Eight (Almost NINE!) years ago when I moved here my place was the ocean. Honestly, I was a little scared of the woods. Snakes, ticks, bears...um hunters? You name it. I didn't really want any part of it. But Asheville has changed me in so many ways. I used to wear stilettos and make up too.
In the past few months I've taken up trail running. My really, really long runs were all in bent creek out of necessity because I simply couldn't fathom running 20 miles all over Asheville. Trail running is different. It's hard. I mean, road running is challenging but you don't trip over stumps and rocks while sinking into mud. Trail running is also slower. And thats ok. At first it took some getting used to... but then I realized that the time doesn't make you a runner. You're a runner if you run. I've learned to turn off the clock, stop and take pictures, pee in the woods and one time I even drank from a stream! I don't even care about the snakes or other creatures that I'm sure are all around me. They live there and I appreciate them sharing their home with me. Thanks snakes! Now there's a sentence I never thought I'd write.
So anyway. After the Wrightsville Beach Marathon the mountains were calling my name. Don't get me wrong I LOVE the beach. I plan to live on a sail boat forever when I'm old. But running around a country club for 26.2 miles wasn't exactly my style. It also didn't help that almost everyone who knew about my marathon made some comment about it being "flat"... as if that somehow made it a piece of cake (Um, no). So, I was on a bit of a high from the marathon and signed for what would be my first trail half marathon in Dupont Forrest. I made Bill sign up with me and said, "Lets break 2. We can do it." And he signed up, but then said something like "I don't think you'll break two though. It's on a trail." And then I didn't talk to him for a week. Finally, he realized I was ignoring him and said, "Why are you mad me?" and I said, "BECAUSE! You said I can't break 2! And I'm pissed at you". It really was almost that dramatic. Anyway. He never said that again and texted me daily with 1:59:59.
But then I started to get worried. The marathon high wore off and I was kinda sick of running and my hip hurt. But I had made such a big deal about it and didn't want to look like an idiot so I kept going on 6 mile runs a few times a week and had a standing date with my favorite running partner on Wednesdays on the Mountains to the Sea trail. I went on one 12 mile run with Bill on what we thought was the Dupont course but actually wasn't. Daily, I kept getting that annoying text that said, 1:59:59. It really was so stressful. Why did I do that?
I knew to get less than two hours I had to run a 9:09 pace or better for 13.1 miles through the woods. And as crazy as that seemed, I still felt like I was gonna do it. I mean, you gotta have goals right? But what's funny is every time I told someone my intentions they too echoed Bill's sentiment that, "Oooh. It's on a trail". And honestly, I'm grateful for it, because it made me even more determined. In the spirt of my good friend Eminem, " When I say I'ma do something, I do it, I don't give a damn what you think. I'm doing this for me, so fuck the world." Yep. I'm really that Gangsta. (Or maybe I just got super into weekly rap quotes during marathon training?) But really, it was only 13.1 miles. I love hills and there wasn't going to be one neighborhood in sight. Most importantly, I could finally wear my awesome, neon green trail running shoes in a race. Consider it a done deal.
Race day arrived and aside from being freezing and having to forefit my new Lululemon Speed Shorts for tights and arm warmers things were looking good. Here we are just before the start:
Bill and I were not racing. I only enter races with people who I know I'll beat and he's gotten really fast. I'm so proud of him. A year ago he didn't even run! I was excited to see him PR. He was fired up and going on and on about BTFU. I wished him well at the start and he took off. I had a plan: Run fast as shit. Normally in a distance race you worry about going out too fast but considering this was half the distance of my last race, I squashed that and really, really focused. For the first time ever during a race, I wore a watch. Mile 1: 8:40, Mile 2: 8:40, Mile 3: 8:40... I was trying to give myself a coushion so that if I did get tired at the end and couldn't run a 9:09 or better it would be ok. The hills were tough and the downhills were downright dangerous. On one of them the guy in front of me tripped over a rock and I almost fell on top of him. At one point we ran across an old air strip and as we were doing so we passed each other. Everyone shouted out good job and slapped hands. I got all emotional and thought about how awesome runners are. It was a race highlight for sure. Another highlight? The beauty of the woods:
With it being an out and back course, on the way back I was realizing I was ahead of people that I consider really good runners. Fear would creep in and I would wonder how in the world I was going to keep going but I knew I was doing well. I told it to shut-up. Jaime and I just watched the Hunger Games on Netflix and most of it was filmed in Dupont Forrest where I was running. I pretended I was Katniss. I talked to myself. I worked really hard. When I felt like slowing down I would think "If the clock says 2:01 you're gonna wish you didn't take a break for a minute." On the downhills I flew and on the uphills I passed people. Lots of them. I guess it was all that flat marathon prep. I got to mile 12 in 1:47 with an 8:58 average pace. It was a long uphill finish after what had been a hillier than expected course and I was tired. But math told me that even if I slowed down to a 10 minute mile, I'd be done in 1:58. So I slowed down...I mean, my goal was only 1:59:59. No need to get ahead of myself. When I finally saw the opening out of the woods and the sun shining in I was so relieved. Then all of a sudden my husband was running next to me screaming, "You got it! You got! Run!!!" The finish was across a field and looked so far away. The clock said 1:58 something, I knew I needed to hustle. So I did and I clocked in at 1:59:09. WooHOO!
It was such a good day. Bill finished in 1:52 and we were numbers 30th and 47th overall. Not bad! One guy came up to me after and said, "Good run, I was chasing you the whole time and couldn't catch you." I didn't tell him it was because I stared in the Hunger Games, I just let him think it was natural.
Who would have thought that this beach girl would thrive so well in these mountains? They must be magic. I'm so lucky to live and play in such a beautiful place, it's a dream come true.
