Worries, Overthinking and Indecision - The Hobo 25k Trail Race

I'm a worrier.  Just ask my sister.
With some (or a lot of) encouragement from my friend Connie, several months ago I signed up for the Rock Cut Hobo 25k Trail Race. 25k is roughly 15.5 miles.
It's been many years since I've visited the park, but I know that it's heavily wooded, with beautiful trails.  I've been so excited, and a little nervous, to do this long race.  I've waked a few half marathons over the past few years, but not something this long. And those were road races; paved surfaces.  Trail races can put you onto just about any surface. Dirt, grass, gravel...and always at least a few tree roots across the path.
The big race was yesterday, Sunday September 15th.  But a few days prior, we had torrential rains across a large area of northern Illinois. That included the site of this race.  Oh, and here at home too.
And the rain found a new route into our basement, through a window well.  Sort of a waterfall feature into the finished area of our basement.  Can you see where I'm going with this "worry" theme?

So, in addition to the basement ordeal (twice within 2 days) I was stressing about the trail conditions. I almost forgot to tell you that the race location had to be moved from Rock Cut State Park, due to bridge construction that got a late start due to flooding this Spring.  Water, water everywhere!
The races were held at Deer Run forest preserve. It was a beautiful area, just not as heavily wooded as the park.

This race was a 3 event race. A Friday night 10k, Saturday 25k, and Sunday a 25k/50k simultaneously.
You could choose 1 event or all 3. We chose the Sunday 25k, since it's supported for more hours.
Want to see the photo that REALLY had me worried about the trail conditions?  Take a look.

Photo credit: James Wright

See????  The Kishwaukee river was rising rapidly during Saturday's 25k. Deeper with each the 3 race laps.

On Sunday morning the weather was chilly and very cloudy. Dark clouds. Still some thunder hanging around from the overnight deluge. Yeah. Worry about being struck by lightening during the race. Worry about what to wear. Will I ruin my clothing if I have to wade through knee high water? Wear my worst, old pair of shoes that don't have much arch support anymore? My new shoes feel great, but I don't want to ruin them. ETC, ETC & ETC.
Stop the worrying, already!  OK?

Now, the big race!

Overnight, the race organizers created a completely different route for the Sunday races.  Those people were amazing!  A big thank you Rockford Road Runners!

Pre-race video.  It was exciting and we were more than ready to get started!

This is the deepest water we encountered on Sunday.

I had soggy socks and shoes, but I didn't mind at all.
As the 3 of us went through race check in/packet pick up we realized that, since our last names all begin with the letter W, our bags were easy for the volunteer to find.  That same volunteer later called us The Flying Ws, as we completed our first lap of the race.  These volunteers were fun and so supportive!
This will be a long post with lots and lots of photos.  You've been warned.  :)

Me, Connie and Christine

We had a great time. The running community here is SO supportive, encouraging and inclusive.  There were so many times other participants gave us encouragement.  Great job...way to go.....you've got this!   I can't say enough good things about them. Hey, and our trio...The Flying Ws?  Awesome!
Here are more photos from race day.

 Right before these photos were taken we had dark skies and rumbles of thunder to the West. Fortunately, the storm turned and went to the north of the forest preserve.

The skies cleared!!!

I think this was during lap 4 of 5.

Christine is a little rascal!

Heading UPHILL!

Getting wet again!

Photo bombed by a new friend we met along the way!

AND....post race pics!  We were spent, tired....whatever you want to call it.  But so pumped!  We did it!  Muddy legs and all!

Wearing our mud proudly.

We're muddy, but happy.

We finished!

Pffft….just a little water and mud.

Guess what????  Connie and I each won 2nd place in our respective female age groups.  What an awesome surprise!  The award is a railroad spike.  When this race event was created, many years ago, the railroad still ran through the park and hobos hopped onto and off of the train, as it passed through the park.  Hence the spike.  :)

My spike!

I love the striped race tee.

My total mileage for race day!

 Awards waiting for the award winners for the Triple Crown. Those that did ALL 3 races.

I iced my arthritic right knee after I got home....following a very refreshing shower.

