Double the fun!

So this year my friend Libby decided that instead of doing the New Year's Day race again that she directed last year here in Allen, she would go bigger and bolder and  changed it to the New Year's Double.  You do a race of any distance from 5k to a full marathon on New Year's Eve and then if you want to get the huge medal, you do another race the next morning New Year's Day.  I have kind of watched this race from behind the scenes for the last few months as Libby and I became better friends and did more races and more traveling together.  I had no idea what all goes into race directing until then and I have a whole new respect for it now!  I knew this race would go off without a hitch because Libby had every detail covered and let me say, this weekend was so much fun!

#2 to sign up for the race gets you the #2 bib...the only time
I will ever have a bib in the single digits!  

It started Saturday where I had signed up for the half marathon with many of my runner friends.  Most everyone was going to do the double half marathons but there were a few crazies that were doing the full marathon both days.  Saturday everyone was in good moods, smiling, laughing...jamming to the music.  It was beautiful weather and it helped that you got to see everyone many times along the course because it was a loop.  I loved that part - seeing all my friends.  Everyone was always so peppy and smiling and having a blast.  I met runners along the way that were about my pace.  I ran with Catherine and Sharon the first loop and most of the second loop.  About mile 9, I took off though.  I was feeling really good and I knew I had more in the tank.  I finished the last 4 miles with 10 minute miles which shaved some time off my second loop that I needed.  Although, I didn't really have a time goal for the day I wanted to be close to 2:30 if possible.  I don't know why...that is usually what I run but at the same time I didn't want to go all out because I was nervous about how I would feel for New Year's Day. I didn't want to be too sore and not be able to enjoy the second race. I wound up with 2:33 for the half and to make it even sweeter, my husband and the boys met me and the boys ran the last 1/2 mile with me to the finish line.

Chase and I at the finish line!
Thanks Gretchen for the pic!

Then came Saturday afternoon...Wow wee...I was hurting...sore, walking funny, you name it...I looked like an 80 year old woman!  I wasn't sure how Sunday would go...but there is only one way to find out, right...go do it again...

Elton was having sympathy pains for me so
he napped with me post-race...

Well Sunday morning, everyone wasn't quite as cheery as they had been at the starting line the day before...it was a little colder and windier...most people stayed in their car until the last minute instead of mingling with all the pre-race excitement like yesterday.  It was pretty funny!  We got out of the car with about 30 minutes before race time and went and got ready.  I was able to visit with all my friends pre-race and even got to chat with a friend I met on Twitter that was running her first half after moving to Texas with her family on Tuesday!  They left Georgia on Monday, got here Tuesday and she ran Sunday!  How awesome is that?  I was very excited to get to talk to her because it turns out she homeschools too!  Yea!!!

Then we were off!  First loop was good...ran with my friends Catherine and Sharon again.  There was much more hobbling and funny running along the course by everyone...including myself!  By mile 6, I knew I could go a little faster but at the same time I wanted to stay with my friends...I decided to go ahead and run so I put my music in and went.  Felt really good all along the second loop.  I even finished faster the second day than I had the first day!  That was a huge shock!  I would have never even in a million years predicted that.  I think all the back to back runs training for the 50K REALLY helped me out!  I am used to running on tired legs...I just know how to ignore them.  Mind over matter, right? 

This is the reason I began running!
Thanks Jill for teaching me I can do anything I put my mind to!
Did you know you were creating a monster when you made me run that first marathon?

Post Race with my fellow Rocky Raccooners, Corina and Fiona!
We were just missing Libby but she was busy directing a race!

Ron, Catherine, Sharon, Me, and Cara
My gang for the weekend!

Jane and I after the race!

Look how cool that medal is!!!

Totally worth the 26.2 miles it took to get it!

So what now...I have been thinking about 2012 for a while. I have some ideas but I don't want to commit to some of them yet. I do know that I want to continue with the trail running. I want to keep up mileage too.  I want to feel like on any given weekend I could go out and at least do a half marathon.  I would like to hopefully get in a triathlon this year to get some cross training in.  And I aim to do Rocky Raccoon 50k again next November. My mileage goal for the year is 1200.  Hopefully I will go way over that, but if I can aim for 100 mile months I'm good with that.

