It was a relatively quiet week, with minimal running but included my first Trail 10k, and the weather finally turned lovely towards the end of the week — just in time for said Trail race!
Joining Kim @ Kimrunsonthefly and Deborah @ Confessionsofamotherrunner and just sharing Summer activities.
And linking up with Jenn @ Runswithpugs, Brandi @ Funnerrunner, Anna Louise @ Graciouswarriorprincess, Briana @ Matsmilesmedals, Meghan @ Meghanonthemove, and Elizabeth @ Trainwithbainfor RIOTS(running is our therapy)
Workouts update
- Monday: Dogwalk, PB ST (30 min), Yoga (30 min)
- Tuesday: 3 miles easy, Yin Yoga Hips (35 min), Pilates Abs (5 min)
- Wednesday: Dogwalk, Yoga (20 minutes), Barre Fusion (30 min)
- Thursday: 4 mile run with 6 x 20ish strides, Yoga (20 min)
- Friday: Dogwalk, Yoga (30 min), PB ST (30 min)
- Saturday: Dogwalk, Kundalini Yoga Workshop (workshop 30 min, then yoga for 60 min)
- Sunday: Thatcher Park Trail Ruining Festival 10k
Mileage: 13 (NC)
JY = Jasyoga
PB = Killer B
TM = Treadmill
YFR = Yoga for Runners*
WU = warmup
CD = cooldown
SB = Stationary Bike
YFPR = Yoga for Pain Relief
YTU = Yoga Tune Up Lower Body*
*Disclaimer: Amazon affiliate links; I will make a small amount of money if you buy through these links
Running Updates
Tuesday
Not only did I miss Monday (on purpose, I am not on the #nevermissamonday train) I totally forgot to take a photo but I assure you this run happened. Just 3 easy miles.
I was planning to run later in the day . . . maybe. Walked the dogs and just like Monday morning, the dew point was delightful. I wasn’t prepared to run, hadn’t eaten or laid out clothes or put on sunscreen like I wrote about here, but dammit it wasn’t humid.
So I got out at 9:30, it was sunny, the temps were rising through the 70s . . . but with an eye on keeping my HR low this run was fine — aided by my cooling towel, too. Gotta buy a second one I think . . .
Thursday
Another humid, hilly run. My trail race Saturday shouldn’t be terribly hilly, but it won’t be completely flat either. It’s been a while since I ran faster so I did strides at the end. Thankfully the cloud cover held, and even though I got out a bit late due to waking up too early and not being able to fall back asleep, it wasn’t too bad.
Sunday
My trail race Saturday shouldn’t be terribly hilly, but it won’t be completely flat either.
Insert evil laugh here. I did this trail running festival a couple of years ago when there was a 5k option. The 5k wasn’t too hilly. The graphic above shows my run on Thursday, and the elevation, vs my run today and its elevation.
I’ll recap it Tuesday, but let’s just say I had one of my slowest miles on the trails ever (stopped a bunch to take photos cause why not?), and there were definitely a few hills, lots of mud, and lots of rocks and roots. This 10k was nothing like the 5k of 2 years ago, but I’ve also never done a trail 10k so it’s a PR.
Favorites of the week
The race today. It was hard, y’all.I had 2 very simple goals:
- Finish
- Stay upright
I’m claiming I crushed it. Like I said, more to come Tuesday, but knowing a few people going into the race — and actually running the second half of the race with a running buddy who crushed her goals made this race more fun.
The Kundalini Workshop was interesting. I’ve done a little bit of Kundalini here, a little there, but never a full hour like this one. There was a talk about it a bit before we started, which was also like a mini review of some of my YTT material, so winning all around. It’s a very different style of yoga.
I really liked the instructor, who will be teaching a class in this style going forward, but unfortunately at 7 pm — which is kind of late for me, especially since it’s a little bit of a drive.
Do you ever get to actually race with your friends? I mean run with them in the race. It’s rare for me!
Trails — too scared on the more rocks & roots the merrier?
Do you prefer flat & fast or hills, even if it’s steep hills?
Chocolaterunsjudy 
Trail runs really scare me bc I have fallen twice. I would imagine paces would be significantly slower having to navigate all the roots and rocks. Definitely a PR! Congrats and look forward to reading about it
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Oh, it was a pretty slow pace for me. I had zero time goals — although they ask for an estimated finish time when you sign up (no idea why, as the course is open over 6 hours since people are doing much longer races).
I stopped & took photos a LOT. It could have been a slightly faster race, LOL, but I truly was just in it to have fun & enjoy the day.
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Yesss….come to the dark side, Judy! Congrats on your 10k trail run! It was hilly, but at least it looks like there was a downhill finish, right? I never have time goals for a trail race. Too many variables, even if I have done the race in the past. It’s one of the things I like most about trail running – no expectations. I count having fun and enjoying the day as a win.
