Some of my closest friends run trails every week and are constantly going on and on about how wonderful trail running is. Frankly, I used to see trail running as an opportunity to twist my ankle, fall flat on my face and/or run into trees. (We've all seen the magic I make while riding my bike - I don't need another venue to hurt myself.)
So, what did I do when the idea of running the Maze 10K race was presented? I signed up of course! Thus, today I ran my first trail race (and I should add, this was only the third attempt at trail running, and my second attempt ended with my walking back to the car after twisting my ankle.)
This was meant to be an easy 6.2 mile run, which would round out my super easy (12 run/40 bike/0 swim) week. So, I wasn't nervous. I just wanted to have fun and see what all the trail running fuss is about. I am SO GLAD I did this - this was the most fun race I've done in a very long time! Perhaps volunteering on Friday produced good race karma.
The run went like this: I started super easy with Dionn, then got stuck behind a pack for a while, then gained confidence and realized I could easily run faster, and then I started passing people. Then, I started conciously picking people off. The fun really started when I started picking off guys who looked like they actually knew what they were doing. I was surprised at how easy it was to catch my breath after climbs and pick it up on the straight-a-ways.
I was also surprised at how much FUN I was having. During a race! Fun! What a concept! :)
So, what did I do when the idea of running the Maze 10K race was presented? I signed up of course! Thus, today I ran my first trail race (and I should add, this was only the third attempt at trail running, and my second attempt ended with my walking back to the car after twisting my ankle.)
This was meant to be an easy 6.2 mile run, which would round out my super easy (12 run/40 bike/0 swim) week. So, I wasn't nervous. I just wanted to have fun and see what all the trail running fuss is about. I am SO GLAD I did this - this was the most fun race I've done in a very long time! Perhaps volunteering on Friday produced good race karma.
The run went like this: I started super easy with Dionn, then got stuck behind a pack for a while, then gained confidence and realized I could easily run faster, and then I started passing people. Then, I started conciously picking people off. The fun really started when I started picking off guys who looked like they actually knew what they were doing. I was surprised at how easy it was to catch my breath after climbs and pick it up on the straight-a-ways.
I was also surprised at how much FUN I was having. During a race! Fun! What a concept! :)
See those people behind me? Yeah, I overtook them. See the guy in the green shirt? Dusted him! See me? I think I might actually be a runner? Me! A runner? Woah! (I certainly relate to Amy in my "I'm a runner!?!" surprise!)
So, thanks to M & K, for getting me out there today. It was a blast. It was also great to hang out in the park until mid-afternoon, especially since I deserved to kick back this time. Perhaps I'll spend my birthday weekend at "The Loop." Who would have guessed...
By the way, I love this picture of my pointing and screaming at Kerry. It is reverse of how she acted to me at the Women's Adventure Race! ;) And thanks to Glenda & Shorey for the pics!
2 comments:
Yay for your first trail race - I am so glad you liked it!!! Welcome to the flip side :)
Love your race report, and the photos are neat! Trail running is so much nicer than road running, eh?
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