours, which had been a goal of mine when we'd started.  In the end, I finished the 10.5 mile race 3rd woman, in 1:59:07, a mere 45 seconds ahead of Etzy. Nick was also very close, finishing in 2:04:45. It was his second longest race ever!

Nick finishing his race