Back to reality

So lately I have been feeling burnt out with training, because apparently training for a 50k takes a lot of time and miles. Who knew! So when my sister suggested we go to Disneyland for my birthday weekend I was so excited! Disneyland had a great deal for passholders, which I am, to bring a friend for $99 for a park hopper! So my sister, 2 nephews, my husband, and son took off to Disneyland to have a magical weekend. Also I was so excited to wear my https://www.skirtsports.com lioness skirt! (the pink one in family picture above) It stayed put and has pockets! So breathable and I felt like a princess.

It was such a magical weekend! It was also very fun to wear a happy birthday button because I was wished happy birthday all day! I also didn't get to far off of training because we logged over 20 hours in Disneyland and 16 miles. So I definitely did some endurance training. So all in all it was such a magical birthday weekend and I am so glad I took a break! But I do have to say, it is very hard to go back to reality after such a magical weekend!! I mean, how do you enter back into the real world after such a magical weekend away?  I did go back to training this morning and had negative splits with my 5 mile run and felt fantastic! So the moral is, be serious with your training but know when to take a break and live in the moment too.

Redwoods Trail marathon race report

Part of my Spartan Ultra training, I decided to throw in some trail races because earning medals and having someone else plot my course is so much more fun! This was my first race with coastaltrailruns.com so I wasn't sure what to expect, but luckily I did a volunteer shift with them the week before so I knew what to expect for aide stations. First of all, trail aide stations are SO MUCH BETTER than road aide stations! So many salty snacks! It was awesome. and the views!!!! Breathtaking!!!

 

I was really impressed with how well the course was marked! You really had to try and get lost! We started in misty fog and it was humid, but nice. The weather was perfect and I never overheated on the trails. There was a last minute change to the course map due to trail closures and that added more elevation!! Also, I think someone (or my Strava) added a couple extra miles for fun because I ended up with over 28 miles! But the real struggle was that I had to do this trail loop 2x to make marathon distance. I made the 1st cutoff on the dot, but was given an out to complete  only the half marathon course or finish another loop for the full marathon. I decided to finish and I am so glad I did!! Wendell, the race director, said as long as I was moving forward I was guaranteed to finish!  It was a beautiful course along the west coast and well put on. I felt fully supported with fluids, fuel, and was encouraged by participants and volunteers! well done Coastal Trails!!! 30 people registered for the marathon and 26 finished. I was #26 and there were only 3 ladies in my age group so I was surprised with a 3rd place medal. Made my decision to finish what I started even sweeter!! Now to take on my 1st 50k in September as I continue on my road to Spartan SoCal Ultra!!

 

Road to Spartan Ultra

Hey blog reading people! So, I kinda fell off from my blog.....but I decided to document my journey on the road to Spartan SoCal Ultra Beast!!! This weekend I am going to do a trail marathon with coastaltrailruns.com and this is my first race with them so stand by for a race report! So anyways, if anyone is still out there....I'm back :)