Race Report: Earth Day 15 Miler (in which she falls head over heels in love with the trail)

I have been sitting on this one for a bit. I have been struggling to find the right words to truly capture what happened in my head and in my heart somewhere on the second loop on Sunday, but it's proven difficult at best. I'll try...

Sunday morning, I woke up bright and early, and headed out to Crystal Lake, IL. The Earth Day 50k/15 mile trail race starts and finishes in Veterans Acres park. I'd never run here before, but some running club friends had, so I'd heard a little bit about what to expect. Mostly that it was tough. I arrived in good time, parked super close to the pavilion where the volunteers were busy setting up for the day, and headed out to get my stuff.

It was cold. Upper 20s to start, but it was supposed to warm up some throughout the day. I hadn't even made it out of the parking lot and a woman introduced herself to me. She was one of the timers, so I'd be seeing her face after each loop. We walked together towards the packets, and even though my stuff wasn't where it belonged, in minutes I was heading back to my warm van. On the way, I ran into a couple friends of my sister, and I ended up starting and finishing near them and chatting on and off along the way.

We started right on time after a trumpet rendition of the Star Spangled Banner and I immediately was flustered because I can't figure out my new watch. So I lost a little of the beginning, but quickly got it working. Then I didn't look at it for the rest of the day. I was out there to experience this, and immerse myself in the beauty of the day. No time goals. No expectations.

The course was a 5ish mile loop that you did 3 times for the 15 mile race and 6 times for the 50k. About halfway through the loop, we did a little lollipop loop (they called it "Legbone Loop, but I never did see the leg bone - it's rumored to be hanging from a tree somewhere) and on the "stick" of the lollipop was the only place on the course where there was oncoming runner traffic. Incidentally, it was also the only place on the course that was muddy. With all the rain we've had, that was simply amazing - other than that one spot, the course was in beautiful shape. (To see my garmin map, click HERE)

I am an inexperienced trail runner, at best. I've run "real trails" only a handful of times, so starting out by myself, I was a little nervous. We'll call the first loop the "getting to know you" loop. It was kind of like a first date. While I was sort of paying attention to my surroundings, I was mostly paying attention to my feet. And to the feet of the person in front of me. And because we all started out together and I started pretty far in the back, for a good long while my pace was completely dictated by the crowd of people in front of me. I was 100% ok with that for the time being, though. I fell in behind some 50k runners and listened to their stories and walked ALL the uphills (even the teeny tiny ones) and just got used to the terrain.

And then, once it spread out a little, I found myself alone. And the most surprising part of that was that I WAS SO HAPPY to finally be running alone. I'm a pretty social runner normally. But once I could run the way my body wanted to, and not pay any attention to the runners around me other than to smile and say hello, my heart sang. It felt enormous at the time, but I was just so HAPPY to be out there. Running. I commented to lots of volunteers (who were OUTSTANDING, by the way) that it was gorgeous there. That I was so happy to be running there. That it was a stunning day for a run. That I couldn't wait to come back and run there again.

It sounds all cheeseball, but it was my truth that day.

The second loop, I felt great. I learned that I'm a much better uphill runner than downhill. I practiced bounding down after a while, but I'm kind of chicken. I had a lot more confidence, simply because I knew everything that was ahead of me. I only got off course once, and that was only because I followed the pack of runners in front of me (lemmings, we called each other, laughing) but we quickly righted ourselves. I thanked the aid station family (they had one remote station about 3 miles in) and smiled at the little girls working hard and cowbelling for us.

I had FUN.

The third loop, I was still feeling great, but I slowed down a lot. Mostly because I was determined to get at least a few pictures of the day. They really don't do the course justice, but I'll share them anyway. The course was a mix of gorgeous wooded areas, pine forest with needle covered trail, hills (I felt like we were always going up or down), and the one muddy area leading to a flat section of single track. There were only a couple times we were on service road going from one section of the course to another. I loved every inch of it.

the guy on the right had the most amazing plaid shorts. I sang "thrift shop" in my head in his honor for lots of the day

beautiful trail

heading into the pine forest

I loved this part...

don't fall off the edge!

they dubbed this "Boston Common" in remembrance. got a little choked up here...

they had a camera set up on a tree. I didn't even notice it the first 2 loops

...but by the 3rd time around I finally saw it

better pic of the awesomeness of his shorts, haha!

Here's a link to probably my favorite race pic of all time. I might even buy it! He did an amazing job...

I wish my pictures were better than crappy phone pics, but hopefully you can see a little of why I'm so in love with this. I run many many "trails" around here, but mine are crushed limestone paths. While I am so glad they are available to us here, it just isn't the same as a real trail. And I'm sure lots of hard core ultra runners wouldn't even consider this "real" trail - it wasn't all that technical and was easily runnable for the most part.

