Psycho Night Race 2009

Friday, Aug 7 was the Psycho Night race out at Wyandotte County Park. This is a little bit of a sentimental race for me since it was my very first trail race last year. A lot has changed.

Before the race started, I wandered around chatting with the folks I knew and some I didn't. I taunted Barefoot Josh (knowing full well that I would never catch him unless something bad happened and I would never wish that on another runner). I also talked with some folks from Topeka and some people that were at the Rock Creek night race where John and I ran an aid station. John and Danny were manning the only aid station on the course, cooler of beer in tow. He didn't want to risk falling and making his wrist worse since it's not quite 100%. I think he just preferred to drink beer and watch other people run. :)

Here's Brett and I, pre-race and sans-spouses.

I know this course well and I was hoping to run it in under an hour. My time last year was 1:08, but last year's course was much dryer and more runnable. Rocky downhills are my forte and I was hoping to use that to my advantage. The mud would make things more difficult, so I tied my laces tight and double knotted my shoes.

I saw no less than 5 people lose at least one shoe. I thought it was funny, but I'm sure they weren't as amused. Coming into the Triangle, Danny said I was 2nd female and John told me I better pick up the pace (funny guy). I was passed by one girl, but she was having a hard time in the mud. On the road, she would have cleaned my clock, but between the mud and the rocks, I passed her again not far outside the Triangle and didn't see her until the finish line. I talked to her afterwards and she was visiting from Utah. Her quote of the night: "I thought I had run trails before, but I hadn't run anything like THIS!"

I picked up the pace a little and caught up to a group of guys that came down from Leavenworth. I passed them on a hill, but they hung close. I started calling out warnings for rocky sections and where there were good lines through the mud. Afterwards, they came over to say thanks and we chatted over beer. They said the may come down for a Thursday night run sometime.

I finished in 1:05, which is a good indicator of how muddy it was. I was running much faster than last year, but there were more sections that I had to walk due to mud. I never did catch Barefoot Josh, but I think I came close. ;) I had a lot of fun and met a ton of new people. Hopefully I'll get to see some of them again.

Thanks to all the volunteers and especially Dick Ross at www.seekcrun.com. All photos are courtesy of Dick.

Running With the Pack

There's a certain rythm to trail running you can't find on the road or track. Every run has it's own pulse and flow, and no two runs produce the same experience. Usually I am a solitary runner but I have come to appreciate running with the KC Trail Nerds. It's more than having someone else to clear the spider webs and scare off the copperheads (saw my first one last night).

When all you hear is the pounding footsteps in front of you and behind you, the swishing grasses and trees in the wind, rythmic breathing, and the beating of your own heart, you realize the pack is greater than the individual. The pace is faster and smoother, the distances farther than one might run on his own. There is something animalistic and natural to running in a pack; around corners, up hills, over branches, and through streams. If you've ever been trail running, then you know that humans were meant to run wild.

There is a bond between all runners and endurance athletes. I think it's true that our society has come to confuse comfort with happiness. The greatest rewards come after suffering and sacrifice. All endurance athletes know this - this is why we train. Part of the allure to doing a marathon or triathlon is doing something you didn't know your body could do and doing something that the average human can't do. And once you have pushed past those limits, you want to see how far you can really go. To surround yourself with others of the same mindset is refreshing and motivating.

I will always be more of a solitary runner than someone who always trains with a group. But I really enjoy the new "pack" I've found and the sense of community they offer.

Find your pack.

Run wild.

WyCo Solo

I was supposed to swim last night, but when I got home, my new trail shoes were sitting on the doorstep, just waiting to be taken on a run. So I ditched the pool and headed out to WyCo Park to run the trails there solo. I was planning on doing about 6 miles, or an hour, whichever came first. I honestly have no idea how far I ran, but I did run for a little over an hour.

It rained earlier in the day, so there were some muddy areas and there was one big tree that was down. I scampered around it, sure I was going to get into poison ivy. It would have been a great run, but I learned why it's good to run in a group and NOT be in the lead - spider webs!! I must have ran through at least 20 of them and they creeped me out each time. I had a few various insects try to ride along. Anything with more than 4 legs gives me the heebie-jeebies. After a while, I picked up a stick and I ran with a giant stick in my hand to clear the webs in front of me. It worked pretty well, I just hoped that I didn't happen along any of the Trail Nerds while I was running. They would wonder who in the hell is this crazy woman running with a stick and what exactly is she chasing. I ditched it at my turn around point, figuring I had already cleared the trails.

On the way back, I found a way to always run fast, even if you're going up a huge hill and are really tired - horse flies. These little buggers are great motivation to keep moving at all costs. I only got bitten a few times, so I think I did OK but my language would have made a sailor blush. It would have helped if I had remembered the bug spray. I also learned that my trail shoes have to be laced much tighter than my road running shoes. I had a blister on each big toe and I've never blistered there before. My shoes are now covered in mud, like any good trail running shoe should be. With this humidity, it will take a while for them to dry out, too. It was a good run and great workout. I'm looking forward to hitting the trails again, this time letting someone else clear the path!

Workout Stats:
Time: 1:12:48
Dist: ~6 miles
Calories: 729
HR ave/max: 165/180

One thing I've noticed while running at WyCo (I've been there a few times) is that I burn WAY more calories and have a higher HR than I would while on a hard tempo run. Since trail running is such an intense workout, I have at least 1 hour of trail scheduled every week. On a related subject, I didn't get my resting HR this morning since my HR monitor strap was still soaking from the run last night. Maybe I should have two straps to keep around.

From Saturday's bike ride
Workout Stats:
Time: 2:33:51
Dist: 36 miles
Calories: 987
HR ave/max: 129/161