Storm King 10K

The race website for the Storm King Run in Highlands, N.Y., organized by the West Point - Highland Falls Rotary, has a link to the course description.  It reads "Hilly Contour Medium Difficulty". 

Friends, I have now run 86 races, so believe me when I tell you, this is a very loose definition of "medium difficulty".  It certainly was not the insane challenge of the Red Rock Canyon Marathon in Las Vegas or the Park City Marathon in Utah.  But as 10K races go, this was pretty rough.  

I am certain that the elevation chart on that webpage is incorrect, too, because it has the lowest point in the middle of the race. but that is thoroughly impossible because at the turnaround point of this out-and-back course, we were on top of an enormous hill with a breathtaking view of the Hudson River below us.  I know I did not imagine pushing with all my strength to get up that hill during that entire third mile.

Let me back up for a minute.  This was, in fact, a lovely and well-organized race.  It was also a small race, with only 93 runners in the 10K, 114 participants in the 5K, and a one-mile fun run for the kids.  There was also a contingency of West Point cadets running the race, which served as a reminder that we were, in fact, standing near the entrance gates to the prestigious military academy as the national anthem played before the beginning of the race. 

This being my first competitive race since February, I was a unsure of where I should place myself at the start. There were some dudes, young and older (meaning, my age), that looked pretty darn fit and ready, and here I was in the middle of half-marathon training coming off an injury.  So I planted myself two or three people deep.  Besides, a slower, steadier start would probably be good for me, especially if it was to be hilly.

The entire first half of the 5K was downhill.  As several people surged ahead on the decline, I hung back and let gravity do the work. After all, we had to do this mile and a half uphill on the back end.  To my surprise, most of the pack broke off at the 5K turnaround point and I suddenly realized I was in fourth place. The next half of the "out" portion of the route was rolling hills.  On one of the uphills, I made a move (as I tend to do) and overtook third place runner (44-year-old Phil Dacunto), and I even had the top two in my sight.  

That third mile uphill to the overlook, though, was a challenge.  I do believe it had to be around a 400-foot elevation gain, and as we climbed, I inched ever so much more closely to the second place runner (Logan Brady, 25).  As we rounded the top and made the turnaround, I passed him.  But he must have saved up a little more than I had for the downhill and he passed me again.

My brief moments in second place

Still, I remembered that confidence that I always had about making my moves on the uphills, though I wondered if I could keep doing it this time, having not done any real hill training. So things remained status quo as I simply tried to keep pace and not fall back from the fatigue I was definitely feeling. 

Passing by Gloria as she started to make her way up the big hill was a great pick-me-up, as always, but I warned her, "That hill is brutal!"

When it came time to tackle that last mile-and-a-half of upgrade, I had caught up to Logan, and said, "Well, this is going to suck."

I chugged up past him and never looked back.  I was in second place again and though I could see Dalton Martin (age 25) almost the entire time, I never had the slightest expectation that I could catch up to him.  Judging from his form, he seemed to be expending a lot less energy than I was.  I was at maximum effort; he still seemed like he had plenty of gas in the tank.

10K winner Dalton Martin, in charge and in control

I was practically running on empty as we approached the final mile, so not only was I slowing down, another contender was speeding up from behind both Logan and me.  As 32-year-old Matthew Lensing blew past me, I was jealous of how much he had managed to save up.  I was dying out there and he was cruising.  Look at the two photos below, taken a few seconds apart.  Matthew's form is perfect and he seems in complete control, whereas I am falling apart and my leg is swinging wildly.

Matthew Lensing - great form, strong finish

Me - gasping for air, dying inside, flailing about

Despite the agony of trying to charge up this punishing hill, I was extremely happy knowing that on my first race back from a too-long hiatus, I had not only tackled this course that was definitely more than "medium difficulty" at a competitive pace, but I would also be coming back strong with a brand new trophy.  

That was just what I needed to get my confidence level back up, and my finish time of 39:31, only mere seconds away from Matthew (39:07) and Dalton (38:57), is something of which I can be truly proud. 

As I said to Gloria (who finished with a respectable 1:04:19 for her first 10K!) when I collected my trophy, immediately she took this picture...

"I'm back, baby!"


Full results posted here: http://results.active.com/events/storm-king-run--6/10k-results