Monday, July 14, 2014

Things I Learned - Xterra Harbison Half

As I like to do with many of my events, I want to give you a light side look at Things I Have Learn – Xterra Harbison Trail Half Marathon Edition!  Enjoy!

Things I Learned:

·         I REALLY LOVE trail running
·         The make trail shoes for a reason and I have two pair, maybe next time I will actually wear them.
·         Not eating an early breakfast before a body jarring event is stupid, unfortunately I continue to repeat this issue….time for a mental check in
·         Trail running is very technical and requires a lot of looking at the ground and the runner in front of you.
·         I crested the hills strong, eased down the other side to save my thighs and then picked the pace back up on the flats seemed like a sound strategy.
·         Some people fall with grace and some don’t, but the near misses are a thing of beauty!
·         GPS watches don’t work as well in the woods as out in the open….trust your time and gut, not pace and mileage.
·         Avery Dominick at 15 is a Gazelle – running the course in 1:21 and winning the race by over 3:00!
·         A lot of IRONMEN did the trail race, as if 140.6 miles of swimming, biking and running isn’t hard enough.
·         I spent two hours in the forest and didn’t see a bird, squirrel, deer or anything…no wildlife, just a bunch of sweaty, dirty, huffing and puffing runners.
·         Spider Woman trail is really tough and that is where I made my move…guess it was good practice for the mountains of Colorado.
·         I can’t wait to get to Colorado.
·         I am glad I wore my water pack – that was one thing I did right!
·         Now I want a mountain bike!
·         I would love to do a Xterra Triathlon – see previous bullet point
·         The off season will see a LOT of squats to build up the quads.
·         My feet and ankles are in good shape, my quads are sore.
·         I need to learn to run downhill with grace….well I just need to learn to run downhill more effectively.
·         Core and upper body strength training definitely make me a stronger runner.
·         If I could learn to swim as well as I run, I would be in good shape and that would lead to …see 5 bullets points above this one!
·         Watching Elli run and play was as good as the race. She so loves to do what her Mom and Dad do, she will be a runner.
·         Moe’s always tastes good but after a hard run, it’s especially good.
·         Seeing May and Elli at the finish line ringing the cowbell NEVER gets old and pulls me through the end of my races.
·         Many people go out WAY too fast and look good doing it, by the end of race many of them are asking “Why did I do that?”
·         You need to do recon and pick your places to make your move!
·         Half way through the race I wondered how they would get anyone out that had a severe injury…so goal number one was NOT to suffer one.
·         A trail run is about the only place you can be covered in sweat, dirt and even some blood and people will openly and freely hug you.
·         The ice water rag at the end of the race was better than the medal.
·         I can never remember if they called my name as I crossed the finish line…I was still too busy looking at my feet to notice.
·         I had to hang on to Elli’s had really tight as we walked from the car to Books A Million as if she got away and ran, I don’t think I could have caught her.
·         I had a blast and will do it again…looking for another one today.
·         Tuesday I am back to the roads for a sunrise 10 miler.