I Made It Out Alive...

...and I'm almost serious!

The "Hogsback" Wilderness Trail Run: I've been looking forward to this race for a couple of weeks now. Because it was close to where I grew up this race was not only a convenient excuse to head home and take advantage of Mom's home cooking, but also a chance to visit a part of my childhood. The Hogbacks (or "Hogsback" as the race directors have called it after it was misspelled a few years back, read HERE) is a giant Genesee County Park that includes about 1,100 acres of mostly wilderness. My siblings and I have fond memories of this area...we'd go sledding down Dead Man's Hill (a toboggan hill which contains a great deal less ruts, stones, and stumps than I remember trying to avoid as a kid), walk the trails with our dad and I remember going back there with my friends to collect newts, tadpoles, frogs and other wildlife that we'd stick in a fishbowl for a while and watch grow (the tadpoles were especially fascinating).

I haven't been back there in years and was quite excited, but, oh boy, was I not prepared.

I. hurt.

I've run races that claim to be trail runs...there's was the recent Mackinac Island Half that was a "trail run", but I estimate that only about 4 miles of the course wasn't paved....then there was the Stony Creek Back to the Beach Half that didn't claim to be a trail run, but I do believe that it mentioned some trail elements (which it definitely had)...

But nothing has compared to what I participated in today. The "Hogsback" Wilderness Trail Run is the most difficult race I have ever participated in.

It's "trail run" in every sense of the word. One-track trails making it difficult to pass others, ruts, rocks, stumps, tall grass, itchy branches that leave you bleeding, almost-straight-up inclines (one of which I climbed up using all fours, as well as used small trees that were sticking out of the ground to help pull myself up), almost-straight-down declines, trails running adjacent to 100 foot drop offs, mud--THICK mud complete with horse hoof rivets (we started and ended at the Elba Equestrian Complex), of course this was ALL covered in leaves (which makes it slick and, well, let's just say "difficult to see obstacles") and we definitely can't forget the, not one, but TWO river crossings (a trail run wouldn't be complete without at least one of these, right?). Add a little horse poop, throw in Dead Man's Hill (a toboggan hill which isn't half as rutty and rocky as it was when I was little) and you're good to go! I can't imagine what this race would be like if it snowed...oh man, I hope I didn't jinx it for next year!

In one word: wow. I had SO much fun running this race, and it was made even better by the fact that I was able to participate along with my two "little" brothers. The youngest of the two, Zack, ran the "Hogsback" 5 Miler with me, while the older of my brothers, Nick, ran the 2 Mile "Piglet" run (in his defense, his a bodybuilder, not a runner...definitely different training regiments!)

Here area few pics from the race:

Right down the road from where I grew up is the Elba Equestrian Complex, the "race headquarters". I'd been back into the Hogbacks many times, but never been back in this particular area. It's a nice place to hold equestrian events or simply go out on a daily ride.

We pulled up, I picked up my packet at the back of the trailer and my brothers signed up at the side.  Here we are: Nick, me and Zack with one member of our cheering squad, our dad's dog Gracie.

Here's the entrance to the trail/course for the 5 mile "Hogsback."

This was both the start for the "Piglet" runners and the finishers' chute for all events. The "Piglets"  ran under the pig and entered the woods through the trail head located behind me in this photo.

"Piglet" Nick ready to go with his headphones on, waiting with our cheering squad, Gracie and Bryan (Bryan was also our personal photographer while I was running :) )

The grub that we partook in when we finished. It was fantastic! Chili, rice and chicken soup, rolls, water, and Gatorade...I was full when I left!

The Hogsback awards!

And we're off! The Hogsback runners entered the course to the right (your left in this photo) while the Piglets ran to the right.

My brother, one of many finished Piglets, haha.

Here's Zack crossing the finish line (he's a little hard to see--he's located to the left of the very-left leg of the inflatable pig, in bright blue shorts, gray t-shirt, and a black hat.)

And here I am finally crossing the finish line (with absolutely horrible form, so sorry you had to see that, but I was  so exhausted at this point that all I cared about was finishing!)

Nick and I resting with Gracie after the race. Others were looking at some of the times that were posted on the picnic table we were sitting on.

