as i write today, it is already the 27th of January. if this is the ways things are going to go, boy this year is really gonna fly by quickly. so we have had a pretty decent winter of snow storms, and near missed followed by severe melts and brutal wind chills. but nothing has kept me from my goals so far, the long miles on the trails, however have been replaced by the roads and treadmill sessions, and leg speed is starting to come back to me! this is great its something i have not had i a while, but as the weather improves so will the longer mileage runs. speaking of longer runs.....
January 16the The Run for Regis Trail 50K!
i had been looking forward to this run for a while and had taken the last year off from running it, but as luck has it every year i run this race, we have record cold and lots of snow on the ground. this year was no different. (side not though on years i do not run, the temps are usually in the mid 30's and almost no snow on the ground to speak of, i may bad luck to this race but we all have fun). so this year 200 plus people were registered to run this race to benefit a scholarship for a dear friend of the race director. however only approx 50 of us would finish the entire distance. and this is how the day unfolded:
Wake up 5 am to -7 below wind chills and a slight breeze, coffee, dress, all my normal pre race rituals, leave and get checked in at around 630ish. still cold, but man the sky's were clear and you could see the stars, it was a great sight.
killed some time in the car tried to keep warm, finally braved the cold, talked to some peeps and the usually social BS bf a race, that runners and ultra runners usually do.
7 15 race start, and we are off.we quickly think out into distinct groups. i went out cahtting and running with my friend laurie colon, who just happend to be friends and also know s Ray Zahab. so we deemed us team I2P, since we both always sport patches and talk abouthis cause so much to other runners. as i ran with Laurie i didnt even notice my pace, i jsut felt good, first loop 5 miles 51 minutes, then out for hte 8 mile loop this also was a fast loop for me 1 hr 45 minutes. i was still feeling good but split on my own and settled into more of a noraml pace for me. next 5 miles 1 hr 5 minutes. back to the aid station and out for the second 8 mile loop. this is where i went from feeling great to almost failure. i had run with my heart and pushed myself now to the point of OMG what am i doing. mypaced slowed drastically this loop and i dont even recall the loop time. by this time back maria had made it out to cheeer me on, and i and everyone else still running were looking rough. it may have been the sub zero wind chills the 14 inches or snow , the trails, who knows but it was all taking its toll. i managed to regroup and caught some other runners, we all managed to finish but it was not pretty. total time 7 hours 24 minutes, 43 seconds. average mile time 13:45 a mile.
i should not be disaappointed i am super happy, i managed a finish and then later found out only a mear 50 ish peopole finished the whole distance. i also learned that at one point i was running very strong and now know what i need to do to train for a fast 50k and what i truly feels like to push my self to breaking. lessons learned to today were golden, times and memories had and shared priceless. This is why i am a trail runner and ultra runner. it is the memories an experiences that i get from these races that mold whom i am and make me a better person. not the shirts, buckles or awards, dont get me wrong they are great though.
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