The Great Race of Agoura Hills!!!!

I did it! I survived The Great Race of Agoura Hills! For me it will always be remembered as The "Grueling" Race of Agoura Hills where I pushed my will and body far beyond what I ever believed I was capable of. I have to admit that I was completely unprepared for this race. I have been training with Anissa for two months, running in my flat, smooth, paved, unobstructed neighborhood when we really should have been training on Camelback Mountain! This race in California, while nestled in the amazingly beautiful Santa Monica mountains, is really more of a brutal trail run to say the very least. Not only was the terrain difficult but the elevation climb was incredibly tough. Here's what it looked like...and "yes" there are a lot of steep climbs there!

By mile 5 I felt like my legs where shot already but somehow I kept pushing. While I was in my 7th mile, I started cramping on my side really bad. It was the kind of cramp that hurts to even breath let alone run. This started while I was still ascending which made the pain more bearable because I could hunch over a bit but when the trail started descending that was when it got excruciating. At that point I started crying and was having trouble breathing of course. I tried everything I could think of to get this stupid cramp to stop killing me and finally said a quick prayer and kept pushing. A little ways past the summit there was a man on a quad to help get anyone down who needed it. I seriously considered letting him take me down. I don't know how I did it but I ran past him! That's when I knew I had a lot more in me than I believed I was capable of. It gave me courage to keep pushing. I don't recall when my cramp subsided but I remember leaving the trail, realizing it was gone and made my last push for the finish line. The last mile was really hard for me. I was truly exhausted. I kept looking for my family for support but didn't see them until after I crossed the finish line. As soon as I saw Weston I broke down crying. I couldn't believe I made it and I was so overwhelmed with my emotions. This race was the single most difficult thing I have ever done physically and I will never forget it! I'm so happy that I didn't give up and I'm actually grateful for the experience. It taught me a lot about myself. So anyway, here is the good news....I finished my race in 2 hrs 31 min and 36 seconds! That may seem slow to some people but for me I feel really great about it. Now I can't wait to see what I can do on a flat run. I guess all my hard work is starting to pay off and that feels really good. The really sad news is that Anissa was not able to go with me. She came down really sick with the flu last week. It was hard for me to not have her there but I know it was even harder for her to not be there. I hurt so much for her but we've found another race to do together in May. We'll be going to Prescott to the Whiskey Row Half Marathon. Wish us luck!