Rooster Slam

Blogging

2007-10-03T19:29:00.000-07:00

I have decided to continue blogging but since this blog was my personal journal for the 2007 Grand Slam I started another one.

You can find it at http://www.roosterruns.blogspot.com/

I want to thank all of you for following, commenting and just reading. Blogging has been much more fun and more rewarding than I would have thought because it helped me think about how much ultra running truly crosses over into regular life. All the lessons and experiences we have on the trails can certainly parallel day to day life. All the challenges and rewards we work through and receive on forested paths on long hours of training have helped me in many more ways than I would have known before.

Take care and I will see you out there somewhere I am sure!

Recap & What's been happening

2007-09-25T13:18:00.000-07:00

It been almost 1 month since the end of the SLAM and I am back in the full swing of regular life. On my way back to our place after just finishing Wasatch in my deep fatigue when asked what's next I said, "I am retired". For the first time after the conclusion of a big event I couldn't think of anything I wanted to do with running, I was content with retirement. However I knew within 4 short days of being home in Portland I would be boarding another plane with Stacey and crew for her race, AC100M. My duties for her event were to be main crew person and if I was up for it I would also pace her from mile 55 to 62. She didn't have a pacer from 62-75 which are much more critical miles so I said I would give it a try and the worst thing that could happen is she would leave me in the dust. Thinking that would be a great mental boost for her to say she had dropped her pacer I was eager to help her out. For the first 7 miles of my pacing duties I felt great but for the last 8 I could feel my legs and was thinking about all the Last Great Racers who where out on the challenging AC100 course just one week after the gruelling Wasatch, WOW. I honestly don't know if I could have done it, a big congratulations to all that did. Darin paced Stacey for the last 25 miles and he wrote about it on his blog.

For finishing the SLAM we received this really neat eagle trophy, a shirt and a small pin. There were 11 people who made it through all four races but only two woman. I was pretty pumped to be done and the memories I have are so cool. For the last month I have been reminiscing about the entire process and all the good laughs we all had. It was a ton of work but really wasn't that hard. I think once I had made the commitment to see it through in the best form I could it was a done deal. I went into the SLAM with a very specific plan on how I would approach all the races and for the most part I executed it exactly. There were things that came up along the way that changed but all for the better and I think I gave it my best effort. I learned a ton along the way about myself, my friends and just basic life stuff. Nothing earth shattering and not everything I learned was new; some of the things just affirmed what I had already thought but I took away some new lessons.

My SLAM plan was to train like crazy for WS100M as if it was the only race I was going to run all year and run that race as hard as I could. Once WS100M was over I planned to recover nicely and putz through Vermont 100M, using all the allowed time if necessary in order to save myself for Leadville. I wanted to go under 25 hours at Leadville because I knew I had a shot and I was planning on acclimating as much as I could. I know I don't do well at altitude and I knew I couldn't run well there without spending the time acclimating. I also knew I wouldn't be doing this every summer so I wanted to take full advantage of the opportunity. After Leadville I planned to just get through Wasatch. I knew the Wasatch course well and I also knew I would have 3 100M races on my legs so if I needed the 36 hours I was going to take it.

Everything was in place, I trained very hard for WS100M and I thought I had a really good chance of going under 23 hours there. Unfortunately the day did not go well from mile 30-72 and I battled stomach issues like never before. I did not take enough salt, in fact I took none, not unusual for me but with the increased intensity I was running and the fact that I don't like raspberry G2O cost me. I was lucky enough to get sick at mile 72 and release the beach ball in my stomach. From 72-100 I ran well enough to get under 24. My SLAM plan was not on course but since my WS100M performance was weak I recovered very fast. As Vermont approached I felt a ton of apprehension since I have never run a 100M race back to back and it was a fast course. I knew I could get under 30 hours but I felt the uneasiness of the unknowing. I had no big plans for Vermont except to soak up the environment and enjoy the day which meant my crew got a break from my normal craziness. The day turned out to be amazing and I slowed myself down all day wondering when the big truck was going to hit me. Walking on purpose to save myself from the unknown doom that I was sure was just around the corner was a very new move for me. I talked to the horseback riders, I goofed around in the aid stations and to top it off I refused to run for last 5 miles! I told Stacey I was saving myself for Leadville :). I was just thrilled to be under 24 hours and to do 21:36 was unbelievable. More perplexing was how good I felt as if I hadn't run any races before Vermont, even better was how fast I bounced back.

I was so stoked about Leadville and now that Vermont was over and I survived it eased my apprehension. I had more confidence about my 25 hour goal. Leadville went just as planned and I got under 25 hours but felt like I was running against the clock all day! With only 2 weeks at 10,000 feet the race I had was the best I could have done, I don't feel like I left anything on the trail. The lessons of the prior two hundreds were so valuable and all of the highs and lows of WS100M and Vermont100M were felt during Leadville. Since I ran Leadville with so much focus and effort I thought my recovery would be very slow and with Wasatch only 3 weeks away I was concerned about how hard race day might be. Fortunately I recovered even fast after Leadville than I did after WS and Vermont, all very surprising but welcomed.

Since Wasatch was the last one I had nothing to loose....leave it all on the trail. I chose to run the race without my heart rate monitor to police my effort. I figured the worst thing that could happen is I have to slow down and take more time. As the race unfolded I felt better and better. Again the lessons learned from the prior races came in to play from solving poor digestion to dealing with fatigued muscles.

I think the strategy I had going into the SLAM was a good one. The plan to run hard at two events and get through the other two gave me focus but also a release. Focus for two big events and just fun and easiness for the others. I believe there was an unconscious aspect that held me back on all the races that did not exist at Wasatch. Being in the moment at each event I would not have said this but now, after Wasatch I know there was always a little voice in my head saying, "your not done yet, don't blow it". Would I have done it differently, NO! The plan gave me better results than I could have ever dreamed up.

As I mentioned above I learned a few things this summer. First and foremost my family and friends gave and gave unselfishly all summer with nothing but huge smiles and lots of warmth. They were so amazing, pacing, traveling, laminating pace charts, preparing race foods, cleaning up after me, taking care of Alex, getting directions, bringing me things I forgot, checking on me while I was away, motivating me....the list just goes on and on. All summer I felt very lucky and blessed to be friends with such great people. I learned that these people are unique and special and I hope I am just as good to them.

Many people do the SLAM and everyone does it differently but for me to attempt this was a big deal. I have worked hard in the last 3 years to improve my running times and learn how to run a 100 race well but in reality I am just an average person and running 4 100 races in 12 weeks was huge for me and my family. Planning was a big deal figuring out how to continue to function as a family and still do this. I was reminded how communicating and planning can make or break a goal when it involves so many other people. Bill and I sat down months before WS to map out the whole SLAM and that was so valuable. When the time came calendars with trips and plans were guiding us to the next stop with no hiccups or surprises. All of this in turn gave me the opportunity to visualize what the summer would be like. Since I had no idea how my body would respond I prepared for the worst. I had time to think about recovery and what that would like, what would I eat and what things could I do to speed my recovery. I was lucky that Stacey is LMT so she would massage my legs right after my runs and then again the next day which made a huge difference. I took lots of immune booster vitamins, drank a ton of water, took a few ice baths, got 3 pedicures and tried to get a ton of sleep. Planning gave me the freedom to focus and enjoy the adventure...there is nothing like it :).

I felt like I got stronger with each race and who knows if I was getting physically stronger or simply mentally tougher. I definitely think I am physically stronger but the mental aspect of my races got much more of a workout. I have always considered myself somewhat mentally tough but I have my moments and can be very much a wimp. After WS100M I learned more about fueling than I could have imagined but more than that I learned the power of being in the moment. Taking stock in what is going on in my race at that very moment, not thinking so far ahead. Being mindful of how my body was responding to what I was putting in and the subsequent energy high and lows. I got to practice what it was like to run in pain. I thought I knew how to deal with discomfort but now I really know...Wasatch taught me that but because of my other races I had better coping skills. I learned how to shut out the noise in my head that is not useful and focus more internally on what's happening. With races being so close together I got to practice everything I did poorly in the prior races while it was still fresh in my mind. I can honestly say I don't think I repeated any of my mistakes because they were so fresh and I was mindful of them. In the past I think I have been pretty good at learning from my mistakes but this was rapid fire learning and generally when things are really fresh you don't forget :).

The biggest lesson I learned from the SLAM was the value of recovery. I have recovery runs and days off planned during training but not enough. I obviously perform better with more recovery because that's all I did this summer.....race & recover. I had no idea how fatigued I really was during training but with so much forced recovery I was itching to run. I couldn't wait to get back out there and milked all the running I was able to do in between events. There was no dragging my behind out the door and no lack luster workouts because I was so rested. Now the challenge will be to remember this lesson when it comes time to train again and I have to say this will be very hard for me.:).

For the last month I have been doing just a bit of running and a lot of weight training. With 8 weeks out of the weight room I was feeling nervous about getting back into it, sort of starting from scratch. I have lost a lot of muscle mass in my upper body but that might have been a good thing for my running. I think I lost a total of 4 pounds over the summer and I suspect half of it was muscle mass. Since I have been back the biggest weakness I noticed was my lower abdominals and back! They are really weak but the funny thing is I thought they were weak before....well now they are really weak! I have been running about 5 days a week but nothing very taxing, lots of runs with friends just chatting and getting caught up. I am going to the gorge on Monday's and it's nice to be back. Trisha and I went for a 2 hour run up Angels Rest and around. I have also been doing 1 hour on the treadmill on a random hill setting and that has been fun.

Next year.......I sent in my application for WS100M and Micheal told me I have a problem :). He means this in a good way. I can't seem to let that race go and move on :). I think it's because I don't feel like I have never run it very well and once I get the feeling I had a good day there I will move on. As all of you know the chances of getting in are slim so I have lots of other things looming in my brain.

Wasatch 100M!

2007-09-11T08:36:00.000-07:00

The Stats:

230 starters and 160 finisher's

Time: 27:57:23

Place 26th of 160, 3rd female

Zero blisters and still have my toenails :)

On Thursday evening before bed I grabbed my book "Running Within" by Jerry Lynch and Warren Scott. I just opened the book to read a random section and was surprised to find the chapter on dealing with pain and fatigue staring back at me. I got a good chuckle and thought it couldn't get much more appropriate for my last race of the SLAM. It refreshed my memory but more importantly the information really sunk in my brain and I wondered if the techniques they suggested would really work during Wasatch on Saturday.

Friday morning I went for a 30 minute run with some strides before I picked up Bill, Alex, Stacey, Micheal and Andy at the airport. The run was awesome and I felt really revved up, probably one of my best pre-race shake down runs. It gave me confidence my body was ready to tackle the course and that I would at least make it through the race and could most likely break 30 hours. Friday was a fast and furious day with a race meeting, drop bags, eating dinner, getting to our room, driving to the start and getting to bed early.

3:15 came quickly and I ate a bagel with cream cheese, yogurt, drank a bit of coffee and 25 oz of Hydrate. We left at 4:15 and arrived to a bustling crowd of runners and only 2 port-a-potties, the lines were way to long. I lined up in the top 3rd knowing we would immediately be on single track trail for 4 miles of gradual climbing before we turned and headed straight up the hill. I got in a pocket with 4 other runners all of us keeping a good pace and gaped by the leaders and the rest of the racers. This was nice because the dust can be bad on this 4 miles and with the fires from Montana the air was already grey, with added dust my lungs would have been screaming. As we gradually climb the first 4 miles on wonderful single track we can see the city lights from the suburbs outside of Salt Lake City and I can't believe how high up we are already. The first climb on the Wasatch course is about 5000 feet in 11 miles with the last 2 miles being gruellingly steep and the high point on this section is about 9300 feet. I felt pretty good on most of the climb but when we reached the steep step ups I could feel the cumulative effects of the SLAM on my quads. I knew my climbing would not be great due to the lack of practice this year but the deep fatigue I felt in my legs at mile 11 was concerning. Though I wasn't thrilled with the reality of less than stellar climbing I wasn't freaked out either, I guess I assumed at some point this summer I would feel all the racing. Once we crest the top of Chinscraper we continue traversing on the ridge up and down to the the first aid station at Grobbins Corner (mile 13.2). At the aid station I added 10 oz of water to my bladder for the 5 mile section to Francis Peak. From Grobbins the race takes us on a nice piece of single track which gradually heads downhill but it's very rocky. I wrote in a previous post about the fact that I haven't done much running on technical trails so I would begin my training for that type of running at Wasatch :). Well.....at mile 14 the training began and I just started to get in a groove and with only a few twists and turns on my feet I got the hang of it. I made good time on this 2 miles and felt more confident about the trail. After that lovely single track we pop onto a dirt road for 4 miles, all downhill into Francis Peak (mile 18.6) where I see my crew for the first time. I came in about 10 minutes ahead of my 29:18 pace chart making up all my time on the downhill and none on the first climb. I was feeling good and had been eating like I planned, drinking a lot of liquids. With just handhelds and pockets jammed with gels I was off to Bountiful B (mile 23.8). After leaving Francis we head behind the mountains on more two track road in which quads and other off road vehicles frequent leaving the road chewed up and very rocky. It must have been hunting season as gun shots were being fired as we traversed the ridge and passed many off road vehicles equipped with guns and bows. This section of Wasatch is my least favorite because the trail is more like a moose trail winding through the woods with constant steep ups and downs. It was hard to get into any kind of running groove with the constant changes in the terrain along with the sideways slant of the trail. Again I felt the lack luster climbing but managed to hold my own with crowd. I arrived at Bountiful B (mile 23.8) about 13 minutes ahead of schedule meaning I made ground on the previous section, hard to believe considering I felt like I was moving slow. At Bountiful Stacey walked with me through the aid station and said I was around 8th woman, I was surprised I was that far up in the crowd and that gave me more confidence. I left Bountiful with my small Nathan Pack and two handhelds. I was not going to see my crew until Big Mountain (mile 39.2) and traditionally I have not done well in this section they call The Sessions and Swallow Rocks. The Sessions is simply various sessions of up and downs, all short but rather steep, rocky and all on single track trail. Swallow rocks area is filled with much better running if you have downhill legs and feel confident on the steep rocky trails. In the past I have pooped out here and not done well in The Sessions section but made up for it in the Swallow Rocks area. I was planning on today's performance being no different. At this point I had re-trained myself how to run on rocky downhills but my climbing was not that good especially on the very steep stuff.

Leaving Bountiful I let the fatigue I was feeling just be there and I refused to give in to it knowing that there was absolutely nothing I could do but continue to fuel and move. The more I ran the less fatigued I felt, probably because running gave me sense of acomplishment whereas just walking gave me far too much time to dwell. I thought about my recent read on pain and fatigue and it helped a lot! I just accepted it as part of the process and instead of feeling overwhelmed and discouraged I focused on being ahead of pace, 8th woman and finishing the SLAM. During the next 15 miles I worked hard and began to catch a lot people. There were a few miles when I felt on fire which really refreshing and I milked those moments like never before knowing I would have lower ones later. This is the race in which I got to experience the great highs and good lows, all the other SLAM races were uneventful in that manner.

Arriving at Big Mountain (mile 39.2) around 20 minutes ahead of plan was awesome! My pace chart was aggressive in the front half because in order for me to get under 30 hours I had to push from start to finish at my fitness level, not even taking into account the 3 100M races my legs were wearing. Coming into Big Mountain feeling good and with 20 minutes in the bank was fabulous. Alex was always my greeter at the aid station entrance, snapping pictures and saying, "Mom how do you feel?, you're doing great". Having him there so engaged and smiling really warmed my heart and made want to work harder. At Big Mountain I weighed in and was 2 pounds up, great.....not too far up. I spent a good 3 minutes getting all my stuff, conversing with my crew and left with my small Nathan Pack and two handhelds.

This section from Big Mountain to Lamb's Canyon is always hot. It's in the heat of day in an exposed area and we lose a lot of elevation. You would think this would be a great section to really tear it up. The trail lacks the normal amount of rocks, is not full of steep climbs and if you have it together it's runnable. I knew I had to stay focused an run every step I could to make my splits but about 5 minutes after leaving my crew I started to feel nauseous, yikes! My brain was working over time trying to troubleshoot the issue: My weight was fine....I have been eating but not over eating.....I have been drinking a good combination of G2O and water.....I have been religious about electrolytes....this is the same feeling I had at mile 40 at WS, I NEED MORE SALT! I downed 4 salt tablets then waited for about 20 minutes then downed a 4X sodium Gel and drank G2O all the way to Alexander Springs (mile 47.3), I arrived 2 minutes off my section split. I felt like I need to pee so I pulled over and all that came out was a bit of urine and blood....that's not good, I am dehydrated! Wow, that came on fast. I didn't panic because I remember Scott telling me I if that ever happened to just pound the fluids and it will be fine, it's just the bladder walls rubbing together because it's too empty. Okay, little voice in my head......I will do as you say. At the aid station I drank one cup of water, one cup of Sprite and left with two full bottles of water. Within about 20 minutes I started feeling a bit better and the sensation to pee when I couldn't went away....sheeeeeeshh....dodged a bullet there. I picked up the pace in the this hot open section and made my way to Lamb's (mile 53) arriving 22 minutes ahead of pace.

At Lamb's Bill joined the crew after he finished the Mid Mountain Marathon in Park City and it was nice to see him but he looked concerned when I discussed my issues. I knew I was back on track with my hydration but when I weighed in at Lamb's I was down 3 pounds, come on........! I ignored the scale and filled my crew in on my situation as we made our way across the road. I took a moment here to pull myself together, get some soup and noodles in, drink some hydrate and a Red Bull. I knew what was ahead of me and I have never arrived at Upper Big Water (mile 61.5) with my stomach and because of that I would bomb from there to Brighton (mile 74) which is such a waist because it's a good section of running with gradual climbs on superb trail. I told them I was better but I had to keep it together on this next section....I WANTED TO COME INTO UBW (mile 61.5) WITH MY STOMACH!

Stacey paced me from Lamb's up and over to Upper Big Water. She of course pushed me hard and forced me to run some of the ups. I was working hard but was conscience of my gut, checking in by feeling my stomach to see if it was hard, puffed out or sunken in. This is a good way for me to tell how things are moving in there. At this point I am 7th female but the leaders are way ahead, I knew there was a lot race left and I always plan to put more work in the back half but 7th was a great place for me and I wasn't worried about that, just 30 hours. We booked it to the top of Lamb's and started out descent with plenty of daylight left. That's a good sign for a 30 hour finish at Wasatch. We got down in a good time but I wasn't flying. At the bottom we pop onto the paved road from hell, it goes for at least 3 miles and has one of those nagging uphill grades where you want to walk but you should run. I ran about 90% of the road which is great for me but I had to stay extremely focused and battle with my brain telling me to walk. It began to get dark here so even though I wasn't cold I put on my long sleeve shirt for preventative reasons. At Wasatch a lot people get hypothermia and when they finally realize they are cold it's too late, they are frozen and it can take hours for them to get warm. This preventative action was a smart move on my part because Upper Big Water is very cold and when I arrived everyone was dressed like they were going cross country skiing.

Stacey and I held pace on the Lamb's section and I knew that was a feat because for some reason I seem to always do well on that split so it was aggressive in the first place. Holding the pace there was good enough for me but the best part is: I ARRIVED AT UPW WITH MY STOMACH! I was psyched, it was first time and therefore only good things were going to happen.

Micheal and I left UPW fast and we moved like the wind in this section passing a couple more people on the trail but many more inside the aid station. Micheal worked me hard and I complied. I was breathing very hard so I knew we were making good time. The night time weather was awesome, not a cloud in the sky and tons of stars as far as the eye could see. I took all my clothes with me knowing we were heading back up to 9800 feet on an open ridge where the wind can be fierce and cold but for now all I needed were shorts and two long sleeve shirts. I did put on my beanie hat for about a half and hour but then it was too warm. We made it up to Desolation Lake (66.8) shaving another 10 minutes off my plan, YES! A quick refill on my water tank, some broth, a half a banana and we were out of there. The next section up to Scott's Peak is some of my favorite trail but as you travel along the Wasatch Crest Trail you can see the Scott's Peak (mile 70.6) aid station from 3 miles and it can get you excited just to be discouraged when it never arrives. Having this information helps! I saw it and just giggled to myself. From UPW (mile 61.5) to Scott's Peak (mile 70.6) we climb over 3000 feet then we descend down 1700 feet into Brighten Lodge (mile 74). Again we made good time to Scott's Peak taking another 5 minutes off my pace chart putting me 33 minutes ahead.

I needed nothing at Scott's Peak so we were off to Brighton and I was on top of the world maintaining my stomach with gels every 20 to 30 minutes, some banana, broth and ton of water to keep the concentration level under 10%. After Scott's Peak we travel down a two track road that is less than smooth but with Micheal 10 feet in front of me guiding me to path of least resistance we were moving and passing people. We reached the paved road fast and I just knew were were going gain time. Once on the 3 mile paved road we really pushed and I had my music on very load keeping a close eye on Micheal and any ques he gave for oncoming traffic. Lots of runners were not doing well down this steep paved road and I felt for them because I have been one of them and knowing what's ahead and not feeling well coming into Brighton (mile 74) is awful. I call Brighton Lodge the Wasatch Vortex, it sucks you in and you don't get out alive if you give into the warm comforts of the lodge. On my crew card I wrote a big note saying "GET ME OUT OF THAT LODGE". Stacey decided to set up my stuff outside even though you have to go in to check in/out and get weighed. We came into Brighton making up 13 minutes on my split from Scott's Peak (mile 70.6) to (74.0), just crazy running and that put me at 45 minutes up on my 29:18 plan. I dumped my pack for Stacey to re-stock while I hustled into to lodge for weighing. I walked in and Bill sees me and says, "what are you doing here"? I said, "Hi honey, surprised to see me"? He looked shocked and ran out the door as I jumped on the scale. My weight read 125 and they said good job. With a perplexed look on my face I said, "189 out"! 125 is 12 pounds up, and I knew it wasn't right but the fact that they said good job was just crazy but I wasn't about to hang around and discuss, I knew it was wrong.

I was on fire here and couldn't wait to do the last 25 miles, I knew it was a grueling 25 miles and takes runners with my fitness about 9 hours to complete. I got my stuff and Micheal and I are off for the big climb to Point Supreme, the high point of the course at 10,300. I have never left Brighton feeling this good and so alive. This just gave me endless amounts of confidence, kept me focused and helped me deal with any pain or fatigue I was experiencing. I had been pretty good at ignoring all the soreness in my legs but after a short discussion with Micheal I decided to take an Aleve right after we left the Scott's Peak (mile 70.6) aid station to take the edge off. I was worried it might mess with now happy stomach and was apprehensive but it ended up being fine.

Just as I was putting my pack on I see what I think is a woman leaving the lodge to begin the climb, this spurred me on and Micheal and I ran/walked as much as I could passing her within 5 minutes of leaving. I continued on strong, leap frogging with another guy and his pacer all the way up to Point Supreme where they left me in the dust on the very steep and rugged downhill. My legs lacked any static contraction to help me scoot down this stuff. I need to see video of the lead runners going down this, it just doesn't seem possible but they must be flying down it. Micheal tried to help me with advice but my legs were just shaky and I was laughing at my clumsiness. This downhill is full of scree like shale and there is no stable place to put your foot let alone run and stay up right. I slid and slipped all the way down this 2.5 mile monster knowing this is just the beginning on some amazing trails. I was giving myself a talk, "pull it together girl...get your legs under you or this will be a long night". The talk helped and once we made it out of the scree trail and onto to anything that had dirt I moved well.

Finally at Ant Knolls (mile 80.1) and making up another 15 minutes on my predicted split now giving me a finish time of 28:14 if I can hold on. Besides the normal....I have run 80 miles stuff....I felt really good continueing to eat every 30 minutes, drinking plenty of fluids and taking more salt than I ever had before. The 4X sodium gels work really well for me but I was also taking in broth at aid stations and a couple of salt tabs. From Ant Knolls to Pole Line Pass (mile 83.2) is 3.2 miles of awesome running. The trail winds through the high Aspen groves and is actually not too rocky or hilly in comparison. We ran this hard catching the two guys that dusted my on the scree drop. They worked hard to keep up with us but after about 1 miles they let us go. Coming into Pole Line Pass (83.2) I hear a girl say, "174 out". I tap Micheal on the shoulder and we are quiet coming in whispering, "189 in". We have a drop bag here so we quickly re-supply which takes about 2.5 minutes and we leave on the hunt. I don't know why but I felt so eager to catch a girl, not how I normally run 100M races but at this moment I felt like I had enough in me to play the race game. Micheal could tell I felt like hunting so we took off for the pursuit.

This section to Rock Springs is along a ridgeline and mostly downhill. I crank up my headphones and we are cookin down the trail. About 10 minutes later I see lights in the distance as they bounce through the Aspen's and I tell Micheal if we pass we need to be sure I can hold it so if we need to hang back until I am ready then let's do so. Yeah right! We come up on them and try to go in cognito but they flash their lights on my number and boom we are racing. OMG, this is hard, playing trail poker....can I hold this...they are chasing me. Then all of the sudden another set of lights but they were moving really slow, again we pass in disquise and it's another gal but she is not doing well and just lets me by. I ask Micheal if we gapped the two woman yet because I am about to go red line here and see just says, "keep running, not yet". I don't know if I can hold them off on the climbs but he doesn't care, he just say's, "keep pushing". Now it's been 15 minutes of this sprint and we are approaching more lights. We are coming up on them fast and stealth and with our same plan of trying to pass in disquise we are busted when Susan Brozic says, "Ronda is that you?" Yes, I reply. We continue running for our lives all the way to Rock Springs (mile 87.2). No one light in sight behind us but we waist no time re-fueling and I ask the aid station captain what's next and he say's "The Grunt, The Plunge and The Dive". Hello.......that's just not right, I had forgotten all three of those treats came in the next 5.7 miles.

Right after the aid station we begin The Grunt which is a very steep uphill that left me grunting for sure. We can hear voices behind us, one guy and one girl. Micheal is still making me work hard and I think I must have asked him 100 times who it is and all he says is, "move it"! The Dive and The Plunge are just that....a steep dive down and then another plunge downhill both on slipping scree. I struggled here, I couldn't get me feet to stay under me no matter what I tried, my legs just didn't have the strength to hold the static contraction. Quivering like crazy I tried to stay focused and get down it upright and in one piece. I am sure I used some choice words while Micheal just stood about 20 feet ahead of me with his light guiding my feet. The rest of this 5.7 mile section is no better, it was the gift that just kept giving and the voices behind us would close in on the downhill scree but when we got to a climb or and roller we would lose them. This went on all the way to Pot Bottom (mile 93.0) until a guy passed us but no woman. We lost 10 minutes on this section alone so it was good thing we had done well prior. At this point I was 1:24 minutes ahead of my 29:18 pace chart, 30 hours was a done deal but could I hold 3rd place?

