Sulphur Springs 25K

I’m celebrating. Yesterday I reached the goal I had set for the 25K Sulphur Springs Trail Race. I had wanted to run it in 3 hours and I did, well 3:01 to be exact. At first I started over-thinking that extra minute, wishing I had pushed a tiny bit more, but it is only 60 seconds. I shaved 22 minutes off my last time, and as far as I’m concerned it was a success.

Of course there were challenges leading up to the big day. I’ve been suffering from a crazy bout of insomnia. With about two weeks of fighting to sleep I was pretty exhausted. I’m also proud to say that despite the lack of zzz’s, I pushed through and made my time.

Sulphur Springs is my usual running route so I knew the course pretty well. It is a beautiful area filled with seas of blue forget-me-not and purple phlox this time of year. The course has two really killer hills, one is called the “Three Sisters” – you know when a hill is named it is going to hurt. The other is Martin Hill, right off the start/finish line. It seems to go on forever. I saw very few people run these hills.

I set off at a pretty good pace and made the first 5K in 31 minutes, including walking Martin Hill. At 10K I looked at my watch and was happy to see I had done it in 1:01. Those times alone made the race a success for me.

Unfortunately, after 10K I hit a wall. My time slowed for the next 6K or so as my legs took a beating. Usually my legs hold out while my breathing falters, but this time my legs felt like lead. I dreaded the hills and walked more of them than I had planned.

I popped jelly bean electrolytes and tablets and gulped liquids at the aid stations. I thought my hopes of making three hours were over. But as I neared the last loop I looked at my watch and realized my goal time was still possible. I visualized the long downhill that I knew came after the Three Sisters, knowing that was the biggest break I would get.

It was humid and hot and I felt chills from dehydration. The downhill felt great, but I was faltering again as I hit the last aid station before the final push up Martin hill. I walked the hill for the second time and near the top I saw my oldest son at the side of the road, then I heard my family and friends cheering me on. That gave me incentive to run to the finish line with the last of my energy. It was great to be done, all I wanted was shade and a place to sit down.

My only real disappointment was the food. There was no food at the aid stations, only liquids. Also, this was the 20^th Anniversary of the race and I read how the post-race food was going to be great. One apple, a muffin and one bottle of water is not great. I gulped down the bottle I was given and was grateful my husband had brought some more.

After a short rest, I went out celebrating and had a wonderful, full day. Now I’m looking toward my next race and thinking about upping my game to complete the 50K next year.

Sulphur Springs 25K Trail Race 2012 - Personal Best!

I ran the 25K Sulphur Springs Trail Race yesterday for the second time.  It was a beautiful day, not at all muddy like last year.  At some parts the dirt on the trails was like sand, it was so dry.  It was a bit warm but not too bad.  There were people tripping on roots everywhere, and I saw two people fall.  My friend was doing the 50K but had to be taken off the route after 40K because he hurt his foot on a root. 

As always, the atmosphere was really supportive, with runners yelling "Looking good," and "Way to go!" to each other.

Last year I did the race in 3 hours and 19 minutes, and this year I came in at 2 hours and 48 minutes, taking 30 minutes off my time!  I should say that last year I wasn't pushing it by any means.  I pushed it a bit more this year, obviously, but at the beginning I was trying to hold back and do a more easy pace.  My main goal is to finish upright and smiling, as they say, and I didn't want to injure myself.

Last year I ran with shin splints, so my shins were taped up, which actually worked amazingly well and I felt pretty good overall, but not 100%.  When I ran the 25K Run for the Toad, I had some IT band pain.  It was great to run this year without any injuries at all.

The trail was beautiful, as there are huge carpets of blue and pink forget-me-nots under the trees as well as those tall flowers that were white, dark purple and light purple.  Everything was very green and new.

I loved the medal this year for the 20th Anniversary, and the flip-flops with the race route are interesting and different.

My only complaint was the lack of food for the 25K.  (After I was done my race, I walked by an aid station and saw that they had put out all the food then!)  I didn't see any food at all at the stations when I ran by; it was just water and HEED.  Actually I did see pop occasionally too.  But no solid food at all.  After 15 K I could have really gone for a cookie or a chip or watermelon!

