Courtney | Pancakes and Postcards

Sidelined

February 13, 2012 By Courtney 13 Comments

Not being able to run sucks.

It just totally sucks. But the funny thing is, it’s not the simple “not running” part that’s getting to me.

Yes, running is a great activity. I love the way it makes me feel. I love the high I get at the end of a run and carry with me all day. I love feeling powerful and fit and strong. Even though my body is not perfect, when it carries me 16 miles easily and all before breakfast, it’s hard to begrudge it for what it is not.

Whatever the injury is I am dealing with, I don’t believe it is severe. Yet. It could easily become so if I don’t get the right diagnosis and treat it accordingly. I am likely looking at about a month without running if you count the last two weeks (2 runs in there somewhere) and what I assume will be 2+ more weeks off. It’s really nothing compared to any legitimately serious injury!

But yet I feel so horrible and I realize it’s not necessarily about running.

What upsets me isn’t necessarily that I can’t get in an easy six before work. I can stay active—the gym, walking, hiking when my knee/leg/whatever does not hurt, join CrossFit, find somewhere to swim.

It’s the weight of expectations that I seem to have placed on running, and the reality of not being able to live up to them.

Running for me started in Africa where it was an escape. When my mind was concentrating on running, it was easier to block out the stress and loneliness of living in a bamboo hut overseas.

I decided to run a marathon last year. It was the most empowering thing I have ever done. Every single weekend, a new personal distance record. Every weekend, another step towards doing something I never thought possible. And I’d never been happier.

That was kind of the theme of 2011 for me. Do what you can’t do. I never thought I’d run a marathon. I ran one and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Then I ran another one at SFM, undertrained but with the goal of having fun (a quad thing knocked me out for a few weeks—it’s likely the same nagging injury that I have yet to figure out). Then I ran a third at CIM without really training for it either. And a fourth in Maui that I didn’t train for either, walking and just having fun.

And you know what? I was okay with this. I was okay with running “just to finish” and not carrying about time or splits or sub-whatever or any of that other gunk. I just didn’t really care.

But then something made me start feeling like I’m supposed to care. I’m supposed to be faster. I’m supposed to win an AG award. Break X:XX in whatever race. Even though I’m not good at running, and used to be okay with it, I started not being okay with it.

Last year I phoned it in. The week after Hawaii was the week I was supposed to start training. Training. Not for anything big, just a goal half marathon, a trail marathon that would get me into Marathon Maniacs, and the Ogden marathon for which I declared 3:55 or bust, and pacing for SFM. I was ready for 40+ miles a week every week, a strict diet, speedwork every week, running up Twin Peaks for fun, dropping 10 pounds, and anything else that would finally qualify me as a runner in my own mind.

And then that same week I got hurt.

It’s probably not related to the chaos I’ve created for myself in my mind. But the timing is horribly coincidental. I’ve been dealing with running related injuries since I started running and always just squeezed through them on luck, and I’ve got a feeling that that is over. My luck has run out and it’s going to be a bit of a break.

And I’ve already seen my goal half marathon and the elusive Marathon Maniacs membership slip through my fingers (toes?). Hundreds of dollars and dreams of goal race glory are on the line. And I can’t really handle it.

I rarely feel relaxed these days. I feel so much pressure at work. I feel so much pressure in my relationships. In my hobbies. In my schedule. And running is supposed to be the release from all of that. And yet somehow, it’s become an equal source of pressure on me.

Maybe I need a break. I want to be running and I truly do love it, but my favorite runs are the casual ones with friends when you just chat and you don’t care if you are running eight or eighteen minute pace. The runs back in the day Before the Garmin where I wasn’t constantly berating myself for being fat and slow based on those numbers on the screen. Before I turned the thing that was supposed to free me of stress into a great stressor. Though I believe there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

I need to get back what running had always been about for me: Release. Peace. Love. Joy. Not mile splits of PRs or Marathon Maniacs or finally having a 3 in front of my time to feel more legitimate. I have an obsessive personality, and each of my hobbies I tend to go a little too far. I’ve hit that point, and my body is probably doing the only thing it can to protest: screaming ‘ENOUGH ALREADY!”

