We got the truck all loaded up to camp for the weekend at Singletrack Mind Festival at Two Rivers Mountain Bike Park. I thought this shirt was appropriate since I had a heavy half (15 miles) Saturday morning…
When we got to Two Rivers, we set our tent up, then went to meet the Küat guys so they could interview Jake about Leadman – it was SO fun getting to listen to this interview. They also asked about our proposal, which is one of my FAVORITE stories. You can watch it
HERE.
After his interview, Jake wanted to go ride the course for the 15 mile run in the morning, just to make sure all the markings were in place, so I headed back down to our tent to set everything up!
We got to try our new sleeping bag and pad this weekend. We are still getting used to the new pad, so we will see how we feel about it. It was okay for the weekend. I’m not a huge fan of sleeping outside, so we are working through that!
This is my favorite koozie!
All the bikes!
Then it was time to warm up dinner! I had cooked everything Thursday night, which was really helpful since we didn’t eat until about 8 o’clock. This way we just had to heat it all up!
Jake manned the camp stove like a boss!
This dinner was AWESOME. Pasta, ground turkey, zucchini, mushrooms, onion, and a basil pesto sauce. All topped with Sriracha, of course.
My camping essentials…I’m the worst sleeper on the planet.
It was off to bed around 10:30. I think I fell asleep about 1 or 2. I’m a really terrible sleeper, so any time there is a change in my sleeping habits, it’s even worse. But, I did get a few hours of sleep and woke up feeling decent. I had some coffee and ate half a banana with some PB and was ready for my race! There were three distances – a family fun run (a mile), a 10k (6ish miles), and a heavy half (15ish miles). Trail miles are always a little off due to GPS and different things, but that was the rough estimate.
This race was hard for me. My ankle, which I thought was going to cause me lots of problems (I sprained it really bad last Sunday at Two Rivers), felt pretty good most of the run! I was just kind of worn out for the whole race. When I’m tired during a run, I get lazy with my feet, which usually leads to tripping a lot. Well, on trail, lazy feet lead to falls. I fell three times during the 15 mile run. The first time I fell, about mile 7, I fell really hard going downhill on a super rocky portion of trail. I slid on my stomach for a little bit, which resulted in some scrapes and tearing my new shirt (GRR), but that was it! It hurt, but I was able to pop back up and keep going. The second time I fell was on a super flat, dirt only area. It was almost funny because I was about 2 miles from being finished and I knew it was because I was tired. It didn’t hurt at all, it was just embarrassing because I tripped over nothing in front of a big group of guys getting ready to go ride. I hope I gave them a good laugh! The last fall, which happened in the last mile, was the worst. It was also downhill in a rocky portion and I did a semi-somersault as I fell. That one hurt and knocked the wind out me, which led to me laying on my back in the middle of the trail. I cried a little, got up, walked a little, then ran the rest of the way to the finish. I felt better once I was able to run again.
This picture is after I fell the first time about mile 7. I was telling my parents and Jake that I thought I had busted my soft flask when I fell since I landed on my chest/stomach. It was SO fun to see my parents, Jake’s parents, and Jake throughout the race!
My Mom was going camera crazy – every time I would run by them, she would ask how my ankle was and then take a bunch of pictures. It was funny!
I loved seeing Brandi (a friend) taking pictures of the finishers as they crossed the finish line. I was SO ready to be done at this point. I finished the 15 miles in 2 hours and 36 minutes, with an average pace of 10:19. I was also the first overall female, so that was cool! This run definitely tested me – that was also my first real crash during a race. And I crashed three times. Go big or go home, right? Eye-roll. I want to hear your crash and burn stories! Maybe they’ll make me feel better about my race… ; )
Trying to pick the rocks and dirt out of my hands. Judging by my face in this picture, I was being dramatic. ; )
I was probably giving Jake a hard time for telling me the race course was shorter (half a mile) than it actually was – he was the race director at Singletrack Mind, so I got to tease him about the course. He loved it.
Then it was off to shower, which felt AMAZING.
Made the mistake of leaving my phone with these two…gotta love them!
I was starving after my run – I ate an entire small pizza AND then had this brat. No shame. They were both delicious.
Then we relaxed for a little bit in the Club Ride tent. I could’ve slept in this hammock for hours…
Jake and I got to help judge the kids Slopestyle course, which was so fun! I was so impressed by the jumps and tricks the kids were able to do…SO impressed.
Here’s a view of all the vendors from the Slopestyle course – the turnout this year was awesome! The whole weekend was a blast!
There’s Brandi, our fearless photographer, laying on the ground to get the best shots. She’s REALLY good at what she does – look her up on Facebook – BG Studios Photography.
These guys are crazy! I think the airbag is scary enough, but some of the guys were going off the ramp and jumping into it in pairs! No way.
I couldn’t get the dirt out of those little spots on my hand, ugh. I had to do it Sunday morning with a needle. They felt MUCH better once I did that.
The Mixtapes played Saturday night! They’re one of my favorite cover bands, so I was pumped. Jake and I sang and danced the whole time.
I didn’t get any pictures on Sunday, but we spent the day packing up and watching the cross country mountain bike races. We got home early Sunday evening and picked up our babies! My pack is still covered in dirt…I haven’t looked it over yet to see if I ripped it or not. Fingers crossed I didn’t! Here’s my medal! 1st overall female and 1st in my age group. : )
It’s hard to see in these pictures, but I think my legs are going to be pretty bruised within the next few days. Luckily, I’m not sore anymore and can walk normally!
Once I got that dirt out of my hands, they started to feel much better, so they’re healing up nicely, too! My arm and shoulder were a little scraped up from my somersault, but nothing too crazy! I was pretty lucky.
So now I want to hear from you!!
What did you do this weekend??
What are your falling/crashing/tripping stories? I want to hear about them!
Happy Labor Day, everyone!
Like this:
Like Loading...
Related
It was so good to see you on Sunday and officially congratulate you on your engagement! ❤️ I fell one time running on the road! I tripped on some raised pavement and tumbled onto my right shoulder. I just wanted to stop and cry 😭 but I was with a group of elite runners. I had to suck it up running all the way back to the car (luckily it was 2 miles). That bruise, and pain, was massive!!
Congrats on your win!!
I’ve only run one trail race and it was LONG … we used the trail race as part of our training for the full marathon … BUT we didn’t realize how hard the race would be on our bodies. I am not sure if I would do one again without friends to run with. I might have to connect with you when I race in Missouri next as I only live a few hours away! 🙂
I had forgotten that I took those pictures on your phone until I read this blog post😜 You’re so awesome!
When I first got Reinhardt I was trail running quite a few miles each week in the foothills of Colorado. I had my favorite spots for fast shorter runs one of which was a trail called Mathew Winters. (Next time you’re there try that area, it’s filled with awesome trails) R wasn’t quite trained in the art of running on a leash without taking off after a helpless little animal every once in a while. I was on the later half of the trail, which meant I was booking it, when he saw something to go after. He yanked on the leash at the same point I was jumping over a big rock. My foot clipped the top of the rock and down I went as if I was sliding into third base. If third base was positioned down hill on a bed of sharp rocks.
I was sure mad at him for a while. After that I started taking the leash off during fast runs🤦🏼♀️.
Love your posts!❤️
Amazing race! I love that I found your blog!
I’m a big fan of trail running but I’m such a klutz I don’t think I would survive. 🙂