Yesterday, I ran my first trail race ever, the Bear Chase Trail Race, and I must say, it was an incredible experience!
Now, let me go back to a year ago, and even six months ago... you wouldn't catch me even saying out loud that I would voluntarily step into a trail; for me, running required roads, pavement, sometimes cement, but the common denominator was, I was running nowhere else but in the city (or parks within the city). I know this sounds ridiculous to some people, but to me, it was stepping outside my comfort zone if I went out with nature. This of course, has everything to do with my (very annoying) condition -ulcerative colitis- and the isolation that comes with running on a trail somewhere.
When I got selected to be an ambassador for The SF Marathon my life changed. Not only was I representing my favorite race but I got to meet some of the most amazing and diverse runners out there.
I met many ultra runners, the ones I consider so hard core and I look up to! I mean, running 50 miles on trails for fun, out there, with rocks, climbs, rivers, etc... sounds both insane and amazing!
After dealing with a nagging ITB injury for months; running the SF Marathon half still injured, and playing the "recovery while still running" game, I decided it would be fun to try something totally different, so I checked the calendar of races around Colorado and found the Bear Chase, a race that was happening on my birthday! So I thought that would be a pretty killer present from me to me; to receive a medal on that day.
This decision was made in part after hearing the excitement of all the trail runners I had met, specially my fellow ambassador Peter (The Russian Bear), and our fearless leader Jojo; who can run a million miles a day (well, obviously an exaggeration, but they can go for over 54... I know that for a FACT!)
After many painful but effective therapy sessions of Graston Technique at Fuelary, and continuing to train with bruises, and using the walk/run method as a precautionary tool to not injure myself any further, I felt ready to take that big leap of faith and show up race day with an open heart.
When I registered for this race, I didn't really pay attention to the elevation profile, or route; To me, that didn't really matter because a) I wasn't familiar with the race and b) I had never run a trail.. so I just clicked on the registration button and called it a day. The only thing that was worrying me was their advertised 3 river crossings. But I had the chance to meet the race director and he said this race was a great one to tackle for first timers like me, because even though it is a still a trail race, it wasn't overly technical, so I waited... until yesterday.
I always think that the worst and most difficult part of a race is actually waking up to be there on time. Set up my alarm for 3:30 and tried to get some rest... but 3:30 always comes by quickly!!
It was a beautiful morning with perfect race weather (almost felt like SF feels in July), low 50's, crisp, but perfect for a long run.
I was lucky to know many of my friends were running the race, so it was great to have the company.
The 50 milers had started at 6:30 and the 50K runners where starting at 6:45. Now it was my turn.
Got to the starting line and the atmosphere was different; no waves, no crazy oceans of people, and already at the starting line, tons of friends and family and dogs where sitting around or cheering for people, it felt like a party, more than a race... an early party!
Soon enough, 7:05 came along. Off we go! The first small loop we take has a road section (where I felt happy and secure, like my safety blanket was still there) and then.... the official loop of the race quickly made its appearance.
Someone said to me before the race "while you're out there running, make sure you look up, and enjoy the scenery". One of my fears of running trails was falling, so I thought looking up might be difficult, since I felt I was going to be so hyper aware of my footing all the type I probably wouldn't have a chance to do that, but I kept the advice in my memory bank.
I had also asked Peter (the Russian bear, ultra runner who does about a 50K per weekend..what a machine!) for some advise about running trails, and his advice (one I will NEVER forget) was "walk the hills".. that was it, plain and simple, walk.the.hills. Of course, immediately after I say to him that I was only running the 1/2 marathon, not an ultra.. and he repeated the same thing. Now that I have my medal and finished the race I must say.. best advise ever! (unless you're a speed freak and never get injured this approach works, at least for me!)
The course was so beautiful, mostly single line running. At first that bothered me a little, thinking I would be forced to speed up if someone came up behind me, but it turned out ok.
Trail runners are pretty friendly, and they are in fact a different breed (or maybe this is a Colorado thing), but once the speedy runners (doing the 50K or 50M) started passing me, they would tell me I was doing a good job! what? It was shocking at first, such camaraderie, but there it was... and it happened MANY times during the course, so after a while, such enthusiasm to cheer for others became beyond contagious, so I started cheering my fellow trail runners, the ones flying past me, with their 50K and 50mile status...
around mile 2 I swallowed a bug... apparently I was running with my mouth open, and it came flying right in... anybody else has had that experience?? my thoughts... apparently I'm a mouth breather... so it made me check my breath, and CLOSE my mouth! :)
The first climb of the race. if you see my data (below) you'll see I got my HR pumping here... I quickly adjusted and kept on going.
I started getting my trail groove, staying cautious of where I was stepping, and taking short walk breaks to make sure my leg would stay strong for the duration of the race.
Then I saw it... that big old peak that was shown on the elevation profile (I finally saw this 2 days before the race, just so I could at least have a idea of what I was getting into)
I moved slowly, watching my breath, and staying strong in my legs, and watching my HR (I didn't want to peak my HR at mile 6.5, that would have sucked the wind out of me the rest of the race)...
Finally made it to the top and the reward was this view!
from one side of the mountain, you could see more runners making the ascent
On the other side of the mountain, you could see.. far away, Denver, in all its glory!!!! (Denver on the left, tiny runners on the right). It was amazing!
After those magnificent views, I knew I was moving closer to the first river crossing, I had no idea what to expect so when I got there, I had to take a picture, see other runner's strategy and approach, and just go for it!
Approaching mile 11, and the sun was making me feel a bit toasty. I kept looking at my watch, wondering if perhaps I could finish at least with the same finish time I did for my 1st half marathon, and after that I realized I shouldn't even try to compare! Different races, different experience, different me... this one had to be enjoyed for what I was accomplishing, not the time I was going to finish with. So I keep going, feeling strong and confident, and still feeling no pain from my ITB, but I knew with so many other muscle groups at work, I was going to be sore (and I sure am today!)
I crossed the finish line feeling like a champ! I didn't fall, I loved the water crossings and the peaceful and friendly feeling experienced on the trail. It was truly an amazing experience and one I will never forget.
Here's the link to my running data for Bear Chase
Starting today (October 1st) I will take a full month off from training to complete recovery. This doesn't mean I will stop running, but I will focus on crosstraining and becoming a stronger runner for my training season coming up in November.
So far my races for 2013 are:
4/7/2013 Platte River 1/2 Marathon
4/29/2013 Big Sur
6/9/2013 Ironman Kansas 70.3 (Relay -Runner)
6/16/2013 SF Marathon
Cheers! To a training season with no injuries! =)
See you on the road (or the trails!)
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