Zack wasted no time getting food, then headed straight for the campfire the race directors set up for us. How does he look so calm after this race, considering he hasn't run in about 2-3 weeks? and I haven't stopped training and feel like poo...go figure :P

Gathering around the picnic tables for the awards.

Nick won a Piglet Award for his age group! A very nice handmade clay medallion...pretty cool (btw, I won't mention that he was the only one in his age group *chuckles*)

Race Review:

Type: Trail run with a pig theme :)

Race Directors: rotpac.com


Location: Elba Equestrian Complex, Hogbacks, Genesee County Park. Take I-69 and get off at Exit 149, go north for about 5 miles and it will be on your left (there is a sign marking the equestrian complex and the race directors put out a sign for the race, as well.) Here's a map link: Elba Equestrian Comlex .

Distances offered: A 2 mile "Piglet" and 5 mile "Hogsback" (actually, we found out after the race that the course wasn't quite 5 miles, more like 4.5...but I have to say that it felt like 10 :) )

Size: Small, only 163 finishers if I counted correctly; large enough to be competitive, but small enough to really enjoy it and share painful memor.... uh, I mean, interact with other racers :)

Course difficulty (in my opinion): DIFFICULT (but soooo worth it!)

Course Description: Rocky, rut-ish, hilly, stumps everywhere, but absolutely gorgeous scenery (which you'll notice if you work up the courage to look up for the ever-changing terrain :) ) A really fun challenge! Think Tough Mudder on a smaller scale...but with the same physical results, hehe


Shirt: A nice long sleeved tech shirt in various colors, depending on what size you are and if you preregistered

Here's the shirt! I chose green, with my other two choices being yellow and white (I already have a lot of white and yellow :).)

After-Race Perks: GREAT food (as mention one of my photo captions), bonfire to warm up, a well spigot (used to give water to horses, but also works for the participants' purposes :) ) to wash off yourself and your shoes, fun awards (as seen in above photos), little giveaways and, last, little "throw into the crowd" toys (that were directed at the kids, which was cool).

Notes and Tips: Bring your old crappy shoes...you'll be running through the dirt, mud, a river (maybe twice) and possibly horse poop, so definitely wear running clothes and shoes that you care the least about!

Overall: This was an awesome experience, and  give it a 10/10. I really hope that you'll bookmark rotpac.com and keep an eye out for this race in 2012 because I can guarantee that you'll enjoy it!

Hope you enjoyed my race report... I'll be posting my Mackinac Island Trip Report soon, so stay tuned! Before that I need to go and finish washing my shoes...

Hogsback Prep--Random Relaxation and, well Randomness

I woke up today to beautiful weather...the sun was shining and barely a cloud in the sky. What better way to relax then go on a short run? As I got ready I became a bit skeptical...at this time of the year you never know what the temperature is like out there. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was a comfortable 54.9 degrees with winds no greater than 5 mph as I put on my shoes to head out.

When I got back it was a little over 57 degrees, what better way to relax than going on a short walk?

I'm not sure what kind of tree this is, but I believe it's some sort of crabapple tree.  It looked unusual with the yellow colored berries. Sorry if its a bit hard to see against the pine tree.

We've had quite the abundance of wildlife around here lately, which is unusual considering out location (we're closer to urban rather than rural areas). These are the hoof prints from a small herd of deer that's been roaming around (I'm not sure what the deal was--maybe last nights full moon!--but I saw them out at around 4pm yesterday). A mixture of adults and fawns, as you can see. There's also been a flock of about 10 turkeys and we actually saw a coyote on our way home from the store earlier this week! 

It's interesting what you see when the leaves fall off the trees. I saw numerous bird nests, as well as this  yellow jacket hive.

I am an avid blog follower. It's a great way to connect with others who enjoy the same things that I do (honestly I'm more of a lurker, but I'm trying to change that!). Bloggers are also filled with great tips, ideas, and info, such as the website challenge.meyouhealth.com that Dietitian on the Run posted. When you sign up (for free, don't worry!) you get daily emails that give you one "Daily Challenge" to complete each day. Yesterday's was "eat something red", which I will accomplish today because I signed up at midnight and wasn't exactly hungry :). Today's is, "Share or write down the biggest benefit you get from being active." Check :). So here I am sharing it with you!

