Sunday, June 6, 2010

storm the dam trail half marathon, year two.

Let's get something straight, right off the bat before I get into this post. Last year? I was 100% delusional about this trail half. I don't know why I thought it was so amazingly fun last year. I do have my theories, one being that I was better trained and prepared and wasn't psyched out for weeks ahead of time (because i didn't know what was in store). Reason two was that the weather was much cooler, like perhaps 15 - 20 degrees cooler. And probably the biggest reason was that I did the race with a gaggle of girlfriends (i realized i never posted pictures of last year's race, but below are a few). Last year I was all happy during the race, running along in my oblivious little world with Lea for most of the time. All dooop-de-doo just trottin' along on a trail for 13 miles. I want to slap last year's me in the face. Hard.

*last year, pre-dam trail 1/2 with the girls. lea, candace, myself, jessica, katie and liz*

*lea and i during the race last year*

This year? An entirely different experience. HOLY SNIZ did I have my ass handed to me at the dam trail half marathon. It was awful. And I won't make a bevvy of excuses, I just plain shouldn't have run the half. But guess what? Instead of following my gut and doing the 5K with my buddy Shelley, I decided to try and get another half marathon under my belt. That was a mistake. But in the end I finished, with a brutally huge personal worst. Another running lesson learned. I wasn't ready mentally or physically to handle it. I rolled my ankle during mile two and it was all just downhill and painful and ugly from there. I wanted to quit by mile five and get big fat DNF No. 2 for the year, seriously. I just didn't care, because I just didn't want to do it.

However...and yes there is a huge however. I am glad I ran the race in the end, even though I shouldn't have. And even though I will never do it again (if I do it will be the 5K) I'm happy I have another half marathon to my name, and learned quite a few lessons. Plus it was great to be there with some interwebs friends (or if you're hardcore, that would be interwebz with a 'z', i'm not that cool yet). Mark and Lacy were amazingly fast, per usual.

The only redeeming quality of yesterday was the fact that they, along with Shelley, were nice enough to wait around for me to finish and we socialized for quite awhile after the race. Which I was happy about. Honestly I was bummed I was going to the race with so few running buddies at my side. I just 'didn't wanna' without them all. Which made me realize I'm perhaps far too dependent and used to racing with at least three or four friends by my side. Most notably my security blanket The Lawyer. Pout. But maybe it's not such a bad thing that I'm used to running with so many people. Maybe that just means I'm running for the right reasons for ME, to socialize and spend time with my favorite people. So hanging out afterwards made me feel much better and not so alone at that race. Thanks fellow interwebers (and shelley). I like you guys, neat-o gang.

*i pilfered this from lacy. it's mark, myself and lacy after the race. um, they look so much less disgusting than me*

Now let's go ahead and forget about that trail race and look forward to a race I decided last week NOT to do. A half marathon in Peculiar, Mo., that I re-decided to do and focus on trying to not suck at it. Of course I decided to do it. I have a bad race, so I have to go and make up for it, or at least try. Plus I just plain want another half marathon to my name. There aren't that many in this area to do, so I have to capitalize when I can. It's how I roll.

24 comments:

Lacy said...

you're too rough on yourself. You got off the couch and accomplished so much more than most people in the whole world did yesterday.
Enjoy your finish... it's something few people can do.

Oh, and I really loved seeing you and hanging out!

Unknown said...

So let me get this straight, you had a bad time on a race you say you shouldn't have done so you decide to do a race that you already had decided not to?

makes sense to me! have fun at the next one!

misszippy said...

I like it--I've had those days myself. But it makes you tougher and hungrier for the next one. Way to stick it out!

Anonymous said...

I am with Lacy- you ARE WAY TOO HARD on yourself. I also get it...and should heed that advice myself. But seriously...trail runs are hardcore- way to get it done!

Ace said...

Excuse me! A "personal worst" still equals - you finished the race! Anybody can do it when perfectly trained and feeling great. Pushing through the hard stuff, waaaaay more hardcore. Grats. Trails are tough!

Questionably Texan said...

To quote a very wise commenter on my blog:
"um, i totally get your frustration with your race. but i hope it's still okay that i want to punch you in the face for" being so hard on yourself. You finished a trail half-marathon in the heat, with lots of hills, after rolling your ankle during mile 2.

One of these days I'll actually run a local race where all of the cool bloggers hang out.

Mohammad Yousuf Mulaifi said...

Thank you so much for this beautiful Article

Mark said...

First off, I don't think you sufficiently described the level of suck that was this race. It definitely tops my all time suck-o-meter. Secondly, I am going to find a crappy NE KS race and convine you to do it as payback for recommending this one! Oh yes, you have it coming :)

I agree with everyone else - finishing that dog was quite an accomplishment. I think I wanted to quit at about the same point you did. So I would just ignore the time and remember the race as an opportunity to hang out with cool people such as myself!

Michele said...

Way to stick it out and finish it! Few people can say they would of done kept going. Great job!

In reply to your comment.. yes I am a member of the Y! Which one do you go to? I normally go to the north or east branch. I've never taken a yoga class from the Y... it'd be fun to try it at a different place!

X-Country2 said...

I could never do a trail race. Especially not a half marathon. That right there makes you way more hardcore than me. :o) No worries, you'll get the next one.

Mel -Tall Mom on the Run said...

That is how you roll.. LOL!! If I EVER do a trail race I will WALK because I am a BIG klutz and would for sure break something and have to be medivaced (word?) out of the woods..

Keep on movin girlfriend.. I always want to do every race.. If I was single, kidless and had more money I would probably done one every day of the weekend..

Good job avoiding the DNF< I thought about that on my FREE Marathon this weekend from 14 on.

You are DUE for a great race

Valerie said...

I'm sending good vibes your way. Sorry the last couple races haven't been good, but I definitely see some redemption happening soon! Good luck!

Questionably Texan said...

Ok, so I had a little bit too much free time tonight and I may or may not have played detective and found your finish time.

You have no reason to be disappointed! I ran a trail 10 mile race, and I BARELY finished under 2hrs (1:59:XX). It was not nearly as hot (this was back in February), plus I had one of my dogs literally pulling me up the hills (one of the perks of a dog-friendly race) - and my pace was still 45 seconds/mile slower than yours. Trail races, while fun, basically just suck. Stop being so hard on yourself.

Oz Runner said...

props on finishing the 1/2 marathon...I'd like to try a trail run some day....good luck on your next 1/2!

TiredMamaRunning said...

We all get our azzes handed to us on platters every now and again-those who don't aren't trying hard enough! ;) Sounds like a fun race and it's always great to meet "imaginary internet friends" as I like to call them.

Irene said...

...But you finished. I think we're all bound to have those kinds of races. Next time.

Christina said...

Yep, bad race. Its much easier to shrug off bad runs as compared to bad races. Ragnar in February was a bad race for me. Next week I run another Ragnar and am trying to not let the experiences from my bad race taint my upcoming race.

Good job though with following through and getting tough with the mental challenges.

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