Sort of Legal

“Plan when you can, adjust when you must, and trust yourself to adapt to the changes.”

-Me (Larissa Bodniowycz)

Four months ago, I signed up for a trail half marathon with enthusiasm and nerves over how far away from that goal I was at the time. (That Post: So, I guess I’m Doing a Trail Half-Marathon).  I spent a month training for the training, slowly starting to run more consistently.  I spent three months following through on a 3 running days per week plan (modified version of the Hal Higdon 3 Day) with dance, BUTI yoga, and hiking as cross training.  I tapered my long runs and largely rested race week.

All my hard work culminated in…a cancelled race.  Two days before the race, I got an e-mail stating that it was being postponed a month due to trail conditions following heavy rain in the area.  Southern California, like Missy Elliot, “can’t stand the rain.”  I was frustrated.  I had enjoyed the process, but I also wanted to see the results. I wanted to hit 13.1 for the first time in over half a decade.*  I really had my heart set on it.

I can be difficult to deter once I have an idea in my head.  I still reaaaaaallllly wanted to get in 13.1 miles on Saturday and I reaaaallllly wanted it to be on a trail.  So, I began to hatch an alternative plan.  All signs pointed to NO:

-The most logical local trails to run on would likewise be closed due to the recent rains.
-The friends that were going to the race with me did not respond to my inquiry into whether they would want to do our own trail-half marathon.**
-The friends that were going to the race with me did not respond to my inquiry into whether they would want to do our own trail-half marathon.**
-The friends that were going to the race with me did not respond to my inquiry into whether they would want to do our own trail-half marathon.**
-My front tires were dangerously bald…and I didn’t notice until 3:30PM on Friday when I’d be driving up the Laguna Mountain Area, which was predicted to have snow overnight, Saturday morning.
-The first store I called about a potential last minute tire change was not only unable to do it but the guy was an a-hole about it (I don’t usually name names but it was Pep Boys).

I considered scrapping the idea.  But as my friend Shatara told me years ago when I was considering moving to California and nothing was going right, “signs are for people who don’t want it badly enough.”  I really wanted this.   

And as luck, or perhaps just a change in perspective, would have it, the signs started to change:

-A ranger from the Descanso Ranger District called me back and confirmed that the trails in the Laguna Mountain area would be open Saturday.
-An inner excitement that replaced the disappointment of the cancelled race.
-REI had a day pass available!
–Discount Tires was uber-professional and kind and were able to change my tires and patch a hole in my rear tire that I only discovered when I arrived there even (talk about lucky!). 
–Discount Tires was uber-professional and kind and were able to change my tires and patch a hole in my rear tire that I only discovered when I arrived there even (talk about lucky!).

So, yesterday morning, I drove out to the Sunset Trail trailhead in the Laguna Mountains of Cleveland National Forest.  I knocked out a solo hybrid run/hike/trek in sneakers of 15.4 miles at apx 5,000 ft elevation (that feels like elevation for beach-dwellers like me) with 1500 elevation gain.  It was an adventure and there’s nowhere I would have rather have been.

It wasn’t the race I had planned.  It wasn’t even a race.  It wasn’t even all running.  Yet, it ended up feeling like the perfect culmination of training.  Adjusting was as much a part of training as the running itself.  I showed up on multiple occasions to find trails I had planned to run on closed.  I spent the Christmas holiday in Florida where the closest thing to hills I could find were some small bridges.  I encountered drastically different conditions on the same trails on different days.  I had unexpected work and life time constraints come up.

Each time, I adjusted.  Over time, adjusting began to feel like a natural part of the process.  It became more second nature.  It became easier to get excited about a new alternative instead of getting frustrated that what I initially planned or wanted did not work out. I also developed a deeper self-trust.  I trusted that I could change plans on the fly with a good attitude and adapt to whatever weather/terrain the trail running Gods had in store for me on a particular day.

These skills transcend trail running and are useful for life..  Am I the best at accepting when things are out of my control and changing course with grace? Absolutely not.  Am I getting a heck of a lot better at it?  Absolutely.  Do I think my experiences trail running over the past few months have helped? Absolutely.

Notes:
*I had done the Mission Trails 5 Peaks Challenge in One Day in January 15+ miles) and hit 13.1 in days during our Girls’ Trip in Banff, Canada over summer but those were straight hikes.  My longest trail running day in training was 11.2 miles.  Close, but not a half-marathon.

**In their defense, one of my friends did not process the invitation and might have joined. The other had a flight to catch later in the day and wasn’t really looking forward to the half-marathon race.

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Ran, as usual, in my trusty Brooks Mazama 2s – Love them for trail running & hiking! Getting close to buying my third pair.