Wow, that was awesome! Yesterday, I ran 21K of the Squamish 50K course with about 150 other runners. It was a beautiful day, with perfect running weather. I was a bit nervous to start, mostly because it was all pretty new to me. Once I got checked in, and especially once I was running, I felt relaxed and all smiles.
The running part felt really great, mostly. There was a big downhill section that really seemed to take it out of me. Also, there was some snow and ice that I ran really slow over. The second half of the course was more rolling hills and snow free. The running here felt amazing. It took me longer than I had expected, finishing around 2.5 hrs.
Even though this was not a competitive run – I did notice that I was comparing myself to others. And I definitely ran faster at the end because I was running with other people. But this little bit of competitiveness was mostly fun. And I didn’t let it dictate my day. I went out super easy for the first 10K – stopping to make adjustments and chatting with people along the way.
Some things I learned from the run:
- Downhill running is hard. I will need to do more of this.
- The overall pace may be a bit slower than I am anticipating.
- Running is really fun, especially trail running with 150 people.
- My pre-race breakfast didn’t really do the trick – I felt a bit off for the first hour of the run and super hungry at about the 2 hour mark.