Trail Weekend Recap 2021

 " Your greatest runs are rarely measured by racing success.  They are moments in time when running allows you to see how wonderful your life is." 

Kara Goucher, World Championships silver medalist

This year, I was jumping in a corral healthy. I was sticking my middle finger up at cancer in the politest way. 

Cancer robbed me of my memories from 2019. Against my Dr.'s orders I ran this very race2 years ago with no memory of it.  I would have my port put in the next day and chemo just a couple days after that. 

 2019 I struggle trying to remember details but I found some pics. 

2019

I ran Trail weekend 2 years ago determined to do what I love but cautious of the cancer growing inside me. 

TIME: 5:52  and 1st in my age group after running 13 miles the day before. 

This year, I CELEBRATED! I HAVE LIFE! I fought cancer and all of hell and I get a 'DO over'. 

Trail Weekend is a gnarly course on the Potowatami Trail in Pickney. The last 5 miles is described as "The 5-mile loop is five tough but beautiful miles along the Crooked Lake path! As hilly as any section of the half or full marathon, this is a kick butt trail course that is sure to please ... and beat you to a pulp!"

The course is a 13.1 mile loop you do twice then add the 5 mile loop I described above. 

That 5 mile loop had me rattled. 

The PLAN: Run the first loop conservatively. 2nd loop pick it up a wee little bit. 5 mile loop try not to die and stay upright without a tear-fest. 

THE START: Brrr, it was as cold as a witches tit in a cast iron bra. The wind pummeled you off the lake. I questioned my shorts and thanked God I grabbed a zip up hoodie. 

Without much announcement Andy and I jumped in a very bare starting line. It was a rolling start based off of pace times. "11:30 min miles GOOOO"! The announcer shouts as I am grabbing Andy, "COME on we gotta go!" 

THE FIRST LOOP: 

Andy and I ran together the first 8 miles. We laughed and chatted with the other runners. I had painted a few rocks and asked Andy to drop one on the trail. We found ourselves laughing about the silly rocks with the other runners. 

I was feeling good and slowly pulled away from Andy. 

I found myself running the hills, slow and steady. Even though my body felt strong I knew I had to dial it back or I would be in the hurt locker sooner than later. I followed this guy for miles. "What's your name?" I asked. "Shaun, from Plymouth." We shared similar goals and stayed together the first loop, me just trying to keep up. I looked at my watch and it was a 9:40 minute mile, I knew I couldn't sustain that. I had my hydration pack with 2 bottles, one with water and the other with NUUN. I also had 2 Gu's on making it easy to get in and out. It was a "cupless" race so I also brought my own plastic collapsible cup. I would try to get in and out to not waste time in the aid stations. 

As we came through the first loop I waited a couple seconds for Shaun, "Let's GO Shaun" I yelled back at him as I head back to the trail. 

2:22:22 was my time coming out of the first loop. 

The SECOND LOOP: I hadn't falled, peed or pooped my pants so I was doing pretty good. I was concerned about my ankle I had twisted really bad earlier in the week. And my PF was creeping back at me. I wore my Altra's Romano from Complete Runner had recommended for me and prayed I made a good choice. 

Shaun caught up. I had my music playing through my new speaker Andy had bought me. Its only about 3inches long and clips on my vest. The music, the trails, the gratitude was explosive. "GOD YOU are SOO good to me..." I was just soo happy.. 

I chatted with Shaun but I noticed he was falling back. "Come on Shaun, lets get to 20 miles..." 

We came up on a guy fussing with his phone. As I approached him I yelled, "HEY! Its' Hammeroutthe miles" this guy I follow on social media. He started laughing and a mile farther I noticed he was running with us. Until they weren't with me any longer. 

I felt my body sturdy and able to sustain my pace.  Even though I was now running solo I was finding myself picking runners off. I was almost through the 2nd loop and I was roasting.  Hikers were scattered on the trail shouting and cheering me on. I came down a very steep and rooty hill and overheard some hiker yell "SHE IS HAULING!" I couldn't help but smile. As I came out of the woods down the stretch of lakefront back to the start/finish line I through off my buff and jacket and ran right through the aid station with just a few sips of water in my cup.  I knew that might have been a big mistake. 

4:46 was my time going back out for my 5 miler. Even though my split was positive I felt good enough to run hard the last gruesome 5. 

THE LAST 5: Holy SUCKFEST. The sun was out, I was out of liquids. I was holding my second bag of trail mix and dropped a gear. 

