Race Reports Archives ~ Page 8 of 12 ~ TRAILMOMMA

February 22, 2016February 22, 2016

FOURMIDABLE 50K RACE REPORT (What a freaking race!)

Saturday was my first race of the 2016 season and it definitely was a race to remember. So settle in and grab a drink, this is doozy of a report. 🙂

I chose Single Track Running’s FOURmidable 50K because I thought it would be a good indicator of where I am in my training so far. It touted a high elevation and a tough course. I have never run one of their races before but I knew the general area where I would be running … or so I thought.

If you’ve been following me, you know that I spend almost every weekend in Auburn and/or Cool running these trails with my friends. Up and down K2. Up and down Cardiac. Up and down the hill to the Overlook. I’ve done it all countless times but when you string so many climbs together in one single day? Woah, talk about a death march!

I am truly a lucky girl because I have two amazing friends who offered to drive me to the start of the race and send me off with laughter, hugs and positive vibes.

I honestly don’t think I could have had a better start to a race. It meant more to me than they will ever know. I was calm, I was happy and I had no stress because of their generosity and friendship. Pigeon was texting me all morning as well, sending advice and good juju too.

The start was chilly but I could tell it was going to be a warm day. I was worried that I should have gone with a tank top instead of a t-shirt, ah well, too late to worry about that now.

The starting area was gorgeous. A beautiful fog was layering over the valley making for the most amazing views for the start of a race.

Or very cool Ninja poses by Stonegate — Perfect for very cool Ninja poses by Stonegate

There was a bit of confusion at the start as it was hard to hear Paulo, the Race Director talk over the loud speaker. There were four distances to this race and they started at different times. The 50k and half marathon started at 8 am and the 35.5k and 13k started five minutes later. I know that some of the 35k people didn’t understand that (despite countless emails detailing the day’s starting times) and they ended up starting with some of us 50k runners.

Off and Running! Thanks Stonegate for the photo!

Paulo counted us down and I was off and running. I didn’t really look around me to see how large of a crowd it was because it was combining two distances (remember I started with the half marathoners too).

Off we ran DOWN the Damn Hill, the same hill that I have had to run UP for the American River 50 mile race so many times. As I was running, I realized I was going at a pretty good clip. It was downhill after all. A girl came up next to me and told me that she really liked my hat. 🙂

I said thanks and just kept running. My watch buzzed and I looked down, Mile 1 = 8:46 pace. Woah. That’s pretty fast when I have 30 more miles to go … I told myself to be careful. I just felt good. Everyone was flying granted most were probably doing the half marathon. Whoops.

Watch buzzes a mile later … 8:45 …. um…what are you doing!? Then we get thrown onto some single track trails that wind us down towards the very bottom of Cardiac and that’s when it all came to a halt.

My legs felt like jell-o when I started climbing. My breathing was labored. My body felt tired. All I kept thinking was “What in the heck?! See! You went out too fast!” But I just kept climbing. I didn’t push the pace. Luckily I was solo on the climb most of the way so no pressure from behind or in front.

Eventually though, a few people caught up to me and I let them pass … that deflated me a little but I just kept telling myself, you have miles and miles to go.

When we reached what I thought was the top of Cardiac, the spot where my friends and I usually stop, catch our breath and continue on down the canal..but instead, we kept climbing. Cardiac apparently, goes even HIGHER than I knew was possible. Geez. But it was gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous!

That was the first of the “FOUR”midable climbs in the race. That is what I kept telling myself. Just count the climbs and you’ll be fine.

After cardiac we wind our way back to the starting area for the first aid-station. I was in and out in about 15 seconds. I didn’t need much. I threw out some trash and that was it.

Then we dipped onto some trails that I have never run before that take you down and under the Auburn Damn Overlook. It was beautiful. I was just beaming!

Then we were dumped back onto the Western States Trail and were on our way to No Hands Bridge. I found myself behind this girl who was flying whooping and hollering down the trail. Her energy was infectious! I latched onto her tail and flew down to the bridge running a 9 minute mile. She of course, was only running the half.