Photo credit: unknown

If you're interested in stats, my total time for this race was 4 hours, 39 minutes & 21 seconds. My pace was 18.01 minutes/mile.  Race start time was 8 am.

Oh, but sometimes it's BOTH!

Wooohoooo!  I can't even try to describe this entire experience. To be blessed with the physical and mental strength that this race required, I am so grateful.  Especially at my age of almost 67 years.  I adopted this active lifestyle only 6 years ago.  Up until then I led a very sedentary life.  I wish that I had made these eating and activity changes many years earlier, but thankful that I didn't wait any longer.

Life is short.  Enjoy it.  Do anything and everything you want. Don't wait.

Susie

Tiger 10 Miler - 10 miles of heat, humidity and hills

I recently got myself into a little more than I bargained for.  You may know that I've walked a few half-marathons.  In case you're wondering, that's 13.1 miles.  All of those were road races. Paved paths or city streets.  Usually a combination of both.  Smooth surfaces.

A couple of months ago, my friends, Connie and Carol, and I decided we needed to do something different.  Well, we heard about the Tiger 10 Miler.  This is a local race, so only about a 20 to 25 minute drive away.  Great!  It's a trail race in a beautiful forest preserve.  Yes, we know that trail races could be nearly any type of surface.  Grass, dirt, gravel....a few tree roots.  Hey, that sounded like fun!  And we can do 10 miles.  Heck, we've done 13.1, so 10 miles will be fine.  Right?

I prepared.  I trained.  I bought a water-pack (a small backpack specifically designed to hold 50 ounces of water). I knew from past experience that I had to avoid getting dehydrated.  This race did not provide cups of water along the route (a cupless race).  They, instead, provided fill stations for us to refill our own containers/packs.

It began as a beautiful day, as you can see below in this pic I took pre-race.

I have to admit that I was a little apprehensive about the rough terrain because, due to an old knee injury, uneven surfaces can result in a sore right knee.  Nothing to really worry about though.

To get to the point of this entire post...this was a tough race for me. THE most difficult race I've ever done. PERIOD.  Heat. Humidity. Hills. And there was that 750 foot elevation gain, too.  I would say that about 75% of the race was out in the open, on grassy paths through prairie land. In the sun.

Hot. Humid. Ten miles. Just a few shaded, forested areas. All of the course was beautiful and yet, grueling.  I signed up for this.  Paid for it, too.  What was I thinking?

By about half way through the race, I was praying to just finish.  Just, please, get me safely to the finish line.  Truly, it took every ounce of strength I had, to get there.  I was drained.

ME!

This was quite an experience.  I'm glad that I did it, but I don't plan on signing up for this one next year.  Ummm.  No.
My finish time was much better than I expected.  I was surprised!
And, second place in my age/gender group was an even bigger surprise.

By the way, there were only 2 of us women in this category (65 years to 69 years, female).  But I'm still very happy about this finish!  Hey only 2 of us "older" women even attempted this course.  Go us!

You just never know what you can do, if you don't try.  And, these experiences make for great memories with wonderful friends!

Hey, drink water!

Of course, I know that I need to hydrate before a race.

Yesterday my racing/walking friends and I did The Great Pumpkin Run 5k race at Keller's Farmstand.  We always have fun together and yesterday was no exception.  Although the temperature wasn't too awfully warm for September, the humidity was very high.  And the sun was shining.  A pretty day but muggy.

We were encouraged to dress up for this festive race.  I obliged,as you can see below.  Tutu, tulle headpiece, pumpkin earrings and a bright orange tee shirt.  I really had fun with this!
Oh, and I'm carrying a 3.5 pound pumpkin.  We each earned some extra bling for carrying a pumpkin throughout the race...intact and always visible.

Laurie, Connie, Me, Shawn, Carol

That's our race team in the above photo.  These women are so much fun, and so uplifting.



In this kind of weather it's especially important to hydrate well before a race.  Yes, I drank lots of water the day and evening before the race.  But, on race morning I skimped on the water.  How do I say this?  Well, I wanted to avoid having to pee during the race.  You know....no where to "go" during those 3.1 miles.  I ate a hearty breakfast early that morning, but just a little water.  Bad decision.