I’m going to do whatever I can to be able to run pain free. But once I can I’m going to try to remember why I fell in love with it in the first place.

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Filed Under: fitness Tagged With: injury, life, Musings, running

Highlights from Hawai’i

February 11, 2012 By Courtney 8 Comments

It’s been a very long time since I wrote a blog post.

The last few weeks have been crazy to say the absolute least, and sometimes it feels with blogging—and with exercise, healthy eating, and so on—that the more days that pass, the harder it is to jump back on the bandwagon. I really love blogging, though, and recognize that I need to invest more time and effort into it if I really want to make it something special, which it is to me.

Anyway, I wanted to post a few highlights of our Maui adventures a couple of weeks ago. You saw my post about the Maui Oceanfront Marathon, but I’ve written little else about it. So a few photos and highlights will have to suffice. : )

Sunrise at Haleakala Crater

This is one of those touristy activities that I didn’t do last time I was in Maui, so the morning after we arrived, we got picked up at a very healthy 3:00AM to ride in a van with several other people up winding mountain roads until we got to the top of a 10,000+ foot crater and 30-degree weather at 4:30AM were we would hang out until about 6AM when the sunset.

It was freezing and miserable up there. And yet so worth it.

Which was followed by…

Biking Down Haleakala Crater

This is also one of those touristy activities that brands itself as “active travel” when in reality we went on a 20-something mile bike ride and only had to pedal about 0.5 of a mile. The whole time.

It was awesome and I highly recommend this. We were with some slowpokes (boo… I am an adrenaline junkie and wanted to just bomb down the mountain) but it was probably good to go with a guide as probability of getting lost is relatively high otherwise. Plus please note how awesome I look in this yellow jumpsuit.

Whale Watching

Before this trip, I thought of whale watching as an activity that Mommy would beg to do and I would begrudgingly acquiesce, and then we’d spend two hours on a freezing boat until a guide yelled “I think I saw a tail over there!” but to everyone on the boat it looks precisely like nothing at all. Until today. January and February are peak months for whales and before leaving the harbor we had a whole whale family dancing around our boat. It was awesome.

Lava Flows – And Lots of Them

I’ll be honest, I’m not a huge pina colada girl (or coconut girl in general – too overpowering). Mai Tais are not my favorite either. But a pina colada with strawberry in it? YES PLEASE. I don’t want to count how many of these or how many $2 margaritas at Betty’s Beach Café were consumed in the week. Probably between “way too many” and “a seriously awesome amount.”

The Road to Hana

The Road to Hana is one of those typical tourist activities that “omgyouhavetodo!!!1” but kind of suck the soul out of you as you’re driving around 4,592,182 hairpin turns and over 3,975 bridges (I forgot the exact statistics but I’m sure they are somewhere close to that). BUT, the views and natural beauty of the Hawaiian coastline are totally worth it! And there’s self-service banana bread stands. Are we in heaven??

I love banana bread. You know what I love just as much? Banana macademia nut pancakes.

Enough said, nah?

Good Fish

I love seafood. It’s the thing that kept me from ever being 100% veg—I needed some fish in my life once in a while. (preferably in a raw form involving some sort of rice and seaweed…) When we were in Maui, we got to check out two very nice restaurants that were very close to our hotel, I’o and Pacific’O restaurants in Lahaina, HI. I’d recommend both and need to do a real review separately.

The Beach

It’s ironic considering I spent the last 7-8 years on the coast (4 in LA, 2+ in Mozambique, the last year in San Francisco) yet I consider myself more of a mountains type of girl. But man was it nice to hang out on the beach and not be freezing (or be swarmed by tiny African children asking for money).

