51K Birthday Run for 51 Years!!

 I watched the border collies play for a long time. I miss Topaz so much.


I know!  51!  How in the world did that happen? Time truly does go by way too quickly. I haven't yet realized that I turned 50 last  year. Crazy!

Last year at this time I was having foot surgery. I am so glad that is in the past!  My foot feels great. I have begun to feel little twitches of neuroma in my other foot, but it is very very minimal.

A fat ass run was scheduled for January 2 so I thought I'd run my birthday run at that time. The course was awesome. We ran at Elm Creek Singletrack in Maple Grove at the Elm Creek Park. What a fabulous trail. If you recall, I ran the Grizzle Run r there a while back during the summer which was a blast..the trails in the winter are just awesome!  The fat bikes come through and totally smooth out the snow, making the surface fabulous. I'll be back this next weekend to put in a few long runs.

A little frosty!

We began at 6 AM at the trailhead. Many were running the 11 mile route, a few were running the 50K, I was making up my 51K.

I ran the first few miles with Therese. We caught up with one another and then I had to make a pit stop. I didn't run with anyone else the remainder of the 7 hours!  We were pretty spread apart and I never really saw anyone else.  

The weather was perfect. 10F, sunny, nice snow packed trails. Lovely. After the first 11 mile loop my water hose was becoming solid. I stopped off at my car and heated it up until the water flowed through. I hopped out of my car and there was Shelley!  What a coincidence. She was out running 7 miles and we just happened to be in the lot at the same time. Fun!

I headed out for loop 2. I came across a pile of gels. There were unopen, 8 of them strewn about the trail. I kind of nudged them off of the trail and placed them all in a neat circle. I hoped that someone would claim them as their own as they came through again. I didn't see them on loop 3. As I was running along I could hear dogs barking. It was the sound of dogs barking while having fun, not in distress. I took a detour and ran toward the barking. Sure enough, I came up on Elm Creek Dog Park!  It was great. Border Collies playing frisbee, Goldens' playing fetch. I just stood there with tears in my eyes, thinking of how much I missed Topaz.

I jogged back to the trail and finished up loop 3. I just felt so grateful to be able to run again. To be able to enjoy the woods, the snow, to be pain free. It was really a great 33 miles. My feet didn't hurt me, I  just had a real blast. What a magical day.

Grizzle Grind 12 Mile Trail Run

Deb, Heidi, Me, Jean, Angela and Jody

Club Run held their first annual Grizzle Grind races yesterday. They offered a '10' mile and a 5K. I like their Facebook page so read about their race a few weeks ago. I thought it would be the perfect time to introduce some of my 'mostly road running' friends to trail running.We all signed up for the 10 mile option.

Grizzle Grind was held at Elm Creek Park in Maple Grove, only a half an hour from home. Angela, Deb and I  met at Heidi's for the ride over. We met Jean and Jody at the race start and had a good 45 minutes to mill around and use the facilities.

Ryan and Jordan were sweeps, it was fun to see some ultra buddies there. On the way to the start Tim Roe said hello and it took me a while to realize where I knew Tim from. It finally dawned on me, Tim developed Tuscobia  a few years back when I ran the race.

As we were waiting for the start two women popped out of the trail, onto the area where we were waiting.  One woman stated with disdain "road runners gonna use our trail" with disgusted looks on their faces. You know I just couldn't help myself. I told one of the women that she was a poor role model for trail running. She sneered. Whatev...

The race was very well organized. All aid stations were fully stocked with gels, water and Gatorade. The course was well marked and the volunteers were full of joy!

The course was held on a mountain biking path. It was very smooth-a few rocks and roots here and there-but mostly worn very smooth. Manymanymanymany hills. Up down and up down over and over again. I ran 24 miles on Saturday and yesterday was a scheduled 14 mile recovery run. It didn't feel much like recovery!

I was wearing the Superior 50K shirt from a few years back and fell into pace with another runner, wearing the same shirt. Bruce and I ran a few miles together, it was fun meeting and running with someone new.  After about 5 miles into the race I was warmed up and able to run faster..I didn't see Bruce again.

I popped out of the woods at 2:11, 12 miles on the nose. In comparing mileage with some of the other runners I realized I ran an extra half mile as I ran to the final aid station which was optional. I chose to fill up my bottle for the final two miles.  

We had a great time, all of us. We'll be back for the 2nd annual.  Great job, Club Run!!

Next Up: RAGNAR on Friday with Heidi, Jean, Jody and Angela from above photo.