Race report: Rodeo Beach 30k

Boston is coming up in a few weeks and I have not been training - the twin + full time job + volunteer work juggling act doesn't give tons of time for long runs.  I do try to race once a month, though, and yesterday I was signed up for the Rodeo Beach 20k, but Matt convinced me that in order to really leverage this for training I should do the 30k. Getting to the starting line I still wasn't sure if I wanted to switch up (20k is my longest trail run and even that is really tough) so I decided if they'd let me switch distances (every distance was sold out) I should do it.  Done and done.

When running I always go back to the saying "the mind tires before the body." I firmly believe this (I believe it in all aspects of endurance).  The race was tough - very tough - and at mile 16 my brain kept yelling "stop!" It was just around then that I saw a hare on the trail and decided to push on. The funny thing was I wound up passing the hare (he veered off the trail to eat) ... does that make me a tortoise now? One of the nicest thing about this distance is it put me so high up in the Marin mountains over the water and in the trees - I didn't see houses for miles ... or people for that matter. Instead I saw and heard the waves crashing, enjoyed blue bonnets along the trail, and saw countless lizards and more.

By the end of the race I was hobbling - my body did indeed start to tire. But the finish line and the knowledge that diet coke, gummy bears, and beef jurkey waited there kept me going.  That and knowing the sooner I finished the sooner I'd get home to the boys.

In the end I placed 2nd female and 9th overall (out of 91 people).  After thoroughly sugar and salt loading, stretching, and catching up with GGRC I sat in the car prompting my foot to step on the gas. It took a bit (guess the legs gave out more than I thought) but thinking back to the race I realized that's the first 3hours I've had alone in months.  It was awesome.