another trail race, another fall

Maybe if I ran a sedate 10min/mile pace I wouldn't have these calamities, but today I ran the Great Pond Mountain Conservation Trust trail race, 6.3 miles and took a tumble. The race went up a mountain so steep that I was walking the last bit to the top and then down on single track paths that would have suited a mountain goat. At the bottom of the first mountain as my friend Dave was catching up, I slipped and lost all the Gobstoppers in my fist (my shorts didn't have pockets) as I hit the dirt. Luckily I didn't hit any rocks and my only injury was a tiny cut on my palm. I was sure that we were mostly finished, but his handy GPS said we had only run 3.2 miles at that point. We ran a little flat piece and then up another large hill and flew down some wide paths to the end. I finished 3rd for the women with a 8:11 pace. The second race in the trail series is next week, a 4 miler that supposedly is even more hair-raising than this one. I can't wait.