Wordless Wednesday

Valentine's Day party with Elise at school.

Valentine's Day

New trail shoes for Valentine's Day, they are beautiful!

We got the cats a pet couch for Valentine's Day.

Hike with the kids on President's Day.

Elise moved their couch in front of the window and they love it.

Elise wanted to do face and lip masks for Fun Club. She bought them with her own money.

Elise ready for Revolutionary War Day at school, dressed as Eliza Hamilton.

With April after the Keystone Ancient Forest Trail Trek.

Elise running the first mile of my run with me.

Annie watching curling.

Keystone Ancient Forest Trail Trek 10k

This was my 3rd year running this race. I waited for a long time to sign up because I was hoping Thomas would run with me again, but he didn't feel like he was in race shape and especially not for the massive hills on this course so he decided against it. We had so much going around at school with the flu, strep throat, pneumonia, and stomach bugs that I was a bit afraid to sign up because I didn't want to sign up and get sick and not get to race. I ran a few speed work PRs going into this race and had a strong 5 mile tempo into 20mph winds so I felt really good about my fitness. I was confident I could beat my time from last year because I had a rough race last year and it was super muddy, but I didn't think I'd be able to run close to my time from the first year when I ran such an amazing race. It was one of those days where everything clicked and I felt great. I was thinking maybe somewhere around 52 minutes would be where I'd land. The week leading up to the race there were wildfires in the panhandle and the smoke was blowing our way so the air quality was really bad. I was having trouble with my breathing and was getting winded reading to my class and walking up stairs, so I was a little nervous for how the race would go.

A group of my running friends.

I looked back at past race reports and I got up at 7am for the 9am race start so I did that again. I did yoga and got ready pretty quickly. I made coffee and took an almond butter biscuit for the car. I had initially planned to make oatmeal, but my stomach felt a little bit off so I decided to go with something that would be easier to eat. The temperature was 35 degrees with a feels like colder than that. I knew most people would be running in shorts, but I've found I race better in tights when it's below 40 degrees, especially for shorter distances. I went with capri tights and my outfit was perfect. I never got too hot. I was pretty cold at the start, especially my arms as the wind whipped through the trees. The wind was so cold! I did take my gloves off around 3 miles into the race. I left the house around 7:45-7:50 and arrived at Keystone Ancient Forrest at 8:10. It took a while to get parked and then I went into the visitor's center to use the restroom. We usually arrive closer to the race start and the line for the women's restroom is so long, I don't have time to go before the race. I went right in with no line this time. Then I took off for my warm up. I was a bit wheezy and my heart rate was 160 bpm which is super high for me! It got better toward the end of my warm up and I ended up running 2 miles for my warm up since I had time. I told myself I felt super strong on my warm up before the Chilly 5k and then had a terrible race so the fact that my warm up was rough didn't mean I would have a bad race. Trail conditions are always a toss up and affect race times. The first year I ran the race it was perfect and last year was muddy. This year it was really dry and sandy. I noticed a lot of sand on my warm up.

When I got back from my warm up I saw some of my friends from my TOTS running group and we chatted which was nice. Then we found out they were postponing the race by 10 minutes so I went into the woods to do another restroom stop since the women's restroom line was really long. I looked around at the start and saw the only woman there who I knew would beat me was in the 15k so I felt confident I had a chance to win the 10k. When we took off there was someone standing in front of me who took off walking which was a surprise with how close I was to the start line. I felt good going up the first hill which I felt like was a good sign because that first hill usually feels awful. I felt so strong from the start and was rolling along. I went through the first mile in 7:48 which I was really happy with. I wasn't expecting to be under 8:00 and I knew that was only around 10 seconds slower than my first mile during my fastest time. I had a couple guys not too far ahead of me and I passed one of them. When I tried to pass him on the left he drifted over and cut me off so I moved over and passed him on the right. My 2nd mile was 7:40 and I was feeling so strong. I was pretty pumped with how awesome I was feeling. Chinchilla- Little Girl Gone was going through my head and "Run little girl, run little girl, bang, ha" was my theme for this race, running through my head over and over. There were a couple downhills that I was flying down and then we had to turn right at the bottom. One of them was really sandy and as I turned the sand flew out from under my feet and I thought I was going to fall, but I didn't! There were some really sandy sections where I could feel the sand zapping my energy and speed.

I knew we would start the 1.5 mile long hill at 2.5 miles. Going up the hill I passed the other guy and he started walking after I passed him. I felt so strong going up the hill. I started thinking, you are probably running a Strava segment PR on this! It went by so quickly that I thought it wasn't that hill yet. Then we came out of the trees and on to the long gradual hill and I realized that had been the hill. I felt better on it than I ever have. I pushed up it the whole way. Mile 3 was 8:38 which I was pretty sure was very close to what I'd ran in my fastest race. When I came out of the trees I saw I had really caught another guy and worked on closing the gap. Then he turned right for the 15k when I turned left for the 10k. One of my friends from TOTS was a ways ahead of me, but I could see him and I was gaining on him. I focused on slowly reeling him in. Mile 4 was 8:05. When we made it to the lollipop, I started passing 5k runners who were still out on the course. I could hear someone coming up on me and it was the guy I had passed on the hill earlier in the race. I told myself to go with him and let him pull me along. If I could run a really strong last 2 miles I could get close to a course PR. We were both closing in on my friend. I went through mile 5 in 7:26. I was within striking distance and then we hit the downhill switchbacks and they started to pull away from me. They were running together and pushing each other. When we got back to straights I narrowed the gap again, but then they gapped me again when we hit the next set of switchbacks. Mile 6 was my fastest at 7:21. 

I knew this course measures long at 6.5 miles. With a half mile to go I gave it everything I had and finished the last portion in 7:35 pace. My finishing time was 50:53 with an average pace of 7:49. I knew that was close to my fastest time, but I didn't think it was my fastest. Later when I looked, my fastest time was 50:36 with an average pace of 7:48 so I was super close! I ran my first 2 miles slower than that year, mile 3 a smidge faster, mile 4 exactly the same, and my last 2 miles faster. So I felt stronger this year. I also ran a Strava course record on One Massive Hill by 3 seconds! I ran a 2.5 mile cool down for a total of 11 miles on the day. I finished 7th out of 129 overall and 1st out of 65 women. This was the biggest the race has ever been! I won $100 which I used to take Ty on a date that evening. This year instead of giving out plaques for overall winners, we got walking sticks. I had so much fun with it and when I got home Elise came up with quite a few ways to play with it. I was so pleased with this race. Since developing bone spurs having a race where I feel strong the whole race through is so much more rare than it used to be. This race was such a thrill since I felt so strong and ran even faster than I was hoping. I knew I was in good shape and my fitness was there so I was pleased it came together on race day. I'm looking forward to my next run in a couple weeks, The Snake Run 3 Hour Relay with Thomas. True to my stomach being off before the race, I ended up getting a mild stomach bug after this race. There was no throwing up or fever, just headache and nausea. Elise and I both got sick and hers was worse. I think my body was fighting something off and when my immune system was lowered after this race, it took hold. Read about last year's race here and 2024 here.

With my winnings after the award ceremony.

Date night with Ty, paying with my $100.