ninja moves

on tuesday i ran the black loop at lapham peak the fastest i've ever ran it (1:02:28)!  i've been running at lapham a few times a week in preparation for the instep 1/2 marathon that's coming up on september 6th.  i'm a bit nervous about it.  the course is two black loops with the tower thrown in during the first of the loops.

the tower at lapham peak

it should prove to be quite challenging.  in fact, that's the only part that i'm not looking forward to.  at my slowest i finish the loop in around 1:12 or 1:15... so throwing the tower in... well, i'm not sure how much that will slow me down, but it concerns me.  i think i can get moving pretty quickly once i get to the top as going back down should be a breeze.  the last (and possibly only) time i ran two of the black loop i completed it in 2:20:06 and that wasn't racing it.  that was also missing the tower so there's that.  my goal is to finish the race in 2:10 or under.  i think racing it i should be able to accomplish that.  i run this course so often that it is an attainable goal.

when i ran on tuesday i also managed to pull the most crazy ninja fall of all time.  i was running a flat just after asthma hill when i tripped so fast that if one were to blink you'd miss it.  let me back up a bit.  when i was coming up to the bathrooms i decided to bypass them as i was feeling so good and i was alone so i wanted to try and run the loop as hard and fast as felt good to see what time i could get.  i was really interested to see just how fast i could complete it.  so i just kept going when normally i stop and pee.  i passed another runner who was running at a leisurely pace as we were turning the corner heading up to asthma hill.

the flat at the top of asthma hill

now, i don't know about you but i tend to naturally pick up the pace when people are around me to see it.  don't know why... i just do it before i even realize i do it.  i mean... normally, at this spot near asthma hill i might be inclined to do a little walking but not this day... not with this lady behind me... nope. no way.  so i ran as much as i could up the incline towards the hill, and actually part of the hill and then i walked.  i walked the second half of the hill to the flat and then kept going.  it was once i hit the flat that something happened.  i was running just fine.  good form, feeling strong, breathing normal and not labored... i have no idea what happened.  next thing i know i'm on the ground.

here's what happened:  left foot stumble, left knee down, left forearm puncture, rolled on my back, right arm down, right foot down, and back up running.  i never even paused!  it was AMAZING!

i looked down at my left arm and the puncture wound was already the size of a golf ball on my arm and oozing blood but not really bleeding that much so while i was a bit concerned about the weird immediate swelling i just kept running.  mainly because... well... that woman.  weird, i know.

i did glance down at my knee and noticed some blood but again... not much so no worries.  i figured that since nothing really hurt i was probably fine.  i moved my arm around and nothing hurt so i didn't think anything was damaged.  nothing started to hurt until a few hills later at which point i stopped and examined things.  just some superficial injuries that i could tell through all the dirt.  i decided that i'd wash everything off when i got to the end of the run (2ish miles away), and reassess then.  my arm felt weird because the flesh was so swollen it was bobbing around, but other than that and the stinging on the scrapes on my leg... i felt great and kept running as fast as i could to get a good time.

i know, i know... priorities.   the thing is that i have that race next weekend and it's really important to me that i do well.  in fact, i am such a weirdo that i looked up last year's competitors in my age group to see what times i would need to beat to place.  then i looked them up to see if they were registered this year.  then i looked up everyone else (all 5 of them) who were registered in my age group this year as well as searched them on athlinks.com to see what my competition is for the race.  ok... that sounds a little weird once i type it out like that, but it is what it is.  i like to know my competition and how hard i will have to work to beat them.  especially, on what i consider my home turf so to speak.  i'm not fast enough (or young enough) to win in general, but i've been doing quite well in my age group and i strive to do better.  i have less anxiety going into the race if i know my competition.  i also looked up how many women over all that are signed up.  there's only 50 of them not counting myself.

i have so much respect for the trail and for lapham peak.  i love sharing it with people, but at the same time i want to OWN the course.

at the end of my run on tuesday i took the following picture before washing off my injuries.

ninja moves injury photo

turned out that things weren't so bad.  today (3 days later) everything is bruised and i've got a few scabs but other than that i'm no worse for wear.  i'm planning on running 3 loops of the black loop tomorrow to complete 20 miles.  i'm a little worried that i won't bother finishing as i may get bored and feel too tired to finish.  when i did the 2 loops a few weeks back i was pretty tired after the 2, but i'm running with a group for the first loop at least so that should help.  3 hours of running just seems really daunting.

it will certainly be an accomplishment if i complete it.  i think there's rain in the forecast too so there's also that...