This morning I competed an all female event called the Go Girl Trail Run, hosted by Run With Paula.
It was called a 10k+ race. I guess the "+" means it was a bit more than 10K but they don't say exactly how much more. That's OK though, I don't mind LOL.
The run was primarily on the trails within Forest Park, one of the largest urban forest reserves in the USA.
I will say this... I've never done a trail run like this before (other than the Warrior Dash, which is more about the obstacles than the running), and I usually don't run up hills. And BOY were there killer hills!
The first 1/3 of the course was uphill, the second 1/3 of the course was downhill (boy did that feel good!), and the last 1/3 of the course was split... half uphill and half downhill. On the steepest of hills, EVERYONE was walking, not just me. On the gentle hills, flats, and downhills, I was running!
One of my concerns was having IT band pain. I always have it, though with the proper training and stretching I can delay how soon it onsets. Today, I didn't start feeling any discomfort until I was about 1 mile from the finish line... and even then it never got very bad. Woo hoo!
Of course, I made sure to stretch out after I finished, and there was a gentleman there giving free 5-10 minute massages so I signed up. He worked on those IT bands and I'm positive that helped a lot. If anyone reading this is in the Lake Oswego, OR area, I recommend their services.
Bodywork for the Active
I don't have the official time yet, but the time on the clock when I crossed the finish line was 1:15:12. The race started in waves, I was in the fourth, so my official time might be less than this. Honestly, I don't care. I was in the race to challenge myself and see if I could finish. I was challenged LOL, but I finished strong and that's what's important to me. :)
Now, time to let these poor sore and tired muscles rest and recharge. :)