Micheal ran ahead into Pot Bottom, grabbed our drop bags, unloaded all the extra clothing we had for the night and I stuffed my pack in and took just one hand held and gels. We had 6.9 miles to go with a gradual climb, a very rocky downhill road, a blazing fast single track and then 1 mile of paved road to the finish. I was feeling kind of out of it when we left the aid station. I was tired and low on energy so I drank some Coke, ate a 4X sodium double caffiene gel.....how's that for a fully loaded food item! I tried to get my legs moving by shuffling and trying to run which helped a lot. My quads were so sore, tired, a bit swollen and my feet felt bruised. I blocked all of this because sometimes at the end of a race I tend to sit back and take it in, thinking about all my pain but again my Thursday night reading helped get my mind back on task.....keep that girl off my tail. It was fully light out by now so I could see behind me and there was no one. Micheal and I are climbing the road and he says, "Hey there's a moose"! Sure enough down below in a meadow is a male moose with a huge rack.....pretty cool!

We see a runner and pacer ahead so we try to catch them on the rocky road which was killing my seemingly bruised feet. As we approach they pick up the pace and I can't hold it but I didn't give up knowing we were almost to the nice easy single track. We come to a junction with the road continuing on the right and a trail on the left, which way? No markers were in sight but the guys continued on down the road but I knew it wasn't right. Micheal ran down the road looking for markers while I went down the single track looking, nothing. I hike back up and Micheal yells for me to come down and I do but I just know it's not right. We start running down the road more and still no markers. I see a neighborhood appearing and this road is going to dump us right into it's streets. I stop and insist we are not going the right way and just as we were walking up the hill here comes another runner and we tell him we need to take the trail instead. We scramble back up in a panic and I just skirt across the field and bump right into the trail. Micheal says, "should we take it"? I respond as I am tearing down it.....YES! All the while I have two things going on in my head, will I make it under 28 hours and did that other woman get through before we realized our error? I am focused and Micheal is worried but I know we are on the right path when finally we see markers....all is good. I am filled with emotions, giggling out loud and causing Micheal to turn around and look at me strange. I am laughing and crying at the same time, I am just so excited to be done and finishing strong. I can't believe all the support and help I have received.....all these emotions were bubbling up as we crested the hill which leads us to the finish line. Screaming the whole way through the field to finish line where we are greeted by Bill, Alex and Stacey all just as emotional. Not to mention the director of the SLAM and the Wasatch 100M RD giving me hugs and concrats on a job well done.

After we showered and rested we headed back to the finish line to find our friend Andy Kumeda. We kept a close eye on where he was and it was going to be close for him to make the 36 hour cutoff. We had lunch at the Blue Boar Inn while we watched runners finishing between 34-36 hours and Stacey and I were struck by their grit and determination, we have been there and it's way harder! These folks are really tough and they define it for me, sticking it out in the hot sun on day two, so determined to make the finish. Since I have been there I was getting pretty chocked up as we cheered them on knowing all they had been through and all they have accomplished makes my 27:57 look easy. Hats off folks!

BTW - Andy sprinted to the finish with 2 minutes to spare! We were stoked!

2 days to go, Yeah!

2007-09-06T12:17:00.000-07:00

The last couple of days I sought out trails that were at the highest elevation I could find. I drove up Guardsman's Pass which is just behind Park City and Deer Valley and parked at the high point. There was a dirt road that headed up the ridge towards Mill Creek so I decided to take it and see where it went. Within about 3 minutes I was given a choice either continue up the dirt road or take a trail to my left, I chose the trail. It headed up and over a steep little hill then descended right on to the Wasatch 100M course! I was pretty excited to have connected the dots and be on familiar terrain. To top it off, I looked ahead and see a runner. He was doing hill repeats on the road up to Scott's Peak. I was right behind him but he had his headphones so loud he didn't hear me and I was behind him for about 1 mile. I giggled thinking I am glad I am not a cougar because I tried to give the gentleman warnings that I was right behind him about to pass but he did not hear a thing. I waited until we reached the top before I passed him and that's when it became clear he was doing repeats. He stopped and we chatted for just a couple of minutes and he is doing Wasatch as well. I continued on the ridge towards Scott's Peak (mile 72) and he went down for another session. I was thinking, here I am doing a 90 minute moderate run and he is doing hill repeats....I wonder if that helps you remain revved up for the event. The elevation on this run ranged from 9,600 to 9,800 feet and I felt really good, rested and most of all acclimated. No that I didn't feel the elevation but it didn't bother me at all.

Today I headed back to same area and explored some other trails. I only had 1 hour of easy exercise so I didn't get very far but thought I might as well take advantage of the thin air since it is so close. I was really cold on the ridge this morning so it reminded me that I will for sure need tights from dusk to dawn on this course. Once home I immediately made sure I had them ready from Upper Big Water. I figured if it's cold in at 10 a.m. it's going to be freezing at 2 a.m. The forecasted weather for race day is perfect and if it's accurate it will awesome. I have been so lucky thus far with the weather, a cool WS100, a non-humid Vermont, a perfectly clear day at Leadville. I will keep my fingers crossed for a dry Wasatch.

Yesterday I worked on my crew bags and finalized my race plan. I had already prepared a pace chart, corresponding fuel plan and bought all my supplies. All I need to do was organize it for my crew, create a couple of drop bags and mentally run through the day. A table of chaos got turned into a well thought out plan. Now all I have to do is run, enjoy the day on my favorite course and savor the last race of the SLAM.

Mile 75 from Mile 35 - Not so far away!

2007-09-02T12:36:00.001-07:00

Here is a view of mile 75 from mile 35 on the Wasatch course. Cathrine's Pass is located just to the left of the biggest bump on the grassy hill, almost smack dab in the middle of the picture. Today I was running for 2.5 hours on the section near Swallow Rocks and Big Mountain just before the thunder storm hit. The weather is so unpredictable this time of year but one thing for sure is it will be hot when the sun is out and most likely you will get wet at some point, maybe even see some good hail.

I was wondering if any of the acclimation I had from the Leadville training would still be in my body when I arrived in Utah on Saturday. They say it all goes away after 14 days at sea level. I spent one week after Leadville between 3000-6000 but after that it was 400 feet. I am at 7,800 feet right now and I think I might still have some additional red blood cells to draw from. Yesterday (Sat.) I ran for 90 minutes mostly in 3A , 20 min. in 3B and it wasn't bad. Today I had 2.5 hours of training time and went running between 8,000 and 8,600, I could feel it just a bit but not nearly as bad as normal. The true test is a sprint up the stairs, do I see stars, is my breathing very labored at the top, do the legs feel heavy? Those are the questions I asked myself as I did the test sprint and though I did feel heavy lungs there were no stars and the legs were just a bit heavy.

While I was running this morning I saw a ton of moose prints so I kept a sharp eye out but nothing, only hunters. These hunters (at least that's what I think they were) were dressed in camouflage clothes, carrying backpacks and some sort of weapon that looked like a bow and arrow only much more serious. They were pleasant and looked happy to be coming out of the woods, I wondered if they were hunting moose? As I was driving up East Canyon I noticed the signs that said "No Dogs". I have seen these signs all over the course from miles 35 to 70. All the canyon areas don't allow dogs because it's a watershed. It seemed strange to me because of the abundant number of people and wildlife that roam the areas, no dogs in such a large amount of wilderness is different.

As I was making my way through my last training run of the season I was thinking about the Wasatch course and all the things I will encounter. The Wasatch is by far the most rugged and challenging of the SLAM courses and a couple of things this race will offer is one, a second sunrise and two technical downhills. So far I haven't seen a second sunrise while doing the SLAM. I came close at Leadville but managed to be asleep before the sun rose but not here, I will for sure see the next day and will be well into the second morning before I am done. More caffeine....that's how I will combat the desire to sleep :). I think being awake that long is tough and all the folks that do this regularly are very tough! It gets pretty warm here very fast, at least that's what I remember from running this course before. As you head into the finish you loose elevation and the heat starts to set in feeling doubly warm after the freezing temperatures of the prior night.

The other thing Wasatch is going to bring is the relentless technical downhills. Gone are the nice gradual freeway trails of WS100 and Leadville and there is only about 3 miles of road on this course. The rocks on the Wasatch course are the kind that follow you down the trail when your foot rolls off them. They're small and unattached to the ground, they blend into the dirt because they are the same color and you cannot avoid them. My technical running is not what it has been in the past. To run well on technical steep trails takes lots of practice and if you plan on being good at these types of descents in the late stages of your race it requires great quad strength. I think quad confidence is the most important skill/strength a good technical downhill runner can have. What I mean by this is at mile 75 when you know in your mind that your quads will hold or support your stride when taking the downhills strong. Every step needs to be an unconscious art of falling without falling and that means your quads have to hold. If you hesitate to think about your steps when your legs are tired it's mostly because you don't have the confidence your legs will hold on the fast turnover required on a steep downhill. Being light on your feet and barely touching down is also a learned skill but if you don't have the quad strength your light, efficient stride will not be enough. The technical aspects of Wasatch will be very challenging because I have not practiced any technical downhill running this year. Do I have the quad strength necessary for the last 25 miles of this course....I don't know. I figure by the time I get to mile 75 I will have had a good 20 hours of practice. :)

I have been very lucky with my feet thus far in the SLAM. No blisters, no taping, no changing shoes or socks, not even a re-tire of laces. Will I get to continue my steak with my feet?????? Wasatch will be a real test! Stacey did this course in 2005 and had zero blisters and no problems with her feet so I am going to remember that as my legs and feet twist and turn with all terrain.

I am excited!!! I can't wait for Friday to pick up Bill, Alex, Stacey, Micheal and Andy. Andy and I will be running Wasatch while Bill runs the Mid-Mountain Marathon and Stacey, Micheal and Alex crew. Stacey will be tapering for AC100M so she will only be running with me from mile 55 to 62 and Micheal will be stuck with me from 62 to the finish.

Home sweet home!

2007-08-30T16:19:00.000-07:00

After exactly 1 month away from home it was nothing but a true pleasure to see our driveway. Living in the trailer for 3 weeks was not as bad as I originally thought it would be but I was thankful to drive home and put it away. Bill, Alex and I spent one week driving from Leadville, CO to Tigard, OR and for three days right after the race we stayed in Moab, UT to explore the Arches National Park and the Canyonlands. It was incredibly hot ranging from 100-105 degrees which was a shocker compared to the 70's we experienced in CO. Since this was Bill's first full two weeks of vacation in 14 years he had lots of plans for us which included hiking in the heat! I am definitely NOT heat trained and felt pretty drained all three days when the sun set. I am sure the race had quite a bit to do with my sluggish finish to each day but nonetheless I was tired. I think the hiking was a great way to get the legs and body moving again. The heat was just an added benefit to be sure I sweat out all the junk from the race. The Arches and Canyonlands are amazing and neat to see but I am definitely more of a mountain person, the desert wasn't that exciting but the miracle of that landscape is unbelievable. I think the highlight was seeing dinosaur bones in the rocks, it just blew my mind. The Canyonlands were cool but the Grand Canyon in much more amazing to me.

When we got home there was no rest as we unloaded, unpacked and began getting Alex ready for school. I can't believe summer is almost over and neither can he as the shock of school sets in.

With Wasatch only 10 days away I am almost packed and ready to go. I have to admit I am looking forward to being on my favorite course and I am ready. I thought my recovery after Vermont was fast and I purposely saved myself at that event to run well at Leadville. I felt like I put my best foot forward at Leadville but if I measure how fast I bounced back I would have to say I should have run harder.....easy to say sitting here now :). I don't know if I sub-consciously held some in the tank for Wasatch when my intention was to spend it all or if I am just simply learning how to recover better. I do think fueling during the event has a great impact on recovery, meaning if you mess up on your fueling during the race you will pay for it after. I really messed up my fueling during WS100M this year and it took a good 3 weeks for me to feel normal whereas both Vermont and Leadville my fueling was perfect and after both races I felt recovered within the week. I don't know if that's true but that is my theory for now :).

So far I have done just a bit of running. After the hiking in Arches and Cayonlands I came home and did a 2 hour run with some 3A but mostly Z2. That went very well and I was pleased with how the legs responded. I have done 3 45-60 min. recovery runs and today was a tempo run at M-Pace. My M-Pace is 7:26 and felt confident I would be able to reach those numbers. I met Stacey at Lief today we did a warm-up and then each did our own tempo, she is peaking for AC100M so she had many more m-pace miles than I and our paces are different so we were on our own. After mile 2 of M-Pace I felt sluggish, yikes! I waited for Stacey to come back around then tucked in behind her but she drug me like a tired dog but it was nice to try and chase her, it made me go faster. After I was done with my tempo I just cruised while she finished up. All in all it was good but not as easy as it was before WS100M. With all this race and recover I feel like I have become a bit lazy, not a word I would ever use to describe myself but I have found my inner couch potato....I don't lay on the couch but you know what I mean. I have sort of lost my appetite too and that's a first! Maybe since I am just recovering I don't need to eat as much but I am finding it hard to eat all the food to get 2000 calories in, normally I have to stop myself from eating to much food.

I am almost packed and ready to go to Utah. Tomorrow I will run a stride workout then finish up preparing for the race. When I get to Utah I have my last big run of 2.5 hours then all the rest are short and fast stuff. Crazy to think the SLAM is almost over but it is and what a wild ride so far. I am hoping to get the turquoise buckle (under 30 hours) at Wasatch but I just can't seem to convince myself it's going to happen. Good thing my crew is in charge because they seem to have no doubt. If I do achieve that then I will be pumped with the whole SLAM, under 24 at WS, under 24 at Vermont, under 25 at Leadville, and (fingers crossed) under 30 at Wasatch. For me, achieving that would be a sweet summer!

Leadville 100M

2007-08-21T15:15:00.000-07:00

Stats:

Time: 24:16:26

Overall: 43 of 210 finishers

6th female, 3rd masters

Look at the loot they give you for finishing Leadville! I received a silver pan for 3rd masters, a pendant because I am a girl, a sweatshirt with my name and time printed on the sleeve and the gold and silver 25 hr buckle and a finishers medal (not shown). Since this was the 25th anniversary of the race they allowed 600 runners to register but only 498 started. With numbers like that and an out and back course that meant the aid stations and trails were going to be busy. With that in mind and my eye on the 25 hour prize we came up with a plan to minimize time in the main aid stations and use the other crew access points. If I was going to get under 25 hours at Leadville with only 70% acclimation I was going to have to run a really good race and hope that I would be free of any big issues, I simply didn't have enough time for anything but running.

With a week of bad weather prior to the race I was prepared to be wet all day long. Not a big deal for an Oregonian but with temperatures getting as low as 34 degrees being wet and cold would spell disaster, the goal would be to stay as dry as possible. My crew showed up on Thursday afternoon with piles of clothes and gear ready for anything that came up. We immediately got busy planning as the afternoon rain created small swimming pools around camp and Bill was busy securing the tent and awnings because with the rain came big winds. Yikes!, was the only word that came to my mind but Stacey, Micheal and Jim just laughed it off as we counted the number of gloves, shirts and jackets I had.

The morning came quickly with the 4:00 a.m. start. It was cold but when I looked outside and saw the abundant amount of stars I was relieved, the rain was gone for now. I ate a bagel with cream cheese, a yogurt, had a small amount of coffee and 20 oz of G2O. The start line was buzzing with hundreds of people, it made WS100M look tame as the music howled through the tiny city. Residents were out in their yards waiting for runners to come by so they could cheer them on before their last night cap :). The one thing the Grand Slam has cured me of is pre-race jitters, doing one right after another doesn't leave much time for jitters. I lined up in the top 3rd of the crowd knowing that we had 3M of road to get somewhat settled and I wouldn't be anybodys way. By the time we hit the lake trail we should all be in the train we are comfortable with and if not, passing would be a big effort. The race director gave us one more motivational line before the gun went off, "Remember, you are better than you think you are and can do more than you think you can"........very nice words and good ones to remember in the wee hours of the night.

Off we went and all downhill like bullets for 4 miles, hundreds of lights in front and behind me. I settled into a nice pace and reached the 4 mile mark in 9:30's and just kept up the pace because I knew we would be slowed by the the technical powerline road that climbs to the lake trail. I was carrying one handheld with 2 gels stuffed in the pouch because my crew would be at the Tabor Boat ramp at mile 7.0. There they would send me off with another full handheld and more gels for another 6.5 miles around the lake. The G2O seemed so sweet as I sipped it slowly, I was full from breakfast and probably still a bit asleep. When I reached Tabor I was in a good train of people and was shocked at the number of cars and crew there. I just dropped my used bottle on the ground and grabbed the new one on my way by. Hmmmm....this would be scene pretty much all day.....thanks guys.......bye guys. I could hear Stacey giggling as I left the boat ramp. Continuing on the lake trail I was in a good spot with only about 5 people and nobody close behind or in front, strange with all the entrants. I arrived at Mayqueen (13.5M) about 20 minutes ahead of schedule and feeling very comfortable. At Mayqueen I see Alex and my in laws who were there to give me a new bottle and a bar. I gave them my flashlight and was off to do the first big climb of the day. After Mayqueen we head uphill on a paved road then take a turn onto the Colorado Trail leading to Haggerman Pass Road. This 1.5 mile section of the Colorado Trail is very rocky and reminds me of stream bed without the water. At the top of the Colorado I see Beast and Amy who are waiting for me with my small Nathan pack and two handhelds for the climb up and over Sugarloaf Mtn. and down Powerline road. My plan is to start working here and I run the entire road up to the turn for the bigger climb and run all of that as well. I am being chased by a couple of girls and that is a little fun so we chat, run, pass back and forth for 8 miles down to Powerline Road where Beast and Amy again are waiting to take all my stuff so I can run with nothing for 1.2 miles into Fish Hatchery where I see Bill, Stacey, Micheal and Jim. I go right through the aid station and back onto the paved road that I will run for 4.5 miles to Treeline. The runners share this road with the crew cars so it's really motivating and fun to see all the crews and hear all the honking. I run this section hard and lose my two girls. I am feeling pretty good at this point which is about 25 miles into the race. The only thing that seems new is all my foods taste weird. Salty stuff tastes super salty, sweet stuff tastes overly sweet and G2O tastes terrible, I can't drink it anymore. I love G2O and I use it not only for the calories but the salt so if I am not going to drink it I will need to substitute.

At Treeline (27.5M) I am about 40 minutes ahead of my 24:59:26 pace chart but I am not over confident because the hardest parts are yet to come. No more going light, I have to put on my bladder pack for this next section over to Halfmoon then Twin Lakes (mile 39.5). I will need at least 50 oz of water to get from Halfmoon to Twin Lakes. If I go with less water and maintain my calorie requirements I will be at more than a 10% concentration level of carbs to water and risk nausea. I could cut back on my calories but would rather carry the weight. Since Leadville 100M allows muling I will be carrying nothing on the way back so off I go with heavy pack. The runners travel on a gravel road for 2.5 miles before we pop into Halfmoon then back out on the road for another 2.5 miles to the trail junction. There is a ton of road at Leadville and if you want 25 hours you have to run the roads well and focused so I tried to keep that in my mind the whole time.

In this section to Twin Lakes it was surprisingly lonely. Again I was shocked at how few people were on the trail as I counted only 5 guys the entire 9 miles to twin lakes......where is everyone? This is a nice section of single track but long and the high point is 10,200. When you reach the high point you start a gradual descent into Twin Lakes. I got into a nice groove and was happy I was able to maintain my lead as I headed out for the first trip over Hope Pass. At Twin Lakes I chose to keep the bladder pack so I could have enough room to carry my coat and my hat. The looming clouds over Hope Mountain had me concerned. After we leave Twin Lakes the runners travel through a marshy area for about 1 mile before crossing the river. I did not do this in training so Beast was just sure I was going be soaked to bone and fall in the river so off he runs ahead of me with his camera just waiting for moment I was upside down in the marsh. With the weeks of rain the marshy area had become more like a series of small ponds that we needed to wade through and all of them came up to my knee. If you don't like wet feet your in trouble. The river crossing was about mid thigh on me and they had a rope and volunteers to aid us across. I told Beast I was just too stubborn to fall in! He ran all this way and got himself soaked for nothing.....I wasn't going to fall no matter what! After the river the climb to Hope Pass begins and so does the thunder, rain and hail. I pull out my coat and hat and settle in for the long climb. I feel really slow and can't seem to get the umfffff I wanted to power this climb. The rain and hail didn't help but it was not big deal as it would stop and start the whole way up. I consume all the gels I could find in my pack and wonder if my crew forgot some. Fortunately I had a hummus burrito and an Organic Food Bar so I nibbled on those but without the quick energy gels I wasn't feeling on fire. I lost about 20 minutes on my lead on the climb alone and was a bit down in dumps. I didn't allow for enough time for the swamp and I couldn't make anything up on the climb so I tried to get my legs going on the steep descent into Winfield. This section is very rocky and too steep for me to let it rip and I found myself putzing down it. At the bottom we are again on a dirt road that is shared with crews heading into Winfield. The road rolls up mostly and is about 2.3 miles long. I am out of fuel but continue to drink my water and take salt tabs. I reach Winfield in 11:13 and my plan was 11:39 so still ahead of schedule but I lost some time and I knew the climb back up Hope was not going to be swift.

At Winfield I pick up Jim and he is loaded down with all my stuff. This becomes the big joke of the my race.....all my pacers are loaded down with water, gels, food, clothes and my "magic hat". The hat gets the funny name because I have to wear my glasses to run any bit of rain on them makes it hard to see so every drop of rain that comes down I ask for the hat then in about 30 seconds I hand it back. Every time I switch pacers I say, "do you guys have my hat"?, "yes......we have the magic hat". Back to the race, Jim and I take off and I put on my music and bust down the road back to the Hope Pass Trail Head. I feel really good as we work our way up the mountain seeing all the people behind me make their way down. It was fun to see everyone I knew and cheer them on as they raced to beat cutoffs. I see some slam mates and they say their done but we encourage them to continue and many stuck it out as long as they could. It was hard to see folks struggling and I felt for them because it's not easy knowing you have to come back up to 12,700! I feel the altitude and don't waste any breath talking when Jim and I get above 11,500, I just needed to focus on strong breaths. Jim was awesome feeding me gels every 30 minutes and water every 10 minutes on the dot! The pass was beautiful and clear with no rain, just blue sky and great views. We crest the top and start the descent. We can see the Hopeless aid station, their tents and lamas from the summit. I tell Jim we are within 5 minutes of Hopeless and since I feel super strong I tear off down the hill. When we reached Hopeless aid station I run past it without stopping, the plan was for me to run through all the aid stations unless I needed something so we began implementing. I blew by yelled my number and Jim re-supplied. I took the downhills as hard as could without falling and we made it down the river in 29:54! Across the river we go and through the swamp.

Arriving at the Twin Lakes (60.5M) 40 minutes ahead of my pace chart, making up the time I had lost on first trip up Hope Pass the mood was good all around. Though I have time in the bank I feel like I am running against the clock and I am so I waste no time. I leave Twin Lakes without stopping forcing Micheal to catch up with me after he got my magic hat from Jim. I know we have to climb for about an hour, at least that's what I estimate it will take to reach the high point before we start our descent into Halfmoon. We hammer out the climb and make the top in 42 minutes but the trail is more rolling than I expected lacking the big downhill I dreamt up but we stay focused arriving at Halfmoon on time. With a quick in and out of the aid station we hear that Anton has won in 16:14, over an hour faster than last year but still short of the course record. We have 2.5 miles on a gravel road to reach Treeline, all downhill and fast. Into Treeline with still 35 minutes ahead of schedule I feel good living off of gels, water and some salt tabs but using 4X sodium gels for most of my electrolytes. I ate minimal solids after my first climb up Hope Pass, I am just not hungry but not full or nauseous. I gave up G2O early as it just didn't taste good but I am stuffing gels in every 20-30 minutes and drinking a ton of water. My weight is good along with my energy and stomach so this diet must be fine. Normally I eat more solids but I don't know if it's the altitude or what but nothing tastes very good.

At Treeline I pick up Stacey for 4.5 miles to Fish Hatchery and then the 1.2 miles to Powerline where we will see crew. This section is the flat paved road and I need to do it in less than a 13 minute pace on this slightly uphill road and that includes checking in and out of the Fish Hatchery. It seems so doable on paper but at mile 73 my legs are lacking the turnover. Stacey runs in front of me and I chase her as hard as I can so we can make the splits and have some room to spare. At Powerline (78M) I pick up Micheal and we head up what some describe as the worst climb of the course. Not because It's harder than Hope Pass but because it's steep, on a washed out powerline road and comes around mile 80 in the run. I counted 5 false summits during training so I knew what to expect which made it less annoying but not easier. The only part that made it great was around mile 85 when we reached the summit and the numerous amount of stars that shined in the sky and feeling of excitement I had to have such a great experience and feel so strong and supported, pretty much all the feelings of fatigue seemed to leave my body as Micheal and I tore down Poweline into Mayqueen.....I knew under 25 was in the bag......thank you mile 85!

Leaving Mayqueen with Jim we worked the lake trail well and we seemed to come into Tabor Boat Ramp fast. A lot of crews were waiting at Tabor and the crowd was pumped up which made my mood even better. From Tabor to the finish Micheal and I ran as hard as my legs would run. It's a long 7 miles of uphill dirt and paved road to finish. We played leap frog with two other runners the whole way and the three of us finished within seconds of each other.

At the finish I was surprised to see my hubby who was supposed to be pacing Tom and Beast who was supposed to be pacing Steve. Both timed out and were bummed but ready to come back. My in laws had gotten up and brought Alex, Tom got up and came down along with my crew so the greeting at the end was indescribable. The love and friendships I have had through this summer makes me so thankful, I truly would not want to do these without them. My crew was unbelievable, so focused and full of energy and never lost their sense of humor and at mile 90 we were laughing.

This race is a must do, with beautiful country and great race support from everyone in the community. The town of Leadville is charming and fun to hang around and learn the history of the area and it's residents. Stacey, Micheal and Jim all want to do the race so I will be working hard in the weight room because I am sure they will load me down with lots of gear as payback. Bill awarded Jim the "golden burro" cup for being the biggest pack mule in the crowd.

Physically I felt strong all day and was surprised at how much leg power I had for number 3. My feet did well with no blisters or lost toenails even with two trips through the swamp. When I took my socks off my feet looked like hamburger from all the silt but when they got cleaned up they were fine. I was never nauseous which surprised me because so many people talked about stomach issues with this race and it's altitude. This next turn around will only be 3 weeks but I feel good already. As my family and I make our way back to Portland we are in the Canyonlands and Arches hiking and seeing all the sights. Bill drug me on a 3 mile hike in 100 degree weather on Tuesday and I ran into someone from Leadville on the trail to the Delicate Arch.....small world, be sure you are nice :).

The last bit of running before the race.

2007-08-15T15:11:00.000-07:00

On Sunday Bill, Beast and I did the Leadville 10K. I took it really easy and just talked with folks and ran as much as could before my HR jumped into 3B. The run is on the Leadville 100M course and covers the first 3.1 miles and then you just turn around and head back. The first bit is all downhill which is nice for warming up the lungs. There were a lot of 100M runners doing this event and some raced it hard while others just relaxed. I did the latter and chatted with a lot people and that was fun. During my journey in the SLAM I have met so many new friends from everywhere, people I would have never had the opportunity to meet otherwise.

