cradle to the grave 30k, pisgah forest, nc

cradle to the grave 30k trail race

pisgah forest, nc

4:48:00 

i survived the cradle to the grave 30k on saturday! so if you read this post you know that i was waffling about the race BIG TIME. saturday morning i get up and it is POURING the rain. i just laughed to myself, what else can you do?

we got packed up and headed down to brevard. we got a little lost but made it to the cradle of forestry just fine. i've been in pisgah forest before, but never this part. it continued to pour while we checked in and picked up our packets. 

the shirts for the race are super nice, columbia omni freeze, gender specific shirts (they retail for $50!). 

i don't really have any rainy day running gear, so i was just hoping that we'd have tree cover for most of the race. i wore my Earth Fare Athlete Ambassador shirt and capris, and Brooks Cascadias [ps - brooks is my favorite for trails shoes!].

the 30k was supposed to start at 8am and the 5K at 830am. i walked over to the start line and they announced that they were delaying the start by 10 minutes to wait on some people who were still coming in. that's frustrating. 

the race ended up actually starting about 15-20 minutes late. i had no way to let brad know because i had no cell service AND i didn't want to even get it out because i was already afraid i was going to ruin it in the rain.

the race itself? it was HARD. 

notable moments:

• lots of water crossings. some had wooden footbridges, some had logs that you had to balance on single file, and then the granddaddy of them all, one with just a tow rope. it was really funny because it made me think of this picture that i saw when i was reading scott jurek's eat and run of him doing something similar [stream v. river, 30k v. 100 miles of course though!]. i thought it was so cool and i couldn't wait to tell brad all about it!
• going up pilot mountain. holy hell. 
• coming down pilot mountain. i still can't run because it's so muddy and there are too many roots!
• sink holes. 
• beautiful scenery
• great aid stations. there were 3 that was stopped at two times each, so 6 aid stations. i had already been to them all once when i see a different one. apparently i was brain dead and stopped, thinking it was for us. nope, it was for a mountain bike race that was also going on, whoops! 
• strawberry fig newtons taste amazing after about 15 miles. 
• looking up around mile 18 and seeing brad on the trail waiting for me. i thought i was hallucinating. 
• mentally this race was a continuous struggle. i mean, add 10 minutes to my finish time and you have my marathon time. that'll mess with your head!

finishing was a great feeling as always. the post race party was one of the best i've seen, especially for a local race. one of my favorite local restaurants, Hob Nob, gave the all the racers a free meal, and we got a free beer from one of my favorite local breweries, Oskar Blues. not bad!

i was a little muddy :)

and some other great news? brad got first place in his age group in the 5K! so proud of him!

we came home and i made myself take an ice bath. bleh. 

then we laid on the couch for the rest of the day and watched about 10 episodes of breaking bad. great day!

i chose to run

i'm all over the place right now and i'm SO THANKFUL that i've got the next 4 days off at home to attempt to get my life in gear. do you ever just get in a funk and can't exactly put your finger on the problem? in my case i don't think i have enough fingers to put on all the things that i need to get right! *disclaimer - these are all little things that are fixable, so i hope i don't come off all "woe is me" but it really helps me to write this all out, so i'm doing it!*

first of all... i'm over analyzing more than usual, and considering i'm already the queen of over analyzing, color me a mess. case in point...

i have been battling in my mind for two weeks whether or not to run the cradle to grave 30k tomorrow.

this morning when i woke up, i made a big decision... i was going to take a DNS tomorrow. factors in this decision included:  i haven't trained adequately, brad is running the 5k so he's going to be hanging out waiting on me for hours, i haven't trained, i've been in a shit mood, i am worn out, i haven't trained, i'm drowning in a sea of allergies that are making my throat feel like i swallowed a fire ball, my uterus is being a punk, and oh, did i mention... I HAVEN'T TRAINED.

when i finally allowed myself to make the decision i expected to feel relieved. whew, i don't have to run almost 19 miles tomorrow. but i didn't feel like that. i felt bummed. i'm going to miss out on running all those beautiful trails. 

so i did what any rational person would do... i changed my mind :)

as soon as i allowed myself to think that i didn't have to run tomorrow everything became really clear. i don't HAVE to run tomorrow. i GET to run tomorrow.

is there a chance that i might finish dead last? absolutely, but that's not what's bothering me. i think the biggest thing that's had me down is knowing that i should and could have prepared better. but you know what? i didn't. i made that choice (or rather lots of little choices), so now i have to live with it. but either way... i'd rather be running.

and just think of all the time i'll have to over analyze every aspect of my life while i'm doing it! 

.: kona kase review :.

