The Tecumseh trail marathon was a fantastic experience for me. As
always, many lessons learned, new friends made, and a great day spent
running through the woods.
I was going to fly solo for the weekend. Use the time to just be alone
and decompress. I did drive down alone and used that time to practice my
singing...I can almost rap Beastie Boys Brass Monkey! I might take that on the road. Tara called
while I was driving and talked me into meeting her and others for
dinner...at dinner they convinced me to stay with them in this beautiful
house in the woods. I had the best time ever - I can't remember the
last time I laughed so much. Maybe this was the decompression I needed!
Thanks girls (and John) :-)
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| Had a great time with these people! Thank you all for the laughs! |
Race morning we are up at 5:30 getting ready for this adventure which will not begin for another 5.5 hours. There was an hour delay due to some bus issues. Fine - we have more time to talk with friends and pee another 3 or 4 times. Finally, go time, 500+ of us take off into the woods for 26.2 miles of tough and beautiful trails.
First lesson of the day, and this is a lesson I "learn" over and over and always forget, the first 3 - 5 miles are the hardest for me! Getting the muscles loose, getting into a good rhythm, getting caught up with the speedsters and realizing I'm not one of them, and dealing with wardrobe issues. Lesson two, do not tie my shoes so tight! I had a new pair of trail shoes I was trying out (loved them) but they were too tight and caused major shin pain. After a couple of miles I pulled over, loosened them, and was good to go. NOW, I was ready to tackle these trails.
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| They warned us to wear bright colors because it's hunting season. | Hello hunters with big guns! |
Tunes on, loosened up, shoes adjusted, and ready to go. Yes, I'm 4.5 miles in and finally ready to run this race. I've got some ground to make up now. I take off, feel great and realize that my third lesson of the day is going to be patience. With 500 people running single track and not starting my race until 4.5 miles I got stuck many times running a pace slower than I was hoping. The trail in many places is not passable unless people stop and step off. I split the difference. Half the time I would pass and the other half I practiced patience. I slowed down, thought about HURT and how I should run that race at a nice easy pace. So to practice this patience thing I would stay at the back of the pack until we hit the next aid station and then move ahead. This turned out to be a fun game for me.
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| It's tough to capture the hills on film...this was one of the "little" ones |
At mile 13 there was the never ending climb. Just before the climb there were a couple of gentlemen sitting on chairs with a cooler full of ice cold beer. As I was passing I said something about how good that beer looked...and they handed me one :-) Saints! I power walked up that beast with a beer in my hand and a smile on my face. I felt super strong tackling that hill - like the stairmaster and the workouts with Jeff are really paying off! What a great confidence boost! 13 miles to go and I feel fantastic! Somewhere between 18 - 19 I feel some toenail pain. Like when you catch your toenail on the front of your shoe - especially on the downhills. I have no other pain in my body and I am taking the downhills with caution because of silly toenails. Discouraging and laughable at the same time. Lesson four is another I've "learned" time and time again and never remember - cut the toenails short before a race! Drats - I will get this one of these days! I finished the race feeling strong with no problems to report. After I stopped moving my tummy was icky for a bit but it was fine after I got some food and big diet coke in me. My legs felt the effects of the climbs - I just needed to give them a little stretching and TLC. I was walking just fine with a little residual soreness in the hammies and quads on Sunday.
As far as nutrition, at 6 am I had a piece of cinnamon toast, I had a protein bar, and used VESPA an hour before and at miles 9 and 18. On the course I had NUUN in my camelback, a fudge stripe cookie around mile 9, and some chips around 18. I did not experience muscle or brain fatigue at all during the race. No bonking. Lesson five - keep using the VESPA, it works!
The Tecumseh marathon was a success. Finish time 5:38. I'll be back for the repeat in 2013. Next up - the Lookout Mountain 50!
Way to get 'er done, Jen! Keep up the great work! The road to HURT is getting shorter...
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