There are lots of early weekend mornings that I walk more than 3.1 miles before I even eat breakfast, or start drinking water. And I'm just fine.  But the sun is just rising and the temps are much cooler then.

By the time I finished yesterday's 5k, I was spent.  Feeling a little weak and very wrung out. VERY.
I knew what the problem was and I knew that it was my own fault.  Duh.  Dehydration.  I grabbed my free bottle of water right after the finish line AND the free cup of cider.  Ahhh.  That helped a little, but I knew I needed more than that.

So, I followed my friends into the orchard's market building.  They have lots of apples, cider doughnuts, kettle corn.  All kinds of yummy stuff.  But I was more interested in getting more water.
As I stood in the looooong like to the order and cashier line, I wondered if I could stand there long enough to get that much-needed water.  I did it, because I had to...for the water.
As soon as I could I downed the first of the 2 bottles I bought, then drank the other one during our hour commute home.  What a difference it made.  I felt SO much better.

The point of this very long story is:  please learn from my mistake and hydrate, hydrate, hydrate before and during prolonged physical activities in warm, humid weather.  Especially in the bright sun.

And, while you're thinking about it.....REMIND me to  do the same.  Okay?

Thanks!

Excuse the language, but I just have to share this one too.  Yup, so proud of myself when it's clear.

All graphics courtesy of Pinterest.

INCREDIBLE!

Yeah, I know that all caps is like shouting out loud.  But, that's what I wanted to do after completing my second Half-Marathon.  Last Sunday...April 23rd.
Wooooooooo hooooooo!

April  of 2016 my friend Connie and I did the Naperville (Illinois) Women's Half Marathon.  We loved it! So, as soon as registration opened for this year's race (which was last spring), we "raced" to sign up.  :)  Pun intended.

Then, last summer we told our walking/running friends about the half and encouraged them to do it.  "You have plenty of time to train for it" we said.  Well, eventually there were 7 of us...pretty much our entire group...that registered for the race.  Then, all of a sudden, winter was winding down and race time was almost here!  Lots of training going on and a "just a bit" of nervousness.  Yikes!

It was a very different feel and completely different dynamics doing this race with a group of friends.  Different, but wonderful! What a bonding experience.
The energy, the anticipation, the nerves, the encouragement, the praise.
Every time I remember this experience, I'm reminded how blessed I am to be surrounded by this group of women.

Want to see a few (or lots of) pics from half marathon day?  I thought so.  Okay!

Pre-race, at the start line.

 The temperature was around 38 degrees F pre-race.  My fingers were SO cold.  But the sun was shining and the temps rose pretty fast.  Ideal weather for a half.
I think there were about 2500 women doing the half and nearly 2000 in the 5k.
In total, almost twice as many as last year.

Our team of 7 post-race, adrenaline still pumping!

From left to right: Me, Shawn, Carol, Michelle (in front), Cayce, Connie & Laurie.

Me with my finishers medal.  That thing is heavy!

Our friend Carol have to leave right away, so we missed her in these photos.  :(

This is my favorite photo.  So fun!

Five of us headed out for lunch after the race.  It was a day for "eat anything you want" for lunch.  Splurge!  I had a burger with fries and it was DE-licous.
We sat there and talked for a long time.  Lots of laughter, too.  We may have gotten a bit loud occasionally.  We got "the look" from a couple a few tables away.  Sorry, but not really.  It was a very special occasion and we were still pumped.
I still smile every time these memories pop into my brain.  Like...right now.

Guess what?  Our next race is two weeks from today.  "Only" a 10k this time.
I'm still amazed that I'm doing these races at this point in my life.  No, I am NOT bragging.  A lot of people do half marathons.
I'm amazed because just a 3-1/2 years ago I was 77 pounds heavier than I am now and had several health issues.  There was no way that I could have walked even a 5k at that time.  I have much to be thankful for and two of those things are the ability and the good health to be able to do the physical activities that I have come to love so much.  And...if I hadn't made the changes in my life that led me to where I am today, I may not have been surrounded be these wonderful women...in last Sunday's photos.  God leads us in ways and directions that absolutely amaze me.  For that, I am so grateful.

May God's Peace be with you all.