25k Sulphur Springs Trail Run

I do a fair bit of my training on a treadmill in our dining room/home gym.  I know some people hate treadmills, but I really don't mind them.  With the family, work etc, it makes getting workouts in possible for me as I can do it before the sun comes up or after it has gone down.  I like the numbers feedback and find it pushes me (I can't just slow down without pressing the button to slow it down).  I'll even go as far as saying I think it builds mental toughness required to do these 'endurance' sports I'm leaning towards the last few years.
But put me out on a trail, and it takes me to a whole other world!  It is the pinnacle of running! It's an experience for all the senses. I may not stop and smell the flowers, but the freshness is in the air.  I hear the birds sing and the crunch of leaves underfoot.  I feel the heat of the sun or raindrops or wind on my face.  I see vibrant colours, beautiful scenery and sometimes some wildlife.
Many of the races I've done have had some off-road portions, but the Sulphur Springs race was my first real (absolute) trail race.
And man, it was a tough course.
2 things I thought about a lot out on the trail while my senses were enjoying themselves were:
1) how it was a very good decision to drop down from the 50k to the 25k, as I quickly came to realize 25k on this course was much more than 25k on any other course I'd ever raced on.  There were some significant, steep long climbs; and even the descents are hard on the body.  To give an idea I was approximately 15 minutes slower during this 25k then I was doing 30k this year in Around the Bay Road Race (also a hilly course); and
2) how incredible the people out there were taking on 100 miles.  They had to do the 20k loop portion 7 more times than me... I was awestruck!
And that's what plants the seed... This was the first time I'd actually witnessed the ultra marathon taking place; I'm certainly intrigued!
I look forward to doing more trail races and maybe one day really committing to some kind of ultra running feat.

being a little less than right

Well I ran the Mississauga marathon and after it, I updated my facebook status with "I think that hurt a little more because William Johnson (my husband) was right and I was a bit less than right"  He would get what I meant, that I was making fun of my pain from the run and my seeming need to just do somethings sometimes without thinking long-term.  Anyone else might wonder about the status, not knowing I did a race, maybe think I have a hard time admitting I'm wrong (which I don't really think is the case, but truth be told I prefer to be right)...
So what was he right about?  Basically, he felt I wasn't respecting the distance (42.2k) that I was planning on running, that I hadn't done enough training.  That's not to say he didn't think I could do it (he may even have more faith in my abilities than I do) and he knows I'd walk it before I quit. It's that he knows I don't really want to have that kind of race where I know I could have done so much better if I had been properly prepared.  It's that he knows that the recovery it will take from pushing through something I'm not really ready for will take away from the training I should really be building up
When I was feeling the pain during the run I may have cursed his name for being right, but not because what he said was specifically hurtful  (the implication of that in my FB status was just my humour).  I knew I hadn't really put in enough long runs, it wasn't shocking news what he had told me; but when I hit the pain during the race there was no way to ignore how right he was and how stubborn I can be.  Knowing I wouldn't be able to race race it before I even started running, I told myself I would do it as a training run; because in fact that's what I wanted it to be as I was hoping to try my 1st 50k later this month (ya more of me being impatient with all the things I want to do).  But who am I kidding, I can't tame my competitive side in a race... I did start slower than I have ever started a race, but I quickly got bored of the pace; I let my mind trick me: going slow means I'll just be dragging out the Hurt.  So I picked it up abit, not so I was huffing and puffing or anything, just a more steady pace. 21.1k in 1:53 and I was feeling pretty good (in your face Bill- lol)  But by 28k, the thought of 14k more to go was daunting (& I took my in your face Bill, back).  I did shuffle in at 4:04 and took 2 days off training to walk without wincing and I have down graded the upcoming 50k to a 25k, which means I likely have to wait another year to try an ultra-marathon.  (patients, I'll work on it; at least while the pain is still fresh in my mind it won't be too hard to be patient)   And that's the story behind my FB status.   My being a little less than right is worthy of a blog, since it doesn't happen often (lol)

at least there was free beer after ~ most people who know me know I 'd run for that