Rock Cut Survivor Series 10k Full Race Report

Some of you may have already read my race description over on my dailymile.com account. I ran out of space there so it was a bit of a summary so I'll add some more detail here. I think it's important to sit and look back at races. It helps you figure out what worked, what didn't, what made you feel stronger, and things to never do again! It's always a learning experience, that's life and looking back helps you to learn from mistakes and improve.

I was very undecided on this race. I wasn't sure if I really COULD do it without hurting myself again. I've been going to physical therapy for a few weeks and things were finally starting to go well. I didn't want to mess up again and have to start all over! The entire week before this race I had very little to no pain. It's almost weird to me for my knees not to hurt going down stairs or kneeling down. It's very exciting.

My nerves were a mess the night before. I didn't sleep very well at all. I bet if I wore my heart rate monitor to bed it would have been through the roof from the anxiety I felt. That morning I had a hard time getting up and ready. All I wanted to do was lay around. I ate breakfast: Oatmeal with raisins and walnuts. It seems to be my "go to" meal before races. It sits in my stomach well during runs. However for this one, I think I ate too early and not enough.

I picked Adam up around 9:50am. I'm glad he came along, honestly he calmed my nerves a bit. We did a quick stop in beloit to drop Hailey off with my mother and we were off.

I still can't believe how nervous I was. This was my first official "trail race" and covered in snow. I guess I didn't know what to expect. I think those two things coupled with fear of re injuring my knee is what made me so nervous.

We got there about an hour early, which was good, we had plenty of time to get signed up and warmed up. Before the race, Adam and I did a couple laps around the parking lot. This really got me scared. I was tired, I felt like I was really pushing just to run around the lot. Right then, I knew it was going to be hard! I hadn't eaten enough, I felt like I didn't have energy! GREAT! I brought along a couple bananas and cookies (for after the race). After that warm up I decided I needed to at least eat a banana before.

So my nerves made me have to pee.... yes pee! twice within that hour of waiting. Adam told me it's better to get it out now, instead of having to do it on the trail. TRUE!

It seemed like we waited for a LONG time!

One thing I don't really like about races is the fact that beforehand everyone is sizing each other up. I overheard a couple people looking at  other people talking about their competition. I know it's a race, but I hate the fact that people might be looking at me saying the same thing. I guess I'm still getting over that part of it.

Even though we were early we got a bit distracted and ended up rushing to the starting line minutes before the start. Adam wanted to start up front and I followed. Not sure if that was a good idea. Starting out was scary. I'd imagine that's probably what an Ironman race is like times 20! It was difficult to find footing, people were sliding and trying not to fall. Falling at that point of the race would have been terrible. Especially being in the middle a group.

It was good to also see a group from ASR. People I had run with on easy Thursday runs were also running this race. My original plan was to stick with Gary. I've run along with him, he's a good pacer for me. I only stuck with him for the first mile though, I got passed by a new man I met named Chris. He stuck with me for a bit and we chatted a little, I couldn't talk much. He tried to warn me about weird spots on the trail. Even though I had just met him, it was good to have someone on the trail offering some support. At some point got passed by other familiar faces.

I had issues with my shoe and my yaktrax. My left one kept moving around, I had to stop and fix it 3 times! Then my shoe also came untied. Try tying your shoe in the snow! ha not fun and not easy! I pulled the wrong string and it knotted up on me. Yea, can't fix that with gloves so I pulled it tighter and looped the laces around in another knot so they wouldn't flap everywhere and tucked them into my shoe. People I had passed early in the race I ended up passing three times because I had to stop those three times! How annoying!

One girl that I had passed multiple times had fallen a lot when I was behind her, maybe 5 times. I don't think she had any spikes or trax on her shoes. She seemed like she was miserable, working hard, and not used to this. She looked like I felt (for most of it). :( The last time I went to pass her I she upped her pace a bit and tried to keep up. I wanted to turn to her and say "good job! Your doing great!" to give her some support but she backed off before I got the chance.

So I went into this race thinking, I'm not going to push myself like I always do! I'm just going to run it and enjoy it! That didn't happen like I had hoped. There were points during this race that I was thinking "Why am I doing this?" "I hate this!" "This is so hard!" I think the part that made it so difficult and frustrating was the snow. I hated not being able to find footing. I relaxed a little by mile 4 but by the last half mile it was hard again! This was a roller coaster... Another one of those runs that really pushes you just to take another step.

There was a slight hill at the very end of this race, I was beat. I got passed by two ladies that looked around my age. I was still pushing but I couldn't push anymore! Literally. Passing the finish line was a relief. Usually I sprint to the end during races. I couldn't do that this time. The finish line guided runners into this tent where they took race tags and pinned them to a board. Just as I entered the tent I felt as if I was going to throw up. I had a hard time holding that back. I was unbalanced, dizzy, losing my vision. I'd never felt this way before. I walked slowly, I probably looked drunk. I found Adam and a few other ASR people and I started to really feel dizzy. I had a very hard time keeping my balance, thankfully an ASR person helped me balance. He held me up for a few minutes.

Adam got done maybe 15-20 minutes before me and he was cold by the time I was done. We quick went to the truck to get our jackets. We only hung out for a few minutes before we decided to head home. It was a bit too cold to hang out in cold wet clothes.

This race was a learning experience in so many ways. I learned a lot about trail running, running in snow, and my own limits! It was hard, but worth every second of the struggle! I haven't decided if I like running trails in the snow. I think I need a few more experiences to actually make up my mind. Stay tuned for more!!

What to say?

