Mom in the Mtns

Happy Monday everyone!  So, I’ve got a secret.  One that I’ve been accidentally keeping for months now (although technically I had one instagram post about it).  And since it’s happening this weekend, I might as well blog about it right now…

I’m doing the Lost Lake Run this weekend.  I registered for it back on April 1st at 6:00 am, and despite the fact that I didn’t expect to get in because it’s super popular and sells out in like 10 minutes…I got in!  It’s a 16 mile trail run up and down a mountain, and it’s probably one of my favorite hikes ever (you can read my trail recap from last summer here).  When I signed up, it was during a time when I was unsure about my running future. I had just recently realized that doing a marathon this year was impossible, and I was training for my very first triathlon.  I wasn’t running much at this point, but I was trying to find something to train for in the future that wouldn’t hurt me on race day.  And I figured that if I couldn’t run any part of the race, at least I could hike it!  Plus, this race has been on my bucket list since I did the hike last year, and I knew I wanted to spent my summer hiking trails.  So I attempted the competitive registration process and was shocked to discover that I’d gotten into the race.

But to be honest, ever since I got in I’ve been wondering if I’ll actually do the race.  That’s why I’ve never blogged about it or had any official training posts like every other race I’ve done.  I think the reason I wasn’t willing to commit to the idea of doing the race is because I’ve been injured for so long, and I have no idea what my body is capable of doing in the future.  I’ve spent the summer hiking trails of various length and difficulty, mostly just to test out what I’m able to do right now and make sure I can hike pain free.  And I’ve been pleasantly surprised that I’ve been feeling so well on all of my long and difficult hikes!  After hiking 8 very steep and difficult miles on Crow Pass and running the last mile downhill due to some very fierce flies, I finally felt for the first time that I was going to be able to do this race.  I was still trying to figure out if I wanted to do it as recently as last week, but with a tentative sunny forecast in Seward and no SI joint pain I know that I have no excuse to not do it.  Plus, re-reading my trail recap from last year reminded me how much I love this trail and how badly I want to do it!  It’s not steep at all, just long and beautiful.  Which is my favorite kind of hike!

I registered as a walker, which means that I get to start 2 hours ahead of the runners and will give me a chance at finishing around the same time as they do.  My goal is to do it in around 5 hours, which was the amount of time it took me to hike it last summer.  I’m hoping I can let gravity pull me down the mountain pretty fast in a pseudo-run, but I’m going to slow down if I start to feel any SI joint pain.  I’m pretty much a pro at doing that after being injured for an entire year.  Part of me is really nervous for the race, but I’m also kind of excited to do my first “solo hike”.  I’m usually way too worried about bears to be out there hiking alone, but this course is going to be filled with loud hikers, runners, cheer stations, water stations, and people checking the course so I know I’ll be safe the whole time.  I’m going to just focus on how amazing it’s going to be to be out on that trail again, and on how much fun I’ll have in Seward with my friends that weekend!  I know all of my epic hikes this summer have trained me for this, and I’m so excited that I’m healthy enough to do it this weekend!  Wish me tons of luck!

Have you ever signed up for a race and then not told anyone about it until race week?  Have you ever had to walk a race instead of running it?