No Hands Bridge, mile 9.2 aid-station – in and out less than 20 seconds. Instead I hiked up towards K2 eating what I brought in my pack.

The climb up K2 (the second of the FOURmidable climbs) was not nearly as fast as it had been last weekend but it was steady. One foot in front of the other. At the top, where I normally stop with my girls and take a breather, I realized I couldn’t stop. I had to keep going. There was one girl who literally ran up K2. I was floored.

I texted my friends … and they texted me back with this … causing me to crack up while climbing K2, thanks girls!

Again when I thought we would go one way, the course had us going a different way. What fun! I was trying to figure out where the heck we were and if I had been on these trails before. I was definitely by myself. Some guys had passed me and then kept going. Finally I reached the Knickerbocker Aid-station (mile 13.0). I asked the volunteer (who was super nice) which way the 50k runners go because at this point, we had some 35k runners with us (the ones who started at the wrong time).

The volunteer pointed across the street and said, “Well, you’re going to do a little four mile loop and then come back to us here and then go that way.” Inside I laughed, “a little four mile loop?” … I knew what that meant … the third of the FOURmidable climbs, Old Auburn Damn Hill … another brutal climb.

It was getting warm and fast. The girl from the first mile had caught up to me and we ran together for a while chatting. I also ran into TrailTurtle Shannon who I haven’t seen out on the trails in a long time. Always a pleasure seeing her.

Hat Girl started telling me that she is out here twice a week climbing Damn Hill and K2 while her daughter is in school. She said she saw a “nest” out here a few weeks ago that was HUGE. I was like, “What kind of nest?” Thinking it was going to be a bees or wasps.

Nope, she meant a bird’s nest that was SO large, a couple of humans could actually fit inside. What in the hell?! I stopped to take a photo when she showed me, and she took off! ha Sneaky sneaky. 🙂

She was quite a ways ahead of me up the climb. When we reached the aid-station (mile 17.6), I think she saw that I didn’t really stay long. Less than 20 seconds and I was out, walking and eating. She was quick to join me.

She ran off up ahead while I was content to eat and hike some. Eventually I caught up to her and another girl (the one who ran up K2) and they moved to let me pass. So I did.

But Hat Girl was quick to stay with me. She left the girl she was with and was behind me. I have to say, I have never been on these trails before. I knew we were in Cool but I had no idea where we were. Some of it was the Way Too Cool course but some of it took us off where I don’t think I have been before. I could see highway 49 and it felt like I was in the backyard of the homes that lined the highway. Crazy!

This was the LONGEST stretch between aid-stations and I had no idea at the time, that it was that far. Seeing that aid-station tent off in the distance at the fire-station in Cool was a HUGE relief. Thank goodness.
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I had a burst of energy. Not only because of the aid-station, but because I knew that I was on my way to the finish. I’ve run this route (again, or so I thought) a million times and I was anxious to get to that downhill section that leads back to No Hands Bridge.

At the aid-station (mile 23) this girl dressed head to toe in pink came up behind Hat Girl and I and said, “You two are hard to catch! I ‘ve been chasing you girls forever!” I laughed and then she took off! I probably stayed the longest at this aid-station, mostly because they were so chatty (really it was probably 30 seconds). Off I went and Hat Girl was right with me.

When we reached the section where we normally turn right to head back down towards No Hands, the course had us going straight. WHAT??!! My heart screamed inside a bit. Noooooo! I wanted to turn RIGHT! Whhhhyyyyy! Straight we went. We eventually came back around but man, that was a hard detour to swallow.

Pink Girl was gone. Hat girl was with me. We reached the downhill section that I have been bombing lately and I turned to her and said, “This is the section I have been waiting for!” Poof, I was gone. I had a enough juice in the legs and I just motored. My average on this section was an 8:50 mile (and it was muddy).

I caught up to Pink Girl who was not backing down as she took off even faster. We were both talking as we were running about how awesome this section is!

We reached No Hands and the aid-station (mile 26.8) and I threw away some trash. Pink Girl I noticed didn’t even stop. She handed a water bottle to her family and left without grabbing anything. I grabbed a cup downed it and then started eating and walking across No Hands. I texted Vans to tell him that I had 4 miles left and that it would take me an hour.