Surfing (If I Can Really Call It That)

I spent about 4 hours in the surf one of the later days and all I had to show for it at the end was a brutal sunburn that is STILL peeling (it’s been 2.5 weeks!!!!) and a nasty sure-to-scar gash on my leg, but I did catch about three waves for a handful of seconds at a time. Success…

Ice Cream, Maui Made

had at least three ice cream cones from Roselani, Maui’s local ice cream place. The clear winners? Kona Mud Pie and Banana Macadamia Nut that also had toffee in it. Ice cream is one of my favorite things but it’s always too freezing here to eat it. Not in Hawaii! Holla.

Overall Maui was a really great trip. Traveling with Alyssa was wonderful and I finally was able to stop stressing out about work/responsibility/life for a few days. I do understand why many adults don’t take vacations wit what has to happen before and after, but I’m really happy that the trip was a success.

Here’s to the next tropical vacation (and may it occur sooner rather than later…)

Courtney

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Filed Under: Pancakes (Food), Postcards (Travel) Tagged With: bananas, haleakala, hawaii, maui, pancakes, road to hana, vacation, whale watching

Super Simple Cake Mix Whoopie Pies

January 31, 2012 By Courtney 9 Comments

Most people follow foodie blogs for delectable, healthy from-scratch recipes with unique ingredients. So in that vein I present my third Super Easy But Somewhat Creative Dessert You Can Make Using A Cake Mix (™). Just because it’s not classy enough for you, doesn’t mean we don’t need easy recipes sometimes.

I wanted to make super easy whoopie pies but wasn’t really sure of the best way to do it—I knew I’d use premade mixes but didn’t know how you used those to make a whoopee pie. And what is a whoopie pie anyways?! Life’s little mysteries…

Courtney’s Super Easy Whoopie Pies

· 1 box Devil’s Food cake mix
· ¾ cup water
· 3 medium eggs
· ½ cup vegetable oil
· 1 large can whipped “fluffy white” frosting

Now just wait for these SUPER COMPLICATED instructions:

Preheat oven to 350. Or if you have MY oven, set the thermostat to 300, let it heat up, open oven to view internal thermometer and see it’s actually at 500 degrees. Yes, 200 degrees hotter than it says it is. Perhaps this is why I almost started a fire the first time I baked something in my apartment.

Mix cake mix, eggs, water and oil together until *most* of the powder clumps are dissolved. Drop spoonfuls of batter (I used a tablespoon to scoop) onto a greased cookie sheet. Leave some room as the cake batter spreads and thins as it bakes.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the cake “cookies” comes out clean. For me this was right around 15 minutes per batch.

Let cool. I’d advise NOT stacking these if you can avoid it because they stick together, it roughs up the pretty, smooth surface of the cookie and just makes them uglier. See example below. Oops.

Slather some frosting on the flat side of one cake cookie. Press a similar sized cookie onto frosting to make the easiest whoopie pie you’ll ever make.

I promise I’ll try my hand at these legit, 25-ingredient whoopie pies someday. But for those of you who are as strapped for time as I am and need something for a coworker’s birthday party, hopefully this will be useful.

Happy Whoopie-ing! And have a wonderful day.

Courtney

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Filed Under: Pancakes (Food) Tagged With: cake, cake mix, devils food, frosting, recipe, unhealthy goodness, whoopie pies

Maui Oceanfront Marathon Race Recap

January 29, 2012 By Courtney 23 Comments

Blog hiatus over!

I tried to be as unplugged as humanly possible last week as I took my first VACATION in the year that I’ve been working to Maui, Hawaii with my friend Alyssa. I’ll be sure to do more posts about Hawaii itself including the delicious food that we ate and activities we engaged in but my first post will involve the marathon that we spontaneously ran there.

I titled my CIM race recap “the spontaneous marathon” as I decided to run it just 3 weeks before. Now, the award goes to the Maui Oceanfront Marathon, where the decision to run the full 26.2 (as opposed to the half) was made approximately 17 hours before race start time. Alyssa and I really just wanted to see 4X more of Maui’s coastline, and to remind ourselves that we are badasses. For the cost of a bottle of wine (or in our case, $10) we were officially full marathon entrants. Gulp.