2011 was a huge year for me in running - with all my wonderful friends that I have made this year who have challenged me and made me laugh through it all - I love you all!  Thanks for inspiring me and thank you so much to my wonderful husband who supports me in my running and encourages me.  Although he may think I am a bit crazy and his eyes get all glazed over when I start talking splits and energy gel flavors and compression socks, he still loves me and I am so thankful! 

Wishing everyone a great 2012!  It is gonna rock!

I will not be afraid of the chupa...I will not be afraid of the chupa...

Well this week was another one that ended in a race.  I am kind of getting used to this and liking it too!  This weekend my friends, Libby, Catherine, Shannon, and I braved the chupacabra and ran the Los Chupacabras de DFW 10K trail race at Lake Grapevine's Rockledge Park.  I will just go on record as saying that there is a reason it is called ROCKledge park.  I have never seen so many huge rocks to run over, across, around....you name it!  I didn't really have time to be worried about animals eating me because I was so worried about falling on a rock.  That has to be the most technical course that I think I have ever run and we did it in the dark.  The four of us held back at the beginning and let all the speedy people go out and then we got in our own groove and ran the whole thing except for a few places where it was way too dangerous.  At the beginning and the end the trail was on the side of the of the lake.  So if you fell, not only were you on just huge rocks, you would fall off and roll down to the lake.  As we were giggling about this on the last mile in,  my friends informed me not to trip as they wouldn't come save me from the lake and all fun things that reside in it.  Those rascals...We were doing really good...holding a nice steady pace with Libby up front with her new super, duper high beam headlamp.  I was second followed by Catherine and Shannon.  We got to about mile 3 and some lady was yelling something that sounded like "Chupa, Chupa!!!"  So Catherine started yelling it back because we thought the lady was trying to scare us or just be funny, because seriously, it was after 9:00 in the middle of the woods, why would anyone be out there if they weren't some kind of nut doing a 10K in the dark, right?  Well, turns out the lady had lost her dog and it happened to be named Cooper and she was calling him!  We felt kind of bad then...but I still think it was kind of funny...So on we go, mile 1, 2, and 3 were pretty uneventful except for the lost dog and a bunch of giggling and hurdling chupa poop (ie. glow sticks that mark the trail)...So we finally hit the last aid station at about mile 4 and the guy asked us if we were the last ones...I'm secretly hoping we aren't and Catherine told him actually we were at the front of the race, not the end just to give him a hard time. :-)  We knew we weren't dead last though, probably pretty close to it, but I didn't care too much.  So off we go and we get about a tenth of a mile from the aid station and all of a sudden Shannon, who was running about a foot in front of me, went flying and screaming and landed smack dab in the middle of the trail.  We all stopped and she was saying she couldn't get up and she wouldn't roll over either.  The rest of us thought she had broken her arm because of the way it was all underneath her.  She eventually rolled over and her arm was fine, but as she rolled over I noticed where her knee had been was a HUGE rock!  So her palms were all scraped up, really bad, but her knee was cut and I was worried more that it would do something internal to her knee because she landed right with that rock in her knee.  Luckily, the guys that were working the aid station that we had just passed heard the commotion and came out to us.  One of them was a paramedic (they were also marines) and they got her cleaned up and drove her back to the starting line where they got her ice, band aids, and some beer. Apparently they offered her water, and she told them no...she would take a beer...I love it!  Meanwhile, the rest of us went on our merry way.  A little more cautious at this point because all of us have races coming up, including Shannon who has a marathon in 2 weeks and was now sitting at the finish line waiting on us all banged up with a beer.  So we went on and it seemed the longer we ran, the more technical the trail got and at one point we were literally climbing up this rock wall.  Good times!  We finished up running along that crazy rock ledge that led down to the lake and then were done!  We headed back to the starting line and had a great BBQ dinner that was catered in and also some ice cold beer.  It was a great race and we had LOTS of fun!  I will totally do it next year.  I kind of like the night running.  It adds a whole new challenge to trail running. I don't know why that matters, trail running is a challenge for me in the day light and I have no idea how I didn't fall last night.  I think maybe I pay more attention to stuff in the dark because I have to.
I'll definitely do this race again next year and hopefully we can get more people to go because it was a good time!
So all in all, the chupa only got Shannon...but she gave him a good fight!

Catherine, Libby, Shannon, and Me
Before the Chupa 10K