Mile 27 I was going up, up up a dirt road back into the trail system. 8:50min/mi. I saw I girl look behind her and see me as I came up on her. "Your doing amazing" I told her as I ran pass her going uphill. "Get up the hill Anita, don't look back, and act like it doesn't hurt the way it does." I coached myself. Don't let them see weakness. The race has started. 

Mile 28, 9:43 min/mi and trying not to throw up. So many massive hills. My heart was racing as I walked for what felt like forever. I was so scared I was going to get passed I made myself run half way up.  Only to see a runner and pass them, they never even saw me coming. 

Mile 29, 9:59 I kept peeking for a runner to come up on me. "GO Anita!" I barked at myself out loud. Then I realized I was at mile 29! I lost a mile. I only had 2 miles to go. 

I came up on this group of about 8 hikers, college age. They saw me coming down a hill, they shouted at each other to get over as they all cheered me on with claps and applause. "Thank YOU, you guys are awesome!" It made me feel so mighty! 

Mile 30, 9:47. Still running sub 10's and now fumbling for my phone. I was trying to text Andy to let him know I was on my last mile. He had ran the marathon and should be waiting for me. 

"MARCOOOO" I hear a familiar voice through the woods. It was Andy. He had came back through the trail to run it in with me. 

"ANITA! Your doing amazing!" He stayed with me for about a half a minute, "I was going to run with you but your going to fast, what are you racing?!" 

I had a very steep and technical hill to hit. I reminded myself to run strong. I looked down at the roots darting across the rocks and fearlessly picked up my pace. "Go, go, pick em up, tap tap tap, use your arms, dart to the right jump to the left" I smiled inside. I was doing the very thing I love. This time cancer free. 

Mile 31, 9:15. My fastest mile. Mile 31. By the Grace of God go I. 

I was smiling from ear to ear. There was no one cheering me on at the finish line. But that was ok. I was cheering myself on. Jesus never left me. He gave me this victory. 

Never quit believing. Never give up the faith. Never Quit. 

Time: 5h 31min! 

1st in my age group

3rd overall female

8th overall. 

A huge shout out to all those who raced this weekend. SO many epic achievements. A big congrats to Andy. He had a killer race. I am so proud of him! 

THANK YOU to all those who cheered us on from social media, all the texts, encouragement and support. So much genuine kindness. 

ANITA

A lil here, a lil there,

 "When obstacles arise, you change your direction to reach your goal; you do not change your decision to get there." Zig Ziglar

"Mom, you and dad are starting to act like old people..." Austin says to me with his little sh#%  eating grin. 

Reality is,  I will be 48 years old this year. But I try so hard to stay youthful. Behind the scars, the gray hair, the creping skin and wrinkles I really am young at heart. 

I have changed directions many time but I have never gave up. There will be a day either my body or my mind will give up, but I am fighting like hell to avoid that as long as I can. 

RUN THE MITT:

"A man who moves mountains begins by carrying small stones." Confucius 

The first place winner finished this week. Alex ran 1035 miles first. Behind him is Donnie with 1018 miles. I am barely hanging onto 3rd pace with over 930 miles. ( I didn't log todays miles). 

12 weeks ago you would never have told me I would be hanging on this close to the top.  As of right now, I am in the lead for 1st place female but I am getting tired and burned out. Part of the "burn out" is emotional distraction. I am competing with another runner who puts no verification up. She posts 65-70 mile weeks w/o a picture, or a link to Strava or Garmin, running every day since January 1st. She is amazing.  (I just wish she had some verification, I would trust her miles more.) 

I am moving mountains by the grace of God. The last few weeks, I have felt that competitive spirit flame again. I may not be able to hold on but it has felt so good to try. 

It has humbled me to see how much I CAN DO  I would never have thought possible, had I not been inspired. 

Most people give competitive people a bad wrap. Being competitive isn't bad unless it changes your moral compass. You can still be encouraging and kind and compete. I don't know who this "Jamie" is but she has inspired me to do things I never thought I could do especially after cancer, all my surgeries and ailments the last 2 years. 

TRAIL WEEKEND:

"Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn." 

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Monday, I got an email that I was no longer on the waitlist for this race. A RACE!? Not just a race, an ULTRA, a lil one but none the less a 50k, this coming up weekend. I was dancing and shaking with JOY!

Even though I had no races until June, Charlevoix marathon, I was living on a prayer I would get in. I trained with confidence that I would get to run Trail Weekend. And its a good thing I did because I only had 2 weeks to get my head in the game. 