We spent the day drinking margaritas (winning) and eating pizza for dinner. I was still hungry and we needed bananas so we stopped at a grocery store. In a fit of irrationality I also bought whipped cream vodka. Needless to say that bottle was never opened and is now in the hands of whichever lucky person cleaned out our rental car.

Alarms were set for 3:30AM. Mind you, this would be day 3 of vacation time and Day 1 involved a 5:30 alarm, and day 2 a 2:30AM alarm. this was not really starting out to well. It was warm when we walked out at 4AM (great sign…) to catch the bus down to Wailea. We had some announcements from the race director including shoutouts to people who had run ridiculous numbers of marathons (I think someone was at 800… please do the math on that one). We also had a traditional hawaiian blessing/song which was amazing.

Then, us 330-some full marathoners were off, jogging down the road in the pitch dark carrying flashlights. And sweating. It was HUMID! I felt like we were running 8:40s (which is definitely an effort for me) and it was more like 9:15s. So weird. We settled into a comfortable slow jog and enjoyed the sights as it grew a little bit lighter. THE MILE MARKERS COUNTED DOWN! Pain in the ass if you were doing mile laps on your Garmin, but wayyy cooler to see how many miles you had left instead.

It felt exceedingly easy until mile 10 which was a slight uphill inland into SCREAMING WIND. God. I could barely even run. Okay, I’m a wimp and complaining but it was hard! We finally saw the sun rise above the mountain at mile 11.5, which I knew meant trouble for the rest of the race. We ran the first half in 2:05, without many stops other than to fill our bottles, chat with volunteers, eat cookies (okay that may have been just me) and a “I need to catch my breath because I am dying” break right after mile 10. But other than that we were cruising.

This was so different than any race I’ve done to date. There were only 330-something marathoners, everyone was SUPER friendly, and we were actually running ON the shoulder of the road against oncoming traffic (which is much less scarier in Maui than it would be on the mainland, I’m sure). It was so fun to not be giving a rat’s ass about time and to just enjoy the experience. I laughed several times—what the heck were we doing running a marathon on vacation? Who does that?! (Okay, a ton of people I know, but that’s besides the point.)

We entered a period of rolling hills probably from mile 12 through 17. This section reminded us a lot of Big Sur as it was on jagged, hilly coastline with similar views. The hills were not insignificant and once we got to mile 15 I WAS TIRED. Let’s talk about my prep for this thing:

Ran CIM on December 4 (7 weeks ago)
Ran no farther than 10 miles in those 7 weeks
Now currently running marathon on a whim

Yeah so. I was tired. I was out of shape. I started requesting more walk breaks at this point. Alyssa is a machine and could have easily just jogged the whole thing straight and been fine but I couldn’t—everything was starting to hurt by mile 18 or so. I started getting angry at myself at this point, feeling out of shape, feeling fat and heavy and SLOW and like a sucky runner, and then I just had to stop and realize hey, you didn’t train for this and YOU ARE HERE TO HAVE FUN. That’s what this day was about—fun.

It was really hot and humid at this point and at each aid station I was dumping water on me in addition to filling my bottle. I got a little dizzy at one point and stopped to drink and have some cliff bloks but other than that it was okay. We were taking it really easy which helped—I can’t imagine going all-out in this weather! It wasn’t even uncomfortably warm or anything, but you felt the humidity when running.

My feet, knee and hips started really hurting in the last 10K. Granted, I ran my first 3 marathons in stability shoes and I’d never gone longer than 10 in the super lightweight shoes I was now wearing, so it makes sense that I’d feel a little weak. Definitely needed breaks to rest and my focus became DON’T GET SORE. Those of you who have run a marathon know what I’m talking about: those days after when looking down a flight of stairs is the scariest sight imaginable. I did not want that to happen on my vacation! I wanted to SURF! So, lots of walking. Which ended up being great as I was “Long-Run sore” afterwards but no such normal marathon aches and pains. Hooray for lots of walking! And please check out the most amazing “break through the wall” aid station below. I would have been dancing with Alyssa if I had the extra energy. Winking smile (see “one mile to go” photo for evidence)

The views were really stunning, the participants were friendly and the volunteers were amazing. Even though the last miles were very hard for me and I had to count out loud to get through them, I had a really amazing time. Even though I felt bad about myself at a couple of points because of my current fitness level, I had to squash those feelings and focus on just how BLESSED I was in those moments. Here I was, in Hawaii, on a gorgeous day, running a marathon, in a body that can carry me 26.2 miles on a whim, with a great friend. What an amazing experience!

