A Race AND a Long Run

Sunday we completed the last race in the trail series.  It was an 8K and a rather hilly course.  I had forgotten how hilly it was.  Silly me should have remembered to read my race report from last year. 

I went in to this race thinking there was one long hill and one short steep hill.  While there was those, there was also a multitude of smaller hills throughout the entire course.  In discussing it afterwards you would refer to "the flat section", which was about a 1/2 Km long at the most.  The rest was all up and down, and I'm not much better about going down than I am going up.  One steep downhill I decided to try picking up the pace and I nearly did a face plant.

Anyhow, overall it went well.  Actually, it went VERY well.  Not only did I beat my husband's time from last year by a teeny bit, but my time improved 7 and a half minutes faster from last year!  That's huge and I'm very impressed with myself.

I was 3rd in my age group and 46th out of 102 runners.  Last year I was 99 out of 170, so I've moved up the scale there.  Finish time 42:19!  My husband rocked his finish time too with 37:14.  Hmmm, can I improve that much by next year???  That's a pretty big stretch.

Afterwards we hung out for a bit, talked to a few people, drank some water.  Some guys came up to me afterwards and said they paced off of me the whole race - that felt pretty good.

I was rather disappointed after this run with the organizers.  The information for this series indicated that there would refreshments and snacks provided afterwards.  The first race they had pizza, bananas, sliced oranges, and some bread things.  The 2nd race they just had apples & bananas.  And this last race - NOTHING!  Last year there was things like bagels & peanut butter, plus fruit.  I just feel that they cheaped out.  I'd rather pay a little bit more and have them actually provide something.  Guess it just goes to show that you have to provide for yourself and if there is anything there it's a bonus.

Obviously I don't race for the after run snacks, but I just thought this was pretty poor.  Especially since they had indicated it on the information sheet.  It's called fuel and on this particular day I was counting on it!

I find for shorter runs I don't like to eat much, if at all, because it upsets my tummy.  And I woke up with an unsettled stomach so didn't chance eating before the race.  As I mentioned the other day, we had decided to run home after the race.  This probably was a pretty bad idea on no fuel, but we did it anyway.

Getting started after sitting around for a while was tough.  My legs felt like lead.  Leaving the park we had to go up a long hill and I seriously questioned my sanity.  The first couple miles had some minor hills in them, but to me they felt like Mt Everest!  I could feel every step all the way through my legs and bitched constantly.

After that the land levelled out and I was able to pick up my snails pace.  We had planned to stop halfway to home and have a bite to eat - but then my in-laws called and offered to make us breakfast.  I much prefer home cooked food and hey, it's way cheaper, so we fought through and went straight home.

Total distance on Sunday was 12.1 miles (19.5 Kms).  I know after running a hard race AND following it up with a long run home on very tired legs... I am going to rock that half marathon.  By comparison it has got to be easier.  This was the toughest run I have ever done!  I have done longer straight runs and they were way easier.  The only way I made it home was by sheer determination and stubborness.  The gas tank was empty and the cylinders were all broken, so there is no other logical explanation.

Last night, in my effort to be more consistent, I did 1 mile on the treadmill, then some weights & such.  Just a bit, almost a rest day, but I want to keep things moving.  Today I'm feeling refreshed again and ready to go.

Hope you are having a great day!

Heidi

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