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So I have been thinking about trying a trail race for a while now. When I was training for Medtronic Marathon, I put it off because I didn't want to risk injury. After Austin 70.3 and the Route 66 Half, I was too fatigued. I had no desire to run. When the fatigue finally started to lift and the desire to run returned I began running the trails at Turkey Mountain a couple times a week. Ironically, on a Sunday long run on a neighborhood sidewalk I strain my ankle and bruise the 5th metatarsal of my right foot, which resulted in a hiatus from running for 6 weeks.
Funny when you can run, you moan and groan about the monotony of training. We whine about the grind of long slow runs, the burn of speed work, the pain of hill repeats, the heat, the cold, the rain, the wind, and the lack of wind but just let an injury or illness keep you from running then suddenly that is all you want to do is run. You don't care if it is slow, or hard, hot or cold. Your mood is terrible. You actually want to trip people who get to run. You want to tell your runner friends to shut up about their runs. You realize how blessed we are to be able to run. It is a privilege.
So I got cleared to do run training on the 9th of February. By February 11th I had a new training plan and a trail race on the schedule for February 28th. I decided on a trail race because I had been intrigued by the idea of it for a while but mainly I thought the uneven terrain would make me stronger. I wanted to strengthen those stabilizer muscles, hips, knees, gluteus, core, ankles and all those tiny muscles on your feet that let you roll with the changes.
New training plan in hand or on google sheets and run happy I went, or so I thought. That first run SUCKED!!!!! It was SLOW. It felt HARD! My entire CNS (central nervous system) was
screaming WTF! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? I texted my coach about how terrible it was and how much ground (fitness) I had lost. He assured me that was not the case and by the time I had a 2-3 runs done it would be easier. The fitness I had built was not gone, I had not lost as much as I thought and it would return faster than I believed. After all my body knows how to train now and it knows how to react/respond to training stimulus.
That first run sucked, the second run blowed, then a rest day, and then it was a 120 minute trail run. The first 40 minutes sucked, then it got better and I even thought hell yeah! That continued until the last 20 minutes, then everything got tired and hurt at once. All I could think is there is no way I am going to be ready to run a trail race in 2 weeks.
So what do you do, but the obvious follow the training plan, trust the process and control the variables that I can. So I ran my training runs, stayed true to my Whole 30 nutrition plan, hydrated, strength trained, crosstrained with swimming and biking and spent quality time with the foam roller.
So on Saturday the 27th I had to work all day but my coworker Kathy agreed to relieve me so I could get off early enough to rest up for the race on Sunday. Saturday evening I get off about 7-8 pm, grab some dinner and layout my flat runner. My friend Nicole is suppose to do the race with me and we plan on carpooling to the event but she renegs on me because she did a 10 mile hike on Saturday and has blisters. Who does that? I don't understand it but oh well she had a good time with her spouse, so good for her.
0630 on race day dawns with my regular pre-race routine. Bathroom, coffee, let the dog out, breakfast, more coffee, let dog in, bathroom, dress and double check everything 3 times, more coffee for the road, set the gps in the car and away I go.
I arrive and get parked I am early for the 9 am start since it is only 8 am. So I go exchange my race tech shirt for a smaller size. Yay! Chat with the lady from Tulsa Runner till she gets called away to assist another runner. Then I see Pam from my hometown so I talk with her and meet her family. Decide to take my shirt to the car and unload everything except what I need for the race. Check my phone a few times to get race updates on Nate and Cecilia who are running Cowtown that day. Nate is doing his first 50K and Cecilia is going for a PR on the Half.
Get to the start line about 10 minutes to the race start and about 10 people are milling around. Some are warming up, some are doing drills and some are just standing around. I see some Tulsa Runner people and we talk about Nate and his crazy fast pace for Cowtown. Now it is about 5 minutes to the race start and about 10 more people have come out to the start line. No one looks nervous, excited or anxious. 2 minutes to race start the remaining 100 or so people make it to the race start. Still no one is excited or nervous everyone is nonchalant. Well except maybe Phillip from Tulsa Runner and he just looks ready to run fast. I can't say I am nervous but I am excited, it is race day! Race day is always exciting!
