down & dirty in the sun

Fun day today!  I ran my first ever trail race - the Down & Dirty 8k Trail Run.  Very small race, limited to 150 women.  It was so much fun!  The weather was gorgeous, the race was well run and my body didn't hurt at all!  I can see how people get hooked on trail running....the terrain changes constantly, it's SO much easier on your joints, and things seem a little more laid back than in road races.  I'm going to have to find some more trail races to try.  The husband went along and was my support team and paparazzi.  Thanks love!!

Here's the dirt (so to speak) on my race:

Mile 1 - 11:42
Mile 2 - 11:43 (big ass hill but we didn't walk it!)
Mile 3 - 11:13
Mile 4 - 10:40
Mile 5 - 10:04 (0.89 mile, actually - should have been 0.97, so I must have either killed the tangents or started the Garmin late)
Pace - 11:06
Garmin time - 54:21  I'll have to wait and see what my official time was.  UPDATE: 54:26 official time for the full 8k, which means my pace was 10:57.  Su-WEET!!




Hanging with TenacityChris before the race.  Someday my bod will look as smokin' as hers.  She came in 7th in the race.

Damn, she's fast.










Right after the start of the race.  It was WARM out today!  Thought I'd try coconut water  (I had Naked brand) during the run so that's what I carried in my water bottle.  I THINK I liked it but I'll have to try it on a longer run.








Nope, I'm not wearing a white long-sleeved shirt, that's my alabaster skin glowing in the sunlight.  Don't hate me because I look like I could be in the Twilight movies.

And here I am cruising to the finish line!  I felt great all through the race and was just so damn happy that NOTHING hurt!!!






The only thing that kind of sucked during the race was when the super fast chicks who won the race did their cool-down by running back onto the trail while the rest of us poor slobs were still working on finishing.  There were lots of other trails on which they could have done their cool-down.  As they ran towards me like a bunch of gazelles, I just thought to myself, "Thanks for trying to break my spirit, ladies."  But I didn't let them.

Oh, one other thing sucked.  They gave away LOTS of prizes after the race and I didn't win anything.  You know how much I LOVE free stuff.  Totally bit it to be shut out like that!  But, I did get a free water bottle when I bought a pair of socks from the FinnSisu folks.  That helped ease the pain somewhat.<sniff, wiping tear from eye>

Here's me post-race showing off my awesome wingspan and unshaven pits.  The husband just shook his head.  But I think he still digs me.

I kept it pretty slow today because I have 18 miles on the plan for tomorrow.  A new challenge to conquer - it will be my longest run to date!