Doonst loses his way at 5 Peaks Terra Cotta

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Doonst
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Doonst loses his way at 5 Peaks Terra Cotta

Postby Doonst » Sat Aug 07, 2010 3:40 pm

Forgive me Runningmania for I have run trails. It has been 6 days since my last race report.

5 Peaks race Terra Cotta Enduro race, 11.8 K. A beautiful day, partly sunny and cooler than its been for the last couple months. Its as close to home as it gets for me, 11 K/11 minute drive. We talked about biking there but didn't; SO was volunteering and Tuzo came too. Lots of maniacs as well as local friends in attendance. Its a new race and I actually had the pleasure of showing race director dgrant around the park last year when it was just a potential location.
The race was fun, and a better course than I thought it would be from the description. First K was flat and fast, then we hit the single track. Rooty, curvy, down and up, fun stuff. Then back on wider trails that stayed wide enough for passing. Second half of the course was more uphill, including one where I and those around me walked just a bit. Then past the start line and do it all again. Lap 2 was naturally much less crowded and so the single track was that much more fun. I felt strong second lap and reeled in a few runners. Over all too quick. Fun fun fun, as they say in California. 1:03:11, 5:22 pace. 60th out of 220, 8 out of 24 in my agegroup. Negative split, in a trail race!

There was one incident right off the bat that I just must mention. Part of the fun of trail racing. No I didn't fall, that's the other fun thing about trail racing. Saw a few though. I went off course.
I started in the third wave, listed as for those who run a 10 K in 45-50 minutes. That's me, and about 80 others I'd say. Somehow after about 30 seconds I'm leading the pack. I look down and my average pace is 3:55. Then I come around a corner and there is a "Y" in the trail; I can go straight or bear right onto a boardwalk. I don't have long to think at 3:55 pace with 80 people hot on my heels. There are no flag markers visible down either route. Now I was just doing this race for fun and had no great hopes to win it. My main concern was the angry mob who assumed I might be leading them down the correct path. I figured that if I'm supposed to turn there should be something to indicate that, so I went straight. A ways in and there are still no flags, so I retreat. Back at the Y a crowd gathers and we all shrug in unison. Try the boardwalk, no flags, try even farther down the straight path, still no flags. Finally someone figures it is the boardwalk and I follow the 80 people down the trail. I am determined not to let it ruin my day, although my plan of hitting the narrow section with no crowd to wait for is pretty much out a window. Luckily I am wearing a muted grey hat so no-one will recognize me as the one who led Wave 3 astray. Still it comes up in conversation frequently as I work my way through the crowd for the next hour. I am assured that it wasn't just me, that it really was a tough choice. In my defense here and now, I would direct your attention to this Facebook page for Ontario 5 Peaks. For those of you who are allergic to Facebook, the caption is "Boardwalk at Terra Cotta. We run past it, not across it." I saw this just days ago, I'm not on FB.
Image

Here's my run back and forth.
Image
And 37 seconds later:
Image
Of course the damage was amplified by the crowd now in front of me. Oh well! It really was a fun day and I'm so glad I'm running strong and healthy at this point. Love running trails!
Last edited by Doonst on Sat Aug 07, 2010 4:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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This broken wing will fly again
One fine day
This blackbird's mute gonna sing again
One fine day

So all you sinners come out
And all you drunkards crawl out
Come into the light of one fine day

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orleansrunner1962
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Re: Doonst loses his way at 5 Peaks Terra Cotta

Postby orleansrunner1962 » Sat Aug 07, 2010 3:49 pm

Thanks for sharing the map and your trajectory -- actually kinda funny (sorry :D :D ) -- good job on the race -- glad you had a great day.... and right in your backyard too!!! :D
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Re: Doonst loses his way at 5 Peaks Terra Cotta

Postby Sandra » Sat Aug 07, 2010 8:36 pm

Like you said the trail was not clearly marked - a lot of us following the "leaders" of wave 3 just laughed it off, turned around and continued. Other than that one minor thing, it WAS a great venue - thanks for suggesting it to Mr. RD.
Oh, and you ran a strong race, congratulations! Running trails is awesome!
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Re: Doonst loses his way at 5 Peaks Terra Cotta

Postby ultraslacker » Sun Aug 08, 2010 12:11 am

yay, he's back from the darkside, to the happy trails where the cookies are better!
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Re: Doonst loses his way at 5 Peaks Terra Cotta

Postby b_squared » Sun Aug 08, 2010 7:43 am

Doonst stares down the competition:

Image

Acknowledging his fans:

Image

Way to go Sheldon!

