Super Saturday

For Christmas my mom got me a really nice used sewing machine. It is/was my absolute favorite gift...next to the Charlie the Unicorn t-shirt my sister got me. ("We're on a bridge Charlie.") So now I can turn that garbage bag of t-shirts into another quilt, make some curtains, fix up some couch covers the dogs have put holes in, ... the list goes on. Unfortunately, the sewing machine needed to be serviced and I would end up having to go get it this weekend in Skagit Valley. I decided I would make the trip Saturday morning before the Bridle Trails 50k.

Now sometime last Thursday I must have been clicking through on the Seattle Running Company race calendar and noticed that Nookachamps was on Saturday - the same day as Bridle Trails. I though to myself, you're already going to be in Skagit Valley that morning, why not? And you really could use some training on tired legs. I had convinced myself. So Saturday morning after visiting my mom, I found myself, at 10 a.m., at the start line of Nookachamps waiting to start a 10k (I know I'm a wimp for opting out of doing the 1/2 marathon).

It went by really quickly - 47:25 to be almost exact. I killed myself during mile 1 trying to fight through the crowd, settled in through mile 2 at a slower pace, passed some people on the hill at mile 3, started pushing at mile 4-5 and then really pushed it to the finish. I'd never done Nookachamps before so I was surprised when we turned onto the cross-country track at Skagit Valley college during the last mile. This was where a lot of XC races in high school took place. Aaah, it was nice cruising through that sawdust track with a lot more confidence than I used to have. Afterwards I noticed a lot of people complaining about the smell of Skagit Valley, but I love that smell. It's a very nostalgic scent...taking my horse to the fair during the summers, going to school in Pullman. Aaaah...the lovely smell of manure. :)

Oops, back to the future...so back at Bridle Trails the start was fast and I tried to keep up with Rob and Arthur because I felt like I should be able to. I lost sight of them, but then after the first lap saw them at the aid station and realized they weren't too far ahead. Laps 1 and 2 flew by, but then my legs started feeling really heavy and tired. By the time I started lap 3 I was just done and really hoping that someone I knew would come run with me and carry me to finishing the last 4 laps.

Somehow I got ahead of Rob and Arthur at an aid station and was starting the loop (maybe loop 4 at this point) on my own when Rob came up behind me and I said "Thank God someone's here to run with." Ha! Nope, Rob cruised right by me and I kept him in sight for a while...until I fell on my hand's and knees in the mud. That was gross cleaning off my water bottle...it was way too early in the loop NOT to drink for the rest of the loop, so I had to do my best to clean it off.

I was literally thinking how much I was hating this, but somehow just having to focus on putting one foot in front of the other in the mud brought me out of it and at some point my pace started to pick up and I started to think that maybe I could finish in 5:30. I tried picking it up and realized that my legs didn't feel heavy anymore. I went to the bathroom after loop 5 and Arthur jumped ahead of me (which I didn't know).

Towards the very end of the last loop I realized I had caught up to Arthur and pulled my hoodie over my head to disguise myself as I passed him wordlessly in the dark (sucker!!). No, just kidding, we exchanged pleasantries, but he didn't even realize it was me. I like that about Bridle Trails...for someone whose only race strategy is "if they can't see me, they won't chase me" this course is great!

We all took advantage of the fact that the weather was cooperating and hung out afterwards to watch all the runners come in.

Tiger Mountain Fat Ass

Ran the Tiger Mtn. Fat Ass in 6:40 down from 7:15 last year. If only I had kept up my healthy streak that began after Thanksgiving. But, no, no had to do some drinking over the holidays. Well, back on track again.

I am really sore today still - and I wasn't sore after Dumb Ass or Flat Ass. I can only attribute that to the fact that I didn't work out at all since Pigtail's Flat Ass two weeks ago. New Year's Resolution/Note to self: keep working out during the week.

Anyway, Fat Ass was fun. I hiked most of the first hill of the first loop with Merita Tromovich and Michael Cartwright. I was surprised to see Merita near me, but it turned out she wasn't feeling well. We caught up to Arthur after a while who also wasn't feeling well. I felt great at the end of the first loop as I debated whether to run it same- or reverse-direction. I saw *tc on the way - he was way ahead and said he didn't know why he was doing a second loop. I had some thought that I might catch up to him...yeah right! I also saw Van at the end of the first loop, but never saw her again either as she gained 20 minutes on me in the second loop.

I finally decided to run reverse-direction on loop 2. At the upper parking lot I tiptoed by Eric and Rob (who were changing shirts before starting a second lap) so they wouldn't give chase. I ended up hiking the hill on the second loop with Steve Stoyles and probably would have stuck with that group until some jerk starting yelling "Bros before Hos" at Steve. I didn't know what sort of fight was going to erupt so I took off after that. Should have run same-direction. As I am directionally challenged, I lost 30 seconds to a minute at each turn on the way back trying to look at the turns from all angles to make sure I was going the right way. Thankfully logic (hey look - footprints!) overruled my gut-instincts (always wrong) for once and I didn't take any wrong turns.

Yesterday I decided I needed more punishment for the all the Christmas "cheer" I'd enjoyed over the past couple weeks and went back to Tiger for a short run with a full hiking pack on. There was fresh snow and it was really pretty out, but I was really slow. It took me two hours to run a "dumb ass" loop.

I just realized that there is not a free weekend for another four weeks. New Year's Resolution/Note to self: be smart, run injury free.

"Finish Line" photos: