Princess Place Trail 1/2 Marathon

Race:  Princess Place Trail 1/2 Marathon

Date: December 31st, 2016

Finish Time: 2 hours, 31 minutes

Distance: 13.7 miles

Overall Total Climb: 613 ft

Elevation gain: 44 ft

I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to end the year doing my favorite thing, trail running with friends! Unfortunately our one day of winter happened to fall Friday night (the night before the race). I got off work around midnight and it was already down to 40 degrees. So cold! My alarm went off around 5 am and I headed to the race around 5:45 am. It was 33 degrees when I pulled into the trail head. yes, 33 degrees. Wow it was so cold my bones hurt. The race started and we took off slow and steady. I had 2 small goals going into this race #1 don't RACE and keep my heart rate under 150 bpm average, and #2 have fun pacing my best friend for her first trail 1/2 marathon. 

The course was gorgeous. It had a few small inclines, lots of shade, a few patches of soft sand, we ran near the water, on some single tracks with lush shrubs, and through the woods. It was a 2 loop course roughly 6.5 miles each and had 10 water stations. The finish line was on the water front and beautiful.

We took off pretty steady staying between 10:30-11 minute miles. I didn't start warming up until about mile 5 where I took my gloves off (only to put them back on around mile 7! My middle fingers were stark white and numb, not sure if the circulation was poor due to a combination of the cold and Lyme, or what was happening but it was pretty painful. We got lost around mile 7, and ended up off trail. By the time we found our self back on course we were about .6 miles behind where we should be (we were at 8.9 miles while the rest of the group we were on course with was only at 8.3 miles). Just a minor set back, we had been on track for a 2:17 estimated finish we figured now probably 2:20-2:25. No pressure just a fun trail run so we kept going and embracing the beauty of the trail.


We hit a spot around 10 miles that my friend Jess starting struggling mentally a bit. The trails can challenging and she was getting in her head about being tired and sore, and that extra .6 miles we ran. We stopped and took a picture to lighten the mood and remember we were out there to enjoy ourselves, we chose to be there! 

Sure enough we took off strong after that stop passed people left and right... but then, with only 1'2 mile to go - she tripped. She tripped and fell right on her face! I don't even know how it happened but it was bad! Jess ended up with a good shiner, and a blackened finger. She picked herself up, and sprinted the final half mile. I have never been so impressed! She finished that race so strong it was inspiring. When you feel like you cannot go on, when you fall, when you hurt, you push forward!  

My heart rate averaged 149 bpm and we definitely had a fun and memorable race! Woohoo! What a way to end 2016! And to start 2017... I'll be kicking it off with my first 100 mile run! Eek! 

Masters of All Terrain Trail 1/2 Marathon

Masters of All Terrain

We are on the left behind the lady in blue. The guys are in grey, Justin with
a hat on... My head is popping up behind their shoulders!

The course was crazy!

The 1/2 marathon started at 7 am, it was 75 degrees at the start of the race but warmed up pretty quickly. We left the house at 4:45 am to meet up with Jason, Jessica and Terry; and headed out!

Race: Masters of All Terrain
Date: September 11th, 2016
Location: Little Big Econ State Forest
Finish Time: 2 hours, 45 minutes
Distance: 13.1 miles
Gain: 64 ft

Start line!

Many bridges!

I decided to run this race with my husband, I needed the "time on my feet" for training and I knew I wasn't in "race condition"... it's also been quite a while since we got to run a race together so this was a great opportunity! The course was great. The first 4 miles or so were wide and pretty boring/flat. It was wide so made for a little less bottle necking at the beginning.

More beautiful trails

Wide tracks were nice for
passing and getting passed! 

Nothing really eventful happened during this time. We hit the first aid station (and skipped it because we had our handheld bottles) around mile 2 (ish?). The next one was around mile 4 and we stopped here to refill. Justin tripped leaving this aid station: Face Plant #1. He was ok and able to shake it off and continue.

So gorgeous!

 We then hit a narrow, single track section of trail that was beautiful. It ran along the water weaving in and out of the woods.

It was fairly technical with a lot of roots and stumps. We really had to watch our footing through here so we didn't trip! We ran through sections like this until 7.5 miles where we hit aid station #4 (which we hit 3 times #3, #4 and #5 due to the loops) and went into another wide section of trail. We ran this next out and back hitting some narrow single track trail on the "loop" part of the out and back where racers were coming and going opposite directions. This area is where Justin had Face Plant #2! He used a lot of energy trying not to fall, and having to catch himself when he did fall but managed to not get hurt - thank God! We had one section of about 30 feet (that we hit twice) that was really muddy and wet. There was no avoiding it! 

