Sometimes I get so caught up in my love of trails that I start to poo poo my old friend the road. The roads are where I first learned to run. Where I slunk out in the predawn hours to stumble through an 18 minute mile walk/run, laugh at my minor victories that seemed major, and roads are where I realized that if I can't tell if I'm approaching a human or a trashcan and I don't want to wear my glasses, I should get contacts.... I gripe about roads because they make my feet hurt and my shins cry and cars are dangerous and blah blah blah.
But today I had plans at noon and I couldn't wait for ye old sunlight to break to get on the trails. So I talked two friends into meeting me a 7 for a little predawn running. Always a bit creepy and always a bit of adventure, but so much better with friends. We had a nice four miles and then EUREKA! I remembered something I love about road running.... RUNNING THROUGH SUNRISE!!! Beautiful sunrise that brought us to meet more friends for more running.
Then I remembered something that I love/hate about road running too.... You don't walk up every hill like trails... ok that's how I "run" trails, maybe it's not how everyone else does it.... I like to call it my "stop and smell the roses god these hills are giving me a butt cramp trail pace"...But here I was running up all the hills huffing and puffing and thinking, "I should slow down, this is too fast. Is this too fast?" It's not too fast, it's running on roads, I can just go faster on roads. DUH.
So I guess that road running has it's place. A lovely place that makes me push myself in a different way, see beautiful sunrises and feel fast (it's all relative). It's not a morning spent frolicking in the woods, but it's still some good stuff.
This run definitely falls into the category of "this is either the best idea or the worst idea...ever". I still can't decide which it was. BUT! There were definitely some best ofs and worst ofs involved.
The run was organized by Indiana Trail Running. A group I've heard lovely things about and joined, but haven't had a chance to run with yet. There were some people there to run 10 miles, 20 miles, and a 50k out in the woods with beautiful snow. It was going to be amazing (in my head). And I'll admit that parts of it were. We tackled the three lakes trail which was 10 miles and that's all this gal was interested in doing. Things got going and I was feeling positive.
The scenery was beautiful but the trail went from easy tamped down snow, to powdery exhausting snow, to trampled melted and refrozen trail. I was exhausted. Flailing my arms around like a drunk due to constantly being off balance. My positive feelings, quickly changed to "how am I going to survive this"? Would I have been better off without a Garmin on this run? YES! If I hadn't had a constant reminder of how slow I was going and how MANY miles were left, I think I could have surrendered to the run a bit more.
Thankfully I had lovely company that pretended to be struggling as much as I was.We ran a little and walked a LOT. My feet were killing me due to my Yak Trax and plantar faciitis. But I wouldn't have wanted to attempt this run without them.
Despite the pain in my feet and the weariness of my body, I still laughed from my belly and had wild conversations about how it would be great if we could fly back to the cars on a dragon. And then when everyone asked why we were so slow we would tell them, "maybe if you weren't in such a hurry you wouldn't have missed this DRAGON!" Maybe you had to be there but it made perfect sense at the time.
We were greeted at the finish by warm smiles and a warm fire. As with most runs, I'm glad I did it. I got to meet some new people and spend a lovely morning on the trails. So what if I'm exhausted and my feet are killing me? It's good stuff.
Everyone is heavy into making New Year's resolutions. Lose weight, quit smoking, grow wings, become a unicorn, and on and on. I made a few goals last year and accomplished them all, which was kind of cool. BUT, the cooler stuff that happened last year was the stuff I hadn't planned. So this year I know I want to shoot for 1,000 miles run, because I just like that goal. But I think that my other goals for the year are to do my best to learn from some of the stuff I picked up on last year.
- Quit saying I'll NEVER do stuff. Saying that virtually guarantees I will do it, and love it.
- If something sounds terrifying and ridiculous... really look into possibly doing it.
- Don't sign up for every race I've ever heard of in January just because it's $5.00 cheaper and seems like it will fit into my calender. I signed up for some of the best races I ran last year late in the game. And some of the races I had no interest in by the time I got to the starting line were a "great deal" when I signed up for them in January.
