I'm falling in love again with running. I have been running pain-free for the past couple of months, and I am so grateful for that. I clearly remember when I broke down crying several times during runs because I was hurting so badly and I was so frustrated that I couldn't do something that I loved. I remember the inconsistency I experienced with the ART and massage - I never knew when I laced up my running shoes whether I was going to hurt or not during a run. I've been getting massages regularly for maintenance, and I think that is helping. Unfortunately, with the wedding expenses, I can't afford to go see Ann regularly right now, so I've been getting a student intern massage twice a month lately instead.
Not only is running pain-free right now, but it's also getting easier again and I am regaining some speed. I'm not necessarily focusing on speedwork right now, just trying to rebuild a good foundation to be in a position to benefit from speedwork when I'm ready to do that again. With the exploration of trail running recently, running has been interesting and enjoyable again too.
With other things going on this evening, I wasn't planning on running. But, I really needed to clear my head from the day and I decided to take advantage of the fact that there was some cloud cover so I hurriedly changed into my running clothes and hit the trail after work. I had a fantastic run and continued to remind myself what it feels like to run comfortably "fast." I was scheduled for a massage this evening, which I was looking forward to. However, my therapist didn't show up for the appointment, so I walked out with a gift certificate for a future session but no massage. Then, I went to the gym to do weights. And, I scheduled a (low-cost) massage somewhere else for later this week.
Tomorrow is our 4th workout (of 5) in the Trail 101 group. We're headed up north to the Bull Creek Greenbelt for Ken's loop. Can't wait.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Selfish...
I really meant what I said in my previous post about wanting the wedding to be over with already and for us to be happily married. It is causing me such stress, emotionally and financially. I didn't even want this big wedding in the first place. I wanted to get married at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco or on a beach somewhere, just me and K. Then, come back and have a laid-back party to celebrate with friends without all of the hoopla.
But, this is what it is. We are getting married at The Allan House in slightly less than 10 weeks with a guest list of almost 200 people, most of them not even for me if you will. This wedding does not fit neatly into some people's lives...my matron of honor will have an infant son at that point and her brother's wife is expecting their first child then as well; one of my bridesmaids is actively going through infertility treatments; another is training for a marathon less than a month away so there is a good chance she may be scheduled for a 20-mile run that day; other family members and friends simply can't travel or attend because of other things going on in their lives. On one hand, I completely understand that everybody is living their own life and has things going on. The world does not revolve around me, and I have never been one to be demanding of others in that way. At the same time though, this is our special moment in time. We have chosen to include these people in it because we love and care for them. I have been there for others so many times. This is supposed to be my time, our time. Yet, I feel completely selfish for saying that or feeling hurt by it in the first place.
But, this is what it is. We are getting married at The Allan House in slightly less than 10 weeks with a guest list of almost 200 people, most of them not even for me if you will. This wedding does not fit neatly into some people's lives...my matron of honor will have an infant son at that point and her brother's wife is expecting their first child then as well; one of my bridesmaids is actively going through infertility treatments; another is training for a marathon less than a month away so there is a good chance she may be scheduled for a 20-mile run that day; other family members and friends simply can't travel or attend because of other things going on in their lives. On one hand, I completely understand that everybody is living their own life and has things going on. The world does not revolve around me, and I have never been one to be demanding of others in that way. At the same time though, this is our special moment in time. We have chosen to include these people in it because we love and care for them. I have been there for others so many times. This is supposed to be my time, our time. Yet, I feel completely selfish for saying that or feeling hurt by it in the first place.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Good weekend...
One more week down, so now the wedding countdown is at 10 weeks. We reassessed our to-do list last night, and I was pleased that we've been so productive over the past couple of weeks. Still plenty to do, but we're definitely crossing things off. I hate saying this because I don't want it to be misunderstood, but I'm really ready for this all to be over with already and for us to get back to our regular lives as a new married couple. I'm ready for the little that I have left over in each paycheck after bills not to get accounted for with things for the wedding. I'm ready for us to have our weekends completely free of taking care of things for the wedding. I'm ready to lay on the beach in the Greek Islands for two weeks.
My left hand is feeling a bit bare at the moment. While we were ordering K's wedding band yesterday, the jeweler noticed that a couple of the stones in my ring, including the center stone, were loose. So, we made a beeline over to BBB to get my ring inspected. Unfortunately, that meant leaving it there for a few days so that they could tighten the stones. Obviously that's better than losing a stone or two, but I miss having it.
