Bradyn is feeling better and it’s time for me to get back to training for my Team in Training ½ marathon benefiting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I hit it hard last night with the Los Chupacabras De La Noche 10K. It’s in the dark, in the woods, on a trail, headlamp required. I signed up for this run months ago and was really excited that things worked out and I was able to attend.

This is me at the house getting psyched for the run. Note the Visor AND the headlamp.

While standing in the starting area waiting for the gun to go off I overheard the BEST quote I have ever heard before a race! The lady next to me told her friend “run with your mouth closed, if you don’t you’ll suck in a bug and the choking will impact your spilts”. And THAT sums up how hard core this run was. The trails were not just uneven and rocky, there were tree roots popping up in the craziest places. If you didn’t look at the ground and watch your footing constantly you were in danger of tripping and falling. I can’t even count the number of bruised and bloody runners I saw hobbling their way to medical. Deep into the trail, at least a mile from the last time I had seen a volunteer, I ran up on 2 girls. One had fallen and really hurt her ankle. The other was building a makeshift splint out of sticks and a tee shirt. Until this run I thought it only got that bad in the movies.

We all know that I am CLUMSY! So I made a point to be super alert. I tripped over a few roots but never fell.

The race was organized wonderfully by Run In Texas. There were enough water stations, volunteers a plenty and a trail well marked with flour and glow sticks. If you love trail running, I recommend you try this race next year.

It was pretty surreal. Running, alone, in the dark, under the almost full moon, with a headlamp. It gave me time to think and to center myself and to purge a ton of the stress that I have been feeling over the last few…. Weeks ….. Months…. Years….

That is until I started thinking about the fact that I was running alone, in the dark, under the almost full moon, with a headlamp. I began to wonder if this was the adult version of snipe hunting. Do you remember that from sleep away camp? They take you out into the night under the premise of hunting the non-existent snipe. Leave you alone just long enough to let your mind run wild and then scare the shit out of you… Good times.

And then I started thinking about snakes. We are in Texas you know and its HOT in the day time. So it would stand to reason that the snakes would be out while I was running. You know, when its cool… Or serial killers, could one be lurking, waiting for a runner that looks weak…. And thats when I got ahold of myself. Reminded myself to stop imagining the worst and enjoy the moment. And enjoy the moment I did. When the race was over I was refreshingly exhausted in the best possible way. I have blisters on both of my heels. (time for new shoes I think). This morning my legs hurt in a good way and my heart is lighter. I am ready for whatever this new week brings.

THIS is why I LOVE running.

Category: Lovin Life