When the race is called The Golden Gate Headlands TRAIL run, plan on running on a trail. Oh no don't be fooled by the pictures of last years race showing people smiling on a paved road. That paved road lasted about 2 of the 13 miles. Living in the valley where the only hill I have trained on is the slight slope over the railroad tracks in no way prepared me for yesterdays race. Here are some pictures of the great event so you can see for yourself that I am not kidding about the hills.
Before the race, when we were happy and blissfully naive. We pretty much rocked the cool factor with our tie dye.
The gang: me, misty, jared and stephen
Crazy rubber chicken guy.....he was in charge of this joke of a marathon and told everyone that the first person done would win a rubber chicken. Some inspiration huh?
But when I was getting ready to leave, my sweet kiddos yelled from the beach, "Win the rubber chicken mom!!!". Sorry guys, I am just glad I didn't die, I will buy you a rubber chicken.
jared and stephen at the top of the first of many hills. When these boys were behind me, I would remind them that I am 12 years older than they are.
This was when we were still having fun. jared's face is my favorite.
The trail got so steep here that there were wooden steps to help you climb.
This is not an optical illusion. The trail WAS that STEEP!
The girls at the top of the first hill. The view was amazing.
Carl took this one. You can see all the little people making their way up and up and up.
Wish I was here. The kids had a blast playing on the beach while I was running.
Me coming down the last the last hill, I could hear people cheering and the finish was so close, but still so far away.... some brainiac didn't double check with the park and come to find out one of the bridges was out, so we got to end the race by running the last mile on the beach. Okay, so a fun little stroll on the beach is nice in Hawaii, but come on people not after 12 miles of uphill trail running. I wanted to stop there and cry but Carl ran up and met me and got some pics, and Caleb ran the rest of the way with me to the finish line.
Me and Misty after the race. Luckily we could smile for this picture. Overall not my favorite, but I am so glad that I was able to finish my first 1/2. I set a goal to do it in under 2 hours. My time was exactly 3 hours. But I am taking 10 minutes off because I had to wait 10 minutes for Presidio Firemen to get a heat stroke victim off the trail. (Kind of freaked me out). Next time when I see the trail rated as difficult, I plan to believe it. Maybe in a few days when I can actually walk again, I will think about doing another one. Thanks Misty for inspiring me to run this. You are amazing!
A copy of the trail map and elevation changes.
A copy of the trail map and elevation changes.
4 comments:
I feel your pain!! On my first 1/2 they said it was a trail run too, but all the pics showed paved roads. I wore shorts I had not trained in and had major chaffing, to the point of bleeding. My running partner twisted her ankle the day before, so I was running alone. My ipod dies halfway through. There were no bathrooms along the way so I was trail squatting with no lookout. And finally, due to the trail being almost entirely gravel, no matter how much I stopped to clean them out, I had raging blisters from all the pebbles and sand in my shoes. Not my favorite race, but a good learning experience nonetheless. My next 1/2 was much better and I shaved more than 20 minutes off the previous one. Just give yourself time to rest and recoup. Way to go! That trail looked flippin' hard. You're the woman!!
i am so proud of you girls. really, to set such a big goal and accomplish it is so amazing. you trained so hard and i am glad your experience was great. you are an inspiration to me and i love you. good job!!!
Lori Congratulations! Wow! I've never even thought about doing a trail race! one time I set out to train with trail runners and turned back! You are Awesome!!!
You're awesome Shera.... So glad the fam could come support you!
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