Running away from August! Onward into September!

[katluvr]

RnR,
OMG!Wow!
Sorry it was so a rough race but congrats on not only finishing but helping your hubby!
Hope you feel better soon! (and your hubby!)
K

[yellow]

Wow, RnR. I thought about you a lot yesterday. I am glad everyone is OK now.

I wouldn't do that event again either.

I find myself getting a bit frustrated with the trail racing world lately. Seems like there is this notion that brutal and gnarly is somehow better, desirable even. Maybe for some folks, but I think most of us want to challenge ourselves but enjoy the experience, enjoy being out in nature, and enjoy meeting other people who love to do the same. Creating hellish courses and not providing adequate medical support is, to me, just not something that facilitates that. I get so tired of the thought/image/idea that something has to be super brutal and difficult in order for its participants to feel like badasses when they are done. I am sure that many folks who do events like this feel great when they finish and like they have accomplished something very difficult and that 99.9% of the people in the world will never do but, you know what? I'd rather go for a nice run on a trail that I can actually run and not finish the day feeling like I've been run over by a herd of stampeding bison. I just don't get this whole idea that you need to suffer greatly. Is it a "keeping up with the Joneses" kind of thing? The more suffering the better person you are? I see this a lot in some of the races I do, where I choose the shorter distance. At many of these events, there is a palpable vibe that since you didn't do the longest distance, you really aren't a real ultrarunner. To that I say bullsh!t. OK, I will stop now. Rant over.

Congratulations on finishing. Now eat some cookies and rest!

[rocknrollgirl]

Yellow,
I am glad that someone has finally said out loud what we have been feeling for a few years.

As far as the race yesterday, they ran us down steep hills for 3 miles only to turn us around and run us right back up. Not necessary, they did it just to increase the gnar factor. they tout this race as the toughest in the area. I agree, when challenge crosses over into absolute misery, count me out.

As far as the race attitude, yep we are getting that too. People around here treat me like I have like I have something wrong with me because I do not want to do a full IM. I trained for one last summer and pulled out with 4 weeks to go because I was miserable. If I never do one, does that make me less of a triathlete? Why does that have to be the end all and be all?

Same thing yesterday. All the runners that gasped in shock when I said I never want to run a marathon. My hubs and are trying to keep the training and racing in balance with a normal healthy life. This past year, we backed it down a notch and did the things that made us happy. We had zero injuries, went on 3 vacations and had a ton of fun. Not so crazy me thinks.

I am super happy for all of my endurance buddies. Will support in any way I can, but for right now, we are doing what we can handle.

If that makes me less of a badass, so be it. I am still a ninja!

And no cookies today. Today is about chips

[Veronica]

I didn't race at all this season because I wanted to have fun and racing wasn't fun. We had a blast on our vacation in Crested Butte and I'm loving mountain biking right now. I like doing things with Thom. It's all about finding that balance. Off to mountain bike Diablo...

Veronica


PS You're both bada$$es to me!

[rocknrollgirl]

I didn't race at all this season because I wanted to have fun and racing wasn't fun. We had a blast on our vacation in Crested Butte and I'm loving mountain biking right now. I like doing things with Thom. It's all about finding that balance. Off to mountain bike Diablo...

Veronica


PS You're both bada$$es to me!

My a$$ feels pretty bad right now AND I have a new mt bike on the way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Crankin]

Ah, yes.
This is why I have never competed. At a certain point in my life, I think I would have done quite well, luckily, I had too many other things to do at that time. I feel this pressure at my gym, where the other people who take my boot camp class all compete, regularly, in triathalons and other running stuff. I help them with bike advice, but I steadfastly tell them I have no interest in joining them. Heck, we are all ninjas compared to the general population. I'm not against competition, but more the vibe that Rocknroll is describing.
Balance is good. Heck, I almost ruined my health at age 35, from teaching too many classes at the gym, so I kind of knew after that, that balance was the key for me.

[GLC1968]

RnR - I'm sorry that was so rough, but good for you for toughing it out (and helping your hubs!). Mental training is sometimes the best things we get out of these adventures!

I totally agree with you and the others about not wanting to 'go long' so to speak. I'm not even interested in a 1/2 Iron because at my speed, I'd be out there just too long for my liking. There are way too many other things I like to do with my life - I have zero desire to train for something like and IM or a marathon to the exclusion of all else. 1/2 marathons and OLY's are as long as I'll go. I'm fine with only feeling like a badass even if no one else ever thinks I am one! ;-)

I did think of you yesterday - I got dumped on again on my run (pouring rain, howling winds and about 59F) but this time I was prepared with the right clothing. I was 100% soaked through by the end (I think I weighed an additional 10 lbs!) but I wasn't freezing and I was only marginally miserable and only for the last 1/2 mile or so. I actually managed to do 12 miles 5 minutes faster than I ran the 11 miles last week!

[OakLeaf]

Oh, man RnR. You are a total bad@ss. But yeah, no medical, wtf? Glad you and hubby are okay.

I hear you on the one-upmanship. Me, I'm perfectly fine never contemplating anything longer than 26.2, and not doing even more than one or at most two of those a year. If that makes me a lazy dilettante, so be it. It sure seems like it does, in some crowds, but it really doesn't bother me. (Also, it's probably true that since AFAIK longer races are trail races, and I don't run trails at all, it's easy for me to say no.)

I got bogged down in racing and football today. I don't really mind taking the day off, I've been running pretty hard the last couple of weeks and it's been really good. Hilly 32-mile weeks at an average right at 10mm. I got out for a little ride yesterday, so by rights I should run today, but ... MotoGP in the morning, Bengals vs Browns right now, and then it'll be too close to dark ...

[GLC1968]

I'm in pain. Saturday's run really did a number on my bad foot. I don't know why Saturday - if 12 miles was just too far or if it was the fact that I did it a little faster than usual, but holy cow, I had a huge ball of swelling around the area where I had surgery yesterday. It looked like an alien had built a nest in my foot or something because it was so localized to just the one previously injured joint. Even my ankle, toes and forefoot were not swollen! I could barely walk at all on Sunday. I did ice and elevate it on Sunday evening but it didn't appear to help at all.

I was running for a shorter period of time than the previous week, too...so it wasn't that. There was no pain WHILE running, either. I'm just glad that this coming weekend is only 8 miles.

Today it's a little improved, but still quite sore and somewhat swollen. Luckily, my next run isn't scheduled until tomorrow so hopefully it'll recover by then.

[OakLeaf]

Ow GLC. That stinks. Hope it heals quick.

I did a pretty gnarly 12 miler today, up to the very top of the ridge and back around in a sort of lollipop route. There's a hill about a mile from my house that I don't often run in the returning direction because it's a lot to tackle on tired legs. Today, the hills I'd already done made that one feel like a blip. I sailed up it. Feeling good.