Shotgun Trail Blast & Miwok musings

I just signed up for the trail blast this weekend. I wasn't planning on running this race because the only time I had run it before, I thought it was more mud than fun. However, last weekend I had a difficult time getting my long run in and I didn't want to have another weekend without good strong miles, so entering the race was my insurance of 31 miles - yea! Miwok is coming up and I had just begun to worry about if I've trained "enough". This thought always comes up at some point before a race that means something to me, and this year it's no different. I have about a month left before Miwok and I have 2 weekends to get some major miles in with HILLS! Looking back on my training going into Miwok last year, I'm in just about the same place. I'd hoped I would be in a better place, but knowing I was pretty close, reassured my What if thoughts. My goal for Miwok is to run it faster than last year and to conquer the stomach issues I had for the first half of the race. This means for the next month, paying close attention to what I'm eating and how it makes me feel the next day and during a run.

Overcoming the Fox Hollow Hill

I ran the Fox Hollow hill this morning. I've been thinking about adding this hill to my mid-distance runs to get used to running a hill (approx. 2 miles) mid-way through. Fox Hollow has always been a hill I've had a little fear about just because it seems to go on forever when I drive to the trail head which is at the top of the hill by the raptor center. But this morning, it seemed right. I couldn't get motivated to run yet another loop on Rexius trail. And I did not want to run flat roads in the dark. So Buddy and I made this morning an exploration run. We took streets we never run on. I challenged myself to run any street that had even the slightest incline as we meandered over to Fox Hollow. When I run hills now, I have a particular pace I focus on depending on the grade and then on my way down my goal is to go as fast as I can to get my legs used to the quick turn over and the pounding. I've read this builds strength and so I'm going with that. Last year this training strategy seemed to help on the longer races; my legs didn't seem to fatigue and I never had "dead legs". So now that I've overcome my fear of Fox Hollow, I think it will be a regular part of my mid-week training runs.

No it's not just you, it's me too.

I was reading a post on the blog Dorthy Bites Toto and loved her last thought. No it's not just you, it's me too.

I remember when I signed up for my 100 mile race, I messaged a friend of mine.
My words -
"I just signed up for a 100 miler. Holy Shit."
Hers - "But isn't it about getting the holy shit out of life?"
Exactly.
I want to live every moment. I want to breathe every breath deeply. I want to get the ever-loving, ass-spanking, holy shit out of life and drink every last drop until it's gone.
But maybe that's just me?

Fall Creek Run Around

Due diligence is needed for my blog. Over due on reporting what I've been up to running and otherwise.

Just ran the Fall Creek Run Around which is a 20m road race, something I don't necessarily seek out, but I've been having a difficult time with motivating myself in the dark, cold and rainy hours of these wintery/spring days. So I thought signing up for a race for my long run would be a good idea. I impulsively signed up and then sent a note to my friend Laura who has had a goal to be in running shape to spontaneously sign up for a long race, so she did too. We both committed before I think we had thought everything through.

Thinking everything through should have included thinking about the storm that was expected for the week and weekend. Thw weather was getting colder and more unpredictable.

On Friday before the race, my step-sons were visiting and Patrick was asking about my "crazy" race the next morning. After talking about the distance, course etc, he told me not to worry, I was going to win. When I was able to stop laughing, I tried to explain to him what a MOP (middle of the pack) BOP (back of the pack) runner meant. We discussed realistic times for me - under 3 hours, but the conversation ended with him saying I'd come in first anyway - have faith in yourself, he said.

I woke up the next morning with his words in my head. And I must to admit the challenge was on. I knew I would never come in first, but under 3 hours was definitely do-able.

Race day proved to be 20 degrees and holding - not great for personal bests. Also, I didn't realize the first half of the race would be run in snow - another negative for personal bests. But Laura and I were in good spirits and were up for the challenge. There is a little pride at being able to say you can run 20 miles in 20 degrees.

It took several miles before I felt "warm". I'm coming to understand warm is relative, but I guess I'm also learning that with ultra running most everything is relative. It's just a matter of adapting to what you're given in a situation....life lessons...I could go on and on about running and life, but I'll stop here. I felt warm, not warm on a summer day, but content and I could think about other things.

I started feeling my toes about mile 2, and then the cold burn in my thighs was gone, and then I felt my butt. Not always a good thing to feel your butt, but instead of the stiff icy feeling, I now felt like there was actually muscles doing there job. The last thing to thaw was my right thumb. I carried a water bottle and the tip of my thumb seemed to be getting the worst of the cold.

The course was beautiful; trees covered in snow, crunchy sounds with each step. It reminded me of the many times Tim and I would go backcourtry skiing: quiet, white, sun shining through the trees. Even though we were running on a road, no one was out (smart) because it was so *&%! cold! We ran the first 10+ miles on ice and snow covered road. Scary black ice, slow running especially after I fell on my butt. I ran most of the first 10 on the side of the road in a couple of inches of snow just so I could get more traction. But even with the cold, ice, fall, snow I felt fantastic.

I ended up coming in 1st female in my age group at 3:15. Not too shabby for me considering the weather. I'm still curious to find out what my best time at the marathon distance would be, but I think I'll wait until the weather gets better to find out.

Things that I enjoyed about this race:
1. Running with Laura
2. Staying warm in the car
3. Snowy trees
4. Good course with just enough hills
5. Successful with fueling
6. Ugg boots
7. Date with my step-son, Rory, @ Prince Puckler's ice cream parlor