Race Report: Run at the Rock 2009

“Joy is the feeling of grinning inside.” - Melba Colgrove

Run at the Rock was my first race in over a year, my first race since the 2008 Beach 2 Battleship Half-Iron, and my first race since becoming a mom in July. I have so much to say - about running, about endurance, about motherhood, about me-time - and simultaneously, I have so little to say that doesn't sound incredibly cliche.

Saturday started as every day has for me for the past 4 months: with very little sleep. After going to bed early on Friday night, I awoke at 1 am and 4 am to feed Fiona and then at 6:15 to get ready for the race. Even sleep deprived, I felt so excited to be engaging in my pre-race routine and smiled all the way through my coffee, PB&J, and drive to Burlington.

After arriving at the race site, I sat in my car and pumped before heading out in the rain to pick up my race number and chip. One more thing I never imagined myself doing: pumping breastmilk in the car. Thank you motherhood for new experiences daily. And thank you technology.

I enjoyed time in the car with Sage and friends before lining up with my sister Rachel and fellow Sage Endurance athlete Kara to start our wet and muddy 7-miles. My goals for this race were to enjoy spending time in the woods with Rachel and to finish with a smile. Although my training was very consistent (and involved lots of strength-building stroller pushing!) while I was on maternity leave, coordinating time for a short run more than a 2-3 days per week since I've gone back to full-time work has been impossible.

The weather was terrible and, from the onset, the mud was incredible. But I have to admit, it didn't really phase me. I was SO, SO happy to simply be running, to have a morning to myself, and to spend some old school time running REALLY slowly with my sister (We started running together in 2002 as we trained for our first half-marathon and have run so many long, slow runs over the years. She's the best partner I could ever have. Once, I even flew to Florida to meet her for a 20 mile training run because I couldn't stand the thought of doing it without her).

We rambled along at the only pace that made sense (slow!) and found it MUCH easier to simply slosh right through the mud then to try to run on the sides of the trail. We each fell once. We walked to catch our breaths whenever we felt like it.

Around mile 5, my body reminded me that I had a baby 18 weeks ago and that strong abs / stable hips are very helpful when trail running in those conditions - but as Sage told me would happen, endurance is just different after going through labor. It's also different after running consistently for the last seven years and for the first time, I really felt to benefits of muscle memory and baseline conditioning. I noticed some minor discomfort and moved on.

We crested the last hill to the finish, heard my brother-in-law Dave cheer (as he always does!) for us to put the hammer down, and charged through the chute.

Pouring rain. Mud, mud, mud. No sleep. PR for my slowest 7-miles. Best race ever.

7 miles
1:25:46 (12:15 min / mile)
Age Group: 16/36
Overall: 250 / 360