- Don't sign up for a race just because all of my friends are. It's like every mom ever says...."if all your friends jumped off of a building, would you do it too?" I signed up for a few races that my heart wasn't in at all, just because my friends were. There's nothing wrong with tagging along to cheer. Or if we are continuing with the mom example... just go cheer for your friends jumping off the building! You don't have to jump too!
- If something hurts and won't stop hurting, go to a doctor.
- Along those same lines.... I don't ALWAYS have to run the longest distance available at any given race. If there's a 15k and 5k, I always feel like I have to run the longer distance. More bang for my buck or something macho like that. Sometimes a little less macho leads to a little more fun.
- Accept the runner that I am on any given day. That may not be the runner my schedule says I should be, or the runner I pictured I would be all day at work, or the runner I think I should be. Or it may be a super awesome runner that I didn't even know existed.
- Try to find something awesome in every run, even if it's only something stupid like my Garmin finding a satellite quickly.
- Don't eat ALL the cookies, but enjoy the ones I eat
I think I learned some other stuff, but I can't remember it right now.... Is that a bad sign?
I don't have kids. My dogs are tiny and they HATE snow. That means, as a grown-up, I tend to use snow as an excuse to hang out in the house, drink beer, eat excessively, and cramp up my back by shoveling snow with bad form. Kids seem to make parents brave the outdoors to build snowmen and sled and what not. Dogs that weigh more that 15 pounds mostly LOVE snow and are a delight to romp and frolic in the snow with. Again, I got no kids, one nine pound dog, and one 15 pound dog. Until recently, snow = eat to insulate.
The past week has been pretty unpleasant for me. Bronchitis and running don't mix. Add in a super busy lotsa overtime work week with a side of blizzard (the snow kind not the delicious Dairy Queen kind) and I was way overdue for a total meltdown. Viola! Last night the meltdown happened. I hadn't felt like I had seen my husband all week so of course when he came home I lost my mind, bit his head off and had a spectacular meltdown!
We decided that this morning we would check out the local park trails and see how they were after snowpocalypse. We kept the plan to ourselves so that we could ditch out and hit the roads if the trails were too much to handle. And away we went! Some of the trails had only been trod on by snowshoes and some were fairly packed down. We picked our way across a few streams and then huzzah came across another runner. The only other person crazy enough to be out there.... was of course a good friend of ours! So now we were a trio. We turned a corner and started trudging through snow that hadn't been touched. Knee high snow that felt like this while running through this.
But it looked like this
I walked a lot because my bronchitis isn't quite gone. But it was worth every second. I got some time away from work and stress with my best friend and got a bit of "running" in. I'm sure that running these 4.5 miles were equal to 785 miles on roads. And I'm sure that I've discovered a way to enjoy a sunny snowy day. No children or snow loving dogs required.
I got up early this morning to run on the treadmill before work. I hate the treadmill, but when it's dark and early, sometimes it's just easy, so I'm happy I have it as an option. So that's how my morning was going to start. Up and at em! Hop on the treadmill, run a few miles, listen to some podcasts, and get into work early.
Well, plans don't always work out as.... planned. I walked a little to get things loosened up and then started a little jog. Then my knee grumbled, then maybe it yelped, back to a walk, try to jog, my knee hates me. What to do? What to do?
Do I crawl back into bed? Do I tough it out? Do I ride the stationary bike? Do I make coffee and catch up on my Words with Friends games? Or do I WALK?
I chose to walk. And then I spent a good part of the two miles that I walked on the treadmill trying to remind myself that it's ok to walk. Walking is better than going back to sleep isn't it? It's not like I was strolling, I was Walking with a capital W. So why did I have to convince myself that it was ok?