I had two races scheduled this weekend, and both were a success in different ways. I convinced one of my co-workers to run the Keep Austin Weird 5k last night. She has just started running, and this was her first race - the farthest that she's run to date, too. I ran with her and encouraged her the entire way. It was such a nice feeling to be able to give back like that. As we were running back on Cesar Chavez, I remembered Gabby doing the same for me on that same stretch at about mile 24-25 of my first marathon a couple of years ago. I was glad to be able to do that for someone else. Afterwards, we hung around and munched on the post-run goodies then went to see What Made Milwaukee Famous. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday evening.
Then, this morning almost turned into the trail race that wasn't for us. Apparently, when the alarm went off around 6am, I unknowingly kept snoozing through it until I woke up with a jolt at around 6:35 (the race started at 7:30 in West Lake). K has a tendency to dawdle, so I was worried that we wouldn't even get out the door until after 7. I threatened him that if he wasn't ready in 10 minutes then I was leaving without him and he could drive himself. He took me seriously and we got out the door and made it to the race start in just enough time for the start. Everyone in our trail group was running the 10k, so it was nice to see some friendly faces to start. I started out running with another girl in our group, but we got jammed up in a slow-moving line of people in the first mile. We finally made our way free, but then I had to stop and tie my shoes so I let her go. I eventually caught back up to her though in the last couple of miles. I felt great in the latter half of the race and finished feeling strong with about a 10-minute improvement from the previous two trail races in the series. This was definitely my favorite race in the series because of how much more confident I felt running on the trail, especially downhill. I had a blast! And, K did too. I think we have essentially decided that we're going to do the trail group for Palo Duro which starts later this month. We went to the awards ceremony for the trail series at Rogue late this afternoon, and I was pleasantly surprised to get a finisher shirt since I ran all three of the races.
My left hand is feeling a bit bare at the moment. While we were ordering K's wedding band yesterday, the jeweler noticed that a couple of the stones in my ring, including the center stone, were loose. So, we made a beeline over to BBB to get my ring inspected. Unfortunately, that meant leaving it there for a few days so that they could tighten the stones. Obviously that's better than losing a stone or two, but I miss having it.
I had two races scheduled this weekend, and both were a success in different ways. I convinced one of my co-workers to run the Keep Austin Weird 5k last night. She has just started running, and this was her first race - the farthest that she's run to date, too. I ran with her and encouraged her the entire way. It was such a nice feeling to be able to give back like that. As we were running back on Cesar Chavez, I remembered Gabby doing the same for me on that same stretch at about mile 24-25 of my first marathon a couple of years ago. I was glad to be able to do that for someone else. Afterwards, we hung around and munched on the post-run goodies then went to see What Made Milwaukee Famous. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday evening.
Then, this morning almost turned into the trail race that wasn't for us. Apparently, when the alarm went off around 6am, I unknowingly kept snoozing through it until I woke up with a jolt at around 6:35 (the race started at 7:30 in West Lake). K has a tendency to dawdle, so I was worried that we wouldn't even get out the door until after 7. I threatened him that if he wasn't ready in 10 minutes then I was leaving without him and he could drive himself. He took me seriously and we got out the door and made it to the race start in just enough time for the start. Everyone in our trail group was running the 10k, so it was nice to see some friendly faces to start. I started out running with another girl in our group, but we got jammed up in a slow-moving line of people in the first mile. We finally made our way free, but then I had to stop and tie my shoes so I let her go. I eventually caught back up to her though in the last couple of miles. I felt great in the latter half of the race and finished feeling strong with about a 10-minute improvement from the previous two trail races in the series. This was definitely my favorite race in the series because of how much more confident I felt running on the trail, especially downhill. I had a blast! And, K did too. I think we have essentially decided that we're going to do the trail group for Palo Duro which starts later this month. We went to the awards ceremony for the trail series at Rogue late this afternoon, and I was pleasantly surprised to get a finisher shirt since I ran all three of the races.
Monday, June 23, 2008
A few musings to start the week...
-K and I will be on our way to Greece 11 weeks from today! Which means that our wedding is slightly less than 11 weeks away now, which really freaks me out in terms of everything that we still have to do. As K reminded me at lunch on Sunday though, I started freaking out when it was 15, then 14, 13, 12, and now 11 weeks away. I don't think it's going to go away, buddy. Get used to it.
