One Hill at a Time - 25K - Run25k

65 when we started; 75 when I ended. Just amazing temperatures for early November. A cold front was on its way, so the wind was fierce. 25-41 mph with gusts.

My strategy was to walk up most of the hills, running whenever I could, heading down the hills as quickly as safe.

I followed that strategy. I was hoping for 12 minute miles, which would have meant faster running down or more running up, but I figured out at the 5k point, when I was sitting at 40 minutes, that I wasn't going to make that. Even running downhill against the wind felt slow. Marching/plodding up the hill against the wind was torture. Truly miserable.

So I decided near the 5k point that this race was not going to be about averaging 12 minute/mile pace. It was going to be mental toughness. Whenever I felt like quitting (and there were plenty of those moments in the first 8k) I told myself, "This is mental. Not physical." Because actually, my body did not feel bad. The wind and hills were just so disheartening.

Just before the 15k point, a mule deer buck ran up along side of me in the field adjacent. He was gorgeous. He ran with me for a few steps and then bolted off. I found myself thinking of persistence hunting and how I needed my clan.

I got to the 15k aid station just a couple minutes slower than I completed the 15k race last year. I decided that was okay. I stopped at my car, dumped off my running cap, which I kept having to chase down in the wind, grabbed a band to tie my hair back and a halo sweat band. The RD refilled my water for me, gave me a little coke to drink. I chatted up some of the 10k/15k racers, and headed back out.

Only 10k to go. The first four miles of which were in heavy cross/head winds. Miles 3/4, against the wind, took me 30 minutes. But I didn't despair (too much). I told myself that I just needed to get to the next cross street, turn right, and I would have the wind at my back and be on miles 14 and 15. "This is mental, not physical."

My butt was really aching at this point. But that was the only thing that I could identify that was really hurting. I allowed myself to run more uphill in this last section, but I wimped out at the final hill, and just walked up to the start/finish/aid station.

Really, not much. I wanted to run more in the first 15k, but I held myself back. I was trying to be conservative. I wanted to finish with a smile on my face. I needed to be able to walk the next day because I'm leaving for a three day business trip. I'm running a 10 mile turkey trot next Saturday.

Hydration and nutrition were perfect, although I haven't figured out the post-race recovery nutrition very well. I was pretty sick last night before dinner. I ended up choking down a pancake and a sausage patty, and felt a little better.

I don't like being last. Everyone left me going down the first hill. So I was last at the beginning, last during, and last at the finish. But it was an extremely small field (only 4 finished the 25k), so I guess that's to be expected. The guy directly in front of me was just a mile ahead of me, so if I had pushed myself more from the beginning, I might have been able to stay with him. But I wasn't willing to even try.

Sat on a hay bale out of the wind and drank some coke, Gatorade, and finished my almond butter/honey Naan. There was other food there, but I didn't feel like I could stomach it.

Put my compression sleeves on my calves when I got to the car, and headed home. I was very tired after about 50 miles, so I pulled off, and very uncharacteristically, bought a big mac, fries, and a coke. I didn't eat all three bread, so that made it healthier. Right? lol Anyway, that woke me up, and I made it home safely.


This was my longest distance to date. More training runs at this distance. More hills (but I'd have to drive two hours to find hills like these). More running.