On Monday Beast and Gavin (new friend) met at the Mt. Massive trail head and climbed to the top. Mt. Massive is the second highest peak in CO. They had a great time and the weather held up for them. It has been stormy, cloudy and rainy so they took a very early start to avoid any hindered views when they reached to summit. Gavin showed Beast another trail to the top so Bill couldn't resist and they headed out again on Tuesday for another climb up Massive. Again the weather held and not only did they have great views they saw white marmots......yes, white ones. None of us had ever seen a white one before and they let Bill get really close. The trail that Beast and Bill took was pretty steep but shorter than the one Beast did on Monday. The mountain climbers (Beast and Bill) have plans to do Elbert tomorrow and Sherman with the gang on Friday.

Monday I had the day off from running and the rest of us headed for a drive up and over Independence Pass into Aspen. The drive was beautiful and at the summit of the pass there is a lookout so we got out and enjoyed the views at 12,100 feet.

While Bill and Beast were on Massive I did my last run of any distance. I ran for 90 minutes with some good quality work in 3A and 3B and I was able to run the entire time! This was the first run I have done where I haven't needed to take walk breaks to stay in these zones. On my tempo run it was fine to be gasping near AT but this run was supposed to be consistent quality without gasping near AT. I was pleased to cover another 9.5 miles of the course from Sugarloafin to Mayqueen and I was even happier that I was able to run the whole time. With almost 3 weeks at some altitude I definitely will have a better race but I know the thin air will have a significant impact. I am excited and curious to see what that impact will be but I have some ideas. I think I will have to be very careful in first half to be sure I don't get myself in fueling mess and over fatigued. I wonder how my lungs will feel, all fun new things to experience and figure out.

Amy (Beast's daughter) arrived today and everyone headed to the mining museum. Tomorrow some of my best friends arrive, Stacey, Micheal, Jim, Steve and Tom. I am really looking forward to seeing them all, hanging out, laughing and doing Leadville. Bill is pacing Tom for some portion of the race, Beast is pacing Steve for some portion and Micheal, Stacey and Jim are going to make sure I keep moving!

P.S. - It just snowed in the mountains to the east. The mountains were clear as the thunder and rain his Leadville but then all of the sudden they are capped with the white stuff! Yeah....snow in August!

HOPE!...Hope Pass that is, not so tempo run, Mt. Sherman summit

2007-08-11T17:06:00.000-07:00

We have been busy! I had to do a tempo run on flat road so I chose a section of the course that is fairly level but it didn't seem to help my pace. Bob dropped me off at the Fish Hatchery aid station and I ran my warm-up on the inward bound portion heading to Powerline Pass. I turned around and started my tempo at the Fish Hatchery and Beast was the pace car. I was supposed to run 7:46 pace and the best I could do was 8:17's. My breathing mirrored more of an AT workout. He would park the car at every mile mark and wait for me, I could see the car in the what seemed to be the near distance but as hard as tried it didn't seem to get any closer. The good news is my legs felt great but I couldn't get enough air to my muscles to make them go any faster. We got a good laugh at how hard I was working and going no-where!

Prior to my tempo run we did the section from Twin Lakes aid station inbound. There is a pretty good climb out of that aid station all on single track trail and after coming off Hope Pass I suspect this climb will be pretty tough as will be getting dark as well. That run was only 70 minutes long and was an out and back. Along the way we ran past a teepee made out of logs with a live tree growing out of the center.

The day after the tempo run we headed to Hope Pass and did the outbound section. My family dropped us off and picked us up at Winfield but Beast decided to go back over to Twin Lakes. My legs could feel the tempo run so I gladly jumped in the car and we drove over to pick him up. The climb on the outbound section reminded me of the easier side of Dog Mountain only with less air. I was pretty tired from the tempo effort but we still made good time. The pass was very windy and cold and required gloves at the saddle and beyond. The views were awesome and we could see all the way into Leadville. I struggled for air at the 11,500 mark and above but surprisingly my heart rate was low but the uptake of oxygen was not good. I am definately feeling much better than a week ago when at that time this would have been a dizzy climb. The backside of Hope down towords Winfield was a rocky techincal trail and very steep in sections. I ran/walked most of this decsent and suspect I will do the same on race day. The rocky trail was hard for me to negotiate at a fast pace.

On Friday we climbed Mt. Sherman, my second 14'er ever. Beast, Alex and I started the climb early to avoid the clouds that were building over Mt. Massive. This is a 4.5 mile trip and you start at 10,500 and climb to 14,036. The trail is a scree field and winds around the slide of Sherman then heads straight up. Alex had a tough time at about 12,500 and we took many rest breaks. The wind picked up as we got near the first hump at about 13,000 and we had to pull out jackets, hats, and gloves. We had originally planned on hanging out at the top for about an hour enjoying lunch but the wind was so fierce we could hardly hear each other. The temperatures with the wind was super cold and I didn't want to hang out. At the very top of the mountain the winds were calm almost sureal but because the gusts were so bad Beast and I took turns climbing the jagged edge to the summit while one of us stayed with Alex. The last bit of climb was on a jagged rocky edge and I didn't feel it was safe with the winds for Alex. I did some running on the top.....just kidding, it was flat.....but I can say I ran at 14K. :). It was a really fun experience and I wish I could climb more of the surrounding mountains. There's always another time! :)

Today was the bike race and we headed out to watch them. Beast and I did the inbound section of Hope Pass and we climbed the steep side vigorously and it wasn't bad. We got to the top in 1:08 and it was easy compared to the other day. The acclimating is working! Scott said it would take about 10 days before I would start to feel better and by day 14 I can officially say I felt feel much better. The pass was awesome today, clear and beautiful with no wind. The temperatures were really nice for the bike race. When we were done my family gave us the update on the leaders and when we got home we cleaned up and all went downtown to see the finish just as the course record was being broken by 6 minutes. The leader had a two minute lead over Floyd Landis who looked like he had taken a bad fall. The bike race was pretty exciting to watch.

On the road again....Leadville!

2007-08-06T16:24:00.000-07:00

We all left Utah on Saturday for our 8 hour trip to Leadville Colorado. The trip was uneventful and went pretty fast as we all ooohhhhed and ahhhhhhed at the scenery. We arrived in Leadville at 6p.m. and were quickly immersed in "Leadville Boom Days". This is a celebration in which the town of Leadville pays tribute to it's mining boom with lots of activities in the streets. They have vendor booths with lots of stuff to buy and various activities take place on the main street like the burro race, the slow motorcycle race, dancing and other stuff. Lots of people are dressed up in 30's garb and participating in the festivities. On Saturday night we jumped right into Boom Days and headed to the brew pub for dinner. Everyone, including the bartender were in rare form dressed up and partying like crazy. Beast could not help himself and began taking pictures of the girls next to us at the bar who were doing shots of Yegarmiester and Red Bull, wow!!! They were having no less than a good time.

On Sunday the whole family headed into Leadville for the breakfast at one of Beast's Cafes and to watch the start of the burro race. The burro race is awesome and if I had a burro I would have to do this event. The runner and his/her burro travel 20 miles in the mountains with their burro in tow. The burro has to carry a certain amount of weight in the beginning and has to end with same amount of weight. The best part of the race is the stubborn burro, they sometimes just refuse to move! In addition, the runner does not ride their burro, they lead it. We watched the start and placed bets as to the finish time then headed out to see them on Mosquito Pass. We were a little late but could see the lead group followed by a couple of other stubborn burro's who's owners were desperately prodding them along. What fun! None of us have received a phone call that we guessed the finish time correctly but Beast is sure there is a message waiting for him at home. Lot's of other runners are here now. We saw Tom Pelsor from Oregon and he has been here for a little over a week and a half now.

The weather has been sort of cold and rainy, much different than Utah. The extended forecast looks better for race day but you never know????? Yesterday was our first run here in CO. and it was short, just a bit over an hour. Beast and I drove all around getting oriented with course. Since it's and out and back it's pretty easy to drive to all the aid stations and get acquainted with the course layout. After we did some scouting we went for a run between Halfmoon aid station and Twin Lakes. The section we did was on the Colorado Trail and passed the trail head to Mt Elbert which is the highest peak in CO. The trail was rocky and hard to navigate so I assume this part will be slow going on race day. The road sections leading up to this trail section with be faster but I plan on going easy on the rocky trail. There were lots of streams to cross but all of them you can pass without getting your feet wet. Beast and I will be climbing Mt. Elbert if we get a good weather day. I know Bill will be heading up there and maybe Mt. Massive too.

Today was my last long run with some quality workloads built in. We went from the Mayqueen aid station up and over Sugarloaf and back. We got as high as 11,200 today and I was to run in 3A and 3B with AT on the climbs. I was fine up to about 10,500 but after that I was halted by the lack of air. The outbound climb up Sugarloaf was not bad and I was able to run all of that. The decent down into the Fish Hatchery was slow for me because the road is so washed out. I saw a ton of bikers practicing for their ride this coming Saturday. I saw only one other runner out on this section. When I got to the bottom of Sugarloaf I just turned back around and headed back up. This climb will be much harder on race day since this will be about mile 80 and dark, I expect it to be a slow go. It's not too steep but just keeps going and going. After you reach the summit you get to go downhill on a pretty good road before you hit another rocky section of trail. I was happy with how well I could move at this point in the acclimation process and and hoping it gets better as the weeks progress. So far we are having a blast! We talked to some runners from Virginia this afternoon and they said there are 600 runners registered, it's going to be so much fun!

So many trails, so little time.....

2007-08-02T12:19:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be hard to top Mt. Timpenogos but the last two days have been just as lovely. Yesterday (Wed.) we did a loop from the Canyons Ski Resort over to the Wasatch Crest Trail and back down to Park City Ski Resort. This particular run was about 18 miles long and connected a ton of familiar trails but I would have never known. Beast drove me to the trail head right out of a Park City neighborhood, the trail we started on was called Rob's Trail which connected to the Mid Mountain Trail, then the Wasatch Crest Trail, then Spiro Trail. It was hard to believe we would feed into the Wasatch 100M course at about mile 73 right out of Upper Big Water Canyon near Desolation Lake. I knew the course was near Park City and Bill has tried to connect them in the past but to no avail. The wildflowers were awesome and the views take your breath away, it reminded me why Wasatch 100M is one of my favorite courses. After Beast dropped me off to meet Deborah Askew and her friend Lori he went back to Park City Ski Resort and headed the opposite direction to meet us near the high point on the Wasatch Crest Trail. The pace was vigorous on the climbs but not bad, my breathing is getting a little better each day. It nice and humbling to hear yourself breath so hard and not be anywhere near zone 3B. The forced walking has been good recovery for me. Beast ran into another ultra runner on the Wasatch Crest Trail and it was another reminder of how small our world is as he knew people Beast knows and visa versa. Deborah and I chatted non stop the entire run and since she is a great ultra runner with some crazy fast times on Leadville and Wasatch I was happy to take any and all advice she gave to help me in my upcoming adventures. She has posted times near 24 hours on Wasatch 100M and right at 23 hours on Leadville and she shared her experiences on both courses with me, I took a lot away from our conversations and plan to implement some of her good advice. Right as Deborah and I were coming off the Wasatch Crest Trail which tops out at 9,940 feet and began heading down to Spiro I hear and weird rooster call and since I am in the middle of no where in the mountains who else but the Beast would be attempting rooster call (he needs work on his rooster call)......only the Beast. We found him on top of a peak just above the Spiro trail so we hiked back up to find out where he had been all day. He was lucky enough to have come across a mama moose and last years baby. The mama moose was apparently not very happy to be disturbed by the beast and his flashing camera and actually turned toward him and stomped her foot. Beast took that as a message to get out of dodge! After that story Deborah and I were off in hopes we would see the moose but no luck.

Wednesday afternoon Bill arrived after his drive from Portland hauling the trailer, it was a long hard trip so he was beat. Liz and Kamm arrived in late afternoon and we all made plans for today's run. We met Deborah at the Big Mountain aid station (mile 39.5 on Wasatch 100M) and headed backwards on the course to the Sessions. It was going to be short day for me, about 2.5 hours. It was overcast and lightly misting, a big contrast to the previous days where temperatures in the high country were mid 80's. The scent of mint was abundant in this area and the rain just enhanced it. This part of the course travels along the ridge just above and on the other side of the big Canyons near Salt Lake City, beautiful countryside with awesome views of the mountains. What I am finding is the more time I am active at alitude the more I am understanding how to manage my pace and breathing whereas if I hadn't had this opportunity I would be fighting the lack of air, gasping and forcing breaths. Instead I am trying to honor the altitude and it's affects on my abilties to move faster. Tomorrow is a tempo run on flat terrain as I begin getting my leg speed back for Leadville. I am interested to see how this feels at altitude and what effect it has on my pace.

Yesteday 8/1 was Alex's 11th birthday so we celebrated by going out to dinner at the resturant of his choice. He got two Russian Tortoises for his present and they are very interesting and pretty active for turtles. Bill transported this surprise all the way from Portland in the car and they will be nicely acclimated as they will be with us in CO.

Where have I been....oh!....Paradise!

2007-07-30T18:37:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of our destination...Mt. Timpenogos. Folks say the mountain looks like a lady lying down starting from your left is the head, then the bust and at the end is the feet. We climbed the Timpenooke trail to the top and traversed from the saddle near the feet to the bust then just before the face we dropped down and slid down the glacier to a meadow.

Here's the details and pictures:

After about an hour drive from Deer Valley we arrived at the trail head to begin the climb. We had maps and read stuff on the web but all we really knew is it was 7.5-9 miles up and you gained 4,500 feet to top out at 11,750. We had heard the trail was in great condition and the wildflowers were in full bloom so we were excited.

Right off the bat we see another person who looks like an ultra runner. She had very little gear, trail shoes and running clothes for a mountain climb so it had to be an ultra runner. It was Deborah Askew. Very small world as she knows all the Oregon runners so it was fun to talk with her. She said it takes her about 3 hours to summit the mountain.

The climb was nice and gradual with a couple of beautiful plateaued meadows filled with wildflowers. The trail was fabulous and mostly runnable if you could breath and were in good shape. The view behind us wasn't bad either. Part of the Wasatch course is in the background as we continued our climb. It seemed quick but we were half way up when Deborah's husband pointed out a moose bedded down in the meadow below. That was ourfirst wildlife treat! The mountain was in full view the entire way up the trail and rough rocky cliffs seemed to go on forever. It was crazy to think we would soon be on top of it. The trail to the top was cut into the scree on the sides of the cliffs and large switchbacks led the way. The Timpenooke trail summits at the saddle just before the feet of lying woman. You continue on the ridge line trail which is very narrow and rocky but safe, just don't take the wrong step. The picture to the left of Beast and I was taken on the saddle. We obviously wanted to go to the summit, the highest point on Timpenogos. We also were hoping to see some Mountain Goats, a herd was spotted earlier. Once you get to the summit there is a hut and you can sign you name. At this point you have two choices. One, continue on the ridge towards the face of lying lady and slide straight down the only glacier or turn around and re-trace your steps. At the summit we began talking with some young hikers who have been here at least 4 other times and have slid down the glacier and they ensured us it would be mild with the low snowfall Utah had this last winter. We decided to follow them and check it out. If we felt it was to dangerous we could just turn around and head back. We decided to have some fun and slide down. It was such an adventure and a total blast. In the picture to the left where Beast is sliding down you can see the green meadow below, that is our destination which is about 9,500 feet at about 2 miles below the summit. At the bottom of the glacier is a beautiful lake called Emerald Lake. We filtered water from the lake then just as we were continuing our journey down the mountain we see the Goats, two mama's and two baby's. Beast made me duck down so we wouldn't scare them but I watched the mama and I am sure she was telling her baby, "look at those crazy humans ducking down so we can't see them, don't pay any attention to them". They didn't look to concerned with our presence and I got a good picture of them. After we crossed this meadow it was down a nice trail along a scree field, all very runnable. Beast and I split up for the 5 mile run downhill to the car. I put on my headphones and jammed down the mountain happy and satisfied, summiting Mt. Timpenogos, seeing a moose and goats, sliding down a snow field and running through paradise. This is one of the most beautiful runs I have ever done. Anytime anyone has an opportunity to be near Sundance, Midway, Heber or Park City this is a must do! I will be back. The altitude was tough but better and my legs are coming back!

Mid-Mountain Trail and the Rail Trail

2007-07-29T12:10:00.000-07:00

Day 2 we did the Mid-Mountain trail which is 23 miles long and travel from Deer Valley to The Canyons on the ridge line. It crosses all three ski areas, Deer Valley, Park City and The Canyons. It's all single track trail and all above 8000 feet. Beast and I headed out to do at least 16 miles of the trail point to point and take the bus back to Deer Valley. As we began our run it was obvious we were lacking air! Right off the bat we were huffing and puffing and not moving real fast but that was just fine. The trail was beautiful with all the Aspen trees and the shade was nice since the sun was hot. It was interesting to be running along and feeling a bit dizzy and sluggish but that is to be expected so I was just taking it all in paying attention to breathing. Beast was trying to teach me how to breath using respite breathing techniques but I was a bad student. I think I finally got the hang of it by he end of the run. We ran into a million mountain bikers on this trail because it was Saturday and all of them were very pleasant and courteous. Not trying to kill us before we could jump out the way. At about mile 8 into our run we decided to bail off and run down to Park City Ski Resort. My quads were feeling the run and lack of air and this would be our last opportunity to bail before the The Canyons which was another 8 miles. We took the Spiro trial down to the ski area. This trail drops about 2000 feet but is nice and gradual with the switchbacks. The drop is about 2.5 miles long. This was a great decision because my body was tired and I am in recovery mode right now. The last thing I need to be doing is stressing my muscles......that's next week.

My in laws and Alex arrived on Saturday. Alex has his bike so we went out for a spin around the lakes on a flat paved path. I tortured Alex by hugging him to death :). I also stole his bike and made him chase me down to get it back, he is fast!

Sunday, was an easy recovery day so we went to the Rail Trail right in Park City. This trail goes for at least 26 miles into the hills and is pretty flat. Alex came with Beast and I on his bike and we found some trails to adventure out on. All of us tried to get up this hill on Alex's mountain bike to no avail. It looked so easy and when Alex couldn't make it up the hill both Beast and I were going to show him how it is done. Well......we have a new appreciation for mountain bikers as both of us fell short falling off the bike in the same spot Alex fell. Alex was sure to let us know, "I told you so....". We ran for about an hour and could feel the tug on our lungs running very slow but with a labored breath. My legs feel better today but I have to say yesterday was a killer. I guess I am not quite recovered from Vermont :).

Tomorrow Beast and I are heading to the Mt. Tempanogos which tops out at 11,500 feet. The trail we are going to take is 9 miles up and and 9 miles down. I am sure we won't be setting any speed records but I have to sustain 3A with some 3B and AT. My first really workout since Vermont. I think it will be very easy to see these numbers with this thin air. :).

Utah - Day 1

2007-07-27T16:15:00.000-07:00

After a 13 hour drive which included the necessary stops we arrived in Deer Valley, UT. Beast only made me eat at one bad cafe on the way :). Those who know me and the Beast are familiar with are differing eating habits so we compromised and ate out once and I brought the other meal :). We also had a contest on who could request the least amount of rest stop breaks....Micheal you would lose big in this game. Since we are both stubborn we called a tie almost every time before one or both of us burst!

Last night we were treated with the usual Wasatch evening thunderstorms. They were loud and the lightening was very bright, I love these mountains. As we were bringing up our things to the room we both huffed and puffed and felt like the building was moving but it wasn't. It was just the effects of thin air. Seeing stars and wobbling down the hallway was a great reminder of what we are here to do.

This morning we woke up refreshed from our long drive and headed out to Lambs Canyon (mile 55 of the Wasatch course) and climbed up and over to Upper Big Water (mile 62) but we did not make it all the way to the aid station. We cut it short and didn't do the paved road section but instead turned around and retraced our steps. We ran/hiked for 7.4 miles and climbed 2,840 feet. This was the first run of any significance I have done since Vermont 100M and I feel really good. I would not have been doing anything like this after WS100M. My legs had good power for the climb but the descent was harder for my legs. They were not as strong and I was not as confident my quads would hold but what do I expect......exactly what I experienced, legs a bit tired in the end. As we climbed I could feel the tug on my lungs though my HR was pretty low (around 150) but the lack of air wasn't too debilitating. I expect to get another day of feeling good and then the blood cell die off will take hold. I estimate I will feel bad for about 5 days before I begin the upswing. That is what I have been told to expect so I will keep you posted on the lung transformation :)

During our run we saw some really fresh moose tracks but no moose :(. However, we did see a hiker being followed by his pet billy goat. The goat was just like a dog as he carried a pack and followed his owner. I quickly told the Beast I want one of those and he replied, "no you don't"! He was awfully cute though.........

Holy Moly....Rolly Poly!

2007-07-24T05:49:00.000-07:00

The Stats:

Time: 21:36 or 12:57 per mile

Ascent: 17,060 (of rolling wonderland - my altimeter has been within 200 feet of WS100, Wasatch 100M and others)

Place: 29th overall, 4th woman, 1st masters

Arriving in Boston on Thursday evening and having Bill pick us up at the airport for our 2.5 hour drive to Vermont was perfect. It was pouring rain in Boston and looked like Portland in the middle of February but the humidity was very noticeable as temperatures were near 70 degrees. Traffic was really bad so we decided to stop and eat dinner and let the cars fan out so in true New England style we went for seafood. I can't remember the name of the restaurant but they were running a special on Lobster! Bill and Micheal could not resist the Cheap Lobster Twins. Each lobster had to weigh 1.5 - 2.0 pounds and they both dug in, bibs and all. We arrived in Vermont at the Ascutney Ski Resort and checked in. We rented a large condo so all 5 of us would fit and therefore we had an entire building to ourselves. It was sort of creepy at first and reminded us of the The Shining with Jack Nicolas. The hallways were narrow and empty and we were the only ones around. Micheal started repeating "redrum, redrum" and we all laughed and got scared at the same time....the fun had begun.

Friday morning I had to go for a shake down run and Stacey, Micheal and Bill found the highest peak around and a trail leading to the top and headed out to for their run. Steve just hung out at the condo as I ran a loop with some pick ups. It had been raining in Vermont for about a week making the ground and air very moist but the mild cloud cover kept the temperatures tolerable. I ran about 3 miles and came back sweating like crazy but with all the heat training I have done it wasn't bothersome. As my crew was out stomping around the Vermont hills I prepared all my race bags and crew cards. My goals for Vermont were simple.....finish and save myself for Leadville. I knew I had a good shot at 24 hours based on everything I had heard about the course and prepared a pace chart for 22:18 based on the topo for the race and how fast I thought I could run/walk the climbs, cruise the downhills and flats. Even though I had a pace chart of 22:18 I was prepared to just finish. Due to this "take it easy and have fun" approach to the race my race preparations were pretty easy and not stressful. The race meeting and weigh in was at 4 p.m. so when my crew arrived home we showered and headed to the field. I brought my own scale to Vermont so I could closely monitor my weight along with the mandatory race weighs. The horses were getting their vet checks done at the same time so When I was done we headed over and watched the horses, it was awesome to see these big athletes and their handlers get prepared for their day on the trail. The race meeting started and the first thing the director says is the course had been officially measured and was 2.5 miles short so they added a loop to make up the distance, yipppeeeee ;).

Running in a painting

I slept like a rock going to bed at 6 p.m. and waking at 2:15. The weather for the day was gonna be good, not to hot and there was a slight breeze which forced some air circulation. It was chilly at the field in the morning so I was thinking I might need a long sleeve shirt but I am glad I resisted the temptation. The 4 a.m. start is great because it forced me to start really slow and get nice and warmed up. My glasses kept fogging up so I would have to walk and get them to clear. This went on for about an hour then they finally stopped. We were on a two track old road for about 2.5 miles from the start then we took a turn onto a gravel road. The sun was up and flashlights were gone by this time. Everyone was running fast! I am used to mountain ultras where you walk right from the start because you are usually climbing some 2000+ peak but here we were cruising along a gravel road that cars can drive on. I started asking anyone with ascent if they had run this race before and got as much information as I could about the upcoming terrain. As we continued on various gravel roads that rolled along the countryside it became clear to me this was going to be the terrain for the bulk of the race. I know the website says dirt roads and trail but my idea of a dirt road is a 2 track road that motor vehicles do not travel. This was not that! This was Lief Ericson all the way with some larger bumps, all runnable if you have trained for that. By mile 21 I was 30 minutes ahead of schedule, not good. With everyone, including myself, running relatively fast I made the decision to start taking walk breaks to conserve my body. I had no idea what this kind of terrain was going to do to me over the long haul. Since everything was runnable and there were no natural walk points I decided to run 10 minutes and walk 1 minute and see how that went. If I came upon a hill that was big I would walk/run the hill as it wasn't steep enough to make the walk more efficient. I watched my heart rate and made sure I stayed below 155 which is 75% of max and high 3A for me. This is a good easy pace for my fitness. This method worked well and kept my mind busy. The views of Vermont are green and pretty but it was sort of like running into a painting.....the views didn't change. Beautiful homes with immaculate yards, big green pastures with hills in the background. One thing I noticed immediately is how patriotic the state was with American flags displayed everywhere and that was really neat to see. Not many flags are waved around Portland so it was up lifting. The houses were all old New England style and so beautifully maintained with lovely flower gardens and signs that read "maple syrup for sale" were everywhere, a real slice of Americana.

By mile 37 the horses have passed us a couple of times and that was another highlight of Vermont 100M. I enjoyed sharing the trail with big beautiful athletes. They inspired me and put into perspective what we are doing. You could hear the click, click of their hoofs and the power of their breathing as they approached. It gave me chills every time they came by because it was such a treat to see them gallop effortlessly. With their mandatory holds for vet checks and rest I would see the horses many times and in fact #103 and I were running the same pace :). As we continued on the roads the variation in terrain got much better, the hills got longer and the descents steeper which gave me good walk breaks so I no longer had to play the run 10 minutes, walk 1 minute game. In addition we had crossed some trail sections but they were very short. The trails were not single track, they were two track rough slashes through woods or fields so they were not fast but a nice break for the legs and a change from the hard surface of the gravel roads.

By mile 47 at Camp 10 Bear I was about 45 minutes ahead of my 22:18 pace chart and was not pushing myself at all. My weight was spot on every time I saw my crew and my fueling was going perfectly. My crew was having their share of fun checking out all the sights near by. They ate a brew pubs, went to a farmers market,bought ice cream and on and on. They were all dressed in their Rooster shirts so you couldn't miss them. I know they were excited about how much ahead of schedule I was and how calm and relaxed I appeared so I kept having to remind them we are not racing :). At this point I think I was 3rd woman and first masters but I had no big ideas of finishing that way. At this aid station I sat down and ate some food and had my legs cooled down with ice cold towels, I think all this took about 3 minutes. It was going to be easy going and steady from hear on out. I think my crew might have been getting bored, I needed to shake things up!

After camp 10 Bear (mile 47) we actually had some good climbs on the gravel roads, they weren't steep but long and mostly walk/run for me. I could feel my legs a bit by this point and my hamstrings were feeling all the running. Nothing bad but I took that as an opportunity to work on stride management. I would shorten my stride, then lengthen it, use my arms more, land lightly on my feet, make sure my hips were square and I was standing upright. All of this passed the time nicely and I now have a really good idea of how to run :). I got to spend a lot time making stride adjustments. I played "running school" for about 65 miles! The runners were pretty spread out after mile 30 and they were not big talkers so it was a quiet day out on the trail so all games kept me busy.

