Wednesday, March 7, 2012

10K Trail Race and Madness!

Shirt design courtesty of Tracey Kite

This past weekend I did a 10K trail run put on by Coastal Trail Runs. It was my first trail race ever, and it was SO fun. The weather was gorgeous and sunny, the conditions were perfect. It had rained earlier in the week but the trail was dry. My family came with me to cheer me on. The boys were bundled up and Chip kept them entertained while I made history ran my first trail race!
Cheering Squad!
As you know I have been training on trails lately, however, where I have been running was no match for this amazing trail at San Pedro Valley Park in Pacifica, located in scenic Northern CA. The course was a pretty intense uphill, downhill, brief straightaway, uphill, downhill. And the second hill seemed to be much more challenging....I wonder why? (sarcastically). It was pretty narrow, and I constantly had to be aware of tree roots, grooves in the dirt, rocks etc. But I was also aware of the fresh air, the pungent smell of eucalyptus, and the clear, blue, sunny skies. The start of the course was all uphill, so like ants we slowly made our way up the trail. I am not a particularly fast uphill runner so I was content staying in my place in line, but occasionally passed people on my way up especially if I felt the narrow trail was too congested and just wanted to break out.

LEARN/LAUGH: At least I can look back at this killer run and laugh. About 2 miles in, heading downhill, I was finally able to break past a group of people that I had been caught behind on the narrow trail. I took off, and didn't see anyone in front of me. Apparently the chasm between the group I was behind and the next group of people ahead of us was pretty big. So I was on my own for a bit, and I accidentally missed a turn. About a half mile later I realized my mistake when I hit a dead end and high-tailed it back in the other direction. By the time I got to the turn I had missed, all the people I had passed previously were ahead of me. This was at the start of the second hill, and it was all vertical trajectory. I did not have it in me to pass more than a handful of the people who were lagging behind. This added 10 more minutes to my time, which was 1:14:22. Not terrible, considering I added on about another mile to my run!
There I am finishing in the pink!
I had been advised before I went by my great group of running moms not to be too concerned about time on trail runs and just enjoy the scenery and have fun. Now I know why! It was awesome to see my husband and kids when I was all done, and we spent the afternoon at the San Francisco Zoo. We had a lovely weekend staying by the beach and couldn't have asked for better weather. I am definitely signing up for this race again next year so that I may redeem myself! See you next year, Montara Mountain Trail Run!!!
Surfer Scramble at High Tide Cafe


Fun times in Pacifica, CA

12 comments:

  1. That's awesome! Wish I could run like that!

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    1. You could if you put your mind to it...start small and work your way up :)

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  2. Wow, you're amazing. Well done, girl, you deserve that drink you told me about on Twitter :)

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    1. Well I think I'll have one of those drinks now! :)

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  3. Wow, great job. I don't think I could run like that anymore.

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    1. I wasn't sure about it either but its easier when you get caught up in the momentum of the other runners I think.

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  4. I've never done a trail run, but would love to-- especially after just finishing Born to Run. :) Awesome job!! Sounds like a gorgeous place to run.

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  5. NICE!! Great run! Love your cheering squad!

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  6. Good job! I love running on trails! I am actually doing a Coastal Run -- the Grizzly -- next month! I am excited!

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    1. I hadn't heard of the Grizzly! Good luck and have fun!

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