Soapstone

2009 - May 17th

I continued my trail running madness today by participating in the Soapstone Trail Race. It is held in the Shenipsit State Forest in Stafford Springs, Connecticut. They offer two course options. The short Sampler course is 6K (3.73 miles) long and includes a sandy climb up a pretty descent hill. I ran it in 2007. This year I decided to step it up a notch and run the long course, which is 24K (14.9 miles) long. The start is near the parking area at the Reddington Rock Riding Club. The finish winds through a small meadow and ends at the parking area. Here is a map of the course.

Debbie Livingston is the race director. She is very concerned about the environment. The race app is posted online and can be printed and sent in, but she recommends signing up online. In an e-mail she sent out yesterday she suggested we bring our own plate and silverware for the feast after the race. There is a separate cost for a t-shirt. They are organic and the softest shirt I have ever worn. She tries her best to limit the impact of her race on the environment and I think that is a great thing! This year she is pregnant and opted not to run.

In 2007 when I ran the Sampler, Todd ran the long course. I don't remember why, but neither of us returned in 2008. We both decided to come back again this year. Unfortunately Todd re-injured his achilles yesterday at the Medford 12K race in New Hampshire so he sat out today. To my delight, he decided to come to the race with me. Todd brought Bentley to keep him company while I ran.

The weather over the last few days has been rainy. The forecast for today included a good chance of rain until about 1:00 PM. Todd had worned me that we would be running through a rocky streambed. That meant lots of mud and probably plenty of water to run through. I packed a running hat and hoped the rain wouldn't come!

I had hoped to finish the 14 miles in under 3 hours. That would be 36 minutes faster than my finishing time at Seven Sisters. Even though Soapstone is longer than Seven Sisters, Todd told me it was more runnable and he reassured me that I could do it in that time.

The race started with gray skies, but luckily no rain. We ran for a while on a dirt road with gentle hills. At around mile two we turned into the forest. Ken Clark was there to make sure we made the turn. He smiled at me and told me good luck. I thought he was just being nice. I had no idea what awaited me around the corner.

I rounded that corner and caught sight of a huge hill with a train of people hiking it. My first words were, "Now that is a hill!". The guy behind me almost immediately said, "Oh shit!". I ran to the base of the hill and then slowed to a walk so I could make it to the top. Eventually I cleared the top and ran by a fire tower. There was a woman standing there directing traffic. I told her my calves were killing me. She smiled and said, "My calves hurt just watching you guys!". What goes up must come down and the down was almost as slow as the up. The trail was rocky and damp. A few people passed me at my poky pace.

At the first water stop I learned we were at around mile 4. My GPS watch said we were at 3.6 miles, so I knew I had lost the satelite for about a half mile. The next few miles went well. There were small to medium hills with lots of rocks. There was mud and water off and on. At first I tried to avoid it, but eventually decided it was just easier to run through it. There weren't as many people running my pace as there was at Seven Sisters. Much of the time I was alone.

At around mile 11 I took a short side trail around a huge puddle. The trail was squishy mud without any rocks. At one point my left foot landed and the mud was thick enough to support my foot long enough for my right foot to come out in front of me. Then my heal gave way. I ended up on the ground with my left knee at a 90 degree angle to my body and my right leg was out in front of me, hyper-extended. Ouch. I sat there for a moment trying to figure out what just happened.

Then I realized I needed to move my right leg. I slowly stood up and stepped down on my right foot to see how bad the injury was. Ouch. It hurt, but not too bad. I was out in the middle of nowhere and I didn't have much of a choice but to keep running. The first few strides were painful, but then the pain subsided. It seemed the only time it hurt was when my right foot landed on uneven ground, when my right foot needed to compensate for the left foot landing on uneven ground, or when I ran downhill. Well that ruled out almost everything I needed to do to finish the race. I decided to run slow and try my best to stay on level ground.

I gutted out the rest of the race. When I entered the meadow right before the finish, Todd was there cheering me on. My goal had been to finish in under 3 hours. I crossed the line in 2 hours 54 minutes. Not bad for slowing down the last three miles!

We had forgotten to bring Ibuprofen, so I didn't want to stick around too long. I grabbed some potato chips, Sunny Delight and some orange slices. I love orange slices after a race. Then we left. On the way home we chatted about the race and I told Todd I liked Seven Sisters better. The course at Soapstone was pretty, but nothing spectacular. I liked the challange of the relentless hills of Seven Sisters and the beautiful views at the top of each sister.

Todd wondered if I could get in six trail races in the Western Mass Athletic Club Grand Tree series. I had already run Seven Sisters and Soapstone. I am going to run Northfield, Greylock, and Toby. Well, maybe I will run Toby. That is another race I don't really enjoy. If I did run Toby that means I would only have to do one more race to complete the series. Perhaps I will do People's Forest. I would like to do Dunbar Brook, but that is a day after my marathon. I haven't decided, but may be able to swing the series this year.

After we got home I took the Ibuprofen and iced my knee. Most of the afternoon I laid on the couch and elevated my leg. As of now I am doing better. Walking around the house is no longer painful. I hope it will heal over the next few days and I will be back to running for Thursday night at the res!