Organic Runner MomI finished my first Winter Wild Race this weekend at Whaleback Mountain in Enfield, NH. Now my legs are asking me why? I am worried that tomorrow may be worse. My calves are screaming at me every time I go up or down the stairs!
I’ll tell you why and then if you think you are up for the challenge you can meet me at the next race in the series at Ragged Mountain, NH on February 4th!
It actually wasn’t as cold as I had anticipated and the first race was only 1.2 miles (although my legs are telling me it was much more!). The energy of the racers was awesome! Lots of smiles and a countdown to the start by all of the racers. There was actually fresh snow which was great although definitely slippery on the way down. I ended up wearing my STABILicers Ice Cleats because I was anticipating more New England hard pack (aka boilerplate).
Thankfully it wasn’t too icy but I’m glad I had the extra traction to prevent myself from taking a giant digger on the way down (although apparently one of my Krazy running friends took a tumble on the flats right as they came into the finish!). I have the “lite” model which slip over my running shoes. Now they apparently have them in pink which I might have to take a look at! On the way up the race was a mixture of running and speed hiking. I was especially impressed by the super fast kids in the “Let’s Move” category (maybe someday Piper and Brock will want to try this with me?). This was definitely a highly anaerobic output. The combination of the physical exertion and cold air had my lungs burning by the time the race was over.
The race on the way down was fast and furious. A mixture of all out speed and “holy moly!!!! I must slow down!” with visions of tumbling down and become a snowball. As I ran down the last steep pitch the guy next to me jumped onto his bum and slid down keeping pace with me as I ran and was wearing the biggest grin on his face. What an exhilarating feeling. The race was over in an instant. My finish time was 18:22. 3rd in my age group (http://www.coolrunning.com/results/12/nh/Jan14_Winter_set3.shtml). Not too bad for a first timer! I even won a sweet EARTHTEC (http://earthtec.com/) hat!
I was so happy to race with many other Kingdom Krazies and my friend Meghan who flew through the course! The energy is always even better with other like-minded runners along for the adventure!
This race series features awesome raffle prizes at the end. You could win micro spikes, Merrell shoes and a lot of other cool stuff (unless you are my friend Dennis and I who are always the last people standing holding raffle tickets). If you want to win a raffle prize sit near me or Dennis at the next race. As usual two of the best prizes went to people sitting right behind me and a pair of socks was won by Meghan.
Post race we headed to The Four Aces Diner in Lebanon, NH for a giant breakfast and would you believe it I cleaned my plate. Overall it was a great morning followed by returning home to my two kids who again wanted to have a race around the house!
Please join me for this crazy winter adventure the next time. I hope to see you on the mountain! You know you are just waiting to try it!
Organic Runner Mom 