I took part in an interesting race today. Planet Adventure put on an event at the Wabash Heritage Trail. The trail head starts behind the Tippecanoe Battlefield, heads across Burnett Creek then over the Wabash River and, if you keep following it, into Lafayette. They offer a variety of distances: 5k, 15k, half marathon, and marathon. I went with the 15k (9.3) because: a) my level of training is a little lacking for a half marathon these days; and b) I’d never done that distance.
It was a lot more challenging than your average flat, paved track. This was dirt path with lots of ups and downs, root dodging, the odd plank bridge, and even some (mostly not wobbly) stepping stones over the creek. The coolest part, in my opinion, is the foot bridge over the Wabash which was, I think, a converted train trestle. The most aggravating is that there are a few spots near the water with soft sand. When your legs are dead, the last thing you want is to hit a patch of soft sand.
But, the weather cooperated – it was a chilly start (37 degrees), but there was no wind to speak of. So, once we got going, I thought it was about perfect. It helped that I went with my buddy, Chris. He blew my doors off, but it was helpful that he said he never felt comfortable either. It was just a tougher run. I ended up in the middle of the pack – about 20 of 40. Glad I did it. I was well organized. I can’t say with confidence that I’ll be doing it again though. Maybe if they can get a liquor license and serve up beer at the end.
Hell Doug, if I was in town I would have had you over for a beer.
However, I got back from running errands after the race was over. Plus, I didn’t know you wanted a beer. ;-)