Well, Equinox #10 is in the books. Thank God that's over. Anyone who knows me knows I do NOT enjoy running in the rain for the most part, and I really don't handle mud very well. Considering we broke the rainfall record this summer, the Equinox course was actually in very good shape the last few weeks. I did my last four long runs (including a 12 and 20 miler, and two 13.5 mile runs) on the course and it was nice. Ok, save for Trackrat's run on Labor Day that was nothing short of miserable from the rain, but mine were good.

We've had a gorgeous September, other than Labor Day I guess. Last weekend we broke high temp records! So it was that much more disheartening to see the weather forecast for today. All week it was really (and I mean really) nice. Even last night was very pleasant. But the forecast for today was 80% chance of steady light rain, starting in the early hours. I got up and checked, and at 5:30 it was damp but the sky was lightening and it looked not too bad. Ha.

We start outside the student rec center, and head up the ski hill to get things going. It wasn't bad at first, cool but not cold and not raining (that I noticed) and I had a good first leg (I break the race up into the three relay legs, they make natural break points) and made my time goal even with some slippery parts in mile 7. It started raining lightly but steadily, and I think it had been raining more up at higher elevations. As we went up the new trail (mile 10), it was so slick I couldn't get any traction and had to go in the weeds on the side. The rest of that trail (the older section) wasn't too bad since it's more forest floor stuff than dirt/mud. The out-and-back wasn't too bad since it's pretty rocky but there were still some slick parts. The real "fun" began after 17 mile. This is usually my best section, but it was not today. At. All.

The Chute, a 1/3 mile section of extremely steep downhill powerline, rutty, rocky and muddy, is a little scary even on a good day. Today it was downright treacherous. I couldn't slow down enough and was just thinking "I'm gonna fall and it's gonna hurt!" when the woman in front of me did just that. She barely was able to stop from rolling down the rocky trail. Yikes! I've never walked the Chute before, but I did today. When I got to the bottom, my relief was tempered by seeing the muddy mess that's usually a couple of the best trail miles of this race. The Aspen Trail was slick and muddy with puddles and soft mud on the sides. Hard to say how much time I lost from mud, but I kept saying "everyone is dealing with the same crap, just do it!" Couldn't wait to get to the road, and was hoping the first part of dirt road wouldn't be too bad. Nope.

Mile 19.5 comes out on Henderson Road. This is about where DH filmed Holly running down the road (that was the paved part, after 20) in 2012. He was going to meet me there, but I was glad he didn't. The road was easily 3" deep of soft, slick mud and finding good running terrain was difficult. It got a little better farther down, and that's where I met him. Here you can see that it's still muddy, but the funniest thing is I leave by saying "at least I haven't fallen!"

Made it to the pavement, and had a good stretch there. I think mile 21 was right around 8:00 pace. At 21.5 mile, we turn off onto a wide powerline with the trail being what looks like 4WD tracks. At first it wasn't too bad, except for a big bog to go around. But probably by 22.3 it started getting really muddy and slick. I couldn't keep my feet! The gal in front of me just kept getting farther ahead, and I was wondering what the hell kind of shoes she was wearing? I couldn't stop sliding. Finally, my feet just went right out from under me and I did an almost full face plant into the mud. From knees to elbows, I was covered in mud. But... I was ok. Just mad! There were parts where just standing there, I'd slide to the left (downhill). It was incredible.

Made it to Goldhill Road (paved thank goodness, and mostly downhill) and managed to keep running pretty much all the way to just before mile 25, where the sadistic course designer put another steep hill. Groan. It was muddy and slick (surprised?), and I walked up on the side in the leaves. This part of the course takes a turn back up the hill, then down, then up, then down to the finish area. I was so happy to see that last trail bit (I ran this on Friday to check it out... it was nice and dry), then we come out of the trees and run across the grass to the finish. Here's a video of my finishing... I think I look pretty tuckered out. Done in 4:24:24. I think I've got my first Equinox (4:26 something) and my second (5:30 with a sprained ankle) as being slower than this one. But, I still got first in my AG and 19th woman overall (was 20th last year), so that shows that everyone had a tough time.

Video of Jane (finished in 4:15) and me, showing off our mud at the finish. And no, I didn't hose off, just threw them in the washer.

And still, there were success stories! The men's and overall winner was Matias Saari, who won (2:55) for the 4th time, and at 44 is the oldest runner to ever win the Equinox. And the women's winner, Christy Marvin won for the second time, and set a new women's record at 3:17. How the hell do they do that? Well, the course deteriorated pretty fast in the late morning. I think these are outstanding runners, but they also had a (slightly) better course. Here's a YouTube of the women's winner finishing. I think that's Trackrat helping her at the end.

Fashion report: Nike capris, Yellow Equinox shirt (2007?), Asics Gel Speedstars (which apparently have no tread left), smartwool socks (that used to be pink, are now brown) and gloves with windproof mitt covers (these are very cool, I've had the for years and hadn't worn them before; the nylon mitt cover pulls over the fingers and my hands were pretty warm until I fell in the mud), blue cap.

Actually, that sounds like a blast. Not the falling down part, but the rest. I'd have nowhere near the pace you did, AD and I love that carp.Nice how Christy Marvin paused her watch as she's collapsing.

Great racing as always, Erika!  Mud is tough.  But you can still see what color your shoes are in the video at the end, so it can't have been that bad!   Congrats on 1st AG!

Yes that's me in the finish line video about a minute after I'd crossed. I congratulated her and tried to get her to stand because no one else was helping. But she refused at first and then stumbled up.

Tet, the leaf blowing did help but it only really had an effect for about 2.5 miles (miles 2.5-5) and in the aspens after the chute, so from 17.8 to 19.5. Other than that I don't think there was much difference.

Congrats on the age group win Erika, I think the trail deteriorated as time went on both because of runners and because it just kept raining and raining and the longer you were out there the wetter and tougher it got.

Congratulations. (It sounded like one of those character building things I try to avoid.)

Awesome job Erika. You were so clean when you finished - come do the Tough Mudder with me next year   And a big congratulations for winning your AG!  I loved that your DH was there to capture the race on video.

For someone who doesn't like rain or mud, you sure picked a helluva race to run! You did great, and frankly look fresher at the end than I typically do at the end of a 10K.

Keep on amazing us, Erika -- you've been doing it for years!

Great job in miserable conditions.  Your husband did a good job with the videos.

TomS