I put my phone away and started running. I eventually passed Pink Girl who it looked like was finally taking a moment to eat. I passed her and said that I’d probably see her again soon.

I just felt, good … so I kept running on all the flats. I’d stop and power hike when I’d feel like my legs were about to fall off, and then the sensation would pass and I’d start running again. The trails were FILLED with people hiking and carrying strollers and they didn’t quite know trail etiquette.

Run walk run walk up and up and up I climbed. I heard a noise behind me and I turned and there was Pink Girl! “Girl!” I said, “You just come out of no where! Man you are killing it today!” She laughed and said she had no business trying to keep up with me but this girl was strong. We talked for a bit.

She said that the downhill section we had just bombed took a bit too much out of her. She was also a mom of 3 and had been up all night the night before with her youngest who was sick and that all 3 of her kids had been sick during the week. Geez, I can’t imagine how she runs when her whole family is healthy!

I took off running and she said she wasn’t there yet. I thought for sure I would see her again. Back towards the Overlook we were climbing but just as we were supposed to go right, the course had us go left onto a trail that I have never in all my times running out there noticed before! Where are we going!?

It was an awesome single track and there was a guy in front of me. Trying to take advantage of the down again I picked up the pace. I joked that while I loved this course change, it scared me … what goes down must come back up …and we were going very steeply down towards the river.

The guy let me pass him and then finally, I turned a corner and saw it, the massive climb with various runners sprinkled way up high. Holy moly. We have to climb that to get to the finish?!

At first I felt strong and then my legs started to shake and feel weak. I kept thinking about the guy behind me but eventually I think he even stopped because I no longer heard him. One foot in front of the other I told myself. I remembered Vans’s note to me this morning ….

Just keep going! So I did. Hands on knees hiking – I kept trying to stay up right to help my breathing be better but dang was this a climb! Then, I heard it … someone yelling!!! That means we were close. We had to be close!

Boom, a little boost of energy and I was climbing a bit harder …. I knew my family was there, I knew it and I wanted to get there fast. The guy behind me had mentioned earlier that we were on track to be sub 6 hours. I refused to look at my watch when he said it but I glanced down while climbing and knew it wouldn’t happen, not with this climb.

Finally I reached the top, saw my girls and Vans and almost melted. I had to run a few more yards to the finish. Everyone was cheering and my legs just felt unattached to my body! I finished! From my watch, it looks like I PR’d with 6 hour and 8 minutes (Official Results say 6 hours and 9 minutes).

I was handed a very cool wooden medal and told to go pick out a hat or a beanie … how cool!!!

As I was doing that, I saw Paulo, the race director. When I got near him I said, “I don’t know whether to hug you or hit you!” 🙂 But he got a hug and he said, “Congrats! Third female!” and he handed me this cool wooden award.

“What? No!” I said, “You have to be mistaken.” He said they just checked and I was third female! After all that battling with Pink Girl and Hat Girl, I ended up being third. So many times when they got ahead of me I just said to myself, “Forget it, let it go, just run your race.” And you know what, I did. I did run my race and it apparently worked! I was also first in my age group. 🙂

My cool trucker hat, wooden medal and wooden award. Very creative.

This race was incredible. Definitely one of the hardest, if not THE hardest 50k I have done. Mt. Tam 50k is probably the next closest but I do think FOURmidable may have been a smidgen harder.

Course Profile

The course was well marked. There were sections where you really had to pay attention otherwise you might miss a turn but overall, it was extremely well executed. I am a little bummed because there was a ton vegan food at the finish and I didn’t have ANY of it. 🙁 I completely forgot and was busy with my family.

I worked my butt off training for this race knowing there was a lot of climbing. I also know that I need to keep up that amount of climbing if not double for what lies ahead.

As always, I will post my recovery meal but know that post race is always an exception in my world. Our fridge is on empty in terms of food this weekend and since Vans and the girls were at the finish, Vans had a little something up his sleeve … with a little help from me too …

Cafe Nectar to go while sipping some wine from Casque on their patio.

