My trail race is under 2 weeks away now and I ran my final trail run yesterday. I'm heading out of town on Thursday for a conference for the weekend so my runs will be relegated to the hotel treadmill 😩 or an evening road run when I get home on Sunday. Not ideal but it is what it is. My legs have been heavy, I'm achy, I'm exhausted, I've been painfully slow and battling with wicked heartburn so perhaps a break will be good. I ordered a new piece of kit a few weeks ago after dealing with nasty spear grass,burs and an aberrant porcupine quill that somehow ended up inside the heel of my shoe over the last few runs. They are dirty girl gaiters called Run Til you Dye 😆. They are bright, they stand out and they worked pretty good. My feet were still filthy (it was very muddy and wet out there given it rained) and only had one thing poke me in the foot that made me stop. I couldn't find anything so I must have brushed up against one of the many prickly pear cacti that are on my trails. But, I haven't washed and picked through my socks yet to see how many little spear grass seeds worked their way in through the mesh of my shoe. It would be nice if they went further down the toe of my shoe and they may if I lace my shoes differently but I don't want to change anything before race day. I also tested out my new long sleeve heat gear top and my full length heat gear tights in case race day is cooler like it has been the last 2 years. It was nice running in full tights and not having the scratchy grass bugging my legs, but it wasn't nice when I had to drop them to go pee on the trail 🙄. That will suck if it occurs on race day..... blinding other racers with my bright white bum 😵
The pictures are of my gaiters: the left is pre-run with my newly cleaned shoes (necessary for the Velcro to stick to the back of my shoe); the right is after their maiden voyage. They are even brighter when they are wet 😎and stood up very well to my muddy escapade. I definitely can't hide with those on my feet 😂
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SaskAlliecat
Half Marathon
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I like those Sask, what a great idea. It’s horrible having things poke into your legs and feet whilst running, and those babies seem just the thing! Also, you might scare nibbly critters away! 😅
Ooo your race is slow close! Smart move getting some warmer gear ready in case it does cool down. You sound very prepared. 🏃♀️👊
I was still peeling burrs off my thighs but I can't wear a full body suit 😆 . I guess that is the downfall to wearing tights but it is worth it. Whatever Mother Nature throws at us on race day, i’d like to think I’m ready 🤞🙏🏻
Ooh! I love your gaiters. And the taper begins! The well deserved rest will do you some good. You’ve put in all the hard work and I’m sure it will pay off on race day. I can’t wait to read your race report!
Thanks Lav. I’m doing the typical second guessing of everything. I had hoped to run it faster than I’m likely too on race day but I was focusing on completing healthy and happy so trained at a slower pace than maybe I should have. But it is what it is. I did this with the other distances too and then wanted to sign up for more races afterwards because it was enjoyable. We’ll see if that happens this year. If not, I’ve decided I would volunteer at one of the Aid stations next year and still run the trails in the summer without the pressure of a race. But time will tell. Sign up is in February. That’s a long ways a way to be making any decisions now.
Awesome colours there Sask. 🌈 You’ve worked hard, and I know it will pay off. No need to question anything now. Hope your conference goes well without too much stress and I’m really looking forward to hearing all about your race experience!
Thanks Decker. The conference should be good. I'm going the night before so I don't have to drive at the crack of dawn; the first night of the conference has a session called unWINEd that has one of our veterinarians that is a sommelier do a wine tasting and I actually get CE credits for it! Sweet! Then there is a yoga session one of the mornings that I'll go to as well (no CE for that, just general wellness 😊). There is such a high suicide rate for veterinarians and a lot of mental health isssues and addictions within the profession that our association has opened up their eyes to it and have really tried to support us as a whole. With the shortage of veterinarians in our area (and it's getting worse, not better), things are only getting tougher. The AGM will be the most stressful part likely and I just sit back and listen to the blowhards speak their piece then vote the best way I see fit, not what the loudest people say. I'm hoping this year is less dramatic, but who knows what people's agendas are. We get the wine tasting that night, so all will be well 😆.
I'll be sure to post my race report, good or bad, however it may be.
At least there is wine tasting so there is an upside! Your report will be wonderful as always! Just try to enjoy the time. Easier said sometimes, I know.
Lately that is what happens to my shoes after every run on this trail, which is 2/3 of my race course. There is a Spring-fed area where it is always muddy, mucky, smelly and gooey. Somehow I manage to get down it without sliding on my backside, but I'm waiting for that to happen. The main reason for using poles is for this muddy area and all the water crossings - it's nice to have another point of contact as you're slipping, sliding around). I don't wash my shoes every time (often I just wait for the mud to dry and brush them off), but they were very stinky after this last one and I noticed one of the velcro pieces for my gaiters came off. Time to clean them up and super glue the Velcro on to keep the heel portion of the gaiter's down where they belong.
Thanks for the well wishes. I'll do my best to enjoy my race. For some reason, I'm feeling more pressure with this one than I did with the shorter distances. I'm not sure why but my goal is to finish and enjoy it, so I may have to remind myself that on race day.
Saskatchewan, Canada in the prairies where people think it is bald @$$ prairie but we have some serious hills in the river valley. When we first moved here, I saw a tumble weed and didn't realize they were a real thing. I thought they were just a thing of old westerns 😂. Giddy'up cowboy 🤠 🐂🐄🐎🦌🌾🐍
Thanks IP 😊. It’s the challenges I endure on my runs that have made me fall in love with it, but I will admit this distance has been a bit of a chore lately. I won't be looking at running the 50k race anytime soon, but I have 4 + years before my 50th so never say never, I guess 🤪
That's a fair old distance on trails, but I imagine you've done the training and put the miles in.
The age thing is all relative isn't it? My mum, who's a youthful 86 year-old still talks about certain clothes shops that sell clothes for "old ladies" 😂😂 I have to laugh as she says it in all seriousness and doesn't consider herself one of the "old ladies" at all 🙂
Thanks Jan 😊. As much as I've enjoyed running my trails this summer, I am actually looking forward to some carefree, no pressure short town runs this winter. I think I'll be focussing on strength training a bit more this winter 💪
Love your dirty girl gaiters! Just what we need right now as we seem to have a plague of ticks.
I’m tired and slow too. I think we’ve all reached that stage in the training, as a few of us have said the same.
Thanks Flick. I chose these colours so the ticks should stand out on the pattern. They had some great designs but some of the others the ticks could've been camouflaged. Thankfully our ticks are mostly done for the season. We don't tend to get the fall surge, but I still spray my shoes and legs with icaridin, just in case 😖
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