I just hit my 1 year race-iversary with Aravaipa- the big trail racing name here in Arizona (and honestly fairly notable on a national level.) It was really fun to think about what I’ve experienced in the past year and what I might want to experience before this race rolls around again next year.

While I dabbled with the idea of trail running all the way back in 2019, I didn’t really start trying my hand (or should I say feet?) at it until 2021. I shared some very beginner thoughts back then in THIS post. But I was still far from. having enough confidence to actually sign up for a trail race. 2 years later, April of 2023, I finally had enough courage to try out an Aravaipa trail race. 13k Dam Good Run. I absolutely stuck with my friend Karyn like glue through the entire run and we had the best time together. This year we started together and I got to cheer her into the finish, but I was brave enough to run my own race and see what I could do with this course knowing that the rest of my training for the foreseeable future is for shorter distances while she’s about to embark on the exciting but grueling journey toward a fall marathon! Both years there were so many gorgeous views and wildflowers were out all over the place. My first year, however, absolutely get my butt kicked by the last two miles of the race and knew I needed a long recovery time before I wanted to try another race. I felt like I was absolutely going to die on that final climb. Fast forward to this year and you know what?!

I ONCE AGAIN GOT MY ASS KICKED COMPLETELY AND TOTALLY by that last climb. But you know the difference? I already knew how good it would feel when the climb ended. And I had the confidence that the insane hear rates of that climb would not last forever and that it was probably a good idea to just keep going so the hard part was over. I knew this course of the race was really just some type 2 fun and I’d be happy with the climb and the views once it was all over.

So that’s Lesson 1: a nice reiteration of “It doesn’t get easier, you just get stronger” or one of our favorite family mottos: I can do hard things.

Lesson 2: Snacks are such good motivation. I swear. half the reason I keep looking forward to trail races more than road races are that the Aravaipa aid stations are the best. They don’t judge if you just ran the longest distance or the shortest- they just want to feed you pickles and carbs and make you smile. I think half the reason my kids are begging me to sign them up for a trail race in the near future is so they can gorge themselves at the finish line and I honestly have no problem with that. It’s AMAZING how motivated I was to get up that aforementioned hill just so I could get to a grilled cheese and some potato chips. It might be more motivating than the actual finish line…

*Lesson 3: Presence Builds Perseverance. I don’t know if maybe I heard this somewhere and forgot it or if this is a phrase that just comes from my own brain, but it is something I have begun to use as a bit of a mantra. It’s easier for me to get through hard moments in my runs (and therefore hard moments in most of the rest of life too) if I stay in the present moment and take stock of what is actually going on and what is around me. My perseverance tanks when I start to live in an imagined future of never ending miles of pain. Or when I check out of my physical body and go deep into my inner critic telling me I should be better at this by now, that I’m too much or too little or just plain dumb. (I know, all this work on myself and I’m still so mean to myself- the work continues…) When I am present, the present moment may still suck, but I can usually just focus on left foot right foot keep moving forward and that persistence builds and builds until I’m through. Plus, there are simple joys in the present moment I don’t want to miss. The funny joke a runner next to me made, a cactus that seems to have a strong personality for an inanimate object, the most dazzling color on a wildflower. Presence builds perseverance. Stay present.

Lesson 4: Community over basically everything else: The biggest change between last year and this year? I have a larger and stronger running community than I did before. It has been so great to use races as a time to connect and celebrate with people from my local running store events, Latinos/latinas run, and the trail group runs I’ve started attending. I am constantly blown away by the support and inclusion of the running community. There is something WONDERFUL hearing the way everyone is cheered on not only at the finish line but when they are nervous before the start or struggling midway through. One of the biggest differences I feel between the trail and road running community is how many runners pass each other with a “you’re doing great!” or “keep going you’ve got this!” which is just not very feasible with the size of road races vs. single track trail but also just not part of the road running culture.

Lesson 5: Don’t get too cocky- trail running is HUMBLING. One day you may be charing up mountains and the next you can’t even hobble up the stairs to your home. This seems to be as true for beginning trail runners as it is for ultra trail racers. I was SO excited to surprise myself with a course PR for my race-i-versary when I’d planned on it taking at least a few minutes longer this year with all the weight training I’ve skipped… but that excitement is definitely giving way to making sure I take some rest time because I am FEELING the effort I put in and definitely reminding myself how I need to quit slacking on mobility and yoga and lifting or I’m going to find myself injured very quickly. Even if you ARE doing all those things I’ve been slacking on- one wrong move on the road can end in some pretty bad injuries, one wrong move on the trails can end with a cactus in your arm (literally saw this on Sunday…) So stay humble and be proud of how brave it is to step on the trails and how there’s sometimes a price to pay for all the beauty and adventure. And sometimes that price is a DNF (more on that in a future post… hopefully after a redemption run in the fall…)

Final thought: I wish I’d started earlier. I wish I’d signed up for my first trail race before I thought I’d be ready. But I’m so glad I didn’t back out when I wasn’t sure about it a year ago and I’m so glad I started when I did. I hope if you have something you are on the fence about starting because the first steps might be really intimidating that you choose to begin!