I have fallen in trail races before. Thank goodness, the spills were not too bad. If you stayed upright, you’re doing great!
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Ahh, congrats on the trail 10k! Glad that you crushed your goals, that makes the experience on trails even sweeter. As you know I LOVE trail runs. The more roots and rocks the merrier, I say! To be fair, that’s after a few years of practice. Nice job!
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Someday I’ll find a really scenic, flat, non technical trail. Yeah, probably not. I’ve been running trails on & off the last few years. I still haven’t fallen in love with them, but doing it with a friend (even only partially) definitely made it more fun.
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No FOMO on the trail race but if I were in town, I would have volunteered. I love running on trails but would not pay to race because it’s too scary to actually race. Glad it was fun.
I have raced with friends most of a race but probably not the whole thing.
Flat is better for a PR but hills do make it less boring. I love races so I’d say both.
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Congrats on your trail race! Trail running really scares me because I’m always afraid I will fall. Last year I did a race in December and it wasn’t advertised as a trail race (it was a 5K and 2 miles were on the trail). I spent the whole time staring down to make sure I didn’t trip on anything!
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Well done on the trail 10K! Like Laurie said, the great thing about trails is there are too many variables to make it stressful in terms of a PR (which is why I’ve enjoyed the ones I’ve done). That said, I did take a nasty tumble on my very first trail race, and had a few bruised ribs as a result. It still was a fun event, and (obviously) it didn’t deter me from going back for more. 😉
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Way to go on the 10K! I am still looking forward to my first trail race. I used to race with a friend – – we were so well-matched we could stay together the whole time — but she stopped racing and we don’t even run together anymore because of scheduling issues.
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Running friends & scheduling is really hard. 😦 I think we all have to accept that ultimately it’s just us & the road, at some point.
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Yes! Crushed it! I usually do races with friends to be honest – but then I don’t do many races. I will go on the trail now – I’m even taking my trail shoes to Cornwall in the autumn so I can do a bit more of the coast path than I normally do. Shocking!
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Shocking, indeed! But I bet that it will be really pretty, too.
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Congrats on your 10 km. trail. In my “career” I did only 2 real trails and I will not repeat the experience anymore. A trail as a workout is ok but no more as a race.
Rarely I race “shoulder to shoulder” with a friend. It happened few times when we noticed that the route was very difficult, so we decided not to risk injures running slower together: I remember one race with part of it in a total darkness.
I prefer ondulate routes.
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Total darkness would freak me out, although I know people who do multi day relay races & they often run at night.
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Trail runs are fun, aren’t they? But for someone who loves to run fast, I have to get my head around the much slower mile splits! It’s all about the experience. I did like the ones I’ve done.
Congrats!
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Same Wendy
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It’s good that you’ve at least tried some trail races!
Those are the two responses I usually get: I’m afraid of falling, or I don’t want to have to run so slow. Everybody has their own comfort level.
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Oh, that terrain looks tough for the trail race! Good job with it 🙂 That’s fun that you got to race part of it with your friend. I go to races with friends a lot, we start and end together, but it’s pretty rare that we stay together the whole race. We did stay together for the half last December because it was meant to be a training run and we deliberately took it easy for the first half of the race. It was definitely more fun that way to do it together 🙂
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We only stayed together half the race, but it was fun! Otherwise I’m usually on my own.
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Congrats on the 10k! I’m not at the point where I want to do trail racing yet, but I love reading about them for the relaxed, laid back attitude.
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I’d been running about 8 years before I decided to tackle a trail race. It involved chocolate. 🙂
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Trail races scare me because I think I am going to fall. Great job on your race! But sometimes I will run on a trail just for the experience and to do something different. I rarely run/race with friends because I am much slower. 🙂
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Well, you could fall, of course. It’s definitely possible. As you get tired, you really have to think about picking up your feet.
I’ve only run 4 trail races (and done a bit of trail running the last few years), but I have to say the one fall I had on the road was a lot worse than the one I had on trails (neither in a race, btw).
Most of my friends are either way faster than me or somewhat slower than me. I used to have a friend I was fairly well matched with, but sadly she hasn’t been doing much running, struggling with knee issues.
So I rarely run with anyone either!
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A trail 10K sounds like a great distance. Not too short, not too long. I hope to get back into some trail running in September. I have run several races with my husband, so that counts, right? 🙂 Racing with a friend is fun… but I’m usually too focused on my finish time, which keeps me racing solo. I need to do more races that don’t have a finish time goal!!
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I kind of felt like I’d run a half afterwards, LOL!
Yes, running with your husband totally counts (if only mine did).
Trail races are more fun runs in my mind. If they weren’t I think I’d be very disappointed since I tend to be so very BOTP in them.
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