Psycho Psummer Trail Run Race Report 2015
Mother Nature was working against me Friday and Saturday!
Or rather, Mother Nature has been working against Kansas City since… May. Ha ha. And we just got to experience some of the aftermath.
It started at the Royals game Friday night. Last year, when Rachel and I traveled to Kansas City for the Psycho Psummer Trail Run, we ended up dropping from the 20 mile to 10 mile distance because the race was taking us longer than we thought it would, and we didn’t want to be too wiped out to enjoy the Royals game the night of the race (priorities!).
So this year, we REALLY wanted to do the full 20 mile distance (two loops on the course), and decided to attend the Friday night Royals game, so we wouldn’t feel like we had to be anywhere after the Saturday race. Perfect planning – attend the game, get to bed by midnight, and get six hours of sleep – that works!
Only… not so much. Ha ha. A storm started coming in right before game start, and then it POURED rain. For almost two hours.
We had fun hanging out and goofing around (and complaining about how much our feet and legs hurt from standing so much) while we waited for the game to start…
Steven and his dad were there too
… but it didn’t start until after 9:00! Eek!
We watched as much of it as we could, but left after the fourth inning so we’d still get a decent amount of sleep before the race. Bummer. But – the Royals won! Woot woot!
Before we got to Kansas City, I was wondering how all of the rain they’d been getting would affect the trail course for the race (and even more so after the pre-race night of rain!). The race organizers (the awesome Trail Nerds!!!) addressed it on their Facebook page and in a race email. They changed the course a bit so less of it would be in the mud, and gave us a warning that the first two miles would be mud, and it would clear up after that.
I was thinking, “Wow, only 2 miles? How is that possible?” followed by “Well, I can deal with it for two miles.”
No. No I can’t. Too much of the course looked like this:
I love trail running, and I love getting dirty – running through puddles and mud, and falling in them doesn’t phase me. I expect to get dirty and fall on the trails, and laugh about it.
I don’t expect to walk, at a 25 minute per mile pace or SLOWER for most of the course (it took us 4:14:30 to cover 10.2 miles – last year it took just under 3 hours). I don’t expect to lose my shoe (ha ha!). I don’t expect to feel completely demoralized. I don’t expect to run only about 10% of the course.
Sigh. This was hard, guys. Mentally, not physically (I wasn’t even sore from the race the next day).
Within the first two miles, yep, Rachel and I were both thinking about dropping to the 10 mile distance. But who was going to say it first? I am happy she did – I thought I was just being weak-minded, but I wasn’t.
And guess what? That mud didn’t stop at two miles (how could it? and could you imagine what a second loop would have been like?! even worse!). I would say 60% of the course was like that. Just when you’d get going, you’d come across more mud. How do you run through this?
That’s not safe for us non-local runners (I really shouldn’t have even stopped to take pics – that alone was dangerous – you could totally fall and hit your head on one of these rocks!) who aren’t good on the large rock terrain to begin with to TRY to run on.
Of course, I am happy the race was still held AT ALL! They could have canceled, due to the trail conditions. And Trail Nerds did a ton of race prep to clear the path (brush, etc) so we could make it through. They had awesome aid stations, amazing volunteers, and a rocking DJ. And race photos included in your entry fee!
I like how deceiving they are about the conditions of the course, ha!
Trail Nerds put on an AWESOME event. Why else would we be back, wanting to go for the full 20, another year? It’s just too bad the trail was like this.
But we felt better when we heard other people coming up behind us (the 10 milers started at 9:00, an hour after us, so they did catch up – HOW DO PEOPLE RUN THROUGH ALL THAT MUD?!) and cussing about the course. We felt better when we saw that TONS of people dropped from the 20 to the 10, and from the 50K to the 20 or 10. We felt bad when we saw posts of people who DNF’d (did not finish) because of the conditions. But… even those people were cheery about it. Trail runners are a happy bunch!
Although I do have to say, I had a very whiny moment on the trail. During mile 2, my right shoe decided to stay behind in the mud when I was walking through it, ha ha. So I fell in the mud and was trying to pull my shoe out (it felt suction cupped in!) to put it on my muddy sock, which took longer than I thought it would. Then I was walking through the mud, when a slippery muddy sock in a muddy shoe.
I looked at my watch and saw that we were almost to an hour and I hadn’t eaten anything since race start. I pulled out a Clif gel to eat and when I tried to open it, the top ripped off but left the package closed, with the gel squirting out the side. My hands were covered in mud, and now the package was too, and I just started whining. Rachel asked what was wrong, probably thinking I was hurt or something, and when I whined “My Clif gel didn’t open right and is coming out the side!” she was just like “… um, why don’t you eat it out the side, then?!” So logical, but I was all EFF THIS CLIF GEL I HATE YOU!
Sigh. Not my best race moment. I was surprised to see myself go to such a dark mental place. That rarely happens to me at races. But, I don’t think I have done a race before that mentally beat me down so much. Rachel and I just wanted to run, but couldn’t.
It was either like this:
or this:
Okay, we did get to run in some spots:
But like I said, we MAYBE ran a mile the entire time. Ha ha! We went out for a (dry paved trail) run on Sunday to make sure we were still runners and get our runner cards back. Luckily, we were successful with that run.
