Kendall Mountain was the first sky race in the US Sky Running Series. The week going into the race I was really nervous, but I woke up on Saturday morning feeling rested and positive. Aravaipa always puts on a great race (and I thought that even before I was friends with Jamil and Nick and ran for the team). We arrived in town from the campsite at 7am, which gave me more than enough time to get ready and use the bathroom a few times. Because we had been camping I needed to figure out what to do about my hair. Normally I braid it into two pigtails, but the lack of regular brushing (or brushing at all) meant it was too knotted for that hair do. I decided on a messy bun and hoped it would stay on top of my head. I put in my headphones and warmed up. I wasn’t sure what to do about warming up. I know how to warm up for a short race, a fast race and an ultra (no warm up required), but how do you warm up for a short race up a steep mountain? I went with my regular fast race warm up and hoped for the best. After Jamil gave the pre race instructions I handed Norm my jacket and headphones and took my place on the start line. I got a chance to wave at Sabrina and Teagan. Sabrina was carrying a go pro for Jamil. I told her she was like a fairy and we joked about bedazzling the go pro. (Watch out Jamil, this is a very real possibility when Sabrina and I have some adult libations…)
Getting ready for the race
Race morning before my coffee
And we’re off! We went out fastish (I was running 6:30 pace) until we started climbing right out of the city. I am not sure how long it was, but it seems like it wasn’t too long before I started fast hiking. I noticed the girls in front of me were still trying to run and I was passed pretty quickly by two girls, but I held with my plan. I am strong on the uphills and I can fast hike easily. My plan was to hike as much as necessary because if I killed myself now I would have no leg turnover on the downhill. Before long I saw my plan was working. I passed the two girls who passed me early in the race. Almost to the scramble a girl ran past me, but it wasn’t long before I passed her back. At the scramble I left my water bottle with the aid station knowing I would need both hands.
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Start line
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Silverton is cool!
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Scrambling is not my strength. The plan was to take it easy and not hurt myself knowing my speed would be helpful on the downhill. Starting the scramble I was in 5th or 6th place for the women. The scramble was way harder and longer than I thought (that’s what she said…). Anyways, I was basically on all fours and pretty much in everyone’s way. I honestly considered quitting the race at this point. I was passed by a few women on the way up. When I got to the top I was still in the top ten, but by the time I reached the bottom that was no longer true. Towards the bottom I was basically sliding on my ass and pushing dirt and rock on to all the people below me. “I’m sorry – this is obviously not what I want to be happening right now,” I called out to the poor people below me. All the way down I know my race was falling apart and I just wanted to cry, so instead I put a smile on my face and gave encouraging words to all the runners making their way up.
Finally I was done with the stupid scramble! I picked up my water bottle and started running down the hill. Unfortunately I made a maneuver to avoid a runner coming up the mountain and my feet went out from underneath me sideways. I went down hard on my right side. “Are you okay?” comes from behind me. Yep! I yell as I pop up, but it was hard to get going again. I had pain in my right buttock and pain across my abdomen on my right side. It felt like maybe I had pulled a muscle in my abdomen when I fell sideways. At this point I was passed by another runner, a local lady named Ivy. The pain in my side was really bad and I was struggling to get under 9min miles ON THE DOWNHILL!!! I knew at this point top ten was not going to happen, I was running out of real estate to make up time.
With 3 miles the pain eased up and I started to pass some of the guys in front of me. Then right before the start of the last mile some girl came flying past me. SHIT! But soon we hit the flat part going into the city and I made myself run faster – there was no way this girl was going to beat me (sorry girl I don’t know – I’m really competitive and I was trying to salvage my self-esteem). I did pass her back right before the final turn that leads to the park and the finish. I crossed the finish line in 2:40. My goal had been 2:20. I wanted to be in top 3. For the US Sky Running Series I needed to be in the top 15 to get points and I had barely made it. Norm met me at the finish and asked if I needed anything. I just need to be alone, I responded. I found 2 bushes I could sit between and cried. My older son, Enzo, came over to sit with me. He put his arm around my shoulder, told me he was sorry and just sat with me. Soon my daughter came over to tell me she was proud of me. Not long after, the youngest brought me my finisher’s pint glass. He had been recruited to hand them out to finishers.
