Saturday, July 25, 2015

Trail Maniacs' Mt. Spokane race

We went up to Mt. Spokane today (30 min drive away) for a gorgeous trail race put on by a great group called Trail Maniacs.
Post race free lunch! Makes my $40 entry fee WORTH it!
It was fairly small - I think about 50 did the short course (6.5ish miles) and 30 or so did the long course (16ish miles. No interest in that distance!!)
 This race was BRUUUUTTALL!! I seriously haven't done such a challenging race in years. Or maybe ever. The hills were monstrous - at least 20% incline in many places. And I was booking it. My lungs and legs were on FIRE. Owie. So crazy. I really had to play some mind games to get through this (repeating positive affirmations to myself over and over: "you got this, you got this, strong and easy, strong and easy")
My cheering squad! They loved all the climbing!
The Fleet Feet running store was there with their "demo shoes" - which is a new concept/experience for me. They let you try out a pair of shoes for free DURING the race!
So I wore Sauncony's newest "Nomad" model. That was really fun (and great to give MY running shoes a break! Though I've barely broken them in - I just bought my first pair of Hokas and I'm still undecided on whether I'm a fan). I used to blame shoes on my knee issues. Now I know what the real cause of my knee pain was: excess weight. Being 15-20lbs over where I like to/should be. But I'm back to a happier weight now (been focusing on that goal for the last 12 weeks) and my knees don't hate me anymore! Nothing tastes as good as running pain-free FEELS!
Tarzan yell at the top of the mountain!
I was the first female finisher (not a huge accomplishment - small race) and they gave me an engraved pint glass. Which I could've filled up with the free beer on tap at the refreshment table. Forreals. We're def not in Utah anymore :)
But in the random drawing I got a cool hydration system, so I was a happy swag recipient.
And honestly, all swag aside (even the fabulous free food), it's so worth it to go do these races. I love the family time. The kids get to run around in nature, I get a fantastic calorie torching workout that I honestly enjoy (in a sick way, obviously - it hurt), and we all drive away with happy memories. Priceless.  
What better way to spend a Saturday morning?!

Now I'm off to the race calendar websites to figure out which race we're going to go to NEXT week!  (not an easy task... the race scene here is nothing like we had in Utah!)

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