Holiday Running Festival Race Recap

I don’t want to write this race recap because I’d like to pretend that Sunday never happened, but it did… and I’m left examining my relationship with running and “training.”

Since I’d completed the Golden Snowflake Challenge (Saturday 5K, Sunday half marathon) in 2017 and 2018, I knew what I was signing myself up for when registering. I questioned this decision after being invited to a Saturday night holiday party… on a yacht. It was actually hosted by my former, and Annalise’s current, employer Jones Environmental. While I knew it would be fun and I would enjoy catching up with my old co-workers, I expected a short night of sleep pre-race. Once we departed the docks in Newport Beach, I would be stuck partying until 10:00pm. With this in mind, I decided to make a last-minute switch from the 5K to the 10K so that I’d have an extra hour and a half of recovery time on Saturday. Yes, I would rather wake up earlier and have more time to nap than to sleep in and not nap!

Saturday morning

I left Long Beach ~5:10am to arrive in Pomona around 6:05am. I actually witnessed and was almost part of a bad car accident on the 57 freeway; a car got clipped by a semi and spun out directly in front of me. I went from ~75 mph to 0 mph within a few feet, and am still thanking whatever entity saved me that there weren’t more cars on the road or in my lane. After arriving safely at Bonelli Park, I parked, put on as many layers as possible (it was 43°!) and walked to bib pick-up for my and Annalise’s race items. I then returned to and sat in my warm car for a few minutes before heading out to warm up and run the 10K.

One of the highlights of the Holiday Half Marathon events is running on the NHRA Auto Club Raceway in the Fairplex which would be eliminated this year, so I was curious as to what the new course would be like.

My goal for the 10K was to run faster than 7:00 minute per mile pace, which I did, averaging 6:45. My effort was consistent, I felt good, and I categorized it as a solid training run. Since I’d done no 10K-specific work and am still not running much at threshold pace, my expectations were low. The course was almost entirely made up rolling hills, which I’d expected, but featured a really annoying “little” hill at the very end. While short, it was steep and on a 180° curve… not ideal for a fast / strong finish. I survived it though and did a quick cool down before catching up with a few friends who were managing the event.

I got back to Long Beach later than expected, and ended up being on the go for most of the day before the holiday party. Annalise and I got our nails done and then searched for holiday dresses at a few local stores, only to buy nothing. By the time I knew it, I was glammed up and heading toward Newport Beach to board a yacht for 4.5 hours!

Saturday evening

In summary, it was very fun, but I was ready to leave at 8:00pm. I’d run out of social energy, couldn’t warm up, and was tired of my heeled boots. I even tried dancing to inject some pep into my step and warm me up, but I was pretty done. I was home and in my warm bed by 10:45pm that night, looking kind of forward to the next day.

Sunday morning

I woke up and didn’t feel too tired, but also wasn’t super excited to run 13.1 hilly miles. Since the half marathon didn’t start until 8:00am, we were able to leave Long Beach at 6:00am with plenty of time to spare. When we started to warm up at 7:15am, I immediately noticed the fatigue in my legs. I felt like I was working too hard to just be jogging around. But, I’ve run okay races after sub-par warm-ups before, so I wasn’t overly worried… yet.

With the exception of the first mile, every single one of the following 12.19 forthcoming miles forthcoming felt worse than the previous one. There were some particularly exposed and windy miles right in the middle during which I almost started to cry. I felt miserable and couldn’t even focus on the number of miles remaining; I could only think about making it to the next mile marker, whether it was via running or walking. Perhaps I’d feel relief during the less windy sections, or on some of the downhills? No. It was a sufferfest pretty much from mile 2 to the finish. When I finally crossed the finish line after what felt like 9 hours, I learned the I wasn’t the only one who felt like absolute garbage that day. My goal had been to run 1:35 and I ended up finishing in 1:37:38. I was surprised to see that none of my mile splits were above 8:00 minutes/mile… which I will take as a win.

I’d planned to take the following Monday off of running, but decided to wallow in my disappointment and be a lazy ass through Thursday. It’s now Friday, and I finally got a run in this morning.

I now find myself questioning my relationship with running and feeling stupid for training the way that I do. I’m aware that I’ve made some poor decisions to get myself here and am now having to live with it, but it’s still hard to accept. With the new year approaching (14 days!), I’d like to figure out what my 2022 plan is, whether that’s being more aggressive with healing my ankle, “retiring” from running all together, or continuing to run but focusing more on strength work. I don’t think I’m ready to give up yet, but I feel like I have no direction and am not progressing.

