MUDLANDS 2010

The weather for the Grasslands Trail Run has never been predictable. Sometimes you luck out and have fantastic weather, as we did last year, and other times rain floods the course turning it into seemingly unending mud pits, as it did this year. This is where the nickname "Mudlands" comes in.

But believe it or not, we lucked out with the weather today. Yes, it was in the 30's and it rained for 7 hours preceding the race, but it did not rain during the race, which makes a BIG difference.

So here's my race report: Mud, mud, mud water, and more mud. The end.

Okay, I'll expound a little. About 70% of the time, we were trekking through either mud or streams that were ankle deep. No hope of getting around it. At one point, one of the 50-mile runners said, "Ooh boy, if you don't have a sense of humor, this is really going to be a long day!"

At first, everyone tried to skirt to the sides of trail to avoid the mud pits, but by about mile 2 we all realized that our efforts were in vain and decided to throw caution to the wind.

Almost immediately, my shoes were waterlogged and thickly caked with mud. I should have followed the example of some of my fellow runners by putting plastic bags over my feet. For a good portion of the course, there was no point even trying to run - either you'd lose your shoe or you'd slip and faceplant (which I almost did twice, but I'm a good faller).

Even though the conditions were much worse than the OKC, I felt great. For me, being out there wasn't hard. I just did the time and kept laughing as I slogged through mud. I passed my bro Ronald somewhere around mile 6 and finished the race in about 3:20 (hours: minutes).

Ronald, however, was not at all ready for this race. He came in about 20 min after me and realized aloud, "I can see why you'd need to train for a marathon." Ha ha, gotta love it. He thinks he's sore now, just wait till tomorrow! (*My dad's ultra buddy Drew congratulated Ronald on his first half and then oh-so-graciously let him know that he had been 'chicked' by his sister. : )

All in all, it was good race, one that I will not soon forget. So glad I ran it. I will post pix soon and the results and race photos will be posted on the NTTR website in a few days.

Previous Race Reports:

• Oklahoma City Marathon - 4/26/09
  
• Grasslands Trail Run Marathon - 3/21/09
• Marathon Training Updates - 2008/2009
  

Grasslands Half Marathon

My brother Ronald and I are running the Grasslands Half Marathon this Saturday. Woot woot!

History: The Grasslands Trail Run was my first full marathon and it was an AMAZING experience. A month after Grasslands I ran the OKC Marathon, which was...memorable (terrible weather and the most challenging thing I've ever done).

I'm excited about the half marathon this Sat though and it will be interesting for a two reasons:

1. We have had beautiful weather this week, but on Sat it's supposed to get into the 40's and rain from 9am - 1pm. The half starts at 8:30am and I'm expecting to be out there for 3hrs (trail runs are a little harder and usually longer than they say). Grasslands may turn out to be Mudlands.
   
2. Ronald and I aren't trained for it. He has been home a week and has done very little cardio over the past 4 months and my run volume has been pretty low so far this year.

But as my Grasslands pacer Tom Crull said last year, "This is no big deal. It's just a trail run. Time doesn't matter." And that's really true. It is just a trail run and I can walk it if things get bad - it's only 13.1 miles.

Okay, I just think this is hysterical

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My Next Big Thing

There's nothing like a 5:30am run, right? I haven't been to track practice in about a month (due to GMAT), but I was pleasantly surprised when I woke up to my alarm (on the second go-around) this morning.

Daylight savings comes this Sunday, but the days are already beginning to get lighter. About 3/4 of the way through the practice, it was as if someone flipped on the light switch. From total blackness to the early stages of dawn, the Little Dipper faded into the gradually lightening sky. It was a good workout.

I enjoy running with the Dallas Athletes, but I may start up again with Team in Training (TNT). They are gearing up for the Nike Women's Marathon in mid-October, which is on my list of must-run marathons. Everyone I've talked with always raves about it. It's in San Francisco - that alone is enough to make me want to go. Though it's the Nike Women's Marathon, men run it, too. Most runners are there to have fun and celebrate, not for a PR (personal record). It's somewhat of a hilly course (it's San Francisco), but you get chocolate at Ghiradelli Square and a Tiffany & Co. finisher's necklace awarded to you by the San Francisco firefighters. ; )

That said, if anyone wants to make a vacation out of it, I would love a running buddy or a fan section!