Two vegan tempeh tacos and one vegan chorizo taco (for Vans) complete with two wonderful glasses of Syrah as the girls played off in the distance as the sun was setting. Perfection. #goodhusband

Sorry, I know this was the longest race report ever. Hey, it was the first race of the season, give me some slack. 🙂 It is not every day when I PR in a 50k AND get 3rd female. I am still blown away and completely blessed by all the wonderful people in my life. Thanks for reading!

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

Full Disclaimer: I am not associated with Single Track Running at all and was not paid or compensated at all for writing this report. They truly put on a stellar event.

December 9, 2015December 8, 2015

CIM 2015 RACE REPORT

This past Sunday I ran my 7th California International Marathon and my 11th marathon to date.

Last year when I ran this race (you can read that race report here), I decided that upon crossing the finish line that I wanted another shot at actually “running” this race and not just finishing (even though I ran the past few CIMs with TiggerT and had SO much fun while doing it). I had decided, that even though I am on the fence about ever running in Boston, I’d like to at least have the ability to say, “Why yes, I qualified!”

So when my trail season ended, I began running roads and started “lightly” following an old training plan that I had from years ago. I ran long on weekends all solo. I did speed work on Tuesday nights a few times a month with my old crew, the Buffalo Chips (man I missed that group and their workouts). I still ran with my morning crew but mostly on Thursdays.

In the beginning, I was hitting my pace marks and felt strong and then, things started to fizzle. Either I lost motivation to run or was dealing with a few issues that my aging body did not thoroughly embrace.

Either way, for the last two months, my running has slacked. I ran Clarksburg but even then I knew, that the outlook wasn’t as positive as it had been earlier in my training. For various reasons that I won’t list here, I found myself waking up between 3 and 4 times a night.

Bottom line, I wasn’t recovering and I wasn’t hitting my marks. Still, I had faith and was determined to give it my best shot.

Come race morning, Stonegate and Burning Girl arrived at my house at 5:30 ready to whisk me away to the start. Their jokes and laughter made me smile, I was ready.

I had some pre-race laughs at the starting line with the McBride crew who always make me laugh, no matter what. They are, to put it simply, real good people.

Soon it was time to find my pace group. I needed to run the marathon in 3 hours and 40 minutes to qualify for Boston. My CIM personal best was 3 hours and 56 minutes ran in 2008 when the Peanut was 8 months old and I was about 15 pounds lighter and still full of prego hormones. That would have been a major hail mary of a PR to pull off. Yet, I am a way different runner now than I was in 2008.

I decided to run with the 3:40 pace group. When the race started it was a crowded madhouse. I haven’t run in such a tight knit elbow to elbow race in a very long time. It was a little unnerving and I got slightly pushed away from the pace group.

I didn’t panic as I knew it would eventually clear out. My pace group started off pretty darn quick though. Our first few miles were jockeying between our needed pace and a little bit faster – 8:16, 8;24, 8:10, 8:23, 8:11 went the first few miles. Our pace should have been 8:23 but I understand how it works and was hanging in there just fine.

Every so often it would dump massive buckets of rain on us and then stop. I completely over dressed for this race. I should have gone with my instinct but I didn’t.

Mile 7.5 we were passing an aid-station area with lots of spectators and they started blaring Bon Jovi’s Living on a Prayer and I just started smiling and rocking out. It was a sign for this Jersey girl and I let the music carry me.

Fast forward to mile 13, when my quads started cramping and I decided to let the pace group go. I always, ALWAYS carry a salt tab with me and I didn’t have a single one.

I hung in there running just behind the 3:40 group, closer to the 3:45 group until about mile 17 when I decided my quads were going to either seize or fall off. From that moment on, I let myself walk through the aid-stations. Just that small adjustment alone brought some life back into my legs.

I was still smiling mind you. I had decided not to beat myself up about it and to just keep running. What will be will be. I knew if I could get to mile 20, that I’d see Vans and my girls which would help a lot and if I could get to about mile 22 (I think) I would see my Oiselle Volee team and get another boost.