The tide turned, I am beyond stoked. 

COACHING again

"Our destiny is not determined by the number of times we stumble but the number of times we rise up, dust ourselves off, and move forward." Dieter F. Uchtdorf

"COACH! You have hair again!" with the biggest smile, one of the kids I XC coach shouts at me as I walk towards the team. 

I am totally not qualified to coach 35 junior high athletes but they keep asking me to come back. I absolutely love the kids and running. 

"Thank you Coach Harless..." one kid after another, the kids came up to me thanking me for coaching them after practice Thursday. 

We ran, we laughed, we sweat and I taught them the value of being a TEAM. Teaching them more than running drills but team bonding drills. If you have a relationship with the kids they will not just discover a passion for the sport but they will have a relationship with one another that will inspire and encourage them to better success. 

2019 I coached those kids through chemo. I showed up shouting and running after them at meets. I was so exhausted and sick. I will never forgetting preparing the kids for my hair to fall out. They all gathered around me outside on the grass. 40 kids huddled together looking up at my new pixie cut. All clustered around, they eagerly waited for me to say my final words of the day before they headed home from practice. Trying to stay strong I asked them all to raise their hands if someone in their family was bald. They younger ones quickly raised their hands while the older ones could see where this was going and held their response. I held my gaze on the ones I had coached for a few years trying not to cry. "Well, now you know someone else, I will still be the same coach, I will just have less hair but the same heart and love for you..." 

My life is like my legs on a trail. I fall all the time. I flip, dip and trip. But I get back out there. No matter the obstacle, no matter the stumble, the mistakes, the sucker punch life throws you just have to get back out there. The tide turns. Just keep moving. Don't give up. Do it ugly, do it slowly, do it tearfully, just keep doing it. 

Danielle and I got so lost at Proud Lake this week. Chaperones welcome! It was a beautiful and fun run!

RUNDOWN:

Monday: 14M 

Tuesday: Off

Wednesday: Run10M, walk home, 1.76

Thursday: Proud Lake w/ Danielle 11.35, Run w/ Complete Runner 5.35

Friday: Off (fell asleep on couch after work) 

Saturday: 15M

Sunday: 18M Holdridge, Grubers and North loop

TOTAL: 75.47

* I am tapering this week. This is where I will loose my place on Run the Mitt. You can't do both and be successful. My body has to recover from these high mileage run weeks to be strong Sunday. 

Chris, Lacey and I had a hilly run to Ortonville Saturday. 

 Anita~

The Marathon that didn't happen, sorta

 "I've always been good at putting things behind me- I fall apart, do my crying bit, and then put it away and move on."  Paula Radcliffe

Lacey, Chris and I.  

This weekend Lacey and I were supposed to run Wisconsin Marathon in Milwaukee. They cancelled it weeks ago. I was actually in Florida the day after my A1A epic failure  when Lacey called me with news. I was so bummed. 

Truth be told, between her schedule, marathon schedules that were not virtual or cancelled, we really didn't have many options left. 

But I kept training like something would just show up in the books. "Run the Mitt" has offered a fun way of keeping the legs moving but no marathon for us. 

Yesterday, I made a last minute decision. 

I had a long run with Lacey and Chris for 15 miles but had not yet confirmed my little idea with myself so I never verbalized it. 

Lacey dropped me off at home and I told her I was going to keep running to find Andy. Andy was somewhere running. 

I still wasn't sure what my plan was. I headed down the back roads to Holly Rec to meet Andy. I thought it was roughly 7 or 8 miles to the park and through the park to the Wilderness loop. 

As I reached the parking lot, I saw Andy, he never saw me. He was coming off the trail, I just followed about 30 yards behind him.  

He hit his watch to shut off his Garmin and looked up, "OHH Hi!" 

I was laughing.

"Anita, how did you get here?" Andy asked exhausted. 

"I ran.." I giggled. 

"You've gotta be freaking kidding me!" Then asked what I was doing. 

"I don't know, I think I will run a marathon today." I smirked. 

And that is exactly what I did. It wasn't fast. It was 2 runs combined to make over 27 miles. I actually had Andy come back to pick me up on Grange Hall Rd. He didnt get there as soon as I was done so I just kept running till I saw him driving towards me. I was out of water, down to 1 Gu and out of electrolytes. But I felt pretty good overall. 

