tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63102261208781800512024-02-21T06:17:24.081-08:00The Turtle PathPamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17695365862543446730noreply@blogger.comBlogger259125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-21845714259670215842020-01-04T14:09:00.001-08:002020-01-04T14:09:32.781-08:00Running On A Budget<i>(This article was written for my final column for Ultrarunner Magazine in the Jan/Dec issue. Several paragraphs were omitted from the print form. I am providing the entire article as originally written here.)</i><br /><br /> Running is a decidedly simple sport: most people can do it by the time they are two. The simplicity is what so many of us like about it. You don’t need a team, an opponent, a special playing surface or even a lot of gear. Running is seemingly the perfect sport for the miserly...until you start ultrarunning that is! The costs of ultrarunning can easily pile up faster than the miles! So how can you keep your budget from bonking but still get out and enjoy piles of miles?? Here are some ideas for ultrarunning on the cheap!<br /><br />Shoes: Unless you are a barefoot runner, shoes are probably the biggest common recurring expense in the sport. While road shoes will likely get you through most trail races, I do think trail specific shoes offer additional features that are worth having, especially if you are running on particularly rugged terrain. Look for last year’s models and sales to cut costs. Also, I never judge the age of my shoes by the number of miles they have on them but rather by their wear and tear (particularly changes in the sole). And a run through the washer can renew a mud crusted pair. I routinely get 800-1000 miles on my shoes before replacing them (injury prone runners may need to be a bit more cautious here). Since blisters are one of the major whammies when it comes to derailing a race or long run, I don’t cheap out on socks.<br /><br />Gear: When it comes to gear, I’d say the most important way to cut costs is to separate “need” from “want”. Every year companies are coming out with the latest and greatest in shoes, packs, watches, lights, and even duffle bags for your crew. It’s only natural to covet all the fancy new gear especially if you see beautiful glossy photos in a magazine of your favorite elite athlete is pushing it on Instagram. But do you really need those things? <br /><br />Of course, there are some things that are necessary for ultrarunning, like a head light if you will be running at night or a pack to carry food and water when heading into remote locations. Before you buy, do your homework by researching different features and talking to friends. Then if possible, test out what you want to buy, either by borrowing it from a friend or going to a running store. If you get a good piece of equipment that you know you love you should be able to keep it for many years. For example, I bought the original AK vest from Ultimate Direction in 2012. I know there have been upgrades, new designs, female specific models and even about five new pack companies in the market since that purchase, but it is still my go to race vest. It has gotten me through 4 Western States, Angeles Crest, Mohican 100, Spartathlon and Badwater to name a few and I don’t plan to replace it any time soon! <br /><br />And then some ultra gear just isn’t necessary at all or can be replaced with cheaper options. I use 1 gallon zip lock bags for all my drop bags and my crew will just have to put up with my old ratty backpacks to lug my gear instead of getting a fancy crew bag. Vaseline and Desitin are cheap alternatives to expensive body lubes. Free promotional water bottles hold liquids just as well the $8 dollar name brand ones and leave you a lot less disappointed if you leave one behind. And polarized sunglasses are easy to find under $30; even upscale REI has a $13 pair, so no need to fork over $80-120 for good eyewear. I have also found that headlamps geared for campers are cheaper than those geared at ultrarunners, even with similar light output.<br /><br />Nutrition: I like to say “maltodextrin is not God’s gift to ultrarunners!” (This applies to all other synthetic carbohydrates as well). Yes, gels and powders can provide large quantities of easily portable calories, but proprietary brands are often quite expensive, running up to $2 per pouch. The texture of gels can be gag inducing after a while and drink mixes start to taste sickly sweet. And not all people fully digest these carbohydrates, so they can cause gas and bloating (If your post race gas makes you sound like an 8 year old boy playing with a whoopie cushion, you know what I mean! But this is an article about costs not flatulence!). Eating supermarket foods can save you a lot of money when you run. All those supermarket junk food snacks make great running food. One of my favorites is kids fruit snacks, which taste great and come in perfectly sized portions. On a recent three day trip of the Wonderland trail, fruit snacks and Good and Plenty’s made up a significant portion of my calories. I did Run Rabbit Run primarily on Red Vines and Sprite and Badwater was almost entirely fueled on soda, bottled frappuccinos and Pringles! Plus, if you can eat real food, it means race aid stations are basically free buffets for you (or at least you are getting your money’s worth out of your race entry!). Post run, I often make my own recovery drinks. Even mixing Gatorade and a discount store protein powder is about half the cost of a pre packaged recovery drink mix. Many people opt for chocolate milk. Making your own smoothies with things like bananas and peanut butter is another cheap option. And remember, your recovery food doesn’t have to be a drink! A sandwich or a yogurt will do just fine.<br /><div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfMDQIY7OiQXK94KwyQuHyr7U__DK2EnkzrPq53E8m-2dLHJtNWDBEBA1rPeErLT_B14erOgFY4tiMAUmB9tFjLreIthc0ABkpY6fcFZqlx-12vsp-8liVjcYRExmrmuNk3NCWqSzBzaw/s1600/7%252C850+calories.jpg"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfMDQIY7OiQXK94KwyQuHyr7U__DK2EnkzrPq53E8m-2dLHJtNWDBEBA1rPeErLT_B14erOgFY4tiMAUmB9tFjLreIthc0ABkpY6fcFZqlx-12vsp-8liVjcYRExmrmuNk3NCWqSzBzaw/s400/7%252C850+calories.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
7,850 Calories all for under $15!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Coaches: Plain and simple, coaches are an expensive luxury. Coaching plans are available online or can be found in many books on ultrarunning, costing far less than a single month of coaching. (Or go to the library for even more savings!). If accountability is what you need, find a good running group or a similarly dedicated friend to help you get through your training. Even social media friends and running groups can help you stay on task.<br /><br />Races: Many ultra-races also come with an ultra-price tag, especially if you have to add in a lot of travel expenses. But there are a lot of small yet still beautiful and challenging races with lower entry fees. “Fat ass” style races are the most economical of all. And of course, you can easily have an epic adventure which isn’t a race at all. Volunteering as a sweeper will allow you to see the course on race day without paying any fees. Some races will let you in free if you have volunteered at the race in prior years. Obviously, staying local will keep travel costs the lowest. Combining a race with a vacation or a business trip provides a “twofer” for travel expenses. Staying with friends/family, “host” families, camping or sharing a room with another racer are all ways to save on hotel costs. Runners and crew also seem to be very willing to give rides to others, which may allow you to go without a car rental. Some people even use rideshare to get around - just make sure you’ll have cell service if this is your plan! I have shared rooms and rides with people I just met many times and I haven’t been murdered yet! (That's a joke! But for rooming, I always choose a friend of a friend just to be sure!) Many races have a Facebook page where you can make arrangements with other runners for these things.<br /><br />For being a relatively simple sport, ultrarunning can come with a big price tag. Being mindful of what you buy and what you really need can help you get “high mileage” out of your money.<br />Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17695365862543446730noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-46910796564600657262019-11-02T06:47:00.000-07:002019-11-02T11:12:02.562-07:002019 24 Hour World Championships<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>“The women’s team is fucked.”</i> (Text message (source withheld) 12 hours in)</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">***</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">The 2019 USA women’s 24 hour team was dubbed by Joe Fejes as one of the most dominant sports teams ever, a “dream team” of fixed time runners. Indeed, my qualifying mark of 151.38 miles was the 17th best female mark in the world <i>*ever* </i>and I was the “bubble” girl in spot #6 (of 6) to make this team! On paper, even our nearest rival, the ever strong Polish team with prior world record holder Patricja Bereznowska, didn’t stand a chance. But paper and reality are two different things and half way through the race it looked as if those paper odds might crumble into dust. </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKT2-JxOwZod2CRbKXjJflul9LdeYJcjDzazM6lhxYrEpVKWYvHS9HGJfcMsw8VxdarO68Pp721iBmHWAmRSC8u2x32fZjZpREVtzzPQtUtynliDS1UjjCl25Em_aZ1DKz0mno9Sxv7CM/s1600/2019AlbiTeam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="940" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKT2-JxOwZod2CRbKXjJflul9LdeYJcjDzazM6lhxYrEpVKWYvHS9HGJfcMsw8VxdarO68Pp721iBmHWAmRSC8u2x32fZjZpREVtzzPQtUtynliDS1UjjCl25Em_aZ1DKz0mno9Sxv7CM/s640/2019AlbiTeam.jpg" width="374" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2019 24 Hour World Championship "Dream Team": Camille Herron, me, Katy Nagy, Gina Slaby, Megan Alvarado, and Courtney Dauwalter at the Albi Cathedral</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">***</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">24 hour racing is a weird sport. For an entire day you endlessly run around in circles, piling up mileage while going nowhere. Going faster doesn’t make it end sooner; it requires you to run more. You can train for months, be in the best shape of your life and still a million possible little things can go wrong. Some things you can work through or you can come back from, but some things only get worse as you keep running. When that happens, you’re fucked. </span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">***</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">This year’s race took place in Albi, France, a small riverside city in the South of France and the birth place of Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, a brilliant artist who suffered from pycnodysostosis</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(35, 35, 35); color: #232323;">, a genetic disorder that caused his bones to fracture and left his legs short and mis-shaped. Here in Albi, </span><span style="font-kerning: none;">400 brilliant 24 hour athletes representing 45 countries would be running around a 1500 m wrench shaped loop which consisted of a lap on a (very hard) track and asphalt paths around a soccer field and the stadium. The surface was hard and a bit uneven, and several odd turns were included. My assessment ahead of time was that the course reminded me of the 100km World Championships in Doha which was on tile and had many U-turns: It would be good for the athletes that could endure it, but that it would take it’s toll and like Toulouse-Lautrec, many would be at risk for fractured races. This seemed to be exactly how things played out as injuries piled up and seemed to be the main reason for people’s races to fall apart. </span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">***</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">Last fall and this spring I was plagued with fatigue and the “blahs” but I seemed to be bouncing back nicely. Winning Mohican in June restored a bit of confidence and had me thinking maybe, just maybe, I could have another good race at worlds. Barely a week after that race I enlisted the help of former Badwater champion Zach Gingerich to get me there. I’ve never had a coach before because I’ve always felt like I knew what I needed to get me in shape and ready for races and that I wanted to be in control of my own destiny. I wanted to be the brains <b>and</b> the brawn of my racing, not just the vehicle for someone else’s plan. But the truth is, after some struggles and bad performances, I had developed some fear and anxiety about workouts and pushing myself hard. I was also suffering a bit from lack of motivation. I needed somebody to take over the reins because I started doubting myself and what I could do; I needed someone who believed in me more than I did at that time and a coach filled that role. One other major change for me was taking almost all of my hard workouts on to the treadmill. I can’t say I love the treadmill, or even like it, but this was also part of the process I needed to “get out of my own head.” No thinking required on the TM: just set you pace and run. And weekly, the improvements were quantifiable.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">The first test of the new routine came at the end of August when I headed to Wisconsin for 6 Days at the Dome. With 24 Hour Worlds only two months later, this was only a “stepping stone” toward the ‘A’ goal, so I decided to run for a 100km qualifying time rather than do the full 24 hours. Sneaking in a hair under 8 hours (7:59:40) was another shot of confidence. (Turning 45 just a couple weeks later did negate that a bit!).I’ve always said sub-8 is world class for women, so hitting that mark made me feel like being “world class” at 24 hours was still possible, too. The rest of my training up to worlds went well and I felt as ready as I could be.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">***</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">Camille went public before the race that she was shooting for another world record, so she was off the starting line like a shot, trailing only one guy in the first hours. The rest of the US women all had big goals, too, with pretty much everyone targeting above 150 miles. I spent a lot of time discussing pacing with Bob Hearn “The Prince of Pacing” prior to the race and had even done a few practice runs utilizing his run/walk strategy. He had finally convinced me (along with the performance of Nick Coury at Desert Solstice) that even pacing was the way to go. And then two days before the race, Bob messages me and tells me he’s got it all wrong! Even pacing is not the best way to hit your highest number and he had math models to prove it. When Bob Hearn has math models, you listen! So I formulated my own little hybrid plan for the race: Go out even for 100km with no walking at a pace slightly above 157 mile pace, then switch to a run/walk plan (14 min run/1 min walk) for the duration, with the idea that those 4 minutes of “rest” each hour would preserve my running pace and still land me with a final tally in the 154-157 mile range. </span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">Early on I was running with Gina and Micah but we gradually drifted apart and it was just me and my podcasts for the duration. I cleared 100km right around 9:10, on dead even pacing and came in for a planned pit stop: new shoes, a bit of stretching with team Doc Greg Hon, and a quad rub down, and then set off again on the 14/1 plan. Next stop: 100 miles. </span><br />
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXH8j_n6Z0-iUlwkrZPWlPUgO8xyodcknVs7zPeXpNngnQwY_8HmlK9vnh5VwrbMyCVfNR2nXW3-kLXIwPX1PaMFWNvsO3dTGwRimPeEO8dm1iqwCrhDBfkGbjQRFLgJIXekllvWFuyxg/s1600/2019albimicah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXH8j_n6Z0-iUlwkrZPWlPUgO8xyodcknVs7zPeXpNngnQwY_8HmlK9vnh5VwrbMyCVfNR2nXW3-kLXIwPX1PaMFWNvsO3dTGwRimPeEO8dm1iqwCrhDBfkGbjQRFLgJIXekllvWFuyxg/s640/2019albimicah.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Running with Micah. Micah crushed it with 148 miles!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">The day was fairly warm, somewhere in the mid 70’s, but I was using my Ice Bandana and the race had sponge buckets and the heat never really bothered me. But for some reason, miles 75-95 just kind of dragged on for me. I didn’t have any real issues, but I didn’t really feel great and of course, this is prime time for mental mind fuck: “<i>12 more hours?? You can’t do this for 12 more hours!! Your legs already hurt and you had no business pacing for 157! Look at all the people who are already falling apart! You could be next!” </i>It did not help that I was feeling pretty stressed about our team status.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUP2qEQdw_KbJdnybxsjbRxjpeYVGF1ix_V7YW6ZQajW6NGpkJeDtkuvN98dwH3FX0YkqhaZIUMGeVR96DquIKkLjazEo7ivaAvCsqtK87f5HrTexXh1FMvu-SOSC248y8-8RorhQBtTw/s1600/2019AlbiAS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUP2qEQdw_KbJdnybxsjbRxjpeYVGF1ix_V7YW6ZQajW6NGpkJeDtkuvN98dwH3FX0YkqhaZIUMGeVR96DquIKkLjazEo7ivaAvCsqtK87f5HrTexXh1FMvu-SOSC248y8-8RorhQBtTw/s640/2019AlbiAS.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">International Field</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">Megan had to stop around 8 or 9 hours due to concerns for a stress fracture. Katy also had a serious injury she was dealing with and Gina was hampered by stomach issues. I saw Courtney a couple times at the side by side track entry/exit point, but we were on the same lap running pretty close to the same pace with me consistently 400-800 meters behind so I saw very little of her the first 10 hours. And then I passed her. 400 meters is nothing in a 24 hour race, a quick bathroom stop can equate to that distance so it wasn’t particularly noteworthy. But less than an hour later I passed her again and this time I could see she was visibly hurting, her bad hip from Western States back to haunt her from all the miles of repetitive motion. While Camille seemed to be holding on pretty well, it did not escape my thinking that she was running at a very high risk pace and could also have issues. <i>“Oh my God, this is bad. The curse of Joe Fejes!! You have to keep running now.”</i> I thought to myself. <i>“And you don’t feel that great. You guys are screwed!”</i> my brain added. I wasn’t the only one worried. Text messages were flying amongst the managers and handlers about the state of the team and the general feeling wasn’t good. In fact, to some it looked like we were fucked.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 13px;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0h2yIWq8FKt7nSj30RwQbOeMY_7-fZ3pJ3yNj42_S1hvJqAXhLtQIsyroDH-oeh62Wbx35tsLWLT4MvKmoxqDIXhfXeqCqOcPR8AjGLweGwhCKJyLhwZoZ1lSyeRn7nTvO66RPzYTlco/s1600/2019Albirun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0h2yIWq8FKt7nSj30RwQbOeMY_7-fZ3pJ3yNj42_S1hvJqAXhLtQIsyroDH-oeh62Wbx35tsLWLT4MvKmoxqDIXhfXeqCqOcPR8AjGLweGwhCKJyLhwZoZ1lSyeRn7nTvO66RPzYTlco/s640/2019Albirun.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just keep running!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">I wasn’t feeling great but I didn’t have any real lows either. Just keep doing what you are doing until you can’t do it any more. Gradually, I moved from 18th place up to 3rd (unbeknownst to me, though I figured I had to be about 5th or 6th). 14 minutes run, 1 minute walk, unless you stop for any other reason, then you don’t get to walk. I had my podcasts on (Thank you, Armchair Experts!) and I was plugging along. Time wasn’t moving fast, but it was moving and so was I. As the time counted down, I was even able to suppress the negative brain banter. “<i>Only 300 more minutes. I can do this!” </i>(Never, ever think in hours!) In fact, everything was great until they <i>told </i>me what place I was in. And oh yeah, Spartathlon and Badwater course record holder Patrycja has recovered from her own stomach issues and is hunting you down and closing your 3k lead fast!</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">The adrenaline rush lasted about an hour. I picked up my pace, but so did Patrycja. I gave everything I had trying to hold her off but she was still closing. And the pace was taking its toll. My legs were screaming and I couldn’t keep the faster clip going. I stopped for a medical stretch right as Patrycja overtook me and the next lap I was in the bathroom emptying both my stomach and my bowels. Game over. The final two and a half hours were a struggle. I know that fight with Patrycja sapped me dearly and likely cost me a mile or two at the end. But with a medal on the line I had to go for it and I’d do it again. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. While it stings a little to be so close to an individual medal, I can’t be upset. I know I gave it my all and never gave up. Patrycja beat me straight up and was much stronger than me at the end. While on paper she beat me by less than a lap, she and the Polish team were watching my splits and she was just besting them by a couple seconds. Patrycja had no chance to catch second place and no chance for the Polish team to steal the gold from the US team so she was content to just mirror my splits to hold on to third. There is no doubt in my mind that if I had run a mile more that Patrycja would've been able to run 1.1 miles more.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">***</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">As for the rest of the US ladies, they proved to be the goddamn strongest women around and I am so proud of all of them. This group rallied as a true TEAM! My highest respects to Courtney; she was in obvious pain and jeopardizing the next several months of running, but she kept plugging on like a serious trooper. She’d stop by the doctor, get some hip treatment, go flying by me, then gradually wear down until she needed another treatment. She told me she felt like she had a leaky tire that she could pump up and run on for a while but that it would eventually go flat and need to be pumped up again. With all that, the woman covered 143+ miles!! Tough As Nails! Camille is just out of this world when it comes to flat surface ultras. She not only held it together but set a new world record of 167 miles. Megan couldn’t come back in but crewed furiously the remainder of the race. And even though Katy couldn’t run either, she immediately jumped back in to the race in power walk mode when she saw Courtney hurting. Gina became my own personal pacer at the end of the race and was a godsend to me when I was hurting the most. Boom! We’re not fucked; we’re the WORLD CHAMPIONS with a new World Record Team Total to boot!</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">***</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">The award for such a great race is a trip to drug testing!! In theory, drug testing is a wonderful thing to have in our sport. In reality, drug testing after a race sucks. Somehow, Camille got to hang out on the track for an hour after the race was over, but I got dragged into a cold tile locker room about five minutes after finishing, with only enough time to grab my warm-up sweats off of the top my bag. If I had any doubts about leaving it all on the course, drug testing erased them once and for all as I was clearly in the worst shape there. Being the first to drug testing didn’t help because I was way too dehydrated to produce anything more than 20 cc of amber brown fluid, way short of the necessary 80. The other athletes waited patiently in chairs while I lay in the fetal position on the freezing floor wrapped in a mylar cocoon. When they passed out sick bags, I promptly used mine. And I had a very emergent need for a bathroom for other reasons as well and was tortured by the officials who told me in no way could I use a bathroom without the supervision of a female agent who was busy and wouldn’t be out for another 20 minutes!! I finally made it out with about 15 minutes to spare before awards. All of my other stuff had been kindly packed up and taken away by crew, so I was left wearing what I had on, ruining all the team podium </span><br />
<span style="font-kerning: none;">pics!</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip9ZooD0oW7YmXJABvSXtFFOMSwp9GrZmotzPDI69zIIUk-nlubSCLrGunwi2YXDC1erSKltf034-dZ9qUCb1hKGZB4kuGadJBYfzlDJRP4NNj9OegNyfSEqcThj0mDsnWsBSspiQFtXM/s1600/2019teampodium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip9ZooD0oW7YmXJABvSXtFFOMSwp9GrZmotzPDI69zIIUk-nlubSCLrGunwi2YXDC1erSKltf034-dZ9qUCb1hKGZB4kuGadJBYfzlDJRP4NNj9OegNyfSEqcThj0mDsnWsBSspiQFtXM/s640/2019teampodium.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two gold medal teams! (Nice outfit, Pam)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">***</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span>Thank you to everyone who followed and cheered for the US squad. A big thanks especially to all of the wonderful people who were there supporting team USA on race day from all of the managers, the team doctor and everyone who helped crew and especially to my good friend Traci Falbo and Courtney’s husband Kevin Schmidt who took care of me personally all day long - I couldn’t have done it without you guys. I also should thank Injinji socks. Even though I tried to drop all my sponsors this year or completely failed to do any promotional gobbledygook, they kept me on the team and are still sending me the best socks there are for running. I raced all day in a pair of long Injinji compression socks and wore another pair in the days following the race. No skin blisters and no DVTs!!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQulnJuDKTvKx5BzvUpDNDju6v2lZFUdg3GK0WGyUptT2G9v-Wmjld6yjGKNdpw_lcRVAZ-5gYhpX7YlKBwnL0uBuHrjhHtpQ1OIl2fD8w8JoRJkn55ZV1o0w0tkp5JaZm8dBCA2Rdtk4/s1600/2019Tracicrew.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQulnJuDKTvKx5BzvUpDNDju6v2lZFUdg3GK0WGyUptT2G9v-Wmjld6yjGKNdpw_lcRVAZ-5gYhpX7YlKBwnL0uBuHrjhHtpQ1OIl2fD8w8JoRJkn55ZV1o0w0tkp5JaZm8dBCA2Rdtk4/s640/2019Tracicrew.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Traci keeps me going!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 13px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">I have now been on seven US Teams and have been fairly close to an individual medal three times with 5th, 5th, and 4th places finishes. But all three of those times I have gotten to stand on the top of the podium with my team and hear the national anthem play. I have also been 10th, 12th, and 16th (2013 race cancelled so no 7th result for me) with a team silver and two team bronzes. If my lot in life is only to experience glory as part of the team, well, I am ok with that because it is still a moment of pride and honor that I will cherish forever. Go Team USA!! I don’t know that I love 24 hour racing, but I love being part of this team so I am looking forward to Romania in May 2021!</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 13px;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5zm6aQ5p2dEBaFrmL-FpjaZ5taxNhv3bQVA_rJJkLGtphxjW_DDHLWXF9u5MqdrBGzq5mPY4L7TCDY0vXvqf3J8YGu4JX37Bd6ZW0TRg0yEfTMbiACAAbHla2tuuFR2lME8Fa_Tlbm7I/s1600/2019Albipride.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5zm6aQ5p2dEBaFrmL-FpjaZ5taxNhv3bQVA_rJJkLGtphxjW_DDHLWXF9u5MqdrBGzq5mPY4L7TCDY0vXvqf3J8YGu4JX37Bd6ZW0TRg0yEfTMbiACAAbHla2tuuFR2lME8Fa_Tlbm7I/s400/2019Albipride.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beaming with pride!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17695365862543446730noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-23603421850603339402019-06-17T06:03:00.000-07:002019-06-17T06:03:14.630-07:00Mohican 100: A Return of the M0joMy Western States/Badwater double last year was a big ask for my body, especially as a hamstring injury limited any major hill training. But I snagged a silver buckle at States and four weeks later pushed myself hard through the 127 degree temps to cross 135 miles of Death Valley in less than 29 hours. Afterwards, I knew I needed some unstructed run time and some very structured hamstring rehab time. Coupled with kids out of school, family vacations, and nothing on my calendar to train for, I did almost no running over the summer and was very happy to have the time off. But in the fall, when I decided to start back up again, things just didn't seem to click.<br />
<br />
Of course, you first tell yourself you are out of shape, but it soon became clear that wasn't it. It wasn't just huffing and puffing. My legs ached when I ran, I was exhausted after even the shortest runs and there was no joy. I took two more weeks off for a full two month's of recovery, but if anything, it was worse two weeks later. I didn't have any desire to run or really do much of anything physical. People kept telling me I sounded depressed. The only thing I felt depressed about was not feeling good, but having no experience in this, I saw a doc and went on anti-depressants. A month later I was still my usual cynical self with no desire to run, so the meds didn't seem to correct my personality flaws or my physical issues. I just needed to get excited about running, I told myself. I needed to switch up my routine. I started doing short fast runs instead of long distance training and I signed up for a bunch of events to "race myself into shape."<br />
<br />
So I raced 6 times in six weeks in the fall and the thing was, most of the races went pretty well. I broke my own master's CR at the Autumn Leaves 50k; I set the overall CR at the Silver Falls 50k a week later; I won a trail 30k in Las Vegas outright with a new CR. I got second at a local 5.5 mile trail run but my time was only two second off my time from a couple years prior. I also got third at a local half marathon and was the first person to do the 52 Mile Civil War relay as a solo runner. But the thing was, each event left me exhausted and I did almost no running during the week between the events. And even when the times and results seemed ok, I just felt "off." I had Bandera on my calendar and while I knew a Golden ticket would be a long shot, I thought I would at least get my lottery qualifier.<br />
