2013 Bradbury Breaker Race Report

Went to bed last night feeling rather tired and creaky, so I wasn't quite sure what today was going to bring, except that I certainly wasn't expecting to be fast! ;-) Not to mention, Ian modified the course a bit, so it was longer, and a bit tougher, if you ask me, with the addition of the Ski Trail up and the new, not-as-friendly Switchback down. But regardless, the day dawned bright and clear, and best of all not all that hot or humid! I left Sam happily playing with Jessi, and got over to the park a little after 8:00. After checking in, saying hi to a few folks, and standing in the already long bathroom line, Ryan and I headed over to the east side for a warm-up. I was surprised to find I didn't feel all that badly, but was still determined to run the first lap at a comfortable pace so as to avoid a potential bonk on the 2nd lap.

I started a bit farther back in the field than I might normally have, which is just never a good idea. I ended up working a bit harder than I would have liked to get around people and jostle myself into a decent position. Caught up with Bob Dunfey going up the Ski Trail, and we leap-frogged a few times, before I finally pulled ahead on one of the first ups on the Boundary Trail. I did manage to run the whole first loop up until the Summit Trail, which made me pretty happy. And honestly, the Summit Trail just not reasonable for me to run, so I wasn't upset to be walking. I huffed and puffed up to the top, and then fell in with a guy in black on the start of the Tote Road. We chatted for a bit about the race and the Trail Monsters before he pulled away, and I kept on running at what felt like a reasonable pace. As I got to the Northern Loop trail for the return to the summit, Nate was already heading back up the Ski Trail! Nice.

Photo by Kevin Freeman/Maine Running Photos

I didn't really like the revised Switchback trail - too steep for me, as I've never been all that efficient of a steep downhill runner/hiker. I passed the aid station near the field at right around 48:00 and stuck my tongue out at Amy's cheering to let her know how I was really feeling about the whole thing :-) But on I trucked. I definitely lost a bit of steam on the 2nd portion of the Boundary Trail the second time around, as I was mostly running alone and I was just plain tired :-) The climb up to the Summit took a bit longer too, but as I reached the top, a woman came up behind me, and well, I just really didn't want her to pass me. Always good to get those competitive juices flowing a bit! She stayed right with me for a ways, but I then made a concerted effort to pick up the pace and use the Tote Road to my advantage. It worked, as she fell off behind me and I gained a bit of ground on a few guys ahead of me. I also tried to go as fast as I could on the Terrace Trail and on the final leg into the finish. I was gaining, but running out of ground. Oh well. Caught sight of the guy in black, who I had lost sight of until now, just before the finish. Think he got me by about 30 seconds.

In the end, came in slower than last year, but as my Garmin showed the course as 0.4 miles longer, I actually did run faster per mile this year than last, so I guess I'll take it :-) Still nowhere near 2011 pace, but oh well. Also managed to luck out (again!) and win my age group, although only because the really fast 30-somethings were 1, 2, and 3 :-) The Breaker is a tough one, for sure, and I'm glad to have come up with what felt like a fairly decent race after a long run yesterday. I'm chalking it up to a good training weekend, for sure!

Thanks as always to Ian, Ryan and all the awesome volunteers who make this race so great. We certainly are lucky!

RESULTS

1:36:47

64/152. 5th woman.