-I tried my wedding dress on for the first time yesterday since I picked it up from the store over a month ago. As expected, it was too big (I know that is obviously better than it being too small!), and I cannot wait to see what it looks like when it actually fits me. It's beautiful and very me at the same time. I should have my first fitting for the alterations at the end of July.
-I did my first solo trail run yesterday, and I am proud to say that I didn't have to call K (who was obviously still in bed with the phone in his hand) to tell him that I was lost or hurt. I ran essentially the same route that we ran last weekend so it felt familiar. We also ran a different section of the Greenbelt on Saturday with a guy from our trail group. It was such a great way to start each day this weekend!
-I have a double-header race weekend coming up. Again, I use the term "race" loosely. I'm running the Keep Austin Weird 5k on Saturday evening with one of my co-workers. She just recently started running, so I'm doing this with her for support. As K said when I told him about it, I'm trying to get her to "drink the kool-aid." Then, the final race in the Rogue trail series is on Sunday morning. I'm excited that K will be running his first trail race.
-I tried my wedding dress on for the first time yesterday since I picked it up from the store over a month ago. As expected, it was too big (I know that is obviously better than it being too small!), and I cannot wait to see what it looks like when it actually fits me. It's beautiful and very me at the same time. I should have my first fitting for the alterations at the end of July.
-I did my first solo trail run yesterday, and I am proud to say that I didn't have to call K (who was obviously still in bed with the phone in his hand) to tell him that I was lost or hurt. I ran essentially the same route that we ran last weekend so it felt familiar. We also ran a different section of the Greenbelt on Saturday with a guy from our trail group. It was such a great way to start each day this weekend!
-I have a double-header race weekend coming up. Again, I use the term "race" loosely. I'm running the Keep Austin Weird 5k on Saturday evening with one of my co-workers. She just recently started running, so I'm doing this with her for support. As K said when I told him about it, I'm trying to get her to "drink the kool-aid." Then, the final race in the Rogue trail series is on Sunday morning. I'm excited that K will be running his first trail race.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Watch out runners on Town Lake!
I got hit by a dog while running on the trail tonight. Seriously, *I* got hit by a dog, not the other way around. And, I was pissed.
I was cruising comfortably at a relatively fast clip when a dog just came running from Auditorium Shores across the trail toward the water right in my path and totally hit me. It happened so fast that I didn't even see it coming to slow my pace in an attempt to avoid the dog. It was a relatively big dog too, so he just kept on moving without a second thought. Meanwhile, the dog's owners just stood around laughing about it. I had a few loud choice words to say about that.
I understand that it is an off-leash area, but come on...have some control of your pets when around others.
I was cruising comfortably at a relatively fast clip when a dog just came running from Auditorium Shores across the trail toward the water right in my path and totally hit me. It happened so fast that I didn't even see it coming to slow my pace in an attempt to avoid the dog. It was a relatively big dog too, so he just kept on moving without a second thought. Meanwhile, the dog's owners just stood around laughing about it. I had a few loud choice words to say about that.
I understand that it is an off-leash area, but come on...have some control of your pets when around others.
General update...
We are amazingly busy these days. Here's a few updates:
-Obviously, the wedding planning is taking up a lot of time lately. We've certainly crossed a lot of things off the to-do list, but we also sat down this weekend to take inventory of what remains...and there's a lot left to do between now and our wedding day. I feel better after doing that though because we made things more concrete with a sense of timeframes to get them done, and K has been actively involved with certain tasks this week (e.g., planning the honeymoon, choosing musicians for the ceremony). We have all of our vendors selected except for the florist. We met with one awhile back, but I/we are having a hard time justifying spending $6,000 on flowers! I'm trying to schedule a consultation with another one for next week, which will hopefully be more reasonable. Otherwise, I'll walk down the aisle carrying wildflowers from the side of the highway. :)
-I'm enjoying the flexibility of not training for anything in particular at the moment. My workouts each week are so varied depending on what else we have going on and what I feel like doing that day. It's a combination of runs on the Greenbelt or Town Lake, weights, elliptical, and swimming. This will probably carry me through for another month or so, but then I feel like I need to focus more on a specific goal - whether it is trail running in order to run Palo Duro or whether it is more traditional road workouts in order to run a good half-marathon in San Antonio or even training for an early '09 marathon (Houston, New Orleans, Austin)...and not all of that has to be mutually exclusive either.
