Today was my first race of 2022.
I founded the Dahlgren Trail half-marathon in 2010 and was the race director from 2010 through 2020. Arsenal Events took over race management in 2021, and the Friends of the Dahlgren Trail seem happy with Arsenal’s efforts, looking to keep this event going for many years into the future.
The race is run on the old rail bed trail. The Navy built the rail line in 1942 to provide supplies to their Dahlgren Base.
There are still trains running from Fredericksburg to the King George County dump. The portion after the dump was abandoned and purchased by a private party, leaving a 15.7 mile-long trail through nature in King George. The Friends of the Trail removed the rails and ties, leaving a nice runnable trail. This race used the 6.55 miles on the trail’s west end, starting at the Rt 605 trailhead.
The storms of January 3, 2022, knocked down many tree branches along the trail, and the Friends spent many hours cleaning the debris. The downed trees and leaves opened many new vistas to the county properties along the path.
The race start time of 9 am was later than most half-marathons. This time allowed me to sleep until 6 am. The forecast was overcast with a slight wind and temperatures between 33 and 39 degrees. I left my house at 7:30 am and arrived at the trail by 7:45 am. The parking lot was about 30% full, and attendants helped squeeze as many cars as possible into the lot.
I stayed in my car until 8:10 am and then headed out for a 30 minutes warm-up in intervals of 2-minute walks and 6-minute runs. My scheduled long run for this week is 16 miles. I got 2.4 of those miles in my warm-up.
With the forecast, I wore shorts over compression shorts, a singlet over a long-sleeved shirt, knit hat, neck gaiter, knit gloves, and my Nike Pegasus Trail shoes. I tied a heavier overshirt around my waist, prepared for a potential issue.
This past Wednesday, at my dentist’s, my blood pressure was 92 over 52. People have told me to be aware of lightheadedness. This reading may be the cause of my cold hands. The overshirt, if needed, has extended sleeves to add an extra layer to my hands.
I was in the second start wave that started with a 2-minute delay. I felt good in the first half of the race with mile splits of 11:28, 11:43, 11:15, 10:49, 11:03, 10:49, and 6:01. I walked for 1 minute at the two water stops and mileposts 2.5 and 5.5. My hands were cold, but I pulled my fingers from the gloves and balled my hands to warm up. By the turnaround, my hand felt warm using the glove fingers.
After turning around, I had issues running on the rocky surface and may not have been running straight lines. The first 2.5 mile splits were 6:39, 11:48, and 11:44. These splits were a bit slower. Because of the surface, I wasn’t concerned.
At 4 miles to go, the trail surface became less rocky with many crushed stone and pine needles. I felt I was running better on this more excellent surface. However, my subsequent two splits were 12:09 and 12:33. These were my 12th and 13th miles of the day, where I have been bogging down on my long runs.
Then the wheels fell off. My next mile was a 14:16, which included a 1-minute walk break at the last aid station. Approaching the one-mile-to-go post, I was determined to keep running the best I could. I decided to walk the portion of the trail with rail and ties. This section is about 300 meters long. I ran as hard as I could to the finish from the last rail with a 13:06 mile split.
I was not paying attention to my right hand. Upon finishing and removing my glove, I could not hold anything, and it had red tips and white sections. It took until 3 pm to return to my new standard color.
My time was 2:35:38, finishing 121 overall, 78th male and 12th of 16 in the male 60 to 69-year-old age group.
I walked another 1/2 mile before changing into warm clothes to complete my 16 miles.
I didn’t feel well enough to consume any free beer, and the post-race food didn’t look appetizing. The Rice Krispy Treats and Krispy Kreme glazed donuts looked great, but I had to avoid the excess calories and sugars.
I hope the weather will warm up some, and my 18 mile run this coming week will be better.
Vic, John Timmerman here from Myrtle Beach where I retired to in 2020. You may have Renaud’s syndrome which I have and causes poor hand circulation and/or foot circulation from what I read in your post. I have it and-simply use hand warmers (hot hands) and gloves constantly when running in cold weather. Hot water can fix it pretty quick. Your hands will turn red or purple. Your time was awesome. Those are splits I run all the time, just moving to be moving, not to win anything. I am planning to run the Myrtle Beach marathon this Saturday and only shooting for a sub 6 hour time. Slow is cool too as long as you finish. Take care.