I run/walk lots of my longer races. I always have. Some of it is habit but sometimes it just feels good to walk and rest my running muscles. And come on, it's not like I'm going to win. So if taking a few walk breaks makes it more fun then why not? WELL, tell that to some of the runners I've told it too and their reaction would make you think that I had told them I soak my sports bra in urine before every race! What's the big deal? I've heard it a million times:
That race was crap I actually had to walk
What kind of idiot does that run/walk crap?
Why would you walk? It just slows you down.
It's not really running if you're walking.
UGH, dumb dumb dummies! Here's the thing, any forward movement counts. Some of it's prettier than others, but ALL of it is better than sitting on the couch! If it's not a good day to run, but walking is ok, it still counts. People that say dumb stuff about walking don't realize that someday walking might be all they can do. They also don't realize that no one likes a jerk. Walking isn't a bad thing, but being a jerk DEFINITELY is. Especially if you're being a jerk to yourself.
That being said. This morning I thought I was going to run, but it didn't work out. Instead, I had a lovely walk where I pushed myself, upped my incline, and got some decent exercise. It was all my body could give me today, so I took it. THE END
I've got the post race blahs. I've held them off with constant marathon training since June-ish, but here I am. And I knew it was coming. You know how on race weekend you feel like Superman? You're all strut and swagger, you've just done the impossible, you've kicked all of the couch potato's butts. You can eat and drink whatever you want and be merry merry merry!!
I got back to work on Monday and a few people asked how the race went. It was sweet of them to ask, but I couldn't express to the them how cool it was, and how awful/wonderful I felt. I can't describe to someone what it's like to hate moving forward, but finding the energy to do it anyway. I just smile and nod and say yeah it hurt, I am sore, but it was good.
And then I die on the inside.
BECAUSE IT'S ALL I WANT TO TALK ABOUT!!!! In detail. I've learned, however, that the non runners in my life are not interested in how many gels I had, how many salt pills I took, what socks I was wearing, how I wore my hair, if I will lose a toenail, and how many times I pooped before the race. Why wouldn't they want to know about this? Because to a non runner it's the most boring stupid dumb crap ever.... oh yeah, that.
So I sit at my desk and wait for race pictures, reanalyze my splits, look at results over and over again, and wonder... is this how Clark Kent felt when he read the newspaper? He's out saving the world, then goes back to work like it's no biggie. Everyone is all, "oh Superman this and Superman that", and he's just sitting around casually acting like he doesn't have this amazing secret life. Maybe that's what these races are. A way to be superheroes on our down time?
Superheroes sounds much better than mildly self abusive, often OCD types that enjoy relentless forward movement, huh?
Holy Crap. A dear friend and I say this about many runs we go on....
This is either the best idea or the worst idea EVER
I still can't decide which it was when it comes to this race . I have been interested/obsessed with the Tecumseh Marathon ever since I started running trails. This race looked amazing and terrifying all at the same time. The elevation profile alone would scare away many people.
There's a 17 minute mile cutoff, there are hills so big they have names. So of course, when I saw how well I was recovering from my October marathon.... I signed up. Crap crap crap crap. Thankfully, I once again found a friend that wanted to run with me. She's faster than me on roads, but less experienced on trails.Whew, glad I wouldn't have to pull this off alone. And I knew I would push myself harder with with a faster runner on my tail. I was a nervous and emotional wreck going into this race. Here's some disjointed thoughts on how it all went down.
-It's a point to point race. So you park at the finish and are bussed to the start. Met some really nice folks on the bus ride out and was feeling ok. We got to the start, got in line for the port-o-pots and a friend comes and tackles us for good luck! She and her fiance had come out to wish us good luck. Yeah! The race was supposed to start at 10.... but it wasn't starting. Then we find out two buses are lost and one bus is broken down. Oh crap. The giant 17 MINUTE MILE cutoff is looming in my head and getting shorter with every passing minute. I want to cry and puke and punch someone, but instead I just wait... Then surprise friend #2 pops up at the starting line. She recently moved out of town and we didn't even know she'd be there. This dear friend has given me strength and confidence that I didn't know I possess more times than she knows and a giant hug from her brought tears to my already welling up eyes. But FINALLY 45 minutes late we were off.