<br />
Race day at Bandera, things went downhill fast. My slowest pace felt so exhausting but I still planned to finish. But by mile 20 I was beyond spent - just absolutely nothing in the tank. I started tripping and falling because I could not find the energy to lift my legs high enough to clear all the rocks. I took three major falls, but so many more stumbles and toe catches. By mile 23 I was sitting on a log under a tree because I needed to rest. It wasn't the usual "gee I'm tired because I am running an ultra"; it was more like "I would like to hibernate in a cave for a week but I don't even have enough energy to move a few steps so I'll just lay on this log." It wasn't an ego thing to DNF; I felt too physically unwell to keep going. I took anther two weeks off to rest, thinking I had over done it on the racing in the fall. The plan was to start back with an easy five miler. But I didn't make it two miles before I once again felt completely drained. I walked back to my car and had to sit there with my eyes closed for ten minutes before I felt like I could safely drive home. Obviously, something was way off. I stopped even trying after that. The worst part of it all was that it was very isolating because runners understand injury, but how do you tell people you just aren't running now because you don't feel good and it isn't fun? People who love running can't register that idea and non-runners have never thought it was fun to run in the first place, so what's the issue? And how do you explain to ultra runners you DNF'd because you were tired? Who doesn't get tired running an ultra?? Also, it made me question who I was as a runner and what I was running for. After nine years with La Sportiva, I wrote what I thought was a very heartfelt letter explaining why I was turning down my contract renewal. While I wasn't expecting them to beg me to stay, I didn't even get a response. It was just one more thing that had me dismayed about running.<br />
<br />
My first round of lab testing showed me to be the picture of health - even the things like D3 and ferritin which some people differentiate into "adequate" and "optimum" results were superb. This original panel included a TSH to screen for thyroid problems and mine was right smack in the middle of normal. But being told you are fine when in your mind you are clearly not fine, is actually not reassuring. In fact, it is quite frustrating. I did a lot of doctor "shopping". I saw my asthma doc to see if things had gotten worse; they hadn't. I saw a new allergist to see if he had any different opinions about my asthma; he didn't. Along the way, I ended up getting a full thyroid panel and not just a TSH. And my T3, the active form of thyroid hormone, was practically nonexistent. Both family practice docs I saw dismissed it as T3 being variable throughout the day and not significant unless it affects your TSH (which means your brain now senses that your thyroid level is too low). An endocrinologist friend was also nonplussed. A non medical friend recommended a naturopath; she prescribed T3 replacement within 2 seconds of seeing my results. All of this took time, so it was the last week of March by the time I started Cytomel, a T3 replacement. Three days later, we were in Vegas and it was like a light switch had been flipped. I was rallying the family to go hike or walk the strip. We spent to days in Zion and I once again was leading the charges in our family to get out and do more activities. It was night and day. Despite being an MD myself, I really felt annoyed with the allopathic medical system and feel like they missed the boat on this.<br />
<br />
Being inquisitive, I felt like I needed to know more about isolated low T3. I tried read as much REAL literature as I could (no WebMD!!!) and as far as I could come up with, isolated T3 has three main causes: selenium deficiency (because selenium is necessary to convert inactive thyroid hormone to active hormone), gut infections and underlying chronic metabolic conditions like cancer or connective tissue disorders, which I felt fairly confident (hopeful??) that I could exclude. I never got tested for selenium levels because it is a specialty send out test (expensive) and you can get a bottle at the supermarket for under $5 so I just started taking it. But I did get a screen for GI infections and I had protozoan levels 100 times normal. The first two days of a course of Flagyl were awful, but by day 5, I felt amazing. And GI symptoms I didn't even recognize as symptoms (reactions to FODMAP foods, bloating, gas, etc.) went away. And while I was still a bit skeptical of all this "soft" medicine, I felt better than I had in six months. Heck, I didn't care if it was placebo or coincidence, I'd happily take my $5 selenium and generic (so also about $5) thyroid meds. In fact, I added 3 or 4 more "gut health" agents to my morning pill popping routine (probiotic, allium extract, berberine). And then I saw an article Sarah Lavender Smith wrote about Kami Semick and her struggles with low T3 and gut infections. I reached out to Kami and just talking to one other person with a (remarkably) similar experience made me feel like I wasn't crazy, so I guess that's a lot of my motivation for writing all this here: maybe someone else can relate and then doesn't have to feel so isolated or crazy. Or maybe it encourages people to keep fighting for themselves when they just don't feel right. Interestingly (at least me) is that two months later and after the antibiotics, all of my thyroid hormones normalized and I was able to stop taking any meds. I've been off for over a month and still feeling good, so at this point I am a believer in gut health!<br />
<br />
All during this time, I only ran 210 miles in 15 weeks or 14 miles a week on average, mostly out of "obligation" and often more walk than jog. But I had a free entry into the Eugene Half Marathon on April 28th and I was feeling good enough that I decided to go. I ran a personal worst by several minutes but I came away quite encouraged. I felt good the whole time, I had fun being out there and I was actually pretty impressed with my time given the circumstances. I decided that was Day 1 of my new training cycle. That was 48 days before the start of the Mohican 100 race. And people pay coaches for six months to get them in shape for 100 miles! Haha. Actually, Mohican was not a part of my plan when I started training again. In fact no 100 miler was, I just knew if I was going to feel good about taking my spot on the US 24 hour team, I needed to put full effort into my preparation. April 28th was about six months out (see, I plan to train for big events for six moths, too!) and I felt like physically I was ready to put in the work.<br />
<br />
But here's the thing, I wasn't just physically ready, I was excited about running again. Soon after resuming training, I was pouring over the list of Western States qualifiers, trying to figure out how to keep the ten finish dream alive. The list of qualifier races is quite restricted. You see, you can run 135 miles across Death Valley in 127 degree heat in 28 hours, but WS does't accept that as good enough. You can run 150+ miles in 24 hours, but Western States doesn't care. Heck, you can have seven finishes and a win at Western States, but the only way to get qualified for the lottery is to run a race every year on the restrictive list of approved races, a decent percentage of which are international. So lining up the calendars of approved races, the two races I already had on my calendar for the fall, kids activities and our vacations, there were actually only three or four good options and two of the races were already full! Mohican rose to the top of the list despite it's rapidly approaching date. In the weekends that followed, I did a 26 mile run and a 22 mile run, both on roads, the only two runs longer than 15 miles. But I had been doing more mid week "adventures" in the spirit of making running run so I did have some good trail runs of 10-15 miles on my legs. And all I needed was a finish. Feeling good and being in good spirits would be enough to get me to the finish line even if I had to hike all night and I was prepared to do that. In fact, I reasoned if I could get through 40 miles feeling good, I could probably hike my way to something close to 24 hours, and Mohican offers a generous 32. Neither my cautious running partner nor my pessimistic husband had anything bad to say about this plan. Game on!<br />
<br />
The beauty of low expectations and minimal investment is that you can keep everything really simple since you don't have a lot riding on the outcome. I had no pacer, no crew, no split cards and only the most rudimentary knowledge of the course. So little in fact that when the course skipped the protected waterfall area on the second loop, I spent ten miles worrying that I was going to be DQ'd for cutting till I finally broke down and asked someone. It would've been helpful to go over the race day check in and parking areas ahead of time to make sure everything was situated with more than 5 minutes to spare, but that all fell into place, too, and honestly kept me from even thinking about the race until we actually started.<br />
<br />
Mohican is a great local race but most people are there for their own personal goals and not for the competition. As such the front pack went out nice and slow and I was very content to just tuck in around 30th place. Most of the course is pretty runnable with frequent short ups and downs rather than prolonged climbs and descents. Still it packs in nearly 13,000 feet of climb and I knew I'd be feeling it at the end so I told myself I had to walk everything on lap 1 that I thought I'd walk on lap 4. Usually my mantra is "check yourself before you wreck yourself" when starting an ultra, but on this day my good friend Bob Hearn's voice was in my head and I must've told myself "Fatigue isn't linear" at least 1,000 times, meaning to me when you start to fatigue you can fall off the cliff pretty fast and that how you feel now doesn't necessarily predict how you will be feeling later on so do everything you can now to keep the fatigue from starting. It wasn't perfect, there were still a few places I probably ran a bit too hard, especially the road sections which are just too tempting to open up, but overall I was feeling remarkably good after the first 53 miles, completing lap 1 in 4:35 and lap 2 in 4:40. The first two laps were listed as 26.8 miles and the final two laps have a short cut that was supposed to cut off almost 4 miles, so I thought it might be reasonable to try to hit a similar split time, but the cut off only took off three miles and it was pretty rough terrain. I also had one episode of puking that I walked for about two miles afterwards to settle my stomach and slowly replenish lost calories since I knew that'd be super important to keep from diving off the fatigue cliff. While I knew I was slowing a bit, I still steadily moved up the field and finishing lap 3 in 4:49. I busted through the aid statin at the start of lap 4 trying to squeeze out the last of the light but I could tell the legs were feeling the miles and the lack of training. Still I was in good spirits, my stomach had settled, and there were no major issues...until the weather gods decided to make some issues!<br />
<br />
Somewhere around mile 82 it started to rain. And then rain harder and harder till we hit Biblical level downfall. I'm not kidding: the course to the finish had to be rerouted onto the highway because the pedestrian highway underpass filled with water and a creek bridge was completely under water! The rest of the trails fared no better. Sloped trails turned to rivers. Flat areas were ankle deep water that disguised all the roots and rocks. Everything was either slick or sticky with mud. And the rain and the fog really cut into the effectiveness of headlights. I kept thinking to myself "it has to let up soon" but it would only rain harder. I have seen bouts of hard rain like that in Oregon and Hawaii but for brief spells only. This went on for pretty much my final five hours and a few more for the people who were still out there. I actually felt better on this lap then on the previous one and was ready to push to the finish, but I had to work hard just to do 17 minute miles. I didn't feel like I was in death march mode at all but it would sure seem like it if you just looked at my final split (5:40). Still 19:44 is not too shabby for just wanting to finish (Only the great Connie Gardner has gone faster on this course and I don't think she had to fight a monsoon!)! Plus somewhere along the day I passed all but three guys. But honestly, the time and the win really aren't as meaningful to me as just being able to get out and feel good doing it.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT2Xqx41oUiOlY6wXqTX6_XRG5I4dikB0jK4cVWaWI3jC_GNLLCIoR8uOiN-JbiVOU-PwqlBSM493YzclNZ86z9YYOkcy_WwjgQX02XD9q2yERQdx5PggV2RyJr1jH594OImll50u5g_E/s1600/Mohican19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT2Xqx41oUiOlY6wXqTX6_XRG5I4dikB0jK4cVWaWI3jC_GNLLCIoR8uOiN-JbiVOU-PwqlBSM493YzclNZ86z9YYOkcy_WwjgQX02XD9q2yERQdx5PggV2RyJr1jH594OImll50u5g_E/s400/Mohican19.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji6vEMYn_lGzQigKJjs9u8WSoGMWloEuTLB5h_V56-lnvEADakKxNVCFfFqHBoK5iyyvMY708eAc4tgOcDGlkivhXLW28Mkvu5kv9hVS44ymCCRy1GrTJqJOMQXXDcd8BE-dPAWhCOPXo/s1600/Mohican+podium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji6vEMYn_lGzQigKJjs9u8WSoGMWloEuTLB5h_V56-lnvEADakKxNVCFfFqHBoK5iyyvMY708eAc4tgOcDGlkivhXLW28Mkvu5kv9hVS44ymCCRy1GrTJqJOMQXXDcd8BE-dPAWhCOPXo/s400/Mohican+podium.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17695365862543446730noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-13376275416530893092018-08-08T20:00:00.000-07:002018-08-08T20:00:43.284-07:00Pringles to the Rescue: Combat Vomiting With Salty SnacksWhen I first started ultras, my stomach wasn't ever an issue. Sure, I'd lose my desire to eat but I rarely got nauseous and I couldn't puke even if I tried (and I did try on a rare off day, but the attempts were always "unproductive"). The first time I puked was at the 2013 Western States and it was actually quite beneficial. Chugging a warm Ensure left my stomach bloated and upset to the point that I was uncomfortable running and I didn't want to eat anything else. And then I threw it all up in one big heave and was instantly relieved. I felt light and easy running, and my stomach was re-set and ready to take in more calories. I felt so good for the rest of the day, I was able to put 45 minutes on my nearest female competitor and finish 9th overall. I really couldn't see why people made race puking out to be such a bad thing!<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But the vomiting started showing up at other races and it wasn't such a good thing. I had my head in a trash bag a Sam Merrill at mile 90 of the AC100, an issue that likely cost me the sub 21 finish I had as my 'A' goal. And at Spartathlon a few bouts of vomiting sent me into a 30 mile tailspin with low energy and the mental "blues" from not having enough sugar in the brain. And then there was this year's Western States, where the final 20 miles my stomach was tied in knots and even the tiniest sip of fluid would start a violent bout of retching. This not only ruined what had been a very good race for me, but it was horribly unpleasant and probably the most uncomfortable I have ever been at a race (the only thing that rivals is the last three hours of the 24 hour world championship running on a very sore and inflamed knee). But the worst part was that I had Badwater just four weeks later and these new stomach issues caused a lot of consternation and additional anxiety.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Of course, I did my homework. I had several discussions with sports nutritionist Meredith Terranova. Her advice to avoid nausea:</div>
<div>
- Use simple sugar solutions (glucose/dextrose, sucrose, fructose) not the complex starches and limit protein and fat.</div>
<div>
- Incorporate sugar into the pre-race diet. Woohoo- I just got permission to eat candy from a nutritionist!! (She did say "a little" but I figured: like miles, more is always better, right?)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I also spoke to Robert Kunz, head of First Endurance with an M.S. in sports nutrition. Not only did he have a lot of great input, but at no point did he promote his own product or suggest that I buy it, which made a huge positive impression on me especially in this day and age of "hash-tag [sponsor]" everything. He had multiple suggestions:</div>
<div>
- For people with nausea and vomiting troubles, he suggests NO protein or fat, relying solely on carbs. While protein consumption may spare muscle breakdown, amino acids provide similar protection but are easier on the stomach. Also, liquids and gels absorb faster than solids and increase gastric emptying.</div>
<div>
- Avoid "gummy" products (blocks, chews, gummy worms, etc.). These delay gastric emptying.</div>
<div>
- Specific to my run at Western States, Robert thought I needed to drink a bit more fluid per hour given the heat and then take more electrolytes, particularly sodium. (After becoming hypernatremic at Western States in 2012, I have been quite conservative with my sodium consumption; Wins at Western States and Angeles Crest with no sodium tabs and less than 200mg/hr convinced me this was the correct strategy (even though I was puking at AC). But the recent puke-fest was the wake-up call that I needed to try something different).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Despite the lack of a sales pitch, I bought some EFS drink mix (300 mg sodium/bottle) and aimed to drink closer to 1.5 bottles/hour in the intense heat of Badwater instead of 1 bottle/hr + a bit extra at aid stations as I did at Western States. This seemed to be going fine for the first few hours but by mile 26 I was puking! This was horrible - I had more than 100 miles to go!! I knew I was drinking plenty of fluid so I was concerned I still needed more sodium (Tailwind, which many people swear fixed their GI issues, has 600mg sodium; Gatorade Endurance has 500mg/20 oz and and S-cap is 341 mg so EFS is middle of the road in terms of sodium content). I grabbed a can of Pringles...and promptly spit them out because they tasted way too salty - disgustingly salty - and since I was already queasy, there was no way I was getting any down. Obviously, my body didn't want more sodium! Unfortunately, I floundered the next 30 miles, sipping mostly on water and a few swigs of Gatorade while walking pretty much every step of the Towne Pass 16 mile climb. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
At the top, I decided to try some Pringles again; this time they tasted great. My stomach was still touch and go so I only ate a few, but the saltiness was no longer repulsive. On the downhill, I started taking more water and drinking soda, my energy returned, I started running and running well! My stomach recovered and by Panamint at mile 72, I was wolfing down pizza! At mile 85, I pulled out the Pringles . They tasted so good, I ate half a can. My stomach was solid and I had great energy, I was passing all kinds of people and moved into second place for the women. But ten miles later I was starting to feel a little low again and the stomach was just starting to feel a little wonky. Well, bring out the Pringles! This time I had to spit them out again but not because they were too salty. Instead they tasted like paste; there was no flavor at all and I couldn't detect any salt. I took a salt pill and was feeling better in short order. At the next Pringles taste test, they once again were delicious and I left with a handful. I had given up on the EFS as soon as the puking started and instead was using mostly soda (very low sodium compared to sports drinks) and a bit of Gatorade, so I was definitely on the low side for sodium consumption. For the next 30 miles, I was sampling a Pringle every 2-4 miles. When they tasted good, I continued on. When they tasted like paste, I took a salt pill. Using this system, my stomach was better than it has ever been at the end of an ultra and I was able to keep my energy up till the very end to the point that I ran the final 45 miles faster than ANY other competitor in the field (granted, I hadn't taxed my legs all that much early on). </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It was amazing to me how the perception of one food could change so drastically over the course of the race. But the body is amazing and it knows what it wants, you just have to learn to listen. I do believe my puking at Western States (and my other races) were due to not taking in enough sodium. However, I do think I am fairly well adjusted to low sodium running and 400mg/hr was just too much for me. Exact sodium needs are difficult to calculate precisely but Pringles* proved to be the perfect litmus test for my electrolyte needs while I was running at Badwater and I will most definitely be bringing Pringles** to all of my big races in the future.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicYypqSo-ByCInrZJUAs9TFJSoX88QlDjEAUK-aIDvO83MqEBPviF_LhyphenhyphenWQIftNatbCfcrXBeO17uulxJrw3aBFprgGFTsUOUGyN_wZBwTKeBek8xlQwq83oQD1dWNiQJNs5KqiApyj3w/s1600/pringles-500x500.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="500" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicYypqSo-ByCInrZJUAs9TFJSoX88QlDjEAUK-aIDvO83MqEBPviF_LhyphenhyphenWQIftNatbCfcrXBeO17uulxJrw3aBFprgGFTsUOUGyN_wZBwTKeBek8xlQwq83oQD1dWNiQJNs5KqiApyj3w/s400/pringles-500x500.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Once you pop, you can't stop...running!"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
*<i>Other salty snacks would likely work as well but they have not undergone the same rigorous scientific testing.</i> ;)</div>
<div>
**<i>No personal affiliation with Pringles</i></div>
Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17695365862543446730noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-58320029030087145752018-08-03T16:59:00.001-07:002018-08-04T15:50:49.389-07:00The Cost of BadwaterEvery big ultra has its critics these days, and Badwater is no different. However, if you pay attention, almost all of the Badwater criticism comes from those outside the event; those who have participated are full of appreciation and praise. I am a cynic by nature and I admit there was plenty to make me skeptical as well. However, after participating in the race, I, too am a convert and you will only hear me say good things. That being said, the indisputable fact is that Badwater is a VERY expensive race and if this race is on your bucket list you might need to start saving a few years in advance!<br />
<br />
Here is a breakdown of my costs. I believe I spent significantly less than the average person, but there are a few places which I noted below where you could shave off a few more dollars.<br />
<br />
Badwater entry fee - $1500. This is probably the most criticized thing about Badwater - a $1500 entry fee and they don't even have aid stations! This starts to make a little more sense when you are there when it finally dawns on you that Death Valley is really the middle of NOWHERE and there are no locals to help out, meaning many people have to be put up in hotels. There are a few niceties offered to runners, such as a cottage room in Panamint and a post race dinner for everyone. I will say the race had more officials for monitoring and safety on course than any race I have ever been at. Race officials found me three times to try to help me with my tracker (not entirely successful, but still appreciated) and I used the cottage room and footcare available at Panamint. Yes, the race is for profit and I am sure the RD gets a decent wage from the race, but this is now fairly commonplace in ultra running. The price is steep, but the only way around this is to pledge to raise $7500 for charity.<br />
<br />
Crew Travel: $1200. Standard practice at Badwater is for the runner to pay entirely for the crew. This includes travel, lodging and hotels. My pacer Dennis and I drove from Oregon and crew chief Jimmy drove from L.A, significantly cutting travel costs. I paid $660 for my sister's flight and $515 for my other pacers flight. It was worth every penny to have them there with me, but if you want to keep crew costs down, stick with three crew members instead of four and find crew that doesn't have to fly to get to Death Valley. <i>(Update: Others have noted "standard practice" is to pay for crew once they get to Death Valley but for crew to pay their own travel. That would certainly mitigate expenses.)</i><br />
<br />
Van: $750. I rented a van for a week for $525. I was a little taken aback when the person picking up the van added the $30/day insurance; however, this ended up being a good thing as we spilled dirty water in the van and it stunk to high heaven when we were done with it. The crew also reported there were a lot of places that it was easy to open doors into rocks. Anyway, we probably could've gotten by without the insurance, but it was nice to know we didn't have to worry about anything we did to it while racing.<br />
<br />
Hotels: $1900. I had two hotel rooms for two nights in Furnace Creek and two rooms for two nights in Lone Pine, plus one extra night while traveling. Both places outside of Furnace Creek, we stayed at Best Western, which has air-conditioning (about half the hotels in Lone Pine don't - your crew will thank you for the AC!) and a free breakfast (decreased food costs!). I got 10% off with my Costco card. I paid $127 in Fallon, NV and $141 x 4 in Lone Pine, both of which seemed reasonable. Furnace Creek is where you will pay an arm and a leg - nearly $300 per night per room - and anyone looking to save money should think about staying elsewhere and driving to the Sunday race briefing and the Monday night time start. I had my crew come in Sunday, which worked out fine in the end, but most people arrived Saturday which made for a bit more leisure time and less stressful race prep, but certainly adds to the costs, especially if that means more nights in Furnace Creek.<br />
<br />
Gas- $500. This was 6 tanks of gas to and from Oregon, plus three tanks of gas for the van to and from LA and during the race.<br />
<br />
Food - $500; Groceries -$150. A huge chunk of this was a $190 crew dinner on Sunday at the nicest place in Furnace Creek. On the bright side my crew didn't do much drinking and they weren't into dessert. ;) I brought a lot of groceries from Oregon and several crew members traveled with food, which meant we had snacks and race food covered.<br />
<br />
Ice- $138. That's 200 pounds of cube ice plus two frozen water jugs. Be prepared to be gouged on the ice pricing in Panamint (and severely limited) but every place else was reasonable and plentiful.<br />
<br />
Race Items and Supplies - $120. This is where I spent nearly nothing but you could easily rack up big bills here. Driving from Oregon meant I could bring things like coolers, sunscreen, towels, chairs, and spray bottles from home instead of buying when I got there. Critical gear includes: calf sleeves, arm sleeves, a high coverage hat, ice bandanas, and full protection sunglasses but I already owned all those things (and actually didn't pay for any of them originally either!). I also wore clear glasses for most of the second night but I used a free pair of protective eye goggles I got from the hospital where I work. I did not buy any of the "add-ons" offered by the race, such as signs or crew shirts, nor did I have any matching team shirts for my crew (they have to be in OSHA gear anyway, so not like anyone really sees them on race day!). Next time (yes, I said that!) I will buy better OSHA gear because I borrowed and skimped and we should've had a little higher quality stuff. I did buy 8 red blinky lights ($28) and 10 "Biffy bags" ($25) (cheaper online than through the race) as required, plus one OSHA vest ($8), and an umbrella ($14). I was able to borrow coolers and water jugs from a local race as well as a crew member and only bought one extra large cooler at Walmart for $60.<br />
<br />
