I survived my First REAL Trail race...

I'm dang tired! It's been a LOOONNNGGG day & I'm finally at home! :)

Wild Thang made my heart sing & it opened my eyes to the difficulty of trail racing. I can certainly see how it can probably make you a better road racer. Thanks to the rain, I could breathe for the most part but my nose ran all the way out to the turn around point. I couldn't push my pace down enough to get the "conditon" going so I only had to spit the crap up a few times. I have a whole new respect for trail runners. Asphalt is much EASIER for me, anyway.

I didn't really enjoy the scenery simply because I was jumping over slippery rocks, trying to avoid the poisonous stuff growing, & trying to hold my footing in the mud. I caught my shoes a couple of times on rocks, slid a little, but all in all it was a blast even though I had to "focus" on every foot strike. I ran right through the water provided it didn't look too muddy. (I walked the slippery bridge!) There were points where I looked down at my shoes to check to see if there was cement attached. ha! It really took a lot of effort for me not to fall. I told Carla that it felt like I did aerobics today. I'm glad I did it because it sure made me use some leg/hip muscles that are WEAK! My first 9 mile Wild Thang was 1:39:01. If I do it next year, I sure hope I get closer to 1:30. (maybe I won't have allergies or mud to deal with next year!) They had a hose available so we could get the mud off us, thank goodness. :)

I was impressed with the post race spread. The striders even had boca burgers on the grill for those who wanted them! So, yes, they are better off the grill. I did get more Morning Star burgers. The Tomato & Basil Pizza burgers ROCK!