Since I did so well at the Capitola Half Marathon, I decided to achieve my goal of running my first trail event sooner rather than later. I chose the Nisene Marks Half Marathon (NMHM) because it’s a small event (only about 300 runners) and I’ve never been in that park.
I didn’t have much time to train for hill/trail running, and probably over-did it because I now have an issue with my right knee. So that kind of sucks. I may have to see a doctor about it, but I don’t think it will affect my plans to run the Portland Marathon with TNT in October.
In order to get used to running up and down hills, I ran a few times at St. Joseph’s Hill in Los Gatos. It’s a good workout and I know the trails well, so I didn’t have a problem running by myself. It did bring back memories of last year, when I got really dehydrated running this route in preparation for last year’s NMHM. I ended up going to urgent care because I couldn’t get my heart rate below 120 bpm even an hour after the run! Well, I checked out normal, so they told me it must’ve been dehydration.
This time, when I trained in the heat, I made sure to drink a lot and take a lot of electrolyte capsules (I never put sports drink in my hydration backpack due to the fact that it’s hard to clean and I don’t want mold and bacteria to grow in there).
Here is the second of two trail runs prior to NMHM:
Trail running takes a bit more out of you because the ground is so unpredictable. But it’s supposed to be good for you, too, for that same reason. It works your small “stabilizer” muscles in your feet, ankles and legs, which can help you avoid injury when running on road or track surfaces. I also ran the small hill near me before work.
I think I did too much, too soon, because on Wednesday before the event, as I was running on the sidewalk near my house, I felt a sharp pain inside my knee. It bothered me all day at work when I would put weight on it during a twisting motion, such as turning around. I also got a calf cramp, which I can still feel, even though I have been massaging it with a lacrosse ball.
Well, I didn’t feel too bad on Friday, so I picked up my bib, set out my clothes and set my alarm for 4:30 a.m.
On race day, everything went smoothly. Went to my friend Chris’ house in Aptos and we carpooled because there is limited parking in that area. The race is hand-timed, which is a first for me. I’m used to running over timing strips that use radio waves to read a timing chip attached to my race bib.
The first part is paved and only has a gentle incline. Then you hit the unpaved trails and it starts to get steeper. Fortunately, it also gets more beautiful!
If only the whole race was this flat and even!
Near the highest point in the race, it was so lush and foggy, I kept expecting to see a hobbit!
On the way back, I came around this bend and saw something I’d never seen in any of my previous races…
…a water crossing! Okay, there wasn’t much water, but we’re in the middle of our worst drought in years.
Near the 9-mile point, there was a very tempting bench just off the trail. But I was feeling pretty good, so I didn’t have a seat.
At last! My Garmin said I did it in 2:54:37, but it also said it was 12.5 miles. So let’s just say I did my first trail 20k instead of my first trail half-marathon.
My goal was to finish in three hours, but since I’d never done anything like this, or been to this park, I had no idea if it was realistic. Turned out to be very realistic: I finished in just under that time (but the course was about a half mile short of 13.1 miles.
The NMHM was a great experience: well-organized and scenic. I escaped without further aggravating my knee, but I can tell that something is wrong, just don’t know what or how bad it is. But, that’s life. It’s still a lot better than what blood cancer patients have to deal with, so I’ll just have to suck it up and do what I can to manage it.
Speaking of blood cancer patients, Team in Training fall season started up again! It will be good to train with old friends and meet new ones while training for the Portland Marathon. Wish me luck—and please donate to the cause here!