I am so, so glad we decided to do the full (even if I kind of wasn’t from miles 22-25. Ha!) It may be the only time I get to run a marathon in Hawaii. It’ll probably be the only time I’ll ever get to run a marathon with Alyssa, one of my favorite running friends who is a total speedster but graciously slowed down to share this experience with me. It may be the only time I am rewarded with a medal in the shape of a fish and four days to just sit on the beach and drink.

Despite the humidity, the huge patch of skin missing from my upper inner thigh from my running skirt, and my new marathon PW, this was one of the most fun things I have ever done. Not every race needs to be a race—some of them just need to be about celebrating the joy of running and the running community. And celebrating is much easier when you’re in Hawaii.

More Maui updates to come. Aloha!

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Filed Under: fitness Tagged With: hawaii, marathon, maui, maui oceanfront marathon, race recap, running

Because I’m Awesome.

January 16, 2012 By Courtney 29 Comments

It’s amazing how easy it is to go through life without having enough FUN.

I have a lot of fun, usually, but also find myself occasionally wondering what happened to the carefree nature of life. Days when I’m tired, stressed, and “fun” activities become obligation.

Tonight was one of those nights. I’d paid to go to a GrubWithUs—hadn’t been to one in a long time and I love them—but it ended up being a little stressful. Work is crazy, I’m flying to San Diego tomorrow night, and I had to get to Pac Heights at a decent time. Once I found myself in Chinatown waiting for the 1 California bus, two passed me and didn’t stop because they were full. I was stressed, miserably cold, freaking out about being late, wondering how I’d get to the restaurant and then…

I realized that NO ONE WAS MAKING ME DO THIS.

Instead I walked up to Powell Street and hopped on the cable car back down to Market, enjoying the wind in my hair and one of my favorite SF traditions on a peaceful night. I walked into Forever 21 and bought a super cheap, sexy dress and $3 turquoise feather earrings because I could. I finally bought the Street Smart newspaper from a homeless person, hopped on the bus, bought a 7-pound bag of ice for $2.75 just so I could have one icy cocktail, mixed it up when I got home along with a bowl of pasta. For dessert, I ate an entire king-size chocolate bar without caring about how many miles I should run tomorrow morning to burn it off.

And I realized: I can do this. Whenever I want.

Not saying that eating a whole chocolate bar or being buzzed off of a gin and tonic on a Monday night is the key to life, but I realized that I’m constantly obeying rules for myself without even realizing it.

I have to be working all the time.
I always have to be checking my email.
I have to run all the time or be feeling guilty about not running.
I need to eat healthy and punish myself when I don’t.
I shouldn’t eat the chocolate. I shouldn’t have the cocktail.
I have to follow through on every. single. obligation. regardless of how important it actually is or how I am feeling in my mind, body, and spirit.
I should be doing something more productive right now.
I should lose 5 pounds to be sexier and skinnier. I should feel bad about my body until I do so.
I need to constantly project a certain image.
I have to obey one million ideas that no one’s forcing me to do.

Well I’m done with this. I’m ready to spend more time being selfish. I’m ready to spend more time doing things that make me feel good. Because I’m awesome. I’m done doing everything for everyone else and I’m going to focus on me and what makes me happy, whether that’s running 7 miles before 7 or not waking up til 11 or eating a fresh salad or the entire chocolate bar or going to bed at 9PM or 3AM or going out and not having a drink or going out and having several or taking an extended lunch break because we all know I get my work done or working through the whole day so I can turn my computer off at 5PM and not touch it til the next morning. I’m going to spend my time how I WANT to spend my time, whether that’s out with a bunch of friends or home drinking cocoa in my jammies or waking up early to exercise or deciding that in no way I’m going to exercise today or prioritizing happiness and pleasure. Because I’m awesome.