Into the Wild Fremont Canyon 30K Race Recap

When ITWOC race director Alison sent an email out earlier this year about her 2021 races, I knew I wanted to participate in at least one of them. These races, most of which take place on trails not normally open to the public, really are a hidden gem in the OC running circuit. Not having to contend with large groups of hikers or mountain bikers allows for a truly peaceful trail run experience. ITW trail races also usually feature a fair amount of climbing + gorgeous views. Bonus: I have the potential of leaving with some cash and goodies if I end up doing well enough!

I had great race experiences at the Limestone Eco Challenge in November of 2018 and at another one in Irvine Valley Park in March of 2019. In fact, I thought that yesterday’s race was the same as the 2019 event. The staging areas for both 30Ks are the same, but the actual start/finish lines are within a quarter mile of each other… and run on completely different trails. I wish I’d logged a more comprehensive write-up of the 2019 race; I remembered it as being somewhat hilly and very pretty, so that’s what I was mentally prepared for this weekend. I also had an idea in mind as to how long it would take me, again based on the 2019 race. As it turned out, the Fremont Canyon 30K served up about 1,409 ft more of climbing, was about a mile shorter, and offered slightly better views from above than the other 30K.

Since the race didn’t start until 7:45am, I had plenty of time in the morning to get ready and head to Irvine (~40 minute drive). I ate a small bowl of oatmeal + almond butter and enjoyed my piping hot coffee on the way to the park, arriving with about 50 minutes until the start. I picked my race items up, visited the bathroom, sat in my warm car and read, pinned my race bib on and affixed the timing chip to my shoe, paid the bathroom one more visit.. and then jogged over to the start line. After a few minutes of course instructions (follow the pink ribbons and chalk arrows) and sponsor announcements, we all headed down a single track trail toward Fremont Canyon.

Photo credit: Paksit Photos

I’d run the IVP race in 2019 with my phone to listen to a podcast (I don’t normally do this, but was treating it as a long training run vs. a “race”) and decided I’d do the same this time. I slipped my AirPods in about a mile in, after we’d spread out enough and I’d found my footing on the somewhat rocky trail. I was very excited to listen to the Joe Rogan + Peter Attia podcast that I thought I’d fully downloaded the night before. I don’t normally download podcasts to my phone because it drains the battery, but expected spotty reception out on the trails. Not only did the ‘cast not fully download, but reception went from spotty to non-existent early on. It was fine though because the views were breathtaking, and I was having a blast!

The first 1ish mile took us down a narrow, gravel-y path before opening up into wider fire road. I knew to settle in for the climbing early on, as that’s what I would be doing for most of the first 2 hours. I didn’t start at the front and guessed there to be 10-11 females ahead of me, a majority of which I passed during the first uphill portion. While it doesn’t appear to be long on the elevation chart, the downhill section between miles 7 and 8 felt like it was 5 miles long, and this was the only part of the course that I did not enjoy. In addition to it really bothering my ankle, a female runner blew past me and was running very strong on the downhills, of which the final 4-5 miles would be comprised. I knew we had more, and steeper, climbing up ahead, so I didn’t want to trash my legs during the first few miles.

Photo credit: Paksit Photos

Unsurprisingly, I felt the best during the steepest and most exposed section of the course (miles 8 – 12, with some 10%+ grade!). I was warmed up, settled in, and my legs were absolutely loving the climbing. While I could’ve done without the rocky, more technical sections, I was truly enjoying myself. My friend Robin was manning the 3rd aid station (mile 11.4) and told me that I was in the 2 OAF position. This made me nervous because of the female runner who’d blown past me on the downhill earlier. I’m not terribly competitive, but dislike being passed by someone I’d passed earlier. I threw some water and Ultima down the hatch, bid Robin farewell, and decided it was time to let ‘er rip.

Photo credit: Paksit Photos

Miles 13 through 18 were sub-7:30 min/mile, with a few sub-7s in there. I felt amazing! The final 1.5ish miles are flat, but with a few tight turns and on gravel. I wanted to finish fast and strong, but without a twisted ankle. I flew into the finish line 2 hours and 42 minutes dirtier and more tired, but very happy. I also maintained my 2 OAF position! I was ~5 minutes behind 1 OAF and ~7 minutes ahead of #3. My official finish time as 2:42:08.

Since my watch read 17.35 miles, I completed a .65 mile cool down for a satisfyingly even 18 miles before cleaning up for the 11:00am awards ceremony. I ended up winning $85 cash, which covered my race entry fee, and a few swag items.

Photo credit: https://www.instagram.com/intothewildoctrailruns/#

I am very happy with how good I felt throughout the entire race and am very excited to participate in more Into the Wild OC trail races in 2022!