Old School 4 Mile

Today was the Old School 4 Mile, the first Chicago Trail Series race of the year.  It was held at the Old School Forest Preserve in Libertyville, and I'd never been there before.  I saw two deer as I drove to the parking area.  I think it was probably the flattest trail race imaginable, but that was fine with me, as I haven't exactly been hitting the hills hard lately.  I arrived a bit after 7:30, and as it was a small no-frills (environmentally conscious) race, I had plenty of time to pick up my number and shirt (and that's all!) and had no wait for the only women's restroom in sight.  I actually really appreciate not being given a big bunch of papers, almost all of which will go straight to the recycling. 

I sat in the car for a few minutes, decided with shirts to wear, and pinned on my number.  We walked down a trail a bit to the starting line, and were off.  After the crowd spread out, I passed a few people now and then, don't remember getting passed, and enjoyed the race.  I saw four deer along my way.  I think trail shoes were a bit unnecessary as the course was almost all crushed limestone and flat, but since it's been so rainy I didn't know what to expect.  My pace was faster than my everyday pace, but I didn't go in with a goal (partly because I didn't know how much "trail" to expect).  I haven't really done any speed work to speak of this spring.  The first three miles were around 9:30 pace, and the last one was around 9 even.  Pretty comfortable, I didn't really push it.  I just signed up for the fun of a trail race.

After I finished, I grabbed a cup of Gatorade, a bagel and a banana.  I walked to the car, used the bathroom again, changed into pants and sandals.  I was sort of curious how fast a person had to be to get one of the age group awards and decided to hang around for them to be handed out.  It rained so much this week that the boys' soccer games for today were cancelled as the fields were a mess and would only get more damaged (I also suspect that low attendance expectations due to Easter were considered), so I didn't have to hurry home.  So I stretched by a picnic table, hung around, and took another banana after the director encouraged everyone to do so. 

They announced the times of the overall winners, but none of the others, so I'd have to wait too see the results.  I was really surprised to hear my name called as the second finisher in my age group!  I certainly have never won an age group award before, and won't be surprised if I never do again, but I was still really happy.  I went home guessing that there were three in my group, but actually there were eight.  I could've gone faster than I did, but I don't think that sub-34 was possible, so there was no way I could've had first.  My official time was 37:55.72--a PR, as it was my only 4-mile race too.  It was a small race, and I almost feel kind of bad for getting an award when I just ran for fun and didn't bust it, but I will probably always treasure my little plaque.