Race Report: Santa's North Pole Dash (5k) & Children's Snowman Shuffle

Santa's North Pole Dash (5k)

12/14/2013

St. Charles, Missouri

Time:  35:39 (unofficial)

A bunch of us signed up for this months ago, and I was super excited to go to St. Charles during the holiday season because I had heard such wonderful things about it. So, when the weather started looking dicey the days before the event, I was getting a bit annoyed.  The winter storm had already canceled the Ugly Sweater Run and Lights Fantastic Parade-- I was not gonna be a happy elf if this was cancelled as well. Though the forecast said there was a chance for some icy roads, Tim and I decided to go ahead and make our way there.  Thankfully, we didn't have any problems and got there before the snow started to fall.

However, the morning of the race, we woke up to this:

Winter Wonderland.

The race directors posted on Facebook that they would make the call by 6am if the race was canceled.  It wasn't looking good.  Some parts of Interstate 70 were closed due to bad conditions.  Over 4,000 runners had signed up and some that were in St. Charles were deeming the streets as being too bad to run on.  I was conflicted.  On one hand, I was going to be really bummed if another festive event got canceled, on the other hand, did I really want to run in this snow?!?!  At about 5:50 am, the race folks posted that it was on, so Tim and I suited up!  

Hey, Santa!

We met up with everyone in the hotel lobby and started our wintry walk to the start line.  The snow was still falling and we were all dressed in our Santa gear.  We couldn't help but laugh at one another.  We were dressed like Santa.  And we were running in the snow.  Crazy runners!  

Ho, Ho, Ho!

When we got to the start, Tim and I attempted to find the shirt exchange.  His shirt was just a bit too snug.  I don't know if it was because of the weather, but the volunteers were pretty useless.  No one seemed to know anything.  Tim decided to just suck it up and wear the smaller shirt.  We headed back and I desperately started looking for Leah and Jaime.  Oh my goodness, do you know how impossible is to find someone when everyone is dressed like Santa!?!  Just when I was about to give up, we heard them calling for us.  Yay!  

The race started and even though I have been running in snow, I had not been running while it was snowing or in FRESH snow.  It was a mess!  We attempted to stay in the middle of the road where there seemed to be a bit of a path, but that strategy only got us so far.  On top of the snow falling from the sky, large chunks would also fall from the trees and powerlines.  None of this was really a problem, if anything it made the whole thing more festive.  About a half mile in, we saw Travis and Jack and in true wintertime spirit, they threw snowballs at us.  We also got passed by Santa Claus at one point!  Good times!

Dashing through the snow...

Okay, so besides the wet shoes, the other issue about running in the snow was how much energy it took.  It was kind of like running in wet sand.  My calves were pretty achy near the end.  Leah was still having knee issues, so I'm sure the snow wasn't helping her.  Tim was his usual spry self, and even ate a candy cane that volunteers were passing out. We took a short walk break in the last mile and then dashed our way in to finish off my first ever 5k in the snow!

Overall, this event was super fun and festive!  I don't do 5k races for time because, well, I'm slow, but this one really was more about enjoying a run with some good company.  It's too bad the weather prevented so many from being able to make it-- only about 1,000 out of 4,100 registered ran the event.  Regardless, running with 1,000 folks dressed as Santa was a trip!

After the race, we walked around St. Charles Main Street area.  It has all these cute shops and there are holiday characters like, Scrooge, Santa and carolers walking around greeting folks.  You couldn't help but be full of holiday cheer!  We will definitely be back next year!

Merry Christmas!

I hope to eek one more blog before the year ends, but if not, I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Race Report: 1st Annual Turkey Burn Off Trail Run

1st Annual Turkey Burn Off Trail Run
11/30/13

Perryville, Missouri

Distance/Time:  3.51 miles/38:59 minutes

I have never really ran trails before.  Sure, one time Tim and I went to Giant City and I attempted to run one of the trails, but ended up just walking it as Tim continued on without me.  In my defense, it was a crazy humid day and I also almost fell down a dozen times.  Excuses, excuses.  I just didn't feel it that day.  Tim has always had an interest in it, but feels limited because there aren't a lot of areas near us.  With street running, we just walk out the door and go.  Trail running requires driving somewhere to seek out a place to run.  And as we all know, sometimes having to actively drive somewhere makes it harder to get your butt out the door!

Anyway, we were looking for a run to do over the holiday weekend.  Surprisingly, there weren't a lot of choices.  We found this one and even though it was about an hour away, the appeal of it being on a trail made it worth it.  We signed up so long ago, that it didn't occur to me at the time that the weather could have majorly impacted the fun factor.  Thankfully, we awoke to sunny skies and not super cold temps.  A perfect morning for a run!