It wasn't Wisconsin Marathon but it was my marathon. The last 4 miles is mostly downhill. I think I smiled the whole time. That cheesy grin that you feel yourself almost blushing with excitement. 

Today, I woke up and nothing hurt. That does not mean I didn't "feel" 27 miles. My body was very fatigued. I had some tender parts. I knew I wasn't going to run today. 

Truth is I did an active recovery. I walked 2 times and biked to find Andy doing his long run. 

I felt like sludge! 

Tonight, added my miles for the week. 

Over 80 miles. This is where if you are not careful you will get injured. 

This week I got a massage, drank extra protein smoothies, didn't run fast just steady, stretched and rolled and had a very grateful attitude. 

I am so grateful. I am grateful I had the courage to go big this week. 

I am grateful I was able to be realistic in my approach. Go slow, take it easy and you can be successful, I told myself. 

I am grateful I has been patient, doing the work controlled. 

I am grateful I could do the long haul. I have been trying to train wisely. I have been training more like the tortoise and not the hare. I know I can not sustain high intensity workouts. 

"I've always been good at putting things behind me- I fall apart, do my crying bit, and then put it away and move on."  Paula Radcliffe

Anita~

Moody doesn't cut it

 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

It was so bitter cold today. Snow dusted the front yard and the wind whistled. I was feeling a bit moody. Not in the mood to get up, crawl out of bed and surely not in the mood to run. That's the problem with solo runs, you have no one but yourself to motivate you. 

A 7:30 start didn't happen as I had planned. It was more like 8:30 when my feet hit the trails. I decided right out of the gate I was going to run by effort level and not look at my watch. I was too moody to be annoyed with technology. 

I still have all these little plans in my head. 

• No music until 5 miles
• Try to run smooth enough to run most of the hills.
• Look at my watch on the second half of the run then be more intentional
• Eat, Drink, Breathe and don't FALL

Around mile 2, I heard a rustle on my left. Then I saw something moving out of the corner of my eye. Running the trails solo can mess with your head a bit. Being a girl out there I get a little nervous but try not to let fear detour me from enjoying what I love. 

2 deer jumped up as startled as I. But they didn't dart off. They just stared at me. Quickly stopping, I felt the urge to tinkle. As I squatted down in the trail I never took my eyes off the deer and nor did they loose their view of me. The one deer actually tiled her head trying to find me and began to walk in my direction. I was cracking up at her curiosity as she moved closer. Needless to say, when I arose to pull up my britches she stopped but never scampered off, but I did as much as I wanted to enjoy the deer I had to hit it and get it. 

It was a good run. I was able to pick up the second half of my run and I only tripped once, never actually completely falling!

Thursdays have become my double run days. But today became double solo run Thursday. I stayed home today and let Andy hang out with his boys from Complete Runner. 

I guess I was still moody. 

I didn't feel like running again.

I didn't feel like running fast. 

I didn't feel like being cold. 

I didn't really know what I wanted, so I just stayed home. 

IT WAS AWFUL. The first mile is up hill. then hill after dreaded hill. I was sucking wind and whining. 

IT HURT. It was speedwork day. In the beginning of this run I was just going to call it and go easy. But then I reminded myself I should be running with CRU making this run a hard effort.  I had to quit whining and get after it. 

I had the ugly face. I commanded myself to breathe. The cars must have seen my misery as each one moved over to let me pass. Did I mention it HURT. I looked down at my watch and coached myself to not quit. 

Isn't that part of the Victory. Work hard, don't let being moody dictate your plan. There is pain in the game. Whether it is physical, emotional, even financial. 

I wanted to quit before I started. 

I woke up moody. My heart was heavy. I was letting things rent space in my head. I was feeling down on myself. I was feeling insecure of myself. I was struggling. 

We all have these days. 

 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

So I prayed. Each run. I reminded myself God is my Identity. It matters more to seek Him than the affection of others. I wanted to crawl in His arms. My father God. I wanted Him to hold me. And He did. 

We have to Keep Going. Life is hard. It is full of disappointments. Sulking, whining, or wimping out is not going to produce anything positive. 

These solo runs are very good for me. They allow me to sift through all the B.S. life brings. They allow me to take time to look for a positive perspective.  

Wherever I go the Lord Is with me. In my discouragement, my moodiness, He is still with me.

Trail Tip, Ultra running:

Quantity has the advantage of quality. It is about time on your feet. Easy runs are essential for training for an ultra. These longs should be approximately  60-70% exertion level. 

Anita

Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” —William James