But it made me SEE why ultra runners do what they do. It made me feel it.

I kind of want to do that.

In the end, I finished in just under 3:20. Pretty much smack in the middle (48/63 finishers, 15/26 women) and good enough for 4/9 in my age group. The medals and awards were "upcycled" and were so so cool...(stole these pics from their fb page)

aren't they awesome!? he finished in 1:46. insanity. he earned it!

medals!

I will definitely do this event again. Maybe even 50k. It could happen! This weekend I'm running another 20k trail race in Wisconsin. This time with Riyanti. Can't wait! I am feeling a great sense of peace about NOT chasing PRs and NOT worrying about splits and taking in all the beauty of the trails. If you haven't, I recommend it. It's healing.

Race Report: Muddy Monk Double Down 20k

Oh, look, I'm behind again. No surprise there. But this week has been full of bombs and puke and flooding - not a single day where all my kids were where they should have been (SCHOOL) - and consequently, things are a bit out of whack. MOVING ON.

Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of running the Muddy Monk Double Down, which is a local trail race (one of a series - if you haven't run a Muddy Monk race, check them out and DO IT NOW. So awesome!). This race was unique in that you run a 10k loop, and then, if you're feeling great, you can run it again for a 20k. You get to decide this MID RACE.

The night before, I'll admit to not really feeling it. I was still pouting over missing out on everything fun that day due to a puking James, and was rather meh about the whole thing. UNTIL they posted an awesome picture on their facebook page of 50 yards of ankle deep water we got to run through TWICE and suddenly I was all giddy about it again. Bring on the MUD!

Race morning was uneventful - easy drive, picked up my stuff, and plopped my butt in the backseat of Ed's car (where he and Kim were waiting for the start) to wait it out with them. So far, the only thing of note was that it was freaking SNOWING. That water crossing was going to be chilly. Also of note was there was a birthday present waiting for me, which was a COMPLETE surprise (but really shouldn't have been - she DID tell me she was getting it for me, but I didn't believe her). A Nathan hydration vest!!! CAN'T WAIT TO RUN WITH IT! SQUEE!!! I don't think I could have been more excited. :)

My race plan was easy: play in the mud all day and have loads of fun with Kim and Rachel. (spoiler: EXACTLY how it went down!) To that end, there were lots of pictures taken. Not by me. All photo credits go to Kim and Muddy Monk (who let you have your pics for free!).

potty line! remember how I said it was snowing? yeah, Mother Nature is on CRACK this year

We made it to the start line JUST as the race began, and just like that, we were running. And chatting. And laughing. I can't remember when I've had more fun DURING a race. I see lots of trails in my future...

the first time through the water....brr!

So there was all kinds of talk about the water - everyone sounded a little nervous about WHEN it would show up on the course. The general consensus was that people were hoping it was at the END of the 10k. Um no. We got through that pretty early on. And it was cold, but it was FUN.

Smiling!!

mud!

it was thick and sticky and shoe sucking

our shoes/legs were hilariously muddy

I would say that most of the course was pretty easy to run. It was all very flat. But the last mile of the loop was ridiculously muddy. It was a blast trying to get through it without losing your shoes and without ending up on your ass. It was sticky and slippery and awesome.

So of course we went for round 2! On the second loop, it was really quiet - I think there were only 89 20k finishers. So Kim was determined to get some good pics of the water crossing. Her plan was to run ahead and catch me and Rachel running through, but she convinced some guy to take some of all 3 of us ("DON'T drop my phone!") and she ran back through it so she could run through it AGAIN with us for the photo. Kim = badass!

I'm not sure I can convince you how much fun this was

and for the record, it was WAY deeper the second time through

Towards the end of the second loop, we picked up another runner, Joan, for a bit. She had tucked in behind us listening to our inane chatter, and we introduced ourselves while dancing at an aid station waiting for more water. LOVE that, too, about trail races - super friendly.

We did manage to finish, and not even last!

coming into the finish line

And then there was lots of hot dogs (the best wiener I've had in FOREVER) and beer for everyone!

me, Brian and Ed (who waited for out slow asses) and Kim chatting with Art, the RD

This race had everything I love. It was fun and laid back. I had a super time catching up with Rachel and Kim for the morning. The mud and water just made everything better. I would DEFINITELY do another Muddy Monk race, and I recommend them to all of you - if you are local, don't miss out.

Next up: the Earth Day 15 miler this Sunday. More trails! Post flooding, so they should be awesome!

The Right Way To Feel

Yesterday was my birthday.

And part of me really really wants to whine about what a shitty birthday it was - I mean, Friday my birthday massage with Kim got derailed by a puking child, and yesterday brought on 2 more puking children - but really, it all seems so insignificant.

