This past Saturday I had the (mis-)fortune of being signed up for the 2011 Cinderella Trail Run. EC (my wife) had signed up for the 10k race at the beginning of the summer to give her running a good goalpost to shoot for, and I agreed to run as well in order to help motivate her.
Unlike my wife, I couldn’t be bothered to properly train for the 10k race. Meaning I ran a total of 7 miles (just over 10k) cumulative in preparation for the race (1 mi., 3 x 2 mi.). While I consider myself in good cardiovascular shape (cycling), my ankles, knees and leg muscles were not nearly prepared enough for the race as they should have been.
To add insult to injury, the Cinderella Trail Run is a hard course with some exhausting uphills and crushing downhills.
My final race time was 1:06:30, putting me at 5th place in my age group (20-29) and if I remember correctly, in the top 30 finishers.
Despite hobbling around a bit Saturday afternoon due to some pretty painful inflammation in my right knee (see: crushing downhills), I am proud of my performance.
EC is planning on running more races, so I may have to add running back to my exercise regimen.