Happy Mother’s Day

I had two wishes/hopes for Mother’s day. To be able to sleep in, and to dominate my trail race.
The babies woke at 630 with no interest in going back to sleep, so sleeping in wasn’t going to happen.  H woke at 7, so we had a family breakfast, laughed, and had some fun.  I explained that I would be leaving to run a race, but as he is only three years old I also had to explain that I was not going to “win.”  At three, he is a firm believer in running to win against others, not in running to surpass yourself.
Even though this was a small race, I was still feeling the jitters, as the last time I went trail running I ended up with a sprained ankle.  So I pulled on my running gear, made sure I had all my post-race supplies (like my super awesome Orange Mud Transition and Seat Wrap – squee!!), and kissed my guys and girls goodbye.

I'm a superhero in my Orange Mud gear!

I chose to wear my Skora Fits for the trail, had my Injinji ultra lightweight socks on, made sure I had plenty of my blueberry tea in my Orange Mud handheld, my Skora hat, and had applied plenty of sunscreen. I was ready.

I got checked in, put on my race bib, put my tracking chip around my ankle, and waited for a friend who was also running the race.  We warmed up together, discussed our race strategy (to finish), and waited to start.
We walked through the pasture as the race started, to avoid falling in the first 100 yards of the race, then started following our intervals.  I was hyper focused, once we were on the trail, on holes and loose rocks.  That was my mistake. I stepped on a root and rolled my ankle a half mile in.  A HALF MILE IN!  So I stepped off the path, let my friend go around, and limped the remaining .75 miles to the aid station, and then back to my car.  I was the only DNF (did not finish).  I waited for my friend to cross the finish line, gave her a huge hug, and drove home.  And cried on the drive.

Start to "finish"

All I wanted to do was finish, and I wasn’t able to.  I am still so pissed off at myself for the injury.  I went home, wrapped my ankle, snuggled my kids, took a nap (albeit a very short nap, as H crawled on top of me and started playing), and felt very bitter for the rest of the day.  So today I’m home with the twins, and there is no way to take the babes out for a run.  I’m hoping to get a swim in, and maybe call it hydrotherapy for my bum ankle (if the twins will nap long enough to allow it).  This may have not been the best Mother’s Day, due to me and me alone, but I still consider myself the luckiest mom in the world.  I may not be able to run for the next week or so, but I still get to have the best family.
Happy running, y’all!

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