Ok, on to the Pt. Defiance Ultra...hard fun!
Ready to run!
We finished 15K in 2:16:02, not a PR for me...but it is for Elya!!! I felt pretty great the whole run. Don't get me wrong, it was hard and a couple of times my legs were just done, but at the same time I felt strong. And, when I wasn't feeling strong I knew what to do to fix it...take GU, drink, or eat something at the aid station, or slow down a bit.
I have to say that this was probably the all round best trail run I have ever done. It was raining, but not muddy, the trails were pretty wide with room to pass most of the time, the other runners were friendly, while it was hilly is was still pretty much entirely runable. Not that we didn't have to slow to a walk at some points, but it was overall a great course with amazing views of the sound and beautiful single track through the woods. The best part was the final drop down to the finish line. The hill was so steep that there was rope tied to trees so you could hand over hand while side stepping down the hill. I have never, ever encountered that on a trail run and it was so much fun. We hit the bottom and then sprinted for the finish.
Notice there is nothing flat in there. Not huge elevation gain, but constant up and down with very little flat to recover.
We did end up doing an extra mile because one of the turn markers had blown over. Thank goodness for being towards the back of the pack, because the leaders realized what was going on, turned around and redirected everyone. Some people ended up running up to 3 extra miles! It could have been so much worse...I so didn't have 3 miles left in my legs!
I think it was that extra mile that resulted in this...
See that huge blister on my big toe?! It got even bigger by the end of the day. I obviously have some foot care issues to work out! My other foot doesn't look much better, but this one was the grand daddy of them all!
Running aside I was super excited to finally meet Kristine, a local running, mommy, blogger that I follow. We have chatted through blog commenting, so it was nice to finally meet her in person. Bonus...meeting her family at the finish line. Her kiddos are adorable! I'm looking forward to hitting the Ft. Steilacoom trails with her!
The best part of the whole thing though...running my first race with Elya! I have loved every training run we have done, clear back to her helping me train for my 1/2. I feel like we run together really well, and today was so much fun! The perfect mix of talking and having fun, not talking and enjoying our music, both needing to slow down or speed up at the same time, needing fuel and hydration at the same time. It was just easy and fun to run with her. Plus, it was her first trail run, and compared to all the others I have done, she got a great first course for sure!
From me running late to pick her up this morning to the spider attack in the car on the way home it was a great day full of fun!
This race is totally on my list for next year!
Thank you Elya for a lovely 11 miles!
No comments:
Post a Comment