I’m done hanging out with friends when it feels like a chore.

I’m done sitting home alone when it feels like a prison.

I’m done thinking of what others expect before I think about what truly makes me happy.

Lord knows I keep healthy. Lord knows I’m good at my job. Lord knows I’m dedicated. That’s not the question. The question is how much joy I take out of the small moments.

I’m resolving to be more hedonistic in the small moments.

I’ll get off the bus a stop early to get hot chocolate for less than $2.
I’ll walk the long way back to the bus after work to think.
I’ll eat the chocolate or the ice cream or the fried chicken.
I’ll waste time doing something that feels like anything but a waste.
I’ll look at myself in the mirror and tell myself I’m gorgeous. I’ll have a dance party with myself and not care who is watching.
I’ll flirt with whoever I want, be it the guy on the bus or at the store or anywhere else, just because it’s fun.
I’ll stop trying to apologize for the fact that I am sexy yet strong, smart and sweet and a whole ball of sass rolled into one.
I’ll stop trying to live up to other’s expectations and set my own.

Because I’m awesome. And I deserve it. And so do you.

Why do we as women put so much pressure on ourselves, in work, in relationships, at home, in life? Why do we feel like taking time for ourselves is selfish or lazy or unproductive? It’s not. If we all were a little more selfish with our time, if we were all a bit better at saying NO, at expressing how we ACTUALLY feel instead of convincing ourselves that we’re overreacting, at eating the chocolate, at dumping the dude who makes you feel bad about yourself, at hiring that babysitter or house cleaner or pickup/delivery laundry service or whatever small thing to make our life easier, the entire world would be a better place.

There’s a place for selfless sacrifice in every day. But there’s also a time to stop caring about who thinks what and what you should be doing and concentrate on what you want to be doing so that YOU feel fulfilled, refreshed and more energetic and happy than ever and can apply that to every area of your life. I’m doing that… because I can.

Join me.

(PS, if you’re ever in need of a pick me up, listen to the Dollyrots’ song Because I’m Awesome while singing along in your jammies. It’s a guaranteed mood booster. It might even prompt an inane blog post about your self-appointed awesomeness.)

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Filed Under: Musings Tagged With: awesome, cable car, chocolate, drinking, girl power, life, pressure, San Francisco, self love, selfishness, unhealthy goodness, work

Crystal Springs 11-Mile Trail Race Recap (Or, “The Hardest 5 miles of my life”)

January 8, 2012 By Courtney 27 Comments

On Tuesday, my friend texted me and asked if I wanted to do a 22-mile trail run with him on Saturday. I considered it for a minute, checked the website and then decided that 22 might be a bit ambitious for my first trail run but hey, 11 should be easy! I recruited Alyssa, Kabri, and Naomi into coming to play with me (and Aron would be there too).

Bright and early on Saturday morning, we headed down to Huddart Park in Woodside for the Coastal Trail Runs’ Crystal Springs event.

Alyssa and I were both a bit nervous about the fact that this race was pretty much up a mountain. See, I get tired on the hills of Golden Gate Park and those are anthills compared to this. I was committed to walking up all the big hills and just trying to have fun.

Showing up, the vibe was TOTALLY different than road races. People were friendly but also hardcore. Some of these people were the “I eat a 50K for breakfast every Sunday” types and they scared me but also made me kind of want to be them. We got there just in time to see Aron off on her 22, then Naomi left for her 5 and Alyssa and I were left with trail expert Kabri who went over the ins and outs of how this whole shebang worked.

I was kind of terrified.

Soon, they said “go” and we ran about 0.1 mile just to stop for a few minutes in a complete bottleneck as the runners entered the trail. No one cared, it was chill. No screaming or “I’M SUPPOSED TO BE RUNNING SUB-8 PACE!” or anything else—we were all joking and laughing. Soon we were en route and running along a fire road.