Total: ~$6,800. That's a hefty price tag for a single race! (Now think about the ten time finishers or Marshall Ulrich and his 23 Badwater starts - yikes!). As one friend and excellent Badwater candidate told me, "I'd much rather vacation in Europe for that kind of money." It's hard to argue with that, and as such, a lot of top runners will never be on the starting line of this race. However, there's a reason this is an iconic race and it was definitely a unique and special experience.Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17695365862543446730noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-56253361075868787972018-07-27T21:29:00.000-07:002018-07-28T15:48:39.997-07:00Fruit Leather and Fried Eggs: Record Temps at Badwater 135<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAmxJYTxY-wcRw2jDGM4fy1Ti5nXNw45bJkF3g-0yNy6IlhTuATCcIWRrB8IBe4abpsAyN823enCQUGGOCnthW0CQvd8M1tKlUxYFgFvigduw89W_QaAxRktYA1S6TkbKFUm41OTTo_jw/s1600/IMG_0678.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAmxJYTxY-wcRw2jDGM4fy1Ti5nXNw45bJkF3g-0yNy6IlhTuATCcIWRrB8IBe4abpsAyN823enCQUGGOCnthW0CQvd8M1tKlUxYFgFvigduw89W_QaAxRktYA1S6TkbKFUm41OTTo_jw/s400/IMG_0678.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-b82ff33b-df18-c533-a35a-c7b8f652bcc6"></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-71290cc1-e183-abb8-da98-897fd680c391"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When I my enthusiasm for ultras first started, there were two things I swore I would never do: eat a plain potato dipped in salt and run Badwater. Those things just sounded highly unpleasant. I made it all the way to my second ultra before I was chowing sodium crusted tubers mid-race. Well, ok, salty potatoes aren’t really that crazy (and can actually be delicious), but Badwater...That was still a very hard NO. Only a fucking idiot would run 135 miles through DEATH Valley in July, and I am not a fucking idiot. Or at least I wasn’t for 16 years of ultra-running. But here’s the thing, ultra-runners tell you they do these races to push boundaries, to test their limits and to get out of their comfort zones, but how many of them really mean it?? Within our ranks we see so many runners gravitate toward the same kind of races; they find a preferred distance, a preferred surface, even a preferred race that they go back to over and over. I still have plenty I can improve on at 100 miles and they still challenge me tremendously, but honestly, they don’t scare me anymore; it’s a mythical beast I have already slayed. I’ve had a few battle wounds along the way, but there’s been enough success to make me feel like I know what I am doing. And so in the last couple years I’ve found ways to find new challenges - running a 100 miles at my fastest, the 153 mile Spartathlon, 24 hour racing- and gradually I came around to the idea that I needed to run Badwater, too. It’s iconic, steeped in history, and rightly deserving of the title, “World’s Toughest Foot Race.” Also, it scared the crap out of me! But on paper it should be right in my wheelhouse: net uphill, >100 miles, runnable climbs, and a lot of heat. How could I not sign up?? :D</span></span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-71290cc1-e183-abb8-da98-897fd680c391">
</span>
<br />
<div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-71290cc1-e183-abb8-da98-897fd680c391"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-71290cc1-e183-abb8-da98-897fd680c391">
</span></div>
</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ4UOd_g4KUNr7kY3o_0IEe4P6P_I-WshfWAL47LaL40vIGhAzgCnsSnrHoltBzYHYZeSmaINtC0eP6ZL4Ziy7tLeYAe7_hdH7Z1DTkRSYpm7lEU3xRO7xIQBUcW2AQpRbHn0nKoEYDUI/s1600/IMG_0663.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; white-space: normal;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ4UOd_g4KUNr7kY3o_0IEe4P6P_I-WshfWAL47LaL40vIGhAzgCnsSnrHoltBzYHYZeSmaINtC0eP6ZL4Ziy7tLeYAe7_hdH7Z1DTkRSYpm7lEU3xRO7xIQBUcW2AQpRbHn0nKoEYDUI/s400/IMG_0663.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i>Check in with Crew Chief Jimmy at a mild 123 degrees</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-18a059b5-e184-50bb-0e12-1f6d3d5faf18"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Western States four weeks ago was supposed to be my confidence builder, but it was the exact opposite. Due to a spring hamstring injury, training hadn’t gone the way I hoped and on race day I puked relentlessly for 20 miles. And then we got to Death Valley and it was 123 degrees!! Oh yeah, and it was going to be hotter on race day! I spent the two days before the race telling myself I was definitely a fucking idiot for getting myself into this! Fortunately, I had four super amazing people with me to keep me calm and tell me that it was going to be fine. We even had a little fun in the park on race day to keep things light.</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666984558105px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-18a059b5-e184-50bb-0e12-1f6d3d5faf18">
</span></div>
</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5eMrHAac9VIP5ef-YfFfwpqAxszouDW8lvPkQa8OCNxxcmHtTR4J8nqoonLhWAJg9NiiYVyJc16nLga3iknUyoB9NXqHnhbfCbDB6rm25_I0tFxhCDmDIGf5GHrsQxp1iKPv5hS0zRgA/s1600/IMG_0673.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5eMrHAac9VIP5ef-YfFfwpqAxszouDW8lvPkQa8OCNxxcmHtTR4J8nqoonLhWAJg9NiiYVyJc16nLga3iknUyoB9NXqHnhbfCbDB6rm25_I0tFxhCDmDIGf5GHrsQxp1iKPv5hS0zRgA/s400/IMG_0673.JPG" width="300" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1QAbe281fwW7w94KGS7x2d0ny2aFZV9xE3M4RBiqJsFuzO0uL_FGazqcQlPux92sYc00_sddtp5_xdZCq7K-YnkaanvcvlfP7jU6QwyfOgZFzmOad_flhlpFAuinxkSoVfW6cXGs4-2k/s1600/IMG_0667.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 11pt; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="750" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1QAbe281fwW7w94KGS7x2d0ny2aFZV9xE3M4RBiqJsFuzO0uL_FGazqcQlPux92sYc00_sddtp5_xdZCq7K-YnkaanvcvlfP7jU6QwyfOgZFzmOad_flhlpFAuinxkSoVfW6cXGs4-2k/s400/IMG_0667.jpg" width="223" /></a><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Recreating a 1984 family photo with my sister! </i></b>
</div>
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: justify;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbm1h32WHFe_ind1trT8PIwbO4rMHAUtz1FOfb7vQNTHgS-YOszgJQXbfeXrP-F89tjExbzYhlhbiR4P9A7ECyuH-ohkaCbag-TSrD0m-8HT8jrV1flFbcY4vusMDyUFkVg_XScxofpJ8/s1600/IMG_0679.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbm1h32WHFe_ind1trT8PIwbO4rMHAUtz1FOfb7vQNTHgS-YOszgJQXbfeXrP-F89tjExbzYhlhbiR4P9A7ECyuH-ohkaCbag-TSrD0m-8HT8jrV1flFbcY4vusMDyUFkVg_XScxofpJ8/s400/IMG_0679.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Badwater Basin</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: justify;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheD8fbLFzpf9SCaR_Mad4V3qU5pgmbLhX40RrqXXRhJj0MMAwqtWon278iBrhw0btQQ4Wf0wRrcV7IeCClg1hmpaHLL_VQw39zGfIehdCO9tNDNnf0o4woSh7_gyxYi3km22eF2a8Chk4/s1600/IMG_0686.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheD8fbLFzpf9SCaR_Mad4V3qU5pgmbLhX40RrqXXRhJj0MMAwqtWon278iBrhw0btQQ4Wf0wRrcV7IeCClg1hmpaHLL_VQw39zGfIehdCO9tNDNnf0o4woSh7_gyxYi3km22eF2a8Chk4/s400/IMG_0686.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
</td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Taking in the Death Valley Landscape</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-fc797189-e184-d64f-54f0-729503df582b"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Monday, July 23rd, 11 pm: Badwater 135, Wave 3 begins. The sun has set and it is still 112 degrees. The pavement and the rock cliffs are still radiating heat. 30 runners set off running through this barren and desolate land partially illuminated by a nearly full moon. A light headwind increases the difficulty and desiccates the mouth and lips quickly. The other 69 runners in wave 1 (8pm) and wave 2 (9:30) are already on course several miles ahead. The race is unique in that your crew can meet you almost anywhere on course with a few exceptions due to parking availability/safety. We’ve barely gone a mile before we pass the first sidelined van with the hazard lights on. Soon the road resembles an airport landing strip with red lights blinking down the side as far as the eye can see. In fact, the best way to see where the course is headed is to follow the van lights while trying to find your own van every couple of miles for some brief aid before they leap-frog you and rejoin the line of vans someplace up ahead. Though a bit chaotic at times, I rather enjoyed the action and the energy of the whole scene.</span></span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-fc797189-e184-d64f-54f0-729503df582b">
</span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-fc797189-e184-d64f-54f0-729503df582b"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Early on I tucked in behind eventual second place finisher Jared Fetterolf trying to keep my pace under control and to get a little protection from the wind. But I was especially glad to have company when a coyote was standing not more than three feet off the road. We both veered wide, but the coyote just stood there staring at us, probably thinking to himself “what a bunch of fucking idiots!” ;)</span></span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-fc797189-e184-d64f-54f0-729503df582b">
</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
</div>
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: justify;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzTCDvXTe6m9Sn3vEnYINHCfcrRHvdUYSFn2rDyf7gbhiX5hPT73Z1fAseG9HnuWA-f0IX6kKQG54G8hR31gmZXejAt4d-M6OmZMNRWvYMLiOLOWe-km8cJjtEwe1VbW1x9ynIdu9Lk58/s1600/63960395-D4FB-4E67-844B-1B1DFE6BAA1A.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzTCDvXTe6m9Sn3vEnYINHCfcrRHvdUYSFn2rDyf7gbhiX5hPT73Z1fAseG9HnuWA-f0IX6kKQG54G8hR31gmZXejAt4d-M6OmZMNRWvYMLiOLOWe-km8cJjtEwe1VbW1x9ynIdu9Lk58/s400/63960395-D4FB-4E67-844B-1B1DFE6BAA1A.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Day break in Death Valley<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoC9lKyQgOS-QWfclfMI8Yc9KE7T6s1QGrYAv7DVKyochrTGjHrC5TbVW49aEFY5EEKxYXOVy1YIQ0sAi_-MOEyiglys6jzAhq11zCT60tvtx0zaDEJ6mXzprjMV5wvcYB7gj6D9eIzVY/s1600/464ECE68-D14F-434A-8967-5FBEC9916D12.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoC9lKyQgOS-QWfclfMI8Yc9KE7T6s1QGrYAv7DVKyochrTGjHrC5TbVW49aEFY5EEKxYXOVy1YIQ0sAi_-MOEyiglys6jzAhq11zCT60tvtx0zaDEJ6mXzprjMV5wvcYB7gj6D9eIzVY/s400/464ECE68-D14F-434A-8967-5FBEC9916D12.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: start;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"></span></div>
You can't even tell these two have already been up all night!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Despite what seemed like an easy pace, I wasn’t even at the marathon point in the race when I first started puking! That is quite disheartening! Miles 26-58 were a huge struggle for me. Even though it wasn’t even the hottest part of the day, I felt so drained from the temperatures, my stomach wouldn’t cooperate and the 5,000’ climb from mile 42-58 was mentally defeating. This section was a huge low for me and I fell way behind the leaders in the women’s field. And then at the top the incline shifted and so did my whole race. I took a few minutes with my crew in a chair to get a leg massage, chew a few Pringles and some “quinoa granola” (???) that my crew chief Jimmy forced on me. I washed it all down with a shot of anti-nausea liquid and it all stayed down! Running downhill was so much easier and I think the lower effort really helped me recover as well. By the time we were passing the dry lake into Panamint I was rolling, despite the mercury nearly busting out of the thermometers at that point. (The day had a record high of 127 degrees and ground temps of 158. Just for reference, the medium setting on my fruit dehydrator is 125, and you can *literally* cook an egg at 158.) However, I was in my cotton shirt with a lot of sun protection and ice, such that I felt like I was really managing the heat well.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOto4UqIKLg-sw2y6ojY1xcexiZTys818oUjSk-4tdIKt9Ajw-zACv9pHE9LpgBuxqShvYMqmCDJSYRFQ_1x1RZz6YICt3c7Jkulw9GapuctO5haT5-Rj2oBC_qR_3LY6H4cmcUVJWTxw/s1600/IMG_E0691.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="731" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOto4UqIKLg-sw2y6ojY1xcexiZTys818oUjSk-4tdIKt9Ajw-zACv9pHE9LpgBuxqShvYMqmCDJSYRFQ_1x1RZz6YICt3c7Jkulw9GapuctO5haT5-Rj2oBC_qR_3LY6H4cmcUVJWTxw/s400/IMG_E0691.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tweet put out by Death Valley National Park</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Lh94jW4BotooD6tSeIABBWZ2SrgEDloFv15tnhkvP3bnCY50CxDmmqDYT1419-cGk2NNzZOF5dAO8hT4lVjiXhuZ91TWTcy08QnYtwfZnlvG0H1DeB-h7C59q2t9A7eaJAHhbo1pz6w/s1600/5E47022A-D47D-486E-AEC9-D553F29364F8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Lh94jW4BotooD6tSeIABBWZ2SrgEDloFv15tnhkvP3bnCY50CxDmmqDYT1419-cGk2NNzZOF5dAO8hT4lVjiXhuZ91TWTcy08QnYtwfZnlvG0H1DeB-h7C59q2t9A7eaJAHhbo1pz6w/s400/5E47022A-D47D-486E-AEC9-D553F29364F8.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stopping for crew</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0FO95coa0En5SLS8hvJ5J1zDSrJZGYDuc5L3tX8zqg24Wnm9IaK5j9KfnjRtDOzNvv_5gknmke5UMaWANHlGPaipmVT36ZnSla5Yx34xxLLsdSFtwrlcU38Ffj0fhC9ZDvrRGwr8_gxQ/s1600/EB2A2075-A366-4381-810F-0D4ECBC1500B.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0FO95coa0En5SLS8hvJ5J1zDSrJZGYDuc5L3tX8zqg24Wnm9IaK5j9KfnjRtDOzNvv_5gknmke5UMaWANHlGPaipmVT36ZnSla5Yx34xxLLsdSFtwrlcU38Ffj0fhC9ZDvrRGwr8_gxQ/s400/EB2A2075-A366-4381-810F-0D4ECBC1500B.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The umbrella hat was quite a hit with the onlookers!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jimmy told me I’d need solid food at Panamint and I would’ve bet him money beforehand that there was no way that would happen, but then I got there and downed a piece of pizza and a full rootbeer. So that’s why they tell you to have someone with experience on your crew! I also got some attention to my feet. All in all we spent 24 minutes there - almost the exact amount of time I finished behind Brenda at the end - but I think that time was critical to regroup and replenish the early deficits. Leaving Panamint, I was in beastmode and moved up about 8 places in just as many miles. Near the top we started playing leap-frog with fellow Oregonian Yassine Diboun as well as then second place female Micah Morgan, both of whom were super friendly along with their crews and it made for some good natured and light-hearted competitiveness. I also crossed paths with good friend Bob Hearn at the Father Crowley parking lot where he was taking some extra crew time so we had lots of friendly company and my spirits were high. A few clouds rolled in and we were treated to several fighter jet flybys and their sonic booms. All in all, I was loving this section right up until I was hit with a massive calf cramp that stopped me in my tracks! We hid behind a rock to do a little massage and then I stopped to change my shoes, use the roller stick, get some arnica and Tylenol to try to the fix the problem. I was totally panicking, yet smiled and acted as casual as possible as Micah went cruising by. After a few minutes of stretching, I was back on the road able to run and passing Micah just before the mile 90 check point at Darwin where we heard I was in 12th with Brenda ahead by 67 minutes. I knew it was a huge lead, but there was only one possible option: fight like hell to the finish! Plus, I wasn’t giving second female back now!</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyXlu1hBA_58yBxgYdka1LXaizKFbh2oITf9WTR3QO9UDDEpVRpUnbhbBlXwubSbGALuktruLtSdv5XzViW28Hp0gyPESIGbuz9IckB49Ptu-gAsFV2gag-lY79HSkSiW8ga0iHFpn7TE/s1600/IMG_E0692.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="922" data-original-width="744" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyXlu1hBA_58yBxgYdka1LXaizKFbh2oITf9WTR3QO9UDDEpVRpUnbhbBlXwubSbGALuktruLtSdv5XzViW28Hp0gyPESIGbuz9IckB49Ptu-gAsFV2gag-lY79HSkSiW8ga0iHFpn7TE/s400/IMG_E0692.JPG" width="322" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Powerhiking in the Power Sun</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><new p="">The next 32 miles to Lone Pine is known as the crux of the race. If you can run here, you will do well. Micah’s crew started playing their own little mind games here as they would make every crew stop almost exactly 20 yards in front of me to remind me that Micah was still hot on my heels and I am certain to time the gap. As weird as this sounds, I actually enjoyed this and kind of looked forward to seeing their van. Their crew was super nice, so it was like I saw friendly faces twice as often on the course, plus, don’t think I can’t play my own games! I was making sure to smile and never walk in front of them to let them know I wasn’t backing down. And I figured out I could use their van stops to gather info on Micah behind me by timing how long it would take before the van would pass us again. At first it held pretty steady, but then the numbers started to grow and I knew we were gaining ground. I was euphorically delusional in here and was <i>so</i> amused by what I kept calling “our reverse spying” (mind you, I was going into my second night without sleep, I was more than 100 miles into the race, and I had fried my brain in 125+ weather all day). Anyway, all of these antics helped this long boring section go by faster and I actually missed Micah’s van and Michael Jimenez’s van (which was also leap-frogging us) when we finally left them for good and there was nothing else out on the roads with us. Thank goodness for my pacers or this would have been incredibly lonely! We rolled into Lone Pine in 8th place overall with a 5:56 split for those 32 miles, faster than everyone else in the race including overall winner Michele Graglia, who posted 6:00 flat and Brenda who went 6:36.</new></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unfortunately, the deficit was just too big from my early low to catch her. But we did have two “carrots” on the climb that kept me motivated to keep the pedal to the metal, but more than anything I was just ready to be done. We passed the two guys early and there was little fanfare after that. We didn’t have enough real estate left to catch Brenda, there was no one else on the course near us and we were definitely going to break 29 hours. My entire crew joined me for the finish as we trotted across the line together: Official Badwater finisher, 6th place, 2nd female, 28:48, with lots of hugs all around.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIbF7FQC6CHv19bo5haF74L6FTDLBvbgW6vlMEDarWyHFkm3a50QXX6Zoha2dhPoSQn6Abwmdef0wengJgqKFMV1ivYA6YeWSsfFh6vqIACfGTIX6nYt3FKP4KD5PyFhxCpUgy-CHPGu8/s1600/BW18finish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIbF7FQC6CHv19bo5haF74L6FTDLBvbgW6vlMEDarWyHFkm3a50QXX6Zoha2dhPoSQn6Abwmdef0wengJgqKFMV1ivYA6YeWSsfFh6vqIACfGTIX6nYt3FKP4KD5PyFhxCpUgy-CHPGu8/s400/BW18finish.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0B-WjfMp2gcvsk53JhmjFxX2yYpH-opiwxmOZpxXgZO1IRuXjMXxZslVQgIDSW_EYmB43ZUhNeFz2c6GWEQ35N_JCm8rgPIJpfMd4EsFCNsK_kCN8uIylwNM1AZgezEZlvvo7OCf8cyQ/s1600/BW18finish2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0B-WjfMp2gcvsk53JhmjFxX2yYpH-opiwxmOZpxXgZO1IRuXjMXxZslVQgIDSW_EYmB43ZUhNeFz2c6GWEQ35N_JCm8rgPIJpfMd4EsFCNsK_kCN8uIylwNM1AZgezEZlvvo7OCf8cyQ/s400/BW18finish2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1lQmGKFJ1b0b5jPfjZqnElk5W7n7fqnk-WHbxUSCaP2xNQnq2Zz_qMX_HqGzx719xXgncXBCw2AjPxBNCH6xaMIpvxX4-t8AzFVZQuFLAo_vPV2A44UB0Gg8nef5v5LMHAhjAuz1uZZA/s1600/IMG_0690.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="913" data-original-width="1080" height="337" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1lQmGKFJ1b0b5jPfjZqnElk5W7n7fqnk-WHbxUSCaP2xNQnq2Zz_qMX_HqGzx719xXgncXBCw2AjPxBNCH6xaMIpvxX4-t8AzFVZQuFLAo_vPV2A44UB0Gg8nef5v5LMHAhjAuz1uZZA/s400/IMG_0690.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Team "Boot and Rally" at the finish! We did it!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I owe a mountain of thanks to my crew, Megan Alvarado, my sister Sarah, Jimmy Dean Freeman, and Dennis Gamroth. These people were instrumental to my success in this race and they deserve every bit as much credit because this was a team effort! They basically had to participate in their own feat of endurance and put up with the same temps all while catering to my every need. Love and gratitude; I am forever in your debt!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">My finish allowed us to hang out with RD Chris Kostman and his crew for a bit, drive down the mountain, shower and hit the hotel hot breakfast right as it opened at 5 am - how’s that for good timing! I was too wired to sleep, but the crew crashed for several hours for some well deserved rest. Later that afternoon we went back up to the finish to honk and cheer for those still climbing the hill (then 38-41 hours into the race depending start times). We passed more than 20 runners making the climb after two full nights on the course. We enjoyed lovely weather with ice cream and beers at the top watching people finish until it started to pour with HAIL. That’s right, the mid packers had two days of scorching temps and sleep deprivation, only to be pelted by ice and flash floods at the finish! These guys and gals are serious tough-as-nails rock stars!! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">After doing this race, I understand why it is so special and why people want to put themselves through this challenge. It really was the most difficult race I have ever done, but the location and the people were amazing. In fact, I would go so far to say that anyone who has finished Badwater is a Badass in my book, and not, in fact, a fucking idiot. ;)</span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-f5f658db-e1a8-2cd4-4106-b7268317e26f">
</span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: justify;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqJZYtLjD8w-jcGM0x08_go2Dh0uM4I7HJFtNyfmpJgbgdjWbYJT1FEu6JIqMBnodAAFWnYEbaoJAhZhohbzksG5CKs9WIQJeEZXZluEgRiZPcYcWWMDi2rqaMN_JoUcWvOAucgbWUGuo/s1600/FD309361-2F12-42AF-AA90-B94F0FA72A14.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; white-space: normal;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqJZYtLjD8w-jcGM0x08_go2Dh0uM4I7HJFtNyfmpJgbgdjWbYJT1FEu6JIqMBnodAAFWnYEbaoJAhZhohbzksG5CKs9WIQJeEZXZluEgRiZPcYcWWMDi2rqaMN_JoUcWvOAucgbWUGuo/s400/FD309361-2F12-42AF-AA90-B94F0FA72A14.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flash floods on Day 2</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbFB8AO-fmmzM2P8_ftnO3FDgtIDab9PTT8UDAVPhnadGLyNlEe12ria55mstkR2_YS8gIKW0EJq6nMF4IHRNNKP0QHDSz4Ge_2AeBOLK7kSSXYaYjCJFWWwcyiQ58iIz4e3cAuobhHmk/s1600/ECF2402C-09A7-43CA-ADB2-7259E08F2BAB.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbFB8AO-fmmzM2P8_ftnO3FDgtIDab9PTT8UDAVPhnadGLyNlEe12ria55mstkR2_YS8gIKW0EJq6nMF4IHRNNKP0QHDSz4Ge_2AeBOLK7kSSXYaYjCJFWWwcyiQ58iIz4e3cAuobhHmk/s400/ECF2402C-09A7-43CA-ADB2-7259E08F2BAB.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hanging at the finish with my crew to cheer on other racers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmPfTLQvfkoVR1zm_VPE_SpOv8XjM28FlTrLHdEIs7bLPot94rREbBq-XjtkZz2CxiONwIrnc2H3ac34y63-BbFHmRBluUzoFIxcHSY5P9SniTr2ounYHWDV0ylv0HmQdH5LocXjU9y2w/s1600/E8E0FA42-80F3-4C0B-ABEA-BA1D41436416.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmPfTLQvfkoVR1zm_VPE_SpOv8XjM28FlTrLHdEIs7bLPot94rREbBq-XjtkZz2CxiONwIrnc2H3ac34y63-BbFHmRBluUzoFIxcHSY5P9SniTr2ounYHWDV0ylv0HmQdH5LocXjU9y2w/s400/E8E0FA42-80F3-4C0B-ABEA-BA1D41436416.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: left;">Nothing like an efficiency engineer (and Mom of three) to keep your team organized and act as "Team Mom!"</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"></span></div>
Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17695365862543446730noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-41032792159471949592018-01-08T19:02:00.002-08:002018-01-09T19:28:50.444-08:00Belize It Or Not, I'm BloggingIf you want to write more, you have to sit down and write more. Seems fairly obvious but in the hustle and bustle of daily life, the activity of blogging didn't just get put on the back burner, it got packaged in foil and stuck into the far reaches of the freezer! Of course, I have been contributing to iRunFar with Gina and Liza for the past two plus years in our monthly column, Trail Sisters. I also recently joined the Ultrarunning Magazine staff as a monthly columnist for 2018 (look for my first article in February!). But those aren't the same as just rambling to your heart's content about whatever you want. And so I am dusting off the blog!<br />
<br />
This year, I am headed back to Western States after a two year hiatus, thanks to a sponsorship spot from Active Joe (be sure to check out their races!). But before jumping into training for 2018, we headed down to Belize for a little post-holiday sunshine ("Belize Navidad!") and to celebrate my mother in law's 70th birthday! I only ran twice down there and enjoyed true vacation life, so now I am 8 days behind on the New Year, training, and resolutions (not to mention a bit overweight - thank you Belizean cuisine!). The days will go fast, but right now it feels like June is still a long way off with plenty of time to get in shape.<br />
<br />
So for the time being, here are a few shots from Belize.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP5WObJ3QWqh7fP_QVOTjkFNz6RXnwaqTh-UAHrVQUsXq5ogGtiPlFoH0PrZWzkPLkcg2TH-PYqBpc1fJ0jRiFcc-v9EZKNo4ASXmrhi5krbhbmO8q_ePy9sw4pmOrIpenbACW4VU-HeM/s1600/IMG_0057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP5WObJ3QWqh7fP_QVOTjkFNz6RXnwaqTh-UAHrVQUsXq5ogGtiPlFoH0PrZWzkPLkcg2TH-PYqBpc1fJ0jRiFcc-v9EZKNo4ASXmrhi5krbhbmO8q_ePy9sw4pmOrIpenbACW4VU-HeM/s320/IMG_0057.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi03vri4qFdB-U0U12Zp69nRIibhEXRRMgjIH4PnRxsIOeEItSR61AFXbK0mT7IczrbyEPILaA1q_slLJbIvkGU6w_UbNzpoKMVF4iiHLgIR7s_9M1rNUljEEmgiCDEyflvqirQgpjgXRE/s1600/IMG_0060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi03vri4qFdB-U0U12Zp69nRIibhEXRRMgjIH4PnRxsIOeEItSR61AFXbK0mT7IczrbyEPILaA1q_slLJbIvkGU6w_UbNzpoKMVF4iiHLgIR7s_9M1rNUljEEmgiCDEyflvqirQgpjgXRE/s320/IMG_0060.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Mayan ruins at Altun Ha</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXYNcnZuQF3PVwYAiwUJ8HT3z_33HEs1dr0VEUaS0dR2ikWVs-NqsmRNEcqSIPD2MQKxu1T12s5PRljw_J7laom5TsUYIrBtVwIK7vIcrVA6Qt-iQpY2uA49zfvjS5CN9cQlh-vczUlVU/s1600/IMG_0080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXYNcnZuQF3PVwYAiwUJ8HT3z_33HEs1dr0VEUaS0dR2ikWVs-NqsmRNEcqSIPD2MQKxu1T12s5PRljw_J7laom5TsUYIrBtVwIK7vIcrVA6Qt-iQpY2uA49zfvjS5CN9cQlh-vczUlVU/s320/IMG_0080.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
A trip to the Belize zoo</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSw0U3CQa-YCyXaF9Y2-eAB5AJQPrqzLHX6jCibS7Db8x_V23UPPD1NtpFR85F7OX4-hdh5E1ik-W0rNxsqJ4-6PXqo18BbkSljUUD8FtWFDKiKzCMchCa0YK1BoVf1zIVtQIV-F0hKkA/s1600/IMG_0085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSw0U3CQa-YCyXaF9Y2-eAB5AJQPrqzLHX6jCibS7Db8x_V23UPPD1NtpFR85F7OX4-hdh5E1ik-W0rNxsqJ4-6PXqo18BbkSljUUD8FtWFDKiKzCMchCa0YK1BoVf1zIVtQIV-F0hKkA/s320/IMG_0085.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Hammock time</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXuaa3HrYobRw_so1AbK4tuLDjMJ8w_t2fHc3R4DFHrf7BMTsKUH8c8XJAyK5j3pAXMma-iHVpQN4tSXvIDMBDMp8YWplerujXt5nKstBOoJPtRhqOve9mecDqibwHTVjpqkdRDA-CbZI/s1600/IMG_0087.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXuaa3HrYobRw_so1AbK4tuLDjMJ8w_t2fHc3R4DFHrf7BMTsKUH8c8XJAyK5j3pAXMma-iHVpQN4tSXvIDMBDMp8YWplerujXt5nKstBOoJPtRhqOve9mecDqibwHTVjpqkdRDA-CbZI/s320/IMG_0087.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our cabin at Monkey Bay Wildlife Preserve</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimHUISpxTE4GTMB1-o0xFlUkhn3PFGELK2D0v1XUPtT-fk7lbNWGXBzMX7er4JgTuaUHGdnCZWlNGq9e-Vc1uIfu0OZ-WT7rHJIOSFCvcYx1USTrUBtZCYnuGm8GxHG1cDd_v4UfEMp7I/s1600/IMG_0094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimHUISpxTE4GTMB1-o0xFlUkhn3PFGELK2D0v1XUPtT-fk7lbNWGXBzMX7er4JgTuaUHGdnCZWlNGq9e-Vc1uIfu0OZ-WT7rHJIOSFCvcYx1USTrUBtZCYnuGm8GxHG1cDd_v4UfEMp7I/s320/IMG_0094.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Exploring St. Herman's Cave</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiU3hyKFXd-CEv427nCQbe3g1cx_Cw8l_7FHffMRg_NdTFtxyZ09le-OCSdKGqFNJEMwLcfnLuiXMRWi89jRBN3zbGpfHzRVKJtBtZhNhEnLhMwJQeZkhQ02hQiLgjfQLmkdtStF_-4jc/s1600/IMG_0104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiU3hyKFXd-CEv427nCQbe3g1cx_Cw8l_7FHffMRg_NdTFtxyZ09le-OCSdKGqFNJEMwLcfnLuiXMRWi89jRBN3zbGpfHzRVKJtBtZhNhEnLhMwJQeZkhQ02hQiLgjfQLmkdtStF_-4jc/s320/IMG_0104.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
A dip in the blue hole at Blue Hole National Park (not so blue after a night of hard rain)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGFldkVRlaOu9q7m4ndgM0OaqYROqFhZGQW09WqCPqzHhKWH5ckpiE6RJ1MI_4xjruUpzhuAf7_2MmM6GwR7aCGSDE5PLQJ9emJBS1CVJwF5QS7aKOgwNDlA0_dJtp8aOVyUVz-zuwHxU/s1600/IMG_0107.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGFldkVRlaOu9q7m4ndgM0OaqYROqFhZGQW09WqCPqzHhKWH5ckpiE6RJ1MI_4xjruUpzhuAf7_2MmM6GwR7aCGSDE5PLQJ9emJBS1CVJwF5QS7aKOgwNDlA0_dJtp8aOVyUVz-zuwHxU/s320/IMG_0107.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Our house on the beach</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHcxyU7WF9ikbmuS5Mqm9fg2vasF81rXtYeLiKFlMPXKkSGHG8X7TNLFw5Thpo1ZakBpi0E7GdOKv2hXTwLQYG2MBYQgJePZHVZfKv1GE_DClXQZdcKMW8c4nBu7pfnchsfL05otMkn38/s1600/IMG_0120.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1203" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHcxyU7WF9ikbmuS5Mqm9fg2vasF81rXtYeLiKFlMPXKkSGHG8X7TNLFw5Thpo1ZakBpi0E7GdOKv2hXTwLQYG2MBYQgJePZHVZfKv1GE_DClXQZdcKMW8c4nBu7pfnchsfL05otMkn38/s320/IMG_0120.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
A wildlife cruise on Monkey River</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQZRMqtBSEfBtNkrGb-XyMAj4tN_6pTMeY0Oi27n07DCu1YY5_NmdhTvISydZWE-ZJeoMr8sqIbi0owo5I1OvRTIC21TtMPFw2hrt2RIbcIl6cuW_-ecXAIarK3YD65lgqJLph81kmPzA/s1600/IMG_0126.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQZRMqtBSEfBtNkrGb-XyMAj4tN_6pTMeY0Oi27n07DCu1YY5_NmdhTvISydZWE-ZJeoMr8sqIbi0owo5I1OvRTIC21TtMPFw2hrt2RIbcIl6cuW_-ecXAIarK3YD65lgqJLph81kmPzA/s320/IMG_0126.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirsV2punYMFnxzr6c-iGZopWuD8fstIFkyqEnqzzvTL2_ywIaZHVH53zcvmQD92e9LHdnIUM3kZVDN_4H3Zi4dinbYrD2zcsSqHPDHFpenpBP08TfmP0miJx20LQwYLxl754eqxx0Sv0o/s1600/IMG_0129.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirsV2punYMFnxzr6c-iGZopWuD8fstIFkyqEnqzzvTL2_ywIaZHVH53zcvmQD92e9LHdnIUM3kZVDN_4H3Zi4dinbYrD2zcsSqHPDHFpenpBP08TfmP0miJx20LQwYLxl754eqxx0Sv0o/s320/IMG_0129.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Relics at Nim Li Punit</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPxk5Ur7yiYkNlvB-riuVnjnRkVZIopOnichUSwMcxqJeAJp-w59wErVOEeEYYsyyjrjNBVwzQp96Sk85mVMT8komZKmTWzsSl1zXBehQwKbbQTqXBMN6GaStc42k1HqhuNZ7dA3S-EI4/s1600/IMG_0137.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPxk5Ur7yiYkNlvB-riuVnjnRkVZIopOnichUSwMcxqJeAJp-w59wErVOEeEYYsyyjrjNBVwzQp96Sk85mVMT8komZKmTWzsSl1zXBehQwKbbQTqXBMN6GaStc42k1HqhuNZ7dA3S-EI4/s320/IMG_0137.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK-ZeS5ikiwu8utBuCjG5ZvKsMWpgS_Xa6L1pUOnp1wwl7ReHsyIDJwXY4gNmTERuZGh_3gGCZ2jsCZHOPY_pBS9d3a2qTSe4yRt8tQcPwc50hi3Ehhq4iSLBuMZkLK3FKaKNtdVM2Dvc/s1600/IMG_0150.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK-ZeS5ikiwu8utBuCjG5ZvKsMWpgS_Xa6L1pUOnp1wwl7ReHsyIDJwXY4gNmTERuZGh_3gGCZ2jsCZHOPY_pBS9d3a2qTSe4yRt8tQcPwc50hi3Ehhq4iSLBuMZkLK3FKaKNtdVM2Dvc/s320/IMG_0150.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8FI5BbTlod-K-C-qJRHqEe_qMm5siKA7eJHNW7LZ3l_T7lqitLgoJb16jK42Xsan-hJe3XROEJRNU1vva4svriSQqqEOq2C-i8MPuVKS6Bkf7buhKYim7fafcOc7TxaFLjP2I31ZegaM/s1600/IMG_0149.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8FI5BbTlod-K-C-qJRHqEe_qMm5siKA7eJHNW7LZ3l_T7lqitLgoJb16jK42Xsan-hJe3XROEJRNU1vva4svriSQqqEOq2C-i8MPuVKS6Bkf7buhKYim7fafcOc7TxaFLjP2I31ZegaM/s320/IMG_0149.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwf-ZMjT4Dgn8SU0nYxCymn75weGdR4ILhJDIPa-I27XzSi1yl-lNokvDyb_d52st-GFpYLIxoREF4YHyPAzDsc80fz3kOUpPZT_3hWcAx5a4WvGfgfsLKBQhc1k0eC0T7KvC3zb97KUU/s1600/IMG_0148.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwf-ZMjT4Dgn8SU0nYxCymn75weGdR4ILhJDIPa-I27XzSi1yl-lNokvDyb_d52st-GFpYLIxoREF4YHyPAzDsc80fz3kOUpPZT_3hWcAx5a4WvGfgfsLKBQhc1k0eC0T7KvC3zb97KUU/s320/IMG_0148.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