I don't consider there to be one "biggest benefit" to being active. There are several reasons why I love running. One of the larger benefits, though, is that I love the sense of accomplishment I feel when I've completed my daily run. I could do nothing all day (which is hard for me because I always feel like I should be doing something), and then when I go running I feel fulfilled. I love that I'm doing something that's healthy for me, and I love that I love it!

So there it is.

Today was also the Woldumar Nature Center Run A Munk Half Marathon-10K-5K. I've been wanting to run this for a while, but couldn't bring myself to do it with the Hogsback Wilderness Trail Run that I'll be participating in tomorrow. "Why not just run the 5K?" you might be asking. Well, I can't. Just can't. For some reason I have to run the largest distance a race offers...it's a personal challenge, I guess. So here's to next year, Run A Munk!

It's getting a little windier as the temps slowly increase. Hopefully they won't become to brisk so that I can go out for another walk.

I'm quite excited to be visiting family tonight and tomorrow!  Come back for a visit either tomorrow or Monday for a race recap and, most likely, stories of family shenanigans :).

Thanks for coming along on my random-relaxation-race-prep :).

Race Report: Great Turtle Trail Run Half-Marathon

Here it is, finally...I'm sorry it took so long to post....I don't understand how weeks of work can get backed up when you're only out a couple of days...ah well. Anyway, Happy Veterans Day to you all! This is a special day to many people, being able to remember those past and present who have given us the freedoms that we have today, including my own dad! Thank you to all of the veterans and current military personnel who have laid and do lay their lives on the line for us everyday!

Without further ado, I hope you enjoy your run through and around Mackinac Island (on 11.11.11 :) ) !

***NOTE: Since this is a "Destination Race" (i.e. getting to my race destination took multiple days and an over-night stay) I've decided to divide this report into two blog posts: a Race Post and a Trip Post. By doing this I'll be able to write what I'd like to write and not have to worry about a post getting to long. So, first, my Race Report!***

I was out the door bright and early on Saturday, October 22 to make the two hour trek up to Mackinaw City to catch the ferry to Mackinac Island for the Great Turtle Trail Run Half Marathon. To make the trip less strenuous my boyfriend and I decided to stay at his parents' house the night before, their location being about half way between our house and the Straits Area. So, I was out the door before 7am and as well rested as can be expected.

A little after 9am I pulled off of I-75 and made my way to Central Avenue. I decided to pass up my first ferry choice, Shepler's Ferry, and head down to a less packed Arnold Transit Co.. The lady helping me at the booth got me a ticket, directions to the main ferry dock and a call over to said main dock to let them know I was coming--all in time to make the 9:30am ferry. (A BIG thank you to this wonderful person!...if I didn't make the 9:30 I would have had to wait an hour which would have meant much less time to prepare for the 11:30 start). I got to the dock, checked luggage, scanned my ticket and took my seat on the lower deck of the boat. (Sorry, I didn't have time to take pics on the way in, and I wasn't seated a good spot to get some good photos during the ferry ride to the Island.)

We pulled into the Mackinac Island ferry dock at around 10am and my luggage and I were soon rolling along Main Street. A second reason I decided to go with Arnold's was because their ferry dock is on the east end of downtown...a great advantage when you need to head east and your mode of transportation will be your own two feet. Hence, I was a little closer to Mission Point and had plenty of time to make the 10 minute walk.

Mission Point Resort was the headquarters for the Great Turtle Races. It's also the headquarters for the Mackinac Island 8 Mile Races that takes place in September. You can see that in this photo employees had already started to ready the gardens for winter (i.e. taking out the foliage :) )

I reached Mission Point Resort and went strait to pick up my number and race swag. I must say, while I'm not one of those people that runs a race because of the neat goodies you might receive, I do enjoy getting a race t-shirt...to me it kind of represents another accomplishment. When I wear that shirt it's saying "I did that" and I think that's kind of cool. I was very impressed with this particular apparel!

