Dear Muscles,

I didn't sleep very well last night, and when I tried to roll out of bed this morning it wasn't hard to figure out why. You are angry! I get it. I haven't treated you all that well over the last few months, years maybe. I've underutilized some of you while over utilizing others, but we had fun together on Saturday, didn't we? Yes, I know that I am 35, and an under-trained 15.5 mile trail run was probably not my best idea ever, but it was hella fun!

I certainly didn't win, although I'm pretty sure I didn't come in last. But here is the way it went down…

The race was held at Lake Mcmurtry in Stillwater, and the options included a 12k, 25k and 50k. There's not a chance in hell I would do the 50k, and I felt that the 12k wasn't enough of a challenge since I have been running half-marathons consistently for the past 6 months or so. So, I signed up for the 25k knowing I could finish, but it probably wouldn't be pretty. Here's the deal though…trail running is fun. Because you have to focus on every single step you take in order to avoid the roots, rocks, holes, snakes, etc that may be on the course, it's not quite as boring as road running. However, you seem to use many more muscles/ different muscles than when you are consistently running on a flat(ter) surface.

So, the night before the race, I was nervous, especially when my friend, Lisa (who talked me into it) told me we were "running on the surface of the sun." Great. We met at a downtown coffee shop so I could hop in with her for the hour drive to the lake, and lucky me, I had an upset stomach the whole there and had to make multiple bathroom trips before the race started.

The first few miles went great. Some people down-played the leap o' doom, and some people played it up, so I wasn't' really sure what to expect. Well, I'd say they down-played it, and although I didn't almost fall into the crevice, I did almost fall as soon as I landed on the other side. And we had to do that twice. Nothing was too exciting throughout the course thoguh- I missed the talk of the copperhead snake, and it's a good thing because I would have freaked out.

                                                                                               (source)
The miles passed sssllloooowwwwlllyyy and I really looked forward to every aid station. The crew that puts on these trail races (TATUR) has the best aid stations hands down. Each was stocked with every kind of snack, sweet and salty, you could imagine, plus water, gatorade, ginger ale, coke and I think I saw beer. The only problem was that because it was so hot, I was so thirsty (not a good sign), and I wanted to stay and chug drink after drink.

By mile 11, I was pretty much done. My muscles were already sore and I had some pain in my ankles. I was hot and grumpy and seriously thinking about laying down and taking a nap on the trail. Plus, I thought I might be lost when I didn't see anyone for a very long time. I just decided that as long as I could keep walking and jogging some, I would get there eventually.

And I did. All I can say is that I earned every single ounce of that medal!