When we got there I remembered how pretty Trout Creek really is :)
The trail running folks are fitter-looking than the average road race crowd I think. I started to wonder if I was ready for 9.3 miles on unfamiliar terrain...
Within a few miles I realized that I was completely out of my depth. Running on the trail was much slower so any chance of a PR was out, the tree roots were everywhere and I kept twisting my ankle. I found it really frustrating to be in such a pretty place and not be able to soak up the scenery since I had to stay so focused on the ground ahead. My left ankle really started to hurt, I felt stupid for wearing Newtons that are clearly not designed for that kind of thing and I was just having a completely miserable time. The only break we got from the roots was on the 'berm' which was so so hot...
I wanted to quit and told Luciana that I was going to bail if we came anywhere close to where my car was parked. She asked me if I could manage running a 10K and we could walk the last 5K together? What a fantastic idea! What an amazing spirit! Luciana has possibly the best mental attitude of anyone that I know :). So that's exactly what we did - and we even ran a bit during the last 5K!
And so we finished. And for that, I'm grateful. I learned today that trail running is something I'm inexperienced at and I will need to do a lot of work on before trying a trail race that long again. I also learned how lucky I am that I have a running buddy that made sure that I didn't quit altogether! I know how much I would have regretted it later. Thank you Luciana for sharing another milestone - I truly couldn't have done it without you today :)
