Seriously, There Was a Trail Race…

I think the statute of limitations is about to run out on my January trail race. I have been thinking about this recap for weeks, but it seems like most of my free time has been occupied by sugar cookies or sleep lately. We will have to talk about the sugar cookies later.

First, let’s talk about my first race of 2014! I use the term race loosely here because there was definitely no racing going on. I think I have mentioned before that I am not an outdoors person, although there is evidence to the contrary the last five years or so. I’m not going to lie, I was glad to be doing this particular race in the winter where I wouldn’t have to worry about running into any unfriendly critters out on the trail.

About 24 hours after I decided to sign up for the Sooner State Games Trail Race, Sarah, Rochelle, Anne and I headed out to Draper for our first official (read: they gave us timing chips) trail race. We had no trouble picking up our bibs and had plenty of time to get some pictures.



Me, Sarah, Anne and Rochelle.

Ben & I

 

We had signed up for the 12 mile race. The course was a four mile loop, and the 12-milers started first. I tried to settle into a comfortable and sustainable pace and not slow anyone behind me down. The 8-milers started five minutes later and it felt like the Hunger Games when we heard their gun go off and knew that they were going to be chasing slow pokes like me down. The third gun for the 4-miles went off five minutes after that.

My speedy friends headed off and after settling in I made it through the first loop with only a stubbed toe. It turned out to be much warmer than I expected and I had to shed my long sleeve shirt and gloves in the first loop. As I started the second loop, I was wondering why I hadn’t signed up for the 8 mile race, or the 4 mile race. Oh the things your friends will convince you to do.

The best thing about this race was the water stop that was half way through the loop. My friend Julie was out there and it was so nice to see a friendly face! By the third loop I could have sworn that I was the last person out on the trail. With all the 4 and 8 milers pretty much done, there was no one ahead of me or behind me that I could see. Julie promised me that I was not last.

Julie and I

 

As I came to the end of the last loop, Ben was waiting and ran the rest of the way to the finish line with me. I think he wanted to make sure I was still alive. I am not going to lie, I was ready to be done. My official time was 2:21. This was the longest run, time wise, for me since the marathon last February. Oh were my legs tired. Trail running is hard.

We waited around for my three speedy friends to collect their medals for their top three finishes in their age groups. As we were getting ready to leave they called my name. Last time I checked, Rochelle and I were in the same age group, but it turned out they had my age listed as 56! Unofficially, I won the 55-59 age group. They were nice enough to let me keep the medal for winning that age group. Not bad for a 56 year old!

It was a great day, and I definitely want to do another trail race. I just love the laid back feel of the trails, and enjoyed just running to run, and not have any self-inflicted pressure to run fast or get a certain time. There was an added bonus this day of not falling on my face, the avoidance of which is what slows me down the most on the trails. I enjoyed the Draper trails.

Not a bad start to racing in 2014.

How About a Trail Run...

I have been thinking about what my first race of 2014 would be.  I think maybe I haven't really wanted to jinx myself my actually planning a race, and when I woke up this morning I had no races scheduled.

What a difference a day makes.

I have been saying that I would like to run an actual trail race.  One with registration fees, race t-shirts, timing chips and aid stations.  Looks like I'm going to get my wish.

Tomorrow at 9 am, I will be participating in the Sooner State Games trail race.  I actually registered for this event in 2011, but I believe it got snowy/icy and we opted to run our planned long run for marathon training instead.  There is no backing out now.

What's even better is three of my favorite running peeps will be joining me on the trails, and I will get so see some of my favorite trail runners too.  It should make for a very interesting day.

Oh yeah, and did I mention that we are doing the long race?  It's only 12 miles, and I know that the "only" portion of that statement is purely subjective, but up until now, the farthest I have ever run/walked on trails is six miles.  Peer pressure from my running friends sure makes my life more interesting!

Of course, now the big question is: What do we wear?  Guess I need to work on a little carb loading and hydration.

Intergalactic World Championships...

Sounds pretty fancy, and like it was a really big deal, right?  It was formerly called the Red Dirt Championships.  On Sunday afternoon we {I sort of made Josh come with me} headed out to Thunderbird for some trails, food and beer to be a part of this annual trail run that raises money for Relay for Life.  We had plans to run the 10k, and I had plans to just go have a good time.  Rochelle, on the other hand, had plans to win. 

You probably shouldn't even have to ask if we took pictures.

Ross was finding his happy place. 

Josh and Ross, this was not long before Ross said, let's just hang here and drink beer until they get back and Josh said something about needing to earn their beer.  This is an important part of the story.

Rochelle, Anne, Kim, Me and Monica

So at approximately 1:17 we all lined up and headed out on the trails.  About a mile in I rolled my previously sprained ankle and fell on my butt.  Kim was with me, so I dusted myself off and we set out again.  They say if you don't fall atleast once you aren't running hard enough.  I was hoping that that was my only fall of the day.