At mile 70 I picked up Micheal for pacing and it was nice be 1 hour ahead of plan and so light out. We thought we could make it mile 85 before we would need to turn on our lights so that was really cool to be so far along so early, that 4 a.m. start is a good idea. Micheal wore a clean bib from the Lobster feed as a cape for his pacing duty, it made me laugh my head off and others on the course thought he was a nut. My legs were more sore now and I wanted to make sure I didn't do anything that caused a long recovery so we walked and ran along chatting and laughing. I said, "welcome to my painting, Micheal". I think the hard gravel roads can take their toll on your body and if I was pushing it I don't know how I would have felt but as it was I was in good shape both body and mind. I was happy with how I had managed myself and wanted to keep it that way. Of all the 100's I have done I can't remember feeling this good at mile 70 so that alone was enough to make this a great day. I had a few moments of glory with Micheal where I would get the urge to run hard and we did but then I would get the urge to just trot along and talk and so we did that too. I was still 3rd woman at this point. We finally had to pull out lights at about mile 84. I continued to fuel well eating noodles, gels, bars, bananas, G2O and had absolutely no problems eating and drinking. Our run was pretty uneventful and I was so happy to have company!

At mile 88 I picked up Stacey for journey home. Here at Polly's they weighed me for the last time, I sat and ate some more food, drank a Red Bull and we left. This section had the most amount of trail on the course. The road sections were all uphill and the trails were flat and rolling so I would have to say this was the hardest part of the course. The trail sections were chewed up due to the wet ground and all the horses so the footing was bad. I was fine with just walking along and finishing. Stacey never pushed me and I self propelled as we talked about Leadville and how well the day had gone. A few people would approach and either hang with us or pass and that was just fine with me. I was a satisfied customer and I guess I keep bringing this up because it's a new approach. Generally I want to give a 100 big effort but with 2 more to go and not having done so many close together I wanted to keep it all in check.

On the last stretch a freight train approached, it was what would be girl number #3. She came flying by Stacey with about 2 miles to go and I had no intention of even putting up a fight. I was happy to see someone so fresh and kicking butt. I was excited to be done and very pleased with my time, my body and the 1st female masters finish. Going into Vermont I had low expectations for myself and was prepared for lots of blisters, some chafing, heat issues but I got none of the above. My legs were sore but I guess they should be, not sore enough to keep me from taking a spin today which I have done. My post race fueling was awesome and I think that will help me recover a bit quicker along with having a text book fueling day during the race. My feet and legs were a bit swollen after our travel home yesterday but Stacey massaged them and today they are normal. My feet held up great with zero blisters and no lost toe nails. My energy seems to be good too, a bit scary but I think I should have run a little harder but I will spend more at Leadville. My crew was amazing as usual, they took care of me, made me laugh and they even cleaned up all my yucky stuff. I had a great time in Vermont and really soaked up the day, it couldn't have gone better. Thanks to all of you that send me such nice emails encouraging me.

My Slam Team

2007-07-18T17:25:00.000-07:00

(micheal and Lisa (his wife) gave me these magnets that go on the crew car for my b-day)

I am lucky to have a great support group and between family and friends there is no way I won't complete the slam this year. What's so wonderful about this group of people is they know me inside and out, they won't let me get away with anything. They all have high expectations of themselves which translates into high expectations from me which always brings the best out me. That alone is priceless and somehow I am lucky enough have them around to help me accomplish my goals. I would have to say everyone on my "slam team" brings a different strength and personality. What's interesting about that is I don't think I could live without any of them and wouldn't want to.

First off my family Bill and Alex. Bill will be at all the races and will be a main part of my crew. He won't do any pacing because he loves me to much, ha ha. The reason I say that is because he has paced me before and all I did was whine and cry like a baby and he would get so worried he wouldn't practice tough love and ended up taking care of me. I don't think tough love from Bill would work very well anyway, I would know he is faking it so I would still whine and cry like a baby again. My husband is my heart, without him I truly wouldn't beat and would not be able to realize any of my dreams. Sounds mushy but that is the honest truth I think about it everyday.

My son Alex always acts like running a 100M race is part of life, never worried about me and for the most part when I come into aid stations I am always amazed at how relaxed he is. It must be the ten year old in him.....nothing is a big deal, just smile and play with sticks! I like to set a good example for him so having him around will help me be at my best.

Bill will be well supported by his mom and dad and the rest of my crew and pacers. All of my crew and pacers are ultra runners themselves, Bill has even done a few ultras and loved it. Having ultra runners pace and crew is the best! My crew is filled serious planners so my detailed data oriented approach races is no stranger to them. If fact, they add another layer of planning and during our pre-race banter I know they have been going over race day in their head from start to finish. This kind of intensity is annoying and out right scary to others but with this group of people it's a way of life!

Micheal McCarthy (aka: The Counselor) will be at all four races but won't be on my team for Western States because he is running the race himself. He will be pacing me for a bulk of the miles where pacers are allowed at the other three 100's. I have had the pleasure of running with Micheal for 3 years now, we became instant friends one day while running the Peterson Ridge Rumble in Sisters, OR. Stacey and I had the opportunity to pace him at his first 100M race, Cascade Crest 100M in Washington where he finished in exactly 24:00:00 with legs to spare. Micheal has paced me during Where's Waldo 100K and this last year at the San Diego 100M where I set a new woman's course record. He is relentless, never let's you waver, positive but realistic at the same time. Micheal is a integral part of my training, he always is ready to run on the weekends and since he's fast it's a great way to get my slow b _ _ _ moving. He is excited to come on the journey!

Jim Rudig (aka: Batman) has paced me at Western States for the last two years after finishing the race himself under 24 hours two years in a row. He was not drawn in the lottery for the last two years so I was lucky enough to snag him as my pacer. This year he too will be running the race! A group of us met Jim at the WS training weekend about 4 years ago. It just happened that he set his tent up next to ours and once we started talking realized we were all from Oregon. Jim hasn't been able to shake us since. He is a great guy with a ton of talent, running the Spartathon, Trans Gualle and crossing the Alps with my husband and some friends. Jim is a fast runner and super knowledgeable so having him on my Leadville team will be awesome. If your going to attempt to die in the wilderness this is guy to have around because he is a First Responder and knows a ton about mountaineering. I promise I won't attempt to die at Leadville so don't worry Jim!

Stacey Bunton (aka: Stella) will be at all four events! I have known Stacey for 9 years now and we have run together almost every weekend, we have run a million races together and either paced and crewed each other at every 100M either of us has run. It would almost be an understatement to say, "this girl knows me well"! Basically I don't have to think when I run a race because Stacey can just look at me and know exactly what might be going on or what I might need. She is probably the sweetest person you will ever meet and the most nurturing. Funny how we are such goods friends because we are sort of opposite personality types but when it comes to running we are very much alike, we like challenges and we like to accomplish goals. Stacey is an awesome runner, she has won Cascade Crest 100M and took second at Angeles Crest 100M. When she puts he mind to something she does it and with a big smile on her face no matter how she feels. She is the one that named me Rooster so many years ago. I know I am in goods hands with Stella!

Darin Swanson (aka: Marathon Man) paced me last year at Western States and he taught me a lot about racing. He dabbles in the ultras but is in deep pursuit of a sub 3 hour marathon, he is sooooooo close it's just a matter of time. This year I have the pleasure of having Darin on my Western States crew again. He is a racer and that is not my strong suit so having him helping with WS is a gift. He is sort of my competitive alter ego out there on race day and I need all the help I can get in that department. I run with his wife Trisha sometimes on the trails, she is more my speed. Once in awhile when Darin needs a slow day on the trails he comes out with us, maybe for a Black Saturday hill repeat day :).

Bob Lynes (aka: The Beast) will be with me for 3 weeks straight this summer! I wonder if he knows what he is getting into? Beast is really the one responsible for all this nonsense, he got Stacey and I hooked on the trails and mainly the Columbia River Gorge and Mt. Hood Wilderness area, he is the one that introduced us to RUNNING in those areas. Most people don't even want to hike the steep terrain but the Beast lives in the mountains almost everyday. The Beast has done several hundred mile races and many many ultras so he is no stranger to this process. I have been running with the Beast for over 5 years now and I have to be careful not to follow him to far into the woods because a training run with the Beast can last for over 8 hours of tough running in tough terrain. Beast will be my acclimation buddy for Leadville. He is spending one week with me in Utah where we will train in the Wasatch then Bill will come get us and take us to Leadville for two more weeks. Beast has run Leadville 100M and Pikes Peak Marathon so he knows what it's like to not be able to breath. We will be training all over the Leadville course for two weeks!

Tom Chapman (aka: TT) won't be pacing or crewing me but he is a big part of my slam team because he is my trail scout, track workout support and he keeps me motivated. He carries a large stick but doesn't really every beat you to hard, ha ha. Since Tom lives in the gorge he is always helping me out by finding good trails and routes to mimic my upcoming race. When I have to do track workouts he will sometimes be down at the track making sure I am not slacking off in any way, he has high expectations and doesn't like excuses either. Tom is doing four 100M races this year and when he's done he will have completed nearly 20 100M races.

That's my Slam Team!

Vermont, here we come!

2007-07-15T12:20:00.000-07:00

Last week felt like I was back to training, even though I am really just trying to bounce back enough to run Vermont. With over 60 miles and some good quality workouts it almost felt like a normal build week. I had a 3+ hour run, a marathon pace run and a speed strides workout. My legs are beginning to move better now and just in time!

On Wednesday night when Bill got home from work we had planned to lay low, make dinner and eat outside since it has been so warm but when he arrived I had a better idea. Since we have been experiencing some unusual muggy weather I thought it would be a good idea to do a good recovery workout instead of the low key dinner. He was all for it and we headed out to Council Crest and ran the trail again. It was super muggy so we were good and sweaty. Alex was visiting his grandparents so our date night was a run instead of a nice dinner :).

On Thursday Tom, Kris and I went to the Wilson River Trail for a good three hour run with 20 minutes at AT on the uphill. The muggy weather was enhanced on the Wilson Trail because it is in the Tillamook Forest near the coast range. I felt like I had my body back and was able to work the trail without fatigue. The AT portion of the run was a great workout and I was surprised to feel so good. We drank a ton of water and I used the streams a couple of times to cool off. Kris has never run with Tom before so she got the "Tom indoctrination" .......push ups on the trail to test her toughness. Of course she whipped right though them as she is very strong and loves a challenge. He made her do a few sets of regular push ups then challenged her with the diamond push ups and she passed with flying colors and they are now good buddies :). We had a great time and a good quality workout!

Friday was a short recovery run and another trip to the gym which included a short 15 minute steam room session. 15 minutes seems to be my limit on the steam room. I don't know why but it seems so hard and I feel weak fast and I wondered why they even invented these things. The dry sauna is so much easier and seems to generate the same cleansing effect. Does anyone know why the steam room exists and is there anyone out there that likes them? I want to know the reason so please enlighten me!

Saturday was a marathon pace run and Micheal was nice enough to join me. He pushed me hard for the marathon pace portion and I worked hard and made all my paces. One mile was 4 seconds off but there was a good hill in that section so I considered it on pace :). All the other miles ranged from 7:05-7:19....faster than I was supposed to run which was 7:24 but I am a sucker for a challenge. With Micheal running nice and easy right behind me yelling at me to move it, I worked harder than I would have on my own for sure. I am so lucky to have such caring giving friends who will take time out of their busy weekend to see me thrash along Lief breathing very hard......of course there is no sarcasm here :). It sure got me thinking about Leadville and how I know he will be pushing me the whole time. I know he will be nice to me at Vermont.......right Micheal???? I better soak up the nice easy pace at Vermont, taking in all the beauty there because I know Leadville will be a different story. Speaking of Vermont, I am pretty much ready with all my gear, pace chart and fuel plan. All I need to do is pack my clothes and get rested up.

After Vermont I will only be home for 2 days before I leave for Utah and then Colorado so I have also been busy getting stuff together for that trip. Alex, my In-Laws and the Beast will all be coming as well so getting everything in order with the house, animals and such has been a bit overwhelming but I know I get another 2 days when I get back. Bill and his dad worked on the trailer all day yesterday, making sure it's ready for the long haul to Colorado. We will all be staying in Deer Valley at our place for 10 days then Bill will join us with the trailer and we will leave Utah and head for Colorado. Bill's parents will have their motor home and we will have our trailer all parked near Surgarloaf Mountain in Leadville. Beast and I will be exploring the Wasatch Range and then Leadville for a little over 3 weeks and this will be our home during our time in Colorado. I am going to love the opportunity to explore the mountains and just be in the world of running but I am going to miss Bill. It's a good thing I have Alex and my In-Laws around or might get really home sick without Bill, Ultra, Bandit, Storm, Thunder and all our fish :)

Today was a stride workout, upper body gym workout and my last 15 minutes in the steam room. I only have three small runs before Vermont and all of them are short, less than one hour and all include some sort of speed. This is all supposed to get my legs thinking about running :). Stacey, Micheal, Steve and I leave on Thursday for Vermont. Bill has to go to Washington DC for work tomorrow and will pick us up in Boston on Thursday for our drive to Vermont. Looking forward to surviving number 2!

Goodbye Zombie....Hello Humanoid!

2007-07-11T09:55:00.001-07:00

Whew.....that was a sleepy ride I was on and I am glad to off the sleep train. I am a fully functioning human now. I can preform all tasks with my brain and body working together and I can even preform complex tasks such as driving and talking on the phone :). I can now see why people have such a problem with drivers talking on their cell phone. It is truly an advanced move and should not be done unless you are of advanced mind and body. Since I was out of it for few days I left my phone in the cup holder and just drove. The brain is no longer two steps behind or absent completely!

Workouts are back on track with three weight room adventures of which one was a solid hour of abs, I called "uncle" with about five minutes left as my mid-section was beginning to move all on it's own. I worked out with a trainer for the abs destruction and he thought it was great sport to break me. The other two sessions were upper body and then I did one lower body workout. From my hips up I am paralyzed and I can't raise my arms above my head without going very slow. Funny but I love it! It was great to be back in the weight room but my strength has diminished a bit which is to be expected. After next week I won't see my gym for one solid month. I will miss the workouts and my gym friends a lot. Body Builders and Fitness Competitors are another group of completely insane driven people with fabulous bodies. I just love hanging around them in the gym, talking and learning about their sport. They motivate me a lot.

Running has been going well too. Sunday was a nice 90 minute shake down run in Forest Park. Monday I ran up and down our road while Alex used his scooter. We waited until it was hot so I could get some heat training. Ultra and Bandit went too and Ultra was just fine but I have the laziest Husky on the planet! He just laid down in the middle of the road and waited for us to come back. I know it was hot but he does this all the time even in the cool woods. We have had some amazing temperatures for the Portland area......just over 100 degrees. It's quite the news story and everywhere you go people are hiding from the heat while I am loving the opportunity to get in the heat and not have to use the steam room. Last night a few of us met for a fabulous run up to Council Crest. There is a great trail right off Terrwilliger Blvd. that heads up to Council Crest where on a clear day you can get almost a 360 degree view of Portland and all the surrounding Mountains. The trail section is 3.2 miles one way so we started near the Chart House and ran up and back. With temperatures at 100 degrees or better we were all prepared to enjoy the suffering. We were somewhat disappointed with the cool breeze that flowed through the woods making our heat run less HOT! It was only about 85 degrees in the trees but we were all sweating a ton and most of us only brought one water bottle and the fountains were turned off at Council Crest so anyone that had water left was at risk of a group tackle :). We had a lot of catching up to do and lots of stories to share, it was a great time and got me pumped up.

I started my planning for Vermont, yeah!!!!!! I actually have a preliminary pace chart done and began gathering my stuff for the trip. If anyone has splits from this race and they would like to share I would love to have them!!! The website doesn't have any splits so I am just guessing, I like to have an idea of how long it takes me to get to various aid stations so I can plan my fuel. Despite my "ho hum" attitude I expressed in earlier posts I am now getting excited. Sophia (blog commenter) has gotten me more focused and revved up....THANK YOU! I know Vermont won't be my best performance and I okay with that because I am super excited about Leadville but I am anxious to see the Vermont rollers and how my body adapts to them. Being from the climb 3000 feet descend 2500 feet and climb another 2000 feet and descend another 2500 feet part of the NW I am curious what it's like to roll up and down 400-500 foot hills. I bet it has it's own element of quad thrashing and that has been expressed by a couple of people so I know it's gonna hurt :).

So far, the weather forecast for the Vermont 100M looks fine with even a chance of showers. I know that can change daily but hey, if it rains I will feel right at home! I have heard the rain in Vermont is more like a down pour but bring on the mud and slop....I know I can handle that :). Tomorrow is my last long run before my taper. Tom, Kris and I are heading to the coast range for 3 hours on the Wilson River Trail. I have a 20 min. hill repeat scheduled for tomorrow and I ready, I miss Black Saturday's. After that run I have one more sort of hard push, a marathon pace run on Lief which I am doing this Saturday. Marathon pace for me is 7:24 and Lief will be a gravel rolling road like some of the Vermont terrain. It's been awhile since I have done a M-Pace run and I have to hold 7:24 for about one hour.....stay tuned to see how that goes.

Relying On Friends

2007-07-07T12:10:00.000-07:00

Still feeling the fatigue from WS and feeling like I need a vacation from my Vegas vacation it was nice to run with friends this morning. When Micheal emailed yesterday and said he wanted to go running on Saturday and that he had been looking at the Vermont race I felt relieved. I have to say I am not up to par on my planning. For some reason I can't seem to get my brain and body to work together and come up with a race plan for Vermont. Highly unusual for me but an interesting block I am experiencing. Not sure if I am avoiding Vermont because of fear or because I am still tired. With all that said it was so nice to hear that my crew and pacer was on top of it. He asked me questions and it started to get me thinking all the while he reminded me that this will be no problem and I will be surprised at how well I do at Vermont. All those words and reminders were a welcomed refreshment for my coma like state.

Running has been just "okay". Nothing too exciting has been happening, maybe that's why I am melancholy. In Vegas I did a tempo run on the treadmill with 3 miles at 6:48 pace and I felt pretty good and the AT portion of the run wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. When we got home I had another tempo run on Lief followed by today's run. My tempo run was very tough and I worked very hard to get 6:55 paces, my heart rate was screaming but I think that was more related to being in Vegas and completely over stimulated for 4 days :). Today's run was better but then again there was no AT portion so it should have been.......right! Tom, Micheal and I did a run in Forest Park called the "Zipper". I think it was Darin and Rick's group that came up with this run. It takes you up and down all the side trails and firelanes in Forest Park. You would be surprised at how much elevation you can rack up doing this. In addition, it's not easy. This is all in preparation for the terrain at Vermont. The constant rolling nature of that course is hard to simulate in the PNW. The Gorge has far too much climbing and Wildwood Trail is just too flat. We did 16 miles of zipper today and after we were done my legs were tired. This run would have normally been an easy run during peak training. Funny how running 100 miles can make your legs tired, ha, ha, ha. The goal of running right now is to gain back leg speed, my body will remember how to run long. Getting the turnover churning again is the key and believe it or not it's harder than it looks on paper :). Even though I seem to be physically recovered and my resting heart rate is in check my legs are more sluggish so faster running is the ticket. All in good time............

The Grand Slam is proving to be a very mental event for me. Gearing up for these back to back 100 miles runs is going to make me tougher mentally. I can already feel the impact of staying sharp and prepared and not getting to do any real training. My gym workouts are suffering and that is a hard pill for me to swallow because I am an avid gym goer. I have to be careful not to overdo the weight room during training but now I am seeming to have a hard time fitting in my consistent workouts. My arms are starting to flap when I run and other body parts will follow suit soon. On the positive side I will be lighter :). By the end of the summer I should be good and atrophied. No big deal, it will give me something to do in the winter :).

I know this post might sound negative but it's really not, just the true thoughts I am having as I enter this stage of the Slam. I know I will be relying on my friends and all their energy to get me through these races. Fortunately I have some amazing friends who's dedication is going help me so much it's hard to put in to words. Between my family and friends there is no slacking and for that I am extremely grateful.

Back at it!

2007-06-30T15:07:00.000-07:00

Last week was awesome recovery. Sleeping in, lounging around, short bouts of running, some leisurely weight training, eating and more sleeping, that's how last week went. I was pretty tired after WS, it must be age as I was in bed by about 8 p.m. and slept as long as I could or until one of our animals woke me up. Alex was away at Christian Outdoor School and Bill was trying to be so quiet in the morning but my cat just stood on top of me and howled. I think he might have been saying, "lady....it's 7 a.m. and you are supposed to up!". Bandit (the husky) just stood at the side of the bed and licked my face and I would try to retreat under the covers but that meant play time to him so up on the bed he pounced. Alright already.....out of bed I came. Bill would say, "no rest for the weary around here". Physically my body bounced back well and I was running short little bits by Tuesday and up to an hour by Thursday. Weight training was harder than the running probably because of overall fatigue. I think if I would have been able to push harder in the middle of WS I would have been more physically beat up but since I was slowed by my stomach the benefit is faster recovery. That is how I am choosing to look at anyway :). My brain was fatigued too. I did some really dumb moves like got in my car and tried to drive with no keys, put a load of laundry in without soap, walked purposely into a room for something and forgot the whole reason I went in the first place. Zoned out to Peoples Court on TV and actually felt bad for the people on the show, yikes, then realized I was watching Peoples Court. All the gels might be starting to overflow into my brain making the synapse much slower. I am happy to report that I am back to full thinking mode now.

Friday Susan I drove to retrieved our boys from camp and I swear Alex grew 2 inches inches and his voice is deeper. He is now officially taller than me and out weighs me by 3 pounds and he is only 10 (almost 11). He used the phrase, "yo mom" with me yesterday and we had a firm talk about that.....I am not to be beckoned by using a "yo" ever again. Yikes, he will be in middle school next year and all those girls will be calling and I will have to get all my spy gear upgraded. Hug your babies now because you will wake up one day and they will say "yo" at you and you'll be thinking the same things :). Back to running......

Today I ran for 90 minutes, lifted upper body and did my first bout in the steam room in preparation for Vermont. The sauna was bad but the steam room is worse. I was only in there for 15 minutes and it took a lot out of me. I was soaked of course but breathing in the hot steam is icky! I emailed Olga and asked for her a run down of Vermont as she did it a couple years ago right after WS. She gave me some great info. about the course and a few tips about things I will need to manage like the wet feet and body which will cause blisters and chafing. I am not sure how I will combat those but after another week or so I might come up with ideas to try. If any of you have any good tips please pass them on. I downloaded all the Vermont information and began looking at it last week for the first time. I am not really looking forward to the run, I don't know why but I am not that excited about the course and I can't wear my headphones! How am I going to relive all my youth, my twenties, my thirties all my triumphs, heartbreaks, ect. without my music? Reminiscing about bopping to the B52's when I got my driver's license, a little Boston to remind me of being 17 in car full of girls looking for trouble with the stereo blasting so hard it the car shook. All the disco of the Bee Gee's reminding me of dressing up to go roller skating. Reliving the 90's and all the angry chick music....man those chicks had chips on their shoulders but the music was good. Their music ensured me I must be the victim of something and it had to be some man's fault....joking! I won't have my music to remind me of my wedding day when Bill insisted on playing some bad country song called "queen of my double wide trailer" at our wedding. Oh well, I will have to listen to myself breath :). The course looks very rolly and that is not my strong suit but by the end of Vermont I bet I am better at running rollers ha, ha ha :). I don't know why I find all of this so funny but I can't help myself, I have been laughing for 3 days!

After my run today I could feel my legs due to the deep fatigue of running 100M. It was fun to run today and think that just last week I was in California running in their mountains and here I am back in Portland running in our forest. Tomorrow Ultra and I will run for 2 hours and I bet I will feel it but my schedule says, "you should be back to regular running by next week". I just love that.....how absurd it is that running 100M is less debilitating than running an all out 10K. At least how I remember running an all out 10K was, it's been awhile.

Bill and I are off tomorrow afternoon for 4 days in Vegas. We are looking forward to it. Alex is going camping with his grandparents and the rest of Bill's family. I will be using the treadmill while were gone and I have to do a threshold workout next week, 6:51 pace for 20 minutes on a treadmill. I will be sweating like a pig?

Western States Report

2007-06-26T10:01:00.000-07:00

A day filled with running, beauty, friends, camaraderie and more learning opportunities. In a nut shell that's how I would describe my day out on the Western States 100M course. With ideal conditions of no snow in the high country, mild temperatures and a perfect trail free of any obstacles it was to be my best race ever. Being in what I would consider some of the best shape I have ever been in I lined up ready to have a perfect day.

At 3:30 AM I was awake, dressed and already consuming my fruit pudding (recipe from Scott Jurek). It's a thick green substance made of all sorts of fruits and it tastes good. Along with the pudding I drank the protein shake (another recipe from Scott Jurek) which now gave me somewhere around 800 pre-race calories. I have used these before and they work great! Heading out to the start I was confident and calm that the day would be a good one no matter what I accomplished out there. I had a lofty goal time of 22:10 which I knew to achieve would mean everything had to be "ON", no room for mistakes or issues and in a 100M race that alone is a feat. Of course I had detailed plan and as the gun went off began immediate implementation.

Up to the escarpment fast but not hitting high 3B or AT I made it 8 minutes under my scheduled time. Wow, what a difference no snow makes! On to Lions I felt great with my work load being way to low I passed a couple of trains and got into one that pushed my HR in 3A. What I immediately noticed is my fitness difference from last year. All the other times I have run WS my HR would be pushing 3B to maintain a slower pace. I felt great holding myself in check and enjoying the day so far. The trail looks so different with no snow and I day dreamed about last year and remembering the sea of snow that we had experienced. Arriving at Lions right about 12 minutes ahead of schedule made me feel great. I saw the pink pitcher of G2O and opted for water only in both bottles. I knew they would have G2O on the course and also knew the flavors would be Raspberry or Lemon Lime. I don't like the taste of raspberry so I chose not to take it. Now on my way to Red Star Ridge I caught up with Jim and we hung together all the way to the aid station and got to see the helicopter filming the course. It was pretty cool to see them so close to the trail backing off just enough to not generate any dust for the runners. We jumped up and down, waved and they took out picture it was fun. The downhill section on the back side of Red Star is pretty steep and technical but we hammered down it and came into the aid station on time for that section. Again I see the pink G2O and opt for water only in my both bottles. I am doing great eating all the foods and gels on my plan and running conservatively. The only part of my plan I wasn't implementing was drinking G2O. G2O is one of the places I get my sodium along with 4X sodium Gels and Shot Blocks. I don't take salt tablets unless I miss the items listed. I like to get all my salt from my foods and liquids as the gel caps make my stomach upset. (picture by Kendall Kreft at Duncan Canyon) I have used this method for most of my races and it has worked well but when I wasn't taking the G2O I should have substituted the 250 mg of sodium with something else and I didn't.....MISTAKE!!

