Trail Run #2--FAIL

Today I meet with my Turtle Runners team again.  We are an eclectic group of slower runners, mostly Team in Training members.  We get together on Sundays to run and enjoy each other's company.  Today we meet at Pinchot Park for a trail run--a real trail run. We ran this same trail about a month ago, but this time it was very different.

It has been a very snowy and rainy winter so far here in Central Pennsylvania.  We have had a warm January, so all the snow has melted.  To say the trail was muddy is a total understatement!  It started out not so bad, but as we got farther and farther into the woods, it got more muddy and more muddy.  There were times when we were ankle deep in mud.  This lasted for quarter+ miles at a time.

To call this a trail "run" would be an exaggeration as there was very little running involved for me.  Between the roots, rocks and all the mud, I could run very little.  Since I am heading to California for the Tinkerbell Half Marathon in three days, I was not going to risk getting injured.  As clumsy as I am, this meant taking it very, very slow.

While we were on the run, the runners had a blast!  I did not love it so much.  It was funny hearing them chat and plan mud runs coming to our area this year.  They joked with me about this run being nothing compared to a Dirty Girl/Tough Mudder type race.  If one good thing came out of this run, its that I now know for sure I will never do one of those mud runs!

Have you done a mud run?  What did you think of it?

A dream is a wish...

--Amy

My First Real Trail Run

My Nike San Francisco top! 

My Team in Training Team has no official runs until mid January, but Coach Mike has gathered a group of what he calls "Turtle Team".  Our group is composed of a bunch of runners who want to keep up our training runs in the winter.  We are welcoming to slow runners (the turtle part, lol) and welcome anyone to come out with us and run.  

This past Sunday we meet at Pinchot State Park to run around of the lake.  Now, I tell you all the time that I run on "the trail".  I run here for team runs, I run/walk/bike here with my kids, sometimes alone.  My "trail" is actually a rail trail.  It is made of crushed gravel--very flat, wide and easy to run on.  Yesterday's trail run was a real trail run--with branches, exposed pointy rocks, leaf covered, very steep hills ect.  As clumsy as I am, it was very challenging!

Central PA Turtle Team

After a rainy week, it was very muddy on the trail.  There was lots of ups and down.  I twisted my ankle three times, but did not fall once--I call that a win!  Even though this course was very challenging, I loved it! Coach said that due to the difficulty of the course, we could consider our mileage double of what we actually ran. We stayed by the lake the whole time.  I can run forever if I have a good view--especially of water.  The lake is eight miles around.  I can't wait to run the whole way around it.  When I do run around the whole thing, I would be sure to have a buddy--its to dangerous to run those trails alone!

Have you ever run on a real trail?  What did you think of it?

A dream is a wish...

--Amy

Vacation Running

As many of you know, my Disney World vacation is just 5 days away!  I have everything all set—our villa is rented, our flights are booked, our dining reservations are made—I have even started packing.  One thing I have left to plan is when and where I will run.   A lot of people through their diet and exercise habits out the window when they go on vacation.  I used to be one of those people.  This time I am determined it will be different. 

I will try to eat right on this trip.  No, I will not be as strict on vacation as I am at home, but I will try to make good choices.  I will still have a Dole Whip at the Magic Kingdom and a chocolate covered caramel square in the German shop in Epcot.  All the walking will burn more calories, so a small increase is daily calories won’t be that bad.  My eating goal will be to make better choices, but still enjoy myself.

 On my training schedule the week we will be there are two thirty minute runs and a three mile run.  I found a great website that suggests fun places to run while on vacation at WDW.  One run I plan to do is around the Boardwalk/Epcot are resorts.  On the website, it says the run is 2.4 miles.  That should fit perfectly in with my thirty minute run.  I would also love to try a run all the way around seven seas lagoon.   A view of the castle and all my favorite resorts would be so motivating.  It would be a small glimpse of what the Disney Princess Half Marathon will be like. 

What do you do to keep your good health habits on vacation?  Have you ever run at Walt Disney World outside of a race? 