I pretty much walked here and gave them high-fives. It was Vans who said, “Ok, keep moving, get moving.” Thanks honey. 🙂

I saw and heard my Oiselle team cheering for me as I ran by in my singlet. That helped, a lot.
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Running through downtown I tried my hardest not to look at the numbered street signs. I know how defeating that can be to not see them get smaller faster.

There were a few really SLOW moments in there between 23 and 26 where I just wanted to lay down and sleep. My quads were SCREAMING at me to stop. I just kept telling myself, “You can’t walk here. You can’t stop here! You have less than 2 miles to go!”

At one point, I said, forget this and starting pushing myself, hard … or at least it felt hard .. and then a wave of nausea hit me. I looked around and both sides of the street were lined 4 deep with people cheering us on. I thought, “Oh god, if I hurl here that would be really really bad!” 🙂

So, I slowed ever so slightly, enough to push the nausea away.

I crossed the finish line in 3 hours and 54 minutes. 2 minutes faster than my last “real” marathon and a sub 9 minute marathon. I know I have it in me to run faster, I know it … I just need the motivation or the determination or perhaps maybe a coach to actually keep me more honest and more on track.

Overall, I am pleased with those stats. My quads had nothing left. I was a sweaty mess at the end because I dressed too warm and I haven’t quite figured out how to fuel in a road race yet compared to ultras where you have the time and the convenience of fully stocked aid-stations.

Depending on our plans in 2016, the chances of me running CIM 2016 are pretty darn high. I love this race. It is right in my back yard and I know it inside and out and yet the outcome is never quite the same. Road racing keeps you honest. It pushes you beyond limits you didn’t think were possible.

As much as I love and adore trails, the competitive part of me loves to challenge myself and try and exceed past attempts at things.

My whole family was there at the finish. My heart was full. My girls and Vans were in good spirits and the weather was great.

I was happy. No matter what my time was, I was happy. And that is all that matters.

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

November 11, 2015November 12, 2015

CLARKSBURG COUNTRY RUN 20 MILE RACE REPORT

Sunday was the Clarksburg Country Run. I opted for the 20 mile nonsactioned race because it is a great 20 mile training run before CIM (California International Marathon).

I forget how beautiful the Clarksburg area really is. It hit me driving in as the sun was rising on the river, that this truly is a hidden gem not too far from home.

My training plan going into this race was supposed to be “Predicted Marathon Pace PLUS 30 seconds” but secretly, I wanted to see if I could hold my marathon pace the entire 20 miles. Of course right? 🙂

I arrived super early. In all the years I have run this race, I never recall being the first to arrive. I think the participant number may have gone down slightly because I was the second person to arrive. Second. That scored me a killer parking spot mind you and I really didn’t have to wait all that long. But my parking space was kind of crazy. I should have taken a photo it was so good.

The temps were chilly and there was a good chance it was going to rain about half way into the race.

Finally it was time to head to the starting line. I saw McFunny as I was getting out of my car. She was also doing the 20 miler and is doing CIM. She always makes me laugh and it proved to be the perfect thing to calm my nerves before the run. McFunny agreed that Clarksburg, while a pretty race, usually leaves sour thoughts in your head when you are done because it is well, 20 miles of flat paved roads. Ouch.

They started the race and off I ran. I bobbed and weaved my way to a clear spot in the pack. I had my headphones and old iShuffle in my pocket. That was a last minute decision. I haven’t touched my shuffle since I loaded it for AR50 earlier this year.

As it turns out, I grew really tired of the conversation around me at about mile 4 and put in my ear buds. Normally I thrive off of the surrounding conversations but not this time.

I did fall in behind one woman. Did you ever just run behind someone and they seemed to float effortlessly as they run? This woman had nothing on her, no water, no music, no fuel yet she had ideal form and just was plugging away never showing any sign of fatigue.

I stuck with this woman for a long long time. At one point I pulled ahead, I think she may stopped at an aid-station but eventually she’d catch up to me again.