Leaving Red Star I was excited to see this part of the course again as I remembered it being fairly difficult to run due to the trail conditions. I was happy to see the trail was in nice shape and easy to run and follow. I was feeling really good and couldn't wait to get to Duncan Canyon to see Stacey and Darin. At Duncan it was a quick exchange of new bottles and more fuel for the 5.9 miles to Robinson. Stacey implemented my plan of giving me two bottles of water like I scheduled. I didn't tell her I hadn't been drinking G2O at the prior aid stations, it simply didn't cross my mind at the time...... MISTAKE! Since Jim and I had done this section the prior week I knew exactly what to expect and headed off to Robinson. On the climb out of Duncan Canyon I could feel the sun but the nice breeze removed the heat from my skin and I was completely comfortable. The climb out the Duncan Creek is deceiving as it winds along Duncan Peak and Little Bald Mountain and you never really crest either one of them. The climb alone took me about 55 minutes but I wasn't going at a moderate pace not pushing myself much. Jim and I came into Robinson at the same time which left Bill scrambling to get both of us our items and out of there. I was anxious to see my weight my at Robinson because at the pre-race weigh in my weight was way down. I was nervous the scales were (Picture by Beast at Michigan Bluff)off and I would weigh heavy all day when in reality my pre-weight wasn't accurate. I was happy to see I was only a pound up at Robinson but again if pre-weight was low was I really up or really down at Robinson?? Oh well, on to Millers Defeat.

There is a mini climb right out of Robinson and could be run if you wanted to push a bit. Then its down down down for about 2 miles until to reach a road that is mostly flat into Miller's Defeat. Seems like Jim and I are going to be leap frogging all day which was a blast, very encouraging and motivating. Again at Miller's I see the pink G2O being poured and opt for water, where is the Lemon Lime???? Off we go to Dusty Corners to where Stacey and Darin will get me ready for the canyons. Jim and I run slowly up the open road which goes on most of the way to Dusty but this section is only 3.6 miles long. I am now on a 21:30 pace if I can maintain my plan which seemed doable since my planned paces were fairly conservative in the last half. On my way to Dusty my stomach seemed to feel full so I backed off my water consumption but continued fueling. Dusty came up fast and here I grabbed my bladder pack which Stacey had filled with water like I had listed on my plan. I still didn't tell her I hadn't been drinking the G2O on the course. As I headed down to Last Chase my stomach had grown but no swelling in my fingers or legs. In fact, my weight looked down. My legs looked like sticks alongwith my arms which is never the case for me. My rings were loose and my hands were not swollen at all but my stomach looked hard and full and I could feel it. I wasn't nauseous but my stomach hurt and when I pushed on it it was rock hard. At the time I was at a loss as to why it wasn't emptying. My energy was good my body was begging to push harder but my stomach was sore. I ran down hill well but I generally excel in the canyons and can climb Devils Thumb easy but not today. When we got the Last Chance I filled my 60oz bladder with G2O because they had lemon lime.....yeah!!! I began the climb and couldn't power anything because I was so full of water, gels, bananas, Organic Food Bars and Shot Blocks. In all 4 years of doing WS this was my slowest climb up Devils Thumb. I just couldn't get my stomach to empty and because I was so full I didn't drink much of the G2O. I don't have experience with this kind of problem so I wasn't sure if I had too much salt or not enough. Generally I have to be careful not to over do on salt for my body weight but when I looked down at my blue shirt it was covered in white salt dust. I hardly ever have normal salt rings more or less on the front of my shirt. My weight was bouncing around my bogus pre-weight so the scales were not helping me out. Usually the scale is my best friend and I can monitor myself well by my weight. The stomach saga lasted all the way to mile 72. Through the canyons I could run the downs and flats well but anything uphill was hard probably due to the slight pitch forward when you climb just hurt my mid-section. I knew eventually this would all pass, it had to, I couldn't get any fuller but my lead on my plan was melting away fast. During my climb to Michigan I finally decided to take a salt tablet.

At Michigan I told Stacey I hadn't conceived a baby in the canyons but something is growing inside my stomach and it won't stop! I think I drank some broth at Michigan and headed into Volcano Canyon feeling a bit better. I ran pretty well down and when I climbed out to Bath road and saw Darin I was feeling slightly better. BTW: I hadn't urinated all day! The interesting thing about my dilemma is I had great energy, my brain was clear, I was sweating and I was happy. I think if I had felt low energy or foggy it all would have made more sense. Even though I was so full my weight at aid stations was within a pound of my start weight. All of this made if hard for me to troubleshoot the stomach problem, it simply would not empty!

Feeling better, Darin and I ran/walked up Bath Rd. and into Foresthill. At Foresthill I would pick up Stacey. She was prepared with broth, coke and other foods and I actually sat down in a chair and drank the broth. I never sit! I wanted to get my stomach fixed so I could run! I was only there about 2 minutes but it seemed like a long time. By this time Jim Rudig, John Liebeskind and Ken Ward were all together heading to Peachstone. We leap frogged and they were all a blast to hang around with. We had a huge party when you add pacers Stacey, Sander and Scott to the mix. We had fun but I was starting to feel a touch nauseous and we let them go ahead of us. At Peachstone I again sat in a chair and drank 3 cups of 7-up! It tasted so good I wanted more but Stacey said enough and we left. Off to Cal 2 and hoping to get there before we needed lights I ran well considering I was about 5 months pregnant with fluid and food. I wanted more 7-up so I was running for 7-up. At Cal 2 I again plunked down in the chair and began to drink my 7-up and it was de-fixed, yuk....didn't want it......want the bubbles. Stacey gets some fresh stuff....ahhhhh it was so good....more.....more. No, Stacey says.....easy girl. We leave and in about 10 minutes I stop lean over and out it all comes! I am not exaggerating it was a lot of fluid. I had at least 5 good heaves of serious liquid, Stacey estimated about 40 oz of fluid came out. I have never thrown up before. I have gagged and struggled to foods down but this was a first and I felt soooooooo much better. I could actually see my feet now! What a relief that was, I wish I would have done that up Devils Thumb!

When we got to Fords Bar I sat down in the chair and wanted more 7-Up but the Stacey just happened to tell my puking story and a doctor came over and said, "No more sugar, only water and have her eat tums". He gave Stacey a hand full of tums and said to have me eat as many as I want and drink only water, stay away from the sugar. I ate the tums off we went moving well and things were turning around, yippppeeeeee! At the river crossing I was feeling much better eating tums, gels and water. Great energy and my body was revved up. We crossed immediately and met Darin for the climb to Green Gate. I ran 50% of the climb feeling really happy that my stomach was cooperating. My stomach muscles were sore from all the pressure they had endured all day but feeling the sore muscles was nice contrast to the painful rock that had lived in there for more than 30 miles. On the way to Green Gate I drank a Red Bull which I knew was a risk due to the simple sugars in it but I wanted the caffeine. Leaving Green Gate aid station I was on the edge of loosing my silver buckle which was unbelievable since my mental and physical being was so strong all day but without a mid-section your sort of halted. I was darn determined to come home with that silver buckle so off we went on a focused push to make up time. I continued to eat tums, drink only water and eat only gels but now every 15-20 minutes vs. my normal 30 minute interval. We ran well and I was strong making up minutes at every aid station. My silver buckle was beginning to come back into clear view.

On the Browns Bar section Darin got his foot stuck in one of the many holes on this section of trail. The fall took him down and I knew he was hurt. He yelled for me to keep going and I could hear him screaming behind me. It was horrible as I knew he was in a lot of pain. I wasn't sure he was going to catch up with me and had to begin thinking on my own. At the aid station he caught up and despite his sprain continued on but had difficulty keeping up on the down hills and I could tell he was limping pretty good. I remained focused and ran well into Hwy49. Stacey had me out of there in 30 seconds and onto the finish. Darin was right behind me but when we crested and began the descent into No Hands he wasn't close. With the barn in sight and the flood lights from Auburn I was setting new goals. Under 23:15 would be nice. Leaving No Hands we ran/walked up to Robie and my medial quads were screaming. I had to be careful not take my stride for granted because my medial quads were short circuiting but I had less than 2 miles to go when this set in so big deal! Stacey was at Robie and we all ran in together. I was happy to have pulled it out to get under 24!

Despite my stomach issue I had a great day! I was really happy with my mental fortitude not ever giving up or getting discouraged. Even though I wasn't going to have the day I set to achieve I remained optimistic and never got down and out hoping every minute it would turn around. Unfortunately it took too many miles to make a large enough turn to set me the direction I needed be to achieve my bigger goal. I just loved running with a big Oregon group all day, what fun. I still want to do 22 hours on that course....there' always another year but now I will be hoping I get picked next December!

THINGS I DID RIGHT!
-Stayed focused and positive
-Never gave up
-Listened to everyones advice
-Laughed at myself

-Not one blister or lost toenail

-Very little chaffing - last year I was a mess

THINGS I DID WRONG!
-Not drinking the raspberry G2O
-Not weighing myself at home before the race - my weigh is down and I didn't know it so I discounted my pre-race weight.
-Not communicating to my crew that I had no G2O out on the course so they can give it to me instead of water
-Not replacing the sodium with other foods.
-Not asking anyone at the aid stations what might be wrong

New lessons learned. Now recover and be ready for Vermont in 3.5 weeks.

River Crossing - Last run in Auburn

2007-06-20T17:52:00.001-07:00

Today Jim and I went to Green Gate and drove down as far as we could without getting our car high centered. We made it about 70% down the section you climb out on during the race. On the other side of river we saw WS volunteers who were finishing up testing the cable. It was pulled out of the river by the time we got there. The volunteer was talking to us from across the river and was pretty excited to see runners down there today. The first thing I noticed was how low the river was compared to last year. Jim is out on some rocks that were all under water last year and the boats got all the way up to spot I am standing to take the picture.

Once we climbed back to the car we headed up to Green Gate aid station to start our run. We were surprised how far down the river is from Green Gate! When your in the race it seems to go by so fast but I know most crews do not hike down to the river instead they wait at Green Gate and now I know why. Not that my crew would dream of missing the opportunity for more exercise ;/. It is a pretty steep hike as well and now I know why it takes so long!

It was only 91 today during our run, ha, ha....only. Actually Jim and I are not really bothered by the heat like we were last Saturday. I am sweating very nicely now and no salt rings on my clothes and the weather man is calling for cooler temperatures on Saturday. I guess most anything would be considered cool after last years oven run. We ran into a long time Tevis Cup rider today on the trail and he talked and talked about the ride. It was really interesting and fun to see him so excited about it. He has done for many many years but he wouldn't say exactly how many.

The section from Green Gate to ALT is a piece of the course I really like and generally move pretty well on. I can see whey now. It's nice and smooth with some mild rollers so not that hard of a section but it is mile 80. We were really happy with our opportunity to spend so much time on the course this last week, not stressing and just enjoying taper runs. I think it will make race day even more fun. Tomorrow we drive back to Sacramento to pick up Bill, Stacey, Micheal and Lisa and head to Squaw. Micheal and Lisa will meet the rest of their crew in Squaw. Looking forward to it all!

Volcano Cayon

2007-06-19T16:07:00.000-07:00

Today Jim and I checked out the Michigan Bluff to Bath Road section. It seems there has been some logging done on the sides of the road which makes it much more exposed than I remember. After you leave Michigan Bluff and head up the road for about 2.5 miles then take a left back onto the trail. This section is much wider than I remember probably because they are driving vehicles into the area for logging but I am not sure. The decent into Volcano Canyon has been worked on and it's much smoother with no large step downs remaining. I think this will be nice for me as I generally get passed a ton here because I am slow on the steep downhill. I like this section because you have just conquered the canyons, spent some moments with your crew and you get glimpse of civilization so you have the sense all the hard work has been done and it's time to run! In this picture of Jim you can see the paved road deep in the canyon below. After the descent into the canyon you cross a lovely creek and begin the gradual runnable climb into Bath Road. There are sections in this climb that are nice and flat so you can shake out the legs a bit before you walk up the steep section to the aid station. The views along the trail are very nice!

Today it was about 86 degrees when we started running. You know you are sweating when you stop to go pee and as you lean forward water is dripping from your face! We are getting very used to the warm temperatures and Jim is sporting fewer salt lines on his clothes :).

Some like it hot!

2007-06-18T17:03:00.000-07:00

Today was really hot! The car read 100 degrees when we headed out for our 75 minute run. We goofed around early in the day. Got a pedicure, had coffee and got a few things at the grocery store. Of course Jim did not get his toes painted but I now have blue toenails with little white flowers with a pink center, very fun and relaxing. All the dry icky skin on my feet is gone and that will really help.

We ate lunch and then headed out to Hwy 49 aid station and ran backwards toward Brown's Bar then turned and ran back to Hwy 49. The trail seemed to be in better condition than last year. Jim paced me here during 2006 and he thought it was a lot smoother but I can't remember. At that point in the race it's just one foot after the other....trip, trip, stumble, run on whatever. This is a section where I have historically moved very slow. From ALT aid station to Brown's Bar seems to go on and on in my mind. I am always asking my pacer how much further. Sort of like a kid in the back seat of the car......"are we there yet"?

We wanted to do this because there is a climb after leaving the rolling section from Brown's Bar. Right after you hit the gravel road and travel about .5 miles you begin a climb up before descending into Hwy 49. When we arrived at the climb on our way to Hwy 49 we got a good laugh at the "big climb". Basically it's hardly noticeable but is definitely a tug. It's very short and non-intimidating in the daylight when your on a training expedition but during the race it's Mt. Everest! This is a picture of the "big climb" in the Brown's Bar to Hwy 49. We also got a good daylight view of the area where many runners miss the turn and continue on the gravel road. This is well marked but can be deceiving when you rummy and tired. This is picture of me taking the turn back onto the trail.

Being here early is a real gift. It has given me a lot of quiet time away from the day to day busy hustle and bustle. I am really relaxed and getting very comfortable with the heat.

Hello from Auburn, CA

2007-06-17T21:02:00.000-07:00

Jim and I left on Saturday (6/17) for Auburn. We wanted to get down to the area a few days early and check out parts of the course and bask in the heat. Jim hasn't run WS with the Duncan Canyon section so we definitely wanted to get out on that part of the course. All our runs now are short but still contain enough quality that they can be hard. Some 3Ba and AT in each runs is supposed to keep us sharp for race day.

When we arrived on Saturday we headed to Robie Point and ran backwards on the course past No Hands Bridge and then back. It was pretty darn warm, probably about 94 degrees and we were sweating pretty hard. We are not using any air conditioning in the car or rooms. We are eating most of our meals outside in the sun and spending as much time outside as we can. It has actually been fairly easy and not too uncomfortable.

Today (Sunday) we waited for it to heat up and then headed to Robinson Flat and ran back towards Duncan Canyon then back to Robinson. This is part of the burned forest section and I thought the trail looked a bit better than last year but I really can remember. Duncan Creek at the bottom was very low compared to last year. I kept warning Jim (who doesn't like to get wet) that this creek is pretty high. At least that's how I remember it. I recall having to put my pack around my neck so it wouldn't get wet. Here is a picture of the creek, not high at all. We could easily have crossed without getting wet but chose to walk right through the middle. The sun had moved over the canyon so there wasn't any beating sun like there will be during race day, it was actually comfortable.

Here are some pictures I took:

Jim at the Duncan Canyon aid station:

Nice downhill section after the Duncan aid station. The forest is burned and the remaining trees are black from the ground up: As you head up out of Duncan Creek towards Robinson Flat the forest is still very burned as you climb nice gradual switchbacks up the canyon. Near the bottom the switchbacks are easy running but as you get near the middle of the hill they become steeper and harder to run because of the grade and the rocky trail.

Work is done.....time to taper!

2007-06-10T19:18:00.000-07:00

This last week of training is the end off all my hard workouts in preparation for not only WS100 but VT100, Leadville 100 and Wasatch 100. I guess I didn't realize, until now, that I won't be doing any big quality training preparation after today. Of course there will be other kinds of meticulous preparations, pace charts, fuel plans, recovery strategies, mental visualization, crew meetings and all sorts of detail stuff but no more long hard workouts.

I was running around the track on Tuesday and after the second 1000 meter sprint I realized that I was doing my last track workout for the rest of 2007. I really put effort into the final three 1000's knowing it would be the last time I would wear my red hot track shoes. Driving home from the track a bunch of emotions started to flood in as I revisited all my training. Thoughts like.....did I give it my best effort....am I in better shape.....it's over....after this weekend you might not be in the Gorge again this year. With all that I vowed to give Saturday BS (Black Saturday) effort 100%.

My last BS with the gang was a solid effort and I felt good about it. I wish I could have set some new records but most likely at this point in the training cycle you aren't going to see those kinds of results. My repeats were almost the exact time as my last ones so that is considered great as I head into the taper. It was interesting to ponder the fact that those were my last repeats for the 2007! Where does the time go? It wasn't that long ago when Micheal showed up at Herman Creek and announced, "100 days until WS"! We had a fun group on Saturday and one new BS runner, Kris who is a fire fighter and one good athlete. She is doing her first ultras in 2007 after lots of triathlons and other adventures. Jim, Micheal, Cian, Stacey, Kris and Zoe(the beautiful weim.) all headed to the PCT for our usual repeats. I had 2X40-50min which gets me to the second clearing. Micheal and Cian can make it to Tea Kettle springs in that time so that was their destination. Kris has the same great taste in dogs. Zoe is a sweet dog and loves to run just as much as ultra. I think Zoe did at least 20 repeats chasing all of us up and down the PCT. We all had a great day and we missed the rain!

I knew I had another big day on Sunday so I went right home and started the repair process with an ice bath, a ton of food and a movie. Alex had a bunch of kids over so the noise level was amazing but I was able to hear about 70% of my movie :). I felt pretty achy and attributed that to being sick and sort of run down after Rogue River. The sauna torture can also make you a bit dehydrated if you aren't careful to replace all the lost fluid. I have been trying to be diligent about drinking but I have to admit I not a huge water drinker. As the day progressed I started to get a bit down about how I felt physically and wished I felt less stiff and tired. Then to top it off I was sitting in the office talking with Bill and a large and I mean large book fell from the top shelf and hit me right on the head. It knocked me out my chair and onto the floor. I immediately started crying because the pain was so bad. I had no idea what had hit me but my face and head hurt so bad on my right side I was dizzy. Bill was desperately trying to look at my head and help. Once I got myself together he says, "I haven't ever seen you cry like that are you sure you're okay"? I have a huge knot on my head and had to take Advil just to sleep. Just what I needed.....a good knock on the head...not really....I'm not sure it knocked any sense in me at all but it hurt like crazy and took my mind off all my other aches and pains :)

On the Sunday run I wanted to wear my WS clothes, tape my feet, wear my WS shoes and carry all the stuff I would need before I see my crew for the first time. Sort of gear test drive. For the first time ever I am going to use RaceReady shorts, the ones with all the pockets on the back. While I love the concept and they work great they fit terrible. Way too much material for my body size, too high wasted, the splits flap open and show the lining, the non-split version look like capri shorts on someone my height. With all that complaining I am still going to wear them! I am sure I will have some good chafing from all the extra material. Jim, Stacey, Micheal and I met on Sunday at Angels Rest for 27 miles in under 5 hours. We planned to go up quad buster hill, then down, then up Angels Rest and all over the trails back behind then finish our run with one last descent down quad buster hill. That's two sessions down quad buster hill. If the quads can take that then we are ready for WS! I felt better than I expected given my physical state on Saturday night. My head still hurt at bit but not enough to give me any excuses for being slow. Once we reached to top of 5 mile hill we ran into Beast who was muling around the area and he took a few pictures.

I wanted this last big run to emulate some of the running I will be doing at WS so I could experiment with paces, running form, fueling as if I was in the middle to the race. What that means is I didn't bust down quad buster hill but instead ran it steady and focused. I wanted to know how fast I could run downhill for 5 miles without really propelling. When we climbed up Angels Rest which almost exactly the distance and grade of Devils Thumb I took it steady and relaxed vs. my normal push. I know I won't be running up Devils Thumb at all, probably not one step but normally I can run most of Angels Rest. On our way back from Larch Mountain up to Devils Rest I was thinking of the steady climb to Michigan Bluff and try to think about how I will feel there and what I might want to do on that climb. For the last descent to the car on quad buster hill I was pretty pooped and giggled about how normally this is a sub 7 minute descent but when your tired it's more like a 8 min. descent and some sections slower. That is exactly what it like heading into Eldorado Creek. The terrain calls for a fast gliding descent but when your tired it's not as much of a glide ad you wish. Those were all my thoughts and final running preparation for WS100 07! I feel like I am ready.

I had the pleasure of doing all my WS100 training with Jim and Micheal who are also running WS this year. It was so much fun to run with guys which is much different than running with the girls. They don't talk much and they never complain or whine. They don't announce when they need to use the bushes, they just go and then catch up. They don't make any excuses for having an off day, they just say, "I am having an off day". They aren't overly positive and they say what they think. They also have a great sense of humor. They are very tough and can really handle pain well. That is an area I need to work on so it was fun to see them tough things out during their training each week as they got stronger and stronger. I have never had so much fun training before! Thanks guys! Since we are all going to be towing the line in Squaw it will be comforting and motivating to know my running partners are out there somewhere kicking butt. When I am having an ultra moment I will know they are pulling for me and I for them.

Now it's time to taper!

Peaking....how do you know if you are????

2007-06-05T15:26:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking a lot about "peaking for a race" lately and though I understand the concept I am not sure I would know if I was peaking. I been surfing the web and combing books about training searching for the true definition of "peaking for a race", how you know your peaking and what it feels like. Surprisingly to me I have not found much about the topic and I sure haven't come across a concrete definition. I am having some really great runs and my recovery seems to be quick. Along with some other great feeling I am pumped up about this summer and especially WS. All of these uplifting, kick butt, strong as an ox feelings has led me to wonder.....could I be peaking? Since I realized I have no idea what it really feels like to "peak for an event" I went on a hunt for information.

During my search I found a ton about sharpening as that phase seems to be well described and a ton of research has been done about this phase of training. I supose it's because the sharpening phase of training is absolutely necessary in order to have a peak performance. You simply must do a good job at the sharpening phase to have any hope of peaking for you event. Maybe that is why there is in depth writings about sharpening and very little about peaking. Also, maybe peaking is very hard to pin point......just how would you know if you had a peak performance.....a PR......a great day on race day....quick recovery?

It seems that there a ton of measurements for the sharpening phase. Measurements that can help you determine if you are on track with your training and continuing to build endurance and speed. Every running book I own (a lot) all have some kind of measurement with regards to endurance and intensity throughout your sharpening phase. They also have pretty in depth descriptions of how you will feel during the sharpening phase which is very intense as your body ramps ups and adapts to the demanding workloads. When it comes to peaking all the books are very vague but here is what I have found. You know when your are going to peak when.........

During your speed sessions you no longer need to force your body through the workout session. Instead your body "surges forward at it own will" and "thirsts to accelerate".
About an hour after your training you feel supreme vigor instead of mild fatigue.
Your everyday physical activities, like climbing stairs, become easier.
You become extremely sensitive to everyday situations and mildly irritable as the body is "prepared for action and ready to fight".
As the body becomes flooded with previously latent energy, a heightened se_ual awareness is often evident. (this is "G" rated blog so I won't be talking about this)

I got this from of Lore Of Running by Tim Noakes, MD. When I was doing my web research I found some articles that talked about almost the exact symptoms as the ones above but that is about all I found. The symptoms above tell you that you have sharpened correctly and are getting ready for one kick butt performance. I also found lots of sources that indicate a "peak" doesn't last for more than about 4 weeks meaning you cannot expect to have great performances again and again as your peak will begin to fall.

I have been experiences some real fun highs lately and those moments lead me to ponder why I am feeling so great. Alex and I would leave for school and we would crank up the radio and sing at the top of our lungs then laugh our heads off about how horrible of a singer I was. Once I dropped him off and headed for my run I would again be antsy and be-bopping in my car as I drove to my workout. I'm surprised I haven't gotten a speeding ticket. I am so excited to get to it.....run tempo. On my speed workouts I have to hold myself back because my body is so revved up. I've even taken note that my household jobs are not jobs but more like a way to expend pent up energy, I even cleaned out my closet. Just thinking about WS gives me butterflies but I am not nervous just excited. The weight room is my friend and I am able to lift much heavier and can power through my workouts. I am sitting up straighter and walking with more confidence. I like everyone around me.....must be something in the air!!!!! I haven't noticed an additional irritation but quite the opposite. My body seems to be operating like a well oiled machine with regards to recovery, digestion and don't look tired or beat up. The muscles are beginning to loosen up and feel very springy and plyable. When I put my headphones on I feel like I am in a rock band jamming to my music and seem to be a zone.

I have no idea if I am heading for a peak performance but I thought the changes I have felt in the last couple of weeks were very evident. If I am peaking then bring it on!!! These are some great highs and I intend to milk them for all their worth....enjoying every minute of it.

It's HOTTTTTTT!!!

2007-06-02T12:05:00.001-07:00

It's time for heat training and lucky Oregonians get to do it the hard way. It's the sauna for me! What's your form of torture. My gym has a good sauna and not many people use it, they are drawn to the steam room vs. the sauna. I see them walk by and get in the steam room then I see them leave the steam room. That's my entertainment while I am getting hottttttttttt. I started my heat training a bit early this year because last year we got the opportunity to go the the Grand Canyon on this day last year when they had record setting temperatures in the canyon. The shade read 118 degrees so it had to have been at least 120 degrees in the full sun. We did a double crossing and had to stick together and use Bright Angel Creek to cool our core temperatures as we crossed the canyon floor. That was last year so since I am not in the canyon I am in the *&%^!*" sauna. I started with 15 minutes last week and thought, "hmmmm this isn't so bad" as I did push ups, sit ups and ran in place. Then I bumped it to 20 minutes and was climbing the walls at 15 minutes as my watch went tick, tick, tick. The Counselor (Micheal) is an over achiever already lasting more than 40 minutes in his sauna, he even showed up with a long sleeve shirt for our run this morning. This week I bumped it to 35 minutes and yikes that's not fun. I did all my moving around for the first 20-25 minutes then the truck hit me! I was begging to get out....kinda of like a caged animal but since the Counselor has set the bar so high I had to persevere. I have had 2 sessions of over 30 minutes in the oven and after our run today I forced myself to drive straight to the gym for another hot flash :). This is me when I started......Not looking to bad....sort of fresh and happy. When I arrived the temperature for the sauna wasn't set to high so of course I immediately cranked it up thinking, "what on earth....who turned down MY sauna" forgetting that other people use it to. I get in and there is a lady in there and she immediately looks at me as she relaxes nicely in her moderately hot sauna. The temperature started to rise nicely....170, 175, 180 and within about 3 minutes that sucker hit 190 and she was out of there. All by myself I started to do my sit ups, crunches, push ups....standard sauna workouts. Then the sweat started to pour. Seems like I must be getting used to it because I was sweating so fast and it really wasn't bothering me. 15 minutes flew by and I am thinking, "this rocks.....ha!...I can do this" Then my water bottle starts to melt a bit and my headphones start to short out from all the sweat in my ears. My heart rate is lower than it has been so its workinnnnnnnnggggggg.....I am getting heat trained. 25 minutes goes by and I feel remarkably good still walking, jumping a bit of rope, modified push ups. 30 minutes hit and here comes the truck! Crashhhhhhhhhhh it hits me, I feel weak, tired, every minute seems to take forever, I am soaked with sweat, chased out two ladies (sorry) and been checked on by gym staff twice (seems and anorexic died in there recently, very sad). Waiting and waiting for the 35 minute mark to hit and I swear it seems like forever....sorta of like it feels when your waiting for aid station to appear. Bingo.......35 minutes! This is how I looked after 35 minutes in the hot torture chamber. Now if the Counselor says it's no problem to stay in there for 45 minutes one more time....I am going to hurt him! Next week it's moved up to 40 minutes.

