Kewash Trail Half Marathon race recap

Let's just say it was just meant to be. Finally.

Ever have a race that has been on your radar for years, only it never fit your schedule?

Well, finally the stars, moons, planets (and any other forces that be) all aligned. At long last, I was able to run the Kewash Trail Half Marathon.

Now in its 10th year, I first learned of this race in November of 2017. I was en route to Las Vegas, for the Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon, and was chatting with a fellow runner while waiting to board the plane. She was the race director of the Kewash, and encouraged me to check it out in the spring.

Turns out the Kewash races (there's also a 5K and a 10K) happen the same weekend as all the Drake Road Races. Granted, the Kewash races are on Saturday, and all the Drake races are on Sunday. Given the hilly course of Drake, though, there's no way I'd entertain the idea of doing another half marathon the same weekend. So, although the Kewash race had been on my radar, I had kind of given up on it due to my loyalty to Drake.

This year, though, I got word that these two races were on different weekends. Even though I had long been registered for Drake, I felt a strong compulsion to run Kewash the following weekend. So I did.

I'd stayed in Iowa City overnight, giving me only a 20ish-minute drive to the race sight, in Washington. I had zero issues finding the staging area or getting my packet. I arrived around 7:15, and the race didn't start until 8:00, so I had plenty of time to do some warm-up drills, extra Theragun'ing, use the porta-potty and eat an extra granola bar (I'd also had oatmeal earlier).

recognize anyone? (pic from Kewash Trail Half Marathon Facebook page)

There's always excitement lining up for a new-to-me race. I'd heard this out-and-back race course was fast and flat (with some very gentle rolling hills). With just six days since the hilly Drake course, though, I knew my body was still in a state of recovery. My plan was to just run-by-feel and enjoy the scenery.

Right out of the gate, things were feeling good. We looped around a few city blocks before the course lead us out of town. At the 1-mile mark, I glanced at my Garmin and nearly face-palmed myself when I saw the 8:48 split. It didn't feel like I was going very fast at all, so this was a major surprise. 

It wasn't until we about two miles in that we were finally on the actual Kewash Trail. There had been a couple short (but steep) hills in town, and another as we were going around a curve onto the trail, but they weren't anything treacherous. My 2-mile split, though, showed 8:50...so I knew I needed to focus on holding back or there'd be a train wreck in the making.

I gotta admit the temps were near perfect. It felt cold as we were waiting to line-up, and the wind was anything but warm. But, the full sunshine was amazing. 

Just like with the recent Cherry Blossom 10-mile and Drake 13.1, the miles seemed to be ticking by quickly. Before I knew it, I was approaching the 5-mile mark and realized I'd forgotten to take in some fuel (my plan had been to eat a few Honey Stinger chews around the 4-mile and 8-mile marks, then slam a couple more during the 10th mile). I quickly grabbed a few chews and had some water a short while later at the aid station. Mischief managed (sort of, LOL). Just up ahead, I could see the Crooked Creek Bridge, which signaled the turn-around wasn't much further (another 1.5 miles or so).

Crossing the bridge was so cool! It definitely added to the atmosphere of the peaceful trail.

 

Shortly after the bridge, just beyond the 5-mile mark, the trail turned to crushed limestone. Also, there was a group of ladies dressed in bathrobes (some with curlers in their hair!), manning the water station. Only, they weren't handing out just water and Gatorade (there also was beer). 

I think it was 6th mile mark that I saw the lead runner making his way back from the turn-around. He had a sizable lead ahead of a handful of other men. And, then it was another half-mile or so when I saw the first lady runner. 

By now, we had lost most of our tree cover, and we were running straight into the northwest wind. Although I have had plenty of wind-training, it is still a buzzkill having to fight it on a race course. Adding to my increasing mental frustration was the fact that I had long passed the 6-mile mark and there wasn't any indication of a turn-around within sight. 

I passed the 7-mile mark, and finally saw the turn-around a short ways ahead, at about the 7.25-mile mark. And, there was a fully-stocked aid station there as well, offering our choice of water, Gatorade and beer, LOL.

Almost immediately, upon making the turn, it felt so much better having the wind at my back. Of course, that meant that I now had the sun in my face and no breeze to cool me off. 

