Attention please...My mojo has been found...I repeat...my mojo has been located. It was found in the woods. My mojo wasn't buried like I had originally thought. It was in plain sight, sitting on the trail bench, just waiting for me to reclaim it.
It's no secret that I have been kind of "Blah" the last few months in regards to my running and overall health. But things are turning around. And all it took was winter break from school and a few trips to Glacial Park and Veteran's Acres/Sternes Woods to find my mojo and motivation again.
Last weekend, thanks to The Running Depot, I was able to run one of my most favorite races, The Frozen Gnome in VA/Sternes in Crystal Lake.
It's no secret that I have been kind of "Blah" the last few months in regards to my running and overall health. But things are turning around. And all it took was winter break from school and a few trips to Glacial Park and Veteran's Acres/Sternes Woods to find my mojo and motivation again.
Last weekend, thanks to The Running Depot, I was able to run one of my most favorite races, The Frozen Gnome in VA/Sternes in Crystal Lake.
The 2015 Frozen Gnome 10K was my very first trail race ever and it holds a special place in my heart. Two years ago, it was the toughest race I had ever done. The temps were in the negative teens, there was snow all over the trail and the hills! Oh so many hills to climb! By the end of that race I was deliciously exhausted, but so proud of myself for doing something so hard. Since then I have become a devout disciple of Ornery Mule Racing and all of their races like Earth Day and The Hennepin Hundred.
I've always done the 10K, which is one loop of the course. The very brave 50K racers do the loop 5 times which blows my mind. The course it tough and you literally never know what you will get with this race. The trail conditions and weather have been extremely different in the last three years I've done this race. Always bearable for 1 loop, but do it 5 times? WOW, those people amaze me.
I was running this race with one my favorite partners in crime, Kathy.
I've always done the 10K, which is one loop of the course. The very brave 50K racers do the loop 5 times which blows my mind. The course it tough and you literally never know what you will get with this race. The trail conditions and weather have been extremely different in the last three years I've done this race. Always bearable for 1 loop, but do it 5 times? WOW, those people amaze me.
I was running this race with one my favorite partners in crime, Kathy.
We didn't get there too much before the race, because it was really cold! So with just enough time to get our yak trax on our shoes and get all of our extra clothes on, we headed out to the starting area. The start of a race is one of my favorite times. The excitement is always so tangible. It floats all over the air above the runners. People chatter excitedly. I really love it. But soon after we started, just before we headed into the woods, I realized that one of my yak trax was missing. I knew I would desperately need them on my feet as we were warned about the icy trail conditions. So we turned back and I found it at the aid station where someone must have picked it up and left it for me. Thank you whoever did that!
And then we were off...again! I was so glad to have Kathy with me during this race. It was definitely more fun with a friend to share it with. I've run this race almost all by myself and then with friends for most of it and I prefer sharing it with friends. Especially since the conditions are always less than ideal. It's more fun to suffer with someone else than by yourself!
A lot of the trail had ice on it somewhere. But some of it was concentrated in the middle and you could run on the edge of the trail. But some parts were just a sheet of ice! Thank goodness for yak trax! Spikes would have been even better, though. There was a lot of slipping and sliding! Even though that slows you down, I think it's fun and part of the adventure to maneuver around all of the obstacles. And again, more fun with a friend to pull you up when you're falling on your butt.
There are a few big climbs on this course.
And then we were off...again! I was so glad to have Kathy with me during this race. It was definitely more fun with a friend to share it with. I've run this race almost all by myself and then with friends for most of it and I prefer sharing it with friends. Especially since the conditions are always less than ideal. It's more fun to suffer with someone else than by yourself!
A lot of the trail had ice on it somewhere. But some of it was concentrated in the middle and you could run on the edge of the trail. But some parts were just a sheet of ice! Thank goodness for yak trax! Spikes would have been even better, though. There was a lot of slipping and sliding! Even though that slows you down, I think it's fun and part of the adventure to maneuver around all of the obstacles. And again, more fun with a friend to pull you up when you're falling on your butt.
There are a few big climbs on this course.
And then there's the infamous downhill: Butt Slide Hill. Unfortunately, this year, there was no sliding down as BSH was covered in ice. Thankfully, Jeff - a.k.a. Frozen Gnome Course Marshall, a.k.a. 200 mile finisher, a.k.a. Ultra-Running god - installed a rope for the runners to rappel safely down BSH. It was a little daunting just looking at it, but once you got in there, it was no big deal and even kind of fun.
After Butt Slide Hill, there is a pretty good uphill climb that usually breaks my spirit a bit. But this year, I was so encouraged with how good I felt going up. With my mojo intact, I felt great as I climbed.
Soon after this section, we got out of the woods and were on the loop around Sternes. It was completely covered in a thick slab of ice. Thank goodness for a railing to hold on to!
We got around the loop and back into the woods. Soon, we were back into VA where the trail conditions improved greatly and it didn't take too long to get back to the finish line. The medals for this race are always cool and this year we got stickers, which I promptly added to my drop box.
Soon after this section, we got out of the woods and were on the loop around Sternes. It was completely covered in a thick slab of ice. Thank goodness for a railing to hold on to!
We got around the loop and back into the woods. Soon, we were back into VA where the trail conditions improved greatly and it didn't take too long to get back to the finish line. The medals for this race are always cool and this year we got stickers, which I promptly added to my drop box.
Thanks, again, The Running Depot for sponsoring me for this race!
Kathy, Bridget (our third partner-in-crime) and I are signed for Ice Age 50K in La Grange, Wi
Kathy, Bridget (our third partner-in-crime) and I are signed for Ice Age 50K in La Grange, Wi
Training started this week. The long run was 10 and I did it all in Sternes/VA. It wiped me out! I hadn't done more than 10K on trails in months. It felt great! I don't have a ton on the calendar right now, but I see that changing soon. I'm hoping to sign up for more trail races and volunteer a ton too.
Thank you so much for reading, friends! Life Begins Today is my motto for 2017. Here's to an epic year!
Thank you so much for reading, friends! Life Begins Today is my motto for 2017. Here's to an epic year!