SALMON FALLS STRUGGLE

You win some you lose some. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. It is always darkest before the dawn.

There are so many ways to look at situations where you do not feel your best and that is exactly the most clear way to describe this past weekend’s run.

Stonegate and I ran together on Saturday. I had heard in advance that there was a race in Auburn so we decided to stay clear of that area and run some miles on the Salmon Falls 50k course as both Stonegate and Burning Girl are running that race in three weeks.

The weather was supposed to be warm but it was pretty chilly to start (as usual – I feel like I write that sentence every blog post haha).

We took off up the Red Dragon from Skunk Hallow and just continued to hike one foot in front of the other. The first few miles of this run is up hill. My legs felt heavy from the start but I was hoping it was due to the fact that they had not quite woken up yet to be climbing this soon.

However, as the day wore on, it was clear that my legs did not feel attached to my body and my brain was constantly being pulled in a different direction.

Don’t get me wrong, I love running with Stonegate (we always have some fun) but I just didn’t feel within my own body. My legs were tired and heavy. My heart, for the first time in a while, just wasn’t excited to be out there much longer. Perhaps the last two weeks of 20 something mile runs had filled my cup so much that it was full at the moment. Perhaps, this is the perfect time for a taper.

I have a race in two weeks and should (in theory) be enjoying a taper period. In my head I was planning to just continue building miles and treat my upcoming race as just a regular training run but of course, the “trail me” wants to do well – which is probably why my body was rejecting the notion of pushing too much on my run this weekend.

Luckily I am not overly stubborn when it comes to my body and doubly lucky (although I want her to feel good), Stonegate was feeling whatever it was, too. We both were just “meh” on this run. That is the simplest way to put it.

No matter, we made the best out of how we felt and did not take for granted our time on the trails and appreciating what Mother Nature had to offer. It was a glorious day.

When I got home, I will be honest, my fridge was empty. The week had been so nutty grocery shopping was not a high priority. Still, I managed to get something nutritious and filling.

In the above photo: Leftover mashed no oil no dairy potatoes mixed with kale and copious amounts of a pureed mushroom gravy (I am NOT a fan of mushrooms but I don’t mind the pureed homemade gravy that I make). It hit the spot and was quite filling.

It was nice to have gotten that struggle of a run behind me on Saturday so that I could try and regroup on Sunday. I much prefer running my long runs on Saturdays because then that leaves Sunday for some R&R vs waking up and heading right into the work week where I absolutely get no time to rest.

And unless you live under a rock somewhere, Sunday was Super Bowl but we had no plans and decided to have a nice family adventure.

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Vans and I drove the girls out to Auburn and I was able to show them  a good section of trail that I run often . We parked by No Hands Bridge and hiked in towards the Overlook.

My girls got to see and hear the river actually looking quite full and strong. Vans got to walk across No Hands Bridge and see where I spend a lot of time with my trail crew. It was a lovely afternoon.

We hiked all the way to the waterfall bridge. I wanted to have a “goal” in mind for them so that it wasn’t just a simple out and back.

The trails were pretty crowded with lots of other hikers. My girls were super excited to reach the waterfall. We took a few photos. 🙂

We stopped here for a quick snack for the girls. I was impressed they hiked a full mile in and then had to hike a full mile out. For a 7 year old and 4 year old, that’s pretty huge.

Overall it was one of the best Super Bowl Sundays that I can remember having as a family in a long time. We later went home and watched the game via DVR while I made pizza and dinner. Perfection.

So what started out as a challenging weekend turned into one of my favorites. I am not worried by how I felt on my run. We all have a down cycle. My sleep has been out of whack. My hydration was definitely off course on Friday and Saturday. Yet my focus is still strong and my drive is still there.

How can it not be when I have the best support crew in town?

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma