Race Report

After weeks of preparation, the day of the Pengelly Double Dip finally arrived. It's been raining here for weeks, but the sky cleared and it was a beautiful, sunny day. I awoke with the sun, too excited to sleep anymore. I headed into town and decided to do the early start at 8 am, instead of starting at 9 am with everyone else. Because it had taken me so long to do on my practice run, I was concerned that it might take me that long again and I would be the last to finish. Plus I didn't want to wait around anymore!

A handful of other people also did the early start. One woman was just ahead of me for the first hour.The course was really beautiful - great views, green and tons of wildflowers. When it started to get steep enough to warrant walking, I finally caught up to Mary Ann, and we walked together. Turns out that she is a mom too (5 & 7 year old girls). It was great to have someone to talk to and commisserate with. It was so nice (and different for me, being typically a middle of the pack runner) to be the first ones at each aid station, and at the peaks.

It wasn't until we were on our way back down from the most relentlessly steep climb up to the radio towers that we finally started seeing other people. At first they were surprised to see us, but soon realized that we were not faster than them, we'd just started early. Still, it was really cool to be up there running in the front with the fastest guys. Mary Ann and I reached the summit first, where I called my guys (Jim and the boys had been volunteering at the race and I wanted to let them know when I'd be coming down) and Mary Ann went flying down the mountain.

Soon I started getting passed by the fastest men (7 in all passed me before I finished). The last part of the race is miles of treacherous downhill, followed by a short flat section. I got a blister on one foot and a black toenail on the other from the downhill pounding.

Then I came into the finish chute with all of these people watching (expecting the winners) and my boys came out to join me for part of my final steps. It was really an amazing feeling being one of the first to finish, even though I was an imposter of sorts.

Afterwards Mary Ann found me in the crowd and she was all scraped up. She'd taken a spill on the way down, but didn't seem fazed by it. She'd still managed to beat me to the finish!

What a great race, but I was glad it was over. Then Jim left the boys with me so that he could run the course, twice in a row, as part of his training for the "Devil's Backbone" 50-miler in July. I continued my endurance event by spending the day in town with the boys, first going to the pool, then to China Buffet, then to a kid's birthday party (I did not go in the bouncy house).

I was exhausted, and so was Jim. It took him 6 hours to run the whole thing twice (the equivalent of a marathon). I did my 1/2 in 3 hours. I woke up with aching muscles but Jim was already gone - out for another long run.

The Wacky Hip Strikes Again

I love Frenchtown Physical Therapy.

Last week I was feeling pretty darn good, even after running the Pengelly Double Dip course (with scenic route detour) and then doing 9 miles with Jim two days later. Then I went for an easy 4 mile run and felt like total crap. The worst part was that my hip had started to hurt again. I stretched, I massaged with an ice bottle, I rested, but it still ached. With the race less than a week away, I wondered if I would be able to run it.

FPT to the rescue. This time I brought Jim in with me so that he could learn how to fix me. It turns out that I did indeed get my hip out of place again. The good news is that I figured out how I did it, and Jim now knows how to fix it. Apparently, when you have hip problems like mine, it is not a good idea to get all loosened up with yoga before a run, which is exactly what I did. It makes it too easy for the hip to slip out of place, and then comes the pain.

So now all that's left to do is rest, fuel up, and think positive - then race on Saturday!

Trail Running Shoes

Yikes! I have been super busy. Now I look at the calandar and I see that the Pengelly Double Dip is only a week away. I do think that I am ready, and I am so pleased with how my training has gone.

A week ago I attempted the run the course. However, never having been there before, and only armed with a vague map, I got quite a bit off course. In any case, it was really incredibly beautiful...and steep. It was extremely challenging. I walked a bunch. It was a cool, rainy day (as most of our days here have been lately) and I didn't have enough to eat ahead of time so by the end I was wasted. I went right to Vietnam Noodle Express and got the curry chicken noodle soup - yum!!

Because it was a wet day, I wore my gortex "mountain running shoes," the super heavy duty trail shoes I got for running in the winter. While my feet stayed warm and dry, I felt like I was trying to run with concrete blocks on the bottom of my feet. It reinforced my idea that I needed a pair of lightweight summer trail running shoes. So, on Sunday I stopped by The Runners' Edge to see what they had.

I walked out of there with the opposite extreme of what I already had - the most lightweight trail running shoe I could find. In fact, they are so lightweight it's almost like not wearing shoes at all. I probably should have tried them out with a short little run, but instead I took them out the next day for a nine mile trail run with Jim. This is only the second time Jim and I have been able to run together and it was fantastic. It was a beautiful day and I felt like I was floating compared with the other shoes.

The shoes performed wonderfully - in fact, I didn't really notice them. I was concerned that my feet might get sore because of not enough cushioning, but it wasn't an issue.

So now with just a week until the race all I have to do is rest up and stay limber. I am so happy to not be injured, to be feeling strong and ready to go.