At about mile 10 the rain started coming. At first it was just a light sprinkle and then it grew stronger. Then, we changed course and were running right into a headwind with sideways rain.

I slowed to try and grab some fuel from my pocket hoping that would give me a boost and it did but it also put some distance between me and that girl.

I also started to just slow ever so slightly here. Prior to this point I was on point to run my marathon pace. After the fueling stop, I was leaning more towards what my training pace had called for.

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A few more turns on the course, more wind and more drenching rain and I was starting to lose my faith and mojo ever so slightly. I kept that girl in my sights even though she was down the road. She never faltered in her form. So many times I wished I was her or I thought, “Wow she is trained and you my friend, are not.” But I never gave up.

The final 2 miles were not fun but I could feel the finish. The last mile I even tried to picked up the pace a bit. When all was said and done, I ended up with the pace my training plan had called for … exactly.

I look like I might cry I am so happy to be done

I was frozen to the core when I finished. I had been battling an upset tummy since about mile 10 and when I finished I stood for a moment trying to figure out what it was my body wanted.

As I was standing there, the girl I had been following came up to me. She introduced herself and asked how I did. She was so sweet. She is training for CIM and it will be her first marathon. I told her she had amazing form and looked effortless when she ran. She said she had been so nervous for this 20 mile run. She was pleased with her finish and I told her she’ll have a great CIM if she runs like she ran today.

It just goes to show that everyone has some inner turmoil and demons. Not everyone shows it or wears it on their sleeves but we all have something. The only person you can rely on in a lot of these situations is yourself and your training. I know my training hasn’t been 100% on par and that I have been relying on my strength and stamina to try and make certain goals happen.

Come CIM, I am still hoping my strength and stamina will get me through whatever should come my way that day and I know deep inside this is the most I have actually trained for CIM since 2009.

The road is a hard mental beast sometimes. My body has been craving trails lately missing the fun and the ease that one can sometimes have on a dusty single track.

Yet the road can be also super rewarding when you hit your marks. It just takes hard work and training to make that happen.

I have one more race before CIM, our annual Thanksgiving Day race that Vans and I do together. That race is the week before CIM so usually I either feel awesome or I feel every ache and pain along the way. Whatever comes though, I am ready for it.

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

November 7, 2015November 7, 2015

FOLSOM BLUES HALF MARATHON RACE REPORT

Wow. It seems that I completely skipped the month of October from blogging. My favorite month of the year and I didn’t blog once? I guess that means maybe I was busy enjoying it. 🙂

With Halloween and other odds and ends, life was busy (duh). Life is still busy, so I am going to keep this short.

In mid-October I ran the Folsom Blues Half Marathon. This was the first time I have ever run this race before. It isn’t actually that old of a race (maybe in its 3rd year?) but it used to be the Lake Natoma Four Bridges Half Marathon (I ran that race way back in 2011 after Squeaker was born). They changed the course quite a bit but it does ultimately run around Lake Natoma. In my opinion, Folsom Blues is WAY easier than Four Bridges but it was still a fun race.

Stonegate is the Folsom Coach for a group called Runnin for Rhett and she had special privileges which allowed her to drive her car right up to start line. She offered to give me a ride to the start of the race if I didn’t mind waking up and going at 0’Dark Thirty to help her set up her Running for Rhett tent. Of course I didn’t mind at all!

I helped set her stuff, met some great Runnin for Rhett people and watched the sun rise as the racers trickled in. I even fell asleep for a quick 20 minutes or so in the car before the race started.

Soon it was time to head to the starting line. It was chilly and windy so I wore my arm warmers which ultimately was a poor choice as I ended up carrying them the whole race but they are easy to carry.

My goal was to start off easy and not go racing out. Leading up to this race I was not feeling my best. My training has slowly been slipping (in my opinion) and as the darker chillier nights arrive, my motivation is slowly trickling away. This always happens as CIM nears (at least for me).

I just fell into a pace and tried to stick with it. I was trying not to look at my Garmin too much. There were a few runners around me that I just decided to stick with. I ran the hills which was one of my goals. I was feeling “ok” … not super strong but ok.

