Are you kidding me?! That was the thought as I crossed the stone bridge and took a look at the "steps" heading up the side of the gorge. Forge the Gorgeous is in its 10th year being hosted by the Fingerlakes Running Club. Fillmore Glen is an absolutely beautiful park with waterfalls and lots of exposed shale. The trails are really well worn but still wild with gnarly tree roots and lots of loose stone. This was a great challenge and I was thoroughly wiped out at the end. The nearly 400' elevation change at the very beginning really hit me hard but I found that I absolutely LOVE charging downhill on a trail run. I also had my first experience with passing other racers from more than 1/2 mi. back. Being aggressive on the downhills sort of equalized my absolutely pitiful "climb" numbers. I managed to use the long downhill section to overtake 8 runners but as I reached the bottom and began the climb back up to the top again I hit a wall and experienced another first...my first mid race cramp...in my glutes no less! It made the climb rather uncomfortable and I was passed by all 8 of those runners. I wasn't really sure what I would do as I was relegated to a slow walk for about 1/4 mi. I decided that no matter what if I was able I was going to try to make some time back up on the end as we all dove down the side of the gorge one final time. I managed to catch and pass about 4 of those folks and was only about 1 min. back from the other 4.
The satisfaction of this run cannot be understated. I have never run this distance continuously before, I have NEVER run those type of inclines or declines, and most importantly I made real "race" decisions for the first time ever! My times? Nothing to be proud of....(except for one of those miles which was nearly entirely downhill which wasn't too shabby) but I rose to the challenge and I finished strong! Can't wait to do it again next year.
Bring on the next challenge!
25 June, 2010 09:33
Activity
Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Splits
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