-I had a pretty stressful week at work last week...not the best timing for me to turn down a job interview elsewhere! Thankfully, this week has been more manageable, and I hope that will continue for awhile (although it can change in an instant around here).
-Obviously, the wedding planning is taking up a lot of time lately. We've certainly crossed a lot of things off the to-do list, but we also sat down this weekend to take inventory of what remains...and there's a lot left to do between now and our wedding day. I feel better after doing that though because we made things more concrete with a sense of timeframes to get them done, and K has been actively involved with certain tasks this week (e.g., planning the honeymoon, choosing musicians for the ceremony). We have all of our vendors selected except for the florist. We met with one awhile back, but I/we are having a hard time justifying spending $6,000 on flowers! I'm trying to schedule a consultation with another one for next week, which will hopefully be more reasonable. Otherwise, I'll walk down the aisle carrying wildflowers from the side of the highway. :)
-I'm enjoying the flexibility of not training for anything in particular at the moment. My workouts each week are so varied depending on what else we have going on and what I feel like doing that day. It's a combination of runs on the Greenbelt or Town Lake, weights, elliptical, and swimming. This will probably carry me through for another month or so, but then I feel like I need to focus more on a specific goal - whether it is trail running in order to run Palo Duro or whether it is more traditional road workouts in order to run a good half-marathon in San Antonio or even training for an early '09 marathon (Houston, New Orleans, Austin)...and not all of that has to be mutually exclusive either.
-I had a pretty stressful week at work last week...not the best timing for me to turn down a job interview elsewhere! Thankfully, this week has been more manageable, and I hope that will continue for awhile (although it can change in an instant around here).
Monday, June 16, 2008
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Good start to the day....
K and I got up (early) this morning and headed out to the Greenbelt for a 6-mile run. We were running on our own and this was the first time that we'd been out that way so we pretty much stayed together so that we wouldn't get lost separately. K did a great job of staying with me, which I appreciated. We started from Barton Springs parking lot and went out for 3 miles then turned around before we hit 360. We had a great time! I'm feeling more comfortable with each trail run that I do. Cardio feels fine, no shin pain in months, so all is good with running right now.
We hurried home after our run because we had a busy morning planned. HEB is offering free BP checks and other wellness activities on a monthly basis right now, and I have been overdue on getting my BP rechecked since my BC prescription was changed last fall. I was so relieved that my BP was just fine this time around! Whew, one worry off my plate.
Then, we headed out to an open house at the new AMD site off Southwest Parkway. K has been raving about the new building since he moved out there several months ago, so I was eager to see what all the hype was about. Turns out that all the hype was definitely warranted...it's a fantastic facility with great views and amenities! It's amazing how different the business world is from my world in social services.
Afterwards, we headed up north to have our tasting with our caterer for the wedding. We had come up with an initial menu during our original meeting, so today was our day to try it out and make any changes. The food was yummy (especially the appetizers), and we both feel confident that our caterer will have everything under control for us on the big day.
So, now it's time to take a disco nap in hopes that I will be able to stay up past 11pm tonight because my friend Pete is coming down from Dallas with some of his friends who are DJ'ing at Mohawk tonight. We always have fun together, so I'm looking forward to it.
We hurried home after our run because we had a busy morning planned. HEB is offering free BP checks and other wellness activities on a monthly basis right now, and I have been overdue on getting my BP rechecked since my BC prescription was changed last fall. I was so relieved that my BP was just fine this time around! Whew, one worry off my plate.
Then, we headed out to an open house at the new AMD site off Southwest Parkway. K has been raving about the new building since he moved out there several months ago, so I was eager to see what all the hype was about. Turns out that all the hype was definitely warranted...it's a fantastic facility with great views and amenities! It's amazing how different the business world is from my world in social services.
Afterwards, we headed up north to have our tasting with our caterer for the wedding. We had come up with an initial menu during our original meeting, so today was our day to try it out and make any changes. The food was yummy (especially the appetizers), and we both feel confident that our caterer will have everything under control for us on the big day.
So, now it's time to take a disco nap in hopes that I will be able to stay up past 11pm tonight because my friend Pete is coming down from Dallas with some of his friends who are DJ'ing at Mohawk tonight. We always have fun together, so I'm looking forward to it.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
The Rogue way...