When I first hard about the US Sky Running Series I decided to sign up as a challenge to myself. Knowing this type of racing was not my strong suit, I wanted to run for a challenge thinking it would be fun. I fully believe if you run competitively you need to sometimes take on challenges that are for fun. The problem is the competitive side always comes out. I really wanted to do well at this race and I was beyond disappointed with my performance.
The race itself is awesome! It’s a beautiful course. There was water running next to the course most of the time. The view when you get to the top is amazing. I even saw a small snow/ice field right before the scramble. It’s a small enough race that you don’t feel crowded. And if you haven’t been to Silverton this race is the perfect excuse to go visit. Beautiful views for the runner. If you have kids – this small town has 2 parks and the ability to let the kids roam free. If you are reading this and thinking you can’t wait until next year Aravaipa hosts an alpine marathon and 50K next month. I plan to be there. I hope to see you there!
After the race I spent the day saying I was quitting competitive racing. Maybe it’s time I admit that I’m just an average runner and I am wasting money we need for other things. But by the end of the day I was already looking at La Maratona this weekend. I am trying to pull together the money to go back to Colorado this weekend so I can run the race. What started as fun has become a desire to become a really good mountain runner. I’m just not ready to give up on being competitive. Guess we will see what the rest of the year brings. And I can't wait to give you a report on La Maratona!
Finally I was done with the stupid scramble! I picked up my water bottle and started running down the hill. Unfortunately I made a maneuver to avoid a runner coming up the mountain and my feet went out from underneath me sideways. I went down hard on my right side. “Are you okay?” comes from behind me. Yep! I yell as I pop up, but it was hard to get going again. I had pain in my right buttock and pain across my abdomen on my right side. It felt like maybe I had pulled a muscle in my abdomen when I fell sideways. At this point I was passed by another runner, a local lady named Ivy. The pain in my side was really bad and I was struggling to get under 9min miles ON THE DOWNHILL!!! I knew at this point top ten was not going to happen, I was running out of real estate to make up time.
With 3 miles the pain eased up and I started to pass some of the guys in front of me. Then right before the start of the last mile some girl came flying past me. SHIT! But soon we hit the flat part going into the city and I made myself run faster – there was no way this girl was going to beat me (sorry girl I don’t know – I’m really competitive and I was trying to salvage my self-esteem). I did pass her back right before the final turn that leads to the park and the finish. I crossed the finish line in 2:40. My goal had been 2:20. I wanted to be in top 3. For the US Sky Running Series I needed to be in the top 15 to get points and I had barely made it. Norm met me at the finish and asked if I needed anything. I just need to be alone, I responded. I found 2 bushes I could sit between and cried. My older son, Enzo, came over to sit with me. He put his arm around my shoulder, told me he was sorry and just sat with me. Soon my daughter came over to tell me she was proud of me. Not long after, the youngest brought me my finisher’s pint glass. He had been recruited to hand them out to finishers.
When I first hard about the US Sky Running Series I decided to sign up as a challenge to myself. Knowing this type of racing was not my strong suit, I wanted to run for a challenge thinking it would be fun. I fully believe if you run competitively you need to sometimes take on challenges that are for fun. The problem is the competitive side always comes out. I really wanted to do well at this race and I was beyond disappointed with my performance.
The race itself is awesome! It’s a beautiful course. There was water running next to the course most of the time. The view when you get to the top is amazing. I even saw a small snow/ice field right before the scramble. It’s a small enough race that you don’t feel crowded. And if you haven’t been to Silverton this race is the perfect excuse to go visit. Beautiful views for the runner. If you have kids – this small town has 2 parks and the ability to let the kids roam free. If you are reading this and thinking you can’t wait until next year Aravaipa hosts an alpine marathon and 50K next month. I plan to be there. I hope to see you there!
After the race I spent the day saying I was quitting competitive racing. Maybe it’s time I admit that I’m just an average runner and I am wasting money we need for other things. But by the end of the day I was already looking at La Maratona this weekend. I am trying to pull together the money to go back to Colorado this weekend so I can run the race. What started as fun has become a desire to become a really good mountain runner. I’m just not ready to give up on being competitive. Guess we will see what the rest of the year brings. And I can't wait to give you a report on La Maratona!
