Critter Crawl (Weekend Update)

Happy Monday, everyone!  If you are off for President's Day - LUCKY YOU - ENJOY!

I decided, last minute, to run a trail run Saturday morning.  I was worried about turning my ankle and being unable to run my upcoming half marathons.  But, I'd run it twice before and knew I could see where I was stepping (unlike others I've run that were overgrown with tall grass).  Major props to the race directors who painstakingly marked the worst roots and holes with bright orange paint.

The worst obstacles ended up being the gazillion balls that had fallen from the Sweet Gum trees.  If you are not familiar with these spiky balls, they do not give when stepped upon.  Some places were carpeted with them.

Lovely Boardwalk

The Critter Crawl is a true trail run on a wildlife preserve with countless ups, downs, sharp twists and turns.  You've got to watch for low hanging branches!  {Thwack!}  Some of the course is gravel, some of it is on boardwalks (my favorite) but most of it is on deep, deep mulch.  It is incredibly spongy.  

Marsh mellow mulch and just a few Sweet Gum balls

My trail pace is much, much s-l-o-w-e-r than normal.  I walked up a couple of the steepest hills in the deepest mulch because I simply wasn't going anywhere anyway!  It felt like running on marsh mellows.  Luckily, the other runners got no further ahead.

I got a nice solid workout, managed a dead-on 10:00 average pace and won Female Grand Masters.  I was actually the 4th female across the line (yes - the race was that small).  It was bright and sunny with the temperature around 38...a beautiful day.  The overall and masters awards were hand carved by the director's father.  The after party was outdoors with music, plenty of food, drinks and hot coffee.  This race attracts a lot of kids.  They also included a critter costume contest. 

Isn't my hummingbird pretty?

My friend Kim was 1st in her AG.
They gave her award to someone else. Oops.

Later in the day, I indulged in too many Valentine treats...Starbucks, peanut M&Ms, cheese straws, pizza, wine...boo for me!  I have got to get back on track.  (Or, could I have possibly call it carbo-loading for the next day?)

Sunday I ran 10 slow miles in preparation for my impending four back-to-back weekend half marathons. My knee acted a little cranky like it did in my last half.  I'm hoping it's just from too much Disney World, or the Critter Crawl, or both.

Sadly, my times are still off from last Winter...and I'll do what I can to keep working on it.  The next halves are hilly, but one of them not too terribly bad.  Between each race, I plan to run one 4 to 5 mile easy run and one short speed work session.  Sleep and foam rolling will be my absolute best friends.

That was my weekend.

Oh, I forgot to mention the usual endless laundry and grocery shopping hell.


Did anyone else race?  Have you ever stepped on a Sweet Gum ball?


I'm linking up with Tara @ Running 'N' Reading for the Weekend Update.

Please visit Tara and the other participating bloggers!