In 2016, the
Fragrance Lake Half Marathon/10k was my first
race of the year AND my very first trail race! I chose it with six weeks to
train, with majority of my runs having to be on a treadmill due to the magic of
drop-in childcare. I ended doing much better than I had expected, in fact, I
finished in 1:13:17 as the second place overall female! Even though I REALLY
wanted to try the half marathon distance this year, it would’ve been silly to
even attempt that challenge at my current fitness level.
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| Standing with the First and Second overall Females! Girl power! |
A major difference this year was the ability to go run out
on the trails, in addition to the gym, during my “extremely casual” training
plan. We also had a family member spending time with us, so they could stay
with Eisley during naptime while I could go running. I am very thankful!
Another big difference was the weather this winter. We had icy conditions,
below freezing temperatures, and tons of snow that seemed like it would never
melt. I made the most of being snowed in by doing wall sits, kettle bell
swings, lots of stretching, and jumping rope in the garage.
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| Photo by the infamous Takao Suzuki |
The night before the race, sometime during the twilight
zone, Eisley woke up crying and I coslept in her room until morning. After 2 ½ years
of being on this motherhood journey, I am definitely used to functioning on
interrupted sleep (sleep…what’s sleep?). I whipped together a delicious
smoothie with banana, turmeric, blueberries, mango, oats, orange juice, and
hemp protein powder.
Reflecting back, I
wish I had a piece of toast or bowl of oatmeal also. I made sure to have some Strawberry Lemonade Nuun in my pack to keep me hydrated and replenish my electrolytes. Of course I was
running behind schedule (#momlife) and it took longer than anticipated to find
parking, job 2/10 mile for my bib/check-in, and do a mini warm up. In the quick
moments before the race start, I finally met two awesome ladies that are both
inspirational ultra runners (hellooooooo!).
We took off at 9:00am and runners were movin’ along fast for
the first 1.2 miles on the Interurban Trail. We had this ‘relatively flat’ time
to gain speed before the slow climb/power hike/jog up Cleator Rd. Even though
it seemed like an eternity, I think Cleator was only ¾ mile before we jumped on
the beautiful single track trails. I tried to ignore my watch and now I’m glad
I did! The display was accidentally showing my
average pace, not my
current
pace. I couldn’t figure out why it was barely changing when I was trying to
push harder, ha! Fragrance Lake looked lovely for the short time we ran along
it. There was one other female runner ahead of me for a while that I was
struggling to pass. Between the zigzagging muddy trail, my downward momentum,
and the random rocks/roots, I couldn’t get around! The melted snow helped me
out by providing a huge mud puddle that we each went around on separate sides,
allowing me to squeeze past! Now, I hauled tail down the trail, constantly
imagining her right behind me.
The best motivation is a good competition!
My tingling legs heavily sprinted down Chuckanut Dr to the finish line and my
time was 1:06:45! I managed to cut off 7 minutes from last year’s time and that
felt amazing! I tried to stay warm while drinking coffee and walking around,
waiting over an hour for the awards ceremony. I took third female overall and
was lucky enough to take home a finisher medal and award that were wood crafted
by
Elevation Culture, a San Diego-based business. Full results can be found at
Ultrasignup. Thanks to
Destination Trail for putting together such a great trail running experience! Next year, MAAAAAAAYBE next year, I will actually do the half
marathon!
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