Sometimes it just isn’t going to be your day. I plugged in my iPod last night to charge and this morning when I got up it was dead. Not dead like in “the battery ran out” but dead like in “need a new iPod.”

I was on my way here.

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It was my first trail race. Since I love trail running and I’ve ridden a horse on these trails before and remembered them as mostly flat, it shouldn’t matter that I haven’t worked out even once this week, right? I believe the word of the day is “unprepared.”

It kicked my butt. Literally and metaphorically. My butt hurts. The first mile was the longest mile I had ever run in my entire life – until I met mile two. I was really starting to think that they forgot to put a 2 mile marker out when I came across a perky volunteer who clapped and cheered, “You’re halfway done!!” Are you freaking kidding me? 1.5 miles?

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By the end of mile 2 I was starting to feel better. I had been walking a bit and my legs were starting to warm up. I’m so not a morning runner! Then I saw the Passage Hill.

I brought Prize here once when she was just learning to carry a rider. We came across a long steep hill. She didn’t know what to do. Her solution, instead of the time tested idea of pushing with your hind legs and using your butt, was to passage up the hill. A passage is a highly elevated trot only seen in upper level dressage tests. Once I figured out what she was doing I realized that since I’m not an upper level dressage rider this was an once in a lifetime chance to ride a passage so I let her do it. I’m a Bad Mom. It wore her out and made her realize that there had to be an easier way. See, that’s called Experiental Learning. It was really fun. But now they want me to run up a hill that my horse couldn’t figure out how to go up?

I walked it. Maybe that’s why my butt hurts now.

I was run/walking when suddenly I could see the finish line. I had to run then to make it look good. I’m getting used to being the last runner to cross. It isn’t as bad as people worry about if there are walkers behind you. LOL

I finished in 45:01 which is a smashing 10K time. Too bad this was a 5K.