Quadzilla and the mountain goat

I ran in a race called Quadzilla the other day.  They call it Quadzilla because the hills are ridiculous.  I did it last year and I hated it.  It was hard.  15k's of hot and humid hills.  I hated it so much that I signed up for it again this year.  I wasn't going to...and then I did.  I have found that most of the things that I hate, I sign up for again.  It is either some kind of self punishment or I am just stupid.  I prefer to think that it is that I like a challenge.  If something beats me up, I want to get it back somehow.  Some of the uphills are brutal.  The type where you have to walk.  Not only walk, but put your hands on your knees and push the legs so they can get up the incline.  Pretty steep.  As bad as they are, some of the downhills are real bitches too.  Really long downhills with sliding rocks and dirt that make it hard to brake.  With certain knee issues, it is almost impossible for me to brake.  I just tried to stay steady and in control and get to the bottom.  Like an arthritic mountain goat I was.  An old and slowish, arthritic mountain goat.  Like most old goats, you can probably look at me and see the shadow of a young goat, but not for long.  Don't even try to figure that last sentence out.  As long as I get what I'm saying, that it all that really matters.  Okay, I will explain it.  If you look real hard and on a good day, you can see my inner young mountain goat.  Just not on those hills.  I was an aged, ungraceful goat.  Whatever.  There were 9 plus miles of this.  When you think there are going to be no more big hills, there are a lot more big hills.  One of the biggest hills is almost at the end.  Who puts a big ass hill at the end of a hot and humid race?  I guess it was God.  If you don't believe in God, then it was the Hill Devil.  If you don't believe it was any of those, it was the race director.  She has devil like qualities, apparently.  She looks innocent enough, but she planned a race that just beats you up.  She probably won't read this, but if she does...Jill, this is a fun run.  How can so much pain be fun?  I really don't know.  I wanted it to be over when it started, but then you start getting up one hill and then another and then you see the miles tick off and you pretty much know you are going to finish.  Plus, it is in one of the prettiest areas in the Lehigh Valley.  Here is the problem with that, though.  I kept telling myself to appreciate the views.  But every time I did, I stepped on something and/or twisted something.  I finally told myself, "hey asshole, look at the views when you are in your car, or take a hike.  For now, just get the hell off this mountain in one piece.  Asshole." 

I ran the race with some friends.  When you run with people enough, you use the word friend kind of loosely.  You love running with them, but they don't think twice about pushing you to the edge of death.  One such friend is Alison.  We run together a lot.  In a race, she is usually ahead of me.  I can usually see her, but I can't catch her.  I know if I do catch her, I will be too dead to run the rest of a race.  One time I beat her in a 5k.  It was great because she stopped to kiss her husband and her kids briefly along the course.  I took that moment of weakness and got by her and never looked back.  That is what friends do, they look for moments of weakness and take advantage of it.  If she slows down because she loves her family, that is not my problem.  Anyway, back to Quadzilla.  She was just ahead of me the whole time.  Near the end, at one of the most horrible hills, I saw her at the top.  Near death, I yelled her name, hoping she would stop and help me to the finish.  I yelled, "Alison!"  Without missing a beat, she just yelled down, "hi, Bob" and then "Bye, Bob" and was gone.  It was a touching moment of friends helping friends.  I'm half joking, but that is what is great about running with good people.  They push you and hopefully you can push them.  I am blessed to be able to run with some really incredible people.  People who motivate me every day.  They know who they are.  I'm not going to mention anymore names.  Suffice it to say, I would not be doing some of the things I am doing without them being my running partners.

I have done Quadzilla twice now.  Next year, I would like to try and really race it.  Not that I was dogging it this year.  I wasn't.  I was all out tired.  I just know there are ways to manage the uphills and downhills better and really take advantage of the flats.  I tend to take a stubborn approach to the uphills and kind of burn myself out on the rest.  I guess that is how I want to approach all my races this year.  With some kind of strategy.  Quadzilla just kind of proved to me that I am well on my way to a comeback from some issues and I am a bit stronger than I thought.  Not bad for an old goat, I guess.