Race Recap // Dirty Spokes Charleston Park 10k Trail Race

Charleston Park was the third race on the Dirty Spokes calendar this year. It's held on a fairly new mountain bike trail system on Lake Lanier. It features a little bit of everything. It's got a couple of grinder hills, some short punchy whoops, some technical/rooty sections, and a few longer sections that you can stretch your legs and get rolling.

I didn't really know what to expect going into this one having not raced since the beginning of February. I figured my best bet would be to approach it the same way I raced at Heritage Park last month. Ease into things and try to focus on racing the sections that fit my style. It worked well the last time out, so why not.

// The Course //
The 10k course utilizes the entire trail system on the map above. It starts out on the left side of the orange trail until it meets with the purple trail. The course runs counter-clockwise on the purple trail as it winds through the woods before meeting back up with the orange trail for the final mile or so. You finish by following the access trail back to the main parking lot.

This is a difficult race to figure out. It gets right into the trails with little room to stretch things out, similar to Mayhem on the Mountain. It's very punchy early on. The first mile is full of short steep ramps and quick downhills then ends with a long grinding climb. After you pass through the first mile you drop back down towards the water. The section that follows is more level but features a root covered low-lying trail that forces you to be nimble and quick-footed.

Photo courtesy of Dirty Spokes

Once you get through two miles things mellow out a bit though. The middle miles are firmly in my wheelhouse. They feature rolling terrain and longer, more straightforward sections that really allow you to get into a rhythm. Before the course reconnects with the orange trail you have one last climb to contend with. It's a long but gradual climb that works its way up from the shore to one of the higher points on the course.

After topping out on this climb you drop down to the orange trail where you finish things out with more short and steep up and downs. After you make your way through the ups, downs, twists, and turns you cross a concrete bridge and climb one final short hill before racing the final 400 or so meters to the finish.

// The Race //
Given that this race gets onto the trails so quickly with little room to spread things out, the shorter four-mile race started 10 minutes before the 10k. While this lead to some congestion in a couple spots later in the race, it made the start much easier to navigate. First, I knew everyone on the line was in the 10k. A lot of times it can be difficult to figure out who to follow and who to let go when both the short and long races start at the same time. Although now that I'm getting older and more mono-paced I should probably just be patient all the time.

I took the lead pretty much right away and was only followed by Jay Kolodzinski. He is a strong runner and I knew that if I let off the gas he wouldn't be far behind, so I needed to stay focused throughout the race. I wasn't quite prepared for how hilly the early part of the race was. I tried to settle into a rhythm once we got into the woods, but the early hills really took a toll. I tried to focus on trying to stay relaxed and find a comfortable effort level. The first two miles were pretty uneven and uneasy for me. I knew I needed to relax and stay patient until we going into the middle miles where I could start to pull away.

Fortunately, the root covered, twisty section around 1.5 miles allowed me to gain a little ground. It seemed like everyone let off the gas a little bit and, even though I'm not a great technical runner, I felt like I moved through that part of the course pretty smoothly. As I approached the two-mile mark, I finally felt like I was starting to settle into the race. I made one bonehead move at one of the course splits and nearly went the wrong way - fortunately, the volunteers set me straight. Once I got back on the right trail I started to really get into a groove.

Like I said, this section of the race really suited my running style. I was able to press the pace but remain comfortable for next 2.5 miles and that's where I really stretched out my lead. I knew that the last mile was going to be difficult, but I completely forgot about the final climb before you cross back over onto the orange trail. It's one of those climbs that levels out and then kicks back up a couple times before to reach the top. Two or three times you think you've topped out only to realize, nope it keeps going.

Grinding up it was definitely a challenge, especially since it threw me out of the groove I had been enjoying so much. Note to self: No Roots by Alice Merton is a good song to have stuck in your head while racing. I wasn't super happy with my effort level in the final mile. I relaxed a little too much. It was a case of building the last mile up to be more than it was in my head. I had these visions of struggling through it and my legs screaming, so I backed off going into it. At one point, I actually said out loud "What are you doing? You aren't as tired as you are thinking you are?" and at that moment, I saw the concrete bridge that signaled about a quarter mile to go.

After crossing the bridge and quickly tackling the short steep hill after it, I tried to open my stride up a little bit and finish the race out strong. I ended up stopping the clock at 38:14 to get the win, which is the second-fastest time I've run on this course. It turned out that I was only 15 seconds off my PR - and official/unofficial depending on your opinion on Strava course record. I don't remember what I had done going into this race that time, but I was pretty happy to take the win and run a solid time. Especially considering I wasn't really expecting much going in.

After hanging out at the finish for a bit, I cooled down and chatted with a few of the Dirty Spokes regulars. Mitch Novy won the short race in a PR and Jay ended up finishing second in the 10k. I was pumped for both of those guys to have good days. I ended up winning some awesome stuff, a six-pack of beer from Reformation in Woodstock, a box of blueberry nut butter Clif Bars - which are the best Clif Bars - and Tifosi sunglasses.

I also managed to pull off the age-graded win. I'm normally in that perfect spot where I'm not quite fast enough old enough to win the age-graded category but this time it ended up working out. For that, I got a really cool, handmade wooden medal specific to this race. Don Burkett handcrafts these for each of the eight Dirty Spokes series races. It's definitely one of the coolest medals I've ever won.

Here's what the race looked like on Strava:



// Recovery Beer of the Week //

Reformation Brewing - Sabine The Seeker
I know it kind of sounds like a character from Guardians of the Galaxy but since I won a six pack of it at the race it seemed like a fitting choice. I am always a big fan of breweries that sponsor races, especially those that give away beer. Reformation lists Sabine as a dry hopped French saison with notes of cantaloupe, orange blossom, and mild white pepper. It's definitely a solid spring beer. It's not too bitter and not too sweet, but most importantly does it pass the 'can I drink it and shovel this pizza in my mouth after the race?' test. Yes, yes it most certainly does.

// Closing Thoughts //
Considering the fact that I really didn't know what to expect going into this one, I was more than happy with the result. Early on, I wasn't feeling super confident and it seemed like I might have overcooked it on the early hills but I think I did a good job of staying calm and letting the race come to me after that. I really attacked the middle miles well and my overall pace was solid. I'm still not exactly sure where I stand when it comes to race fitness but I always seem to figure that out by racing a bunch in the spring.

In my efforts to continue to build my fitness, I did end up overcooking it the following day on my Sunday long run. I opted for 15-16 (it turned out to be 16) but that was a big mistake. I would have been good with 12 or 13 but 16 was too much. I was fried for the next couple of days. It pretty ended up taking me almost a week to get back to normal and I had to take a day off. I think I underestimated how much the race took out of me. Lesson learned there.

Next up is Rock/Creek River Gorge. I wasn't going to sign up for this race since it's all but certain I'm going to get throttled. Amanda and I have enjoyed using it as an excuse to take a long weekend trip up to Chattanooga though so I booked the hotel and signed up for the race. We'll see how it goes but I'm going into it with less than zero expectations this year.