Hells bells those are hills....

A little more than a week ago, my friend Sophia said to me "hey I signed up for another trail 10k, you should do it. I don't know where it is but I'll send you the link." Me: "Sounds great, I'd love to do it and I get back home Friday night, so it's perfect."

Sophia knows I'm a sucker for any race, especially trail runs, so of course I followed the link she sent me a couple hours later and registered for the event without really paying attention to where it was or what the course was. Sometimes you just suck those things up in order to put together two of my favorites things - my friends and running.

Only after registering for the race, I decide to read into the organization and the run itself...oh yeah, and discover that the race is up near the Pennsylvania border about 75 minutes away. But I digress, let me first tell you about the organization.

I have to tell you, once I started reading about River Valley Ranch, not only did I wish they held adult summer camps, I was thrilled to be participating in a fundraiser for them. River Valley Ranch describes itself in the following way: "Started in 1952 as a cowboy summer camp for youth, River Valley Ranch in Carroll County, Maryland now serves over 20,000 youth and adults annually as a summer youth camp, retreat facility, outdoor education center, and a destination for exciting seasonal events in a distinctly Christian and wholesome family atmosphere. River Valley Ranch is a non-profit ministry, a part of the Peter & John Radio Fellowship, Inc., a registered 501 (c)3 non-profit religious organization." The race was to raise money to provide scholarships for disadvantaged children to the summer camps. How cool is that!?!? They also take donations to support scholarships for military children. Check them out at www.rivervalleyranch.com.

Okay, so now we know that this is a good cause. Next we read about the course, which sounds right up my alley all the way down to the river crossing. I'm a sucker for a race that looks like it challenges runners. This one had everything, water, hills, rocks and a gazillion water stops which meant I wouldn't have to carry my camelbak.

Well let me tell you, just reading the course map won't prepare you for the hills in the first 3.5 miles of the course - ending with what they aptly called "Dead Man's Hill." Suffice it to say my calves were sore by Monday. It didn't take long to get to that first hill and then they just kept coming. We all know the saying "what goes up must come down"? The race directors for this run managed to defy even Newton...I truly believe there was a lot more uphill than downhill to this race.

If you survived the hills, which I obviously did, there were a lot of other fun aspects to this course. From the rock scramble (which took me several minutes to get through not because I was slow but because I had to stand in line and wait my turn to go through them), to the straight down plummet that took out more than one runner, it was great fun.

I was sadly disappointed, however, in the lack of enthusiasm shown by many at the river crossing. Here's my philosophy on trail running - you didn't sign up to go home clean and dry. I take every opportunity to make sure I have to scrape off layers of sweat and dirt, but apparently some of my fellow racers are afraid of a little water. There were two options at the river crossing - you could go out of your way to cross on a bridge or you could plunge in and run in water no deeper than your knees. So (a) we've got the wimps who took the bridge...come on, are you kidding me? Then (b) you've got those runners who decided to brave the water but were so afraid of getting too wet that they basically walk through the water slowly so as not to splash.

This is where I come in. I'm sure I got several dirty looks from behind, but I aim to ensure everyone close to me gets a real trail experience. So, as I enter the water there are several of the version (b) runners in front of me. I devilishy grin to myself and run through the water at top speed splashing EVERYWHERE and EVERYONE within a 10 foot radius. Dude, you got what you deserved by not respecting the water enough to have fun with it :)

I finally cruised into the finish line just over an hour after the start. My last two miles were my fastest (easy because there were no death defying hills to climb) and joined Sophia at the finish line. I can tell you honestly, I would do this one again though I think I need to get in a few more bridge runs first.

What's the best part? I opened my email today to the following email from Sophia:

no more crazy 10k's with stacie!!! i'm pretty sure i have plantar fasciitis. hurts to just stand up! :(

- the sign of a truly good trail run.

Bring it!

Sticky air and sailboats....

No, the two don't really go together (at least not this time) but I got you to wonder for a moment didn't I?

Last night's bridge run was uber sticky. The temperature was a nice 83 but the humidity was 85% and the feels like was 93...ergo sticky air. I knew this going in, after all we had a torrential downpour only two hours before my spectacular bridge crossing, but I just laughed at the air and said "bring it."

The run was definitely nothing to write home about. Since (as I pointed out earlier) it has recently rained, I was the only runner out there and have no "girl in blue" story to recount today, nor anything even remotely interesting. In fact, the scenery was so tremendously ordinary that I counted the fishermen on the Jonas Green Park pier - 28...and a dog and a really old lady. While rainy weather sends the runners in it apparently brings the fishing enthusiasts out.

So, while crossing the bridge four times and shaving 2 minutes and 30 seconds off my previous bridge run, I had an internal dialogue about what I would write about. Here's where sailboats come in.

To provide you with a little comic relief during this otherwise boring post, I decided to tell you about a sailboat Jason and I recently considered buying. As many of you know, we are looking for an older 24'-30' for weekend cruising on the Chesapeake. Something sturdy, doesn't require work and will last us several seasons if we treat it well.

This brings me to a 1976 Catalina with loads us recent work, a new engine and lots of upgrades. The sailboat was in really great condition and would require us to do very little but sail it for at least two years pending any disaster.

So with all these pluses, why didn't we buy it? I'm glad you asked...it was the current name of the boat. Yes, even though you can change a boat's name with a little paint, Jason just couldn't think about this boat without groaning.

I'll hold you in no more suspense, the name of the boat was Driftwood. While you sit there thinking about why this would be such a tough name to handle and come up with images of a boat beached and turning into something you might like to display in your garden, let me recount the real reason. Have you ever been to Camp Lejeune? If so, you know where I'm going. Marine Corps bases aren't known for nearby sophisticated shopping areas. In fact, quite the opposite. They are known for rows of barber shops, tattoo parlors and strip clubs....oh and rental furniture places.

Now you've guessed it. The absolute closest commercial establishment outside the main gates of Camp Lejeune is none other than The Driftwood, a strip joint (which I imagine on certain evenings may have very sticky air, but I can't speak from experience). And so our search continues.....