3. 2. 1. Bang! and No one moves. Uh did the race start? People start walking to the line and then they start to jog for about 100 feet then they walk again. I am running. I mean it is a race, we are still on pavement. People are walking and talking. It is more like a socializer. I'm passing people and keep thinking do these people know something I don't know. No one is even acting like there in a race.
The trails are single track trails that meander snake-like down the side of the moutains side then it crosses a field, by a pond through the pasture and then it starts climbing. Which brings us to the first aid station that offers: water, gatorade, coke, beer, pretzels, pringles, m&m's, gummy bears, tator tots, chicken chunks and cookies. Are you kidding me? People are fixing plates of food like it is a Sunday potluck dinner. I chug a half a cup of water and keep going.
The trail climbs up the side of a mountain that Oklahoma does not have and then climbs some more. It is still single track but now it is more pasture/field like terrain. Then we start descending again in a meandering sort of way but there are some steep downhills. Now I pick my way down the downhills because my A goal for this race is to not get injured and my B goal is to do as well as I can and not get injured. There are people flying down these steep as hell downhills like the finish line is at the bottom and when they get to to the flatter parts of the trail, they walk. Huh?
At this point I have come upon a lady that flies down the downhills and walks or power hikes everything else. I ask how long she has been trail running to which she say she has done Post Oak the last 5 years. She ask about my running history and I tell her this is my first trail race. She asks if this is my first race and I say no I have done some marathons and half marathons. Oh she says "this will kick your ass, it is way harder than road running." I don't reply but my internal dialogue thinks, "uh no it won't. No it is not harder. It is just different." I may have had an eyerolling seizure at that point.
After we get back to the base of the hill we just climbed we go on a gravel road for a bit and then we come to aide station number 2. That offers: water, gatorade, pringles, pretzels, chicken, tator tots, grill ham and cheese sandwhiches made fresh while you wait and a mini bar with tequila, bourbon, gin, rum and mimosa's. Are you freaking kidding me? Hell no, I don't want a sandwhich with a mimosa. I chug some water and keep running.
The trail crosses the paved road and we start our ascent up the Hill from Hell. It would be a hill from hell if the trail went up in a straight line to the top but it goes up, then goes across, then up, and back across and then up all the way to the top. So yes it is steep but you get some relief on the cross sections before you crawl/climb again.
Shortly after starting this climb me and the trail wonder woman pass another woman on the trial. The two ladies talk and greet each other like friends do and the one we are passing says something about being slow. The other one says something to the effect "it doesn't matter how fast or how slow as long as you are having fun." Now I am 100% certain my mouth dropped open and I think I may have halted in my tracks upon hearing this. I mean I know we race because we enjoy it. I know that a lot of people say "I just want to finish." I know we say we are competing with ourselves and just trying to improve. I call bullshit! Yes I want to have fun, yes I am competing against my last time, yes I am trying to improve my race performance but I am telling you right now, I want to pass as many of the other runners out their I can! I want to leave it all out there on the road, trail or whatever. I will probably never win a race but it won't be because I was not trying. If I just wanted to run for fun I can leave my house everyday and run for fun and not pay race fees, have surplus tshirts and useless medals hanging on the closet door. Ok rant over, lets just say I don't understand some people's race philosophy.
Then the trail emerges from the trees and comes out on a "wagon trail" (their words not mine) and goes straight up to the top which they refer to as the Stairway to Heaven. Now this is steep but thankfully relatively short. The trail makes a big loop on the top and then descends down to the finish line after crossing a field.
On this downhill I might have started, if not flying down it, then I was definitely accelerating down it. Once I reach the open field it is full throttle, stretch out and race hard to the finish. All the way across the field, to the pavement and down the final stretch to sprint across the finish line. Final time 1:28:43
So did I enjoy it? Yes. Will I do another trail race? Yes. Do I understand this nonchalant breed of trail runner? No. Does that matter? No because I am doing my thing and they can do their thing and hopefully I am passing them while they eat!
Live Epic!
Michelle