Luckily I had brought along some sport beans and electrolyte tabs in a pocket.  But even the post-race food was disappointing; one piece of fruit, one small muffin, and one small drink.  We need to replenish, people!  I'm sure that the higher mileage people were given good food, but come on, 25 K is still significant.  My friend's watch showed that we burned about 1700 calories.

Anyway, it's over and done and I'm very happy with my time.  I went out last night and danced the night away and today I feel great.  What more can you ask for?

The Accidental Runner

I have to admit that learning to run wasn’t my idea.

After giving birth to my first child I knew I had to start thinking about getting back in shape. But all I did was think about it. Then one day I got a phone call from my sister-in-law. She had clipped a “Learn to Run 5K in Six Weeks” program out of a magazine and wanted to know if I was interested. I said I was.

Until then, running was not my thing. In high school we used to run 1K in gym class. I was always one of the last runners back to the school, red-faced, panting and looking like I was about to pass out. Later, in my 20s, my brother used to goad me into going for a run with him. I’d make it a block or two then turn around and stumble home hearing him laugh as he sped off into the distance.

I started out with doubt in my mind. I didn’t even own running shoes and I wasn’t about to shell out the money based on a program I wasn’t sure about. So there I was, at the beginning of my running career, wearing hiking boots.

It was agony at first (the boots and the exercise). Thirty second bursts of running felt like hours. Gradually one minute of running became three minutes and so on. My running route was an old cemetery at the end of my street containing tall memorials mixed with underground crypts. I was getting up before the baby woke, putting on my shoes – yes, I did eventually buy proper footwear – and heading out to the cemetery about every second day. I even started to look forward to it.

I’m sure I ran every route possible through that cemetery. I knew many of the engravings on the gravestones by heart and they gave me comfort as I accomplished a goal I never knew I had. At the end of six weeks I ran for half-an-hour straight and that was it. The program was complete. I was a runner.

After persevering through what seemed like a grueling training program, it feels like I should have had some huge goal at the end. But I didn’t. I simply wanted to keep my weight in check. I did that by going out and running for half-an-hour at a time. I continued running for the next few years, stopping as I had two more children, then running again in bits and spurts.

Then I was asked by friends to join them in a 5K community race. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I had a great time. I wanted more. Now I’m training for my fourth race over 20K and thinking about upping the distance next year. And I still feel like I'm just getting started.

Becoming a Runner/Emerging from the Haze of New Motherhood

I distinctly remember the moment.  My youngest child was finished with diapers.  I realized that with having three young children in close succession, I had been changing diapers for eight years.  Eight years!  (Hmmm.  I don't think I'm getting paid enough.)  Since I was also done with breastfeeding, I was finally getting some sleep.
Not wonderful sleep.  I mean, I still had three young children.  Let's not get ahead of ourselves.  But I could see a light at the end of the haze of sleeplessness.  (For one brief crazy moment I felt nostalgic for the diaper era, but I quickly moved on.)  I felt like a new woman!  I felt like I had some time on my hands, and that I could finally do something just for myself.  I wanted to get fit again.

Before having children, I had always tried to keep pretty active.  I was never an elite athlete, but I would hike and walk, and go to aerobic classes with an occasional gym membership thrown in there.  But having gained weight with each child, I knew I needed to up the ante.  I wanted to start running.

You see people running down the sidewalk and it looks effortless.  It's not.  It's hard.  But the good news is that it gets easier and easier.  I started off by signing up for a 5K race.  This is very helpful because it motivates you to train.  I ran it and survived, and enjoyed the excitement and atmosphere.  It inspired me to continue training so I could get an even better time the next year.  I did the next one in under 30 minutes (I think 27 minutes).  It's so great to see progress.  I also started feeling better and having more energy.  It's important to have energy when you need to keep up with three active children.  I loved running on the trails; I found it therapeutic both emotionally and physically.  I wanted to keep going.

I vividly remember when my friend said that we would want to do 7K next, and I thought, "Whoa!  Let's just focus on getting the 5K feeling easy."  Now I'm about to do my fourth 25K race, and I'm looking forward to a 32K trail run, and okay I'll say it, a marathon.  I am the fittest now I have ever been, and at almost 41 that feels good.  I'm hooked!