A trip to Laughing Bird Caye for an afternoon of snorkeling</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17695365862543446730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-21126446535146628632017-03-05T16:15:00.000-08:002017-03-05T16:15:47.117-08:00Riverbank 24 - My Most Successful "Training Run" Race<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well, here we are in March and I am finally getting around to putting something up on this site! So obviously, “Blog more frequently” wasn’t exactly on my list of New Year’s resolutions. However, I did write a couple articles for iRunFar, which I hope you check out, if you haven’t already. Here are the links:</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.irunfar.com/2017/01/when-motivation-hits-rock-bottom.html" target="_blank">When Motivation Hits Rock Bottom</a></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.666666984558105px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.irunfar.com/2017/02/apples-to-apples-not-oranges.html" target="_blank">Apples to Apples, Not Oranges</a> (Follow up: Aravaipa gave Gina the extra money and Gina donated it to Girls on the Run. I decided to donate the (much smaller!) article payment to the Salem chapter of GOTR as well. Everybody wins!!!)</span></span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-fcb84501-a0e6-1c58-42a0-5421522f3f3e" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anyway, if you did get a chance to check out the first article, you’ll know I was pretty burnt out after Spartathlon and 100km World's last fall, and with good reason: it was 215 miles of racing with two trans-Atlantic flights and 4 nine hour time zone adjustments in 8 weeks! (Not to mention getting back to work the day after coming home each time!). So instead of running all through December and starting 2017 in good shape, I ended up taking 5 weeks off and starting 2017 completely out of shape.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But January 2 was the day to turn over a new leaf! (Never the 1st - too cliche! And too hung over! (more from staying up late than actual alcohol these days)). Just to make sure I felt especially bad about my fitness, I did run the half marathon on January 7 that I had already signed up for. I proceeded to run a 1:32, which was a personal worst (PW) by 4 minutes! *sigh* But the good part of being out of shape is that you can only get better and the gains come quickly! And so just four weeks later, I had a strong race at the hilly Zena Road run (15k) and managed first place with a decent time to surprise myself (and a few of my running friends!).</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Despite seeing good gains, being in top ultra shape takes time and seven weeks was not enough to get there. My original intent for the Riverbank 24 hour run on February 25th was to be in great shape and go all out, but I just didn’t have enough miles on the legs for that. I knew I was not in shape to better my current 24 hour Worlds qualifying mark of 143.6 miles from last May nor was I in shape to PR at 100M, and I couldn’t come up with a good reason to dig myself into a big hole physically to put up a non-PR performance, so I decided I would </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">truly</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> run this as a training run.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now, I have done many ultras as stepping stone races to get in shape for more important races later on, but I pretty much run those super hard too. Even if I am not tapered or have not trained specifically, when I pin on a bib I go into *race mode*. Basically, I suck at running races at non-race effort. And yes, that 1:34 half means I was running with everything I had to get that PW! But I was holding myself to 100 miles for this one, which I knew would not be a competitive total and since it was a 24 hr race, it really didn’t matter how fast I got there: Hence, a training run race!</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And I am happy to say, I kicked ass at this goal! :) </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I ran at a good steady pace through 50M (split - 6:53; still much slower than my road 100 km pace), took a short break then jogged to 100km (9:09, also a road PW for the distance). Then I took advantage of catered dinner - I never get my money’s worth from the food at these long ultras, but this was the day! - and walked/ate till I hit 300 laps (12:06). I knew I could easily finish up the ~25 miles I had remaining in the early morning hours so I headed to my car for a NAP! Napping in an ultra - oh yeah, I was definitely killing it in the non-competitive department! And not just a little nap either - I was in my car for just over FIVE hours and I managed to sleep a good portion of that time. I woke up feeling surprisingly good for having 75 miles on my legs already. </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj115UM6iRrx7H6gb3T5uRcqR76rVzEbM-VFqnwVn-tS0C7d_bRIJLJIIxdr1hm4jF1cbZqfVKMSHLWzJFRZYG1Clyb5amwOmgXq1HOrmDLjGxvYedXkz9GNJu6zEKNOBQfmU3PNxRf2g0/s1600/Riverbankrun2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; white-space: normal;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj115UM6iRrx7H6gb3T5uRcqR76rVzEbM-VFqnwVn-tS0C7d_bRIJLJIIxdr1hm4jF1cbZqfVKMSHLWzJFRZYG1Clyb5amwOmgXq1HOrmDLjGxvYedXkz9GNJu6zEKNOBQfmU3PNxRf2g0/s400/Riverbankrun2017.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clicking off early miles with Gina Slaby right in step. I am not usually one to "push" product, even from sponsors, but I LOVED the new Injinji compression socks.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Getting back to the track at 3:00am let me check up on the rest of the competitors and a lot had changed in 5 hours. Early race leaders Gina Slaby and Chikara Omine had both suffered after the 100 mile mark. Gina was valiantly walking to the time limit while Chikara did some napping of his own before coming back to the track in the daylight. Rich Riopel and Courtney Dauwalter had steadily ticked off the laps to take over the top spots. Courtney would go on to finish with a new American Record of 155 miles and first overall, while Rich would put in 151M for the #4 spot on the 24 hour qualifying list. A few others were going strong, like Yvonne Naughton who ended up earning a spot for the Irish 24 hour team, but many others were struggling or going through lows. I took the time to run or walk laps with several of the competitors as well as RD Jon Olsen and a couple of the “spectators”, knowing that I had plenty of time to cross the 100 mile threshold.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Besides getting to 100M, my only other objective became eating as many cookies as possible. I didn’t actually mean for this to be an objective but I just got so hungry that I was alternating Oreos and Mother’s oatmeal cookies almost every mile! Pretty sure I ate near 20 cookies for breakfast! I got to 100 miles right around 23 hours clock time and ~17:30 on my feet. And then I took my chair and more cookies trackside to cheer everyone on for the last hour.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anyway, I had a great weekend in California despite not “killing it” in the race. A big thanks and congrats to Jon Olsen for putting on such a high quality race for people trying to qualify for the US 24 hour team. Also, a big thank to Richard P who volunteered to crew for me the first half of the day and who was on top of everything, even when I forgot all the nutrition I had packed at my parents’ house two hours away. (Who does that?!? Apparently me! OMG - what an idiot! Good thing it wasn’t my ‘A’ race!).</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEH0eP0BBtO4rUDDX1MtQ2XnfW0hs5A7zYhcJ7cdRF77tlknzIMqf2XP_8GDRWpeQ-otf3cWC7thwwFisx7uFLpkw6UUQzUjpDBkq3GPfafsdnKtUtNRMyvhcPllx8gXzVNuiO6h7LRf0/s1600/Riverbankshopping2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEH0eP0BBtO4rUDDX1MtQ2XnfW0hs5A7zYhcJ7cdRF77tlknzIMqf2XP_8GDRWpeQ-otf3cWC7thwwFisx7uFLpkw6UUQzUjpDBkq3GPfafsdnKtUtNRMyvhcPllx8gXzVNuiO6h7LRf0/s400/Riverbankshopping2017.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Only idiots are doing emergency shopping at 7 am on race day! On the bright side, all this stuff worked great. So glad Raley's carried Honey Stingers!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am currently sitting with the #5 qualifier and top 6 get selected. Right now, it is just a sit and wait game for a month when the team gets announced, with two major qualifiers between now and then. Pouring over the entrants’ lists, my chances look good, but nothing is a guarantee and I’ll be a little nervous waiting the final results of those races. This women’s US team is going to be incredible and I hope to be a part of it. For perspective, only 12 or 13 North American women have broken 140 miles in 24 hours and we now have 6 of them lined up to be on the team. The team world record is 441 miles or 147 miles average for 3 ladies and the top US qualifiers have bests of 155, 151, and 148 miles and I also hope to go 150+. And the women’s individual record is 158 miles with Courtney and the winner of the European Championships both coming within a few miles of this. So world records could be falling in Ireland this July and I hope to be there! Fingers crossed!</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfHhbG5e91WTrBw46rPbxi5uUS4Vmhlg0t5HvC7At1sQOoHSrcHd_-jGtkC2x3pPrDmyvK1FroxeYVy1Mab0qHrAmOPULb1uo7w1e8SG3ck9E-0L-NnkfzcGPhitx__It6cBt5hHS6TtU/s1600/riverbankaward2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; white-space: normal;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfHhbG5e91WTrBw46rPbxi5uUS4Vmhlg0t5HvC7At1sQOoHSrcHd_-jGtkC2x3pPrDmyvK1FroxeYVy1Mab0qHrAmOPULb1uo7w1e8SG3ck9E-0L-NnkfzcGPhitx__It6cBt5hHS6TtU/s400/riverbankaward2017.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">100 miles is still 100 miles!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span>Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17695365862543446730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-39641473645937917082016-12-03T07:11:00.002-08:002016-12-03T08:06:59.184-08:00Muscle Memory, Old Ladies and Team USA: 100km World Championships<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Muscle memory,” Traci told me a day before the race in response to some of my pre-race anxiety. “Once you get going your body will do fine running at that pace.” I hoped she was right as I really had done very little training specific to 100km pace. Late withdrawals by Sarah Bard and Camille Herron meant the US Team was down to three ladies - the minimum needed for a team score - so the pressure was on to deliver. My less than ideal training and the uncertainty of asthma had me concerned.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Muscle memory,” I repeated to myself in the first dark miles along the beach. My plan was to be conservative at the beginning, knowing there was no room for error (and also, because that is always my plan). While I was definitely in the back half, I was already in the low 7:40s for the first three miles. “Slow your roll,” I thought, but still I drifted down into the 7:30s and the pace felt comfortable. Maybe the muscle memory was kicking in after all.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgILvx8vMumKLrjOURbdUYnRpRy7_dzG3zM6ckai7RhZzM1j9m8OufWBeu50zhTqnRAD3txs1KbC6WeIyKEkJKwlH1olUlaNzxw1fuAx5xG4zF2TKUjTEBl2TplZeri_gwTqVusxixsf5U/s1600/IMG_5351.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; white-space: normal;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgILvx8vMumKLrjOURbdUYnRpRy7_dzG3zM6ckai7RhZzM1j9m8OufWBeu50zhTqnRAD3txs1KbC6WeIyKEkJKwlH1olUlaNzxw1fuAx5xG4zF2TKUjTEBl2TplZeri_gwTqVusxixsf5U/s400/IMG_5351.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Team USA</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Training</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I spent the first half of this year training for the Dawn to Dusk to Dawn 24 hour race and 100 mile attempt and all summer training for Spartathlon, which was only 8 weeks prior. While I did keep some speed work in the schedule for those two events, there was basically nothing at 100 km pace (7:30-7:40) as that is much slower than the speed work and much, much faster than all the long slow runs for D3 and Spartathlon. My average mileage for the 8 weeks after Spartathlon was around 50 mpw, with only two runs over 20 miles (21 and 22). But I wasn’t worried about endurance. My focus was on speed, mobility and strength and I felt I did a good job doing a lot of extras beyond just the miles in the running log. I was a regular at yoga (1-2x/week) and I was killing it with the strength training (in terms of attendance, not actual pounds lifted!). In fact, I even competed in a 5 workout CrossFit competition during that time, placing 37th out of 274 ladies in the scaled female masters category (aka “handicapped old ladies”). I felt like I did the best I could with the short time frame (with recovery and taper, it was really only 4 weeks), but it was far from my ideal build up.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Team</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Besides myself, the other two US ladies were Meghan Arbogast and Traci Falbo, two of the best and most consistent ultra-runners in the country - a very good thing when the team doesn’t have any “insurance” for bad days. What I particularly loved about our team is that we were all masters athletes with an average team age of 47.5 years! While I made a couple “old lady” jokes on social media, the truth is, I was pretty excited about this fact. I love that we are defying age not with silicone and botox, but by representing our country on the world stage! </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3XVFjeNg-SpwqbML3FAllqBtSjyK-c-EQbKAzIl1zE9iqDDgSI7ePw81BvT0uZT1-kV-KLviN6UhMEUD5FsS0U6HqPICvkv6eIpVzb9qmRisflEOopd_cXN7VlSylSK2cUnQTG827DEY/s1600/IMG_5347.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; white-space: normal;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3XVFjeNg-SpwqbML3FAllqBtSjyK-c-EQbKAzIl1zE9iqDDgSI7ePw81BvT0uZT1-kV-KLviN6UhMEUD5FsS0U6HqPICvkv6eIpVzb9qmRisflEOopd_cXN7VlSylSK2cUnQTG827DEY/s400/IMG_5347.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old ladies ready to rock! (Wait!-who are you calling old?!?)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Course</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The course was a 10k “loop” repeated ten times. The loop started in front of our hotel, ran 1km through town and then turned onto a beachside promenade with a surface composed entirely of 2 inch tiles. Right before the 4k mark, the course turned off the beach and took a very convoluted route through mostly residential streets with several out and backs. The course looked pancake flat on paper but the out and backs had a very slight incline (1% or less) on the way out and the same slight decline on the way back. While it doesn’t seem like much, it was perceptible on the run and more so as the day went on, making the out and backs even more of a pain. I really liked running by the beach with it’s fairly straight course, nice scenery and lots of people out for strolls. The out and backs got a bit tedious but I did enjoy being able to watch the race ahead of me unfold not to mention being able to keep tabs on the runners behind.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitaIVv4EQ4OAUFoT0PBZfx05M497DNxMVMuTiXoHe5fglT8uM3eiXUI03bjXaIqIljP8HJEaAW-6gkkh7uzlPtOfQR6p-961DfAJL0BcJMGKAEh0URXWknaZhzPROexEOOPf107JldM6c/s1600/100km+course.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitaIVv4EQ4OAUFoT0PBZfx05M497DNxMVMuTiXoHe5fglT8uM3eiXUI03bjXaIqIljP8HJEaAW-6gkkh7uzlPtOfQR6p-961DfAJL0BcJMGKAEh0URXWknaZhzPROexEOOPf107JldM6c/s400/100km+course.jpg" width="383" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The course map - switchbacks on a road course!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Weather</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We started in the dark at 7 am with temps in the low 50s. The temperature gradually warmed for the first four hours and then we were hit with rain for an hour or so. The rain itself was not bothersome, but several lake-like puddles formed and persisted the rest of the day and in some places the tiles were a bit slick. The dip off of the boardwalk required 3-4 steps through ankle deep water.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Race</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">187 runners from 37 countries lined up for the World Championships. The headline for the men’s race was the presence of the South African team - on paper a team that should’ve decimated everyone else. Indeed, two of their runners were out quick and their final three were just behind with only Jonas Buud and Hideaki Yamauchi hanging close. The first South African lapped by me at just 36k (46k for him). I know the guys are going to lap me at this race, but, holy cow - I was barely a third of the way in! I was going to have to watch out for being triple lapped at that pace! </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinmMhIN9TLWZBhHUt26tWeR4ZNZ5FRyc4bqeCA5D0bqI6nq43pxYlrkkW0h7iaqYuWomhyphenhyphenv5ufPtXb6a8bkKNtrjpwmOfM6t-8ktJREjjbMSuecxoXsQp-lPTukfR0dL9ta7LAzajbRls/s1600/world100km.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; white-space: normal;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinmMhIN9TLWZBhHUt26tWeR4ZNZ5FRyc4bqeCA5D0bqI6nq43pxYlrkkW0h7iaqYuWomhyphenhyphenv5ufPtXb6a8bkKNtrjpwmOfM6t-8ktJREjjbMSuecxoXsQp-lPTukfR0dL9ta7LAzajbRls/s400/world100km.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But mile after mile, I stayed consistent while the South Africans faded a bit and I am happy to say that none of them managed to even double loop me, though men’s champion Hideaki Yamauchi of Japan lapped me for the second time with less than 100m to go on my lap 8. That meant I got to see him finish and I could pretend the crowds were cheering for me! Of course, I hated him for being done while I still had twelve and a half miles to go. And at that point, I was feeling the pain - the stiffness and the twinges in the legs with every step that let me know I was going to be dealing with some very sore legs when this was all over. But my bigger problem at that point was a very urgent need for a bathroom stop and the nearest port-a-johns were three miles away! Those were my slowest and most uncomfortable miles of the day as there was absolutely no discreet place to duck off the course. But with business finally attended to, I was ready to get those last 15k done! </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKaBEh2eSEyiZspzUXPlvBeDP09ndWDLqkVHqM6oXRRtJRPEx7e10i_vq2q9LzbQd9RzOdPKVcboJJEULE1CUme1VWtLgEjZ-as1LY31G_CVQOLOfs8DYapNBg7RgLYQ9nsb21944OVYU/s1600/100kmworlds1.png" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; white-space: normal;"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKaBEh2eSEyiZspzUXPlvBeDP09ndWDLqkVHqM6oXRRtJRPEx7e10i_vq2q9LzbQd9RzOdPKVcboJJEULE1CUme1VWtLgEjZ-as1LY31G_CVQOLOfs8DYapNBg7RgLYQ9nsb21944OVYU/s400/100kmworlds1.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Smooth handoffs with no slowing down!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; white-space: pre-wrap;">I had been closing on Meghan, who had been leading for Team USA all day, for a couple laps but the gap once again opened after my pit stop. Still I had her ahead to focus on and her presence helped keep me moving. As I hit the 10k aid station for the final time, our Team </span><span style="font-family: arial; white-space: pre-wrap;">doctor Lion told me Meghan was “exactly 47 seconds ahead” so I put in a little surge hoping to catch her so I could have someone to run with for a bit as I hadn’t really been with anyone all day. I finally caught her on the boardwalk and got to run a few minutes with her. Even that small amount was enough to lift my spirits and I could tell we would both finish strong. But I had just a step more in me at that point and Meghan encouraged me to go ahead since time matters (scoring is based on aggregate team time, not places like X-C). From that point on, it was just counting down the kilometers and being thankful that this was the last time I had to pass every little landmark on the course. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ5o_nQ866YWADDErEAhMmPRtBM6ibZuG4Fg3s-E0O73SVda3JaqKY-zZsOUBKsaggFYm9SFHQMrnI1kUSC2MF2_zQXnfuHmOL3GPuJQj1Fj9FvTYcPoAal4Kbk-ZdcGNZjEd65ryftJQ/s1600/100kmspain.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ5o_nQ866YWADDErEAhMmPRtBM6ibZuG4Fg3s-E0O73SVda3JaqKY-zZsOUBKsaggFYm9SFHQMrnI1kUSC2MF2_zQXnfuHmOL3GPuJQj1Fj9FvTYcPoAal4Kbk-ZdcGNZjEd65ryftJQ/s400/100kmspain.png" width="216" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I ended up finishing 12th place in 7:56:48 for my 5th sub-8 100km. While I was a bit off of my 7:43 PR, I feel like I ran a smart and well paced race and it went as well as I could have hoped for given the circumstances coming into the race. Meghan finished right behind me in 13th for a huge 55-59 age group world record and Traci posted a 17 minute PR and stayed really tough all day to finish a strong 16th. The solid efforts by all three runners put us on the podium for a bronze medal! Additionally, this event was the World Masters 100km Championship, and I was second master overall for silver in my age group and Meghan and Traci were both “golden oldies” taking home top honors in their categories. The men’s team also finished third overall and Patrick Reagan had a remarkable last lap to pick up an individual bronze medal. The men’s team was composed entirely of youngsters so no masters medals for them! (Getting old does have some advantages!). All in all, it was a great day for the US Teams. The South African men's team did end up winning, but only by 5 minutes over Japan and Japan took home top individual honors with only one South African on the podium.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFcsrsuviw6eMDfNfEdfMRAmOEdNlraiJcSgvRSHo6Q95Cgk84Mzm8kjtITiz4dQfSYY8f1LTZQEp_dTpckTU6eLYIXRrIBxf5Ssfijz12wj5-T3p1TrnuvaWhL2vsuZzqD0a6eH_lHCg/s1600/IMG_5389.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFcsrsuviw6eMDfNfEdfMRAmOEdNlraiJcSgvRSHo6Q95Cgk84Mzm8kjtITiz4dQfSYY8f1LTZQEp_dTpckTU6eLYIXRrIBxf5Ssfijz12wj5-T3p1TrnuvaWhL2vsuZzqD0a6eH_lHCg/s400/IMG_5389.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;">Ladies podium: Gold-Japan, Silver - Croatia, Bronze- USA!!!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ejBRf4UQGVGXkuSEeRC4mCKNnv0H9DyQoAQfpCsULvOkQjmbBnZB91hkXd3szdmU0fUOg_we55Mp4LxVuPkYV5KlIHyAGi0mZVFlZh_-DX6VnyhD23RrLi6H2_Abvq3rZW-riXurY8o/s1600/IMG_5403.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ejBRf4UQGVGXkuSEeRC4mCKNnv0H9DyQoAQfpCsULvOkQjmbBnZB91hkXd3szdmU0fUOg_we55Mp4LxVuPkYV5KlIHyAGi0mZVFlZh_-DX6VnyhD23RrLi6H2_Abvq3rZW-riXurY8o/s400/IMG_5403.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;">Bringing home the hardware!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Besides a great day on the course for the team, I had more fun with the team this year than any other year, in part because the team was small and most of us traveled without crew and in part due to some spunky characters on the guys team. Sunday night after the race, we had a great time celebrating with the Finnish team and a few Norwegians at a wine bar into the wee hours of the night (hey, when you are old like me, 1:00 am counts as wee hours!). On Monday, Traci, Zach Bitter and I traveled Alicante for a little touring and a nice meal with Patrick and his support crew to wrap up the time in Spain.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I qualified for the team this year essentially “by accident” as it was a split in my 100 mile attempt at D3 and I wasn’t planning on going. Fortunately, Meghan made a convincing plea and I decided to go. Meghan is so wise! I am so glad to be there so that we could have a full team and the time in Spain was a great experience. Team USA needs more ladies and USATF just approved more funds to support the ultra World Championships, which will hopefully cover the majority of the costs in the future. Worlds are now going to an every other year cycle, so there is plenty of time to get ready for the 2018 event (location TBD) - if you are a speedy lady, please consider trying to qualify for the team.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilBW_moJTphpGMp5_9dAZc2lWevxfGpu4GzqO-z37sqAQ9cyGb8hVkMwptw_5BiZ2TfqXo736pWP6SokVGxOnJud1NZCmF0gpCCD26o3-R32QRdsN02MZtg640lY6AHBWPR7YsBOg_QNc/s1600/IMG_5318.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilBW_moJTphpGMp5_9dAZc2lWevxfGpu4GzqO-z37sqAQ9cyGb8hVkMwptw_5BiZ2TfqXo736pWP6SokVGxOnJud1NZCmF0gpCCD26o3-R32QRdsN02MZtg640lY6AHBWPR7YsBOg_QNc/s400/IMG_5318.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pre-race site seeing: Roman theater in Cartagena</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTKzS9xvR8td-uD_HStiXBSDoI1XSlAPrDJJBGcip_uqJjPVPWFmhU86aLzG5_hCULk4Wchsjb482V5ZyZPuG3sx0XIXHqXjjmCSqjr-bGwEREMpdhGeE424XzFL-XjDK0yhzFNN8_jLM/s1600/IMG_5311.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTKzS9xvR8td-uD_HStiXBSDoI1XSlAPrDJJBGcip_uqJjPVPWFmhU86aLzG5_hCULk4Wchsjb482V5ZyZPuG3sx0XIXHqXjjmCSqjr-bGwEREMpdhGeE424XzFL-XjDK0yhzFNN8_jLM/s400/IMG_5311.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cartegena city hall and plaza </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipc_MRz8FAa6i-LR0Ubswo5y_tj6wyIUpSSEQ7aymzlqM5vt2BCDO9FHwol1GXt3jnQzKRBFzeGWDckStCvnbBUB-PZJWjoWjh8r3eVwukxbQnPo-EKdYV3dVoBSj0JP8rBpwOB4utW38/s1600/IMG_5448.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipc_MRz8FAa6i-LR0Ubswo5y_tj6wyIUpSSEQ7aymzlqM5vt2BCDO9FHwol1GXt3jnQzKRBFzeGWDckStCvnbBUB-PZJWjoWjh8r3eVwukxbQnPo-EKdYV3dVoBSj0JP8rBpwOB4utW38/s400/IMG_5448.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Santa Barbara Castle in Alicante<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZOtJBnUn_yIW4vdBEK-0BhVHlVBl4Wiu-juhA_fnWnLGhYsDDPnn2MB3LNvQhn4e4WrOpudqgj5fkxWajDwUC-apXMCQPYYWvPGwL387q1GENxkML-ONlceWoJxg03VVk6osYd7Z_GhU/s1600/IMG_5418.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZOtJBnUn_yIW4vdBEK-0BhVHlVBl4Wiu-juhA_fnWnLGhYsDDPnn2MB3LNvQhn4e4WrOpudqgj5fkxWajDwUC-apXMCQPYYWvPGwL387q1GENxkML-ONlceWoJxg03VVk6osYd7Z_GhU/s400/IMG_5418.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
