Chubb 25k Trail Run

 Whew! It's been a while, eh? Only like 6 years! So I've had another baby in between this post and my last. She's now 4-1/2 years old! I've kept active but really missed the comraderie of racing and training with other people. Of course, the pandemic did nothing to help with that aspect but it did allow me some additional time to get out and run a bit. Not having to commute for over an hour a day as well as being able to run during my lunch break has been life-changing. I'm not taking this time for granted as we the return to an office environment over time is inevitable.

So, as per usual, I dove into running headfirst and likely was a bit aggressive in my buildup. I ran quite well over last summer and leading into the fall which culminated in a 13.1 miler that took me from my doorstep to my HS alma mater and back. Was it too much too soon? Probably but I felt decent. Slow, but decent. The winter was a challenge and I didn't run as much. Historically, I've hated running in cold weather. That still holds true today. However, without the added push of racing and/or events to get me out the door, I did not run much this past winter. Of course, as soon as the weather improved, I jumped back into running distances my body wasn't ready for. As a result, my hamstring has been screaming at me. I have a history of high hamstring tendonopathy with avulsion fractures and calcium deposits. I haven't taken a complete break from running but I've been monitoring how I feel and will back off as needed.

I started running a few days a week with an old running buddy and have definitely needed to reign it in a bit as my friend likes to push the pace (somewhat unnecessarily). 

I'm a sucker for signing up for races that have a history of selling out. FOMO at its finest. So when Jason signed up to run the Chubb 25k, I did too.

Fast forward to the actual race and I had only been running about 12 miles a week on average. Not at all enough for me to expect to perform well but by this point my only goal was to finish. Additionally, all the rain that we had been having contributed to flooding on the flat portion of the trail. So the course was re-routed to double the elevation to keep us dry. 15.5 miles of pure hilly glory. My most favorite running is on flat roads so this race was clearly going to push my comfort zones.

Race day arrived and it was sprinkling and about 45 degrees. Yippy! I put on my trail shoes that I'd never run in! Ha. Put on a base layer and then topped it off with my Big Shark technical shirt. I had a multitude of headbands/gaitors etc. - one for my hair and one to use as a mask at the start of the race. Wireless music accompanying my most favorite Garmin of all time (Fenix 6s Pro) and I was ready to go!

The hills were no joke. The first lap I stuck with a group for the most part. I passed a few people and a few people passed me. I let one girl go in my wave and distanced myself from another. Turns out the girl I let go ended up 2nd so that was a good call. Since I had never run this race much less this trail, I had zero expectations of what pace I should be running. However, running at about 11 min/mile pace was superbly humbling. 

The second lap was brutal as my ankles and joints began to ache from the pounding and uneven ground. Even the flat mile in the clearing was rough and took effort to even dip under 9:00 min/mile pace. I was somewhat comforted by the fact that the grass was not cut and its length was adding to the difficulty. I spent most of the second lap by myself and hoping that I didn't make a wrong turn somewhere.

Each lap ended with a hill straight from hell - Chinkapin its called. I walked it the second time. Once I got to the top, my entire body was screaming at me but I ran down to the finish to the best of my ability. I knew I was going to have to rely on muscle memory for this race. There is a benefit to getting older and having the experience of pushing your body. I know what my body is capable of. It certainly wasn't happy with me after this race. But I'm happy. I was the 5th women to finish. I managed to dip just under 11:00 min/mile pace by the finish. My body revolted for a few days but once the soreness subsided, I was able to run an easy 8 miler later in the week and the confidence that I can complete these distances did a lot for the psyche. 

So here's to signing up for races I'm not prepared for! Up next - Tour of Hermann and I haven't ridden my bike once this year! Hahahahaha.