Afterwards I weighed myself to see how much I lost and only lost 1 pound whereas a week ago it was more like 2 pounds. I cooled off in the locker room then took a cold shower and was still sweating 30 minutes later! BTW.....I don't really like the heat but I am using some of Stacey's thought process......"I love the heat, the heat is my friend, the hotter the better". I just love this sport of ultra running, when would you ever do something like this unless you were ultra running :).

Humbled on the Rogue River Trail

2007-05-29T18:00:00.000-07:00

Going into last week I knew it would be a bit of push but had no idea just how much it would test my fitness. It was one of the biggest mileage weeks I have ever had running over 115 miles and I felt it. On Tuesday I had a tempo run which was 13 miles with at least 4 at a sub 6:55 pace then on Thursday I got to run 2X40 min. hill repeats in the Gorge. All of this following the Mac run and no real recovery forced me to call on some special mental energy as my physical energy was bit low. I was able to achieve my goals for the tempo run but was really having to work hard whereas the last time I did that kind of workout I was on fire! The Thursday hill repeats were lonely, just me and Ultra. The first one went just fine but I had to dig deep in the motivational tool box to get the second one done. I haven't really had to dig that deep for motivation for a long time so I think it was a good exercise for me.

Friday we all (Bill, Alex, Stacey, Jim, Micheal, Beast, Steve and I) left for our back to back run along the Rogue River Trail. This trail is perfect simulation for the last 40 miles of WS100. It gets a bit eerie as you run along the cliffs because it is so similar in view and terrain to the WS100 trail. We were off for our 5 hour drive and all very excited. Our plan was to run from Graves Creek trail head on Saturday, Meet up with Bill, Alex, Susan, Rich, Evan and Lauren to spend the night at the Illahe Lodge and on Sunday we would run back to Graves Creek. A one way journey is approximately 39 miles of nice single track trail that rolls along the Rogue River. Some of us were hoping for warm weather so we could do some heat training while others were hoping for cool temperatures :). Team WS (me, Jim and Micheal) got our wish and on Saturday were treated with temperatures in the 80's.

When we arrived in Merlin we checked into our bunkhouse where we would all stay on Friday night. I think we were all in bed nodding off by 7:30 so we could be on the trail at 7 a.m. the next day. The plan was to start together and go at our own pace. Bill and Alex would take about 2 hours to drive to Illahe so they got a chance to check out a animal rescue park before they started driving over. We were all on the trail by 7 a.m. ready to go. Immediately Micheal took the lead and the rest of us followed behind but within 5 miles Micheal was out of sight. Stacey, Jim and I hung together for over 20 miles and all three of us realized we were getting very dehydrated very fast! All of us complained of aching leg muscles and each of us had no explanation except the heat. After 3 hours of running we had only drank about 40 oz of water which would be enough normally but it was warm and we were not used to it. All of us were sweating hard and began to really pound the water in an attempt to re-hydrate but once you get low it's so hard to come back. Our paces slowed but we remained focused. At mile 28 we had planned to stop at Paradise Lodge, refuel, get a coke and then continue on. There are a couple of places along the trail that have hoses you can use to get water and there are many creeks along the trail. I missed the side trail to Paradise Lodge and just continued on. This flub up caused a chain reaction of events. I was just cruising along thinking the lodge should come up any minute while Jim and Stacey began to worry about me. This trail is really easy and you can't get lost but I just missed side trail into the lodge. They waited and worried and then decided to back track to see if I was okay. Meanwhile I am just going along my merry way when I came to a creek and pulled out my map to discover I have gone 2 miles past the lodge. I got water at the stream and ate some food thinking Stacey and Jim would be there any minute. After several minutes I thought they might be ahead of me so I continued on and asked some hikers if runners had been by. When they said, "no" I knew they had waited at Paradise for me. They back tracked enough to run into Steve and Beast who knew I pulled an air head move and skirted the Lodge. Stacey and Jim turned around and began running and asked hikers if they had seen me and when they had confirmed I was juest ahead everyone was at ease. As the run progressed I just got more and more fatigued and my legs just got more achy. It didn't seem to matter how much water I drank or how many gels I ate I couldn't muster up a second wind. The trail winds along the river on high cliffs. There are sections you need pay close attention to your foot placement so you don't go flying off the edge while other parts of the trail run in and out wooded areas in a sea of poison oak. In other sections the trail is cut right into a field of high grass and almost all the sections had a view of the river below. I continued to fuel properly and just pushed through the fatigue but it wasn't easy. Since I was by myself I got to think a lot about how I felt and wanted to turn off the recording in my head. I talked to myself, sang to myself, scolded myself, laughed at myself....way to much time with "self". :) I reached the lodge in 8:15 of running time and pretty discouraged by that effort but I couldn't muster up any more speed! Susan and her family had arrived along with Bill and Alex. Micheal had finished in 7:10 and had a fabulous day. He too got a bit dehydrated but was able to come back strong. I quickly got my Tecnu and a hose and spent a good 20 minutes washing as we waited for Stacey, Jim, Steve and Beast. Soon after I was done with my Tecnu bath Stacey and Jim arrived even after adding on 4 bonus miles. Steve and Beast arrived in just over 10 hours. Everyone showered, refueled, chatted, nursed sore muscles, stretched, ate some more and off to bed by 9 p.m.

Sunday's plan was to have breakfast early and everyone be on the trail by 8:00 a.m. Everyone left a different times but Micheal, Jim, Stacey and I took up the rear. This time Micheal was only with us for about 10 minutes before he was out of sight. Jim, Stacey and I caught up with others after about 7 miles. All of us were tired but feeling good considering how bad we felt after the first day. Sunday was a bit cooler and we were hydrating like crazy! After about mile 16 we all got separated with Steve and Micheal in the front. Jim passed me when I was getting water and I never caught him again. Stacey, Susan and Beast were all behind me but all running independently. I made a game out of chasing down Steve and Jim. I had no hopes of getting Micheal but I thought I might be able to over take Steve and catch up with Jim. Jim had these great hummus burritos and I wanted to eat them so I was running for food :). He must have known I was in hot pursuit of his food because I didn't catch him! I really got the opportunity to work on running through muscle fatigue and I had deja vu's about WS. I felt pretty much like I do during the last 30 miles of a 100 so I used that imagery to my benefit. Every little roller felt like Mt. Everest and I could have easily walked them but I wouldn't let myself. What's surprising is forcing myself to run the rollers was really no worse then power hiking them, it is all mental at that point. I actually felt better physically and mentally playing this game and the by product of it was speed. I was getting faster and faster vs. slower and slower. Don't get me wrong......this hurt and was very uncomfortable but I could do it. I guess that was my lesson for this weekend. I can RUN on tired legs, I have been trained to run on tired legs, I can power through it instead of breaking stride and walking. After a long hard effort I finally caught Steve with 3 miles left and he let me know Jim was long gone so now all my carrots were gone!:). When I finally came around a bend and could see the bridge and Graves Creek parking area I knew I had about a half a mile to the finish. I was going to have negative splits for the day and the weekend! I finished in 7:47 and was really happy with the effort I gave. Micheal blitzed the 39 miles in under 7 hours (I can't remember exactly), Jim ran very well and felt good. Everyone arrived back at Graves Creek with smiles on their faces and plenty of stories. Susan had the best story about her conflict with a trail hogging rattlesnake.

I got a bit a of cold on Saturday night and after Sunday's long day I cemented it into my throat. I have been not feeling well since we got home but am hopeful this bug will be gone soon with some much needed rest. This week is a recovery week and then one more big push before the taper. It's hot in Portland so I will try to take advantage of it by running in the afternoon.

Revved up and gettin ready!

2007-05-20T07:57:00.000-07:00

Learning the value of a recovery week has taken almost 2 years but I finally understand it. In the past I never planned my weeks with regards to intensity, mileage or specific workouts and never took a "recovery" week. Generally suffering from the "more is better" mind set with pretty much everything I every do, running was no different and I paid for that attitude time and time again. I would get sick, nurse minor injuries, feel sluggish and tired but once in a while would have a run that really went well. Now it's all different because I have learned and experienced the value of recovery both physically and mentally. After Miwok I had a soothing recovery week and I soaked it up running pretty easy on all "easy" workouts, resting when I could and eating the proper foods. I came into this week ready to go! With Bill being out of town for a week which overlapped the weekend I had to shift all my workouts by one day meaning my long runs would be Friday and Saturday. I had a great babysitter lined up for Saturday and thought why not run McDonald Forest 50K after my hill repeats on Friday?????? Sounds like a good idea and a lot of fun. I was lucky enough to have a few people join me on Friday at Herman Creek for 2X50min. repeats and all of them were also running McDonald so we all could feel the love :).

I dropped Alex off at school and made it out to Herman by 8:45 where Stacey, Steve, Beast and Anna all joined and we headed for our workout. I knew this would have an impact on my race but McDonald was not supposed to be a race but more like a solid training effort as I knew my body would be fatigued. BTW: This was free dress day because it was Friday, Saturday we dawned all black for the occasion to honor our friends Jim, Micheal, Susan and Rick who were running Black Saturday :). The day was gorgeous and the mountains were out for viewing at the top of the PCT. My repeats went well, reaching the first clearing in 41 minutes was a bit faster than previous times but just meant I had to keep going further than expected :). I did my 50 minutes at threshold and slammed back down for another one. Steve was right behind me followed by Beast and Anna. Stacey was doing 40 minutes so just power hiked for another 10 minutes. I got down quickly refueled and headed out for number 2. I know I am getting in better shape because I usually dread repeat number 2 but now I am not apprehensive and even a bit anxious to see how I feel. Strong and steady I ran my second one and had good power the whole way. Beast hung out around the top and took pictures of all of us as we crested the clearing. I decided this would be a good time to work on my tan but just as I was getting comfortable here comes Steve and Anna! We headed back down and then went straight back to the car. It was an awesome day....thanks everyone for coming out on a Friday and running repeats before your race.

A quick drive home, pick up Alex at school, get him to baseball practice, feed us and then prepare for McDonald. My preparation was pretty minimal....just a couple of Organic Food Bars, 12 Gels, a Red Bull and some recovery food. I was getting up at 5 a.m. to pick up Stacey to head down to race. We get going with directions in hand and of course get lost. The funny thing and us is we never get worked up about being lost, I don't know why but we just keep talking and talking and eventually we ask someone which way to go. The best parts about getting lost yesterday were.....1. We had directions......2. I have a navigation system built in my car and forgot as the roaming map is staring us in the face.....and 3. we just laughed at all of our stupidness and made jokes like, "hey I got an idea", "what"? "Let's use the navigation system next time". "Wow, that's a genius idea"!

We arrived with plenty of time to see everyone and chat. It was so wonderful to be there and enjoy the ultra energy and the great people. We haven't been to the Mac for 3 years but it was like we were never absent. I got in the back with no real running plans but to work hard and not kill myself. I had no residual fatigue from the repeats that I could readily identify so the bell was rung and we headed up the road. I settled into a comfortable pace and made sure I wasn't getting caught up in the speed fest that generally goes on in the beginning of a race. Soon we hit the single track and up we went. I ran most of this but took a few walk breaks on the steep parts. I was feeling pretty good but wanted to be conservative in the first half. My training plan for my second day runs call for a faster second half. We switchbacked up and hopped on the gravel road that offers a slight uphill grade. This is the kind of grade that requires you to get into a groove and run vs. walk. I settled in nicely and arrived at the aid station 5 minutes ahead of my schedule with meant I was doing a sub 10 minute pace...hmmmmmm.....too fast but I felt good. I didn't need anything from the aid station and ran right through. We continued on the road for a bit then hit the side trail that heads straight downhill. I roared down the hill because I should not have to worry about my quad strength at this point in my training so I let-r-rip! I felt on fire and had to check in with myself many times to be sure I was not over doing or setting myself up for a bonk but I could tell it was going to be a good (photo by Corvallis Gazette Times) day. I arrived at the second aid station and saw Amy and Sandy (Beast's daughter and wife) and that was treat. They cheered me on and told how great I looked :). Quickly got some water and headed off for the steep climb and the technical traverse. I did pretty good on the climb, holding my own and maintaining myself. No one is moving really fast in this section as the trail climbs steeply and once it levels off you traverse a very technical trail that does not allow you to open up much. During this section I used my time wisely by working on my gait and my efficiency. Not allowing myself to over stride and maintaining good posture so I wouldn't use unnecessary energy. This is a fun game to play when you have to move slowly. Once out the this we head downhill to the aid station. I soared downhill again, quads still able to hold and I could propel! This is mile 18.4 and I have drop bag with my Red Bull and more gels. I shared my RB because I saw peoples faces light up when I cracked the can. This is where the race starts! More than halfway through the event it's time to turn up engine and see what I can do. I was pumped! I haven't felt this powerful in a long time. With plenty of leg power and energy I left and began to push. Fueling on the half hour and monitoring my water intake really works in keeping the engine going. I put on my music and qued up the Bee Gee's.......yes I know, but they have a great beat. The poor young guy who couldn't shake me had to hear me sing, "what's ya doing on your back, you should be dancin yeahhhhhhh" I finally decided to pass him so I could spare him the bad singing, but I just couldn't help myself! Now is time we catch up with the early starters which was a blast. I got to see Beast, Liz and Kam, Marilyn, Steve and bunch of others. At this point I am about 20 minutes ahead of my 6 hour prediction so I feel really good about that. My fastest time at the Mac was 5:56 three years ago and I tapered and trained for that time. Mile 22.4 aid station came up and I needed nothing so I ran through but heard Meagan say I was 5th! I thought about it but came to the conclusion I didn't hear her right but just in case I did I better get going! At this point we do more climbing as we switchback up to another high point. I ran a good portion of this and again used my time to stay focused on my stride and efficiency, not letting myself take on bad form because I was getting fatigued or bored. I could see people climbing the switchbacks so knew it was going to take awhile to reach the top. I started thinking about the upcoming finish which takes you on 3+ miles of gravel road to reach the saddle then a nice single track trail into the finish. My goal was to run every step of that section and I felt like I could. Once at the top of the switchbacks you pop onto another gravel road which takes you into the last aid station and only 4.8 miles to finish. I needed just a bit of water, grabbed a coke and took off with a new goal of 5:30. I had a pretty good shot at this but would have to work for it. I got the tunes going and settled into a nice groove running up the road. I played with doing some stride outs just to see how the legs responded and they had plenty of power so that meant I should play the "stride game" all the way up the hill so I did. I was getting 9:30 per minute miles up this road and that was really keeping me fired up. Once we got to the top and took the hard right onto the trail I knew we had about 1.5 mile to go and most of it was downhill. I had 14 minutes to do this and make it under 5:30. I ran really hard and had a ton of adrenaline flowing as I crossed the finish line 5:27:22. I think I was 5th woman and 43th overall but am not sure yet. I won a mug for 3rd masters which is pictured above.

(photo by Amy Lynes)

Just an absolute blast....those are the only words that keep coming to mind when I think about the weekend and all that transpired. Solid workouts, lots of friends, tons of laughter and a good performance to top it off. Today I feel really good! I am just thrilled with my fitness this close to WS. I don't think I have ever been in better shape. My recovery has been speedy and with that I am seeming to rebound stronger. I think I am heading into a peak which is just what I am looking for. I have been doing a lot reading and research on just what "peaking" feels like and how one knows they are heading for a "peak" performance. I will write about it when I get all my thoughts around the subject. Surprisingly "peaking" is not well defined and not easily described. If any of you have ideas please share them!

This upcoming week might be my highest mileage week ever. A bunch of us are heading to the Rogue River for a 40 mile run on Saturday and another 40 on Sunday. I have do hill repeats on Thursday and a tempo run on Tuesday. I do get 2 recovery runs as well so I am estimating this to be about 120-130 mile week.......hmmmmmmm. I am ready though!

Nice Recovery Weekend

2007-05-13T14:37:00.000-07:00

Cockadoodle doooooo....Happy Mothers Day! I came home from my run this morning and was greeted by this metal rooster. Bill was so proud of himself as he laughed his head off at my Mother's Day gift. Both him and Alex found this guy at some off beat place and just couldn't resist him. I actually like him! He might become my good luck charm and then he would have to travel to races with me....just kidding. Alex also got me a water bottle that measures how much liquid you are drinking. I think my son knows me far to well as he found the perfect gift.....a water bottle that calculates something :).

What a nice weekend. Saturday Micheal and I headed to Hamilton Mountain for a loop. As you can see by the sign you can take the "difficult" route or the "more difficult" which is covered by Micheal's head. Big surprise....we chose the more difficult route. Hamilton is a great place and an awesome trail. The more difficult route offers somewhere around 35+ switchbacks to reach to summit. I have counted them before but have forgotten the exact number but I know Beast has the correct number. The climb is only steep in a couple of spots so you can run the entire way with a consistent comfortable pace. This was a recovery week so Saturday's run was less than 2 hours and not supposed to be hard so we just ran steadily and talked the whole way. At the summit you stand just in front of Table Mountain which is another fabulous route which we haven't yet done this year. By the looks of it from Hamilton there should be very little snow left. Once at the top of Hamilton Mtn. you can choose to go back down the same way or continue on the ridge line and take the back road down to the Hardy Creek Trail. We ran along the ridge and then down the road which is extremely rocky and the rocks are large so you need to stay focused. Once at the bottom you take the Hardy Creek trail back to the car. It was a nice relaxing run.

Sunday we met Jim for a 2-2.5 hour run on the Wildwood trail. This run was going to be a bit more focused. Micheal lead Jim and I like dogs on a leash, tongues hanging out but our tails were wagging. :). Jim started using Scott J. as a coach for WS100M and Spartathon which he will do in September. It's been great to see Jim just embrace all the training and watch him improve month by month. He really loves the variety of his weekly runs and really enjoys seeing all his hard work pay off! We finished the 14 mile run fast thanks to Micheal.

Next week is a build week and the beginning of the last big training cycle before WS. I have to shuffle my runs a bit this week so instead of doing Black Saturday I have to do Black Friday then follow that up with McDonald Forest. I think I have a couple of people to join me on Friday for 2X50 min. hill repeats which will be great.

Ahhhhh, Tempo Runs.....gotta love em!

2007-05-10T16:15:00.000-07:00

Recovery from my last 3 week cycle and Miwok has been very good. I bounced back much faster than I did from the prior 4 week clycle concluding with AR50. After that cycle I think it was about 10 days before I felt comfortable and strong on my runs. Even my recovery runs were sluggish but not this time. Sunday after we got home I was pretty tired and was ordered to go bed at 6:30 by my family who were annoyed by my ho hum mood. I slept for a solid 12 hours and woke completely refreshed. Bill and I went out for a short run on the Wildwood and I felt pretty darn good. Tuesday and Wednesday were more recovery and a hard weight training session where I felt very strong. Another sign I am getting in better shape is when I lift after a big week and I am still maintaining or increasing in strength and this week that's what happened. I felt like Superman in the gym. I had no residual soreness after Miwok so that means one of two things. One, I did not run hard enough or two, my trips down quad buster hill are working. I would like to believe number two! My feet are almost completely un-numb. The only toe that is still numb in my forth toe on my right foot. Today I wore my nice roomy Cascadia's but could still feel my metatarsals a bit so there must still be some inflammation. They are getting better and I won't ever do that again!

Today was a tempo run and these are another good marker for my fitness. I was fast and strong today and pulled sub 6:50's when I was supposed to go no faster than 6:55. My pacing needs work, I am seriously trying to NOT run faster than prescribed so if Scott J. ever reads this he will know I am working on it! When I am at threshold pace and I have to throttle back that's when I know things are good and today I was throttling back the entire time. I do all my mile tempo runs on Lief Ericson so I have markers every quarter mile and it's gravel road which is a nice break from the track. I have been doing these same workouts almost every week since February and I remember at the beginning they were so tough. Now they are just part of the prescription and I can really gauge my recovery by my results. In February I was doing 7:20's and that seemed impossible. By March I had moved to solid 7:10's and felt pretty good about that improvement. April Scott bumped me to 7:05's and I thought he was crazy but low and behold I could do it. This time he prescribed 6:55's and I set out and did them with ease. 7:20's to 6:55"s is a pretty good improvement for my Lactic Threshold.....I will have to keep this in mind at Mile 75 at WS100.....it's supposed to translate :). After AR50M my tempo run was incredibly difficult. I felt like I was having to pull myself along by my ear so having a stellar tempo run after Miwok makes me very happy!

The weather has been beautiful and the sun really feels good. Tomorrow I think I will head to Dog Mountain to join Beast, Anna and the gang. I drop Alex off at school at 7:30 so I be late but will go the opposite way and run down with them. I am just planning on a leisurely hike and an easy run down.

P.S. It was a great day on the Dog. It's been about a year since I have been up there and the hillside was in full bloom today.....beautiful. Ultra had a few ticks I pulled off of her and she got a Tecnu bath when we got home. She couldn't keep herself out of all the poison oak!

Miwok 100K - One of the Ultra Family Vactions!

2007-05-06T13:52:00.000-07:00

Whoever books our travel arrangements sure makes us get up early, whoops that's me! Getting up at 4:45 a.m. on Friday to pick up Micheal and Stacey for our 8:00 a.m. flt. to Oakland was only an hour before my regular time but I don't like to get up really early. Since I make the arrangements you would think I would get it right but I like to avoid any rush hour traffic and arrive early enough to have time to relax. We met Steve at the airport, boarded our flight and were in Mill Valley by lunch time. We checked in and went over to our usual spot "The Dipsea" for lunch. After lunch we lounged around then at about 2 p.m. we did a shake down run with some strides outs then back to the room for more lounging. Stacey and I ate early, about 4 p.m. and then rented a movie. There were not a lot of choices in the Hotel On Demand system so we opted for Norbit. We wanted to watch something funny and it seemed like the right choice and it was funny but I would have to say it was just so bad we couldn't stop watching it. Micheal and Steve went and got dinner, brought it back to our room and Micheal just couldn't tear himself away from the bad movie :). The movie was over at 6:30 so we lounged some more and then went to bed at 7:30.

Alarm went off at 3:30 a.m. and we made coffee, got dressed and we were all ready to go at 4:30. We checked in at the start, mingled with a bunch of Oregon folks, took bathroom breaks then went back to the car to keep warm. It was going to be a pretty warm day but it was only 50 degrees at the start so it seemed cold. Tia announced it was time to make our way to the beach and get the show on the road! I got in the middle of the pack mostly to stay warm but I also didn't want to be pressured to run faster than I should when we hit the small bit of single track leaving the beach. Once we got out on the road and started the first climb I knew I was going to have a solid day because my body felt pretty good and my heart rate was very low. However, I immediately notice the shoes I was wearing we going to be to narrow, eeeeeeekkk. I have been trying the Mizuno Trail Ascend and liked them but was wondering if they were just a tad to narrow. I wanted to give them a whirl at Miwok to really determine if I liked the fit and the answer is a profound NO! On the first decent into Tennessee Valley (mile 11.9) my metatarsals were screaming. I have a wide forefoot and at a high instep so I need a lot room in my shoes or my 4th toe gets an impacted nerve from inflammation around that area. The squeezing on my metatarsals was pretty intense so I stopped an loosened my shoes giving them the maximum amount of slack but it was only going to help slightly. My last three toes on both feet were numb by mile 15 and I was just hoping the nerve would not start causing me a lot of pain. All of this non-sense kept my mind pretty busy but I worked on staying focused on the race not my feet.

I was on pace for 11:15 for the first 2 aid stations and was running pretty comfortable. My quads were not bothered by the training we did the weekend before and that was nice given my feet were be squeezed to death. At least my legs were feeling strong. I carried two water bottles, 6 gels and one Organic Food Bar. All the this stuff fit in my handheld pouches and my shorts so that was great. I felt pretty light with just those items. I lost 3 minutes on my plan from Muir Beach to Pan Toll (mile 16 to 21.7). I don't know why....I just didn't push the climb like I should have. Running uphill was hard on my feet because of all the weighting on your toes when you run uphill and to much of that was causing me pain. I was run/walking vs. maintaining a steadily running stride on the climbs. I know if I would have worn my Cascadia's I would have done better on the climbs but how much better....I don't know. I think sometimes when things aren't going well you become more focused therefore minimizing the effects of the problem.

Once at Pan Toll I grabbed my drop bag and put on my waist pack which had 8 gels, 1 Food Bar and some salt tablets. I filled both water bottles with only water, drank my Red Bull and ate my banana. All of that took me one minute and 45 seconds. The next section is long and exposed. Right after you leave Pan Toll you drop into some nice woods for about .5 miles then it's on to high meadows with a narrow trail running through them. The views of the ocean on this section are lovely but you can't really enjoy the views or the wildflowers because the trail is so narrow that foot placement is a priority. This section was awful on my feet and it was pretty warm already. Despite all of that I actually ran pretty well on this as it's a bit downhill and I was focused on getting through it. I only lost about 4 minutes from my predicted time, a surprise. At the Bofax aid station (mile 28.4) I was about 8 minutes off my 11:15 pace and I knew I would not be making up any time due to my feet. I had been running for over 5 hours and my toe was sending pain every time it flexed so I popped an Aleve and waited patiently for it to take the edge off. The section from Bofax to the turnaround at Randall is one of my favorites and I generally do pretty well here so I was looking forward to it. The rolling terrain followed by the plummet into Randall is a nice break from all the climbing we had done so far. In addition, in this section you start to see the lead runners heading back so it's exciting to see how everyone is doing and cheer on friends. This gets your mind out of your body and onto much more exciting things.

At Randall (mile 35.6) it is time to turn around and start to work! I filled one bottle with G2O and one with water then started up the hill. I ran about 80% of hill and when I got the top and started up the rolling terrain I maintained a steady pace. My toes were still numb but the pain was pretty much gone so that was a relief! I felt pretty good and was pleased with my ability to muscle through.

Arriving back at Bofax (mile 42.8) I had gained 3 minutes on my predicted split. That was great because now it seemed hot and I was heading back into the fields from h__l! Since I was on my way to Pan Toll I knew it was a gradual climb, very gradual but still uphill and it was that long section with the narrow, canted trail. I sort of had a "moment" in the fields. I was hot and I couldn't seem to get my stride going and wanted to get through this section so I could drop my pack get back to some better footing. I lost 7 minutes from my predicted time so now I am 12 minutes off my 11:15 pace and am looking at 11:30 finish for a best case scenario. I knew I wasn't going to shave off any time on my upcoming splits because they were aggressive and although my body and my systems were all in check my feet were toast. I settled on 11:40 and told myself to stay focused and finish this last 14 miles like you mean it! At Pan Toll (mile 49.5) I dropped my waist pack, drank my Red Bull, picked up new bottles filled with G2O and grabbed 6 gels for the journey home.