The knights of the Santa Barbara Castle</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKjOliSskXPoT2zMyRI6cSedAGleBLYToidcrs_c-rIIj26nFBf7ZL1iZaLTUQ8FMnxyiqpa74TUukP9JCKYWo2VEUZqNS5vQjDAGN78_wugXpIb3NS0_d7MhevIGAFCPxtp3UF-cUqqY/s1600/IMG_5446.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKjOliSskXPoT2zMyRI6cSedAGleBLYToidcrs_c-rIIj26nFBf7ZL1iZaLTUQ8FMnxyiqpa74TUukP9JCKYWo2VEUZqNS5vQjDAGN78_wugXpIb3NS0_d7MhevIGAFCPxtp3UF-cUqqY/s400/IMG_5446.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alicante Gothic Basilica</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKsZ5JSEteFZ4LVtEHlIVToT7haCrgfnajuI0r1OIfdlGztNWXbbwhCz9HtWbmz_M6ACQGFr3qnONktVzYpExTd1F2g8nNCQznov0QuFrWOXfPqw1eRESaVw18XXsYdNnXmnwuEkTIHmE/s1600/IMG_5432.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKsZ5JSEteFZ4LVtEHlIVToT7haCrgfnajuI0r1OIfdlGztNWXbbwhCz9HtWbmz_M6ACQGFr3qnONktVzYpExTd1F2g8nNCQznov0QuFrWOXfPqw1eRESaVw18XXsYdNnXmnwuEkTIHmE/s400/IMG_5432.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More beach front tiles in Alicante</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">A big thanks goes out to my husband Mac, who not only supports me but also watched our kids while I was gone AND spent Thanksgiving with my sister and her kids! - Heaps of husband super bonus points to him! Thanks to all the wonderful members of Team USA for making this such a great event and especially Timo, Lin ,and Lion for their leadership. Running for Team USA was especially great this year and I am even more excited now to be donning the national kit again next year for the 24 hour World Championships.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRKHSBmnQV-GLr2inCxGM-IwXveEECpRFzIIG8eNwhwcRJN5onDb-SRlxEL8CYzZTMDY_BjgUVOtD6Fgwu0kNxJY52riMKUIix0OyLbZ-243hX7Ab4vsfz8IIYyzkkjp39PEu_-kSECcs/s1600/IMG_5438.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; white-space: normal;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRKHSBmnQV-GLr2inCxGM-IwXveEECpRFzIIG8eNwhwcRJN5onDb-SRlxEL8CYzZTMDY_BjgUVOtD6Fgwu0kNxJY52riMKUIix0OyLbZ-243hX7Ab4vsfz8IIYyzkkjp39PEu_-kSECcs/s400/IMG_5438.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Recovery food in Spain means huge chocolate pastries!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17695365862543446730noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-15586718907465031192016-11-13T08:12:00.000-08:002016-11-13T08:14:51.136-08:00This I BelieveThe week after Spartathlon was crazy. Monday night we attended the Spartathlon gala awards ceremony - dinner didn't even start till 9 pm after they had called up every finished to the stage for their award. Mac and I left early, though 11:00 is not my definition of early! We had a 3 am wake-up call to catch our flight and then ten hours of flying home, only to arrive 40 minutes after take off, due to the timezone differences. I was not recovered from the long day of the jet lag, but it was back to work for me bright and early Wednesday morning. Friday morning I was up again at 1:30 to catch a flight to Team Red White and Blue Trail Camp in Texas to serve as a mentor. Unfortunately, that schedule was just too much after a big race like Spartathlon and by Friday night, my voice was raspy and I wasn't feeling too hot. By Saturday, my voice was gone and I was dragging - I was sick. I did my best to rally at the camp - it is such a great event and such an easy way to give just a little back to our Veteran's - but really I felt like I just didn't engage like I have in the years past. And because of my voice and coughing, I didn't get to participate in "This I Believe", a time when other well known trail runners and mentors got to share stories from running that were motivational, inspirational or just funny. And so for this Veteran's Day weekend and a post election week where we need to remember what brings us together as people not what divides us, I thought I'd share what I had intended to say:<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">This I Believe</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the world of Ultrarunning, The Western States Endurance Run is one of the biggest stages there is, bringing together a Who’s who of top distance athletes for a contest of 100 miles through rugged mountains and canyons. At my first go at the race in 2010, I managed to eke out a 10th place finish for a coveted “Top 10” and a spot in the next year’s race. In my sophomore attempt, I ran a faster time, but once again finished tenth. It got me a spot in the 2012 race, but it left me feeling like I could do better and so I trained even harder for 2012.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All spring I ran higher mileage, I did hill workouts and strengthened my quads. I placed 5th at the 100km World Championships in a huge PR and felt like all the training was paying off and I was in great shape going into Western States, with a good shot at being in the top 5. But race day threw a curveball at the runners, who had all diligently prepared for the traditional scorching hot conditions of the race. Instead of blistering heat, there was rain, wind, hail, snow and freezing wind and I did not have the proper attire. My hands froze, I couldn’t open food packs, I became hypothermic and my legs just wouldn’t function. By mile 40, I had borrowed clothes from several people and the weather abated, but I was still cold. I was drinking cups of broth at every aid station to fight the chill, but I wasn’t used to all that sodium and the extra electrolytes caused massive water retention to the point that I was more than 7% above my starting weight and the medical team refused to let me go on until my weight came down. I was forced to sit at a chilly aid station for two and a half hours before finally being released. By that time, I was stiff and my goal times had all passed hours ago. Plus the medical team was still worried about my weight and electrolytes and so the best I could do was slowly walk the final 15 miles to the finish, but I did finish. Most people are elated at the finish line of Western States; you see people who are just overcome with so many positive emotions, but I was crushed. My goal had been top five and I finished in the bottom five, ahead of only three other women. I felt like I had failed and that all my hard work had been for nothing. I was so disappointed and upset that the race didn’t turn out the way I had planned.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But in the days that followed, I received hundreds of messages and emails from people supporting me and telling me how proud they were of what I had done. They told me they were impressed by my determination and inspired by my perseverance. I now think of the Western States race in 2012 as one of the most positive experiences in my life because it reminded me of how many people are out there supporting me no matter what and that the time on a clock is irrelevant in the big picture.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-4e9dafec-5e5b-0a68-1581-2d3e7c550aa3"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This I Believe: People don’t love you for your accomplishments and the awards you have won, they love you for who you are and the values you embrace. People love you for your strength of character, not your strength of resume. While I encourage everyone to have big goals, keep in mind the goal itself does not define you or your worth, and that the hard work, dedication and connections to others that you make in pursuit of your goals are more important the the goal itself.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOuX9i2yTOVVRy2RO_eTQENcIxIfoFjndedqZNDwFAkeKPtryorwQq9g9M0HWFbMaF-UcJj6lUU1bpnIY9TnKIxIz6H8mtX81q_8AJk9wg3uBJcT4rQByc8Qi9DqjXeRtMK6KKoO7NpEQ/s1600/RWB16mentors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOuX9i2yTOVVRy2RO_eTQENcIxIfoFjndedqZNDwFAkeKPtryorwQq9g9M0HWFbMaF-UcJj6lUU1bpnIY9TnKIxIz6H8mtX81q_8AJk9wg3uBJcT4rQByc8Qi9DqjXeRtMK6KKoO7NpEQ/s640/RWB16mentors.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The mentors of Camp RWB at Camp Eagle</div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17695365862543446730noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-65833920409906356882016-10-15T17:02:00.000-07:002016-10-17T18:56:49.635-07:00Spartathlon 2016: My Greek OdysseyIt's been a long time since I have blogged, but if I am going to revive it, it may as well be for something big, and Spartathlon was epic!<br />
<br />
The truth is, Spartathlon was never a "dream" race for me, more like a "eh, that might be interesting some day" kind of race. But my friend Bob Hearn ran it last year and was enamored with it and my running partner Dennis was also quite interested in it and spent time talking about how cool it would be to do. So when the application period opened in January and Bob told me I had till May before I had to commit any money, I thought I would throw my name in the hat. Well, that was a very slippery slope! Sending in an application meant spending time on the website and learning a bit more about the race, so that by the time the lottery results came out, there was no way I was turning down my spot. (I met the auto-qualification standards by being at least 20% faster than the regular qualification standard of 24 hrs for a 100M run, so it wasn't exactly a shock that I got in, but I was still super excited to see the "Congratulations, you have been accepted to Spartathlon" email!). Well, on to Greece!<br />
<br />
For those who don't know, Spartathlon is a 153.4 mile race from Athens to Sparta, recreating the journey Pheidippedes made in 490 BC during the battle of Marathon to ask the Spartans to send troops to help defend Athens from the Persians. Herodotus stated he left in the morning and arrived by evening the next day. And no, he didn't die when he got there! (that Marathon myth comes from a play written 500 years later, where the author took "artistic liberty" to make his play more dramatic). In 1982, Jon Fodden, a British RAF wing commander and lover of Greek history, set out to see if the feat was possible along with 4 other men. Three of the men covered the distance and the following year, the official race began. While the race takes place primarily on roads, one of the gnarliest features of the race is climbing the 4,000' Mt. Parthenion on rocky trail with 20% grade at mile 99. The race also covers two other hilly passes for a total elevation gain of more than 10,000 feet - paltry by trail standards, but when you are running more than 50% farther than a hundred miler, you feel that gain A LOT more!<br />
<br />
Besides being steeped in history, Spartathlon is a smoking deal when it comes to racing. For 520 Euro (about $580) you get 5 nights of hotel (plus a sixth night running!), all your meals, race entry, a nice luncheon with the mayor of Sparta, and a very nice Gala awards dinner with unlimited drinks included, plus some race schwag as well (finisher medal, trophy, 2 shirts, Greek food stuff, a race poster, free race pics and a race DVD). Crew can pay slightly less for the same room and board option. Mac and I kept a watch on airfare for quite a while and managed to get flights to Greece for $850 each. I'm not going to call it a cheap trip, but probably not terribly far off from what an East coaster would pay for themselves and crew going to Western States and definitely cheaper than Badwater! For us, traveling half way around the world is a big deal, so we decided to make the most of it and added an extra week to get the full Greek experience (cheap hotels are around 55-70 Euros/night). And in retrospect, getting there a bit earlier was good for getting over the jet lag.<br />
<br />
After a lovely red eye flight on my birthday, we arrived at our AirBnB apartment in the Plaka (old town) of Athens. We spent three days in Athens, a day on the island of Hydra, and a day at the Oracle of Delphi. After an amazing week of touring, it was time to get into race mode!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW963d3WBC4kPEZKgVYJ19qMr2724bXvMdNrAGZduK_S1n2nTc4ejWYjdHdVqxvVvuu4LPGFGTbfod_iDCxC371ykP947m4ExEXD1xLqQvb06vO9ATxdiFVQ34DKCAijf-HSYF9UqHXlE/s1600/IMG_4823.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW963d3WBC4kPEZKgVYJ19qMr2724bXvMdNrAGZduK_S1n2nTc4ejWYjdHdVqxvVvuu4LPGFGTbfod_iDCxC371ykP947m4ExEXD1xLqQvb06vO9ATxdiFVQ34DKCAijf-HSYF9UqHXlE/s320/IMG_4823.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>The old Roman agora</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNuPdi4oivTzjUoQRDXqbKyiP48ceAnoJ61BzD1-EldfhSOVnSty4v4CvHX9qmEnx9-NXxrZj5sWB_hTSihx8WaSHt5fkI_cEQrN8zKBBfhg2RpHkhLgARgLzmj-BauhJRQR6TjTh_bso/s1600/IMG_4825.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNuPdi4oivTzjUoQRDXqbKyiP48ceAnoJ61BzD1-EldfhSOVnSty4v4CvHX9qmEnx9-NXxrZj5sWB_hTSihx8WaSHt5fkI_cEQrN8zKBBfhg2RpHkhLgARgLzmj-BauhJRQR6TjTh_bso/s320/IMG_4825.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Athens, from the Acropolis</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFCQGwLAkR5HtwfRMdGAduIi70qM7Dk1_DawZW6my1jvkHN_fSVmpQ_V2sb2LeH91BjjflBzpE5jlot-9pI9bKnzuzm0Hz9GMr_a5x7OELpQzoumGHLnHrO-6lZeoEB4cJ1TfsADdNhZM/s1600/IMG_4833.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFCQGwLAkR5HtwfRMdGAduIi70qM7Dk1_DawZW6my1jvkHN_fSVmpQ_V2sb2LeH91BjjflBzpE5jlot-9pI9bKnzuzm0Hz9GMr_a5x7OELpQzoumGHLnHrO-6lZeoEB4cJ1TfsADdNhZM/s320/IMG_4833.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>The <b>original</b> Olympic stadium</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNPt8LdYz-JOqjWMjmcCJWskQ3Zs9CTIf5caZ-4DwZs9l3vCW9ik1HbKThs_LqMOLSdSrMqe-Yh-dkf-4e6H9HjL-b10lyr3JVetdvrrjg3QO1Q0ABZxyY3oDSjp81YWJRji-nDoP_aGM/s1600/IMG_4902.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNPt8LdYz-JOqjWMjmcCJWskQ3Zs9CTIf5caZ-4DwZs9l3vCW9ik1HbKThs_LqMOLSdSrMqe-Yh-dkf-4e6H9HjL-b10lyr3JVetdvrrjg3QO1Q0ABZxyY3oDSjp81YWJRji-nDoP_aGM/s320/IMG_4902.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>The theater at the Acropolis</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEf_ckEOcl8mjt44R6ByzZ9Nv3Ubu4ss9Q4abTTDzOPBZE0vg_CTUxnHvBFZCiRPmFqay4BGsJobfeyi3HGC6UOP1dKgFTW83E2U_CEnpwi5TycnH9cXyXl5Vc1tF1mxGxJaNiPtrFSpI/s1600/IMG_4843.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEf_ckEOcl8mjt44R6ByzZ9Nv3Ubu4ss9Q4abTTDzOPBZE0vg_CTUxnHvBFZCiRPmFqay4BGsJobfeyi3HGC6UOP1dKgFTW83E2U_CEnpwi5TycnH9cXyXl5Vc1tF1mxGxJaNiPtrFSpI/s320/IMG_4843.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>The Caryatid columns</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFs1XrcKZKuDCPLKhL-U0kjieWlI1MmgwOGfNlUYMEAoYHwTacilxN7AfS8tmnEniAjzjOhgG2wZaDbz4yOs3zE-vwpC2BQIFEoG4NY7A3cbfy80zaKTu6TkI46qvdXpt2Vhloz7BQcek/s1600/IMG_4916.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFs1XrcKZKuDCPLKhL-U0kjieWlI1MmgwOGfNlUYMEAoYHwTacilxN7AfS8tmnEniAjzjOhgG2wZaDbz4yOs3zE-vwpC2BQIFEoG4NY7A3cbfy80zaKTu6TkI46qvdXpt2Vhloz7BQcek/s320/IMG_4916.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Hadrian's Gate</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiNgbD37A0Dxyo1CQ4Em03Cf6ASGfCOV9OFqJiJbmLJnmdAkD5tnBcWccIP_KK2_sIHDTiyo96h-UyG9YxRD2Pw3lYue7NwV2tg54BoLMBkl-GeRtnpW5axVTc_TGuHxC4Tzm4X24ZmY8/s1600/IMG_4930.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiNgbD37A0Dxyo1CQ4Em03Cf6ASGfCOV9OFqJiJbmLJnmdAkD5tnBcWccIP_KK2_sIHDTiyo96h-UyG9YxRD2Pw3lYue7NwV2tg54BoLMBkl-GeRtnpW5axVTc_TGuHxC4Tzm4X24ZmY8/s320/IMG_4930.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i> Isle of Hydra</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie_fLuhILKL31lH02oDfVk0P4s0-DmlyqO1PgCn92smSoPcTML1CMOFunjNozMsfJAf8KvyGsM0LvI31PZFTFZlI8QbpPCu0U4gfXqPtw4KxpYHnqAGmVkI_1Y_AA7mfOtbx3eJ2CGGcY/s1600/IMG_4970.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie_fLuhILKL31lH02oDfVk0P4s0-DmlyqO1PgCn92smSoPcTML1CMOFunjNozMsfJAf8KvyGsM0LvI31PZFTFZlI8QbpPCu0U4gfXqPtw4KxpYHnqAGmVkI_1Y_AA7mfOtbx3eJ2CGGcY/s320/IMG_4970.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC8J2Oow35NwitVzxq4uJV6TB0gAfaVrMSdTQu05FgBVt3lBSsh8xMiCe6DUbSK2NpUcpSyxO1m0f03BF2wjl8H-s8dqd7_3g3XuIswxP-dJXSVYN9lehdqrSWJDS99C8zTeycdilxsSs/s1600/IMG_5002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC8J2Oow35NwitVzxq4uJV6TB0gAfaVrMSdTQu05FgBVt3lBSsh8xMiCe6DUbSK2NpUcpSyxO1m0f03BF2wjl8H-s8dqd7_3g3XuIswxP-dJXSVYN9lehdqrSWJDS99C8zTeycdilxsSs/s320/IMG_5002.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Delphi</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9_TPssMSkWM6o7ynrE2J3Qs5oXEcCDh3IIMQ2rZhVTkhm8KVYnvAKIU9U9uD8hCb_nVD2D8WT2jvyy6zTaaO4hrLyXQV4gMyWfnmAapOgXq68bi8OsfD_ar97dSGNK4STCQ3b0fkf0GE/s1600/IMG_4996.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9_TPssMSkWM6o7ynrE2J3Qs5oXEcCDh3IIMQ2rZhVTkhm8KVYnvAKIU9U9uD8hCb_nVD2D8WT2jvyy6zTaaO4hrLyXQV4gMyWfnmAapOgXq68bi8OsfD_ar97dSGNK4STCQ3b0fkf0GE/s320/IMG_4996.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9BTqeK6-rzFxa_y_muuikcBOKchLiwZ6W7tRSBFSHxOIla9Wd979cRBeqhoyTgIfROz6UyBkA0kUHWO-_qdFqJv83WAP7iYMq-fYJyibk9NWn9XD37LLDqUPdDdAIh1us-TR3QRUTKTo/s1600/IMG_4978.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9BTqeK6-rzFxa_y_muuikcBOKchLiwZ6W7tRSBFSHxOIla9Wd979cRBeqhoyTgIfROz6UyBkA0kUHWO-_qdFqJv83WAP7iYMq-fYJyibk9NWn9XD37LLDqUPdDdAIh1us-TR3QRUTKTo/s320/IMG_4978.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Delphi</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr0J1AdLvEV8-bHoHSLKkBfSgwYHBFCSi5Wa0dAPzhkshiMvwDzsY-eu1y0VC-RI_J2j_2bk_Kv3IFJvkigQQnoDP27b_-Kx3vo5diSYXJKUD4A4PgpCLpRviw8GlGHIDYp_LOyIa3nKg/s1600/Templeofposeidon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr0J1AdLvEV8-bHoHSLKkBfSgwYHBFCSi5Wa0dAPzhkshiMvwDzsY-eu1y0VC-RI_J2j_2bk_Kv3IFJvkigQQnoDP27b_-Kx3vo5diSYXJKUD4A4PgpCLpRviw8GlGHIDYp_LOyIa3nKg/s320/Templeofposeidon.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion, picking Bob Hearn's brain on the race!</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>RACE DAY:</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL62sDAaqxsxySaj-0Lr1QrZaNu-9ACY85it_6WQ29l0ZBWYhblIpytY_hKOwYcIQBw_tEtfDXVTqgP3qani8oqpEKFmqHD1C0JXN0eti2iwZieSGFAE_wo1dZuNSrvylloqDGVKv-k3A/s1600/Sparta16prerace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL62sDAaqxsxySaj-0Lr1QrZaNu-9ACY85it_6WQ29l0ZBWYhblIpytY_hKOwYcIQBw_tEtfDXVTqgP3qani8oqpEKFmqHD1C0JXN0eti2iwZieSGFAE_wo1dZuNSrvylloqDGVKv-k3A/s320/Sparta16prerace.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Bob and I ready to race</i></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl7HKsd87Urv3ajkQlzbzNnlkziDYEZvRFOYxcqBhOH-gUTy9pGk1Qbu_FAQO8cWU_VBkyA6jZUdE_lCfV5huafjWpQbaFauJdkS0LOfm-WBaZuurBYGFSmq7fAJIpgxbYc6Fy3Np6FHY/s1600/sparta16start.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl7HKsd87Urv3ajkQlzbzNnlkziDYEZvRFOYxcqBhOH-gUTy9pGk1Qbu_FAQO8cWU_VBkyA6jZUdE_lCfV5huafjWpQbaFauJdkS0LOfm-WBaZuurBYGFSmq7fAJIpgxbYc6Fy3Np6FHY/s400/sparta16start.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Team USA at the start</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Starting at the base of the Acropolis was amazing with the marble all lit up in the still dark morning. Despite the fast paced "Euro style" ultra start, I stayed true to my plan, which put me in a whopping 99th place (out of 370) by mile 10. Sharing the streets with Athens traffic wasn't too fun, except it was cool how many people cheered and honked as the race progressed. I actually found myself a bit bored starting so easy and not having much scenery to distract me, so instead I occupied my mind with the names on runners' bibs, amused by things like Kevin Whyte dressed all in GREEN and coming up with song lyrics to fit the names: Luca ("My name is Luka"), Olaf ("let it go, let it go") and Chou Chan ("<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zulEMWj3sVA" target="_blank">Ching Chong, it means I love you</a>"). I hit the marathon mark in Megara perfectly, right between 25 and 26 hour splits at 3:46.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="text-align: center;">Unfortunately, I did a terrible job holding the same conservative pace in the next 24 miles. I think several things conspired to get me a bit antsy and cause an uptick in pace: I was feeling good and warmed up after the slow start (yes, it takes me a marathon to warm up - ha!); it was joyous to run alongside the turquoise water with its cool breezes; bumping into Bob Hearn just before the marathon and having him tell me that our Garmins were reading long; getting greedy and wanting to be closer to 25 hour splits than 26; and finding out SIX women were ahead of me, when I had my sights set on a podium finish. I came through mile 50 at 7:14, going 12 minutes faster than my "best case scenario" splits for the 24 mile section. While I don't think the pace was taxing on my musculoskeletal system, I do think it started to tip my stomach for the worse. And with 100+ miles yet to go, you do not want your stomach out of line!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfBUoPxl6nlxdZLuiCQY2IfcIuLn7IXr1O1EhB1X227XWy616FPytLSR80VEElfpHdekjVrUgEf36PgoAz-vIgvKMqdJoxQrjJYqoiIEfcqNGpCfInxpnyam0R7W0ZjybtxZcm-gBlV7Y/s1600/IMG_5055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfBUoPxl6nlxdZLuiCQY2IfcIuLn7IXr1O1EhB1X227XWy616FPytLSR80VEElfpHdekjVrUgEf36PgoAz-vIgvKMqdJoxQrjJYqoiIEfcqNGpCfInxpnyam0R7W0ZjybtxZcm-gBlV7Y/s400/IMG_5055.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
A scolding from Mac and the heat of the day helped me to rein it in and the next 40 miles passed in a blur of fruit and olive fields, views of the distant mountains, the long rays of the setting sun and the first bits of darkness with a million stars and just my little headlamp in the countryside. I moved well through this section, passing all but a dozen people, but it was getting harder and harder to take things in. Two pudding cups at mile 85 helped me on the climb to the base of the mountain and another pudding cup had me feeling good for the steep and rugged trail climb that starts at mile 99. As far as I can tell, I had the second fastest split of the entire race up the mountain trail- you can take the girl off the trail, but you can't take the trail out of this girl! I summited at mile 100.5 just below 16:20, still 20 minutes ahead of my "best case scenario."<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg_dOQ7lGQklhB5AUxJt2JRM8pJVatPFNJsnXt-U_IU0Lope4xN_sy235yLbzdVoq76mkBmRlK-UFxfqiwUXxNMqw1gje0xndBOsWLOgAKUFPe6vbVado_xHgKPW9TIXZpTbClC7XN23w/s1600/IMG_5054.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg_dOQ7lGQklhB5AUxJt2JRM8pJVatPFNJsnXt-U_IU0Lope4xN_sy235yLbzdVoq76mkBmRlK-UFxfqiwUXxNMqw1gje0xndBOsWLOgAKUFPe6vbVado_xHgKPW9TIXZpTbClC7XN23w/s400/IMG_5054.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0T7gdxpGGBzd3jXT-EntojwY4c-M621t504_yDVZQSNLd-1lwxmLyROgoCT-RHzKhnvTLdKhYB9lgcbntg-yglES3ZCNtCnz-QLw_qA8LD7EqhWLpsId-6AeOXIY4pXQXJ38wZ8fLP9s/s1600/IMG_5052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0T7gdxpGGBzd3jXT-EntojwY4c-M621t504_yDVZQSNLd-1lwxmLyROgoCT-RHzKhnvTLdKhYB9lgcbntg-yglES3ZCNtCnz-QLw_qA8LD7EqhWLpsId-6AeOXIY4pXQXJ38wZ8fLP9s/s640/IMG_5052.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i> Miles and miles (and miles!) of Beautiful Greek countryside</i></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">And that is right about the time I was ready to be done!</span><br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">I am sure a lot of it has to do with fuel intake. A couple 100 calorie pudding packs can only get you so far and by that time my stomach was just done. My legs were just one big ache going downhill and a huge blister on my left big toe popped mere steps over the summit, adding to the agony of the descent. I pretty much limped my way into Nestani at mile 106. Medical at Nestani had some magic fairy blister tape that was amazing. Seriously! - it went on like clear tape but absorbed water and formed a cushioning gel. If anyone knows what product this is, please let me know! But even with the toe taped and feeling much better, I was in a super low. I couldn't take anything in, but also the mental load becomes so big at that point: you still have almost FIFTY MILES to go. Everything combined seemed like a crushing burden, an impossible feat and I was reduced to a slow miserable walk with a lot of self pity. Alone in the dark and cold with no idea where I really was and fixating on the ache in my legs, legs that would have to keep moving for another 13 hours at the pace I was going, I was seriously struggling... I spent more mental energy fantasizing about how to get a ride or a short cut to the finish than I should admit, but I just wanted it to be over. 20 hours of running seemed good enough! Yet, I knew I would never quit (or get a ride to the finish!). But somehow that was the opposite of comforting, like I was stuck in this Hell and I had no choice but to continue the torture.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">In the late night, the fog settled in the valleys and the still damp air coupled with my sluggish pace left me chilled to the bone. I came into mile 115 shivering uncontrollably. I changed into every article of clothing I had, including my post race sweats. I got a thorough massage which helped with the muscle aches, but I was still shaking like a seizure victim and completely unable to drink any soup as I was spilling it all over me as my convulsing hand tried to bring it to my lips. When I left, I had no choice but to run (shuffle!) to warm up, which actually worked well, minus the two puke breaks! And then we hit the last long climb and I was back to suffering and walking.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">Actually, at 4:30 in the morning it was more like stumbling. I have never had the "sleepies" before in a race, but it hit me big time in this one, likely the cold, lack of food and accumulated mileage taking its toll. Instead of blinking, I would take seconds long "eye rests" and I remember focusing on the white line of the shoulder trying to keep myself from weaving off my course. When I complained to Mac, he told me "No resting. Suck it up for another two and half hours and you'll be fine when the sun comes up!" That's some tough love! But stopping for a coffee helped and being able to sip juice again perked me up bit, too, so that when the sun did come up, I was indeed feeling much better...right until Mac told me, "the third place girl made up huge amount of time and is only 17 minutes behind you!"</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">NOOOOO!!!! I din't want to have to "race" at the that point! </span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">"Well, then she is going to pass me," I told him. </span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">"Hold her off as long possible," Mac fired back. FUCK!!!</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">But I started to run. And it was terrible and not terrible at the same time. It didn't feel good, but it was doable. By the next crew stop, I learned I had clawed back another five minutes on the gap. Well, just keep moving. And so I did, cutting across the highway multiple times trying to "run the tangent", eating up ground, and counting down the kilometers to Sparta. When the wheels come off, you have to somehow change the tires!</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">And then I was on the last turn, escorted by boys on bikes and kids that ran alongside. The sidewalk cafes were packed with people cheering as I deftly bounded up the stairs to kiss the feet of King Leonidas (the statue), all pain having left my body at that point. I MADE IT!!! Suddenly, the lows seemed so worth it and I was overcome with emotion. For 30+ miles I hated this race and everything to do with it, but at the end I had an amazing sense of accomplishment and I remember thinking specifically, "There are no limits!" 153.4 miles scared the shit out of me going in to this race, but afterwards all the longer stuff made sense - things like Joe Fejes running six straight days, the guys doing 3,100 miles in New York, Karl Meltzer on the AT, Pete Kostelnick running across the US (not that I want to do any of those things!). In <i>The Empire Strikes Back</i>, Yoda tells a frustrated Luke Skywalker that there is no difference between levitating a stone and raising his space ship from the muck, that the difference is only in your mind. Spartathlon was my Yoda and it taught me that if you have the strength to get through the lowest of lows, you can DO anything! </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKtdk_JKxW7XeIDH32_hzdLcsHioVgIYSEYh7z_ZlEp_FvmH-MIKF3M1x3lRXDGaDXnDGq1xtCMuZQeg_pmxLclGvcs2OuTnV2g4YhqSA4WrQ0MAlHcl9JBK3Gi-EzLmJtENJE8Lh6q4c/s1600/spartayoda.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKtdk_JKxW7XeIDH32_hzdLcsHioVgIYSEYh7z_ZlEp_FvmH-MIKF3M1x3lRXDGaDXnDGq1xtCMuZQeg_pmxLclGvcs2OuTnV2g4YhqSA4WrQ0MAlHcl9JBK3Gi-EzLmJtENJE8Lh6q4c/s320/spartayoda.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i> Spartathlon was my Yoda! :)</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">In the end, I finished Spartathlon in 27:13, second female and 13th overall. That was definitely overshadowed by Katy Nagy's remarkable 25:25 win, but still the 6th fastest female time ever, 3rd fastest female "rookie"time and 2nd best women's masters time. While lovers of gnarly trail will balk at descriptions like "the world's most grueling race" for a road run with only 10,300 feet of gain, it was by far the toughest and most grueling thing I have done and it challenged me more than I even expected. Only after running it can I see why it has chewed up some of the best ultra runners in the world and why it has such a low finish rate (historically less than 50%). While running the race, I wanted nothing more than to finish and be done with it forever, but this is a race with a steep learning curve and I know I can do better. And taking on a big challenge with the goal of achieving my best always gets me fired up, so don't be surprised if you see me on the starting line for this one more time! </span><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJhDKZ0qmaOMtlfMZrOEUoi7A7ff_R5TzTopz0CZ-qrLAaWqwxv3TUrFh71xrggegbN2Yd_FZo2J9VSq0n0tgufSgfISdRB2aNzCzhh8OPVt0zYOTzxx7yQZDo0dxTk1tArbLz_7uNxZ0/s1600/Spartaprofile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJhDKZ0qmaOMtlfMZrOEUoi7A7ff_R5TzTopz0CZ-qrLAaWqwxv3TUrFh71xrggegbN2Yd_FZo2J9VSq0n0tgufSgfISdRB2aNzCzhh8OPVt0zYOTzxx7yQZDo0dxTk1tArbLz_7uNxZ0/s640/Spartaprofile.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<i>It's not super high mountains, but it is still super tough!</i></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
A big thanks goes out to the race organization for putting together this epic race and to the volunteers who staff 75(!) aid stations for hours on end. Also thanks to my mother-in-law for watching the kiddos and making the trip possible. But the biggest thanks goes to Mac, my super crew once again, who said this was also his hardest assignment to date and who slept a lot harder than I did when the race was over! Don't tell him I want to go back!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzYKY9uv03SR1FnEssbcclHcz2G5vebhuPvgQBbkym3W0iaUiXN0wh_JvWmJRV463rPHmZhWZVY52sqCBR5ZQzDCw-YRDwfiH7S4Q58HAvWs1P0RCiXNFjI7YbO48A9_glvvp3GjZ0Pz4/s1600/IMG_5074.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzYKY9uv03SR1FnEssbcclHcz2G5vebhuPvgQBbkym3W0iaUiXN0wh_JvWmJRV463rPHmZhWZVY52sqCBR5ZQzDCw-YRDwfiH7S4Q58HAvWs1P0RCiXNFjI7YbO48A9_glvvp3GjZ0Pz4/s320/IMG_5074.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Podium!- The Sparta awards: starting at 8:30pm the day the race finished was a test of endurance in itself!</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvj24sWH_MQHJO_X6KMTYC9BuWJX5qbCdubY4fc9O-rmGgkLz5ElSlEG0iR1HqhcG6MfQ4YPxexcxMdmYA0x38Tc69gnBJd2rmKWLEV1h3skMHWkoRZjnPuMyQLHvlhWhqFC1qNoLurt4/s1600/sparta16gala2.png" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvj24sWH_MQHJO_X6KMTYC9BuWJX5qbCdubY4fc9O-rmGgkLz5ElSlEG0iR1HqhcG6MfQ4YPxexcxMdmYA0x38Tc69gnBJd2rmKWLEV1h3skMHWkoRZjnPuMyQLHvlhWhqFC1qNoLurt4/s320/sparta16gala2.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Athens awards gala</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR66eSISIWgG8dNQGw4IB-90_k-jjveTUEbzHdfe9fOJNFch5IfwZFRgdldSYuMeDzRncNu9THUzw9L3ay-c1TnaYPvOBjMgop1gUqPA9Yk3oWUZIVFBvMtvufxJvoh_2CLjpgUqlkRtI/s1600/SpartaRD16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR66eSISIWgG8dNQGw4IB-90_k-jjveTUEbzHdfe9fOJNFch5IfwZFRgdldSYuMeDzRncNu9THUzw9L3ay-c1TnaYPvOBjMgop1gUqPA9Yk3oWUZIVFBvMtvufxJvoh_2CLjpgUqlkRtI/s320/SpartaRD16.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>The post race Gala with Bob and race director Kostis</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEPUOd6YsL5lweq3Z3dRlAIYhHB8L94aQKt-28xQKO_IbnhNiBOTXZyr_jjLBO1nLcJzFLcARgt_4uBoTibq5OXdpMfE9yKYbRokJr5i30WTHX5oLsQj1CcDvpnNQ4qHr4QBG039EXV6g/s1600/IMG_5046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEPUOd6YsL5lweq3Z3dRlAIYhHB8L94aQKt-28xQKO_IbnhNiBOTXZyr_jjLBO1nLcJzFLcARgt_4uBoTibq5OXdpMfE9yKYbRokJr5i30WTHX5oLsQj1CcDvpnNQ4qHr4QBG039EXV6g/s640/IMG_5046.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>Spartathlete!</b></i></div>
Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17695365862543446730noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-1072021365732609902016-05-23T22:22:00.001-07:002016-05-25T06:00:26.550-07:0091% of the Perfect Race<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;">People will tell you life is like an ultra - plenty of highs as lows as you make your journey. When it came to running, 2013 was the highest of highs, with wins at American River and Western States and a speedy 100 miler at Desert Solstice. But it was more than just wins and good race results, I felt great and the running all seemed to come so easy. But by Western States 2014 I was on a downward slide. I managed pretty good runs at WS, Angeles Crest and 100km Worlds, but everything felt a lot harder and they were all off my expectations. By 2015, things on the running front were hitting rock bottom. I limped though Lake Sonoma and Western States with sub-par finishes all while feeling terrible. I was dropped by Liza Howard at Leadville just a couple miles into my pacing gig and I gave up my US 100km spot because I didn't feel like I could represent my country well. And all the while, every medical test said I was perfectly normal and fit as a fiddle. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;">Finally, finally I got diagnosed with asthma and things started looking up. I was getting treated and feeling so much better. I won 5 mile race, a half marathon, a 50k and a 6 hour. Things seemed to be going so well. Right up until I lined up for Gorge Waterfalls. Holy big bag of crap! I felt bad the whole week leading up to the race, but race day I just felt awful! I was hating every step starting about mile three. By mile 22, I called it a day. There was </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;">nothing that was so bad that I couldn't have finished if I had wanted, but I am not new to this rodeo and I knew just another finish wouldn't mean much to me. I quit but I didn't give a second thought to the DNF - I had bigger fish to fry. But first, I had to feel better again. During this time I was on some pretty heavy duty asthma medications - albuterol, steroid inhalers, oral anti-inflammatories and even a brief course of prednisone. I hate the meds - they make me feel like I am defective and weak. Taking them means I have to face that something with me isn't right and I don't like that. I'm an ultra-runner, I eat more veggies in a day than most people do in a week, and all my addictions revolve around exercise - I should be invincible!! But I wasn't; my lungs were failing me. The good news is that the meds seem to work. It also seems that alder pollen is a huge allergic trigger for me and by the end of April their season was dying down. Everything seemed to be coming together as I headed off to Philadelphia for the Dawn to Dusk to Dawn (D3) 24 hour race. But after everything I had gone through, my goal seemed a bit outlandish.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;">Ever since running 14:11 for 100 miles at Desert Solstice in 2013, I've wanted another shot, a shot to see how close I could come to Ann Trason's 13:47 World Record if that was my primary focus. I trained my butt off and did multiple long runs on the track, trying to pace exactly as I would need, but still, how can you tell how 30 miles will translate into 100?? And just to make sure I was in full panic mode, the RD let me know that the 100 mile mark had not been recertified after the track was resurfaced last year, so I'd have to run 267 meters extra to get an official time. 100 miles may not be that far, but 267 extra meters is really, really far. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;">Race day was warm even at the start and I had ice in my bra and hat by 8 am. Still, I felt really good and I was right on pace. My quads started getting sore around mile 40, but lap after lap I was hitting the paces and it didn't seem to be a big deal. By mid afternoon the clouds rolled in, but so did the wind. And then it started to pour! I was fortunate to have Josh Finger and John Cash on the track with me and both of them were doing a few stretches at a similar pace so every now and then I'd get a bit of company and even a wind shield. I can't thank those two enough for letting me hang behind them for a mile or two at a time. I came through 100km in 8:24:51 (not 8:18 as reported) - perfect 8:08 pace. Everything was right on plan.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKwqJBgR5He9mkDsXs6U6nupKWXNVJm5MFU2C1g1LTjMSTFDNXrm_LDck8lKbysf4wKPUPj_48TxBDK7dsAwmkavxrYSllNT0oDq6kaU_HIAEK0mvUdLvYKL8vk7qKM0z25G-RED0OTSE/s1600/D3pace.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKwqJBgR5He9mkDsXs6U6nupKWXNVJm5MFU2C1g1LTjMSTFDNXrm_LDck8lKbysf4wKPUPj_48TxBDK7dsAwmkavxrYSllNT0oDq6kaU_HIAEK0mvUdLvYKL8vk7qKM0z25G-RED0OTSE/s400/D3pace.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>The pacing plan :)</i></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgma_gZ1SiwDcYJcPH4ISUdmkIPea83JU-e56dP8keYe5mKeM7knQrI7Vf8voruGMRsGE39yv6t2RQXIhRRHqV8ifw-u53vAGRud5UzaV7wKAPh3QAj03KlP8LG21HJv8poNy3rtCVh6ZA/s1600/D3cruising.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgma_gZ1SiwDcYJcPH4ISUdmkIPea83JU-e56dP8keYe5mKeM7knQrI7Vf8voruGMRsGE39yv6t2RQXIhRRHqV8ifw-u53vAGRud5UzaV7wKAPh3QAj03KlP8LG21HJv8poNy3rtCVh6ZA/s400/D3cruising.JPG" width="265" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"><i>Cruising right along</i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2c1nBmsambxb1fQp2wy7h6gSpSBhrCvR2icisso6UWkCUapGEHfhrnE-jTL7ObIzCOwSD2PXs1dTPEjmESi2-Q4KWrBBghZuH28avioKFdh1xi1dpJhItRzc2m-NIqO1kjkD9rFApHR0/s1600/D3rainpacing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2c1nBmsambxb1fQp2wy7h6gSpSBhrCvR2icisso6UWkCUapGEHfhrnE-jTL7ObIzCOwSD2PXs1dTPEjmESi2-Q4KWrBBghZuH28avioKFdh1xi1dpJhItRzc2m-NIqO1kjkD9rFApHR0/s400/D3rainpacing.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Pacing with Josh in the wind</i></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkC3L-11XjNaUJxSJfDSAHiya09SwDCy51D6frzmjvSfLY5v37kZbAPIR0Q_oSfBalUJcXUrINT47iDl8JghufB9R_FD-D7b3AIYDCZPKVs3MdQ7eXo_9HpbRL3K92bzxxMybAqZ_8xzM/s1600/D3-100k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkC3L-11XjNaUJxSJfDSAHiya09SwDCy51D6frzmjvSfLY5v37kZbAPIR0Q_oSfBalUJcXUrINT47iDl8JghufB9R_FD-D7b3AIYDCZPKVs3MdQ7eXo_9HpbRL3K92bzxxMybAqZ_8xzM/s400/D3-100k.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "\22 times new roman\22 " , "\22 new york\22 " , "\22 times\22 " , serif; font-style: italic;">Checking the 100km split</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "\22 times new roman\22 " , "\22 new york\22 " , "\22 times\22 " , serif; font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"><a href="http://my3.raceresult.com/54628/?lang=en#0_2C3B48" target="_blank">Lap after lap</a>, I was nailing it. My super crew was sticking right to the plan I had given them and if I needed anything else, I'd tell them on one lap and pick it up the next. I never broke stride. The bad news is that I didn't feel that I could predict what I would need more than nine hours in to the race so I only had a plan for that long. Let's just say the crew did NOT like that - lesson learned! But still I was cruising, passing through 12 hours with more than 88 miles, trailing only Ann Trason's marks for 12 hours. 355 laps perfectly paced at 8:08 and I was 7 minutes up on the 100M world record. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCNzerImfOkitIaOKhpEeJtUDPEixXKo2TENswEBbidoyJK_McJH3iazrfXo7_ZsnMJD5P5q-Zq-3TnJ1qvgIUZ0fkj1kn0WfsG92eqAF4Atyvk5DMtYIQvpimmp_Qd9pWARHZa65odxo/s1600/D3plan.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCNzerImfOkitIaOKhpEeJtUDPEixXKo2TENswEBbidoyJK_McJH3iazrfXo7_ZsnMJD5P5q-Zq-3TnJ1qvgIUZ0fkj1kn0WfsG92eqAF4Atyvk5DMtYIQvpimmp_Qd9pWARHZa65odxo/s400/D3plan.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Sticking to the plan ("1" = done)</i></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJzRzfXmoDaoJ_afKiTFsbNbgtS08blBaVwJmW68qeSfHrKqVLcGshnVnQdORiAqhO3fZox_9mhQ8Xkb2AGsBMlKErbiQDqCUBgkAQ9TN1JVT_UPMLJxOckHYQdupn1fx-qFuRo3vS1b4/s1600/D3almost12hr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJzRzfXmoDaoJ_afKiTFsbNbgtS08blBaVwJmW68qeSfHrKqVLcGshnVnQdORiAqhO3fZox_9mhQ8Xkb2AGsBMlKErbiQDqCUBgkAQ9TN1JVT_UPMLJxOckHYQdupn1fx-qFuRo3vS1b4/s400/D3almost12hr.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Closing on 12 hours</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;">My quads were burning now, but I knew I'd be sore after; it's a long way on a hard track, of course they were burning! But from a fatigue standpoint, I was golden. I didn't feel taxed at all. I knew I had a 100 more minutes in me, piece of cake! Going into this race, I thought my chances were exceedingly slim, but if you had asked me at 12 hours, I would've bet the house; I was so SURE I had it! But I didn't have 100 minutes left in me; I had 26 more minutes and then my quads shut down completely. It wasn't cramps, it wasn't bonking, it wasn't me feeling too tired, and it certainly wasn't my mind calling it quits. My quads were just dead and they had gone into full on rigor mortis. I took a gel, a salt tab, caffeine, 2 ibuprofen, a quad massage - nothing would revive the hunks of burning flesh on my legs. My cushion was so great, I only needed to hit 9 minute pace for the remaining 8.8 miles, but instead I pushed with everything I had only to achieve a disappointing 11+ minute pace. After 91.2 miles my perfect race went up in flames.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjahSqST83z28FQ9G6buu5bD4vbS6PFYbHNDlqBbh16PR352YkP8OGEBBGz1zuQJGO1oiNrAadNOoccmwIC4i0tvFHSmH4ZsdhuVWtlibT_S86u6SnTy0PqGer9CbP3EKFu2U7EbL7J2NE/s1600/D3noplan.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjahSqST83z28FQ9G6buu5bD4vbS6PFYbHNDlqBbh16PR352YkP8OGEBBGz1zuQJGO1oiNrAadNOoccmwIC4i0tvFHSmH4ZsdhuVWtlibT_S86u6SnTy0PqGer9CbP3EKFu2U7EbL7J2NE/s400/D3noplan.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif;">The crew version of what happened</i></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;">But don't let my Gorge Waterfalls DNF fool you: I am not a quitter when I have my mind set on something. And one thing I said I knew I could do no matter how the 100 mile attempt went was stay on the track for 24 hours. I hobbled to 100 miles in 14:08ish and got my official 100M (100.16 M) time at 14:09:43. I then took a short break to change </span><span style="font-family: "\22 times new roman\22 " , "\22 new york\22 " , "\22 times\22 " , serif;">out of garments still wet from the rain and </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;">into warmer clothes and I set off with my iPod ready to walk the next ten hours and see the race to the conclusion. My legs didn't seem to work, but I was in good spirits and was doing well on fuel after a couple of puddings. I should apologize to my fellow competitors for singing so loudly when I most certainly do not have a good singing voice! Afterwards, someone asked me if I was singing gospel music, which I most certainly was not (teeny-bopper pop rock all the way!) so maybe I owe God an apology too for my bad singing! But as I walked, I realized the master's 200km American Record (20:20) was a done deal even if I didn't run at all. But what if I tried to run?? I was stiff and sore and couldn't do anything faster than a 10:30 pace, but I could run a tiny bit. And then I fell in with Connie Gardner, the Queen of tough, and was able to keep going. It hurt and it was hard but I could keep that 10:30-11:00 pace going. It was so far from those 8:08 miles I was cranking off earlier, yet it was so much more effort to move my nearly lifeless legs and somewhere along the line, I lost my stomach. But I was still moving better than I expected. Forget the master's record, let's get the overall record! My Frankenstein legs got me to the mark in 18:48:28, more than 30 minutes better than the current American best of 19:19:05. I promised my husband I would get this record in 2013 and then didn't so I felt like I had redeemed myself.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8FQAtRmrwcJALtgOV70C8bbCCX7YJ7vwO3PucwbmldOqw58MEvDKwXz9gZtVqavsn2c3-n_vUGLIqbi2jJk9Pwy-P9KRyycoYCNME43WPmOphHyikROo6uPTFQVHkdtboAzFPnwChJTI/s1600/D3rest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-style: italic; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8FQAtRmrwcJALtgOV70C8bbCCX7YJ7vwO3PucwbmldOqw58MEvDKwXz9gZtVqavsn2c3-n_vUGLIqbi2jJk9Pwy-P9KRyycoYCNME43WPmOphHyikROo6uPTFQVHkdtboAzFPnwChJTI/s400/D3rest.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"><i>I just need a tiny rest!! I was up three minutes later!</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;">That was officially the end of all running. I took a brief rest in a chair to regroup, but three and a half minutes later, I was up and ready to finish even though I knew I'd be walking every step for the next five hours. Bob Hearn was still chugging away, pushing toward his own 200km record (50+ age group) and I told him he would catch me if he kept it up. "That's my plan!" he told me in a very matter-of-fact tone (he has a different version of the story, but that is what I heard at the time). My brain had a brief flash of competitiveness, but my legs wouldn't have any of it - it was very certain at that point that walking was the best I had! By dawn I had covered 143.6 miles, and while I could not best Ann Trason's 100M time, it was a small point of pride that I eclipsed her best 24 hour mark.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"><br /></span>
*****<br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;">Earlier this year a friend of mine confided to me that the Fuji Mountain Race is her dream race. As a Japanese American, the race not only represents a physical challenge but it has significant cultural meaning. The race course is challenging: nearly 10,000 feet of climbing in 13 miles and my friend is not a trail runner. But she is a tough and tenacious woman with a sub 3:00 </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;">marathon</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"> to her credit. "You should do it," I told her. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;">"More than 50% of the runners don't make it in the time limit," she countered.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;">"You can do it," I told her. "I know you can." I meant it but she still had doubts.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;">"What if I fail?" she wondered.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;">"So what? So what if you do fail?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;">"Oh, I'd be so embarrassed!" She told me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;">*****</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;">I had a BIG goal going into D3 and I knew it was a long shot. I didn't hit that goal, but I am not embarrassed one bit. How will you ever know what you can do if you don't set the bar high?? </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;">There are plenty of things I will second guess: Should I have done longer runs on the track? Would my quads be stronger if I hadn't stopped lifting? Could I have made it if the weather were better? Should I have aimed for 2:03's instead of 2:02'? But I do not doubt for one minute that I gave everything I had on that track.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"> And for that, there are no regrets. I am not giving up on this dream. I may be old and have a defective set of lungs, but I am not ready to wave the white flag just yet!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;">While I didn't hit my main goal, there were plenty of things I did accomplish:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;">8:24 100km split - qualifying for US 100km team</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;">88.23M in 12 hours - Age group world record and third best female 12 hour mark ever</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;">14:09:43 100M time(officially) - New US track 100M American Record and 100M Age group WR, 4th fastest female 100M time ever</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;">18:48:29 200km - New American Record </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;">143.6M in 24 hours - 8th best North American 24 hour run and qualified for US 24 hr team (Team USA liaison Howard Nippert says he thinks it is the first time someone qualified for both teams in one race)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;">All in all it was a pretty successful failure! ;) But the best part might be the sense of optimism I got from the race, the idea that I can not only find joy in running, but maybe, just maybe I can be good at it again, too. That being said, I do not know how optimistic I am for Bighorn in four weeks! Woowee - it took me a week just to walk again! And with essentially no trail training on my legs, it's going to be an adventure! But that's what ultra running and life are all about!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNqeD-orDNEBncKVD_nQ86bvPlQ27Vrm5ZjKfH6XD1DAdc6UwC9V2gyJgnrGVSxEujecyXlr4gF93xodoT736mN-dReWrAIajvQImgatWTgXYAQSP1kaqXBry2xXNp72Js3qS52L-rR3c/s1600/d3done.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNqeD-orDNEBncKVD_nQ86bvPlQ27Vrm5ZjKfH6XD1DAdc6UwC9V2gyJgnrGVSxEujecyXlr4gF93xodoT736mN-dReWrAIajvQImgatWTgXYAQSP1kaqXBry2xXNp72Js3qS52L-rR3c/s400/d3done.JPG" width="300" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"> <i>So happy to be sitting down!</i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbguWmbgLNWQw-WGtJUW2cpWDrXmEKc813bzVliRxa-sxsTSKvmmIZXWOY6KRJcXL_yfMdWuKAvwgMZS6lj9rkGChDOTcPMSJQBis-E-VF0TuhO2U0Jmz6GK31GEafgidkbyrYvJh7dKw/s1600/D3podium.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbguWmbgLNWQw-WGtJUW2cpWDrXmEKc813bzVliRxa-sxsTSKvmmIZXWOY6KRJcXL_yfMdWuKAvwgMZS6lj9rkGChDOTcPMSJQBis-E-VF0TuhO2U0Jmz6GK31GEafgidkbyrYvJh7dKw/s400/D3podium.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"> <i>Girls rule, boys drool! The ladies go 1,2,3 overall!</i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17695365862543446730noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-41962885735198655002016-04-01T18:19:00.001-07:002017-07-11T16:23:23.133-07:00New: Liposuction For Athletes!<div class="yiv6017657652" id="yiv6017657652yui_3_16_0_1_1427853395616_2404" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">
On the bulletin board over my desk hangs a saying cut from a magazine ad. It reads: "If you can run, you can run farther. If you can train, you can train harder." This is a sentiment most ultra-runners embrace, except for many actually get to their training limits; a point where more miles and training are detrimental and prohibit recovery. But ultra-runners are a discontented crowd always looking for ways to improve fitness and get better. So along with training, many runners focus on achieving a specific "race weight" to perform at their best.</div>
<div class="yiv6017657652" id="yiv6017657652yui_3_16_0_1_1427853395616_2426" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">
<br class="yiv6017657652" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;" /></div>
<div class="yiv6017657652" id="yiv6017657652yui_3_16_0_1_1427853395616_2427" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">
So while Tyra Banks and feel good social media posts urge us to love our bodies for what they are, running literature is telling us to get thin - crazy thin - if you want to run your best. In fact<i class="yiv6017657652" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"> Runner's World</i> continuously publishes the formula: 1 pound = 2 sec/mile. And the Jack Daniels' table has weight as a variable in one column so you can see your predicted times at your current fitness if you lost weight.</div>
<div class="yiv6017657652" id="yui_3_16_0_ym18_1_1459555444222_4838" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">
<br class="yiv6017657652" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;" /></div>
<div class="yiv6017657652" id="yui_3_16_0_ym18_1_1459555444222_4839" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">
There's just one problem: dieting SUCKS! Sure you can lose weight if you eat only baby carrots and lettuce with water to wash it down, but where is the joy in that? Show me cheesecake, cookies and beer and I'll show you joy! I mean, come on, isn't one of the main reasons we run to be able to eat more food?? Hell, chocolate has been shown to stimulate more pleasure receptors in the brain than sex!</div>
<div class="yiv6017657652" id="yui_3_16_0_ym18_1_1459555444222_4840" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">
<br class="yiv6017657652" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;" /></div>
<div class="yiv6017657652" id="yui_3_16_0_ym18_1_1459555444222_4841" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">
Well, now you can have your cake and eat it, too - literally! Introducing liposuction for athletes.</div>
<div class="yiv6017657652" id="yui_3_16_0_ym18_1_1459555444222_4842" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">
<br class="yiv6017657652" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;" /></div>
<div class="yiv6017657652" id="yui_3_16_0_ym18_1_1459555444222_4843" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">
Liposuction has been around for decades and is a safe and fast procedure for removing unwanted pounds. Liposuction can be done in the out patient setting and you can be back to running just three days later, only at a much lighter and much more enjoyable weight.</div>
<div class="yiv6017657652" id="yui_3_16_0_ym18_1_1459555444222_4843" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="yiv6017657652" id="yui_3_16_0_ym18_1_1459555444222_4843" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">
Salem Bariatric surgeon, Dr. Raj Nair adds, "Thousands of athletes use surgery every year to help them get back in the game, from things like Tommy John surgery, tendon scraping and arthroscopic knee procedures. So why shouldn't athletes use surgery to help them get to the top of their game as well?"</div>
<div class="yiv6017657652" id="yui_3_16_0_ym18_1_1459555444222_4843" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="yiv6017657652" id="yui_3_16_0_ym18_1_1459555444222_4843" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">
Drugs in the amphetamine family are very effective at stimulating weight loss; unfortunately, they are all banned by WADA and an athlete risks sanctions and social ostracism if they use them. But liposuction is perfectly legal! The masses might balk at this being unfair, since only the rich can afford it, but with all the new liposuction centers popping up, the price of the procedure is on par with a high end home treadmill or an altitude tent.</div>
<div class="yiv6017657652" id="yui_3_16_0_ym18_1_1459555444222_4843" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="yiv6017657652" id="yui_3_16_0_ym18_1_1459555444222_4843" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">
"Ugh, ultra runners spend so much time talking about nutrition and it is so annoying," says Dr. Nair, who is an ultrarunner himself. "If you want to be fast, it doesn't matter what you eat, you just have to be thin. If your diet causes you to put on a little extra weight, just have it surgically removed a few months before your next big race." Dr. Nair often has two donuts and several cans of Coke for breakfast, further demonstrating that this Stanford grad doesn't place a lot of importance on the quality of food.</div>
<div class="yiv6017657652" id="yui_3_16_0_ym18_1_1459555444222_4843" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">
<img class="CSS_LIGHTBOX_SCALED_IMAGE_IMG" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM65qRr_pEcG1wen6eE3BmWrGZhQ26j9s7EB2BXwx5NOrUpDBywA-o0JGGzWf_6qu4VLnTJoBmqCxjVXQ-bT5tKy4R0pZT5dQq9mwttc-00eQmhtyan53JUG8no68uJuNs684WVT8QxDc/s400/IMG_0676.jpg" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; height: 689px; line-height: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0) solid 1px; position: relative; text-align: center; width: 517px;" width="300" /></div>
<div class="yiv6017657652" id="yui_3_16_0_ym18_1_1459555444222_4843" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">
<i>Medical expert, Dr. Raj Nair, trying to get some more of his beloved doughnuts</i></div>
<div class="yiv6017657652" id="yui_3_16_0_ym18_1_1459555444222_4843" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="yiv6017657652" id="yui_3_16_0_ym18_1_1459555444222_4843" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">
While we are not aware of any elite runners who publicly admit to having had liposuction, it seems on the brink of becoming the next best thing for achieving that performance edge, especially in the masters athletes where weight just doesn't seem to budge from your 40+ year old middle. If getting to race weight seems like too much sacrifice of all your favorite, check out liposuction. It just may be the solution you are looking for!</div>
<div class="yiv6017657652" id="yui_3_16_0_ym18_1_1459555444222_4843" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxQeRLnS-u5YbIAQnn-EsENW1Gukr0rtLPM14QtCcuQTAxNBNKtQ_2_k_zAzx9HthCe48VUcwREg0atya2V-cKJCMKVz-QKgnqcaF41IAn950jTI7c3uaMcQ9xPWqUKhuPQcRxLvc56gg/s1600/macsurg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxQeRLnS-u5YbIAQnn-EsENW1Gukr0rtLPM14QtCcuQTAxNBNKtQ_2_k_zAzx9HthCe48VUcwREg0atya2V-cKJCMKVz-QKgnqcaF41IAn950jTI7c3uaMcQ9xPWqUKhuPQcRxLvc56gg/s400/macsurg.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="yiv6017657652" id="yui_3_16_0_ym18_1_1459555444222_4843" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; background-color: white; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">
<i>Mac Smith is all ready for his liposuction surgery yesterday (or his meniscus repair, whatever)</i></div>
Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17695365862543446730noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-79567834194991486532016-03-31T22:41:00.001-07:002016-03-31T22:41:45.438-07:00Spring Break!We originally weren't planning to do much for spring break as we thought Megan might be having her tonsils out. But after a fairly illness free winter with NO strep throat, we decided maybe Megan was growing out of this repetitive sore throat thing and surgery wasn't such a good idea after all so we booked a couple days at the coast and a couple days at Mt. Hood. And then I read an article about how awesome the Utah National Parks are in the early spring and then I needed to go there. Ever since we visited Yellowstone and Grand Tetons in the summer of 2014, I've been kind of obsessed with getting my kids to the National Parks. After this past week, we've hit 15 and I've got hopes of hitting another five this summer with the kids and two more without them- not too bad for getting out and seeing this awesome country!<br />
<br />
We got in to Vegas late Saturday night and as luck would have it, the Moonlight Ultra 24 hr and 100M race had a six hour little sister that started on Sunday morning (the others started at 6pm Saturday, hence the "moonlight" in the moniker). You are supposed to be sleep deprived when you are in Vegas, right?? So I headed off to Floyd Lamb park right about the time most drunken gamblers were calling it a night. The race was a low key affair on a 1.74M gravel loop through the desert. I was looking for a long run, but didn't want to push too hard with Gorge Waterfalls only two weeks away, so was hoping for at least 40 but not more than 42 miles. The dry desert air was great for my asthma and I felt better than I had in weeks (Oregon pollen is not my friend). I chugged along doing my own thing and by mile 12, I had already lapped every other runner in the race. I got to 40 miles in 5:26 just as it was starting to get pretty warm. If I kept the pace up, I knew I'd go over my plan of 42 miles, so I ended up walking, taking selfies and texting Mac the last lap and made it back to the start/finish in 5:45 where I called it a day - First place overall by three laps (5+ miles) and a new women's course record by almost 7 miles. The people at the race were super nice and it was inspiring watching the 100 milers plugging away especially as the day heated up.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuZG2oTrS34L_8bLjnQXNkfMcK6bR50kQRcN3bKdIFaVpW3WNUrbKeDe72PprcLafOkyfjhD1j7dFmiWUi21oziT759v18fZ0uPgfCtSLmoNdsy06w-2O6n96EXDvHphM799pBg4Uj2Kc/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-03-28+at+7.35.57+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuZG2oTrS34L_8bLjnQXNkfMcK6bR50kQRcN3bKdIFaVpW3WNUrbKeDe72PprcLafOkyfjhD1j7dFmiWUi21oziT759v18fZ0uPgfCtSLmoNdsy06w-2O6n96EXDvHphM799pBg4Uj2Kc/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-03-28+at+7.35.57+PM.png" width="337" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Lap splits. I used the bathroom on lap 4 and 10 (lap 4 was only mile 6. I was so disappointed in my colon! I will attribute it to a bad airport meal and little sleep). Lap 22 I ran part of the way with the men's leader for some company and lap 24, I lolligagged. Otherwise, pretty decent training at 8:16 goal pace.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq0JQYvWz1arVqubv1drI2dB3QehHxbehEONvUkO9TAjCm04KbVjxaRfYRzT1Kkifw3vec2MbLYOyaH2GQ-C_fmexf7rPvr49h56Y617leD-3-KdI7fifdOkCLosnjCH7ayLBWmjCJSDk/s1600/IMG_3592.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq0JQYvWz1arVqubv1drI2dB3QehHxbehEONvUkO9TAjCm04KbVjxaRfYRzT1Kkifw3vec2MbLYOyaH2GQ-C_fmexf7rPvr49h56Y617leD-3-KdI7fifdOkCLosnjCH7ayLBWmjCJSDk/s400/IMG_3592.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Moonlight Ultra course<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4h_jsWhsZzk_wPK7oKgJDzmPcbSVODYGfirqORQ_MEtlFw-ELiPLVZeAzEfXYFZpUP8cvSLV4wh1MUOsSMkqgvU0hKak_E7ByU_awsqAzTzWc9_wshzovlDfI8x2cv4Cb8KTE9kZVwnw/s1600/IMG_3600.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4h_jsWhsZzk_wPK7oKgJDzmPcbSVODYGfirqORQ_MEtlFw-ELiPLVZeAzEfXYFZpUP8cvSLV4wh1MUOsSMkqgvU0hKak_E7ByU_awsqAzTzWc9_wshzovlDfI8x2cv4Cb8KTE9kZVwnw/s320/IMG_3600.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Just taking a selfie mid-race!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div style="font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Since middle aged parents with their kids in tow have no business in Vegas during spring break, we fled Sin City as soon as the awards were over and headed to the family friendly land of Utah. God bless the Mormon women who all have about a hundred children and they raise them all without the crutch of alcohol! My own brand of parenting consists of hiking all the sass and energy out of my kids and that's just what we did (and I didn't drink once! But there was one horrendous night where Mac let the kids have caffeinated soda at dinner and I might have had some murderous thoughts, though I am not sure if they were towards Mac or the kids!). We made the ambitious drive to Moab that night and then worked our way back through Arches, Canyonlands, Little Wildhorse Canyon and Goblin Valley, Capitol Reef, Bryce, and Zion. Wow - such an awe inspiring list of places in such a small area! </span></div>