Race Swag!

I've never received a jacket before and what a great alternative to the many t-shirts that we "race junkies" receive (not that I'm complaining :) )

I checked my bags, survived the unavoidable "women's restroom marathon", and had some time to walk around before the start of the race.

Here's the starting line (the blue and red timing strip is laying across the road.) The finish line was on the grass to the left of the "FINISH" sign, unfortunately not very visible here (but you can kind of see the cones.) I thought we'd be finishing here until we veered off of the road at the end of the race :). The half marathoners began running in the opposite direction that this photo is facing.

Here I am in front of a great view of Lake Huron from a deck at Mission Point Resort. I wish it were sunnier because this photo would be even better. Thanks so much to the person who stopped to take this for me!

Energy was high before hand and it was easy to see that everyone was excited to be there. There were pictures being taken, many people talking of previous years' races, well wishes being given out to others and jokes about "hoping to finish" (but at the same time always expecting to). We were corralled behind the starting line and I looked around and checked out the variety of race shirts that others were wearing. I saw many local Michigan racers, and even a Kiawah Island Golf Resort Marathon participant. Soon the race director finished his speech and the countdown began, trickling through the crowd til we all joined in. 3..2..1..and we were off at exactly 11:30am, 5.7-milers heading west and half marathoners heading east.

I will preface my race description with a disclaimer: no matter the difficulty level of this race or the pain you experience, you will want to come back to run here. Welcome to miles 1 through 2.5:

and it only gets better. Of course you'll have to earn it (there's always a catch!) :).

Just before Mile 2: As we approached this mile marker a bicyclist came roaring past, yelling at us to get to the right. The reason? the front of the 5.7-Mile Race pack was heading past us in the opposite direction. It was great to see these front runners (no pun intended) push themselves to the limit and know that they will be rewarded for it!

Miles 2.5 to 5: Two words: up hill. I knew that it would be hilly, but this was 2-1/2 miles of just plain UP and my body wasn't quite prepared for it. I did survive though, no worse off (my calves definitely were feeling it at the end!). I really enjoyed the little bit of trail running we did through here. My only wish was that the trail wasn't quite so narrow; this made it difficult to pass others.

Mile 5: Got to check out the airport and all of the construction their doing on it right now. There's a giant "X" that lights up to let other pilots know not to land here. Interesting to see the extensive and unusual construction project.

Mile 6ish: A trek through the Village on Lake View Blvd. and Grand Ave. with fleeting glimpses through the West Bluff "cottages" of the SPECTACULAR view (to bad we didn't get to run on West Bluff Rd, check out the photos below)...I love this little neighborhood with such beautiful houses, and the spectators here were GREAT! So enthusiastic and some even put out a stereo system and played some music that was great to run to. I loved it! If any West Bluff spectators ever read this, thanks so much for keeping us motivated!

2009 photo: A view from the West Bluff looking east with the Grand hotel to the left.

2009 photo: Another view looking east: Round Island is more prominent in this photo, as is Round Island Lighthouse. Round Island Passage Light is barely visible to the left. Bois Blanc Island is behind Round Island.

2009 photo: A friendly face greeting you at the front porch of one of the West Bluff Cottages. 

6-2/3ish to 7-1/3ish: We ran past the Grand Hotel's backyard, crossed Cadotte Ave and were in the midst of Fort Mackinac and it's historic splendor...no time to stop and read the Michigan Historical Marker, though (I stopped later :) ). We had a group of spectators here, too...thank you to them!

The race route ran right through the Fort Mackinac grounds (the road is barely visible on the right).

2010 photo: Boy Scouts near their barracks. Every week anew group of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts come to stay on the grounds of Fort Mackinac. Click here for some information from the Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau, and here for some information provided by Mackinac-Island-Insider-Tips.com. The Scouts' role on the island is pretty neat. 

Mile 7.5 to 8: A run along the East Bluff and the many cozy cottages the line it. There are some spectacular views from here as well, and being a fairly sunny day we were able to see a little ways over the water. This is one of my favorite places on the Island. You can't help but feel its serenity...even when you're 2/3 through a half marathon!

