NJ Winter Trail Series - The Not Half Marathon

So earlier this week I had the brilliant idea to run my first trail race--a half marathon--in the snow at that! I had no idea what to expect, but I knew it would be an "adventure" at the very least. I should have seen the foreshadowing when the Mazda rented from Zipcar couldn't get up the snowy hills in Hoboken....

See that? That was the trail. While it was beautiful, it was treacherous for a newbie like myself. Within the first half mile I twisted both ankles (one being the ankle I twisted two weeks ago during a run on the WSH which left me with lovely asphalt burn) a few times. I had put a pair of Yak Trax on my Adrenaline 11's for the race, but I'm not sure I was able to get any "traction" from them. I thought I'd try and tough it out. I was bundled up so much I wasn't even feeling that cold.

See? I did have fun. But by mile 2.5, where the first aid station was, I knew I had to bail. I asked the woman at the aid station what the quickest way to the finish line was. I had rolled both ankles countless more times, and took a lovely side fall. (Which hurt my ego more than it actually hurt me) Every step was a mystery. Was I going to step down on ice? A giant rock? Water? Each tweak of my ankles caused me great pain, and after tackling a 200ft hill around mile 4, my left hip was on fire. I was disappointed and frustrated that I couldn't finish the race, but I was grateful that I could sit in a warm car and change into dry clothes while the friends I drove out to Jersey with were finishing up. What was even more frustrating was seeing a guy wearing CARPIS fly past me.

Elevation map for the 5 mile loop.

A little brook that wasn't frozen. Or was it?

Regardless of my race, there was a well deserved beer at the end for me.

Waiting in the car for everyone else to finish up....sucked. Though no one made me feel bad about it, I still felt like a loser. I don't think I've ever cut a race short like that, but I knew for me, that was the only option. The worst part was when I finished my loop, the race organizer told me I was leading the women's half marathon. Sigh. Maybe one day.

How to start a New Year

Um, have I really not blogged in the New Year? Looks like I should have made "blog more often" part of my new years resolution!

January has only been around for 10 days...but I have to admit it's been kind of amazing. I have been surrounded by some great people, doing some amazing things, and working on a scary-yet-exciting business venture.

But I've also started 2012 with a vengeance towards getting myself back in peak shape. I've made a bit of a dietary change (eating vegan during the week, relaxing it while still eating healthy on the weekends) I've also resumed core work and started adding in some interval training (Thanks to BodyRock & the Nike Training Club app!)

I got a bit of a rude awakening this morning, though. I had my body fat % measured. Like a lot of us, my scale at home has a "body fat %" mode where it will magically calculate your percentage of body fat by sending electric pulses through your feet or something. Mine always gave me a number in the high 20's or even 30. I thought this was utter BS. Turns out, not so much, as I was told mine was 26.7%. While the average for someone my age is 24%. I guess that isn't too bad, my BMI is well within a normal range, but it just seems like a lot of body fat. It's just another goal to work towards--getting that number under 25.

I have a general idea of how to do this, but I realize that I know more about how to lose weight (calories in < calories out) and not how to lose fat. I know I definitely need to add muscle and weights into the equation (good bye noodle arms! hello sexy quads!)

So there you guys have it. 2012, I'm gonna kick you in the butt!