We've been so busy planning other details about the wedding and just living our lives in general that we haven't spent much time planning the actual ceremony. Maybe we were also avoiding it because we both had different views of what we wanted and were uncertain how it would actually come together. I think we both feel more comfortable to embrace moving forward with this part of the process after a few conversations that we've had in the past few days and meeting with an officiant tonight. The looming question for us has been who's going to marry us? There were a few possibilities, but none of them felt right. I scouted around on the internet to get an idea of who's out there and finally stumbled on a website that caught my eye. We met with Sarah this evening and really liked her. She seems personable, easy to work with, and more than willing to personalize the ceremony to what we want. And, if that's not enough, she is a former Rogue. Obviously, Rogue is the reason that K and I met and has continued to play a huge part of our relationship, so it would definitely be meaningful to be married by somebody who gets that.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Trail 101, Workout 1...
Tonight was our first workout in the Trail 101 class. There's about 10 people in the group, all a great bunch. We met at the trailhead for the Hill of Life, but actually started our run from a smaller trail nearby. Our coach, Robert, had marked the trail with flags beforehand, so we all set out for about a 5-mile out-and-back run. However, apparently a few of the flags got removed at a critical junction before we got halfway in and we all got lost, as a group thankfully. We stayed together though (lesson #1 learned) and finally retraced our steps after a few misadventures. Lesson #2 learned is that I need more than just 1 water bottle out there in this heat, which would have been really problematic for me if we hadn't been able to find our way back in a reasonable amount of time. Aside from some of the steeper, rockier hills (going up and down), I felt slightly more confident this time around. Overall, it was an enjoyable group run with no pressure about pace. As is customary trail running tradition, the workout finished with beer (although not for me) and then we headed over to Rudy's for dinner...I could get used to that! :)
Monday, June 9, 2008
For the greater good...
So, remember when I applied for that job at The Children's Hospital in Denver at the end of last year? Well, I just got offered an interview for it (the hiring process moves slowly in bureaucracies), which of course led to a serious discussion with K about whether to move forward with the process. I knew the answer even before I approached him to talk about it though. I just withdrew my application from consideration.
I know that this is the right thing for us as a couple, which should ultimately mean that it is the right thing for me as well. This would have been a non-issue though if I was making this decision independently. But, I'm not. I just really hope that I don't end up resenting him for this on those days (like today) when I have a bad day at work.
We have a good life here together and that will continue.
I know that this is the right thing for us as a couple, which should ultimately mean that it is the right thing for me as well. This would have been a non-issue though if I was making this decision independently. But, I'm not. I just really hope that I don't end up resenting him for this on those days (like today) when I have a bad day at work.
We have a good life here together and that will continue.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Buffalo...
We had a quick, but good trip to Buffalo, NY this weekend. This was my first time here, and I was most excited about going to Niagara Falls yesterday. The weather has been great, a welcome relief from the HOT temps in Texas.
We arrived on Friday evening without any problems (despite our relatively short connection in Cincinnati). K enjoyed catching up with his fraternity brothers on Friday night (until 3am!), while I went to bed relatively early because I hadn't been feeling 100% for the past couple of days and because I wanted to get a run in on Saturday morning before going up to Niagara.
I had been looking forward to a nice run in much cooler temps, but was disappointed to find that it was well in the 70's with humidity and bright sun when I ventured out on Saturday morning. Our hotel is just outside of downtown Buffalo, a few miles away from Delaware Park. So, I headed out to check it out. I made my way over to the zoo where I knew there was a short kids "fun run" going on. Despite the warm weather, I enjoyed the change in scenery and was pleased to get a 7 mile run in to start the day.
Afterwards, we had lunch at a restaurant nearby then headed up to Niagara Falls (which was the highlight of the trip for me). K had been there a few times before, so I don't think he was quite as excited as I was. But, we decided to ride the Maid of the Mist to get a (wet) up close and personal view of the Falls.
More pictures from Niagara are here.
We wanted to get a short nap in before the wedding, otherwise I think K would have liked to check out the casino up there.
The reason for the trip was to attend the wedding of one of K's fraternity brothers last night. The wedding was at The Botanical Gardens. Once again, I found myself noticing the details of the event and thinking of our own upcoming wedding.
It was another "late" night, for me at least, but I still got up this morning for a 5-mile run back up to Delaware Park. We're going to have lunch at The Anchor Bar nearby, which is apparently home of buffalo wings. Then, it's back to the airport to head home.
