#tbt Trail running in Oregon, August 2017
It hurts up to a point and then it doesn’t get any worse. – Ann Trason
I’m thinking of this quote as I am about to begin training for the Mendocino 50K. It’s on Saturday, April 21, 2018. Right before my older daughters 18th birthday.
A year ago I never thought I would be sitting here ready to embark on this adventure and this distance. But then a year ago I didn’t think I would be sitting here having run 2 marathons over the course of 2017. So, never say never.
I’m on my 4th rest day after having a short and intense training cycle of racing 5K’s. A little break on distance before building my mileage back up for 31.0686 miles, on trail, on the coast of California. Before I take that first training step into this adventure, I wanted to sit down and write down how I am currently feeling about training for this 50K. Plus my coach wanted me to do this so if it’s on the training plan I have to do it, right?
I’m not sure what I’m expecting. I love running on trail. However, most of my running is on road. Feet pounding the pavement. Pretty even terrain. Not much danger of tripping and falling. Biggest danger is a pothole and the cars on the road. On trail, everything changes. Uneven terrain, roots sticking up you can’t see, rocks, animals watching. You need to be present and in the moment when running on trail. I learned this the hard way when running some awesome trail this summer in Oregon when I was at the Wilder Running & Writing Retreat. We ran 10 miles and I fell 3 times (pic above is after fall #3). I think I had the record for the day. Why did I fall? I stopped being in the present moment and didn’t see the root or rock in front of me and towards the end I was starting to get tired and wasn’t lifting my feet. So I am expecting lots of practice with presence. Lots of practice with running trail while tired. I’m also expecting a lot of fun. I feel like a kid when I’m running on trail. The path always changing or you are climbing or you have to slow down to a power hike. So I’m excited for training for this type of race. I’m expecting challenging weather. After all I live in New England.
What am I afraid of? The one thing I’m not afraid of is the distance. I respect the distance but I’m not afraid. What does scare me are the following:
- Animals. I’m not so much afraid of the animals here in New England in my neck of the woods. However, I am afraid of animals on the west coast. You know, mountain lions.
- Being alone and getting lost in the woods.
- Fueling. Eating enough. I am good with this on the marathon now but this is different. I’ll be running much longer and need more than gels over the entire period of time.
- The travel to get there and having time to acclimate to west coast time.
- I won’t have Thor and Ginger running with me.
Overall, I’m super excited. I’ll get to run this race with Jess (Yogi Triathlete) and my awesome friend Jill. I love adventure. I love seeing what I can do. I love challenging myself. That’s what Running on Venti is to me. It’s always been about more than coffee. It’s the adventure. Going big. Diving right in even if the water is cold. Plus if this 50 year old can do it I’m hoping I can inspire others to go for it too. IT. IS. NEVER. TOO. LATE.