And luckily, we were laughing about the race and making fun of ourselves shortly after. I was surprised though, as someone who almost always tries to put a positive spin on my “athletic” endeavors, that I did not hesitate to tell anyone how horrible this was. But! It made us stronger runners, and we got to bond with other people on the trail. And I know Rachel still wants to be my friend after seeing my crazy clif gel frustration. Ha.
Oh, and maybe all that mud is good for our skin? Not. It dried out and felt itchy. As do all the mosquito bites we got on the trail. Hmm, what else can I complain about? The heat? Nah, with this being mostly shaded, it was no big deal that it was 86º with a feel like temperature in the high 90s. I mean, we were soaked, but had no issues other than that!
Now to decide what to do for next year! I love visiting Kansas City with Rachel, but maybe we’ll have to send a scout over to check out the trails before we register for this race again. Or, pick a new race. The I-35 Challenge is calling our names…
I hope this didn’t come off as me complaining about the race organizers, because I am not, at all. They rock. What control would they have over the trail, and rain? They did an amazing job with what they were handed. I could really see myself doing more of their races and hanging with this group if I was local – they seem like a lot of fun. And how amazing would it be to train on those hills and terrain? I would come back to the trail races I do where I live and find them much easier!
And I LOVE the race shirt and cup we got this year. We got a medal too (same one as last year). It may take me awhile to wear that shirt though, ha!
The rest of our day and visit was FANTASTIC! We spent Saturday prepping food with my snister for a cookout, then the three of us went to a local pool (which felt amazing!). After the pool, my in-laws came over to my snister’s for the cookout and games. On Sunday, Rachel and I ran, went to a big cat sanctuary and hung out at my father-in-law’s place before flying back to Chicago. It’s funny, we flew (instead of driving) this year so we’d feel like we had more time there but it still felt SO short! Maybe next year’s trip will be a bit longer!
Dessert recipes here
OMG, this whipped cream is DA BOMB
Themocracy
Was Rachel having flashbacks from Apple Creek? Ugh those conditions are rough to run in but really do leave a lasting impression in your head 🙂 You may never get those conditions ever again in your life and you still accomplished 10+ miles in it! Good job!
She was! But she said at least at Apple Creek it was mud for awhile then she could run for a bit! I think I need to try that one next year, hee hee 🙂
Thanks! I am proud of our effort!
It was like the worst parts of Apple Creek for the entire race. Haha.
Such a fun weekend!! Glad you came!
Me too! Do you want me to come every free weekend you have for the rest of the year?!
Thanks for hosting us and letting me use tu coche!
Yes please, that would be so enjoyable. I love never having free time! 😉 Jk it would be diff if it was all the time, and then maybe you would earn your no pants card.
SOOOOOON I will have my card!
I was walking around in my towel after my Sunday am shower and almost went downstairs and asked if I could sit on your couch nekkid, ha.
I miss you and Will and Dexter!
We miss you too!!!
Funny story about your Clif gel. I would have been whiny as well, based on the conditions. Looks like you got all of the fun of a mud run, without any norovirus in the mud! That post-race pool must have been one of the most refreshing swims ever! 🙂
It’s actually mostly a horse trail and we were pretty sure there was horse poop in the mud! Eeek! But… we are both okay so far. I forgot to mention that after my sock got in the mud we went through a creek where I stood there in the water and let the creek clean my shoes and socks… and I also used the water to get mud off my face. Still not sick. Yay!
The pool was AMAZING! Lazy river, slides, and some lounge chair time. AHHHHHH. 🙂
I’m sure those horse owners picked up after their horses (not!). Thank goodness for that creek, I would have never left! Glad to hear that you aren’t sick. 🙂
Ummm, I may have picked up something from the race. Still dealing with…uh…intestinal challenges.
Oh no! Are you serious?! You think that was the race or something else we ate?
Wowwwww. You said mud, and wow, that is mud! 🙁 How awful to spend so many miles trecking through that!! I like trails too but wow. That is what I call soul-sucking mud!
Yeah, it totally was! I’m sure my next trail race will be better! 🙂
Haha your gel story is the best. Still love you!
All the food pics are making me want more! Such a fun weekend!
Phew!!!!! <3 :-*
Everything turned out delish! I should make that pie... and get more of that whipped cream. Did it have coconut in it?
Wow, I know you said it was muddy but I did not imagine that! Those photos really tell the story. You guys did a great job being able to look so happy in all the photos!
I had to take photos to show how ridic it was – otherwise we just sound whiny (which I was, ha).
LOL! Thanks! I tried to smile … 🙂
Was that a vanilla Clif gel? If so, just think of Henry! Wouldn’t want to waste that 😉
But I know what you mean about the dark mental place. It happens to all of us, in racing/running and just in life. Sometimes the smallest, stupidest thing is the last straw. But that’s why it’s so much better to tackle challenges like that with a friend!
Buah ha ha, it was either vanilla or citrus! 🙂
It IS usually the smallest, dumbest things! Sigh. I hate that those are things bugging me, but at least it’s not bigger issues? LOL
So behind on reading this one, but geeez, I’m so impressed you got through so much of that race with all that mud. That looks/sounds so frustrating, especially since you weren’t able to run very much at a time (and there was mosquitoes??). I’m actually surprised at how clean you and Rachel looked at the end!
It was SO frustrating. And demoralizing. There were mosquitoes as well, but luckily, not huge swarms!