Lesson Learned

Some things are obvious... to some people. To the rest of us, it wasn't so obvious and we need to learn by doing, and usually doing it the Hard Way. Today I learned why it is VERY important to look at the elevation map before signing up for races! :-)

I ran my first Trail Run today and will admit up front and loudly, I got in a little over my head! To start with I did not have appropriate respect for Trail Runs. In my head, it was "just a run" but with better scenery. Boy was I wrong! Trails are for hiking (doh!) and trails don't just end when you want them to (like, a polite 13.1 miles). Today I went over 13.8'ish miles of hills, mountains, ravines, and came out with more dirt between my toes than I've had since my last mud run!

So, here's the elevation map I completely FAILED to read before the race:

See how in the title is warns very clearly "Steep Course!"
Total Elevation Gain/Loss: 2,718 Feet!

You can imagine my surprise then, when the view at mile 2 was the steepest hill (if you can call it "just" a hill), I have ever hiked in MY LIFE! :-D  (Hey! First time for everything, right!) I stopped a lot, and randomly started counting my steps then trying to add to it every time I started moving again.

50 steps... Huff. Puff. Gasp. Keep going...
60 steps... Gulp. Gasp. Keep going...
75 steps... HUGE sigh. Keep going....
100 steps... Head between the knees for a few seconds. Keep going...

Then at the top of the hill, I expected it to level off. Because, I reached the top of the hill, right?

No. Not even close.

Here's the view from the top of Monster Hill..... More hills! Not as steep, but after dragging up that one first, this wasn't much of an improvement.

And at this point I finally understood why this race is called the "Drag-N-Fly" series. It's because you "drag" your carcass up all these hills, then you get to "fly" down the other side. Theoretically. I didn't Fly so much as Falling With Style, but more on that later.

I did get my wish to see some fantastic scenery though! The view from the crest of that last hill was awesome - and banished any scrap of ego I might have had left about this being a "race" or even a "run". This was now a mental exercise in keeping going when I'd much rather sit my rump down and wait to be carried out!

At the bottom of this nonsense we got into "real" hiking terrain and the REAL beauty of California mountains. I could have stopped every 100 feet to take a picture of something really cool but then I wouldn't have made the course cut-off to be at the 4th aid station by the 3 hour mark... So here's just a couple of pics:

The stupid-steep ravine going UP.

One of several rocky trails going DOWN.

I've never really imagined myself as a mountain goat before, but after running too long in the heat and being continually assaulted by new terrain, I did start to wonder if this is what a mountain goat feels like. I think I probably smelled like one ;-)

And when I found a pine cone as big as my head (there were lots of them), I really could not help myself: Touron! (Tourist + Moron = Touron) I actually shouted out to nobody in particular, "It's as big as my head!"  while juggling the camera phone and the guy hiking behind me smiled and rolled his eyes at me.

Look Mom!

I am extremely glad I took the precaution of taping both my ankles before the race - a little paranoia is a good thing! And my knee caps went on STRIKE after all that steep up/down/up/down nonsense so that when I had to come back down the steep Monster Hill at mile 11'ish I was sort of alternating between a skid-slide-trot maneuver and tip-toeing forward trying not to jar my knees too badly (which is nearly impossible when going downhill!) When my physical therapist okay-ed me to run this weekend I do NOT think this is what he had in mind.

There's the aid station... all way down there!
Knees. Not. Happy.

Like I said, I squeaked by aid station number four before the cut-off time (with less than 10 minutes to spare) and I think I only RAN for about 2.5 (nonconsecutive) miles of this course. The rest of the course I walked/hiked and while I would not call it "Fun" I will say it was one heck of an adventure and even though it was much harder than I was prepared for I did finish, and more importantly, did so WITHOUT injury! Yay!

Not a "glamour shot" for sure, but I am excited about the cool new race bling!

Promptly after crossing the finish line I got an ice pack working on my cranky knees and stretched until I was pretty sure I could drive without cramping. And now I'm clean and tucked in for a well deserved nap before dinner.

I will never sign up for a new race without taking a good, long look at the elevation map first! lol. And I think I'd like to try another (easier!) trail run before I decide I hate them, but after this one I am not especially interested in trail running and think I'll stick to my [paved!] neighborhood and Greenways.

Get With The Program, Feet!

So hard to keep after it when I'd much rather be home with a book! Which is why I have an e-reader, specifically for use while on stationary bike or elliptical, but to my logic right now that is a minor detail not worth acknowledging ;-)

But knowing that about myself, I can plan accordingly. I've put together a plan for the next 4 weeks to get it in gear and start training properly for Cotton Row. Right now that means build the cardio back up, and do it with a lot of core work in between to avoid injury later in the season. For me that's hip flexors, lower back & abs. So I am using a couple DVD's to start with and I can workout whenever or wherever until I get back into a rhythm and schedule: which nights I cook then workout late, which nights Hubby cooks so I can go to the pool or gym right after work, who's rushing home to let the dogs out on which days... all that logistics sort of stuff; Fun fun! :-) And making sure I plan around things like family member's wedding, graduations, and REALLY important occasions like BREW FEST! LOL!

The First Step is the Hardest

Super excited to roll out this race season! This year the line up is focused on family and friends. I still love racing for competition's sake, and I have a goal to get my run time up by the end of the season, but for the most part I'm looking to focus not on total training time but on quality training time and to me Quality Time is time spent getting fit WHILE having fun with friends and family. I want to put all my hard earned racing smarts to good use by getting others excited too! :-D

So, starting off the season is going to be Cotton Row 10K in May. My sister Kim is doing this race with me, and this is also the one race every year that my husband and I will run together. Hubby isn't a runner and prefers to maintain the minimum level of fitness to pass his PT Test and play Frisbee Golf. Which is A-OKAY with me because the rest of the time he's my personal race-day gopher. I have learned a good Gopher (i.e. "Go for...") is essential! He keeps track of me, my gear, and the all-important finish line beer ;-) Never leave home without your Gopher. Very important.

Ross and I at Cotton Row, 2013

At the same time, we're starting swim lessons with my sister ("Seee-ster!") Jessi, and a little cross training on the bike for good measure so we're all Smokin' Hot for the family beach trip in June.

Then we'll switch focus from individual sport to Triathlon training for the first annual Nourse Family Triathlon. Which this year is going to be Huntsville HIWAAY Sprint Triathlon in mid-August. And then for myself, possibly the Rocketman Triathlon at the end of August. Because it's one of my favorites and I just can't help myself! There's a remote chance my brother Matthew will do this race with me since he's a Stellar Swimmer and we'll have him on a decent road bike this year.

From there I'll switch gears to my personal goals and get some speed-training in because, as I said, I want to get my run time up. I'll do the Huntsville Half Marathon (possibly with Jessi, she just doesn't know it yet ;-) Then the Rocket City Marathon with one of my Best-est Work Buddies, Glenn.

Glenn after Huntsville Half Marathon 2013.
If I try to "just keep up with Glenn" I would easily make my marathon goal time!

That's The Plan! [Rule the World!]
Next I need to get all this stuff on a calendar and get a training plan pulled together! lol.