After the start of the race, I stayed near the back hoping the leaders would pack down the snow. That didn't work. The snow was too fluffy to pack down. Besides running in deep snow, the footing was a nightmare. It was very uneven and with every step it was a balancing act. For the most part, I did keep my balance. I did lose my footing and slip three times. I was happy that I didn't fall on my face like I did the last time running the trails.
When I passed 3.5 miles, I had to stop and walk. It was so difficult to run in the deep snow. Stopping to walk really bothered me. I haven't walked during a race in years and it just depressed me. It felt like my training wasn't good enough that I had to walk. Since I run on the treadmill 99% of the time, the snow did get to me. Instead of walking at a leisurely pace, I tried to speed walk. I knew a speed walk would be better then a slow one.
I started running again at mile 4. The trails were covered in deep snow, the footing was awful, but I kept going. I just wanted to finish. I kept going by just kicking the snow out of the way instead of lifting up my legs. It seemed to work the best. I finished the very snowy and uneven footing course in 1:18:46. I finished fourth in my age group. I thought to myself that I would never do this race because it was so horrible.
When I posted my run to dailymile, I was really frustrated. I was upset that I had to walk, that my pace was 15 something and that it took me almost 1 hour and 20 minutes to finish. A couple of weeks before I ran the course in under an hour. I received so many comments telling me I did a great job on the snowy course. Reading those comments turned the way I looked at the race around. I knew going into the race, that trail races are never fast, that walking is done on a trail course and that I should be proud of what I accomplished. I'm proud of how I did Saturday. I ran into problems on a not so perfect course and overcame it all. I finished and finished without injury. I plan to run the Frosty Five trail run again next year and plan to kick its butt.
I started running again at mile 4. The trails were covered in deep snow, the footing was awful, but I kept going. I just wanted to finish. I kept going by just kicking the snow out of the way instead of lifting up my legs. It seemed to work the best. I finished the very snowy and uneven footing course in 1:18:46. I finished fourth in my age group. I thought to myself that I would never do this race because it was so horrible.
When I posted my run to dailymile, I was really frustrated. I was upset that I had to walk, that my pace was 15 something and that it took me almost 1 hour and 20 minutes to finish. A couple of weeks before I ran the course in under an hour. I received so many comments telling me I did a great job on the snowy course. Reading those comments turned the way I looked at the race around. I knew going into the race, that trail races are never fast, that walking is done on a trail course and that I should be proud of what I accomplished. I'm proud of how I did Saturday. I ran into problems on a not so perfect course and overcame it all. I finished and finished without injury. I plan to run the Frosty Five trail run again next year and plan to kick its butt.
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