Beast Mode-ON

<—Yep it was one of those kind of weekends! It was a great weekend! The weekend started with Wachusett mountain run, the 2nd run in the USATF NE mountain series. I entered the race knowing it was going to be a tough field. We were in Massachusetts= more runners, fast runners. The race started-3 miles up on the paved road! I wore my Saucony Mirage 2 and they didn’t fail me even though they are near retirement age. I love those shoes! I found my pacers and my targets and chased them up. My goal was not to walk…and I didn’t. I couldn’t believe how strong I felt at times. I was relieved but still knew I wasn’t going to get bling this race! As the runners got to the top we had to loop the tower and made our way back down the paved access road. The down hills are my strength yet I still couldn’t catch my targets. Eventually we hit the dirt road which was really a fancy trail. I passed a strong runner and instantly knew I had a target on my back-yep she passed me again about 30 seconds later with her wheels on. I couldn’t keep up. At about 200 yards to go (according to one of the fast runners that was running back up the course after her race) I kicked it into high speed. Passed a target and several others. Oh looky, looky there-Its the fast girl. I knew she was in my age group, I scoped that out already as I always do. I don’t mind getting passed, as long as you are a male or a woman who is not in my age group! Ha! Anyhow, fast girl was making her way along all safe and comfortable when I tracked her down and passed her with about 4 feet to go to the finish-Gotcha! I mean oh, sorry, did you want to be 4th in our age group? Had I known I might not have passed you. Okay, okay, I am not really this cocky but it does strike me funny how people just casually make their way to the finish-You have to sprint to the finish, give it all you got people! So yes, I was 4th in my age group which didn’t earn me bling but I was pretty proud. 104 overall. Not bad, top 3rd of the runners.

I raced again today. I told myself I didn’t have to and that I could use it as a training run but yeah, that didn’t last long. What a crazy race it was. I was told that the Pineland Farm trails are a little muddy when its dry out. It had been raining for a couple of days so it was a lot muddy. I have never seen/ran in anything like it. The first 7-10 miles-mud and water. Which made the race that much harder!

My new Saucony Adapts

I started out trying to get around all the runners as I normally do. I like to break away from the pack however today it was not easy! It was the worlds biggest slip and slide from the start. Actually, while I was waiting for the race to start my feet had formed a puddle. By mile 5-6 I was feeling pretty good. Mile 9 eh-not so much. 10-11 okay…but then I walked about 20 feet going up at about mile 12. My stomach was cramping and I was short of breath. Just needed a little breather. I did stop at a couple of water/food stops but again, my goal was not to stop on the course. Bummed but needed I quickly took some steps and was off and running. I ended up passing one of my female targets, she passed me again after a water stop, then I was back on the chase. At about mile 13.5 I reluctantly passed her. For some strange reason I was feeling okay and I kept my pace going. 2 Kilometers to go and it was game on. I passed another young girl who passed me at mile 12. Yeah, that felt good. I was able to sprint to the finish and was very happy with my time of 2:34:52. I thought I was going to die, I just kept walking, I was spent! I walked to my car sent some texts with my results, grabbed a jacket, some water, and made my way back to the party. Grabbed some grub and could barely eat it but choked it down. Did I mention I was spent? For kicks I decided to look at the over all results. What? 180 overall, 9th in my age group? Wow! Way better than I imagined! I cant believe how strong I am feeling. Sure my hamstrings are hating me right now but I am doing it. I am getting stronger as a runner! That is what really matters. Its not always the bling or who I am going to beat at the finish. Seriously-that stuff is all in fun. What it is really about is me and challenging myself. Determined to take risks and have no regrets!

After the race… The bling

After the two layers of socks came off -gross!

Rocking out on my way home!

Update: I forgot to mention all the great people I met last weekend! As I was walking back to the start area on Sunday I ran into a guy who was wearing a brand new pair of Adapts as well. He had the black and orange male version. “nice shoes” I shouted. He smiled and we walked together to the start area. I found out he was from Virginia and was working in the area and thought he should give this race a try. He committed to pacing a friend who was running a 100 ultra in a couple of weeks and figured he better do a trial run first. We chatted for a bit and headed our separate ways at the portapotties. I saw him after the race and he was just as happy with his shoes as I was with mine and he was feeling good about his finish and pacing his friend in a couple of weeks. I got to the start line and soon was surrounded by fellow aR racers. People I had never met before with some common interests-we were proudly RACING acidotic and we loved the trails. I passed a few more aR team mates on the trails and met some who were supporting the rest of us. I also ran into a fellow trail racer from the Meet Up group I run with. I met his wife and she too loves her Saucony’s but was forced to wear her Asics that day. I saw her after the race and she managed to get through with the asics, I am pretty sure she was happy she wasn’t wearing her Kinvara’s because the mud had all but destroyed our shoes and I would have been sad if I did that to a pair of Kinvaras!