Long story short, I kept a decent pace. Near the end I could hear the finish line and I really started pushing the pace. I passed guy after guy and a few girls. I was just eager to be done. It was chilly and cloudy out and probably the first real day where it looked gray and rainy … so I pushed it and was surprised that I had some fuel left in the tank.

Road running is always tough as I never really carry much fuel with me and I am used to carrying lots of fuel on the trails. So I had stuffed a few chocolate covered espresso beans in my pocked and a salt tab. I took both probably 3 miles from the finish. I wasn’t sure if I needed them but I figured it couldn’t hurt. It helped. 🙂

I crossed the finish and heard Stonegate yelling my name! I finished with an 8:05 pace which is above my desired CIM pace although I wasn’t sure I could go another 13.1 miles at that pace haha.

Soon Vans and the girls found me. The race ends in Old Folsom and the parking is insane.

One of the perks of this race is a free entry into the “all you can drink” beer tent (which does me no good but Vans seems to enjoy it).

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Vans really enjoying my beer over the fence line

I won’t lie, I was pretty sore from that race. Road racing really seems to tighten my hamstrings and really work other muscles that I don’t use while running trails. I also run way harder when I am running on the road.

CIM (The California International Marathon) is looming over my head. I have a few things playing around in my brain. Some days I feel like I am on track to make my personal goals for CIM and other days I think, “no way, just try and finish.” So the story it seems will just unfold on race day. I can’t really predict what will happen at this point. I am trying to keep my head out of the mental game. Lord knows I have other mental things going on right now (haha) racing doesn’t have to be one of them.

To end October, the girls enjoyed Halloween. The Peanut was Princess Leia and Squeaker was Anna. They were super cute.

Squeaker also tried her hand at soccer, t-ball and now basketball with our local community district. Her first basketball practice was this past week and she was the only girl!

She cried again but THIS TIME she cried because “it is hard mommy!” But she stuck it out. The tears came within the first 15 minutes and then quickly disappeared. She wants us to buy a basketball and practice. 🙂 I am in heaven right now. Soccer and t-ball came easy to her, basketball definitely takes more hand-eye coordination than she’s used to.

Overall, life is moving on. I am hosting my first ever Plant-Based 101 cooking/seminar/I don’t know what to call it at my house next weekend so I have been in prep mode for that.

I traveled for work twice in October, once to Calistoga and once to San Diego. I am finally done with the traveling and looking forward to just getting into the holiday spirit and enjoying my girls.

But first, I have my last race before CIM tomorrow. I am running the Clarksburg Country Run 20 miler (it is a sure fire way to get 20 miles in – with hundreds of other people). I haven’t run this race since way back in 2011 as well. You can read that report here, that’s when my ankle was at its worst and I remember how painful that race was.

Here is hoping for a better outcome!

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

September 28, 2015November 7, 2015

BREAK FREE RUN 9.8 MILE RACE REPORT

Another weekend another race. Yes, that makes the third weekend in a row that I have had race. I clearly didn’t plan my September recovery period out very well. 🙂

Saturday’s race was the Break Free | End Human Trafficking race in Folsom. They have a kid’s fun run, a 5k, a 10k and a 9.8 mile race. I have never done this race before but the story behind it intrigued me.

This is taken directly from the Break Free Run webpage:

“Break Free Run was founded after a 17-year-old girl was taken from a sleepy suburb in Northern California and trafficked for eight days before she was found and rescued by the FBI. Together the mother of the teen, Vicki Zito, along with Ashlie Bryant, Stephanie Loos and Amy Johnson, founded Break Free Run.”

As the mother of two very little girls, this scares me tremendously. This happened to a family in our own area! That sleepy little suburb is here. No bueno.

So, I signed the Peanut up for the kid’s run and myself up for the 9.8 mile race. Vans, Squeaker and our friend visiting from Canada were our cheering section.