I was happy to be back in the woods and running down hill. Feeling strong I worked the terrain as well as my feet would allow.... running pretty hard. This down hill is at least 2 miles long on a wide dirt road and not technical so if you have the quads you can really move well. After the descent you cross a road and head back onto single track for some long switchbacks that gradually climb uphill to the Hwy 1 aid station. I named this single track section "Evil Oak Alley" because it was really overgrown this year and there was poison oak everywhere! I ran about 70% of this climb and keep in mind running now is more like a consistent shuffle :). I got to Hwy 1 on schedule so that was refreshing because that meant I still had a shot at 11:30. I didn't need anything from the aid station so I didn't stop and just kept moving. From Hwy 1 the course takes you around the hills on a dirt road that has a slight uphill grade. It's the kind of grade you need to jog or shuffle because walking is not going to gain you much. I fiddled with my shoes once again with no relief then just shuffled up the hill. At the top of this hill the course takes a sharp right for more uphill road but now you can see the ocean again you know your getting close. What goes up must go down......so down we went into Tennessee Valley (mile 58.4). Again I made my split so all I needed to do was continue this streak for another 3.8 miles and I could make it in 11:30. This is my third year at Miwok but had forgotten how much climbing has to be done after Tennessee Valley......aaaaargggggg. I was feeling pretty tired and was so ready to be done but off in the distance high in the hills I could see runners making their way further uphill, they were a long ways away. With a quick top off of water at the aid station I began the last climb of the day. I was really warm through this section.....I know it was only 70 degrees but for an Oregonian that's a heat wave! I poured some of my ice water on my head which made me feel better but the water drove the salt and sweat right into my eyes. Blinking and tearing like crazy I was happy to be going uphill so I didn't need to see where I was stepping. The climb just seem to go on and on and I was obsessed with my watch checking it every other second. I knew we were going to descend all the way back down to the beach and was working the numbers in head.......how much time will I need to plummet more than a mile downhill.....10 minutes....12 minutes......okay that gives me 36 minutes to get to the top......tick, tick, tick......get you butt moving.....oh yeah you butt is tired......shuffle your feet......oh yeah you can't feel your feet......."pain is weakness leaving your body".....stupid saying, who came up with that! All this is running through my mind as I climb, climb, climb. I could only run about 40% of it. The grade was just to steep. Finally at the top I can see the finish and I have exactly 12 minutes to get there. It seemed doable until I saw runners going around a hill instead of straight down. I took off like someone on fire heading to the ocean. I ran and ran then finally came to the stairs and I knew I still had a chance so without killing myself I pushed as hard as I could to finish in 11:28:54. Funny how all of the sudden I can run like the wind when 30 minutes ago I was pouting about everything. :)

Micheal was already cleaned up and waiting for me. He had a great day finishing just under 11 hours, Stacey did 12:25 and had a solid day, Steve was on fire and finished in under 14 hours.....he likes to try to be last but he's got to slow down to reach that goal.

What a great weekend! Even though I didn't reach my goal of 11:15 I am pretty happy with my race. It gives me a predicted finish at WS100 of 23:00:00 and that's under 24 with some room. I don't know how much faster I could have run if I had chosen the right shoes......maybe 11:15 but I don't know. I won't be wearing those shoes again because I took them off and threw them away! My last three toes on both feet are still numb meaning there is some inflammation so I will be icing my feet which I can't stand because it hurts. I haven't had to do that for years.

This year it seemed like I ran with the same people all day. Kind of interesting to be leap frogging the same group of runners all day, it was nice because I actually got to spend some time talking to people.

This week is a recovery week and I am looking forward to it. The following week is a build week and I am doing 2X50M hill repeats on Friday while Alex is in school and Saturday I am going to run McDonald Forest 50K. It's been over 3 years since I have done this race and though it won't be a great performance I am looking forward to seeing everyone.

Tomorrow is Bill and I's 13th wedding anniversary, I just can't believe it. Time has gone by so fast and that makes me think about all the wonderful times we have had together. It also makes think about all the great adventures I get to experience all due to his support and his desire to see me live my dreams. I feel really fortunate to have such a great man. This weekend once again will go down in the calendar as a great memory with awesome people.

P.S. Today (May 7th) Bill took the day off so we could spend our anniversary together so after we dropped Alex off at school we went for a run in Forest Park. My last three toes on both feet were still numb but when we were done my toes on my left foot were tingling. A good sign :). Surprisingly I felt great running and my shoes fit, ha, ha! I obviously didn't work hard enough at Miwok.......just kidding. We took both Ultra and Bandit with us and had fun. Ultra is a true runner but Bandit (the husky) is lazy!

I can't wait!

2007-05-02T19:26:00.000-07:00

I am almost ready to go. Yes....I will be eating all that stuff in the picture (at least everything that's edible). I don't have my 2 bananas and my 2 red bulls yet but they will be in there too. I do have 5 extra gels just in case I am out there longer than I plan. My fuel plan called for 2453 calories from carbs to finish in 11:15 so there they are! When you lay it all out like that is really looks quite disturbing but once I get it all parsed out appropriately it won't be so hard to believe :). Micheal and I were just talking about how much we spend each year in gels and by the looks of things for just one race I think the answer is.......way to much!

I had a great track workout today which is always a good sign of things to come so I am optimistic I won't have a repeat of last years performance. My legs felt just fine after last weekends festivities and I was surprised given the amount of down hill pummelling my quads endured. Tomorrow is a nice recovery run with Susan in Forest Park, Friday is 30 minutes with some pick ups and then race day. I am really looking forward to the trip with the ultra family to sunny California!

Building Confidence and Quads!

2007-04-29T18:09:00.000-07:00

I will rate this weekends training as an 8. It was one of those weekends where the training calls for runs that make you excited but nervous at the same time. About this time in the cycle I can sometimes feel tired and unsure of how the weekend runs will go. It's been 2 weeks since my last big push which included back to back 90M weeks ending with AR50. This last Thursday was the first run I had where I felt like I was coming back from a tired sluggish state and just in time for this weekends Black Saturday and Red Hot Sunday.

The Saturday hill sessions are getting longer and I am heading into very familiar territory. With 2 years of these kinds of workouts under my belt I definitely know what to expect and when I am out there lots of memories from past workouts come roaring through my mind as I begin this one. This Saturday called for 2X45-50 hill repeats with a short cool down afterwards. The gang of sufferers is getting bigger which is a change from years before. Normally when we do repeats of more than 30 minutes we lose gangsters but this year more folks seem to be hungry for the burn. That makes it more interesting and challenging. Rick, Stacey, Micheal, Cian, Jim and Tom were all out on the PCT this last Saturday in April and everyone was in Black. During the 30 minute warm up I knew I had the potential to have a solid, confidence building day. A day when it all clicks and you accomplish what you set out to do and that is a great day in my world. Since this is such familiar territory I knew I would be getting to the second clearing (3.3 miles and about 2300 feet) in 50 minutes so I chose that as my marker for today's repeats. The faster guys would get all the way to Tea Kettle Springs (3.5 miles). In past years I have reached the second clearing in over 51 minutes but I was pretty sure I could do it in 50 and even if I didn't I would continue on and just throttle way back on my pace. We ditched our extra gear and the fast guys, Cian and Micheal headed off, then me, then Stacey and Rick. Jim and Tom were already on the mountain. Cian and Micheal were out of my sight after about 20 minutes of the first repeat and they were really moving up the hill. I held my pace and settled into my Threshold heart rate after about 5 minutes. My goal was to remain steady and maintain Threshold the entire 50 minutes. I reached the wilderness sign in under 26 minutes which was a wonderful surprise as I did my 30 minutes repeats to that marker about 4 weeks ago. Already I was pleased and hadn't even seen the first clearing yet. I have consistently reached the first clearing in 44 minutes but today I knew I would beat this. The first clearing came in 42:36 and the second in 48:32! Progress! Now I know that 3 minutes is nothing to scream about in most cases but when your at Threshold pace and make any progress that's it's worth getting excited about. Not that you run races....except marathons at threshold but it's what it does for your lower zones that makes all the difference in an ultra. Micheal and Cian were ahead at Tea Kettle so I just turned around and buzzed down the hill. On my way down I got myself psyched for repeat number 2....always tough. As I was heading down I run into Stacey and Rick who were doing shorter repeats and they were well into repeat number 2. I quickly refueled and headed up for number 2 just as Micheal and Cian came blazing in from Tea Kettle. If I can maintain my threshold on repeat number 2 I go home a happy camper because this is hard to do with an already tired body. I felt like today was going to be the day that I could get into a groove that would sustain my Threshold all the way up. My legs were beginning to feel heavy after about 30 minutes when thankfully I run into Tom who was out on the Benson Plateau looking for snow. He tucked in behind me and made sure I was working hard. My arms were fatigued from carrying my bottle so I shoved it in Tom's pack which is big enough to carry the kitchen sink:). Relief from my bottle seemed to give me a bit more spring in my step and with that extra help I made it to the second clearing in 48:43! Only 10 seconds slower than number 1, I was pumped as this is the ultimate goal.....both repeats at threshold and consistent in time. Micheal passed us as we sat at the second clearing taking in the view, he was almost to his marker and we waited for him to come back so we could all run down together. Cian was just hitting the clearing as we were heading down, he was working hard but steady as we passed. We waited for everyone at the bottom, re-grouped and headed out for the short cool down.

Sitting around the parking lot it was obvious that everyone had a good day on the trail, accomplishing what they wanted and laughing about how absurd it all is. I dug out my happy skull shirt for just such an occasion.

Now since I do have a life outside of running it was rush home, shower, eat and get to Alex's baseball game. I packed my food up and ran out the door just as Bill was having to leave the field to pick up friends and drive to Eugene for packet pickup. Alex's baseball game lasted for 2.5 hours! It was a great game, they won and Alex hit his first home run with bases loaded. This was awesome since Alex doesn't make contact with the ball much so it really got him going, he was beaming from ear to ear. After the baseball game it was off to Susan's house for dinner and Alex was spending the night with her son Evan who was born just 2 days before Alex. They have been buddies since birth. Since Rich (Susan's husband) was running the marathon along with Bill, Jim, Darin, Scott and Dave she offered to watch Alex while I went on my Sunday run.

Red Hot Sunday was going to be a 5 hour quad busting session! Stacey, Micheal and I showed up ready to roll in our ugly amazing red outfits. When you see these outfits in pictures it just magnifies how bad they are :). In honor of all our friends and my loved one who were pounding the pavement today we decided we would run at least a marathon too. It felt like the right thing to do since our WS100 training partner (Jim) did Black Saturday! For our special quad busting session we wanted to some long downhill repeats of 5+ miles so we went up the road, came down it fast then ended our run coming down that same road. Surprising fresh after yesterday's workout we moved really well and stayed very focused. We had a ton of laughs and made fun of ourselves quite regularly which made the day awesome. The route we chose had about 6000 feet of climbing and ended up being 27 miles long. We accomplished this in 4:52:54. It's fun to actually RUN in the Gorge. It's great to hike as well but there is something about being able to run the steep inclines and tear down the descents that makes you feel powerful. There are definitely day's when I don't feel powerful at all and if those day's fall on Sunday and I feel like a wilted lettuce leaf it's embarrassing to be wearing these obnoxious outfits. But, on a day when you feel strong you can pull it off ;). We each brought a Red Bull with us so we shared one three times.....the commercial for Red Bull says, "Red Bull gives you wings!". I am still waiting for my wings but they do get you revved up. At AC100 last year Stacey drank a bunch of Red Bulls and we had to cut her off at mile 64 because she was flying around like a crazy woman.....as her crew we should have been monitoring but it all happened so fast :).

We were really motoring around when we realized we had to add some distance to ensure would have at least 26.2 miles for the day. Once we were sure we headed to the back road for our final descent to the car. I was looking forward to seeing how my quads would hold up on this second journey down "quad buster hill" and though I was pretty fatigued I made it in my usual time. Stacey commented that it felt similar to a 100M race when you tired and even though the terrain is down hill it's still a matter of getting your legs to turn and I think she is right. That describes it perfectly!

This is the kind of weekend that leaves me feeling very satisfied and ready to take on the next challenge. Tomorrow is an off day but I think I will take the dogs for a walk to make sure I get my quads moving. I am kind of anxious to see if they are sore from this workout :).

BTW: Jim had a PR at Eugene! 3:27 after Black Saturday. Bill ran his second fastest time, Rich had a PR, Darin ran in the top 100, Dave and Scott had a great day as well. Sounds like they all had fun and Bill is walking around just fine :).

2 Times Miwok = WS100

2007-04-26T10:04:00.000-07:00

I dug out my 2005 Miwok 100K shirt and wore it my run this morning. The sun is out in Portland, a rarity lately and I was happy to see it today. I decided it's was time for me to start thinking about Miwok 100K which is about a week and half away. This is a pretty important race for me mentally because my outcome at Miwok will have a great impact on me for WS100 this year. The magic formula for determining your WS100M time is: take your Miwok finish time and multiply by 2! Now of course there are always exceptions but if you look historically at experienced runners who have run both races in the same year you will find this phenomenon to be pretty accurate. For me this formula has been so telling it's frightening. In 2005 I ran 11:56 and got lost which cost me about 20 minutes. Following that I ran WS100 in 22:59. If I hadn't gotten lost I would have finished in about 11:35 and 2X11:35 = 23:10.....pretty darn close. In 2006 I ran 12:22 and had what I thought the worst race of my life but at WS100M that year I ran 24:41. If you apply the same formula of 2X12:22 is 24:42.....way to predictable!

In 2005 I ran Zane Grey 50M the weekend before Miwok which you would assume would leave me tired going into Miwok. I was a bit sluggish at the beginning but felt really good from the turnaround on in. In 2006 I had a recovery week prior to Miwok so I was rested and focused and wanted to pull a good time but that was not the case for me on that day. I remember being pretty dismayed at my 12:22 when I thought I was in better shape than 2005 and geeezzzz I was rested. Whatever the reasons were for both my finishing times they told the story for my WS100M time.

On my run today I thought about this a lot. I know my time at Miwok will impact my mental state for WS100 and I need to keep that in my mind at all times during Miwok. I know I can do at least an 11:30 on that course and that would give me the confindence and cushion I need for the rest of my training. I can't dismiss the importance of this upcoming event because as much as I would like to say, "it doesn't matter".... I know it will.

From now until Miwok I have a pretty heavy load of training especially this upcoming weekend. How will that impact my Miwok time? Not much according to my history :). 2005 = Zane Grey 50M the weekend before and I was faster than 2006 when I was much more rested before race day. Although I don't think this weekends efforts will have an impact I have decided to cut back on my time out on Sunday from 7 hours to 5 hours. The 5 hour run will be a good quality run with a focused effort and cutting out the 2 hours will help me get more out of the run. In addition, mentally I will know I have no excuses going into Miwok and need to treat this race with the level of importance I know it will carry with ME!

I am going to spend more time preparing for this race than I would have had I not sat down and thought about it's real impact on my mental state. I will plan my fueling better, look at my paces between aid stations and visualize the time I want to see on the clock when I finish. I plan on being armed and dangerous next weekend.....focused and prepared!

Devils at Devils Rest

2007-04-21T14:10:00.000-07:00

Since this is a recovery weekend we didn't have any Black Saturday or Red Hot Sunday type of workouts. My schedule called for 2.5 hours with 15 min of threshold on Saturday and 2 hours of cruising on Sunday. For our 2.5 hour run we like to do the Angels Rest/Devils Rest/Quad Busting Road route. This is a loop in the Gorge that we have done many times. We climb all the way from the Angels Rest parking lot and at the summit we traverse for about 3 miles then climb to the top of Devils Rest (where this picture was taken). We did our 15 minutes of threshold up to Devils Rest as this climb is not super steep but offers enough of an incline to cause your lungs to scream. After we summit the Devil we catch the road that lies behind Devils Rest all the way back to the parking lot. We estimate this road section to be about 5.3 miles of serious quad killing downhill. The reason we love this back road is for it's relentless downhill, all cars are locked out, and its rough gravel surface. There is not much better training for our quads and the relentless downhill we will experience at WS100. We race down this road, headphones on, legs spinning and no looking back. Micheal is always the winner and by a nice margin. He had enough time to get to the car, turn around, run back and take my picture as I was coming in. I am working on closing the gap but it will be a tall order. I thought I was flying today but he still had a good 3 minute lead. Micheal is an awesome downhill runner as is Stacey so chasing them down the hill is great for my training. :)

This morning I showed up in grey shorts while all my friends were dressed in black and they let me know they're feeling about me breaking from uniform. I didn't think this was a Black Saturday since we didn't have any hill repeats but they were not of the same opinion. Next time we need to have an email consult before our recovery run to determine if the workout warrants all black.:) Steve joined us all the way to Devils Rest but then we parted ways and he headed towards Larch Mountain for more many more miles.

Sunday was a 2 hour run and no threshold. We met for a run on Wildwood trail and hooked up with Jim who is finishing up a "build" week. He was out at Herman Creek yesterday pounding out hill repeats all on his own but Jim is focused and determined so being by himself had little impact on his metal toughness :). Today he had to do a medium long run of about 4 hours so he started early and met us just as we were getting started. We ran up and over Pitock Mansion which is located at mile 3.5 on the Wildwood, it's a beautiful place to take in the views of the city and outlying mountains on a clear day. The Spring gardens at Pitock are in full bloom so we thought this would be a great place for an "ultra running family" photo. Jim and Micheal lead the charge up to Pitock and then we all bolted down the back side where we said goodbye to Jim who headed home. Stacey, Micheal and I turned around and headed 6.25 miles back to our car parked at 53rd ave. Micheal definitely lead us home dragging us with our tongues hanging out of our mouths the whole way! I predict a nice finish at WS100 for him this year, he is getting in stellar shape and moves on the trail really fast.

It was a nice recovery weekend and I feel rebounded and ready for the next phase of training. My hamstring got poked, rubbed and iced for the first part of the week and I can now report it's fine. Thanks for everybody's concerns and advice....I need all the help I can get and it's much appreciated! From January to now I have been on 4 week cycles, Build 1, Build2, Peak, Recovery. I now move to 3 week cycles and am looking forward to it. Next is a Build week and at this point everything gets increased so this weeks Build will be more like my last cycles Peak week. No rest before Miwok 100K, don't want to be real fresh going into the race because it's not my main goal and more like another awesome training day in a race environment.

BTW: Bill just got back from his last run before the Eugene Marathon next weekend. He, Scott Diamond, Jim Rudig, Darrin Swanson, Rich Kokesh and Dave Strong are all running it on the 29th. They are all ready and should have a great time. Alex is happy dad is back so he can fix something :)

I heard a quote today

2007-04-20T10:30:00.000-07:00

"80% of achievement is desire"!

I heard this said on a radio program I frequently listen to. The timing of quote couldn't have been better as my mind was wondering all over the Western States 100M course. I had just finished a great easy run in Forest Park and was on my way home thinking about training and the goals I hope to accomplish at WS this year. It also made me reminisce about how influential "desire" is in achieving goals and how it has played a great part in almost all the big ideas I have ever had for myself. As I was reminiscing it brought me back to ultra running and how the mental part of ultras is so huge. I even recall an article in a recent copy of Ultrarunning Magazine that went into depth on this very subject. As I looked back on my life I picked a few things that have stuck in my mind with regards to achievements reached mostly due to my "desire" to achieve them.

Starting back as far as 11 years old I remember a dance-a-thon being held in my hometown to raise money for some charity. I can't remember the charity but I remember being quite taken by the possibility of staying up for 24 hours dancing and raising the most money to win a record player. My family was supportive in the fact that they didn't say no but they really thought I would poop out by 9:00 p.m. and wouldn't do the leg work to raise the money. But, somewhere in me was the "desire" to participate. I combed the neighborhood and collected donations for days after school and would be out until almost dark (those were the days you could ride your bike all over and not worry about anything). I raised pledges like you wouldn't believe. The dance-a-thon came and I stayed up all night much to mom's disliking. I refused to go home no matter how tired I was. Afterwards I spent days collecting my pledges and won the record player that ended up not working but I was proud none the less.

Being 5'1" tall was not the best prerequisite for being on the school volleyball team. However I loved the game and wanted to play so bad! No one stopped me from going out for the team but I have say it was sort of the school joke as we had a very good volleyball team and no short girls participated. Of course I had my sights set on the Varsity team but with no prior playing experience and my height disadvantage that was going to take some doing. I was horrible during the first practices and really hated the outfits but I loved the game and wanted play soooooooo bad. I begged my mom to buy a net and set it up in the yard but money was very tight when I was growing up so I made a deal with my mom to work on weekends at her shop cleaning. She agreed and bought the net. I was out there everyday practicing serving the ball over the net because I could not seem to get the ball to clear the net during practice. The neighbor lady begged my grandmother to make me stop hitting that ball! I had the "desire" to play in an official game so bad I could taste it. When the games started I was always sitting out but one day the team server got hurt and they had to let me in for last half of the game and I served that ball so hard it hurt some of the opponents. My team was shocked almost as much as I was! I made that Varsity team and became one the best servers in our division in the state. All because of "desire" to play, surely not any given talent.

When I was a Sophomore all the kids began to talk and plan for college and I just assumed I would be doing the same but when I brought all the brochures home to my family they were excited to see the brochures but notified me that we had no money for college and I would need to get scholarships, grants, loans, or whatever to go. I was going no matter what! I looked into every possibility and the "desire" to go to college was so profound it drove my actions for the next two years. I thought about it all the time, picked a sport I could do well (skiing....I grew up in Bend), looked for jobs where I could make the most money in the summer and tried to pull some descent grades (obviously English was not my strong suit). I did get a couple of scholarships options but they weren't enough. To really earn the money I got a license to drive a big rig so I could work on road crews in the summer. Probably the only girl on a rubber tire pavement roller back then. I would work double shifts if the night crew didn't show, I saved every penny I could, applied for every grant I was eligible for. I graduated from college in 1990.

Those are some examples of how "desire" was 80% of achievement" in my life so far. As I thought about these and other examples some instances where there was of lack of "desire" came up and in each of those instances since I didn't have the "desire" I did not achieve much. I realize that as we get older and pile on more responsibilities it's more difficult but if we truly have the deep aching "desire" we make things happen. I can think a bunch of "desires" I have had as a fully loaded responsible adult and the achievements are no less great than the unbounded ones as a child. Being focused and hungry for the goal is the only way I will achieve it. I won't put my best foot forward if the "desire" is not there. This brings me to my goal for WS100M this year......."I want a solid 24 hour finish on this course and I want breathing room"! I want this so bad I can see it like I am right there on the course. The "desire" factor will come into play at about mile 80. How hard can I push when things are uncomfortable and I am tired, how fast can I move to get my goal? That all comes down to, "how bad do I want it"? I think the quote I heard this morning will make me ponder this for 64 more days and I suspect at mile 80 one of my crew members will ask me, "Ronda, how bad do you want it"?

Trying to be smart

2007-04-18T08:31:00.000-07:00

These are my track shoes that did not get to go for a run yesterday. I had to opt out of my track session yesterday because my left hamstring has a huge ball of bunched up muscle in it. I probably spent 4 hours debating on whether to go power through the workout or do a recovery run instead. This is a recovery week anyway but I am so stubborn and regiment that it was really hard for me to let this workout go. I know it sounds silly but I have stewed about this for far to long now. This is my attempt to eradicate if from my brain. There are so many runners that have had hamstring problems this year all that was going trough my head was, "I hope I didn't do anything stupid at AR50"....."you shouldn't have run so fast at the beginning when you didn't train to run like that"...."you were tired going into the race and now look what happened"...."WS is only 67 days away"....."I hope it's nothing". Wow, it was an exhausting day. I called, Bill, I called Stacey, I called Susan, I called Cathy, I emailed Micheal, I talked to Marlin and they all said, "no track"!

I did a 45 minute recovery instead and it was sore but this morning it's much better and tonight I'll give it another test drive before my tempo run tomorrow. I am sure it's just tight muscles but after everything everyone has been through with hamstrings this year I got myself all freaked out! The power of the mind, wow I need an off button :)

3 Girls, 1 Race and a lot of laughs!

2007-04-17T08:07:00.000-07:00

Stacey, Susan and I all traveled to Sacramento to participate in the American River 50M. All three of us had different goals for the race but the one common goal for the trip was to have a blast on our all girl adventure! We traveled on Friday and arrived in Sacramento before noon. We headed straight to packet pick up held at Fleet Feet Running store. Of course we were early so we shopped for running clothes while they got everything ready for runner check in. Once we got our packets we were starving so we went for pizza at a nearby restaurant. This pizza outing started our food adventure for the trip, more on that later.

After lunch we headed to Auburn for the night because that's where we would catch the 4:15 a.m. bus to the start, that way we would have our car at the finish. We checked in our hotel and brought in our stuff. When girls travel we have a lot of stuff!

Hard to believe we were only going to be there 2 nights, huh. We laughed so hard when we saw all this stuff that Stacey started crying (only because her eyes water when she laughs really hard). After we unloaded all this gear into our room we headed to the finish line for a shake down run and to check out the course. Stacey and I ran this before but it was at least 3 years ago and we wanted to check out the incline of the last climb. It was warm and sunny and we knew the forecast for Saturday called for rain showers all day but it was hard to believe. We headed down what we thought was the course but as usual Stacey and I had really no idea where we were going. It ends up we were not on the course but we got a good 40 minute easy jog down and a nice walk/run back up. I pointed out the huge poison oak bushes to Susan who couldn't believe their size. I am extremely allergic to poison oak so I am keenly aware of it now.

Once we were finished running we were hungry again, this is now meal number 2! We had Italian food in Auburn and I ate a ton. I will do another post about calorie consumption another day but all this food consumption is an attempt to get enough calories to fuel my body which apparently I am not doing. We were all so full it was obnoxious! Next we were back in our room preparing our stuff for the race and then off to bed. I go to bed really early, always have. My husband thinks I was a lion in a past life....a male lion. All I do is sleep, run and eat. I was a male lion because I didn't do the killing for my meals because I was to busy sleeping :). Tonight would be no different, I was ready for bed at 7:30 and since Stacey has traveled with me for 8 years she knows I can sleep through anything, TV, lights and other noises. Stacey and I were off to sleep while Susan read her book. Our alarm was set for 2:45 so it was going to be a very early rise. 2:45 came fast but I got a good nights sleep but Susan and Stacey didn't get the same rest. We were drinking coffee and getting our stuff pulled together and before we knew we were on the bus heading to Sacramento.

