69. GMAA Equinox Trail Race, 2012

This was race number 69. heh heh… Anyway, it was in Charlotte, VT. (Pronounced Shar-LOT in Veromont.) It was a trail run out in the boonies, but it was a really nice day. There were only two problems. First, the previous day’s rain created some muddy spots. Second, Cara hadn’t trained up. Her job is pretty physical, so she was hoping that it would be enough to see her through.

The location was in a weird kind of Vermont Twighlight  Zone. Only 14.5 miles away, but it felt like we were way out in Nowhere Land. Without a GPS, we never would have found it. Once we got there, we could tell from the grass that yesterday’s rain had softened things up. No worries about getting stuck, though. They had a tractor available if that happened to anyone.

Over all, things went okay. There was a nice crowd, and everyone was enjoying the sunny weather, if not the occasional bug who zipped around our heads. I was a little worried about Cara since she hadn’t trained up for this, but we were hoping that she would be okay since her job is so physical. In any case, I decided to stick with her throughout the event.

Good thing, too. She was worn out before the first loop was done, and she wasn’t looking for the yellow trail arrows. She had a rough time of it, especially since our shoes got trashed in the muddy spots. (Don’t worry, I’ll wash them up.) With the roots and the muddy spots and everything, we were pretty slow. In fact, we were the very last people to finish the race!

I’m actually kind of proud of this fact, but my competitive fiancé was pretty bummed. It’s too bad, really. How often can you say that you were the very last person? It’s a singular position!

Luckily, we found a solution for our difference of opinion. Since we came in together and there were no chips, the lady at the finish asked which one of us wanted to be first. I pointed to Cara. This way, she’s not the very, very last person. She doesn’t have to be stuck with the title… and I can go around bragging about the title. (I intend to search for win/win solutions like this one throughout our marriage. Wish me luck.)

We came in at 1:22:03 according to the race clock. Cara wasn’t happy about it, but considering all mud patches and roots and things, I think she did okay.

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