This past weekend I decided to switch things up a bit. In all honesty, I was getting a bit sick and tired of running 10-14 miles every Saturday in the 90+ heat and humidity we have been having here in SC for the past 4 months. I wanted a way to motivate myself to get out of bed for yet another hot and sticky training run. I discovered that the Dirt Dash Half Marathon would be running through the trails of Marion Forest not too far outside of Charleston and decide to jump on this opportunity, and the extra motivation to get up early.
I did not plan to race the event since:
– August in SC is HOT
– my ankle is close to 100%, but not quite
– I always take trail races a bit easy
Packet pickup was from 6:00-6:30 am which meant that with a 45 min drive I was out of my house at 5:15 (to allow time to park and be shuttled into the forest). Tip: If you do sign up for this race make sure you pop the parking lot address into you navigation system the night before as it is pretty much out in the middle of nowhere and easy to fly by in the the dark. However, once you make it there a bus takes you from the lot to the edge of the forest and then you can walk or ride a golf cart to packet pickup/onsite registration. 
The race started at 7:00 (okay 7:10 because we were waiting for people to get out of the porta-potty line) with a pretty small field.
My goals, which are always the same for a trail race, were:
– don’t trip and fall
– don’t get lost
– have fun
As you can tell from the pictures, we ran on the forest’s fire truck roads which were really packed down, so there were not many trip hazards. However, there were decent sized rocks in lots of spots on the roads. This meant you had to carefully watch where your feet were landing so you didn’t step on a rock wrong and roll your ankle.
Speaking of ankles, post sprain I have been cleared for running, but my ankle is probably at 90-95%, not quite to 100 yet. Because of that, I decided to run comfortably and not push it. I kept reminding myself it was a training run, not a race. (Especially as people flew by me.) Those first 3-4 miles while I warmed up and saw what the leg could do were around an 11:45 – 11:50 pace. 
After mile 4 my ankle was still feeling good so I allowed myself to increase my speed just a bit, nothing crazy, just to around 11:30 a mile to see how the ankle held up. I held my 11:30 pace until mile 10 when I got hit by that fast finish bug. One thing my coach and I have been working on a lot is being able to still have some speed left to pick it up at the end of a half and so in any training runs where I am healthy and feeling good I try to really pick it up those last 3 miles. And boy did I pick it up.! I knocked out those last three miles like nobodies business, each one faster than the last.
Overall, I finished the Dirt Dash Half Marathon in 2:28:26 which was an 11:19 average per mile. (That gives you a clue how fast the last 3 were when the previous 10 were all 11:30 and over.) Nothing near the race times I was bringing in this past winter, and nowhere near where I want to be this fall, but perfect for a HOT, trail training run.
*Special thanks to MizunoRunning for providing my the gear for this race, and all my runs.*
Let me know –
Are you able to run races just for training runs?
or do you get to caught up in the hype and end up racing?
Congratulations on completing the race and running a negative split. You guys had a cooler temperature for the race which was probably a good thing for everyone. I hope you get some rest from the super early wake-up call too (at least it was a 7 AM start since it was a half!).
Well done Abby! I used to push the pace in every race and I still might do that in shorter races, but not in halfs and longer. This sounds like a fun one!
I think running races for training = paramount and so smart!!! Gets you pumped but there is really no pressure!
Great job! I have not run enough long races to really have a strategy other than finishing! 🙂 but game on when it comes to the 5K and 10K! The virtual runs I like to add for a fun training run.
Congratulations! I’m too scare to try running on the trails but they always looks so beautiful!
This is a great starter trail. Flat, no hills, easy to run. That is about my extent of trail running:)
WTG!! I love trail running.
And I’m very good at keeping a race a training run. I’m actually bad the other way around – to race a race like a race!
I am somewhat the same way. I have to remind myself to actually race and push it.
Sounds like a great race, and those last few miles!!! Awesome! Trail races are tough, but I like them. They always remind me how much more training I could use and how “out of trail shape” I am…I never really train for trail races. And all I have done so far have been smaller trail races, 4-6 miles with killer hills. A trail half is on my bucket list. congrats on the race again!
This one, like everything near hear was super flat, so that make it a bit easier.
I am so glad August is finally behind us now. Cooler days ahead, and more trail time! Great job on this half. It looks like a really fun race!
I am ready for September to cool down though, still so crazy hot. Come on cool weather.
I find I usually push myself a bit more in races than training runs, but so long as I’m not actually racing it, I’m not super worried. I find they’re such a great way to motivate myself out the door when I otherwise wouldn’t go.
Yes, that is totally what this was, motivation to get up early.
Congrats on your pace! It looks like a gorgeous trail too. Trail running scares me, because, you know…dark spots to trip on… but it always looks like so much fun!
Luckily this trail is really easy to navigate, just have to watch out for a few rocks.
Nice job with the negative split and speedy three miles to finish the race. I love having negative splits at races, but it certainly is harder when the weather is hot. I am running Rock ‘n Roll as a training run this weekend and will probably run a couple miles as warmup before the race start.
Awesome idea, I will admit it was too hot for me to do any type of warm up.
Great job in the August heat AND on a trail! We Charlestonians just need to resolve ourselves to the fact that our races in the summer just don’t come close to the times we hit in the fall (for most of us at least – I’m sure there are the few superhuman among us for whom humidity is a non-issue).
I am so ready for that fall weather, I forget what it is like not to melt on a run.
Nice job! I am a wimp about running in heat and humidity so I guess it’s good I live up north! A shady trail run looks like a great way to get the miles in. 🙂
It is so crazy hot still. 80/90 with no sign of cooling down.
What a fun race!! I haven’t raced since Boston back in April… I need to find a local race to motivate me again. 🙂
Yes, this race was all about motivation for me. It is nice to have something to look forward to.
I’ll find out this weekend if I can NOT race a race. This one looks like a lot of fun – a change of scenery but not too risky.
Cannot wait to see how you did.
I just did my first training run race this past weekend and while I started out in training mode I did end up racing a little bit…oops! Hard for me not to get caught up!
It is hard not to get caught up in it all.
Sounds like your ankle is doing very well. The race looked like a fun way to train and keep your tips from coach in mind.
Yes, it was so nice to switch it up just a bit.
Great job! Way to push it the last 3 miles! Looks like a cool trail too!
It was a good change from my normal route.
I am not good at not racing during a race, but this sounds like a PERFECT way to use the extra race motivation to train (+motivation to run somewhere pretty). Great job!
It was a great way to force myself out of bed early for a run.
Glad your ankle is doing better! That’s such an annoying injury.
Yes, I am finally back to 100%!
I’m considering a cheap, local half two weeks before my goal half marathon (during the 12 mile training weekend). Sometimes I get caught up in the runners passing me and need to work on taking it slower in the beginning. Plus, some of those folks start out too fast anyway and you end up passing them later. Nice job on the race; especially those last three miles!
Yes, I always get passed by lots in the beginning, but pass most of them at the end.
Congrats on finishing the race! I love to run races for training runs, but it is hard to resist racing it! Lately I switch my Garmin to the pace mode so I know if I am going out too fast.
That is a good idea, to use the Garmin for that.
Congrats on a solid training run! I have a hard time *not* racing races. I will really be testing my ability to stick to a strategy in a couple of weeks when we run the Diva’s Half as part of our training. It’s hard to not get caught up in the race!
Just remember your coach has a plan for you.
Yea….I always SAY I’m going to use it for training and then end up racing. I’m terrible at that…I figure if I’m going to pay for it, I should race it! LOL.
Maybe it helps that I am happily slow:)