Dani of the Jungle

Dani, Dani, Dani of the jungle, strong as she can be....Dani, Dani, Dani of the jungle, watch out for that tree! Crash!!! Yes, that is how I felt running my Xtreme trail half-marathon this last Saturday. But, before I get more into that, I will start at the beginning.

I left for Douthat State Park last Friday where the race was going to be. http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/dou.shtml It is about 4 hours away. My race was at 7 and I wasn't up for driving at 3 am. So, I stayed at a bed and breakfast the night before. It is called the Vine Cottage Inn. It was one of the less expensive B and B's in the area. Mistake! It was pretty much a dive. The bed sucked and people woke me up at 1 am. So, not the best rest in the world. Next time, I will not scrimp when it comes to sleep.

I left before breakfast, so who knows how it would have been. I was so nervous, I could hardly eat my muffin and banana. I have never run a half-marathon before and it has taken me so long get in shape. I knew I would finish, I just didn't know if I would be able to push myself the whole way. I was talking to a girl named Jani who was also running. She said that her goal was to do it in under 4 hours. That is about 20 minutes per mile. I smiled and told her she could do it, but in my mind I was thinking what a wimp. Don't worry, I had ample opportunity to eat my humble pie once the race started.

And start it did. The first few hundred yards were on trails and no big deal. Rocky, yes, but nothing to worry about. We crossed a stream on a log. Fun, but nothing too physically demanding. Then we started to run uphill. Not too bad at first. In fact, we were all getting to know each other while running. One guy had run 41 marathons. He was part of a group called Marathon Maniacs. Two other women had traveled from Ohio for the marathon. All of them were going to do another lap and make it a marathon. There were several people at the front of the pack who were there for the Ultra40 that would do 3 laps. When I mentioned my goal to not walk, one of the Ohio ladies said, "That's a lofty goal." I thought she was being condescending and felt quite annoyed. Who was she to put down my efforts? I might not be a marathoner yet, but I am still working hard!

It turns out, she wasn't being facetious. It really was a lofty goal. Here is a map of the course we ran. Do you see all of those zig zags? Those are affectionately called switchbacks. Affectionately by crazy people! These switch backs are all up hill. As you can see, the switchbacks are less than a mile into the race. So, by a mile I was almost brought to tears. Seriously, I was choking back tears because I did not want the other runners to see me freak out. These switchbacks weren't just hills, they were mountains. Mountains with rocks and tree roots and bushes covering the trails. It was a nightmare. I had to watch every step to make sure that I didn't fall.

After running for almost a mile, I realized that the people walking were going just as fast as I was. I also realized that I could not run another 12 miles at the pace I was going. My body wasn't trained for it. I don't know that it would ever be ready for that! So, I started walking - briskly. You would think that walking the race would have been much easier, but I was breathing harder and my heart rate was higher than it ever gets on my long runs. Just hiking up those never ending switchbacks was killing me.

As you can see, I wasn't exactly going at a lightning pace. I realized as I was walking up the switchbacks that I had forgotten to get a picture of myself, so I took one. It was a little fuzzy because I was moving. I also tried to get some photos of the terrain so people could see how difficult it was. These photos don't do the course justice as far as the difficulty.

I kept trekking on in spite of the craziness. About 3.5-4 miles into the race, we got to run a little downhill. It was a nice change. It was still challenging with the rocks - one of the Ohio ladies fell 3 times - and the bushes practically covering the entire trail. I felt like a bushwacker at times. I needed Brent to check me out for ticks when I got home. BTW - not as sexy as the Brad Paisley song. It involves a lot more shrieking. It is so embarrassing because I have to tell the neighbors it was me so that Brent can save face. Anyway, there was even a huge tree that fell in the middle of the trail that we had to climb over. I kept thinking to myself "is this for real?!"

By the tenth mile I had hit a wall. It was so difficult to keep going. I didn't have the muscle strength to even try to run up the hills and it took all of my strength to force myself to run the rest of the time. It was really hard mentally to force myself to go when all that I wanted to do was just walk as slowly as possible. My body was in a state of inertia, though, so it kept pushing me when I would slow down. I never really got past the wall. Usually I feel a second wind after a mile or so. Not this time. My body was done.

After the 11-mile marker, it seemed like I just kept going and going. I couldn't believe how long it was taking me to run to the 12-mile marker. Again, I was almost brought to tears. How was I supposed to finish the race if I can't even run a mile?!?! Then, I turn the corner and this is what I see.......(Not really my picture. I was too weak to pull out the cameraphone.)

It was so beautiful and peaceful. It helped me remember why I love running so much. Just not at the moment. And the best part --- the 13-mile marker was around the corner as well. I must have missed the 12-mile marker. So, I was only .1 miles away from finishing. I couldn't believe it. I would have peed myself except I was dehydrated and there was nothing left. TMI?? Anyway, I finished the longest .1 miles of my life and finally finished the hardest race I have ever ran. It was so tough in fact, that I no longer doubt that I could run a normal marathon. So, maybe sometime in the future, there will be another amazing running post.

I am still sore and tired. I could hardly walk Sunday. I still hurt a little when I have to sit down. For some reason going down the hills was harder on my muscles than uphill. Go figure?! I won't tell you my time because I am a little embarrassed by how slow I was. I will say that I definitely beat the 20 min/mile mark. Even though my time stunk, I know that I pushed myself harder than I ever have in a race before. I feel kind of silly about this - but I am really proud of myself. As a mom, I don't do a lot for myself. No awards, raises, promotions, or all the ego boosting things that Brent gets. So, for me, this has been a really big deal. I am so thankful that I have such a fantastic husband who has supported and encouraged me through this. He is the best husband ever and I know that I am truly blessed!!!!