Although Google Maps tried to take us to another area of the park, we managed to find the start of the race by following a car with a 70.3 sticker on his car. Hmmm.  Serious competition-- for Tim anyway! Packet pick up was easy and organized.  I was able to get both of our packets while Tim waited in line for the bathroom.  Oddly enough there wasn't a line for the women's.  Shocking, I know.  For some reason, I requested a large shirt and it was HUGE. They were nice enough to let me exchange it for a smaller size.

Another cute turkey shirt for me!

After hanging out in the car to stay warm (it was cold and windy by the lake!), we headed up a gravel road where the start was.  The race director explained the course to us, grass, gravel road and trail.  He said they did their best to mark major obstacles (rocks, roots, etc.) and there were volunteers at trickier areas and turns.  Um, what? How tricky were we talking here?  This girl can handle potholes and vehicles, moving or parked, and the occasional gumball (damn you, gumballs!), but rocks?  Mud? Tree roots?  What did Tim get me into?  After my mini-panic attack, I wished Tim good luck and headed to the back of the pack.  No way was I going to start in the front-- I feared falling and tripping dozens of others behind me!

The first quarter mile was a combo of the gravel road and then grass before hitting the trail entrance.  Running on the grass was brutal.  It was on a slant and it had warmed up enough that the ground was soft.  My fear of falling became worse when a girl in front of me fell and rolled down the hill a bit.  Thankfully, she wasn't hurt and laughed it off.  However, all I could think was "Please don't fall.  Please don't fall.  Please don't fall."   When we finally made it to the trail (yeah, that quarter mile felt THAT long) I was actually relieved. Surely the trail would be easier than lumpy grass, right?

The biggest difference I found with trail running is how much I was looking down.  With street running, my eyes are always in front of me, looking for cars, etc.  With trail running, I was always looking at the ground ahead of me.  Roots, ditches, rocks and branches were always needing to be hopped, skipped or jumped over.  True to their word, large rocks or roots in the middle of the trail were marked in orange.  This is probably a nice benefit that trail runners don't have when they are running regular trails. I certainly appreciated it.  

Not too far into the race, a woman beside me commented that she hoped she wasn't crowding me, but I was running a good pace for her.  I told her that I enjoyed the company, but wasn't sure how my pace would continue since it was my first trail race. Truth be told, I didn't really look at my watch or anything during the run.  I was mostly concerned with just getting it done without hurting myself!  The woman, Sara, and I stayed together the entire time and it turns out she knew another runner I know from Steeleville.  Small world, I tell ya.  

The trail had a lot more hills than I would have liked.  I had learned to embrace hills during marathon training, but trail hills are a whole other beast.  These hills were short, steep and windy.  And then there is the down hill.  Running on loose gravel down hill is a bit trickier than just regular road hills.  One area a lady warned us that it was rocky and muddy, sure enough, I slipped on some mud and decided that walking down the hill would be better than slipping down it.  Sara agreed with me, along with most of the other runners that were in front of us.  This was really the hardest part of the entire thing and I think if the ground was solid, it wouldn't have been so bad.  

The final half mile of the race was once again a mix of trail, gravel and grass.  This time the grass wasn't slanted or anything.  Flat and easy to run on.  I saw Tim cheering me on at the finish and I just moved my butt through that finishing shoot. With any race, I'm always happy to be done!  I was extra happy this time because I didn't sprain an ankle or hurt myself!  Yay me!

Post race was pretty fantastic.  There were plenty of treats:  the usual fruit offerings (super frozen bananas- bummer), hot dogs, chips, beer and s'mores.  Yes, I said S'MORES.  Awesome!  Tim and I both got a beer and I'll have to admit, it tasted pretty darn good.  Granted, I couldn't drink it all, but Tim didn't mind having a little extra.  Tim knew he came in 15th overall, but wasn't sure if he would place or anything.  We stuck around for awards regardless because, well, the snacks were tasty.  :)  Turns out Tim did place 3rd in his age group and got a pretty nifty medal!

Pretty cool, right?!?

So, that was my first experience with trail running, and I'm pretty sure I am going to have to do it more often!  I totally felt like a little kid at times.  A BAD ASS little kid. Jumping over logs and rocks really does make time fly when running, too.  My time might not reflect it, but out there on the trail, the miles really flew by.  I think it was because I wasn't thinking about the mileage, but just thinking about how to maneuver the next few feet ahead.  It was a fun experience and I think Tim and I will make a better effort to seek out some trails around here.

Great event!