Not long after this we ran into Josh and Ross.  In an attempt to beat us all back to the finish they were taking short cuts.  Kharma must have caught up with Josh becasue he had just dislocated his ankle and was lying on his back across the trail.  The ankle was back in it's socket, but there was discussion about who would take him back to the start.  Ross said he would take him and they set off, not following the path back in the direction we had just come, but in some unknown direction they thought would get them back faster.

We headed off again and ended up passing them a few more times on said short cut.  Josh had a walking stick, and there were stories about being carried and some farting that had occured. 

Kim and I ended up spending quite a bit of time with Gus and Tracy.  Gus is one of the owners of my favorite local running store, OK Runner, and Tracy, who I didn't know before Sunday had some mutal friends and graduated the year after I did from my rival Westmoore High School.  Yes, it's a small world.

This is Gus on one of the obstacles along the trail.

Kim tackled it too.

For anyone that has known me for any length of time, it would come as no shock to you that I did not attempt this.  We did get some more pictures though.

It's a Thompson family photo with Tracy and Kim.

This is what happens when you ask a older guy on a bike to take a group picture for you.  We should have known it would be blurry and his thumb would be in the way when he asked what button he should push on my iPhone to take the picture.

We set off again.  I had one other near fall, where I had to catch myself on a tree.  I am sure it looked as graceful as I felt.  Then I watched Kim stub her toes on a small root and then managed to do the exact same thing.  That was quite painful.

Yes, we even saw Sasquatch!

Tracy, me and Kim with Sasquatch.

We got back to the start, Josh finally made it back with the help of Ross and some medically trained runners.  He was rewarded with food, beer and an ice pack for his efforts.

And there were more pictures.

Me, Ro, Kim and Anne with the best photobomb of the day.

Ro finally got her picture with Sasquatch.  She didn't stop on the trail like we did because she didn't want anyone to pass her. 

Needless to say, Josh and I went straight to urgent care when we left.  He didn't break anything, just strained some ligaments.  He is in a boot, and on crutches until he can walk in the boot without pain and he will go back in two weeks to see if he can get out of the boot.

What a great day with friends!  I love running trails, and I think if I did it more often my hips would not still be sore and my legs wouldn't feel so beat up by them.  My previously sprained ankle was a bit swollen on Monday, and where my car door hit me in the back of the calf when we were leaving is pretty bruised.  Even so I can't wait for the next trail run.

20 Miles and a Trail Run...

#RWrunstreak still alive, total run streak = 13 days.

My friend Patti is training to run the Disney Marathon in January. She had a 20 mile run on her schedule this weekend. Rochelle and I made a plan to meet her and run with her.

I haven't run 20 miles since I ran the Memorial Marathon in 2011, so I figured I would run as long as my mind and my legs were in agreement. We meet at Patti's house at 6:15 am and ran the four miles to OK Runner to meet the group.

We discovered in the first four miles that we were overdressed in our long sleeved shirts, good thing we were meeting at my favorite running store. After a costume change we headed out on a 12 mile loop around campus. I had a Garmin fail at the first water stop when I stopped my Garmin instead of using my auto pause. When we started up again I forgot to start my watch for almost a mile and a half.

It was pretty windy out but the weather was pretty amazing for December 1st. I didn't think I would be running in capris and a tank top in December. We finished up the loop and made it back to the store, got a little water and fuel and headed back out for the four mile run back to Patti's house.

It was a great day, and a real confidence booster for me. Coming back from injury, this distance seemed so far off for me. Total running time was around three hours and I even felt pretty strong in the last few miles. I got to finish with a smile on my face.

After a stop for some Gatorade with protein and two bags of ice I headed home and straight into an ice bath.

I am really loving the ice baths, I stayed in for about thirty minutes and I really thinker it helped with my recovery. I was on my feet for most of the rest of the day.

Today was the Dirty Bird Trail Run and Chili Cook-Off. I made a plan to meet Ro and Kim to do the 10k trail run.

We took off and after about a mile or so Kim and I dropped back a little. Our plan was to just have fun and walk when we needed to. My tired legs weren't too uncooperative. We meet back up with Tim at the water stop and we just chatted and ran and walked our way to the finish line.

The finish line had chili (even vegetarian) and beer. We hung out for a while and visited with friends and took come pictures...

My favorite race director, Dave, who also provided the beer.

Julie, Kim, Tim, me and Ro. It takes a lot to get a picture with this group. The guy taking the pic for us was good enough to get candid shots of the group assembling.

After a few more pics, two beers, and some veggie chili I was headed back to the house covered in dirt.

The weekend ended with hot yoga and The Amazing Race with Josh and the girls. Not a bad two days of running. Maybe there will be a marathon in Galveston after all.

 

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