Dances with Dirt Devil's Lake Half Marathon

Last weekend I cashed in on my final--and much anticipated--Christmas present from last year. It was something that I did and didn't want but I knew it would be awesome in the end so I threw it on my Christmas list. What was this present you ask?? Well, believe it or not, I asked to be registered for a half marathon. Yeah I know, a lot of you probably think I'm crazy to ask to be registered for a 13.1 mile race (especially since that would mean not getting to pick when and where). And then there are those of you that are very well seasoned runners that could hop up and go run a half this very second. I am not one of those people, but I am a runner that likes to accomplish cool things. And in my book having the endurance to run for roughly 2 hours without stopping is pretty cool. Running those ~2 hours on a trail?? Probably even cooler... although I didn't know it would be a trail race until a month or so prior. Talk about a big difference!

As for running a half marathon before... Todd and I kind of ran one the summer after we got married but it was nothing super fancy... it wasn't even a real race. We were poor college students and didn't want to pay someone else to let us run on the road. So instead we just set up our own little training program and one Saturday it was "race day." We didn't get any cool t-shirts or medals but we did treat ourselves to some chocolate shakes and Powerade at McDonald's afterwards. (:

So yeah... it really was Christmas in July for us last weekend. Our adventure started on Friday night when we checked in to the "resort." This place was con-fu-sing. We kind of forgot that it was a "resort" and when we drove past the big ol' resort sign and the golf course we were like... ohhhh this is going to be really cool! Then we checked in and got to our room. Not as resorty as we were thinking... at all. Oh well... it was either staying there or camping in a field with a bunch of hippies and college students and that was definitely not going to happen, at least not the night before a really long run.

This is when the fun started. So... we have this habit of needed a crib when we go places. It's like we have a baby or something. Almost every time we go we ask them for one and every time they spend around an hour searching the place for a pack'n'play. Also almost every time we bring one of our own just in case. This time was one of those "just in case" times. It was already a couple of hours past Peter's bed time by the time we lugged our own pack'n'play from the car to the room and got him ready for bed. But it was too late... he was in party mode. He was probably thinking something like, "If they haven't put me to bed by now we have to be pulling an all nighter... with movies and popcorn and ice cream!! Yessss!" Bonk!! No. We set up the pack'n'play, did the usual nighttime routine, layed him down.... and hid behind the bed. Literally. Crouched down on all fours, waiting for him to fall asleep. Meanwhile he was peeking those big blue eyes over the top of the mesh wall and crying for us to save him. He got hysterical pretty fast and I opted to let him sleep with us rather than fight him all night. It worked out okay. After a long night of anxiety 5:45am finally showed up and I got ready for my race! (que Rocky music)

As excited as I was, pre-race jitters are no fun! They did build up nicely though and gave me a nice load of adrenaline throughout the race. Prior to the start I made a few friends while waiting in line for the bathroom. They had run the race before and gave me a few tips which was nice. We almost ditched the bathroom idea but made it in the last 30 seconds before the race started.... which was a good thing because I was not wanting to go during the race... but then it was a bad thing because I missed all of the announcements and changes about the race. Haha oh well.

Finally I made it to the starting line. I was in the last heat due to using the bathroom last second but I was totally fine with that... because a few miles in I realized that it meant I got to pass the walkers the entire race which totally boosted my confidence. Haha sorry if you're reading this and you were one of those people, I hope you didn't feel me sucking the energy out of you as I "ran" passed. Oh... side note... I totally wore the wrong shirt for this situation. I wanted to wear my XC shirt from high school to somehow channel my inner trail runner. Then after I had passed quite a few people I realize that it was the worst shirt possible... because the back of it says, "We run ours off to kick yours." How's that for the absolute least encouraging shirt in the world to read when you're being passed by someone?? I felt pretty bad, hopefully everyone was too busy looking down trying not to trip on anything... like maybe a snake. I feel like I ran across a long skinny one at one point in the race... anyway...

Here we are at the starting line!

Aaaaand we're off... into the wilderness for a long time. 

My little cheering section.

As for the race... it was SO much fun! Of what scenery I actually saw and enjoyed, it was beautiful. I was pretty busy watching the path the entire time. I even tripped and caught myself hardcore a handful of instances. Thank heavens I never really fell... the terrain would not have been kind to me if I had. Speaking of the terrain...there were hard hills and goofy climbing parts and it looked mostly like this...

and even this at one point...

... but I loved it! Mentally, the race was a total success. I wasn't dreading every single mile and I had talked myself into thinking that the race was going to be impossibly hard the week before. When it wasn't impossible, I was very happy. Physically, the race was also successful. The whole 13.1 miles was very hilly but I only stopped once to take a picture at the top of the bluff over-looking the lake. I didn't make the time that I wanted, but heck... I had no idea what to expect so I was completely fine with that. Matter of fact, I ran for 45 minutes longer than I had expected... that's how different a trail run is from a road run.

Here's our lovely elevation profile... 2106 feet. Whoooo-wee look at those first three miles!

Hmmm... which elevation gain should I believe??
The one that tracked my every move or the one online?

And the map from my RunKeeper app... see, I actually did it!

Here's the half (in blue) compared to the other races.

Crossing the finish line was wonderful. I was tired, thirsty, and hungry. After downing an entire water bottle and having Todd go snag me two more we made the nice walk back to the hotel room, I hopped in the cold pool for a bit, Todd and Peter napped, I got my "free meal," and we headed out. Well not really out, we drove up into baraboo to get some A&W. Yum yum yummmmmm. By the time we got home I was exhausted... as I probably should have been.

So far recovery has been great. I know it doesn't take much to run a half compared to the 50-milers but a few months back one of my friends had a horrible recovery after running her half marathon so I wanted to really take care of myself afterwards. I was sore for a few days but honestly the worst part has been the silly bee sting that I got during the last mile of the race! What the heck, bee?? Either I was running so slow that it landed on me thinking I was a giant flower swaying in the breeze... or I was going so fast down the hill and just ran into it mid-flight. I can just imagine him (her?) flying through the air and BAM! "Woooahhhh! I'm on a foot!" Either way, it was mad and it stung me right on my ankle. I can't believe how swollen and itchy it has been... not what I was expecting. Luckily my actual ankle joint feels fine so I've been able to go on some walks and run a little throughout the week.

Anyway, I'm so glad that I got to participate in this race. Like seriously, I'm still feeling the adrenaline rush. I have loved training and I'm already looking forward to the next race... however this time I might try one not on a trail. (: Thanks to everyone who helped me accomplish this goal. That means Todd, of course, anyone that watched Peter while I logged the long miles, and my family for their examples and encouragement. Thank you again and again!

Woohoo! It's almost like winning a trophy! (: aaaand yes, I wore it all day long. Because seriously, when else am I supposed to wear it??

The back of the shirt had a little segment from the waiver that we had to sign... yeah it made me a little nervous to say the least. They should have put something about being stung by bees...