A dream is a wish…

--Amy

Rail Trail Ten Miler

Today was my longest race to date, a 10 miler, on the Rail Trail in southern York County, Pennsylvania.  My day started early at 5am.  I picked up my friend Kelly at 6:15, and we headed to the finish line.  The crazy worrier I am, I was afraid that if we did not get there at the crack of dawn, I would not get a parking space in the small lot at the finish line where we met the bus.  Kelly and I were one of the first cars there.  That gave me plenty of time to stretch and pack up my SPIbelt.  Then it was off to the bus!

I am not a fan of busses, but the ride was not that bad.  Once we got to the starting point there was a long walk up a hill to the porta pottys.  I am not a fan of porta pottys either, but when you got to go, you got to go.  We headed back down the hill to the starting line.  Once they yelled “Ready, Set, Go”, it was back up the big hill again.  The race began in the small town of Seven Valleys.  Many of the town residents were out cheering for the runners at the beginning of the race.  After weaving through the small town for about half a mile, we hit the rail trail. 

The terrain of the rail trail is loose gravel.  I had never run on gravel before.  It was a totally different feeling than the treadmill or the blacktop track around my neighborhood.  While running, as I pushed off with my back foot, it would slip a bit.  It felt like it took a bit more power to push off than running on blacktop or the treadmill.   

The weather this morning was not to hot at about 78 degrees, but the 86% humidity was awful!  It took me a while to get used to breathing in the heavy air.  I don’t think I have ever run in that much humidity before.  I got used to the air after a while, but I feel like it slowed me down a bit.  The humidity had me soaked from head to toe!  By mile three, I was soaked!  My tank was as wet as if I had just jumped in a pool.  My hair was as wet as it is about an hour after a shower. 

The trail was really pretty to run on.  A creek ran right next to the train.  We passed by several farms and lots of country scenery.  Around mile 5, the trail passes through a really long train tunnel.  The tunnel was especially hard to run through because the pavement was very uneven.  The tunnel was dark and shadowy.  Around mile 9, we ran past my alma mater, York College. 

Around mile six, I could feel my stomach growling!  I was not sure what to eat for breakfast before the run.  I wanted to eat something to fuel the run, but not to much that it would upset my stomach.  I decided on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I figured it was a good mix of carbs, protein and fat to fuel my run.  I decided against my usually morning coffee because I did not want to much in my stomach.  It seems like the PB&J was not enough.  I did take a gel right before the start and a few Clif Bloks on the bus ride, but they don’t really fill up the stomach.  I do wish I would have had my coffee too.  The caffeine would have helped.  I thought that the caffeine in my gel would have been enough, but my body is used to more caffeine!  Live and learn…

Around mile seven, my blisters busted back onto scene!  I had really babied my feet this past week, using blister healing products, being careful with the shoes I wore, and not over training.  On my to-do list this week is to take a trip to Charm City Run and see what ideas they can give me. 

Overall the race was a huge success for me.  I finished!  That was my goal going into the race—to finish!  My time was 2:24:02, or about 14:24 per mile.  This time was for sure not my best, but I am happy with it.  I feel like the humidity and a different terrain added to my time, plus I had never run this far before.  At the finish line, there was a group of people cheering me on, including my husband and children.  It was nice to have them there, watching my accomplishment.  My friend Kelly finished one second after me.  It was so great to finish together since we planned and trained for this moment together for months.  Kelly’s family was there too, cheering us on.  My kids’ pediatrician was also there as a fellow runner, as well as two of Andrea’s former NICU nurses.  One complaint I have for the race organizers is the lack of water stations.  There was supposed to be four of them, which seems like a small number for a ten mile race, but water station number three was already packed up when I got there.  Now, I realize I was at the back of the pack, but I was not last and my time was not that terrible!  Besides the low number of water stations, the race was a great experience.  It is one I plan to make an annual run for me.  The best part, after finishing ten, I now know I can do 13.1 and finish the Disney Princess Half! 

A dream is a wish...

--Amy

***Don't forget--one more day to enter my Shakeology giveaway!!!