Running with NERDS on Galentine's Day

Last year, I decided 2015 would be the Year of the Kansas-themed Races.  It's easy to get carried away with race registrations and I thought this might help me focus my calendar & not spend so much on registration fees!  First up:  "Psycho Wyco Run Toto Run," a 10 mile trail run.  Second:  the "Garmin Half Marathon- In the Land of Oz."  Third:  "Topeka Tinman," the Long Course.  Finally:  "The Kansas Half Marathon."  There are a few others, but they don't go with the Kansas theme, so we'll ignore them.  The other thing we'll ignore is the "Psycho Wyco" part of that "Run Toto Run" race.

It all starts with the promise of a beautiful trail in winter.

It's all fun & games until someone gets nabbed by El Chupa Cabra.  (thanks for the warning, trail masons)

Just kidding.  I'll talk about the "Psycho Wyco" part.  Here, in Kansas City, we have a great community of trail runners.  They're called the Trail Nerds and they put on some really fun and challenging races.  The races are held at Wyandotte County Lake Park, which is the "Wyco" part.  The winter course has charming nicknames for different parts of the trail:  Fall Down Hill, Speed Demon Ridge, Broken Leg Turn, Misery Ridge, Fester's Wander (designed by the race director's dog), and the Three Hills Section (aka Three Sisters, aka Three Witches, aka Three Bitches) and I'm guessing that's the "Psycho" part.  Run Toto Run takes place on this winter course.  It's mostly single-track bridle trail with lots of roots, rocks, horse poo, creeks, dirt, and mud. As one of the Trail Nerds said on their Facebook page, "It's AMAZING(ly hard)." Amen.

Great group of Gals, ready to race the trails!

This year, Run Toto Run was held on February 14th-- Galentine's Day (a day to celebrate female friendships & I participated with a great group of ladies from the Bouncing Buns).  There were 7 of us that caravan'd to the race.  The 10 mile runners were shuttled from an offsite parking lot to the Start line, while the 20 mile and 50K runners parked at the Start.  The weather was cold, but not too cold; temps were supposed to drop as the day went on.  The DJ was great, the volunteers were friendly, bag drop was easy-peasy, and the porta-potty lines were non-existent.  Great way to start a race!  The 20 mile & 50k runners started at 8:00 & we started at 9:00.  Trail etiquette dictates that slower runners pull off the trail when a faster runner comes from behind, calling out, "On your left."  We had a mass start across a foot bridge & then an open field to get to the entrance of the trail about a quarter mile away.  Our group started towards the back & took it slow, knowing there would be a log-jam at the trailhead.  As we slowed to a walk at the bridle trail entrance, either Tacha or Jane called out a joking, "on your left," getting quite a few chuckles and setting the tone for the rest of our race.

Our shoes after a particularly sloppy training run.

Adding sheet metal screws to your shoes helps with traction when conditions are icy or muddy.

The first quarter to a half mile of trail was crowded, but eventually, the course cleared out & we found a happy running/walking/pulling-over-for-faster-runners pace.  Tacha, Jane, and I decided we would stick together & were in it for the adventure of a new experience.  We fell in behind a gentleman and chatted with him until we hit the first of four aid stations.  He stopped for water or snacks & we turned down in to the "triangle," a section of trail that's about a mile long & zig-zags down and back up to where we turned in, only on the other side of the aid tent. Every time we've run through here, I've laughed at how the runners look like they're in one of those shooting gallery games:  When looking down from the entrance, everyone seems to be running in different directions, with no clear view of the trail.  For the most part, the trail was very uneven and difficult for us to navigate, but every so often, we would come to a flat section of trail that was such a joy to run on.  Those sections were a rare treat.

Definitely not one of those flat sections I was mentioning.

About five miles in, a man came up behind us and we asked if he would like to pass.  He didn't and was happy to have us set the pace.  He stayed with us until the end.  Also, there was a man we played leap-frog with for the first couple of miles, but he settled in with us, too.  They didn't really talk to us, but stayed right behind.  We had several instances of faster runners passing by, always encouraging us as they flew past.  What was amazing is how quickly they came up from behind and how quickly they disappeared ahead of us.  Poof!  Now you see them, now you don't. We dubbed them "Trail Ninjas."

