Ice Age Trail Half Marathon

There's something magical about pinning a race bib on, even if you have ZERO intentions of doing any kind of racing. Even better when you get to do it with a friend.

Back in, oh I don't even know, Riyanti talked to me about this race. The schedule worked for both of us (miraculous these days) and it started at the Nordic trail head, a place Riyanti knew and loved. I was wishy washy - last year my running was less than stellar, and that's a generous assessment. But John gave the thumbs up. I promptly forgot all about it until she frantically texted me that it was about to sell out. I registered, heart racing more than race morning, and that was that.

Friday, there was much texting about how we got 5 child and school free hours Saturday morning. That's about as good as life gets these day, for both of us.

Saturday morning I rose, not really nervous, just wondering what the right thing was to wear. I over dressed on purpose (hello 20mph winds with 40 degrees at our 9am start), picked up Riyanti, and we made the trek up into Wisconsin. We arrived in time to have no parking hassle, saw our friends running the 50k off, and huddled in my car until go time.

The course is 2 loops of the blue trail. It's simply gorgeous. We decided before we even started that there would be no running uphill. so the first loop flew by. We both felt good and were running easy but steady, making better time than we originally expected, not that pace mattered. We were chatty and smiling and enjoying the stunning course.

The second loop was hard. Infinitely harder than the first loop had been. I guess hills take it out of you, even when you hike them! And pretty much the whole course goes either up or down. Flat is a rarity. About mile 9, we both tanked. We were chatting less and whining more. We bargained with ourselves to run til that tree until we walked again, and usually we made it. The last 2 miles were seemingly endless, but we were still smiling and enjoying each other's company - we just didn't feel like running anymore! I was glad that we both crapped out about the same time - I would have felt bad holding her back - but we both had super busy springs and my hope for a 15 miler before the race never materialized.

And then we finished! It took us just over 3 hours (3:01 and change - there was a minute there that I thought we could make it in under 3 and then we decided we did NOT care). We enjoyed a few last helpings of aid station goodies, and we made our way back to the car to change and head home.

I didn't take a single gel on the course...instead I had something from every aid station. Gummy bear (too hard to chew - probably because it was so cold), potato chips (HEAVEN), a carrot cookie that was SO delicious, but a little too much so I shared with Riyanti. I ate PB&J at the halfway point and again at the end. More potato chips. And COKE. Coke was like heaven. I have no idea why it tasted so good, but it was SO good. And my stomach was happy the entire way (huge for me).

I would definitely do this race again...it was fun and well organized. Maybe the 50k? I was so inspired by the runners tackling longer distances. Someday :)

last aid station!

Discipline

And balance too.

A few years ago, I was running a lot. Maybe not a lot for some, but a lot for me and my family. I was in great shape and doing super well for me at races, but as my kids got older and more involved in stuff, and John's job situation changed and changed again, that level of dedication to me just wasn't realistic anymore.

I'd like to say that I eased back a bit and still maintained my fitness while balancing it all with my familial responsibility, but yeah.

Not so much.

I was injured a lot of last summer, so I ran very little. My beloved shoes changed enough to make them hard for me to wear and so I struggled with the right shoes to run long in. I continued to pay very little attention to what I shoved into my maw. Winter happened. And my people are involved in ALL THE THINGS.

And (DUH!) 20 pounds I thought I'd never see again snuck back in uninvited.

All of those things are excuses, but at the same time, at least there were reasons. It's a good lesson for me - health and fitness are an everyday job. I can't just ignore them and expect to maintain status quo for very long.

And you know what makes starting back a running routine even more difficult than it already is?

20 pounds. Man, breathing up hills dragging extra weight is HARD yo.

Anyway, I've decided that discipline is key. I need to grow some. I need to remember how. And why.

So maybe blogging more will help? We'll see. I've enlisted the help of friends. Hopefully mother nature will pull her head out of her ass and decide that Spring is ok soon, which will help.

Oh, and I signed up for the Twin Cities marathon again (since I didn't get to run last year and my parents are moving to Arizona full time soon so I will no longer have a familiar place to crash after this year).

Time to get back to it.