Soapstone Mountain 24k Trail RR..a painful experience!

Got to the race around 8:30ish..picked up my bib, last minute bathroom stop...ect...I love the trail running crowd...we are a scruffy bunch...lol Loved all the wild hairdos, hats, bright outfits! Def a change from triathlons! First 7 or so miles was a blast! I felt great! Loved every minute of it. Had no clue about the "Killer Hill". As we are turning towards it one of the guys directing us joked "Its all down hill from here". I laughed along and then I saw "it"! A line of runners, crawling straight up into the sky! Wasn't sure if I'd be able to walk after that much less run. But on we went. Splashed in a few puddles! Passed a ton of people! After I went through the mid point aid station I thought to myself "I feel pretty darn good!" and then it kind of hit me..."hey my knees aren't feeling so hot!" And from there it was all downhill. I kept trying to run, but every downhill portion was agony. I kept thinking man this was supposed to be fun, but my body wouldn't cooperate. I wanted to keep running, to enjoy the puddles and the mud! My nutrition was on point, I had tons of energy! My heart rate was good, I could have gone faster. But at this point all I wanted was to make it to the 11 mile aid station by the 3 hour cut off. I was aiming for between 2:30 to 3 hours (finish time). I kept saying to myself...just keep running and once you get to the 11 mile aid station you can walk the rest. At least that way you can finish this thing. It seemed like it would never come and then there it was! Grabbed some Gatorade and a cookie and hobbled on! Almost the entire last 5k was down hill. If there hadn't been so many rocks I probably would have just slid down on my camel pack...lol A group of runners who I started with caught up to me and urged me to run with them. I tried to, but when we hit the long downhill portion I just didn't have it. I had a momentary high once I finished the race, but once I got home I sat on the floor in my shower for a good while...I didn't feel like crying, but I was def pretty damn miserable. I try to view every bad ride, run, race as good mental training for my half ironman this summer. I was feeling a little low after the race, so I got myself a new tatt to remember the fact that I didn't quit!

Sheriff's Sprint RR May 3rd

Swim 300, Bike 9, Run 3
Overall Time: 1:04:24; 1st in AG (F25-29)


Swim-5:18

Set up so we went up and down one lane, under the lane line to the next one and so on....when I went to make my second flip turn under the lane line I got disoriented and ended up in the same lane I was in instead of moving on to the next. Spent the rest of the swim worrying that I accidentally skipped a lap and would be DQ'd. Probably could have been faster....

Transition was good...this is the first time I've used my bike shoes in a race. Wasn't sure whether I should bother since the biking portion was pretty short, but figured since this was supposed to be a practice run it was the best way to go!

Bike-28:16

Nice flat course! Really felt like I smoked the bike course. I was worried I would be scared since it was my first real ride since the crash. I slowed down a lot for all the turns, need to work on that a bit. Managed to stay aero for most of the course!

Transition...nice and fast...put on my running shoes, grabbed my visor and I was off!

Run-30:49

Def not happy with this time. I clearly need to do some shorter, higher intensity bricks. I know I can run fast then that.

Great race to start the season off with! Really enjoyed myself!

New Battle Scars!