I figured (hoped) I would be recovered from Georgia Death Race by the time Sleepy Hollow rolled around; there would be a solid 3 weeks between races. I honestly had no idea how I would feel after running 74ish miles with a lot of vert. The longest I had ran before GDR was the North Face MA 50 miler in 2017, but I had done a couple other trail ultras and enough road marathons to know that recovery for me should include a few days of walk/hiking (no running) followed by a few days of shuffling.
I didn’t rush the come back, but I didn’t take a week of just sitting on my butt. Things seemed to work out well; I flushed the lactic acid out without digging myself a hole into overtraining land. I think I actually could have ran a solid Merrimack Rivah 10 Miler the week before Sleepy Hollow, but don’t think I was in shape to run a course record. I was sad to miss out on the Market Basket alphabet raffles, but that weekend was for Elvis’ Tough Ruck anyway and I was really glad I got to help out there. It’s a great atmosphere and honors the lives of heroes lost. I wound up with over 20 miles of walking that day; good time on feet.
By the time Sleepy Hollow came around I had already done a couple workouts and my legs were snappy again. I felt good, but wasn’t sure who else was running. Vermont holds some super mountain runners!
I decided I’d just go for QOM, charge up the first climb, and see if any other ladies came with me. Even if I didn’t win overall, at least I’d get a cool Salomon prize for that.
I drove out to VT by myself; it’s a long drive, but the race starts at noon so you don’t have to wake up stupid early and the way is pretty so I really don’t mind it. The only thing is that the roads going up to the Ski center and Inn are dirt/mud… my WRX bottomed out and I was annoyed when I parked and noticed my tow hook cover had popped out, but didn’t have time to go look for it. I’d have to go search on my cooldown.
The grounds were even sloppier than last year (if that’s possible) and there was still snow in spots. SO muddy. It was raining, but at least it was in the 40s, so at least it was warmer!
I was undecided on shoes… last year I wore the Salomon Speedcross and they were great, but I didn’t like how firm they were and wanted a bit more groundfeel. The Hoka Evo Jawz felt lighter and more flexible. I figured if I were to accurately test them on a tough course, this would be it!
I got to the start after a short pre-race briefing about thunderstorms in the area and safety. Kasie was dressed as Yoda and sent us off on the Star Wars themed trails!Turns out I was just in all-man’s-land and stuck behind Eli Enman and Tim Van Orden. Whoops. That was probably too fast 🤢 but I made it up the first climb as first female!
The first descent and my legs basically forgot how to function. Or maybe I was afraid. That first downhill is the hardest for me, maybe because I go too hard on the first climb? It seems the steepest with the worst footing. The mud is super slick with random rocks and it’s the only part where I don’t feel confident. I let a couple guys slip past me, but I caught most of them as we kept running.
The course goes on some XC ski trails so there’s a bit of wider grassy trails that have better footing. I maintained on the climbs and tried to pass people on the downhills. There were 2 or 3 guys I ran near and we all yo-yo’ed over the different terrains and ups and downs. I kept looking behind me, thinking an unexpected girl would catch me, but when we got to the Darth Vader switchbacks I was able to look down and get a good glimpse of who was behind me. I let up the gas on the rest of the climb up, thinking that I didn’t want to redline this early. I let the guys I had been running with go ahead, and then passed them on the sloppy but grassy downhill and kept up the pace as we headed towards Molly’s Meadow. I felt like I was flying and just tried to skim over the deep mud pits, holding my breath as if it would make me lighter and avoid sinking in.
We passed the finish line and went out to do another 2ish miles in deep mud. This is the part I was sketched out and a bit worried about the week before. On a random easy day a week earlier I had rolled my ankle bad and didn’t know how it would hold up on the slick mossy rocks about a mile from the finish. The Hoka Evo Jawz were super grippy and handled it all just fine, (and so did my ankle!)
More sloppy mud and grass, then a quick uphill and sprint to the finish. I envisioned flopping into the mud or kicking up my heels, but hypothermic brain told me to just seek warmth.
I ducked inside the round barn and tried to warm up. I really wanted to take my wet clothes off and get a burrito, but I met Haley and we chatted for a bit, then I said out loud that I had to stop being a baby and had to search for my tow hook cover. Leaving the warmth to head back out into the rain was mentally the hardest thing I had to do all all day, but I didn’t want anyone to run the little plastic piece over. So I stopped thinking about the cold rain and just went out and started shuffling.
I found it! About 1.5 miles away from the Inn I found the stupid thing. That was the real victory of the day.
I got warmed up, grabbed a big burrito and waited for awards. A new pair of Salomon shoes for QOM and a gallon of maple syrup for the win 🙂 I love this race!
Mtn Rnr Marin 