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ian
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Re: Doonst loses his way at 5 Peaks Terra Cotta

Postby ian » Sun Aug 08, 2010 11:21 am

Doonst wrote:Luckily I am wearing a muted grey hat so no-one will recognize me as the one who led Wave 3 astray.

... and muted shorts too...

sounds like fun times, as per usual

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Re: Doonst loses his way at 5 Peaks Terra Cotta

Postby Jogger Barbie » Sun Aug 08, 2010 12:34 pm

Doonst wrote:Oh well! It really was a fun day and I'm so glad I'm running strong and healthy at this point. Love running trails!

And that's the best part of this report! Congrats on a great race, and best wishes for the rest of your training cycle. It was nice to see you again and meet Tuzo :)
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Re: Doonst loses his way at 5 Peaks Terra Cotta

Postby dgrant » Sun Aug 08, 2010 3:11 pm

Sorry about that doonst! As patmenzies can attest, the first two waves of runners made the correct turn... so I wonder if the flags got trampled or something before the Wave 3 runners got there. Either way, I alone marked the course all day Friday so it's on me if anyone at all went astray. Luckily someone alerted me right away to the issue so we were able to lay down some cones in a hurry. It sucks that it cost you 50 or 60m on the course.

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Re: Doonst loses his way at 5 Peaks Terra Cotta

Postby richie-rich » Sun Aug 08, 2010 6:02 pm

totally figures dgrant was involved. he probably was hiding in the bushes waiting to set you up. nice run - that was on part of the egg nog course, right?

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Re: Doonst loses his way at 5 Peaks Terra Cotta

Postby QuickChick » Sun Aug 08, 2010 9:22 pm

Great job even though you were led a bit astray... luckily noone would've allowed you to get too far as you were hard to miss! It was great to see you, H and my sweet Tuzo. He's still a cuddly baby.
"Don’t let negativity rent space in your brain for free. That is how you become a badass…by excavating her from inside you. You don’t have to become someone else. You need to identify the effing awesome parts of you that are your tools to work with, and maximize those." -Lauren Fleshman

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Re: Doonst loses his way at 5 Peaks Terra Cotta

Postby casual-runner » Sun Aug 08, 2010 10:24 pm

I was thinking that you could become a triathlete, but you can't even figure a way on the simple trail in your own background. Very disappointing :wink:
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Re: Doonst loses his way at 5 Peaks Terra Cotta

Postby La » Mon Aug 09, 2010 8:56 am

b_squared wrote:Doonst stares down the competition:

Image

Doonst, are you wearing a skirt???? :o :shock: :lol:
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Re: Doonst loses his way at 5 Peaks Terra Cotta

Postby horselady » Mon Aug 09, 2010 9:08 am

La wrote:
b_squared wrote:Doonst stares down the competition:

Image

Doonst, are you wearing a skirt???? :o :shock: :lol:


I was thinking the same thing...looks like a skirt..
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Re: Doonst loses his way at 5 Peaks Terra Cotta

Postby Doonst » Mon Aug 09, 2010 9:11 am

No, that's not a skirt. Brooks "Nightlife" yellow shorts, now stop staring. They could blind you if the sun is out.
Image
next up:


This broken wing will fly again
One fine day
This blackbird's mute gonna sing again
One fine day

So all you sinners come out
And all you drunkards crawl out
Come into the light of one fine day

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Re: Doonst loses his way at 5 Peaks Terra Cotta

Postby La » Mon Aug 09, 2010 11:47 am

They're so bright they burned out the camera lens! In that first photo they make your RM Orange shirt look "peach". :lol:
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Re: Doonst loses his way at 5 Peaks Terra Cotta

Postby Robbie-T » Sun Aug 15, 2010 8:13 am

nice running Doonst, sorry I missed that one.
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Re: Doonst loses his way at 5 Peaks Terra Cotta

Postby monkey » Tue Nov 30, 2010 9:40 pm

b_squared wrote:Doonst stares down the competition:
Image


I found myself in this picture!
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