Race Report: Mill Mountain Mayhem 10K

The race bib "I Hurt Just Thinking about It" pretty much sums up the course, where you run up and down rocky Mill Mountain (to the Star and back) in Roanoke.  We ran it the normal way this year (instead of the reverse course, which I understand is even harder and less popular.)  Yet again, I wasn't sure what to wear.  Temperatures were in the low 40s, so normally I would choose a long-sleeved technical shirt and running tights.  However, winds were 10-15 mph and biting cold.  

I opted to wear my fleece jacket on top of my long-sleeved technical shirt.  I also had a fleece earband and cheap gloves.  I wore my brand-new Hoka Stinson trail shoes.  Hooray for traction, in case it's needed!

The first mile of the race was on a paved road... going up... yes, the entire way.  I probably ran about half of it.  When it was less steep, I ran a bit.  Otherwise, I walked.  I'm a weak climber.  My hamstrings and glutes are not very strong.  I run entirely with my quads.  This was discovered years ago in physical therapy when my quads were literally twice as strong as my hamstrings and the assistant remarked, "Holy muscle imbalance, Batman!" 

So it was around that I time that I discovered that I can walk uphill in roughly the same pace as running it.  Well, at least I don't lose too much time.  And if I walk, I'm a lot less tired when I get to the top.  I hadn't gone too far in the race at all - maybe half a mile - when I realized the fleece was too much.  I took it off and tied it around my waist, where it stayed for the duration.

There were a lot of super nice volunteers along the course, as always.  Mountain Junkies has such nice people that come out to help, no matter what the conditions.  At least it was dry today, but it sure was a miserable cold wind.  This lady cheered me on as I climbed toward the Star.  She said it was okay to put her in my blog!  :)

After the initial big climb up the road, it seemed to be up & down all the way to the Star.  It was really rocky in places and I was a lot more careful than I might have been in my younger days.  I decided to treat this 10K more like a fun day in the park than a race.  If I am breathing slowly and easily - like in 3 steps, out 3 steps (or even in 4, out 4) -  I know it's a fairly relaxed pace.  This is what I did during almost the entire race.

Once I got to the Mill Mountain Star, I paused to take a picture of it and also the Roanoke Valley below.

I thought the return down the mountain (which was a LOT shorter in mileage and time!) was quite fun.  There weren't too many super rocky sections and I was able to let myself go a bit more, much like the old days.  

After finishing, I stayed around just long enough to get some chocolate milk (heavenly!), pumpkin bread, and fruit/veggie snacks.  I've said it before and I'll say it again - they have such lovely volunteers.

I checked my finish time while I snacked. 1:19:02.  According to preliminary results, I was 4/6 in my age group, and 103/117 overall.  I couldn't help smiling to myself as I could hear Papa Frank in my mind again - "That's pretty crummy, ain't it?"  By the way, if he were still living, he would have been 107 years old today.

It turns out I was the second oldest female in the race.  The oldest female finisher was 60 years old.  If I had been 6 months older than I am now, I would have actually won the 55-59 age group because there were no finishers at all in that category.

[EDITED on 4/7/24 to add:  I need to make some corrections.  I just checked the results again and obviously there were updates after I wrote and published my blog.  There were 147 finishers, and I was still 103rd... so more like middle of the pack instead of the back.  That feels pretty good!  And I was NOT the second oldest female.  There were several older than I.]

My overall pace was a 12:27, which I think for a 54 and a half year old woman running up & down a mountain, is pretty darned respectable.  Just three months ago as I embarked on my fitness renewal, I was running at a 12:00 pace on a treadmill for only 2 miles at a time.  I am very pleased with how far I've come.  Now that I've signed up for a full marathon in the fall however, I think I'd like to actually start training on more hills and mountains to help build my strength and stamina.  I should probably try to add a fourth day of running each week at this point.  I think I'd enjoy training on this trail again but it's a bit far from my house, especially when there are others a lot closer.  However, if you live in the Roanoke area snd if you have never hiked at Mill Mountain, I recommend it.  Happy Trails, everyone!