So my biggest problem in keeping a blog is the fact that I never know what to say. Until something big happens. But big things don't happen to me every day. Most days are normal, low key, laid back kind of days. Some might think they are boring; heck some days I think they are boring but they make my life.

So I'm deciding to exercise my writing muscle. Maybe I really DO have something to say or maybe I'm bored and I'm trying to fill some time. Really though, there is so much I need to be doing now. Cleaning, laundry, more cleaning, even more cleaning, editing images, training, exercising, shoveling snow, taking Hailey to school, and more cleaning.... but all those things don't seem too important to me today. Today is a chill day. I guess those kind of days are good every once in a while, right? Let's just hope I don't do that too much. Or maybe I'll get lucky and find some motivation later before work.

So in trying to find something to blog about I decided to just blog about NOW. What is going on NOW? Well now, hmmmmm. I feel happy, independent (that's a long story), strong, healthy, and almost complete. I love the life that running has given me. I love the friends I've made and the strength I've built. Being a "runner" has made my life so much better. I HAVE to eat better, I HAVE to get rest, I HAVE to train and run harder or else running is no fun and painful. This hobby has made me healthy, happy, and strong. I LOVE IT.

You might have noticed that I put these little quotations around the word runner. I have hard time owning labels. Not sure why, but I hate to jump into something without earning a title. I didn't call myself a "photographer" for a long time either and I definitely didn't call myself a "runner" for a long time. In fact I still have a hard time calling myself a runner. I've only been running for a year. It's still new to me and I feel like that could easily change with an injury. I don't think I'll stop running just to stop running.... for a long time anyway. I don't think I'll lose interest or momentum either. Can you tell I have a hard time committing? These are just statements, but I can't fully commit to saying them. I'm a very neutral person, I go with the flow. I know that things change and I'd hate to say something and have it work out to be different. 

I've been having issues with my IT band/knee and I've been going to physical therapy to correct it. Maybe that's one reason I can't accept the "runner" label. I feel like this issue could stop me or hold me back. It's been an interesting journey so far. I'm learning and hopefully I'll be able to work this problem out. I've had problems with knee pain since I've upped my miles May of 2011.

The other day I went to physical therapy and the lady I was working with noticed almost instantly that my feet point inward..... my left more than my right. This could explain my left knee pain. She said my "alignment was off". Alignment? like a car? I suppose so. So pointing my feet inward puts pressure on my hip and knee. I've been sitting and WALKING this way my whole life! She had mentioned that if I worked on my "alignment" most of my knee pain would be taken care of; but wow, how do you change something you've done for most of your life? It's weird to think about walking and sitting now. So now I have stretches, exercises and walking to work on and think about. Hopefully all this will pay off :D

Well, that's enough of NOW, for NOW :D I feel like I blogged about nothing, but oh well. enjoy. Remember to count your blessings people! Don't dwell on negatives, instead, work on fixing things you don't like and enjoy what you do. We are all given limited time on earth so don't spend it in a negative place. Be positive, get out, do things, enjoy LIFE! This ride will be done before you know it.

Runnin' in the new year

Happy New Year! 2012 has already been productive! Instead of doing the normal thing on New Years Eve I decided to head out and run. I just wanted to do something that wasn't the normal "go out, party, get drunk" New Year tradition. I had thought about a 5k race in South Beloit, Rockton, Rosco??? Actually I can't remember where it was... lol Anyway a friend of mine pushed me a little farther than a 5k. Like 10 miles more....

After spending 8 hours at work on one of the busiest days of the year I got all bundled up for my first 13 mile run. I was extremely nervous. Not only would this be a PR for me if I finished it but it also meant pushing myself past that 10% rule.

My knees seem to give me issues on and off constantly. On some runs they are perfect, I have NO issue. On others, I'm sore by mile 5. I was mostly afraid of pushing so far that I wouldn't be able to run for a month and have to start all over again. I've come so far already with my pace and distance, I would hate to have to start all over again.

The weather was perfect. It was a bit on the chilly side; just chilly enough for it to be slick on the pavement part of the run but just right for everything else. For a portion of it I wasn't even wearing gloves! How that is possible at the end of December in Wisconsin, I haven't a clue.

It was almost soothing to be out there on the trails in the dark. The pace was perfect, I think we sped up for a short time but I was quickly reminded to chill out. Pace, breathing and energy wise I felt great. My knees started to get sore by 9ish miles. They felt like they were heavy and going to lock up. But I pushed through. Toward the end of the run I felt energized, despite my sore knees. I got a second wind.

By the very end I was tired. There is not better way to put it, but physically and mentally tired. Eating dinner that night was slow... I wanted to just sit. Later, rest didn't come easy either. I Iced my knee as I fell asleep and tossed and turned the rest of the night. I remember waking up a few times, wishing I could get into a deep sleep. It was kind of like one of those nights after drinking; one that you can't get into a deep sleep, so you toss and turn the entire night.... Yea, that's what I did.

The next day was HARD! My entire lower body was sore. Nothing seemed to move right. I'm sure I walked with a limp, but I think most of it was just being exhausted.

I think running these distances will require a day off after; just so I can regain energy.

One of my favorite things about the night was hearing/seeing fireworks at midnight. It was interesting not knowing what time it was on one of the biggest nights of the year. A night when it's all about timing and the countdown. Adam and I were running in the dark, in the woods, secluded from everyone else on such a big night. "I wonder how many people are out in the woods running right now?" Probably not many, we might have been the only ones :D I guess I shouldn't say that, I mean really, there are soooooo many people in the world, we couldn't have been the only ones! It felt like it though, and I loved it. I wouldn't want to spend my New Years' Eve anywhere else.

So, here's to 2012... You better be amazing!