Within a few minutes, I started scheming how I could make myself cooler. I'd worn a tank top with arm warmers under my long-sleeved shirt, and had been completely comfortable up to that point. I didn't want to lose the top shirt (which would mean having to re-pin my race bib), nor did I want to wrestle the arm warmers over my Garmin and ROADiD. I finally settled on (painstakingly) rolling-down the arm warmers underneath the sleeves of my top shirt. Yeah, NOT an easy feat to do while in motion with sweaty clothing sticking to you. But I managed.

At this point in the race, I had passed the 8-mile mark. And, oops! I almost forgot about the fuel (again), but I remembered it around the 9-mile mark. Also, I could tell my body was starting to lose some steam. Even with the gradual decline in elevation (at the moment), I could feel my pace slowing. 

I made it to the 10-mile mark, and then the course started slowly inclining again. It was about halfway through the 11th mile when I could feel the proverbial "wall" within striking distance, LOL. I also was feeling a bit light-headed. And, the route ahead of me was curving (as it was inclining) and my frustration grew as I could not see far enough ahead to tell when the route was going to level-out. I decided to take a short walk break while I ate a few more HS chews and grabbed more water. 

Mile 12 was much of the same. It wasn't painful, nor disheartening, but mentally challenging. I could tell my body was done, so I kept taking walk breaks. Even with only two miles remaining, I didn't feel the need to be a hero. After all, I didn't run this race to set a PR, so there was no sense in pushing myself. Then, I saw this sign just before the last mile, reminding me what a privilege it IS to be able to not only run, but to run 13.1 miles.

The final mile had us back in the city limits. We had a few short climbs, and some brick-paved streets en route to the finish line. Although I took a couple "bonus" walk breaks in that last mile, I never felt like giving up. 

And, done! I don't think I was in danger of fainting (truthfully, I've never fainted, so I don't know what it would feel like), but I definitely was still feeling light-headed. I thanked the gal who gave me my medal, grabbed a bottle of water, and found a nice spot in the sunshine to sit down.

My finish time was much better than expected, so there wasn't a pity party.

  

My splits:

Mile 1 - 8:48

Mile 2 - 8:50

Mile 3 - 9:15 

Mile 4 - 9:20

Mile 5 - 9:42

Mile 6 - 9:56

Mile 7 - 9:50

Mile 8 - 9:44

Mile 9 - 9:56

Mile 10 - 9:52

Mile 11 - 10:43

Mile 12 - 10:25

Mile 13 - 10:49

( remaining .20) - (1:51)

My stats: 

official time: 2:08:59

7th of 16 (age group)

39th of 107 (women)

116th of 207 (overall)

Despite the last few miles, I'm very satisfied with how I did. Sure, it would have been ideal to NOT have any of those fatigue/dehydration/frustration issues, but those things happen. As I said, I'm pretty sure my body still had some residual fatigue from the Drake 13.1, and those relatively fast first three miles didn't help the situation. I did have some breakfast, but since it was so cold I'm pretty sure I didn't drink enough water before the race. As we all know, once you get behind on hydration, it's nearly impossible to rectify it, even on a cold morning. Even with the walking breaks, my finish time wasn't too far off my "usual" half marathon time (2:05ish). Again, no pity party needed. 

None the less, I got to run a new-to-me race on a scenic course on a beautiful morning. The Kewash Trail is a rail trail, a former railroad, so that ensures a pretty "flat" race course. There were numerous trees lining the trail, up until a short ways before the turn-around, which made for a tranquil setting.

A quick note about the swag...Since I registered so late, I didn't get an event shirt (they were cotton anyways), but I did get this neat sling bag. I don't have any bags like this, so it's definitely a keeper!

And, how about the medal? The etched image of the Crooked Creek Bridge is simply beautiful!

So, that's my story of taking on the challenge of back-to-back half marathons. Would I do it again? Probably...I mean, why not?

Have you run back-to-back half marathons? Would you ever consider doing such an endeavor? Ever hit "the wall" during a half marathon?

I'm linking this with Kim and Zenaida for the Tuesday Topics Link-Up

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