I was beyond pumped when this little package of awesomeness arrived on my doorstep!

loved the packaging, the quality of samples and the inspirational quotes and paperwork inside.

this one is on my desk pinboard now. love it.

what was inside? lots of goodies!

the KIND bar was gone in about 5 seconds. YUM.

i was impressed with the quantity and quality of the samples.

my biggest disappointment? there wasn't anything that i would use while working out. i was expecting some gels, or chews, or electrolyte drink.

want to try it for yourself? use the code FF2 at checkout and get your kona kase for $10!!

I received a Kona Kase via FitFluential, free of charge, in exchange for my honest review.

rearview mirror:::: april 2013

.:running:.

i didn't really think it was possible but i managed to log less miles in april than i did in march. yikes. however, may is off to a great start, so i'm not too upset.

.:weight training:.

getting back into this has been HARD but i feel so much better already! but the number one thing i've got to do in may is get back into training in the mornings. it's better from every angle minus having to get up. it's an easy, no brainer decision... but a hard one to execute.

.:reading:.

i'd recommend sh*t my dad says if you want something quick, easy, funny and entertaining. brad and i listened to the audiobook on our way to KY and were in stitches the whole way.

do the right thing was alright, made some good points. but political autobiographies aren't really my thing. tinkers was just eh.

sarah's key had been on my 'to-read' list for a while and it was a great book. sad, but definitely worth reading.

.:2013 goals:.
we joined a connect group at church (we actually did this in january, but i wanted to give it some time to make sure it was a good fit) and i am almost finished with my 90 day devotional book.

Under Armour Women::: What's Beautiful 3.0

*this post is sponsored by Under Armour through FitFluential*

Last May I participated in Under Armour's first What's Beautiful campaign and I had a great time. I met a lot of amazing women and was inspired to post and work on my goal (at the time it was to complete 12 half marathons in 2012--done!). I even won a gift card for my participation! 

Under Armour has just launched the 3.0 version of the campaign and I have set a goal of joining Team World Vision to run the Indianapolis Half Marathon to raise money and awareness for people in Africa that do not have access to clean drinking water. 

So how does the campaign work?

• Click on this link to get signed up: Under Armour What's Beautiful 3.0
• Set a goal, upload a picture and take some time to look around the site. 
• Check out some of the other women who are participating [a good place to start is the 'top performers' tab. 
• Over the next 8 weeks, you can post about the things you are doing to work towards your goal, you can participate in challenges that UA posts or that the other women post. 
• Work towards your goal, encourage others, and INSPIRE. Yes it's a competition, but I promise you that you'll find a great community full of support. 

What else is in it for you? 

Costa Rica? Yoga? Spa? Don't mind if I do!

.:weekend in the smokies:.

friday [after my mini meltdown] brad and i headed to tennessee for a weekend with friends. after we made it through the ridiculous traffic we checked our cabin. it had been raining for most of the day but it gave us the opportunity to see the 'smoke' over the mountains. beautiful.

when shannon and chris arrived we went to dinner at the smokey mountain brewery. the food was just alright but the beer was great.

saturday we got up and headed to cade's cove, where we were able to spot several white tailed deer and turkey. after lunch we hiked up to grotto falls. it was a great hike and we also saw a black bear on the way up.

it was a great weekend, and it was so good to see shannon and chris. even if i saw shann every weekend it wouldn't be enough! we lived together for 4 years and i forgot how much i missed just being in the same house as her. i'm blessed to have her as friend.

thank you all for your sweet comments and encouragement about my last post. i hadn't heard of post marathon blues but i'd say i've got all the symptoms! it's nice to know i'm not the only one who's ever been through it, and hopefully i'll get back to my 'normal' soon!

soooo...

so... i don't even know what to say about life lately. i'd be lying if i wrote that i don't try to keep things mostly rainbows and sunshine on the blog. not because i'm trying to act like my life is so much better than yours [come see me, any illusion of that will be gone in 0.002 seconds], but because i figure no one wants to read the crap of everyday life. my friend, suz, did some really great posts last week about being authentic last week, and i figured what the heck.

i've been in a weird place since the marathon. at times i wonder if i made a mistake in running it. i sacrificed weight training to train for this marathon and i also let my eating get a little out of control. so while i can all myself a marathoner, i'm up 10 pounds on the scale, i've been dead tired, and i've done something to mess up my back. not great.

i don't like to complain. i know there are so many people dealing with things that are so much worse than anything i'm dealing with. i also know that i serve an amazing God who has a unique plan for me, so i try not to worry. but sometimes i just fail miserably. right now i'm feeling a little overwhelmed and hopefully i'll get to a better place soon.

brad and i spent the weekend in gatlinburg with my best friend and her husband. it was such a great time. i've been looking forward to it ever since we planned it. yet, on friday as we were packing to go, i was having a borderline panic attack because our house is a wreck. crazy.

what do you do when you feel overwhelmed?

have you ever regretted doing something that most people consider a huge accomplishment?