-I spent the first 3-4 miles doing math and wondering how on earth we could pull this off in daylight. I couldn't calm down. Then we started seeing these signs... run run Rudolph... Santa's got to make it to town. They were spread out. Then there were snowflakes... then tinsel.... then an aid station blaring Run Run Rudolph. They were amazing. Right after the aid station a few feet into the woods there's a woman in a full reindeer costume. That helped me calm down.
-The girl I was with took a fall early on. Thankfully it wasn't terrible. I didn't fall, but shortly after that I had a slow motion almost fall that lasted about 16 years. I think I was practically parallel to the ground for 45 minutes. When I avoided the fall I then started screaming at the top of my lungs with my arms in the air. Way to keep your cool Hazler.That near fall, plus a huge toe stub later on will certainly end with some blackened toenails.
-We talked to lots of great people as we ran. But I have no idea what their names are. However, between my friend and I we referred to them as walk/run guy, white shirt guy, the power walkers (those two could take a hill like you wouldn't believe), singing lady, and green shirt guy. People at trail races are so much more friendly than road racers. It's so much more relaxed. But my head kept doing the math... got to beat daylight.
-Random observation: Did you ever notice that trees that will soon fall over sound like the Predator? This was just hilarious to me and my exhausted brain.
- So my friend and I find ourselves mostly alone and I say, I'm gonna jump over by that tree and pee really quick since no one is around. Oops, there comes the next group of runners down the hill... with a bird's eye view of my shockingly white rear end. But I've already started to go, so all I can do is laugh! Who cares. Maybe it'll make for a funny entry on their blog.
-My fantastic husband was on top of the gigantic hill that was 75 miles long around mile 13. This was awesome! And awful. Awesome because I was so excited to see him. Awful because I just wanted to jump in the car with him and go home. Instead he filled up our Camelbaks gave me a kiss and away we went.
-Dear dear friends screaming like lunatics at mile 21 with a sweet power arch and a butt smack. Who knew a butt smack could help you so much in a race you've both hated and loved to extreme degrees within the last 5 hours?
- We were racing daylight, but there was also a 4:30 cutoff for mile 22-23ish. I kept looking at my watch saying we've got to push it. We've got x amount of time. But we kept wondering... with a 45 minute delayed start they've got to give us a little. We pushed our pace more than we thought we could, PASSING PEOPLE! I told my friend that if they stopped us I was just gonna punch someone in the gut and then we both need to take off! No gut punching required! We hit the mark at 4:35! My husband later told me that he was saying to the other cheerers, "god help the person that tries to tell my wife to stop running this race". After ten years of marriage, he knows me pretty well.
-Shortly after the 4:30 cutoff mark we ran for a bit with singing lady and green shirt guy. We were chatting with them about food and Gu's and how Gu is like fake fruit flavored spackle and it sits in your gut like a rock. The next thing we know we're singing the Bob Seger song Like a Rock. But we're all picturing the Chevy truck commercial.
-My head was done with this race a thousand times over. But in the last two miles we stumbled into two great friends screaming awesome and hilarious things to us. One last hill, but we were laughing and smiling on the way up. We beat the sun! We did the race! HOLY CRAP EVERY INCH OF MY BODY HURTS!
-So many friends were at the finish line. And so were SOUP AND COOKIES!! Delicious soup and cookies and friends.
What a day. Our average pace was 15:35ish per mile. Which is crazy. I was worried about the 17 minute mile cutoff and here we were in the 15s! I did not know I had that race in me. I loved it and hated it. I was DONE with that race a million different times. I felt nauseous, dizzy, and like I was gonna crap myself off and on through the whole thing. I smiled and laughed and sang and shouted.
Would I run it again? Ask me in a week and I'm sure I'd say yes. Because holy crap that was amazing/awful/awesome/terrible/fun.