We had a couple of falls (Fall Down Hill, perhaps?) and thought we would freeze from the cold winds on Speed Demon Ridge.  The Three Hills Bitches lived up to their name, that's for sure. We crossed streams, pulled ourselves up inclines by ropes attached to trees, and rounded corners that seemed like cliffs.  At one point, we came to a man-made ditch that I had absolutely no idea how to cross.  It was too wide for me to jump across (because I was tired!) & too deep for me to jump in to & back out of (because I was tired!).  Thankfully, Tacha took the lead, jumped in, and followed it uphill about 10 yards until it was shallow enough to step out of (which I might have figured out if I hadn't been so tired!).  Jennifer warned us that we would hear the DJ playing long before we saw the finish line, but once we heard the blaring sounds of upbeat club music, we knew we were home.  Tacha dug deep and pulled a little ahead.  Jane & I grabbed hands and crossed the finish line like we'd been rescued after weeks lost in the wilderness.  I was never so happy to see a Finish line in my life! (That might be a slight exaggeration)

I could hear a choir of angels singing as we crossed the Finish Line. (It sounded a lot like Pitbull.)

At the end of the race, I may have suggested I was retiring from trail races, but that was also an exaggeration.  If you've never tried a trail race, I highly recommend it!  It's nice to get out of your comfort zone and a lot of fun to join in with people who are in their comfort zone.  The path may not move, but the trails change with the seasons.  Change can be good, even especially when you start using words like "Psycho" and "Nerds."

Time for a Change (Guest Post)

This post was written by Sunny's cousin, Casey! I hope you all enjoy her post! I certainly did! She is a very inspirational woman! Thank you, Casey, for sharing your story! 

Time for a Change

8:40, 8:40, 8:40. This is all I can hear in my head during my first run after a month break. I don’t know if the lack of running made me insane or if I just had plenty of time to develop some very unreal expectations. I hear the Garmin beep, letting me know that I hit my 3^rd mile and my run is over. I look for my average pace with incredibly high hopes that I got that 8:40 I was so desperately trying to maintain. My heart sinks. 10:20. What? How can this be? I was sweating, out of breath, and my legs felt tired and achy. I burst into tears. Now, I’m sure I looked absolutely crazy – on the side of the road in my blue and green pants with a neon yellow hat, sobbing like a child whose balloon just disappeared into the sky. I just couldn’t help it, I felt utterly and completely devastated. 

Two months earlier, right after my first half marathon and before the tendinitis, I was running 15+ miles at a 10 minute pace and had great plans to do my first marathon at the end of December. Those long runs were beginning to feel easy and my confidence in myself as a runner was through the roof! So now, as I’m standing on the side of the road crying, I’m asking myself “What is wrong with you?” “Why can’t you run any faster than that?” This trend continued for two weeks or so. Every time I would see a friend post their run to Facebook, I would obsessively check their times which always left me feeling disappointed in myself. These are the people that I used to run with, the people that I felt like were on my “level.” But now, I couldn’t even run with them if I tried my hardest. 

I think, as runners, we all have struggles with beating ourselves up, whether it’s over a race we were hoping to place in but didn’t, a long run that we felt so tired on we had to walk and maybe even stop a few times, or just a personal time we were hoping to beat but couldn’t. However, my self-loathing had risen to a whole new level. I couldn’t even complete a run without crying and filling my head with negative self-talk. So, I spoke to my husband, my friends, my family, and my best running partner (my sister-in law) about the struggles I was having. Of course, they all mentioned  the fact that I had just taken a month off running, had pretty bad tendinitis, that I had only just gotten into running 7 months prior and had lost over 50 pounds in the past year. As they were saying these things to me, I was realizing something- I wasn’t giving myself any credit for the accomplishments I had made. I mean, just a year ago I couldn’t even run one mile without stopping, was 50 pounds overweight, and would have laughed at someone if they would’ve asked me whether I would ever run a half marathon.

My first half with my sister-in-law Lindsey (left)

My running partners 

Lindsey (left) and Erika (right). 

So at that moment, I decided that I wouldn’t beat myself up anymore and I wouldn’t compare myself to others. Not only that, but I began making a conscious effort to fill my mind with positive, empowering thoughts during runs instead of obsessing with times and pace. Guess what started to happen? I started to enjoy my running again. I could run a few miles, look at my watch and not burst into tears.  Now, my times did slowly start to improve and with each run I got a little bit closer to my normal pace. However, if I did have a “slow” run, instead of beating myself up, I would tell myself, “That’s okay, you tried hard and you still did GREAT!”  Two months later, I am almost where I was before the break and feeling happier than I have in a while. 

