A Weekend of Firsts and Major Miles

This has been an amazing week for me.  Over the last two days, I've logged about 28 miles on trail, and some of these miles were pretty brutal (think climbing a ski slope sans lift).  Any climbs like this are especially beneficial when I consider what I have in store at the Hyner View Challenge in April.  I ran most of these miles with a crew from the local running club after I saw a post for the run on the club's Facebook page.

Following through and actually showing up for this run was a huge accomplishment for me, something that I never would have imagined doing a few years ago, as I have struggled for as long as I can remember with varying degrees of social anxiety.  At times this anxiety was so acute, I would retreat to the car during parties where I knew only a few people, insisting that my husband stay and socialize.  As I contemplated this run, I realized the confidence that running has afforded me: shy me; off to run with a group of people that I probably never met before.  I mustered my courage and went!

Saturday's run was on trail I had never had the opportunity to explore and I was giddy to get out there.  I recognized a few faces right away, but mostly it was people I didn't recognize.  Everyone was very friendly and encouraging.  The trail went quickly from being pretty runnable to an icy, snow-covered downhill as we descended down the mountain.  I was amazed no one ended up tumbling to the bottom.

What goes down must go back up, and what a climb!  Someone clued me in that this was a pretty good preview of what I have in store in April. I felt like I was climbing a boulder-covered ski slope. We rested for a few brief minutes at the top before starting out again down a fire road.  This is when it got interesting.  I suddenly felt like I was treading water as the collective mass of people just pulled away.  Luckily even though I kept bringing up the rear, it wasn't by a huge amount, and someone was always waiting to make sure I wasn't left behind.  Initially I felt pretty sheepish for holding everyone up, but I was assured by several people I really was holding my own.

Close to 3 hours and 13 miles later, and we were back to the cars, and I was glad I took a huge leap of faith in doing something so far out of my usual comfort zone.  I met some pretty cool trail runners and got to enjoy a breathtaking new trail.

Sunday was another first.  Several people were going out first thing in the morning to check and run the course for the Ugly Mudder, which was happening later in the day.  I signed up to run Mudder a few weeks ago, and the idea of tacking on some extra mileage by running it twice really appealed to me.  Amazingly I was actually able to walk after Saturday's shenanigans, so I showed up to run both the pre-run and the race. This was a bit more of a leisurely pace than the day before, and I could feel that my legs were not exactly fresh.  This was really the idea, because I was focused on the miles.

The hardest part of my day was the downtime between finishing the first run of the course and the race.  I was desperate for coffee and a snack, but didn't think to bring anything with me.  The amount of food I usually eat is ridiculous, so even after a large breakfast this was a big problem.  Luckily the bar was open at the German club that serves as the start/finish of the race, so I grabbed two Cokes.  Not ideal, but better than trying to run it again on empty.

I was surprised how well the second time went.  Even though my legs were tired, I was able to run at an even effort and finished 10 minutes faster than my first attempt.  This was a tough two days, but I got the mileage I was hoping to.  My legs are telling me I'm going to be hurting when I wake up tomorrow, but I know the realization of how much this weekend's runs will help my overall goals will make every twinge worth it.