Most often I don't sleep well the night before. So instead of waiting till the alarm went off to get up I left the house at mid-night, drove to Mount Magazine and slept till it was time to get up and get ready to run.
The day started nice, no cold rain is always a nice way to start.
The trails on Mount Magazine are magical! Normally the wild roses are in bloom along with numerous other wild flowers, blankets of fog cover the trails, its cool and beautiful and magical. If fairies and unicorns started dancing on the trails it wouldn't be a surprise, they would just fit right in.
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| A view on the way to the mountain |
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| Dan gives great hugs! |
The plan this year was to run the hills, kill it, hang on for as long as I could then manage what was left of the race. Execution, just as planned! It doesn't get better than that.
Chrissy and I started the race talking about future runs, training and everything wonderful. I decided I would try to stay up with her till it just wasn't possible any more. She runs uphill! So it took some mental arm wrestling to shut up the negative narrative about how far I could run before falling out.
I'm so glad Chrissy wasn't racing this day, but running! whew! I stayed with her through mile 6ish, then she stayed with me through the rest. We hit the 9 mile aid station averaging under 15 minute miles which is flying on technical trails for me. What is this running uphill? Who is this doing the running uphill? Oh, that is you Lisa, you are running uphill!
Chrissy and I started the race talking about future runs, training and everything wonderful. I decided I would try to stay up with her till it just wasn't possible any more. She runs uphill! So it took some mental arm wrestling to shut up the negative narrative about how far I could run before falling out.
I'm so glad Chrissy wasn't racing this day, but running! whew! I stayed with her through mile 6ish, then she stayed with me through the rest. We hit the 9 mile aid station averaging under 15 minute miles which is flying on technical trails for me. What is this running uphill? Who is this doing the running uphill? Oh, that is you Lisa, you are running uphill!
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| Photo Credit - PT, fun on the trail! |
If one doesn't like the idea of trail running, go for a hike! Mount Magazine is magical!
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| Photo Credit - PT |
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| Photo Credit - PT |
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| Photo Credit - PT |
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| Photo Credit - PT Aid station at mile 9 & 15, Aid station volunteers are angels sent from above! |
After getting to the aid station at mile 9 there is an out and back, down down down on a mountain trail for 3 miles, then back up! Some kind soul had taken a weed eater to this never used trail so the grass was tamed. Its on the side of the mountain in deep foliage, so it doesn't get sun. The trail was super slick! wet! and some spots of mud! It wasn't a fun downhill run, it was a slippy slide carefully done to preserve life and limb.
At the turnaround at the bottom it was starting to get toasty warm. Down on the trail in the deep foliage the wind doesn't blow much, so the warm, humid, mug just hung in the air. Our goal, back to the aid station in 1 hour. We didn't talk much, we hiked, we didn't stop a step, we hiked. We got back up the hill in something like 52 minutes, goal achieved!
At the turnaround at the bottom it was starting to get toasty warm. Down on the trail in the deep foliage the wind doesn't blow much, so the warm, humid, mug just hung in the air. Our goal, back to the aid station in 1 hour. We didn't talk much, we hiked, we didn't stop a step, we hiked. We got back up the hill in something like 52 minutes, goal achieved!
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| This view brought us to a halt to admire! |
This view is between mile 15 and the finish line.
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| We stopped for a moment to admire the view. |
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| This is what hill climbing does to a runner near the end of the run! |
After getting back up the hill at the mile 15 aid station we knew we would beat last year's time. We did walk more than if we were racing. That is okay, the big dance is the Arkansas Traveller 100 in October, this is a training run.
It is magnificant spending time on the trail with a dear friend! It is fun to get back to the starting line while people are still there! The cheering, the food, the hugs, the love, the ice cold Mt Dew, that makes it fun!
It is magnificant spending time on the trail with a dear friend! It is fun to get back to the starting line while people are still there! The cheering, the food, the hugs, the love, the ice cold Mt Dew, that makes it fun!
Lessons Learned:
- Running with a group can be so much fun!
- Nutrition plan is working great 33 Shake for the most part,
supplement with anything else that looks good
- Trekking poles save lives!
Things That Went Right:
Hydration
Nutrition
Running hills till I died
Trekking Poles
Drymax Socks
Eating clean week leading up to race
Things to Improve:
Keep doing hill training
Keep up the brain training - shutting down the negative chatter is paramount to good performance
Stop goofing around with food and drop those extra pounds
Gear:
Hoka One One Mafata trail shoes
Drymax Team RWB branded socks
Ultimate Direction Pack
Diamond Z Poles Trekking poles
Up Next:
Catsmacker
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