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| Photo credit: Scott Rokis photography |
Since the trajectory of 2018 had to change due to the foot
acting up, I decided what better time than to revisit something I love……trails.
My goals of training for and racing a 5k, 10k and half marathon through the first
six months of the year had to be scrapped. I was just grateful to get in
whatever miles I could without my foot barking at me. The logical thing to do
when you are not trained past 8 miles and haven’t been on trails/hills in two
years? Sign up for a half marathon (which you know will NOT be a half marathon distance
because Kevin’s races never are) that has over 2500ft of elevation gain. I did
get my coach to sign off on it and I knew better than to have any expectations
from this race. I would consider it a power hiking excursion more than
anything. I also didn’t know how the foot would behave. I had run 8 miles
without any pain in the foot but anything longer was the unknown. So as race
day approached, I braced myself for the possibility that I would spend the time
after 8 miles dealing with an angry foot. That was a bit of unknown that had me a little worried.
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| We would be running just below that snowy section |
Another wrench that was being thrown into things was the weather.
Trail races pretty much always go on, rain or shine. The forecast was
predicting cooler temps (40’s) with pretty high winds, gusting up to 50-60mph
along the ridgeline. Which is where I would be running. Fun times. So I snagged
the appropriate outer layer on Running Warehouse, (a Salomon that performed beautifully)
and prepared myself for whatever Mother Nature would throw at me. There were so
many DNS’s for that race, it was crazy. There were at least 10 of them and only
13 finishers, yours truly being one of them. If there is one thing I've learned from the years of working with my coach, it's to not let bad weather scare you (unless there is lightning; I respect that and stay indoors). So why let a little cold, a little rain and a lot of wind deter me from a fun morning on the trails?
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| Photo credit: Scott Rokis photography |
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| Trudging up the muddy trail in the first few miles |
I had forgotten the rude uphill section for the first 5-6
miles of this race. It’s definitely a power hiking section. I was trying to
keep my average pace for the entire race under 17:30 so I knew that I had to at
least slog my ass uphill at a decent hiking pace to even things out for the back
half. I stopped to take a lot of photos and just enjoy the morning. Ash Canyon
is so very pretty and that morning was no different. There was a decent amount of
mud on the way up but once to the top, the trail was in pretty good condition.
Some patches of snow here and there but otherwise, a clear trail where I could
actually get to a running speed.
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| Some of the melted snow forming a little creek |
Funny story. Anyone who knows me knows how terrified I am of
mountain lions. So I was in last place, all by myself out there and just trying
to push aside any thought of big cats. I was heading up a series of switchbacks
when all of a sudden, I heard this crashing noise like something coming through
all the sagebrush on the side of the mountain. I let out a blood curdling
scream as my entire life flashed before my eyes as I thought “this is it….it’s
a mountain lion barreling down the hillside to attack me” (I’m so dramatic). I
dared to glance up and saw not an animal but a huge log rolling towards me down
the hill. The wind had managed to push a felled tree down the slope. I sped up just as it rolled into the trail behind me. I remember
breathing a sigh of relief as I kept running then looking around to see if
anyone had witnessed my ridiculous performance. So silly. But it did reinforce
why I don’t wear earbuds while I run – being vigilant and aware of my surroundings
helps keep me safe.
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| The section where a felled tree almost took me out |
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| Beautiful views of Carson City down below |
As I headed down the switchbacks on the backside of the
course, I was thrilled. I was making good time and knew I would be able to hit
my goal of a 17:30 pace. Not being trained for hills and trails, my knees and
hips were definitely mad at me BUT there was no foot pain at all. I kept
waiting for it to come and it never did. My foot felt fabulous. I passed up one
runner so I was no longer DFL and then as I hit the last big hill (who in the
hell puts a hill at mile 12 or so of a half marathon??), I passed up a young
man who was looking like he bit off more than he could chew. Anyone who signs
up for Kevin’s races should just assume it will be hilly AF and always, always
longer than whatever it says. I’ve learned the hard way…..lol. I hit the top of
the hill and then almost got knocked off my feet by the wind gusts in the
meadow (I later found out they were having 50mph wind gusts down below so I
know they were at least that strong).
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| The last hill to climb, around mile 12 |
As I headed down the last set of
switchbacks, I looked at my Garmin and was so happy to see my time. I would be
finishing in under 4 hours which was my goal for this race. Had I been trained,
my goal time would have been much more aggressive but I was pleased with how I
was feeling at this point. I crossed the street and hit the last ¼ mile section
on the bike path then saw my husband and son at the finish line. It was great
to see their faces after spending almost four hours alone with nothing but my
own thoughts (haha). My time was 3:45:43 and the distance was 14.3 – that averages
out to 15:47/mile. The course ended up having over 2800ft of elevation gain. I
beat my goal by almost two minutes per mile and was still upright….woohoo!! And
I had just run over 6 miles longer than my longest run in months and months.
Not a peep from the foot. All was right with the world.
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| Literally up the side of a mountain :-) |
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| Photo credit: Scott Rokis Photography |
After I got home, I started thinking about how
much I had missed trails. I wanted more dirt, more hills, more trails. And I
would end up getting that over the next few weeks. Suddenly, my spring went
from racing short distance road races to signing up for races that were way
outside my comfort zone….at least at this point in my running where I had been
solely on flat roads for a couple of years. But doesn’t the saying go “growth
happens outside our comfort zone”? Or something like that.....more to come ;-)
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| My kiddo meeting me at the finish line |
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