Don’t get me wrong, I still care about my time and I still have goals to run farther and faster. But what I don’t do is punish myself. I celebrate my accomplishments and use my “setbacks” to encourage and motivate me. It is so important to be your own biggest cheerleader and to think highly of yourself as a runner. Times and paces are just numbers. They do not tell your story. They do not explain how far you have come or where you will go. Use those numbers to fuel your performance, not hinder it. You are a runner, you are strong, and you will accomplish great things!

My husband John (my biggest supporter)

and me at my most recent race! 

Likes Long Bike Rides In The Rain

Each year, for the past 17 years, our local bike shop has sponsored an event that benefits the American Cancer Society.  I love this event.  Cancerthon is held in January, on a track surrounding a football field.  Did you catch that part about it being held in January?  We're in Kansas, not sunny California.  It is rarely warm in Kansas in January.  As it turns out, this event used to be held indoors.  Teams of 3 would hook a bike to an indoor trainer, attach it to a computer, and log their miles.  The computer would show which team was in the lead and there were inevitably grumblings about some trainers being easier to ride on than others.  The easy fix?  Move the event outside where there was nothing to blame but yourself for being slower than anyone else.  Thanks a lot, people who ride slower and complain.*                                  (*I would, absolutely, have been one of those people)

Teams and individuals can register for the Male, Female, Mixed, Individual, or Junior divisions.  For 6 hours, each team can have 1 rider out at a time & each rider tracks their mileage.  At the end of the event, the teams and individuals with the most miles wins.  Participants make a flat donation to the American Cancer Society and lots of local businesses donate all the stuff (food, prizes, the track, port-a-potties, insurance to cover the event, etc) that make it so much fun.

5 of our 8 at the After-Party.  We watched from the balcony seats b/c warm air rises!

This year, Bouncing Buns put together 3 teams of 3! I believe our very original team names were:  Bouncing Buns 1, Bouncing Bikers, and Biking Buns. The great part about having multiple teams is that we would definitely have friends out on the track at any given time.  Team members changed around a little bit, due to illness and other commitments, but we had 8 ladies represent our group.
Last year, the weather was cold & windy!  My feet froze and I had brain freeze and tight shoulders from riding in the cold wind for 2 hours.  This year, the forecast got worse and worse as the week leading up to the event went on.  Temps were in the upper 30's and it drizzled rain for the entire event.  To lessen the risk of illness, the event was shortened from 6 hours to 4.  No one complained!

Doesn't that look fun?  You can see the wet ground & all of the cold weather gear on the cyclists.

It is very difficult to plan a wardrobe around exercising in cold rain!  If I seal out the rain, I'll be sealing in the sweat.  If I dress in lightweight clothing, I'll get chilled before & after my time on the bike.  It's fun to see some of the gear other people have (and easy to tell who doesn't let winter weather stop them from riding outdoors).  There were neoprene helmet covers (I wore a stocking cap under my helmet), things called "Bar Mitts" that looked like waterproof fabric lobster claws that fit over a bike's handlebars.  The rider just tucks their hands in the mitts and has access to brakes & gears inside the mitts.  I wore my weather-resistant Isotoners & lost feeling in my fingers for a little while.  Lots of folks had weatherproof shoe covers (I had them, too, but somehow my shoes managed to fill with water & my feet went numb pretty quickly).  I saw rain jackets (I picked up a cheap one at Walmart & it worked like a charm), wind-breakers, hoodies, and cycling jerseys.  Lots of people had on neck gaiters or balaclava masks.  Some of the kids wore their ski bibs.  We all had mud up our backs from dirty tires.

The crazy thing is- this was a really fun event, even in miserable conditions!  Cyclists are a good group of people. Also, dedicated cyclists like to pick on triathletes.  Sometimes, triathletes see the picking as a challenge & focus on proving triathletes are capable of riding outside in the rain & not just on the trainer in the winter-time, thank you very much.  Then the cyclist gets a kick out of seeing how easy it is to rile up a triathlete, but it's okay, because it's all in good fun. But, even though the triathlete had a great time out in the cold rain, she knows she will spend the rest of the winter on the trainer, so maybe the cyclist has a point.  <- That may or may not have actually happened today.

They give out trophies, too!

Several of us got chilled to the bone & spent more time trying to raise our core temperatures than we did riding in the cold rain.  That was okay, too.  It was all for a good cause & we got to do some of that warming up in the bike shop, laughing with other participants, and winning prizes.  They say that misery loves company.  Well, today we may have been miserable, but we certainly were in good company.  I wonder what Mother Nature has in store for the 2016 Cancerthon?