Topanga Canyon Trail Race Report

a few months back i got this idea that i wanted to do an ultra.  so i googled what was demographically feasible and then quickly realized that most, if not all, ultras were trail runs.   a trail run was a "road" i'd never traveled.  it was uncharted territory for me and once again doubt set in.  i found an initiation race in topanga canyon, a 10k.  i knew topanga canyon from my old commuting days to woodland hills and  if anything the scenery would prove to be worth the 6.2 miles. at a minimum it was thanksgiving day so i could negate any binging i was going to do later in the day.   

i couldn't convince anyone to participate in my recent decision so i woke up solo on thanksgiving morning ready to hit the trails, alone, a little unprepared and if we are being honest, scared as hell.    the doubt and emotion i had the prior night was something that i had yet to experience.  typically i doubt myself before each race but this doubt was different, this was new, i didn't have experience running trails and like a rookie i showed up in my road ready saconys.   lesson learned on the downhills, buy trail shoes. 

my old coach showed up on his mountain bike to guide me through and as i stepped off the shuttle up the canyon he was the first person i saw, instant relief.  ariel typically makes me very nervous because his expectations of how i should perform are much greater than what i think i'm actually capable of.  but he also has never been incorrect in my times and performance standards.  he instructed me to head up the trail for 10 minutes to get my heart rate up, he followed me up the trail, issuing my always needed accountability.  i turned back at his direction and went down to stretch and get ready to conquer the start of a 3 mile uphill climb.   

at the start i positioned myself mid pack, no ipod (also new), eyed my competition who i might be able to pass, who i should pace with and we were off.  the first three miles were a straight climb up  and i felt stronger with every stride.  the view just kept getting better with each motion.  i started slow in the pack and held back when i wanted to dart ahead.  "slow and steady, slow and steady"  ariel was on the course waiting yelling encouragement and then riding ahead again to meet me a few miles down.  i felt amazing and it sounds strange but i always race better on hills.  i fell in love with everything about this race and i knew it from the moment my feet hit the dirt.  there was nothing flat about this course but "what comes up must also come down"  and i opened up and made up anytime i lost on the uphill climb.  as i picked people off,  i knew i was in contention to place but i wasn't 100% sure so i pushed it out and watched the mile markers to make sure i wasn't going to run out of power.  and then it happened we entered single file switchbacks which made me feel more like i was in the mountains of colorado then los angeles, california.  i navigated the rocks, bumps and trees with my no fear attitude and prayed that i didn't fall and end up in a cast again.  in those last few miles i was lost in myself, truly i was one with the race.    the last hundred yards dumps you out into a fire road and i saw one person in front of me, i sprinted, he picked up his pace and i gunned it, passing him seconds before the finish line.  

i did it.  i finished my first trail run and fell in love again with racing.   

i never used to stick around for awards for a couple reasons, the main one being because i was never anywhere near that kind of recognition.  i also never stuck around because its never really been my style.  then i got home that night and looked at the times.  i placed 2nd in my AG!  and in the top 15 females.    

 i think God has finally given me my calling, in trail running.  i haven't fallen for anything in  a long time mostly from fear but on thanksgiving day i fell. and i fell hard, for trail running. i love it.  

so God willing bring on the ultra.  

i'm ready.  

the holidays

so in due fashion i've decided to race a turkey trot, a trail run turkey trot at quite possibly the hardest canyon los angeles has to offer, topanga canyon.  its okay, i'll finish. who knows in what time but with the sight of turkey and wine at the finish line probably pretty fast.

prior to this "trot"  i'm celebrating the season.  the season is my favorite and quite possibly the most surprising to some that it is.  to me, Christmas is the best time of the year, the time when people turn nice and everyone is happy.  its a time for little ones to believe in santa clause and play make belivie for an entire month.  and oddly my favorite holiday, its the time of year when i am most happy.  for people suffering from depression there isn't a lot that allows for many happy times, but for me Christmas is one of them.  there isn't anything i don't love about it.  i was blessed to have a fantastic holiday upbringing.  my family would celebrate, my middle sister insisting that "santa" wrap all our gifts in different papers.  i would lay in bed and watch the candle in the window until i was to tired to watch for santa anymore. he would never disappoint he was always at our house year after year.  i feel those feelings now before a race.  like Christmas morning, i anticipate what i know will only be the best possible thing God has to deliver.

throughout the years it is unfortunate that i've also lost a few people at this time.  i have watched a few friends suffer the loss of their mothers during the holiday season and although usually wrapped up in racing it has been those losses that have helped me race during the holidays.  i raced nations tri with my friend kelly's mom there cheering me on and at the time, which she did not know, she was dying of pancreatic cancer.  that was the last time i saw her as the person i remember her as.  i spent the following months by her bedside with my good friend saying goodbye to her mom.  i also spent that time with another very close friend of mine who was losing her mom to cancer, she would not be here for the next Christmas.  its hard to lose those during the holidays but its also a reminder of special angels we get at this time each year.  i race because i can.  i used to race because i wanted to prove something to someone but not anymore.

and even though Christmas might be painful for some.  it might be considered a sad holiday if you don't have anyone and perhaps a little lonely if you let it be.   but for me its happy.  i see it as a new beginning every year.  a new way to start, forget the old, honor those in our lives and just live.

merry Christmas and happy holidays to all.