18 at the GAC Fat Ass

With my work schedule and now with Sam, all major weekend events need to be thought out and prepared for months in advance. So we decided months ago that we would head south this weekend to run in the GAC Fat Ass. We ran it in 2009 with a big group of Trail Monsters, and it was lots of fun. This year, there wasn't quite as strong a showing of Trail Monsters, maybe in part due to the weather reports of a major storm which never materialized, but it was still a good time.

Ryan's parents live about 15 minutes away from Bradley Palmer, where the Fat Ass is held, so we drove down last night after work. They happily agreed to hang out with the kiddo while we ran, and we were able to sleep in a bit (although unintentionally, as Sam went back to sleep after waking up at 6am to eat, and didn't wake up for the day until 7:25!), and still make it to the start on time. Jamie and Kate pulled into the parking lot soon after us, and although Erik and Kevin were there, unfortunately we never saw them. However, there were more than enough other runners out to join in on the fun. The lot was overflowing, and it was a good crowd at the start! We took off right at 9am, and I got a bit lost in the crowd, trailing behind Ryan and Jamie for a bit until things opened up on the flats and I could catch back up. They seemed to be running at a pace I could hold, so I thought I'd hang onto them for as long as I could. We ended up staying together through lap #2 (12 miles), which was great. We were in the midst of a small group of runners here and there, but mostly it was just the three of us chugging along together.

The conditions were pretty decent, mostly packed snow and ice with a few short sections of powdery snow and a few stretches of bare ground mixed in. The screw shoes did their job, grabbing well the whole way, and although things were a bit uneven, it wasn't tough running. And with the mix of fields and wood roads, plus a fun stretch of twisty, hilly single track, the loop was a nice one. In fact, the miles just clicked on by as we chatted and laughed, and enjoyed the course. It is amazing how easily and happily runs can go when you're sharing the miles with friends!

Still, by the last mile of the second lap, I was starting to feel a bit tired, and decided I would let Ryan and Jamie go on ahead. I probably could have hung on, but I figured I might be a bit happier if I could just do the last lap at my own pace, especially since this would be my longest run in this training cycle yet, and with my cold earlier this week it hadn't exactly been an ideal week of training. In the end, I was only a few minutes behind them, but it was just enough that they were out of sight. It had gotten pretty quiet out there, but I did catch up with two guys who we had passed earlier on, and ran with them for most of the rest of the loop. The last loop was slower by a few minutes, but overall, I felt pretty good.

The snow was falling as I finished up my last loop - 3:05 for 18.0 miles (including all bathroom and aid station stops) - and stopped at the aid station to chat with Kate and grab a few goodies from the abundant table of treats to eat. Jamie and Ryan had gone on to finish up their planned mileage for the day - 20 for Jamie and 26.2 for Ryan - nice job guys! - and although I probably could have gone on, I really was more than happy to stop and was thrilled to get in 18 solid miles for the day. It was a great morning out on the trails! Thanks to the GAC crew for hosting such a fun event!

Flora and fauna notes: The park had a suet feeder which was host to a big group of chickadees, juncoes, sparrows, a pair of cardinals, white breasted nuthatches, titmice, a Downy Woodpecker and a Red-Bellied Woodpecker (cool! haven't seen one of those before!). We also saw a Barred Owl fly over us as we ran along through one of the fields. Neat!