Going into this race I admit, I was tired. My legs had not recovered completely from my Headlands Trail Marathon, followed by the Emerald Bay race and then some random hill repeats with Stonegate at a nearby hill in our hood the very next day. Needless to say, I was not running wisely but I was happy. 🙂

Peanut - new runner kid — Peanut – new runner kid

The Peanut rocked the kid’s run. She has come a long way in the running world. There was a time, not that long ago, where she was too shy to run any races and just wouldn’t do it. Now that she is a cross country runner for her school, she has a whole new mind set.

She raced to the starting line of the race leaving me in the dust. “Well, I guess she is all set to run solo,” I thought to myself. And run she did! It was not an easy course and it was truly a hot day.

Super proud of this kid. She is really beginning to think about things lately. She used to not have a care in the world about “effort” or even trying for that matter. Now, not only does she try, she cares.

While she was finishing, I was lining up for my race. The 9.8 mile race didn’t have nearly the same number of participants as the other distances. There was 114 signed up total.

Our start was delayed by a firetruck and an ambulance in our path. A patron had felt dizzy and so our start was pushed back. I took that moment to race to a porta potty which apparently, was mentioned over the loud speaker. 🙂 Vans said everyone was concerned when I raced through the start arch and off the course … the MC had to inform everyone that I was just using the restroom bwahahahaha! That is awesome.

Finally the raced started and I took off … and noticed that there were only two guys ahead of me. “Where IS everyone? Why is no one passing me?”

I figured at some point, the wave would come by and all the elite fast women would pass me … but that never happened.

At mile 1, the kids cheering yelled, “first female go!” Okay, so that’s no big deal, it is only the first mile surely the fast people are coming (that first mile was a 7:12 pace which IS fast for me).

Then, mile 2 happens and mile 3 – no one is passing me. My brain starts churning … “Well, it is a small race, maybe there are no faster people? Could you? Really?”

Mile 4 and Mile 5 … still solo. Still pushing. Legs are feeling a little bit like jell-o at this point and my body is starting to revolt a little bit but I kept pushing.

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Mile 6 I see up ahead that all three races converge on the trail. The 9.8 mile course had us running like lab rats all around the Folsom bike path … I was dizzy from doing the same loop a few times. But when we reached mile 6, I could see the 5k, 10k and the 9.8 mile races all converge onto one tiny little bike path portion.

It was then, that a bright pink shirt Fleet Feet girl passed me. Sigh. It was bound to happen. For a moment, I was holding onto the hope that she was a 10k runner but then she made the same right turn us longer distance runners had to make and I crumbled.

We hit a tiny incline and my legs just said, “let her go” … which I did but I kept her in my sights for as long as I could. She was running effortlessly … I felt like I was carrying a sack of potatoes.

Still, I kept 2nd female over all for another 2 miles … until I hear the pitter patter of female feet behind me. Sure enough, this cute gal goes bouncing by me and said, “only 1.8 miles to go! You got this.”

Ugh, how could I get mad at that! She was too sweet and well, I was quickly losing steam and fast. My pace had dropped from 7:30 to a few 8 … and there were some inclines to deal with as well as the scorching hot sun and no shade.

Third. I’d settle for third but deep down, I was elated that I had held onto that #1 spot for a long as I had. Never in my life, for a race longer than a 5k, has this happened. Very cool.

The sweet heart that passed me and encouraged me. Gotta love that.

So the final outcome was 3rd female overall and 2nd place age group (the girl above was also in my age group).

Both girls that had passed me told me they had been chasing me the whole race. They clearly had more steam and a better pacing system then I had (which in translation means I have no pacing system).

It was a fun tough course. It was cool to have the Peanut there and Vans there as well. JD, our Canadian friend was super helpful in entertaining the kids and being photographer.

The flowers were from Vans since Saturday was also our 11th wedding anniversary. 🙂 Gotta race on our anniversary right?

The best part of the day was a nice little date night with Vans that included free babysitting from JD. Overall, it was pretty awesome day.

Now, I need to recover. No more races in my future until mid October which is good. I need to get back into the swing of speed work and tempo runs again. My mileage on the road also needs to get bumped up. Hopefully that will happen this upcoming weekend.

Lots to think about … CIM is just around the corner!

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

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