2009 photo: Looking west from the East Bluff is the Mackinac Bridge. On the right is Huron Road, the street that runs along the East Bluff and grants us spectacular views. 

2009 photo: Another view from the East Bluff, this time looking southwest. Round Island Passage Light and Round Island Lighthouse are to the right, while Round Island is to the left.

2009 photo: Looking west on a beautiful clear day from the East Bluff. 

Miles 8 to 9: A glimpse of Arch Rock (well, we got a glimpse of the platform from which you view Arch Rock), one of the more popular tourist attractions on the Island.

2009 photo: Looking through Arch Rock into the waters of Lake Huron.

Miles 9 to 11: The beginning of our descent, finally! We headed back through the woods, hit some more gravel (if I remember correctly) and ended up on back on Lake Shore Drive where we began, only 2.1 miles to go!

Mile 11 to 12: Beautiful lakeside views, again! No matter how many times I run/walk/bike this stretch I can't seem to get enough of the view!

Mile 12 to 12.5: As we approached the final turn to the finish I spotted an oil tanker making its way through the Straits of Mackinac. These ships are quite a sight; they look so small from far away, but become more massive the closer you get. Truly amazing to look at! I was hoping that I'd make to the finish in time to go grab my camera, but it was moving to quickly for me to be able to do that.

Mile 12.5 to 13.1: The final stretch! The end of the race is always exciting...there are always so many people cheering you on, from spectators to runners who already completed their race.

13.1: FINISHED! I went and stocked up on bananas, granola bars, a cookie or two :), and rehydrated.

The red tape and orange cones outline the finishers' chute. (Taken before the race.)

My Finisher's Medal

Right after I finished there was a nice man who congratulated me...he had given me encouragement on the final stretch (I think I passed him a ways back). "You caught up!" he said, to which I smiled and agreed. It was so nice of him to say a few words to me as we ran. Sometimes you don't know you need a boost until you get one. I also need to send out a big thank you to the woman from Ida, Michigan who so graciously\ gave me her sunglasses that she wasn't going to use (not an expensive pair, if they were I would have refused them!) to replace my broken ones. I was prepared to load up on motrin after the race, but she came and saved the day! To the woman from Ida if you ever read this blog, thank you!!! and I'm so sorry that I didn't get your name while we were participating in the "bathroom marathon" :)

Even though my final time was WAY off of a PR, this race was exactly what I'd hoped. I felt great that I had finished--because of my knee it'd been to long since I'd completed a long distance race. The weather was fantastic! The Mackinac Island Road Races Facebook page posted the day before the race that it was going to be sunny and 52 degrees...but I suspect it was at least in the mid-50's upon race completion. The course was great, from route to scenery (had I researched the elevation chart a little more I might not have picked this course as my "recovery race", but I'm so glad that I ended up running it). And of course the company was fantastic. I think the best thing about running races is the fantastic community of people that are always a part of it. Everyone is there to enjoy themselves... it's awesome that I can share these types of experiences with others.

So here's my LONG race report...thanks so much for sticking with me! A trip report is coming soon!

Until next time!

7 Marathons in 24 Days

Yes, I still need to post the race report! Normally this wouldn't happen, but when you're sick twice within a short period of time you tend to get behind in other things. I'm slowly compiling it and will have it up this week, I promise (and just in time for my next race report next weekend)!

In the meantime, I stumbled across an awesome website and thought that I should definitely blog about it today. Think about running seven marathons in 24 days. Pretty strenuous, right? Now take a look at Don Kern's website, Don's Really Cool Adventures. Kern, race director of the Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon, is trying to run one marathon on each CONTINENT in 24 days (and yes, this includes Antarctica!) in attempt to set a Guinness World Record for running an organized marathon on all seven continents in the fastest amount of time. Time begins when he starts his first marathon and ends with his completion of the seventh marathon, and his adventure begins today in South Africa!

His website, which includes his blog (scroll down the page and you will see it), outlines the rules that Guinness requires for him to be eligible for the World Record, as well as many of his other marathon exploits.

As a fellow Michigander I'm rooting for him all the way! Best of luck Don, and I'll be looking forward to your celebratory post on November 30!