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A couple weeks ago I talked about my 40 by 40 goal and the variety of races I’ve run since embarking on this goal. Last Saturday I added a 5k run up a mountain to my list of accomplishments.
The race is run up the trail that starts at a park two miles below Monticello and then continues for another mile on a road that switch backs up a mountain to Montalto (now part of Monticello, but closed to the public).
The kids and I have hiked the trail several times, but the road portion is closed to visitors, so I’d never been up to Montalto. Running the race gave me a chance to see what there was to see.
A tree crashed across the trail a week or so earlier, so we couldn’t run from the bottom up to the top. Instead, we started at Monticello, ran down as far as we could, then turned around and ran back up the trail and then up the switchbacks to the top.
As a result, it was an easier course than usual since the first mile was on the slight downhill side, rather than all three miles being uphill. Either way, the killer was the switchbacks. They were so steep! I walked the mile it took to get through them all, then managed to run the last quarter mile or so.
It was a hot and humid day, but the great views from the top and the breeze made all the effort worth it.
After taking some pictures of the view (but not the house because I completely spaced it- I was more interested in the view) and drinking some water, I headed back down the mountain. My half marathon training plan called for a 6 mile run that day, so I ran the race backward to reach my mileage goal.
I started the race feeling very tired and heavy-legged, but about half mile in I found my groove and things felt better. Out of the six miles I ran, three were uphill, three downhill, and I only walked the mile of switchbacks. I ran the other five miles.
It was a good hard run, and even though going up the switchbacks was difficult, the rest of the run felt good and I was able to finish strong. I haven’t run outdoors for several weeks, so it was good to see that all my training, even if it’s on the treadmill, is paying off.
I knew I didn’t have the hill workouts I really needed under my belt, but honestly, even if I’d been running actual hills, I still wouldn’t have been prepared for how steep those switchbacks were.
I’m glad I did this race. It’s been on my list for a couple years, but I always chickened out. I knew it was steep, but not how steep, and I allowed it to scare me off. Despite the steep portions, my fears were unfounded and I’d be willing to do this race again.
Have you participated in something that you were scared of that turned out to not be so scary?