Group pic with the folks in our carpool

On Saturday, I completed the TARC To Hale and Back 6hr trail race.  While I have volunteered with TARC in the past, this is my first time actually running in a race.  It was a blast!

A snow storm a couple weeks ago made it so that no one really know what the course conditions would be like.As I wrote in my race goals post, my main goal for the day was to have fun and maintain a positive attitude.

Tomorrow is the start of 2017 TARC To Hale and Back 6 hour race and my first trail race ever!

It's strange to think it's my first trail race...I talk about it enough.  But, truly I've never done one before.  I'm excited.  I signed up for this event as a tune up race for the TARC Spring Classic marathon next month and as a base-building exercise for this year's ultimate 50 miler goal.  It is an ambitious goal for the year and breaking it down to bite size pieces is the core of my attack plan. 

My year is laid out like this:  6 hour tomorrow...  Marathon in a month...  A mountain half marathon in June... and then a long summer of solid Ultra-specific training (more to come on what that might look like later).

Gear all laid out and ready to go. All the layers!

So tomorrow's race is the first in the regiment and looking mighty precarious.  The idea behind a 6 hour race is that participants are trying to see who can cover the most miles in 6 hours.  The course is a 3.2 mile loop and you have to complete a whole loop in order for it to count.  I have been working out race day goals in my head for the past month or so and I had to rework my thinking a lot last week after a Nor'easter dropped 8 more inches on the trails.

My race goals can now be characterized two ways:

the "before Tuesday's storm" goals and 

the "after Tuesday's storm" goals.

The before Tuesday's storm goals:

• A goal - run at least 6 laps for 19+ miles
• B goal- run at least 5 hours on the course.  

Since this is still technically part of marathon training, I don't feel the need to go over 20 miles and risk putting to much stress on my body as I'm still building up.  Also, if I'm having a rough time out there and not able to get close to 20, 5 hours seems like a decent long run and good cutoff point.

The after Tuesday's storm goal:

• Have a good time

The revised goal has me going out and maintaining a good attitude for as long as I can endure the sloppy trails.  After all, mental toughness is a skill that needs to be practice.  It's going to be a mess on the trails and possibly raining tomorrow.  I'm not looking forward to that part of it so staying positive is something I'm going to work at.

Stay tuned for the race report!

Here are some pictures from yesterday's snow trail run.  Tuesday's snow storm left about 6 inches or so on the trails which made for some interesting running.  I was able to try out my new Yaktrax (review to come soon).  I didn't fall so I call it a win.

6 days to go til the TARC to Hale and Back 6 hour race!

Hope everyone is enjoying the last few weeks of spring marathon training!  I personally can't wait for spring :)

I just completed week 9 of marathon training; officially the halfway point! 

Where did the time go?

Long runs from now on will become really real.  Next Saturday calls for a 15.  I haven’t run 15 miles since that time my friend Liza and I got horribly lost on the Reservoir trail last summer; an unplanned and painful 15...

I fell hard on the trail today.

...on that rock right there.  See it?  Neither did I :\

Today's lesson:  Pick up yo' feet.

It wasn't a hard fall. Just a surprise.  Breaking into trail running is hard.  I'm still getting used to the rocks and roots and having to watch out every second of every run.  Hazards you don't really have on the road.  Thankfully the spot where I fell was pretty clear with just some loose rocks, dirt and snow.  No stumps sticking up or twigs which could puncture.  The snow help to break some of the friction as I slid to a stop and though my knees got a little banged up, I was able to get up, dust off, and keep on running.  From then on, I was hyper aware, tripped a couple of other times, but did not fall again.  Win!

There were also these weird frozen dirt pods in the ground that kept startling me.  By the end of the run I learned to look out for them.  I'm sure there's a name for them but I don't know what it is.  It looks like maybe the dirt got wet and then froze but some of the dirt underneath got washed away.  At first glance it just looks like you're stepping on frozen ground but then your feet break through the froze dirt facade and you sink/trip a little.  Weird, right?  Yah. Weird.

Today's lesson (updated): Pick up yo' feet.  And, also watch where you put them down.

I've fallen before on the trails but today's fall came while I was already feeling "off".  Or, maybe it happened because I was "off".  I don't know.  Perhaps I woke up tired or something but today's 12 miler felt 10x harder than the 10 a couple weeks ago.

• I wasn't prepared for it to be so sunny.  The sun was blinding the whole way.  I normally LOVE the sun but today it was bugging me.
• That and the sun and the cold were making my eyes water.  I found it really hard to keep my eyes on the trail while they're welling up and because I wear glasses and I was wearing my big winter gloves, I couldn't just easily wipe my eyes.  I had to lift the glasses with one hand and wipe my eyes with the other.  I tried this once while still running which you could imagine was not a good idea.  So I had to keep stopping to take care of this weird issue I've never had to deal with before...
• I developed a headache midway through the run. Probably because of the cold and the sun.
• And, I just felt like the whole thing was a slog.

So I guess Today's lesson (updatedx2):  Pick up yo' feet and watch where you put them down and wear sunglasses if it's sunny?

K, enough complaining.  

It's the end of marathon training week 7!

Today's 12 miler was one step closer to my goal of training for the TARC Spring Classic marathon.  The course is a 10k (6.2 miles) loop of mostly single track trails in Weston, MA.  It's all trails [all the time!] so it's my mission to get better at trail running before April 22.

I'm following the Hal Higdon Novice 1 training plan.  Back in 2012 I followed the Novice 2 program for my first marathon and it really helped me prepare well for it.  This time around I chose the more beginner program for its conservative build up.  Coming off of a lighter running year last year and surgery this fall I really wanted to make sure I'm being careful in training.

So far, I have found myself super motivated to complete workouts and to take rest days.  Rest days. Rest days. Rest days!  This plan only calls for a 4 day running week with 2 rest days and a cross training day.  This week I took all 3 days as rest days but normally, I would use the cross training day to bike.

I am really trying to stick to the plan and not give in to that beckoning 5th running day.  Being fully recovered especially for the weekend long run is going to be the key as the higher mileage weeks come along.   I'm looking forward to it. 

Today was hard and I admit I was a little discouraged that the trail and "circumstances" kicked my butt.  I'm not giving up though.  As long runs get longer, I'm giong to try hard to find running partners to run with.  I think that will really help.

What about you?

Have you ever had an "off" day on the trail?

Do you run with others or mostly by yourself?

Thanks for reading!  I would love to hear from you so leave a comment below.