The first two miles were nice—slow, calm, rollers but no mountain, yet.

Then the mountain hit.

I am not strong on hills. Okay, I LOVE rolling hills. I thought CIM’s hills were PERFECT, I’d take that over a flat course any day. But big hills? I kind of sputter and die and have passed out cold on the side of the road before you even realized I wasn’t behind you anymore. So then we started climbing a mountain and I sputtered and died. Somewhere between mile 2 and 3 I was actually trying to formulate a way to tell Alyssa that I was turning around and going back.

Mile 1: 12:35

Mile 2: 12:11

Mile 3: 13:03

But then we hit mile 3 and I realized it was three miles back to the start for M&Ms or three miles up a hill to the aid station for M&Ms so I might as well give it a go.

Damn, that thing was hard. I was walking a ton and wasn’t even recovering on the walks because it felt more like speed hiking. I realized how ignorant I was of trail running and how I really had no idea how to pace myself, when to walk or what strategies to use at all! It’s such a different mental game. I felt very humbled by my inability to conquer nary the smallest hill on the course. I really didn’t think we would ever get to the top. But eventually somehow we did.

Mile 4: 16:16 (yes, really…)

Mile 5: 15:48 (yes, really…)

Mile 6: 19:00 (…)

I took a gu at mile 4.5 – I usually gu every 6 miles in a race, but it had already been over an hour by the time we got to mile 4.5 and more than three hours since I’d taken in any calories so it was very much needed. Though, gel on the trail tasted disgusting for some reason—I wanted real food. And at mile 6 (aid station) I was rewarded.

PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY AND OREOS. This may have been the best thing that has ever happened to me. Ever.

I dropped one of the oreos on the ground and picked it up immediately—no way was I letting that go so easily. I put it in my glove that I was carrying to save for the way back. Yes, I ran 3 miles with an oreo in my glove. Best decision ever.

I also ran into Dorna from Lazy Chick Runs Too at the aid station! I knew she looked familiar. So funny! She was also getting beat down by the trail like I was but remained happy – it was great to meet her!

Going back was so fun. Downhill! Me wanting to fling myself off the mountain turned into me actually having a really good time. A and I were talking about Ogden, running downhill, what hurt (everything) and the general jabber and the last four miles went by quite quickly. Yes, four. The course was actually ten miles. Following in the theme of running races much shorter than advertised. Kabri, who came in fourth in her AG, finished 20 minutes ahead of us and also clocked 9.5 miles. The mystery of trail running.

Mile 7: 11:24

Mile 8: 11:42

Mile 9: 11:57

Mile 10: 9:06 (WOOOOOOOO!! SUB 10!!!!!!!!)

Overall, it took me 2 hours and 13 minutes to run ten miles. That is a 13:20 pace. Some people finished the marathon and 50K at sub-8 pace! I have such newfound respect (and awe and disbelief…) for trail runners. What a different mental game! But at least there are things like cookies at the end.

Afterward, I felt like I’d run a marathon or ten. My ankles were stiff, knees were angry, shoulders sore from keeping me upright. I felt like an old woman! But I am so glad I did it. I am looking forward to running more trails. It really is beautiful. I just need to learn the mental game and really not care about the fact that I’m doing more hiking than running. : )

And then lunch was fries and an unpictured Banana Oreo Snow with large tapioca from ~~Quickly~~ heaven.

Fun stuff. I’m going to have to do this again soon. Once everything doesn’t hurt anymore.

Courtney

Ever done trail running? What do you prefer – road or trail?

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Filed Under: fitness Tagged With: bay area, coastal trail runs, hiking, hill training, race recap, running, trail running, training

Sidelined

Highlights from Hawai’i

Super Simple Cake Mix Whoopie Pies

Maui Oceanfront Marathon Race Recap

Because I’m Awesome.

Crystal Springs 11-Mile Trail Race Recap (Or, “The Hardest 5 miles of my life”)

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February 2012
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