Some parts had a lot of roots to navigate

We crossed 4-5 bridges throughout the course each way

So much MUD!

Pretty trails!

We got back to the aid station #5 around mile 10 and had mostly wide track back to the finish line. This was the only stretch we hit some sun on, the rest was all shaded. The course was cut short due to some flooding so surprisingly we crossed the finish line at 11.44 miles (I then kept running to make the full 13.1). Yes, I'm that guy.

Justin, Me, Terry and Jason all completed the 1/2 marathon.
All 3 guys PR'd for a trial half and did amazing.

Justin had a HUGE PR at this race, we calculated his average pace the last few miles and totaled it up, he would have finished around 2:55, the last Masters of All Terrain Trail 1/2 Marathon he ran 3:15. I'm so proud of him!  Everyone had a great race, this course was awesome. It was a bit technical in parts, all shaded, had well stocked aid stations with great volunteers, and the course was very well marked. Only downside or negative I have was having to share the single track with runners going both directions. Although most trail runners are very courteous and aware, some are oblivious to other people on the course, or have music playing far too loud which was dangerous when coming both directions. Also that the course was cut short. I know it happens - but it was still such a bummer!

Dirty legs!

I love trail running

This was my first real test with training for my next big challenge - 100 miles! I ran the most miles ever this week capping out at 71.4. These runs included back to back miles days of 11/15/13.1 (trail half). I ended the week feeling great. My fueling has been spot on, my Achilles Tendon is a bit inflamed a little bit so I am icing extra and doing more of my PT exercises. All and all I feel great. I'm not real sore but do feel the fatigue in my legs and body. Excited for the day off tomorrow (Monday). I need to work on getting a little more protein post run, and just ordered Tailwind so I am anxious to try that out on my next long run. 100 miles with a smile! That is going to be my goal... along with finishing of course :)

Starlight 1/2 Marathon

The Starlight 1/2 Marathon is described as "A night-time run that takes runners first through thousands of parade spectators, then through a holiday decorated course in and around Town Center. Be entertained along the way by holiday lights and music. Finish the race through a Christmas tree lined finish chute and enjoy music, s’mores, beer, hot food and drinks".

Running in the evening was so different than getting up at 430am for those morning runs. I had to plan my food for the day a little more strategically. I didn't, but I would recommend doing so lol. To my excitement my husband decided to run the 5k portion of the race last minute so we wore matching Grinch shirts and Santa hats. I got to cheer him on at the start, and he got to cheer me on down the finish line. 

The course was pretty awesome. We ran on Lehigh trail which they had portions of it decorated with Christmas lights and had glow sticks lighting the sides of the path. They had volunteers everywhere making sure you were going the right way and also had plenty of water and Gatorade stations with great volunteers cheering you on along the way. This had to have been one of the most organized races I have been to. The last mile was all full of Christmas light displays and a live band playing Christmas music.

I paced my self at an easy pace, listening to Christmas music along the way. Around mile 11 I saw an opportunity to pick up the  pace and pass a couple of girls who looked about my age (yes, I let my competitive nature kick in). I passed them at an easy, just a little faster than they were going knowing they would likely pickup the pace closer to the finishline to try and pass me. Ifelt them getting closer around 12-12.5 miles. So naturally, I picked up the pace more and gave it all I had without risking injuring myself or wiping myself out. I stayed ahead of them beating them by a mere 30 seconds. I took 2nd in my age division. I also got a new PR of 1:54:33  (chip time was 1:55 but I started back from the start line, and they didn't have a start chip tracker just a finish line). 

 

When you ran through the Christmas tree lined finishers chute you were showered with "snow" which was awesome. Then you ended in this beautifully decorated area with tons of tables (set with white table cloths and center pieces), you were given a water bottle (which you could refill with gatorade if you needed some extra electrolites), free pizza or hot soup, beer or apple cider sangria, free coffee or hot chocolate. It was amazing! There were also s'mores stations set up so you could roast marshmallows and have s'mores while you were sitting and visiting with others, chatting about the race. Plus, my medal glows in the dark. How cool is that!!!

This race will now be a new tradition for us. It was so well organized, and an all-around happy race. Who wouldn't be happy when surrounded by Christmas lights and free food/drinks right? 

Here are a few more pictures of some of the light displays..

We were also mentioned in our local newspaper found here. 

http://www.palmcoastobserver.com/news/palm-coast/Sports/1223201410121/Starlight-wonderful-magical-runs