Even with the puking children, I spent the day doing what I wanted to do, at first. I plopped my butt in my computer chair with my coffee and watched Shalane and Kara go after the Boston win.

But as runners, we all know how the afternoon went down. And I've been torn about whether to post anything about how it all made me feel, because I feel like how I FEEL is all wrong. But we can't really control how we feel, and my feelings change minute to minute, so I guess I'll just own them as mine and move on.

I spent the afternoon and evening checking up on every runner that I knew out there. Just like all of you did.

I turned away from it when I had to - it's all so overwhelming, especially as a member of a huge running community. We are ALL posting about the same thing, enough to where it feels almost self-indulgent. But then I'd remind myself that we're ALL runners, and we ALL feel so strongly about what happened. Again, struggling with how to feel.

And then I'd go back to whining about my shitty birthday. But then I remembered that a guy from my running club shared my birthday. And he was IN Boston. And I'd shut myself up.

Sorry this is so disjointed...I almost didn't post at all. But I feel like I need to mark this event. I don't think I'll ever forget how I felt yesterday - ALL the ways I felt yesterday.

Praying for peace for all of us. For all those in Boston. For runners. Spectators. Volunteers. First responders. We all know that the good will prevail...

Race Report: Shamrock Shuffle 8k

Yesterday, I got the chance to run the Shamrock Shuffle 8k for the first time. I am openly not a fan of gigantic city races, so this one (while it looks fun) has never even been on my radar. But the Essential Fitness Multisport Club (YES I belong to a multisport club - DON'T LAUGH. Maybe someday I'll get on a bike. No really - it *could* happen!) put together a team, so I decided to run.

Being the year to "run all the new distances" this fit right into my plans. I've never before raced an 8k. And what a way to kick off the April "Birthday Month Of Running All The Races."

For me, the clincher was that I didn't have to drive into the city for packet pickup, and I didn't have to drive myself into the city race morning, since we all rode together. Easy!

Getting into the city was a breeze, and it was fun chatting the morning away with my friends. We parked, got our bibs situated, and made our way to gear check and our corrals.

we are a good looking crew!

we got special bibs with our team name. it was super fun reading others while running

Then we waited in the gigantic clusterfuck all trying to get into the corrals. At 8:06 we were in this huge throng of people. The problem was, no one was moving! The corral gate was right in front of us, but we couldn't get to it! This would have been no big deal in a normal race - race time, after all, was 8:30. But in the biggest 8k in the world? Yeah, they close the corrals at 8:15. As in, WHILE WE ARE ALL STANDING THERE TRYING TO GET IN. Are you effin' kidding me?

We pushed forward anyway - it was close to riot status. The poor dude with the megaphone was trying really hard to calm people down. And he was taking a helluva lot of abuse. I was feeling a little bad for him, until he yelled out (in his megaphone, for all to hear), " Don't call me an asshole!!!"

Then? Then I was laughing too hard at him to feel bad for him.

So we made it through, only to find that they DID in fact close the second set of gates. It was hop the fence or hoof it back to the end of corral E. That was a no brainer. Up and over (I'm sorry I don't have pictures of that part. It was over too quick!) Then it took a few minutes for my heart rate to get back to normal.

quick pre race photo

The actual race went off without a hitch. We were in corral C, so we still had a bit of a wait before we actually started. But once we did, I just cruised. The weather was stunning. PERFECT race weather. And my only goal of the day was to run well. I figured anything with an average pace in the 8s would make me happy. So I settled in around a 9ish pace and worked.

The race for me was perfect. I worked hard, but I felt good. I ran really decent tangents (my Garmin showed 4.99 miles at the end). And I finished strong. What more can you ask for? I felt like I was lined up in exactly the right spot for my pace. As crowded as this race is, I was never weaving around people or annoyed by other runners. It was so smooth...

We managed to find each other after the race (and our team ended up coming in 9th out of 86 teams in the mixed open division!) and even managed to get a photo with the Green Guys!

 

 After that, we headed towards the beer line. We had to get "over 21" bracelets, which required some fancy behind the back moves towards the one of us who forgot her ID. Ahhh, memories of my 19 year old self...

BEER!

my awesome socks turned arm warmers

enjoying the Freddy Jones Band (who rocked!)

Chris enjoying the band

 So, to be honest, I didn't think I'd like this race. And I DON'T think it's a race I'd like to do alone. But with a group of great friends, I had a fantastic time! It's definitely worth it. I even heard later that they were forced to reroute the course because of a bridge jumper DURING THE RACE. And you'd never have known - they managed it seamlessly. So other than the clusterfuck that was getting into corrals, I would recommend it for sure.

And there ends the only April race I'm actually racing! The rest are all trail fun! Can't wait!

(photos from Brian and Chris - thank you!)