We arrived on Friday evening without any problems (despite our relatively short connection in Cincinnati). K enjoyed catching up with his fraternity brothers on Friday night (until 3am!), while I went to bed relatively early because I hadn't been feeling 100% for the past couple of days and because I wanted to get a run in on Saturday morning before going up to Niagara.
I had been looking forward to a nice run in much cooler temps, but was disappointed to find that it was well in the 70's with humidity and bright sun when I ventured out on Saturday morning. Our hotel is just outside of downtown Buffalo, a few miles away from Delaware Park. So, I headed out to check it out. I made my way over to the zoo where I knew there was a short kids "fun run" going on. Despite the warm weather, I enjoyed the change in scenery and was pleased to get a 7 mile run in to start the day.
Afterwards, we had lunch at a restaurant nearby then headed up to Niagara Falls (which was the highlight of the trip for me). K had been there a few times before, so I don't think he was quite as excited as I was. But, we decided to ride the Maid of the Mist to get a (wet) up close and personal view of the Falls.
More pictures from Niagara are here.We wanted to get a short nap in before the wedding, otherwise I think K would have liked to check out the casino up there.
The reason for the trip was to attend the wedding of one of K's fraternity brothers last night. The wedding was at The Botanical Gardens. Once again, I found myself noticing the details of the event and thinking of our own upcoming wedding.
It was another "late" night, for me at least, but I still got up this morning for a 5-mile run back up to Delaware Park. We're going to have lunch at The Anchor Bar nearby, which is apparently home of buffalo wings. Then, it's back to the airport to head home.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Sex and the City...
Don't worry, no spoilers here. Like most women, I was a huge fan of the series and eagerly anticipated the movie. I was a poor graduate student when the series was on television so of course I couldn't afford to have cable at the time. As a result, my best friend, Stephanie, taped every episode for me and mailed them to me from Georgia. I always had a marathon Sex and the City watching weekend when those precious tapes arrived. Then, when the DVD's finally came out, I bought each season and spent many a lonely night/weekend reexperiencing the adventures and loves of Carrie and the girls over and over again. I loved the saga of Carrie and Big. I am so thankful that I finally found my own Big, Big K that is. And, I am so happy to be marrying him in just a few short months...
"I don't like trail running anymore..."
(At the race start...)
That's what I told K immediately after I finished The Loop 10k this morning. As a reminder, this is the 2nd race in the Rogue Trail Series and only my 3rd ever trail run. The race was held at the Emma Long Motocross Area. The course description was definitely accurate...very rocky, "packed full of ups and downs, with one ledge after another, that begin to hammer on your legs after a bit." It was truly a technical course in my opinion. My only goal when I started out was to have fun, but that quickly changed to just finishing without hurting myself within the first mile or so. And, thankfully, I did just that. It wasn't pretty though...lots of arm flailing trying to keep my balance, close calls trying to prevent twisting my ankle, and crawling up ledge after ledge with my short legs, sometimes holding on to trees to pull myself up. I was thankful that I had gotten a pair of trail shoes (thanks Katie, they were a good fit). So, after a good nap, what did I do? I just signed up for the last race in the series, The Saint 10k on June 29. We are likely going to take the 5-week Trail Running 101 class that begins in a couple of weeks, so that race should fit nicely into that program. No worries though, I'm definitely still a road runner at heart, and I'm actually trying to plan out my training for the next year in order to peak at St. George next fall. Stay tuned...
That's what I told K immediately after I finished The Loop 10k this morning. As a reminder, this is the 2nd race in the Rogue Trail Series and only my 3rd ever trail run. The race was held at the Emma Long Motocross Area. The course description was definitely accurate...very rocky, "packed full of ups and downs, with one ledge after another, that begin to hammer on your legs after a bit." It was truly a technical course in my opinion. My only goal when I started out was to have fun, but that quickly changed to just finishing without hurting myself within the first mile or so. And, thankfully, I did just that. It wasn't pretty though...lots of arm flailing trying to keep my balance, close calls trying to prevent twisting my ankle, and crawling up ledge after ledge with my short legs, sometimes holding on to trees to pull myself up. I was thankful that I had gotten a pair of trail shoes (thanks Katie, they were a good fit). So, after a good nap, what did I do? I just signed up for the last race in the series, The Saint 10k on June 29. We are likely going to take the 5-week Trail Running 101 class that begins in a couple of weeks, so that race should fit nicely into that program. No worries though, I'm definitely still a road runner at heart, and I'm actually trying to plan out my training for the next year in order to peak at St. George next fall. Stay tuned...
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