This race if flat! 27.4 miles of bike path and gravel road with the rest on trail. We all opted for road shoes and I opted to change into trail shoes at 27.4 miles while Stacey and Susan did not. The weather was nice when we arrived, very warm and no rain but right before the start time it began to rain and really never let up all day. It was just like home! No big deal for us in fact it was nice because anything over 65 degrees would have been HOT to us. Stacey and I got up front with the fast people and when they said go we took off. My splits for the first 11 miles were sub 7:30's and I felt like I could hold that for a bit longer but opted for slowing down, this was not my race....it was a focused training effort and I had to keep reminding myself of that. At the third aid station I was notified that I was 5th among the woman and that was pretty exciting I have to admit but I had no idea I was that far in front. I needed a bathroom break and when I was done Stacey was coming down the bike path. I jumped in with her and we ran together for a bit but I pulled ahead. At this point I was starting to feel my race and the "peak" week of training which consisted of over 90 miles, track on Tuesday, hill repeats on Thursday, weight workouts for the legs on Tuesday. My pace slowed and that was fine. At mile 27.4 I went straight over to the drop bags and began changing my shoes, applying Ivy Block, refueling my pack and watched as 6 woman came in and blitzed out the aid station. At this point I realized I had run about a 3:30 marathon, hmmmmm way too fast! Stacey arrived and I took her bottle and gave her some Red Bull and she ran after them. It took me another 40 seconds to get everything packed back up and then I was off to chase her down. She got a second wind and it was hard to catch her and my legs were having a hard time springing back after the break. The winds were crazy along the lake and they were making it hard to run very fast. I finally caught Stacey at about mile 37 and I came up on her like a freight train and yelled so hard it scared her death, we ran very strong for about another 6 miles right through an aid station and off for the last 6.5 miles. We knew from here on out we would be climbing almost the whole 6.5 miles to the finish. I was looking forward to this since I was not able to run the flats very well anymore. My hamstrings were screaming so the climbing was nice. We ran all the uphills and really ripped on the any bit of downhill. On the very last climb Stacey pushed it hard and I couldn't catch her before the finish. At this point it was pouring rain and all I had on was shorts and a tank top with my long sleeve tied around my waist. I tried to put my long sleeve back on but it was just too wet. I finished in 8:27 and was pretty happy with that. It was a good end to another tough week so I can't complain. At the finish they had a nice warm shower and I scrubbed with Tecnu like crazy and again when we got back to the room. I was not going to take any chances with the evil oak.

Stacey and I got cleaned up and anticipated Susan's arrival. We felt we had enough time to hurry up and get some fast food. We wanted to start the refueling process and talked about how many calories we would need to eat to get recovered, it was a lot! We started with In-and-Out burger. Got our food and headed back to get Susan. She came in right around 11 hours and looked great! She now has her qualifying run for WS100 08. She is a two time loser so gets in for sure next year. We left as soon as she was ready and drove to Sacramento to spend the night and take any early flight out on Sunday morning. We laughed and shared our day on the trail the whole way, got lost (as usual), laughed some more, and got some more food at Wendy's. Since none of us are fast food frequenter's we got a lesson on how to use a drive through! First we drove right by the lady you are supposed to pay and had to back up. At Taco Bell we were ordering our food and confusing the poor woman. After all our trips to fast food we still had not consumed enough calories to replenish and were all laying on our beds moaning from being so full. We never want to see fast food again!
Our flight left at 7:50 a.m. which meant another early morning but surprisingly we all felt pretty good considering....it must have been all the food :). We got back to Portland at about 10:00 a.m. What a great weekend!

I was pretty tired on Sunday and actually took a nap which is unusual for me but it was awesome. Monday I went for a recovery run and after about a mile felt pretty good but my hamstrings are still a bit sore. This is a recovery week and I am going to milk it for all it's worth. Today is track (very short) and weights so this should be interesting.

Rested and Recovered

2007-04-11T09:15:00.000-07:00

This is Ultra practicing the art of recovery. Dogs are really smart when it comes to this part of their training. After big runs all Ultra does is eat and then sleep. I think we can learn a lot from dogs :). For me this is the hardest part of training because recovery is really not easy for me to swallow. Logically I understand we need to give our body fuel and rest, I have read a million books about periodization processes and blah, blah, blah. But, somewhere deep in bedded in my brain is the notion that recovery is unnecessary for strong determined people when in reality it's the opposite. We will never get stronger if we refuse to recover.

After last weeks schedule I felt so tired and beat up that all I wanted to do was eat and sleep. Actually I only wanted to sleep and had to force myself to eat because my appetite was also tired. On Monday I asked a friend to cruise on my recovery run with me. I knew it would be much better to have a friend along so I wouldn't be consumed with my thoughts of fatigue. This was a smart move because the run went by fast and I got the chance to focus on someone else instead of my inner brain reminding me of how tired I was. When she arrived she took one look at me and said, "wow, you looked thrashed!" That's another reason to have friends with you, they can speak the truth :). The bags under my eyes were so large I felt like my face was going to slam on the floor in front of me, ha, ha, ha. I got a glimpse of myself at 80 years old, yikes! Anyway, about 2 miles into the run I had completely forgot about all my fatigue and began to perk up. I was so thankful for this new found feeling and it just reminded me how important the recovery run is. It flushing out all the junk you accumulated in your muscles and your mind after hard workouts.

After the 7 mile run I took a look in my car mirror and only looked 60.....progress. By Tuesday I felt like I hadn't run a step on the weekend. All the fatigue from last week had been deposited on Firelane 1 in Forest Park and I was excited to do my track workout on Tuesday. I put on my red hot shoes and headed to the track for a 9 mile workout which included 6X1000 each at sub 4 minutes. I wasn't even apprehensive and that is a miracle considering how I felt on Monday morning. The art of recovery!

BTW - I solicited a "pep" talk from a friend on Sunday evening. It was great and very much appreciated, thanks!

Red Hot and Wrecked!

2007-04-08T17:29:00.000-07:00

Another Red Hot Sunday but even with the outfit I never felt on fire. Before I get into any details about the run let me just tell you how these red outfits came in handy today, maybe handy isn't the right word. When I was lagging behind Micheal (my red twin) I stepped up the pace because I knew he would be waiting for us at the bridge....I took a wrong turn and Steve yells, "little red riding hood....let's go this way". When I was really lagging behind my red twin I asked a hiker, "have you seen a guy in red"....he quickly replied, "oh yeah, he exactly 10 minutes ahead". Now normally hikers don't even remember if they saw a runner more or less how far ahead they were. This guy was concrete in his answer. Those are a couple of funny "red" moments for today.

I will give today's run a 7 on the scale of what I would call "solid effort". I was still not recovered from this weeks festivities....recovered is a relative word here. Let's just say I didn't have any spring in my step but I was able to motor at a decent enough clip and because of that....this run earns a 7. In addition, today's ice bath was a 9 pounder with an additional 4 pounds left over from another day. That's a big ice bath because my dogs (legs) are tired. That is another reason this run deserves a 7. When you bring out the 9 pound bag of ice you know you have put forth some effort on your workout! This picture was taken at mile 20, quite dramatic but you get the idea.......worked!!!! The only one in the group that is not worked is the Counselor (my red twin). This is the point where he left us and blitzed the last 10 miles of our 30 mile run. We saw him disappear up the switchbacks......easy to see him amongst the trees....another benefit of the red suit :). That left me with brother Steve and brother Tom. At the beginning of our run they were going to head up King Mountain and leave us to cover the Wilson River trail on our own but Tom got worried about leaving us by ourselves in these outfits for fear bad things might happen to us. So when the Counselor took off I was stuck with my brothers (not my real brothers) and they thought it would be great fun to kick my butt on the climb but I held my own and made them work to keep me in sight. As we neared the top Tom was right on my butt and asked me what my heart rate should be and when I told him he said then lets move it. I pleaded with him to just let me suffer but he would have none of it and helped push me hard. At the top we waited for Steve who arrived sweating like crazy and begging for salt tablets as he collapsed on trail and asked for a moment of rest. Tom gave him about 30 seconds to pull himself together and get moving. We did a good job on this section. We waited at the next junction for Steve and when he arrived he said, "you guys just go, I am going to lay down here for 5 minutes". Once we up and over the climb it was a gentle rolling trail with one minor climb but only 4 miles back to the car......yeah!

What a nice trail, in great condition and offers some great views of the coast range. The trail is rolling but has some big rolling climbs and travels at least 20 miles one way. We covered 30 total miles today and over 5000 feet of climbing. A nice way to end a big volume week with a lot of intensity.

BTW - Your hamstrings hurt when you run to much :).

AR50 next Saturday, looking forward to a good training effort in a race environment but mostly I can't wait to see some sun!

Ouchy Mama......

2007-04-07T15:43:00.000-07:00

Another Saturday and that means another Black Saturday. Yesterday it was so beautiful and warm, very Spring like weather. The weekend was supposed to be the same. I was looking forward to running Black Saturday in nice weather but was woke up this morning at 5:00 by pounding rain. I quickly ran to our office to look at my weather clock and it said 51 degrees so even though it was pouring it was warm, whewwwww. Today's workout was a choice of 2X40 min. hill repeats or 3X30 min. Of course I thought the 3X30 would be harder but when I spoke with Scott he thought the 2X40 would be harder due to the fact you have to hold threshold for 10 minutes more. He said go ahead and try the 3X30 and see what you think.

We headed to Herman Creek trail head to begin our journey and when we arrived at the gate we saw two parked cars who had had their windows smashed in :(. Tom was already on the trail and his car still had all its windows so we assumed the window smashing must have taken place last night and the folks who's cars were there must be overnight hikers. Bummer to come back and have your car windows smashed in and your entire car full of rain water. We have had a rash of these kinds of break ins in the Gorge area lately, it's been all over the news.

We had a big BS group today...the more the merrier it's fun to have lots of people. Tom was already on the trail so Micheal, Steve, Cian, Jim and I all headed for our 2 mile warm-up. Once we got to the junction where we begin the repeats we shed unneeded gear so we can be lightening fast, ha, ha, ha. We stash our packs behind a tree and take a gel and a water bottle. The marker for today would be the wilderness sign on the PCT trail 2000. Last year I would make it to this marker in 29 minutes so that seemed like a good spot for a 30 minute repeat. This trail is not as smooth at the start as Gorton Creek but we use it because it's long and we can do 60 minute repeats on it. It also has some steeper sections but offers a nice steady grade.

Right off the bat I could tell my legs did not have the same spring they had last weekend but I also knew this was the beginning of heavy weeks with regards to mileage and intensity and my body would need a couple of weeks to adapt. I think we all were feeling the fruits of our workouts this week except for Cian, he bolted up that hill like a deer. He was out of sight fast! I reached the marker in 27:00 on very tired legs so I was happy, better than last year but it felt hard. After a quick refueling we were off for number 2. The second one was no picnic either but was fairly steady at 27:42, the third just a bit slower at 28:45 but it was definitely felt very very hard. Overall a good session but I think we all agreed the 2X40 would have been easier :). Hey....we tried it, don't have to try it again, ha, ha, ha. Wow, those were hard but totally worth the challenge....easy for me to say that now after an ice bath and a ton of food! Now for the cool down. On the books was a 1-2 hour cool down and I generally want to do the max. on everything but I was wiped out and couldn't wait to be done. Jim had already finished and headed home, Tom had enough and was gone, Steve did a small portion of the cool down. Cian, Micheal and I were the only BS Gang left so we headed out the Herman Creek trail for the about 40 minutes and then turned around. I felt like I was bonking so I was shoving margarita flavored shot blocks in mouth and pretending I was in Mexico. Since that wasn't working I opted for the music! A little Guns and Roses is always sure to get me moving and I finally caught up with Cian and Micheal just in time to see the move the month! Cian leaping over a huge log after 20 miles of tough running, it was great....nice work Cian.

All of us who know Steve know that he loves the wildflowers. He can identify every flower in the forest. He will go on and on about the flowers and today was no different. Here we are running so hard we can barely see straight but Steve can spot the tiny flowers amongst the trees and moss, he is really happy when the flowers come out! I have no idea what kind of flower this is.....Steve did tell me about six times but I was sort of in a moment so I can't tell you what it is. But, I do remember it's nickname has something to do with a deer, it's supposed to look like a deer with antlers....I don't see it but Steve sure did :).

Another great day of training has gone by....fueling up for tomorrows Red Hot Sunday with the Counselor....6 hours of action packed running in less that 24 hours, yipppeeeee.

We're going that way......

2007-04-06T12:09:00.000-07:00

Today Trisha and I did a nice recovery run in Forest Park. We celebrated the lovely spring weather by doing at 7.25 mile loop including Wildwood trail, Lief Ericson and some side trails. We chatted the entire way so the time went by very fast. We followed that up with even more talking and coffee at Starbucks. It was warm and wonderful, a great way to spend a Friday morning! It was so warm, I was actually sweating :). This weekend is another action packed Black Saturday and Red Hot Sunday and it's going to be very nice weather. I love Spring!

By the way, check out Trisha's socks....you might have to enlarge the photo to see what they say. Trisha please wear those socks every time we run, it keeps me motivated.

Progress!!!

2007-04-05T16:26:00.000-07:00

Training for ultras takes a lot of time and a ton of consistency. Without that you will most likely end up injured or DNFing at races time and time again. Training comes in many forms for ultra runners and I think that is why it's so fun, there is no one right way to train for an ultra. Some folks do really well with logging a ton of miles like putting together many 100 weeks, some don't do any speed work and still run like the wind while others do a ton of speed work and very little long runs and it still works. I have tried them all and with some success but no plan has delivered the results like the ones Scott Jurek http://www.beyond-running.com/ has put together for me. I have followed Scott's approach to training for over two years now and have seen a lot of measurable results which is what keeps me coming back! I use my heart rate monitor for all my training, it helps me gauge my workout by keeping me on task. The hardest part about using a HR monitor is knowing what your zones are. There are 5 running zones and each one builds a different part of your cardiovascular and muscular systems. There are many tests out there you can use to figure out your HR zones by first determining your max. These are great ways to get a runner started and most likely will be close but ultra runners are a bit different in that they have a huge base. A base is your low HR zones Z1-Z3a. These are your probably the most important zones for ultra runners to develop because they build endurance. They are your aerobic base building zones, they develop muscle capillaries and mitochondria to carry the needed oxygen through your body. Z3b-Z5 are your power zones. These zones teach your body how to recover and become more efficient at carrying oxygen to muscles and clearing unwanted lactic acid.

I have used VO2 Max tests to determine my zones and my velocity at lactic threshold. What is Lactic Threshold?????? It is the point at which your body stops using oxygen and you go from be aerobic to anaerobic, it is the point at which the cells in your body can't receive, extract or utilize oxygen. Scott suggested I use his preferred lab to get my test done. 18 months ago Stacey and I went to http://www.seattleperformancemedicine.com/ and got VO2 max and Lactate Threshold tests done and the information has been so valuable we went again on March 29th, 18 months after our first test. What a difference 18 months of training can make. My results are listed below:

October 6, 2005

Max HR = 182

VO2 Max = 62

Lactic Threshold on Incline = 6.2 speed, 10% grade HR = 171

Lactic Threshold on Flat = 8.25 speed or 7:16min. mile, 1% grade HR = 175

Z1= 123-133

Z1 = 134-144

Z3a = 145-155

Z3b=156-166

Z4a= 167-172

Z4b= 173-178

Z5 = 179 to max

March 29, 2007

Max HR = 184

VO2 Max = 60

Lactic Threshold incline=6.4 speed, 10% grade HR 178

Lactic Threshold Flat = 8.75 speed or 6:51min mile HR 182

Z1 = 130-140

Z2 = 141-151

Z3a = 152-162

Z3b = 163-173

Z4a = 174-179

Z4b = 180-185

Z5 = 186 to Max

As you can see I am faster on both incline and flat before my body stops using oxygen. Also, my zones moved significantly. I have done many of these tests at another lab in Bend Oregon over the 6 years prior to taking my first one at this lab in Oct. of 2005 and have never seen this kind of changes. But, I have never trained using the philosophies Scott uses either.

When you run a 100M race the target zone for the first 50M is 3A. If you can stay in 3A for the first 50M and after that let it rip you will have a great race. Most of time folks go out near their 3B or above and feel really good for about 30 miles then have some pretty bad patches as their body works to clear the damage. I am looking forward to working with these new zones which will be tough at first but as I get more comfortable with these new paces and can really hone my new 3A I will have a good race in my future :).

All these new numbers just means my body is ready for the next step and that means faster track workouts, faster tempo runs and better hill repeats. I can't wait to see how all that pays off, should be interesting!

Black Saturday and Red Hot Sunday!

2007-03-31T15:40:00.000-07:00

Big back to back runs deserve a level of respect so we decided to give them a name. In addition to having a name they also have a dress code. All black for Saturday and all red for Sunday. Saturday's are so tough they get a name, dress code and a logo. The skull and crossbones are appropriate because on "black Saturday" we do hill repeats. These are not wimpy hill repeats they are bad boys ranging anywhere from 30 minutes to 60 minutes of continues uphill running at threshold (95% of max.) in the Columbia River Gorge and.......there is always at least two!

There is no resting on the downhills either, you go as hard as you can without killing yourself. BS repeats make you very strong, in fact you have to be strong minded to even show up. It is just motivating to see all your friends dressed in black, running as hard as they can, huffing and puffing and loving every minute of it. These repeats are "go at your own pace" but we all go at threshold and that just yields different paces for each of us. At the top of the hill we are all within 5 minutes of each other so it's fun! After we are done with the hill repeats we do a cool down run for 2 hours or more depending on where we re in the training cycle. The cool down in no slouch run either but not even close to work load required to do the repeats.

Three years ago all of this fun began during my preparation for Western States. Fortunately for me my friends were open to giving this a try and they actually found it fun and challenging. We started dressing in all black because it made us feel tough and since the repeats were always done on Saturday Micheal came up with the name "Black Saturday" and it was so appropriate we have called it that every since. Not everyone who comes to BS does the specified workout but instead they come an enjoy the show...people dressed in black, breathing very hard, laughing and not taking themselves to seriously. Beast came today and took a ton of these pictures. Some others were doing other kinds of workouts specific to their upcoming events and couldn't join us for BS but they wore black anyway. :)

Today's workout was 4+ hours total with 2X30-40Min repeats followed by the cool down. We did the workout starting at the Herman Creek area and used the Gorton Creek trail to do the repeats. The Gorton Creek trail climbs approx. 2200 feet in 2.6 miles. Additional pictures from today can be seen at http://shuffler.smugmug.com/gallery/2648756/1/139993910

Once BS is over we fuel up and ice bath to prepare for "Red Hot Sunday"! As you can see Micheal and I were the only ones that really took "Red Hot Sunday" seriously. Are those the worst outfits you have ever seen? Since we're in the Gorge where everything is green, grey and black these outfits really stood out, I wonder if the rest of the group was embarrassed because I know we were :). Why would we dress up like this? These outfits make us look like we are on fire....or at least that's what we are telling ourselves.....we were on fire. Back to backs to this degree bring out the grit in every runner. After 20 miles and 5500 feet of climbing and threshold hill repeats on Saturday, 5.5 hours and 7100 feet of climbing the next day requires an outfit that screams "fire"! Micheal and I decided that if any of the hikers asked, "what's with the outfits"? We would tell them we were a rescue team and if they needed any help we would send someone, ha, ha, ha. We got a lot of looks.

The run itself was hard and challenging on tired legs but we did a great job. Staying focused and pushing when all our muscles said enough was rewarding. That is exactly what these kinds of runs are for, making you run on tired legs, getting that neuromuscular system firing when all common sense says you can't. These kinds of runs are what make you strong and invinsible after mile 50 of a 100M race. We practice fueling, run/walk transitions and pushing hard on the climbs just to see if we have enough umffffffff to push anywhere near threshold. It's early in this phase of training and these are our first back to backs so even though we were breaking time splits today I imagine we will see even more upticks as we progress towards WS100M.

The rest of the group was doing 4.5 hours so they cut off before Micheal and I did leaving us with only ourselves and these really bad clothes. Oh well, it just motivated us to move faster so we could get done! Tom met us at the top of Angels Rest when we were at about mile 22 and ran in with us. We sat in parking lot an began the refueling process and started dreaming of our ice bath back home.

Track Workouts - Why?????

2007-03-28T07:56:00.000-07:00

What are these? These are my track shoes, not really "track" shoes but "marathon racing flats". During my 20+ years of running and finishing over 25 marathons I have never worn a pair of these kinds of shoes! Last year Scott Jurek http://www.beyond-running.com - my coach talked about these kinds of shoes and I thought why not, I can use them for my track workouts and my tempo runs that are done on the road. I bought a pair for just that reason and loved them. I wear an orthotic so I have a lot of freedom when it comes to choosing a shoe. I don't run on the road that much so the pair I bought last year lasted through my running season so I had to get new pair for this year and here they are, red hot and fast! One nice added feature of a racing flat is they are stylish, they come in bright colors and the just look fast. When I put these on my feet I feel faster :). When I put these on my feet any excuse I might have had to not do my full track workout leaves my brain forever!.

Why would an ultra runner need to do a track workout and do I really see any improvements from doing them? I have been asked that question a lot and the answer is yes! During my 20+ years of running I never went to the track and when I hired Scott to coach me 3 years ago he said one of the workouts would be done on the track if I had no objections. I had a lot of objections but kept them to myself because I relinquished all control of my running to him. I decided I would do all the workouts he prescribed whether I liked them or not. This was a big move for a control freak like myself but it paid big dividends. I was so uninformed about the track that he would have to remind me that the distance of one loop is 400M, he is patient! He would have to give me very specific instructions on exactly what a 400M, 800M, 1000M and 1200M was....how may times around....where should I start.....are there lines on the track that indicate a starting and stopping point....how fast....how do I monitor my speed. The conversations went like this for awhile before I finally got it. I've noticed a definite change in my leg turnover since I have added track workouts and I notice one additional gear in my cardio, a gear that can be called on during racing. Track workouts make me a more efficient runner. I use less energy when I run than I used to, better form and stride rate. My track times have come down significantly and I recover much quicker. I would say that is progress.

Now track workouts are just part of my routine on a weekly basis and I went for a feeling of nervous apprehensive to excitement as I drive to the track. Even the night before I think about my upcoming track workout and get pumped up! I am not sure it's because of the workout itself or that I get to wear the lightweight red hot shoes :).

The Gorge - Good to be back!

2007-03-24T14:08:00.000-07:00

This is the end of a recovery week but I did get to go out to the Columbia River Gorge for the first time this year! It was a dreary day weather wise but the group was not anywhere near dreary. Micheal, Jim and I did a loop starting at the Angels Rest area, it was a short 2.5 hour loop but what a blast it was to be back out there. It's funny because by the end of the year I am ready to stay closer to town and run the urban trails. Not like our urban trails aren't nice and should be ignored during the summer but the Gorge and other wilderness areas offer such challenging terrain it's hard to not take every opportunity to be training in them! During the late fall and early winter it's sort of like you miss the urban trails and then when spring comes your chomping at the bit to be back in the rugged Gorge.

So, today marked our first run out in the Gorge, yeah!!!!! When we arrived at the trail head we were laughing about how nasty the weather was. My car thermometer said 51 degrees so it was plenty warm but the rain was coming down hard enough for me to find the "high" speed on my windshield wipers. In the parking lot there was a group of hikers with full packs and full rain gear meeting before they started their climb. We got some interesting looks when we piled out of the car wearing shorts and no jackets. We did decide to take jackets but quickly peeled them off after 10 minutes of running. It's that time of year again, the time when your adjusting to warmer temperatures but aren't used to being without a coat when the sun is not shining. We will get over that very soon, it's gets annoying carrying all that unused gear.

Since this is a recovery week we didn't do any hill repeats or push threshold (95% of max.) on any of the hills we were just steady. We weren't trying break any speed records but in the end were surprised at how fast we did the run. We climbed a little over 3000 feet today and it wasn't hard! I have done this loop many times and this was my second fastest so far and my fastest time included a 20 threshold climb whereas today had none. I really didn't feel like we hammered the downs either, we are saving ourselves for next weekends double thrashing.....Can't wait!

I have just entered the "competition" or "specificity" part of my training, I just finished the "base building" phase. This is where it starts to get really fun and challenging. This phase will last all of April and half of May. This is time when big back to backs, hill repeats, doubles and tempos are are thrown together. In the past I have not been this strong heading into this part of my training. I am super excited at this benchmark in my fitness and I am optimistic it will laaaaaaassssssssssstttttttttt all the way to end.

Chuckanut 50K

2007-03-20T11:29:00.000-07:00

My training for the slam started somewhere around November. The word "training" has many definitions with regards to running some count miles, some count time and other various measures that determine if you are in "training". I use the word to mean I started working with a defined plan. A plan in which runs are well thought out with regards to time, intensity and they are all scheduled. I am a planner so this method serves me well!

(photo by Glenn Tachiyama)

Since November I have known all the races I would do this year. For my slam year I plan on giving Western States 110% focus and effort, the rest of the races I am hoping to survive and most importantly soak up every minute of the adventure from planning, training and racing.

Chuckanut 50K is the first ultra race for me this year and since I was there last year I knew what I was getting into and couldn't wait to go back. I think I was the 11th person to sign up, that's how excited I was. See last year I had some high expectations for Chuckanut, it was going to be my first ever attempt to "race" a 50K. I wanted to give it a big effort and see how fast I could run a tough 50K. Unfortunately I got really sick the week of the race and ended up on antibiotics but putting all that aside I lined up ready to push as hard as I could. I gave it all I had and posted a 6:10 finish and was very displeased with the time. I don't like excuses so being sick was just a sidebar, the bottom line was 6:10 was what I had in me. This year I was emotionally apprehensive but was ready to once again roll the 50K dice.

The extended forecast for Portland called for some beautiful weather for race weekend, but Bellingham and Portland were not on the same weather pattern. Bellingham was going to have rain all day and the weatherman in Bellingham got it right! It rained and rained all day but fortunately it was warm....around 50 degrees all day. Coming from Portland, OR a little rain didn't even hit the radar screen except I would need to bring gloves.

Last year I suffered badly on the 6.5 miles of gravel bike path on the way to the finish. My goal this year was to go out moderately on the same bike path, hit the trail climb (mile 6.5-10) focused, then let it rip. Go hard from 10.5 to 31.1! I was going to roll the dice and see how I would hold up. I was even prepared to push threshold (95% of max. heart rate) on the climbs. For the first climb I pushed to near threshold but only hit it a couple of times. Once we entered the ridge section of technical trail followed by a nice old muddy jeep road I knew I was going to have a good day. Pumped and ready for the next climb they call Chinscraper named after a steep climb at the Wasatch 100M I was anxious to see how I would do on this steep climb. See I haven't been doing any REAL climbing in training so this would be pure memory here. The climb was tough and I couldn't push my body anywhere near threshold but that just means I need to get the strength back. I definitely wasn't setting any speed records on the climb but I was still passing people and feeling strong, getting psyched up for the last 10.5 miles to the finish. Once you crest the top of Chinscraper you are treated with a blazing 3 mile downhill on a gravel road, time to move! The downhill was spectacular! I sored down this at a sub 7:15 pace which for me is "rock star" pace. The next task was the 6.5 miles home on the dreaded gravel bike path I bonked on last year. Giving myself a good talking to I changed my view of this section and decided instead of dreading it I was going to view it an an opportunity to test my determination factor, flirt with pain, push hard and then push harder. Since I had this new found outlook I was moving at a pretty good pace. The miles were clicking off fast and I had a couple of additional gears to work with so there was no time like the present, take a gel and let it rip! 6.5 miles went by fast, negative splits, faster on the way back then on way out. When I was finished I was excited, 5:44 and first masters girl! I love being 40 :)