<div style="font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Friday night we were back to St. George where we stumbled upon the Hog and Jog 5k. When I asked Megan if she wanted to do it, she looked at me like I had just let out a stinky fart, because running isn't cool any more and she "doesn't want to be crazy like me and all my friends who have to run all the time." And here I thought the family vacation was going so well! But Liam was all over it. He told me he likes running more than swimming and would even go if there wasn't any bacon! Liam crushed his 5k PR with a 32 flat and I managed three bacon "shots" during that time which was a bacon PR for me! Not bad mother-son bonding and all for $15 each! We spent the afternoon getting the VIP treatment at a nice Vegas resort courtesy of my cousin, who is a professional gambler, before catching a late night flight back to Portland.</span></div>
<div style="font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Five national parks, two races and lots of quality family time - certainly a lot better than a tonsillectomy! Hope you all had a great Spring Break!</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_5_C0dAguoB5DCKmbqAGo5viO_yypV4VcxGKsSSqIMGqCnLYXTv_KNPDK1yUEGrQycBC1rE_DUfRyYWdSrN_UJTtSGoPkeTvyCtg0jLsuhNM8K1bkhn4Z6khz1mn5Uhz-QbQLEWifm7I/s1600/IMG_3635.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_5_C0dAguoB5DCKmbqAGo5viO_yypV4VcxGKsSSqIMGqCnLYXTv_KNPDK1yUEGrQycBC1rE_DUfRyYWdSrN_UJTtSGoPkeTvyCtg0jLsuhNM8K1bkhn4Z6khz1mn5Uhz-QbQLEWifm7I/s320/IMG_3635.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
</td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arches NP</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMuaLLgQpzk5guW-0ByXk9cQx4CeDZOPXjs5n0QiAi0DH1-2Btlnka4Q-3fWnWW7FkrJ0LSKAltWZKg-6twnRYcSHxQcOx3CFkls21s7SQT2nBGy23WTP6WLOi7LX1t2o_6HphSFrrDF0/s1600/IMG_3618.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMuaLLgQpzk5guW-0ByXk9cQx4CeDZOPXjs5n0QiAi0DH1-2Btlnka4Q-3fWnWW7FkrJ0LSKAltWZKg-6twnRYcSHxQcOx3CFkls21s7SQT2nBGy23WTP6WLOi7LX1t2o_6HphSFrrDF0/s320/IMG_3618.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Landscape Arch, Arches NP</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzI-RWC2OBumvPZyNQKMrhtv4UWX4sodc8OaBCj6KwOc4HLUb3bcUnck5L6psNKSplXhwr1sCEEaP1TtqTXm7kfIOhIBG29_ej6BlEuoJ_w2g7Oayp58HGWlJZO1vAzlf6xhWrxQevqN0/s1600/IMG_3674.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzI-RWC2OBumvPZyNQKMrhtv4UWX4sodc8OaBCj6KwOc4HLUb3bcUnck5L6psNKSplXhwr1sCEEaP1TtqTXm7kfIOhIBG29_ej6BlEuoJ_w2g7Oayp58HGWlJZO1vAzlf6xhWrxQevqN0/s320/IMG_3674.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Delicate Arch, Arches NP</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfZ0O6X0pwKnYoO8L-vkg_az_ivI2EE5-D0z2gma3hRIyGd-uzl8ndjzmZBYp34I_NJvO-Uac7Umxdhov_GDYvJsgcIvMIsUcO4cMMq7h-bJvfbWJA0uc8GVlLkkqecMCuK4vKLemGA1o/s1600/IMG_3689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfZ0O6X0pwKnYoO8L-vkg_az_ivI2EE5-D0z2gma3hRIyGd-uzl8ndjzmZBYp34I_NJvO-Uac7Umxdhov_GDYvJsgcIvMIsUcO4cMMq7h-bJvfbWJA0uc8GVlLkkqecMCuK4vKLemGA1o/s320/IMG_3689.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Double Arch, Arches NP</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRk6sRS9XSd3Tp6M6ZX-755JCTZ1cDEqBrdzHEFuYrjzgawRsB00XuzaWuercBWmMhwBo3yXvt-DhYF5x-24XVD_ToFXgAQiwgtoH8ToGfujyGip1S4RTcCKsgHFkROfUPobk_GaN_TsQ/s1600/IMG_3806.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRk6sRS9XSd3Tp6M6ZX-755JCTZ1cDEqBrdzHEFuYrjzgawRsB00XuzaWuercBWmMhwBo3yXvt-DhYF5x-24XVD_ToFXgAQiwgtoH8ToGfujyGip1S4RTcCKsgHFkROfUPobk_GaN_TsQ/s400/IMG_3806.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She says she doesn't like to run, but I caught her running!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrKxqbAfARKjV5d4vzOab9-6lOfaGTMN5TfDm5HL-N6ot_gA2kLzcVvhqjrFMf9_ZC-0QblBCXCaDJE7CTZZPaS6-Rwtc8ByikyublUYQiFYQiIwywZoDb9l04wtEWSLJPWfBOFcVlq_M/s1600/IMG_3711.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrKxqbAfARKjV5d4vzOab9-6lOfaGTMN5TfDm5HL-N6ot_gA2kLzcVvhqjrFMf9_ZC-0QblBCXCaDJE7CTZZPaS6-Rwtc8ByikyublUYQiFYQiIwywZoDb9l04wtEWSLJPWfBOFcVlq_M/s320/IMG_3711.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Canyonlands NP</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzvgnjr_jz0yLyegIjuUWLPeXUVEeCidccrLwuLXTjHxnHD08xXAVTe5lg9uhHCUnUcq8R0wKxOmbgZugFeGC6QSc6kIznRXbON9HABG5I5tC9DSXwoURfNymKvMPfynb-MqCPW7nKI8I/s1600/IMG_3706.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzvgnjr_jz0yLyegIjuUWLPeXUVEeCidccrLwuLXTjHxnHD08xXAVTe5lg9uhHCUnUcq8R0wKxOmbgZugFeGC6QSc6kIznRXbON9HABG5I5tC9DSXwoURfNymKvMPfynb-MqCPW7nKI8I/s320/IMG_3706.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Planking on Whale Rock, Canyonlands NP</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWOGE82M5pVwzbRDSTxBSSlGE5oA714YObAH_X521LezsiEfpF7LHaymS2YxpG0-Tdfr5TDojAUXObn5RaR_T1ssgQmbXNHWyhenK0k4oPj_DGHoG7q8Yq76OQmeLcKoNPdQW0zlF4XS8/s1600/IMG_3758.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWOGE82M5pVwzbRDSTxBSSlGE5oA714YObAH_X521LezsiEfpF7LHaymS2YxpG0-Tdfr5TDojAUXObn5RaR_T1ssgQmbXNHWyhenK0k4oPj_DGHoG7q8Yq76OQmeLcKoNPdQW0zlF4XS8/s320/IMG_3758.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">Goblin Valley State Park</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwYevR4xkgE9lUle3Zv4TrRD8-quvIrDtV3ALD9WJutPl23nONLzCs9C8HnxyCXSI8Df9PfraMghkNOZlg_nVmVXlIoM2ZimKGs0dsV1evuQr2DpJt1B-2xxV6GHYcDGLm-Mn2i3tYbCA/s1600/IMG_3766.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwYevR4xkgE9lUle3Zv4TrRD8-quvIrDtV3ALD9WJutPl23nONLzCs9C8HnxyCXSI8Df9PfraMghkNOZlg_nVmVXlIoM2ZimKGs0dsV1evuQr2DpJt1B-2xxV6GHYcDGLm-Mn2i3tYbCA/s320/IMG_3766.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">My two Goblins</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_5_C0dAguoB5DCKmbqAGo5viO_yypV4VcxGKsSSqIMGqCnLYXTv_KNPDK1yUEGrQycBC1rE_DUfRyYWdSrN_UJTtSGoPkeTvyCtg0jLsuhNM8K1bkhn4Z6khz1mn5Uhz-QbQLEWifm7I/s1600/IMG_3635.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_5_C0dAguoB5DCKmbqAGo5viO_yypV4VcxGKsSSqIMGqCnLYXTv_KNPDK1yUEGrQycBC1rE_DUfRyYWdSrN_UJTtSGoPkeTvyCtg0jLsuhNM8K1bkhn4Z6khz1mn5Uhz-QbQLEWifm7I/s1600/IMG_3635.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"></a><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEistYKnOM0pRYvaHolqyNtAtxDrhT2wX0wDFNWiDVv__G034iDcABlURnO9H6HT_mzpluOvv4YXIKeCohWDEtxrYl2BXrXhcc8y9GkbfFK4xApT9UuBOfYoAswLIXltWX6fftEN51V6XMc/s1600/IMG_3822.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEistYKnOM0pRYvaHolqyNtAtxDrhT2wX0wDFNWiDVv__G034iDcABlURnO9H6HT_mzpluOvv4YXIKeCohWDEtxrYl2BXrXhcc8y9GkbfFK4xApT9UuBOfYoAswLIXltWX6fftEN51V6XMc/s400/IMG_3822.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Hickman Bridge, Capitol Reef NP</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBqMJ89S9XSXYQZg0Pz5TX3uBekLRUbXGlzAOGhj0YdNHrHfp2sDmiGtxLUkUe2j2Fy4fc6ATj_2VTXhR2YoQr9X2ocO12YakNFXgyLxqwdD0vUyYeOXjxz3jEVtLHreWeDNellQBuL9o/s1600/IMG_3848.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 13px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBqMJ89S9XSXYQZg0Pz5TX3uBekLRUbXGlzAOGhj0YdNHrHfp2sDmiGtxLUkUe2j2Fy4fc6ATj_2VTXhR2YoQr9X2ocO12YakNFXgyLxqwdD0vUyYeOXjxz3jEVtLHreWeDNellQBuL9o/s320/IMG_3848.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5fd_p57VG-I1HWeWauLbxgT3ARpleVZqaR-9knw0Z9HlYtxJRihW5g7Flf4CgPuhl6l_CiFeFdQBJB6OWewlk895iEtMUaQcMgGo4sMevX4RV97yDepseifcpROUQyKgsOKCIOVq70S0/s1600/IMG_3872.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 13px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5fd_p57VG-I1HWeWauLbxgT3ARpleVZqaR-9knw0Z9HlYtxJRihW5g7Flf4CgPuhl6l_CiFeFdQBJB6OWewlk895iEtMUaQcMgGo4sMevX4RV97yDepseifcpROUQyKgsOKCIOVq70S0/s320/IMG_3872.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWFNb8OydUA_Qqxr-Lh9COxi8wLxjoAC3YS3a8hj0dCpQVrENTRcukvvwPz0rLiy5nlF5qv24gEgyAakDrKxSbu067vEC0EYqL3vdkNfMnRsrpg7jpJovUwCzpf8zyPTotgNlEb_Pm62U/s1600/IMG_3890.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWFNb8OydUA_Qqxr-Lh9COxi8wLxjoAC3YS3a8hj0dCpQVrENTRcukvvwPz0rLiy5nlF5qv24gEgyAakDrKxSbu067vEC0EYqL3vdkNfMnRsrpg7jpJovUwCzpf8zyPTotgNlEb_Pm62U/s320/IMG_3890.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Bryce</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghNhBroS2wIp6g_p8gQ7MAm-Lbb08FUeKKyUnTDjkMv66a2-lyht7V_Gp98Ytc9TxXAIkQAOZXsGHFQVs28AhJ-np1RqUS3VVWOdU6Wpv0EjMp6zkWYkfe7gdhu0cnMFRhdOCkmt12R3I/s1600/IMG_3909.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghNhBroS2wIp6g_p8gQ7MAm-Lbb08FUeKKyUnTDjkMv66a2-lyht7V_Gp98Ytc9TxXAIkQAOZXsGHFQVs28AhJ-np1RqUS3VVWOdU6Wpv0EjMp6zkWYkfe7gdhu0cnMFRhdOCkmt12R3I/s400/IMG_3909.jpg" width="297" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Merry Christmas from the Smiths!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizqnFCLBHG29wfEHSoS1eZ6ZsfLX0MalVpaJi0-5OTyPCE2SD_sTikdrTCn7FsQB21q-y5fzAL0Yj2yWC9L6d1iX_BU7RcL87dmwOPlEbBhzh2_hx5HtWeqGDA7zGkS53tG2F4dVF_Ah0/s1600/IMG_3920.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizqnFCLBHG29wfEHSoS1eZ6ZsfLX0MalVpaJi0-5OTyPCE2SD_sTikdrTCn7FsQB21q-y5fzAL0Yj2yWC9L6d1iX_BU7RcL87dmwOPlEbBhzh2_hx5HtWeqGDA7zGkS53tG2F4dVF_Ah0/s320/IMG_3920.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Angels Landing, Zion NP</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNfJeBC2OP3q8uotyq1tf4x-jIP4eCiE4_LaIw1tFrhUTR2KHep35GVvQCCHWax3qcRFRAZbIBgF6OLlqsoY9JzxdvkcmfkErWquL0NbZ9Gc8wmUJIylzue2cEXK6oM5iHukBIJgsG3Ro/s1600/hogjogbacon.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNfJeBC2OP3q8uotyq1tf4x-jIP4eCiE4_LaIw1tFrhUTR2KHep35GVvQCCHWax3qcRFRAZbIBgF6OLlqsoY9JzxdvkcmfkErWquL0NbZ9Gc8wmUJIylzue2cEXK6oM5iHukBIJgsG3Ro/s320/hogjogbacon.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bacon!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih19gpv5BbcprPTIj-vwwjdRWlrt2988qsw94M3cZiMtDHwctn9SGLdrmjhay1YOm4SflryZiBDSIfEiJUGUUfpJK4YHEsGdrGg8x4UzafcejbuVw9iIi49csBPrJIxi3RF89sOamuaX8/s1600/hogjogliam.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih19gpv5BbcprPTIj-vwwjdRWlrt2988qsw94M3cZiMtDHwctn9SGLdrmjhay1YOm4SflryZiBDSIfEiJUGUUfpJK4YHEsGdrGg8x4UzafcejbuVw9iIi49csBPrJIxi3RF89sOamuaX8/s320/hogjogliam.JPG" width="240" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Hg_ttAGP7C14pyXVsTsjMIUMny4PPUMzlUe1J9hqiKXssK_ReV6xiuvN6SIrqEqS5hhfRVCViEQUJ9Uz6wJenEomakN-Sd1eod4iQv3araq3a2k8WK6EhJYFQc17ZM039bFQRkENb6M/s1600/Hogandjog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Hg_ttAGP7C14pyXVsTsjMIUMny4PPUMzlUe1J9hqiKXssK_ReV6xiuvN6SIrqEqS5hhfRVCViEQUJ9Uz6wJenEomakN-Sd1eod4iQv3araq3a2k8WK6EhJYFQc17ZM039bFQRkENb6M/s320/Hogandjog.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Right on the white line...future Badwater runner??</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Hg_ttAGP7C14pyXVsTsjMIUMny4PPUMzlUe1J9hqiKXssK_ReV6xiuvN6SIrqEqS5hhfRVCViEQUJ9Uz6wJenEomakN-Sd1eod4iQv3araq3a2k8WK6EhJYFQc17ZM039bFQRkENb6M/s1600/Hogandjog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd4q32lBEtZ2cAaYr6rIJlCuu3eC05K8uj0pQGtTaoGnrMbu_hRxTj-LqFSPrZzr8gHOI1KpAdqaisgMv4HN-BxfI1sh7Edu4znXhUmGFIIbePZQsIbBqdwCiZLFF98cVhzIgxHZ3P6W8/s1600/Hogandjog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17695365862543446730noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-43532824118848283822016-02-13T19:43:00.000-08:002016-02-13T19:44:44.995-08:00Hagg Lake 50K - A Pyrrhic VictoryWell, I said half marathon phase was over and ultra-phase had begun and what better way to kick it off than with an ultra!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
Nowadays, there are big ultras every month and the two loop mud-fest at Hagg Lake has been relegated to "small local ultra" status, but back in pre-<i>Ultramarathon Man</i> days, Hagg Lake was pretty much the only thing on the Pacific Northwest Ultra calendar this time of year. In its 15 year history many top name ultra runners have kicked off their season at Hagg including Kami Semick, Joelle Vaught, Ashley Nordell, Cassie Scallon, Krissy Moehl, Devon Yanko, Denise Bourassa, Darla Askew, and for the men guys like Hal Koerner, Karl Meltzer, Max King, Jeff Browning, Ty Draney, Rod Bien, Ryan Bak, William Emerson, Jacob Puzey and Sean Meissner. With a history as a season starter like that and a location less than 90 minutes away, it was hard not to choose Hagg as a kick off for my (hopeful) comeback to ultra running. Plus, I have four Hagg Lake finishes of my own (my first goes way back to the 25k in 2002!) and five finishes gets you into The Hall of Mud, and who could resist that?? (you maybe haven't heard of it, but I assure you, it is <i>very</i> prestigious. Very.)<br />
<br />
I took a very easy week between the Roaring Run Half marathon, mostly doing little three milers on my treadmill at a pace that I am embarrassed to post on my Strava (and usually don't!). But I assure you that 12+ minute pace is very deliberate (and even way slower than MAF) to allow recovery and "flushing the system" without adding any running stress or fatigue (I have to do these on the TM to run that slow, but I actually enjoy it - makes me feel like I could go forever!). I ended Roaring Run with a pain in my right hamstring and right foot, but the right foot pain was mostly gone the next day and the hamstring pain got diagnosed as piriformis/sciatic pain and stretching (esp. pretzel stretch) seemed to be helping so I didn't think it would be too big a deal. I had done five 20+ mile runs since Jan. 1, and while 13 weeks can't substitute for years of continuous training, I was feeling pretty good about my fitness for a 50k. What should have worried me was the fact that none of those runs were on technical trail.<br />
<br />
Now Hagg Lake is not a technical trail, nor is it particularly hilly with 3,370' feet of total gain, but the issue at Hagg is the name sake mud. Hagg runs very differently on dry versus wet years, and this was a VERY wet year, especially after six straight hours of rain the night before. The dirt becomes a thick layer of sticky clay and it only gets worse the second loop after everyone has churned it all up the first time around. My La Sportiva Mutants did great in the mud, but so much force is needed to push off your toes to propel you forward and not having done any training for this, my feet were weak. By the end of the first lap, my arches were hurting badly! Hips and quads also had something to say, but only just typical minor whines.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB17CgCSbxsyOckMcThGmHtmrZRQJLD2OJz9cfUQt-Tc449vpb_KFCnCklb6sS9g1A-PcxMLH21JXrE1e-KdaNwrhq0cF2XoBmCPuRDsniFEBleUK9INFuWdlrLAo3VmyyL4cZw40MHq0/s1600/Haggmud16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB17CgCSbxsyOckMcThGmHtmrZRQJLD2OJz9cfUQt-Tc449vpb_KFCnCklb6sS9g1A-PcxMLH21JXrE1e-KdaNwrhq0cF2XoBmCPuRDsniFEBleUK9INFuWdlrLAo3VmyyL4cZw40MHq0/s320/Haggmud16.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Did I mention the mud?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The dam on the lake before the five mile AS is usually a nice little break from the trail, but by the second loop, I was in agony. I pretty much ran duck foot the final nine miles with several shouted "Ow!'s" (but no cuss words!). Fortunately, I had a lead and was able to keep it to pick up my third Hagg win, but at that point, there would have been no racing from me if anyone had passed. I was so glad to finish, but then the pain only got worse. I have never been so anti-social after a race! I made it to my car where I finally got my shoe off but could not take off my socks because of the pain when contorting my foot. I thought I'd walk the 100 yards to the food, but I almost fell over on my second step because I couldn't put pressure on my foot. I got in my car and drove away and twice screamed in pain while driving (who needs to brake??).<br />
<br />
My overall time was pretty slow compared to my other times, but I think this was the muddiest I have seen the course and the times across the board were slow. The men's winning time was 4:16 as compared to a 3:24 course record and winner Zach Gingerich is not a slow guy! Even the top ten master's times for men are all under 4 hours, which again just speaks to how slow it was this year. That being said, I know I didn't run the second lap very well, but I don't feel like it was due to bad pacing or fitness and my fueling was good, so overall, I am happy with the race. I am not, however, happy about my feet! I have a newfound sympathy for plantar fasciitis sufferers and I must admit, I probably didn't have a lot before. I have run through so many different "niggles" that I kind of thought people must be exaggerating with PF, but it is no joke! I hope WebMD has some pointers for me (hahaha- as if!). I am 3 for 4 in races (plus a master's win) since December after getting diagnosed and medicated for asthma, and while winning isn't really that important, especially in these smaller races, it is just nice to feel like I am getting back in the game. I don't want to have another set back! (yes, that is my whiny baby voice!). Anybody got any good PF advice??<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNum4oNZ5FkS-vLFQsrtqDdflitOJn9_JsiBxm5nBuk1nwNCPWFEUyjB2aQmZ_72ap-Ea3gCvM9BOWWo5hSH19bIZkSEyVEFGdUCnX7Ir578gl31PHxXAt-QsHdt0CSk1lR2yjzuv3pYU/s1600/Hagg15.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNum4oNZ5FkS-vLFQsrtqDdflitOJn9_JsiBxm5nBuk1nwNCPWFEUyjB2aQmZ_72ap-Ea3gCvM9BOWWo5hSH19bIZkSEyVEFGdUCnX7Ir578gl31PHxXAt-QsHdt0CSk1lR2yjzuv3pYU/s400/Hagg15.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy to be done! Also happy my car is the closest one!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNjQ__-CRwQ90su__qjqlbCcdRJpWW38DZQBxaaOW_XiUJvMiIq9KVPmhDotrXk8E_lxhdos72H6aqa6gUvV-Njzogs5wXYhr12RHCdoCarQ7zPr2bwaptHLzKWsleTD9bBZIDz2leDQ4/s1600/Haggcert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNjQ__-CRwQ90su__qjqlbCcdRJpWW38DZQBxaaOW_XiUJvMiIq9KVPmhDotrXk8E_lxhdos72H6aqa6gUvV-Njzogs5wXYhr12RHCdoCarQ7zPr2bwaptHLzKWsleTD9bBZIDz2leDQ4/s400/Haggcert.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17695365862543446730noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-38861471179581325432016-02-09T20:15:00.002-08:002016-02-09T20:15:54.040-08:00I am Old Lady, Hear Me Roar - Roaring Run Half Marathon<div id="yiv3982283782yui_3_16_0_1_1454955998123_54009" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
This past weekend I ran the Roaring Run Half Marathon to see what 13 weeks of training and medication could get me. Well, it got me a strained right hamstring and a finishing time that didn't mesh with my goal time! </div>
<div id="yiv3982283782yui_3_16_0_1_1454955998123_54009" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv3982283782yui_3_16_0_1_1454955998123_54009" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
Three weeks ago, I ran the Cascade Half Marathon at a controlled effort for a 1:26:44 finish. I thought three additional weeks of training along with a "race day" mentality (including a bit of a taper and better pre-race nutrition) would allow me to run ten seconds per mile faster for a 1:24:30 finish (6:27 pace), for my second fastest half ever, which would be a good accomplishment in my book (my PR came in 2013 when I was running out of my mind and I am not sure I will ever be able to equal that effort). I actually think it was a pretty reasonable goal and in line with my fitness. Unfortunately, I got a little too fired up early on and deviated a bit from the plan. (That's a euphemism for "I went out too fast and screwed up the pacing"). </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Two women were out front together early, chatting away at 6:10 pace. I knew better than to stay with them, but I stayed a little too close especially as the first two miles went downhill. I backed off but only to about 6:20 pace - still faster than goal pace. By mile 7 my hamstrings were sore and cement like and the pace slowly dribbled into the 6:40 range for a 50 second positive split and a 1:25:18 finish. Oops! At the time, I thought my hammies were just suffering from the hot early pace, but afterwards it was clear something wasn't right. My right hammy and right foot were in a lot of pain. My planned five mile cool down lasted all of 0.2 miles. On the bright side, I was at the front of the line for the potato bar! </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div>
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6POKkkiDEUw_x-PkAZd8hT42D5W0ksoBdB1klEznPyCnvgoYH8-LZqon3bWlRXqIif3LR46VbKtW55Zs-7r5j7HpbmfImxQGVjbWjVSGjYAj6l9wRSMEJPltyqPMbxx2WV5wMPKyr02o/s1600/roaringbridge.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6POKkkiDEUw_x-PkAZd8hT42D5W0ksoBdB1klEznPyCnvgoYH8-LZqon3bWlRXqIif3LR46VbKtW55Zs-7r5j7HpbmfImxQGVjbWjVSGjYAj6l9wRSMEJPltyqPMbxx2WV5wMPKyr02o/s640/roaringbridge.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Covered bridge over the Roaring River</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
Saturday after the race, my kids were in a piano competition. Liam was up first and he totally choked. He left the stage in tears. Afterwards, I tried to tell him that we all have bad days and that I didn't have a very good race that morning. "Yeah, except nobody cares about running, Mom. It's just a stupid race!" So as you can see, there is no good reason for me to get too upset about my race! Megan didn't have her best day either, so no real shining stars in our family for the weekend, but we are getting out and trying and that's what counts.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUzwm-7Jt3q_CG9QupN1zk6W9pXZzIdzf6XuCYDuxAj-QxqqTqm9QdhZb-oOwAgUkZOGjx1fto4arDAWlQGUknqOdhk8_my0nOBv9QYBQEHoH4gdiNUUBS4PRJ0nRzjoMFNGltmDcjx4w/s1600/Bachfestival.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUzwm-7Jt3q_CG9QupN1zk6W9pXZzIdzf6XuCYDuxAj-QxqqTqm9QdhZb-oOwAgUkZOGjx1fto4arDAWlQGUknqOdhk8_my0nOBv9QYBQEHoH4gdiNUUBS4PRJ0nRzjoMFNGltmDcjx4w/s640/Bachfestival.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How Liam really feels about the Bach festival: "Sucks big time". Hahaha!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="text-align: center;">Despite missing the goal, I am still quite encouraged. Aside from the hamstrings, I felt great. It was an "old lady PR" (PR post-40) and a master's win. (The two fast women went on to take 1st and 2nd <i>overall</i>). I know I could do better, but I am not a half marathoner and am not too hung up on what I could run. I think of endurance fitness as having two main components: a cardio-vascular component and a musculoskeletal component. With asthma, my CV fitness got so bad that I really wasn't taxing my musculoskeletal system and that fitness withered away. But with the asthma under control, my CV fitness has improved tremendously and now my musculoskeletal system needs to catch up. Strength training has always been an important part of my training because I think it helps so much in keeping the musculoskeletal system strong enough to endure the stress when the CV system gets in really good shape. And the weights don't lie: last time I was at the gym, I struggled to deadlift 155#; at my peak I could DL 200#. Now that this base/half-marathon phase is over, I know I need to get back in the gym and get strong again! But this week, I'll be babying my leg and not doing very much: ultra-marathon phase starts next week and I need a healthy hamstring for that!</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-8liGydVfjPUAWucbS8URX6EIdemGyVSizwOz4mcJRUBvMmlgwkWUemkR4i92M4LkESSUcxvVumJLVQzmDxV4LB6H_E6OUG30JlgJvxkctwgiDFkhEDMTQw7rilKa2q0zWvQgwXz5y-8/s1600/Roaringmaster16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-8liGydVfjPUAWucbS8URX6EIdemGyVSizwOz4mcJRUBvMmlgwkWUemkR4i92M4LkESSUcxvVumJLVQzmDxV4LB6H_E6OUG30JlgJvxkctwgiDFkhEDMTQw7rilKa2q0zWvQgwXz5y-8/s400/Roaringmaster16.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First Old Lady!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgha-Q39M7s3_5_5rOZ-JEwkme78XXmjgr_hH94E0j1qPEUzoYOlzbdoBwqS1qHKGmWYhkOym7POIrVmYqc1KklU0EVNmWKbjoacMloZaWiymogN29SbSvNcAfYhBCUGYbWssy8Od7U9dQ/s1600/Macbday.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgha-Q39M7s3_5_5rOZ-JEwkme78XXmjgr_hH94E0j1qPEUzoYOlzbdoBwqS1qHKGmWYhkOym7POIrVmYqc1KklU0EVNmWKbjoacMloZaWiymogN29SbSvNcAfYhBCUGYbWssy8Od7U9dQ/s400/Macbday.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We ended the day with peanut butter pie for Mac's 42nd b-day. Pie is good for aging husbands, sore hamstrings and crabby little boys. :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17695365862543446730noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-51978353207447622162016-01-22T16:41:00.002-08:002016-12-05T08:27:31.650-08:00Come-back Half<div id="yiv2529007907yui_3_16_0_1_1453137662453_9780" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
Last Sunday I ran the local Cascade Half Marathon. In terms of performance, I had nothing riding on a set time and I didn't take the lead up to the race very seriously, yet, the day before the race I found myself really worried. I realized I was using this race as a test, a test to see if I really could control my asthma and get back to racing again. Because I had a lot riding on this emotionally, I kind of went into panic mode before the race, taking extra reflux meds, revisiting the steroid inhaler and taking the regular inhaler twice before the race started - I was going to make sure I was well medicated for this thing! (To keep the lynch mobs at bay, I will point out that everything is WADA legal. And contrary to what many people think, asthma drugs do not require a TUE).</div>
<div id="yiv2529007907yui_3_16_0_1_1453137662453_9780" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv2529007907yui_3_16_0_1_1453137662453_9780" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
I thought a 6:40 pace would be doable even in the pouring rain (you can count on miserable weather for the Cascade Half) and made sure my pace didn't dip below 6:30 on the way out to the turn around. On the way back, I just tried to keep a steady effort and ended up with a ten second negative split for a 1:26:44 finish, which is now the median for my 7 life time half marathons. Despite being a middle of the road time, I was ecstatic: I felt completely in control, I had no breathing issues, and my legs felt like they were working exactly like they were supposed to work, and the race left me exhilarated, not completely exhausted! In summary: I passed my test! If I never got any faster, I'd still be happy and able to enjoy running and that is a very nice thing to be able to say (finally!). Plus, I did actually win the race (the farm town of Turner, OR is not exactly a mecca for speedy runners in the middle of January), which was a nice little cherry on top. I parked eight miles from the finish line and caught a ride with a friend which forced me to do an extra long cool down, which made for a pretty good day in the log book!</div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv2529007907yui_3_16_0_1_1453137662453_9780" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv2529007907yui_3_16_0_1_1453137662453_9780" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
One funny little story: a generous doctor in the area donated $100 for both the men's and women's master runners, but there was only a plaque for the overall winner, who is typically removed from the age group awards. I politely asked the race director (and friend) to give the overall win to second place and make me the masters winner - I prefer a hundred dollars to a plaque! The RD thought that would be awkward so he ended up paying me $100 from the race coffers and the second place 40+ lady got the donated prize money. Everybody wins! (well, except maybe Cascade High School, which is now getting $100 less from this fundraiser. I volunteered to help for a couple hours the day before the race, so let's call it even!). I guess I'll use it to cover all the co-pays for my asthma meds, cause they seem to be working!</div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv2529007907yui_3_16_0_1_1453137662453_9780" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv2529007907yui_3_16_0_1_1453137662453_9780" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
In the few days after the race, I couldn't believe how sore my hamstrings were! Geez, don't my legs remember how to run 13 measly miles?? But a friend reminded me that I took ten weeks off and I have to think like I am starting all over again. I am optimistic that this means there is still lots of improvement to be had. I will test myself at the half again in three weeks at the Roaring Run, which will be 13 weeks since I started back running. Last year I ran 1:26:01 while suffering and feeling terrible (and experiencing several bad workouts ahead of time), so I will definitely be hoping for something better. Now that my hamstrings have recovered, it's time to get training!</div>
Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17695365862543446730noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-38098885940865634412016-01-10T16:32:00.001-08:002016-01-11T20:25:40.054-08:002016Happy New Year! Sure we are ten days in, but I am still celebrating turning over a new leaf. Heck, I've even read two novels already, something that has been supplanted by running books and magazines the past couple of years. (Of course, I still plan to read all of those, too!).<br />
<br />
Anyway, nothing better to kick off new training then a Fatass run! So yesterday, my training partner Dennis and I made the trip down to Yachats for the Cape Perpetua Fatass. We agreed that we'd be doing the run more "adventure style" than race style, which meant running in a group, hiking even the low grade stuff, and taking plenty of pictures - even a few selfies! We finished near the back, and I loved every minute of it! (And with no official results there will be no ramifications for my ultra signup score - phew! ;). The trails out there were like carpet - all pine needles and moss. There were a couple of miles that may have been the best suited to me than any other trail I have run: a thin ribbon of dirt running down an old dirt road over grown with grass, fast downhill with out a rock to be seen, just a few down saplings, most of which I hurdled with a big smile on my face. I am taking three meds routinely with an additional inhaler for long runs, and while I don't like that I have to take them, the fact that they have made me feel so much better and have brought the joy back in to running makes it worth it. Now, hopefully with some concentrated training, I can bring the speed back in to my running, too.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMtNRstXI_Oq2W9kyfNW4-dc7LswqsM507stprkQNsEzJ-oZFudwnAWE_rrQprQc0aiOaGwdHQu_5CkvBvuM1LvqWxblCDPdIqScetaUBQoWCkGFC-0dGmi8ftk8atwgjB_yb5pC_7Zds/s1600/capeperpetua4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMtNRstXI_Oq2W9kyfNW4-dc7LswqsM507stprkQNsEzJ-oZFudwnAWE_rrQprQc0aiOaGwdHQu_5CkvBvuM1LvqWxblCDPdIqScetaUBQoWCkGFC-0dGmi8ftk8atwgjB_yb5pC_7Zds/s400/capeperpetua4.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rays of sun through the tall trees</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0bVYuUT4RSTebPsEevpQifzDgzTIzDdBRJ6o4_0Lou2RdA6F6hsOfuYR08ruXBWdWor6hqXFWfGcRCFtGBkF1JVMHo78mVayOzvZ2OnRvXFR9praFAB9dpV-_NGg4rQLm5k2V1mYHgDA/s1600/Capeperpetua.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0bVYuUT4RSTebPsEevpQifzDgzTIzDdBRJ6o4_0Lou2RdA6F6hsOfuYR08ruXBWdWor6hqXFWfGcRCFtGBkF1JVMHo78mVayOzvZ2OnRvXFR9praFAB9dpV-_NGg4rQLm5k2V1mYHgDA/s400/Capeperpetua.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The beautiful Oregon coast</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3SsYEPbj15Y0D8Eu1PZhAPlWpPTpiZhcxwegDs8WcKH3ec10pvU1nb_AFCnfMR7RI8kgsrpBZLk0XpmTNMA6sUNUdJlnwoWlomaoS5xc4cPt3ECLVUUd8OIiFRcx1u3wdkwxovLYYXU8/s1600/capeperpetua1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3SsYEPbj15Y0D8Eu1PZhAPlWpPTpiZhcxwegDs8WcKH3ec10pvU1nb_AFCnfMR7RI8kgsrpBZLk0XpmTNMA6sUNUdJlnwoWlomaoS5xc4cPt3ECLVUUd8OIiFRcx1u3wdkwxovLYYXU8/s400/capeperpetua1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdtlVjI4lvBYKhLov8LS9whyphenhyphenZ0CErPycO-hLzRM6BmbvE-uQ3pOQ-FmkVky-DZqKTlVHR4oyeA09UHo4pgsOXVSr9LKNMYxRl7jGqgl8cHImPA7uSHnR29yBj1bKWLa326ooXe1qWj6rw/s1600/capeperpetua2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdtlVjI4lvBYKhLov8LS9whyphenhyphenZ0CErPycO-hLzRM6BmbvE-uQ3pOQ-FmkVky-DZqKTlVHR4oyeA09UHo4pgsOXVSr9LKNMYxRl7jGqgl8cHImPA7uSHnR29yBj1bKWLa326ooXe1qWj6rw/s400/capeperpetua2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stopping for selfies on the coast!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHyEDr72qfkQL4zr6t3A4VeBH9DUuhA8vVa58PHoQe5dMCvTgz7KAGeHgpUo9dQPYpHcsJh-Ao3MMiUkYP7uIZ-Z_QEGYNlChGOZ7leGtTBKJrUwTREg0gLJ9hLbM8Yda9LT7046AWb50/s1600/capeperpetua3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHyEDr72qfkQL4zr6t3A4VeBH9DUuhA8vVa58PHoQe5dMCvTgz7KAGeHgpUo9dQPYpHcsJh-Ao3MMiUkYP7uIZ-Z_QEGYNlChGOZ7leGtTBKJrUwTREg0gLJ9hLbM8Yda9LT7046AWb50/s400/capeperpetua3.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big ferns and mossy trails: Oregon trails at their finest!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="text-align: center;">And since I have made it through a full seven days of training and a Fatass, I have registered for a half dozen races! Here are my plans for 2016 so far:</span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: center;">1/17: Cascade Half Marathon - this is just a hard effort, long tempo day- a so-called "training race."</span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: center;">2/6: Roaring Run Half Marathon - This is the race I set my half marathon PR (1:21:15) back in 2013 when I was running at my best. I also ran a 1:26:01 there last year when I was having such a hard time and struggling to even do 4 mile tempo runs. So I have a very nice scale on which to measure myself and to get an idea of where I am at and what kind of expectations I should have for the year.</span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: center;">2/13 - Hagg Mud 50k - If you mention Hagg Lake you are likely to get an eye roll from anyone who has run it. On paper (or in the summer) it should be a super fast course, but it is endless thick, thick mud in February, which slows it considerably. I got my 4th finish several years ago and I figured this would be a good time to get my 5th and get my name in the (very prestigious!) "Hall of Mud." But I am not paying $25 for a 5 year finisher's buckle! (really?? sheesh!)</span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: center;">4/2: Gorge Waterfalls 100k - No, I am NOT going for a Golden Ticket (no, really!) but this is a beautiful race with good competition and minimal travel. And I do love mossy trails.</span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: center;">5/13: Dawn to Dusk to Dawn 24 hour - Yes, another track race. Yes, I am crazy, but Yes, I still really like the idea of track races, too. I am undecided if I want to try for another fast 100 mile time or if I want to do the full 24 hours and try to get a 24 hour World Championship qualifier.</span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: center;">6/17: Bighorn 100 - Western States is awesome, but I need a break from focusing completely on that one race (not to mention, I don't have a spot!). I am very excited to get the chance to try another classic mountain 100 and the women's field is looking pretty stout!</span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: center;">8/20: Waldo 100k - (if I can make it through the lottery or convince the RD's that I am still "elite") - This is the race where I was first diagnosed with asthma in 2009 after breathing difficulties ruined my run. It seems fitting to go back as I am trying to rebound from such problems with asthma. Plus, it is another great race with minimal travel.</span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: center;">Fall racing schedule will be determined based on how all the above goes. </span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: center;">So who else is running any of these races?</span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17695365862543446730noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-5608595137617102512015-12-26T17:22:00.000-08:002015-12-26T17:23:39.603-08:002015 Year in Review<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Ultra-Running Year in Review: 2015</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Well, my year of running had nothing notable enough that I want to toot my own horn and rehash anything in some kind of long winded year in review. In a nutshell: I was mediocre or worse at every race this year until I finally got so frustrated with poor workouts, that I dropped off of the 100km National Team because I didn’t feel I could live up to my own expectations. </span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">But there is a silver lining: less time training and racing gave me a lot more time to be a fan (and a cynic!) of the sport. I’ll leave the assessment of individual athletes up to the Ultrarunning Magazine panel and instead, let me tell you what you where I think ultrarunning went in 2015.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>1) You NEED a coach.</b> If you haven't run an ultra yet, well, then you can't possibly know anything about the sport and you will most definitely need a coach to guide you through such complex activities like putting one foot in front of the other, eating gels and drinking water. And if you have run a few ultras, well then you are ready to get better and you will definitely need a coach to show you how to improve. And don't think you will out grow the need for a coach even when you have run a whole pile of ultras with success. Because then you are probably on the brink of burnout and you desperately need a coach to keep you from overtraining. In 2015, you absolutely cannot train for an ultra without a coach.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>1a) After you hire a coach, you must fall madly in love with that coach.</b> Or at least it will seem that way on social media when you talk about your coach more than your loved ones. Despite the fact that you may be paying said coach upwards of $400 a month, you feel compelled to do a bunch a free advertising for your coach, babbling on and on about how wonderful they are, as if they had invented the very sport itself. This is perfectly logical, because we both know there is no possible way you ever could have made it through your last ultra without a coach. You gave them a quarter of your take home salary, but they gave you your worth as a runner. Surely, that is worth a whole lot of social media love.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>2) Become a coach.</b> If you have finished at least one ultra, then you are ready to become a coach! Do you know how fast this sport is exploding?! Think of all the wanna-be ultra runners who have yet to run their first 50k; after one race, you will know light years more then they do, so why not make a little money on the side by coaching those poor, ignorant saps who are so desperately in need of guidance if they are ever going to survive the harsh world that exists beyond 26.2 miles. Just remember, no matter how good you are as a coach, you are never, ever, ever, qualified to coach yourself. See #1 above. Sure you can coach other people, but you my friend, are still utterly incapable of writing your own training plan.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>2a) Once you become a coach, make sure you let everyone know that any time any one of your clients has a good race, it is really you who deserves all the credit for their success. </b>I mean, we have already gone over how most people could barely even complete an ultra if left to their own devices, let alone be successful. Of course, if you do this by congratulating your athlete on social media, I am sure no one will figure out that you are just using your client to pat yourself on the back. And if one of your athletes has a bad day?? Well, you better fucking ghost that client, at least in your social media relationship, because you would not want that associated with your reputation. Obviously, that athlete was uncoachable.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>3) The Ultra Beard loses its hipster status. </b>I am not exactly sure what the origins of the ultra beard are, but I am assuming a lot of it has to do with Rob Krar. Ultra running had some inklings of facial fuzz before Rob Krar, and certainly the Boston Red Sox brought the bushy beard into sports way before it caught on in ultra-running, but in 2013, Rob Krar exploded onto the ultra scene and he did it all while wearing a marmot on his face! In fact, his facial hair has so much personality, it even has its own Twitter account! Soon after, it seems like beards became an ultra-running fashion trend. But these days if you head to any ultra in the Pacific Northwest, you would think a big beard and a flannel shirt were required gear for men. Indeed, even my husband Mac has been sporting a beard since March and my husband does not go out of the box. In fact, he doesn’t even like to go near the walls of said box but rather likes to keep his feet planted firmly in the center. This makes him very dependable and agreeable, but I assure you, it does not make him a hipster. In similar fashion, I have two friends that had barely crossed the finish lines of their first 50k’s when they started growing ultra-beards. The ultra-beard may not be going out of style, but it has definitely lost its hipster, cutting edge status. Now it seems everybody and their mother, er, I mean, father has a beard.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>4) Finish Line Celebrations need to start carding.</b> This past year there were a lot of big performances by underaged runners. Ford Smith took the title at Black Canyon, Andrew Miller set the Bighorn course record and won the Georgia Death Race, Jared Hanzen raced Lake Sonoma and Western States like a grizzled vet and Ashley Erba had a stellar run at Lake Sonoma. When I was their age, I spent most of my free time shopping and making mix tapes. I guess Amazon and MP3s have freed up a lot of time for ultra training. As more and more “kids” get into ultra-running, race directors may have to monitor the distribution of finish line beverages a bit more closely. But that should be easy least for the men: just look for the few runners without beards!</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>5) On the flip side, 50 doesn’t even count as old. </b>You are doing ultras in your 50’s?? Big whoop-de-do! 50 year olds are still tearing it up. Anita Ortiz, Connie Gardner, Joe Fejes, Jean Pommier, Meghan Arbogast, and Bev Anderson-Abs are just a few examples of quinquagenarians still kicking butt. How about 60 year old Mark Richtman throwing down 3:34 50k at Desert Solstice; the extremely emotional and inspirational finish of 71 year old Gunhild Swanson at Western States; or 80 year old Bill Dodson crawling across the finish line at Caumsett 50k? To those guys, 50 year olds are still young whipper-snappers. iRunFar estimates 20% of ultra runners are now over age 50, meaning it is hardly an anomaly any more. In fact, it makes 50 seem like it isn't so old at all - which sounds really good, as it is getting ever closer for me!</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>6) The more things change the more things stay the same. </b>Ultra running has exploded in popularity, there’s more money in the sport, and races are getting more coverage and more hype. Yes, there are growing pains - like what to do about drug testing and convicted cheats - but at the core, ultrarunning still remains a group of likeminded people out to enjoy the beauty of nature and to test their limits in endurance.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Ok, so what other trends were there for 2015?</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Hope you had a great year and have lots of great adventures planned for 2016!</span></div>
Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17695365862543446730noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-62258469557814460122015-12-11T22:15:00.000-08:002015-12-12T13:46:58.668-08:00Hope Springs EternalHello? Hellooo?? Anybody still out there? I know it has been a long silence here.<br />
<br />
On the running front, it's been a rough year. Despite all my best efforts, I just seemed to be circling closer and closer to the drain. One bad race after another where I just seemed completely spent, overly winded and lifeless in the legs. Sadly, training wasn't much better. Even slow paces had me huffing and puffing and my legs didn't seem to work right. Worse yet, they just ached and ached and ached sometimes so badly that I woke up in the middle of the night.<br />
<br />
Something was very wrong - I just knew it. Running wasn't fun at all anymore and I was upset and frustrated. I tried to explain all this to my primary care doctor (a marathoner herself) last April and ended up in tears in her office. Crying, muscle aches, trouble sleeping, a feeling of doom, lack of energy, loss of enthusiasm for previously joyous activities...Well, she put it all together and diagnosed me with "moderate depression" (I skipped right over mild!) and she put me on Cymbalta, which along with treating depression is approved for muscle aches. But she did refer me to a neurologist because I kept telling her my legs just weren't working right.<br />
<br />
The neurologist practically laughed at me because I had no trouble with any of his tests. As to my complaint of weakness, he told me I was stronger than any other patient he had seen all week. He assured me that I did not have a neurologic problem. And then he changed my anti-depressant prescription.<br />
<br />
I was willing enough to give the anti-depression meds a try, but I don't think I ever bought into it. I don't have hang-ups about mental illness or feel ashamed by it, but it just didn't seem to fit. I stopped the meds two weeks before Western States; I didn't feel like they were giving me any benefit and I didn't want to be on any unnecessary drugs for such a physically demanding event.<br />
<br />
I knew I wasn't trained as well as I wanted for WS, but I still expected better than I did. By Forest Hill, I was spent. I had been working way harder than I should have been and once again my legs felt so weak. What did I expect?? I had done less than half the mileage I had done for WS the three years prior. I tried to put on a happy face- hey, it was still a silver buckle as Western States; how bad could it be? But inside, I was even more worried.<br />
<br />
That was right around the time all the articles came out on over-training and they just seemed to confirm my worst fears: I was just another one of the washed up over trained ultra-runners with flash-in-the-pan success before running themselves completely into the ground. Several periods of rest would make me feel marginally better, but I would be back in the toilet after any moderately hard run. I was obviously in the deepest stages of overtraining. The clincher was trying to pace Liza Howard at Leadville. I had felt miserable for the ten days prior while we were in Colorado, and I kept warning her that I wouldn't be able to keep up with her, but even I was aghast when I got dropped after three miles. Three fucking miles! Yeah, Liza is super speedy, but I'd like to think if I am fresh and she has 50 miles on her legs, I'd have the advantage! As soon as we were climbing Hope Pass, I just could not get enough air, my legs were so weak and I kept getting so dizzy. Altitude sickness, everyone assured me, but I knew it wasn't right, and when I got back to Oregon and good old sea level, I was still wasted. Though it practically killed me, I resigned from the US 100km team; I was in no shape to run 62 miles three weeks later.<br />
<br />
I sought out a new primary care doctor, this one an experienced triathlete with an ultra marathon on his resume to boot. He agreed I was probably overtrained noting that I had put my body through a lot the last few years and I started back on anti-depressants. He sent me to a cardiologists just to make sure, you know, since I am over 40 and all now. My heart rate soared on a stress echo - it escalated way faster than it should have and I was breathing so hard. My legs ached, but I had no problem completing the test. The cardiologist said that it was odd but I had the max heart rate of a 28 year old and my ejection fraction (heart strength) was way above normal, so from a cardiac standpoint, I was fit as a fiddle. The primary care doc said I was just "deconditioned."<br />
<br />
All during this time, I had lots of labs and they all came back perfectly normal - hormones, electrolytes, and nutrition all totally awesome. The new doc recommended three months off with nothing but yoga. Oh, and double the dose of Cymbalta for depression.<br />
<br />
I stopped the meds all together two days later and started looking for a new doctor. Thankfully, doctor #5 was a godsend! Dr. Yates is a multi-time Kona Ironman finisher and one time Masters Ironman world record holder who served as the Portland Winter Hawks (minor league hockey) team doctor for 23 years. His special interest is in medicine for endurance athletes and he is right here in Salem! He listened to me for about 20 minutes and adamantly told me "This is not depression!" and "Of course your heart is fine! You have asthma - this is classic!" I have a history of asthma and have had a few bad attacks, but I was still skeptical; this didn't feel like an attack. "But I don't wheeze and my chest isn't tight," I countered. Though he couldn't entirely explain why, he told me leg pain and weakness are common symptoms of asthma in endurance athletes. Is my HR too high? Do I breathe really hard? Do I cough after workouts? Do colds always end up in my chest? Do I feel like I am not getting enough air even at rest? Is it worse climbing hills or at altitude (places the body needs more oxygen efficiency)? Do I start out feeling ok and then just fall apart? Yes, yes, YES! Well, holy shit, why didn't somebody tell me this 18 months ago and why the hell did I take so much anti-depressant medication?? Plus, he told me three times that I am <i>only</i> 41! Best doctor ever!<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, that's not the end of the story. It turns out I also have gastric reflux. Well, how did I get so lucky? Apparently asthma and reflux have a tight correlation: 75% of asthma patients also have reflux. I did not know this and I am a doctor for gads sake! One more thing I didn't know: distance running increases the risk for reflux- all that pounding and increased pressure in the abdomen can weaken the lower esophageal sphincter. And all those crunches and ab workouts...well, they don't help either. So there's your excuse to skip core workouts! It is thought that either refluxing acid gets into the throat and irritates the lungs or that the acid irritation in the esophagus causes nerve irritation that in turn constricts the airways. I am not sure why all this started, but it seems like once it did, things just kept snowballing until they were out of control.<br />
<br />
The good news is that I now have an idea of what has been going on and why I have felt so bad for so long. And I am not overtrained! (OMG - I am so woefully <b>under</b>trained!). I can't say that having a bunch of chronic illnesses makes me happy, but they should be treatable and after just three weeks I see a HUGE difference. Heck, I even won a race last weekend. Ok, it was a small time 5.2 miler but it had 1000 feet of gain and at no point did my legs feel weak. Actually, I felt totally awesome at the end of the race with that post run euphoria that I had been missing for so long. I don't know that I'll ever get back to my 2013 top form, but I don't know that I really need to to be happy. More than anything I have been missing just feeling smooth and easy and finishing a workout thinking "Man, I love to run!" I am building back very slowly with only easy runs and no speedwork yet, but even so these past three weeks I have started to feel "fit" again and I can honestly say, "Man, I love to run!"<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgntfgwseGqpadrFRpLSCNvK28y7CCkuk9cJ1IwDel-7ugTouz_r12TO5mo6jgtlyudwYVJOLXLpELRoudMg5I_1O2Zvy-wtToMrqYveusMfuOeN6DjnlmIdUD24bJkHxyJ-M383YlrulI/s1600/Shellgurgfalls15.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgntfgwseGqpadrFRpLSCNvK28y7CCkuk9cJ1IwDel-7ugTouz_r12TO5mo6jgtlyudwYVJOLXLpELRoudMg5I_1O2Zvy-wtToMrqYveusMfuOeN6DjnlmIdUD24bJkHxyJ-M383YlrulI/s640/Shellgurgfalls15.PNG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes! This is what I love! (ph:Nine22 Photography)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So I am cautiously optimistic, but feeling good enough that I am excitedly pouring over race websites and dreaming of big races and adventures for 2016!<br />
<br />
<br />Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17695365862543446730noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-23076848038123932982015-07-16T21:45:00.000-07:002015-07-17T12:12:43.325-07:00Coming Back From the Dead<div dir="ltr" id="yiv0095126283yui_3_16_0_1_1432135738496_180501" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
Well, Blog Fans, it has been quite a while since I posted here. The Lake Sonoma 50M passed without even a 140 character race update on Twitter let alone a full on blog post. I could tell you I've been busy - travel, work, garden season and two kids in multiple activities - and it would be true, but that wouldn't be the real story. For the truth is, I am sick of writing race reports about crappy races or races where I feel like I didn't live up to my potential. For a while I could come up with good reasons - I was tired from WS and/or AC, I took too much time off, I didn't do speed workouts, I didn't get enough trail training - but finally the excuses ran out and I had to face the depressing reality that it has been almost a year since I really felt like I rocked a race (June 1, 2014 - Beacon Rock 25k).</div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv0095126283yui_3_16_0_1_1432135738496_180501" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv0095126283yui_3_16_0_1_1432135738496_180501" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
Lake Sonoma started off just fine. I didn't feel great on the road but nothing really worrisome and I was right about where I expected to be in the ladies' race. But the constant up and downs on the trail just tuckered me out so fast and by mile 12 (yes, 12!) my legs felt like they were at the end of a 100. But my mental state was worse - over the next two miles I traveled through a deep, dark pit of mental despair: "<i id="yiv0095126283yui_3_16_0_1_1436887792763_41794">I am not even any good any more. I am such a fraud to be here as an elite. I don't even think I want to be an elite; why do I want to kill myself in every single race? I am a total has been. And why the fuck are women doing a trail race with full eye make-up on?!? It's a trail race, not a fucking fashion show! Ugh - I am such a loser; I can't even put mascara on for work. I do not belong here: I am not elite and I didn't even match my shirt to my shorts.</i>"<br />
<br />
(Dear Mascara-wearing racers - I am sorry for this. I was not being rational at the time. You should wear whatever you feel comfortable in at races and I know it has no effect on me. But can you please explain what is the rational of being fully made up on race day? Is this kind of like the running skirt - a way to preserve a bit of femininity in a dirty, sweaty sport? And what brand do you use that stays so firmly put through 50 miles??!)<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo1vU9EgDYwpKGuQlHaF1bFnF-r3kB9UrTogvV6FCtJqT04D-9sojHQMtvFtQUCAJ32597vQPqVNht4WpNdoL-4nO0I-hHxB9duPY6JRYkIJ_aCdSSAtfteVZcFDev5Gsb0xnaL08K34s/s1600/Sonoma15run.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo1vU9EgDYwpKGuQlHaF1bFnF-r3kB9UrTogvV6FCtJqT04D-9sojHQMtvFtQUCAJ32597vQPqVNht4WpNdoL-4nO0I-hHxB9duPY6JRYkIJ_aCdSSAtfteVZcFDev5Gsb0xnaL08K34s/s400/Sonoma15run.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Orange socks, pink shorts, blue shirt, tattered hat and a terry cloth wrist band under my Garmin...seriously, no amount of mascara can help that! (photo: Gary Wang)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv0095126283yui_3_16_0_1_1432135738496_180501" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
Anyway, I suffered through to the finish, thanks largely in part to Jimmy Dean Freeman who stopped to walk a mile with me and let me blubber on his shoulder while getting me to commit to finishing. But just because I got to the finish didn't mean I was in better spirits. Frankly, I couldn't come up with one good reason why I should get up a couple days later and go for a run. So I didn't - for FOUR WHOLE WEEKS! - right at the key time for Western States training! But it didn't matter, my body felt off, my mind felt off and I needed the time off. Besides, I had already decided that I would NOT be doing Western States this year so the training didn't matter.<br />
<br />
Well, good thing my pacer Dennis knows me well and didn't believe me when I tried to fire him!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAm0chsSZQNosebcCyZrB2tX9XMJ8B2YMh_85-BRf020OO7M0YeMJyXnxPX6o6R0b7d30wdRU6gmH59AaHqQlHTaBaxlDsurDSb3eSAcs8Hi2vEfO2LgrpU8H7mWZ6BDG_FAIO92cmkiQ/s1600/sonoma15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAm0chsSZQNosebcCyZrB2tX9XMJ8B2YMh_85-BRf020OO7M0YeMJyXnxPX6o6R0b7d30wdRU6gmH59AaHqQlHTaBaxlDsurDSb3eSAcs8Hi2vEfO2LgrpU8H7mWZ6BDG_FAIO92cmkiQ/s400/sonoma15.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jimmy Dean gives me a pep talk and makes me promise I'll finish.<br />
photo: Chihping Fu</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv0095126283yui_3_16_0_1_1432135738496_180501" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
I started back to running two weeks before the Western States training camp on Memorial Day weekend and had about 75 miles on my legs before taking on 72 miles in three days! I ran all three days with Mac at a very conservative pace and had a great time. I was sore and tired but in a good way, not a run down way. I remembered how much I love the trails and the people and just getting out there and knew I wanted to be part of the Western States race this year even if I was not at my best. I figured I still had a good shot at 22 hours and even if I missed that I couldn't get much worse than the 29 hour finish in 2012 (which I consider a positive experience). Yes, it is awesome to win or do well, and winning Western States was probably the most exciting thing in my running career, but honestly, I just want to enjoy running and the experience of moving through the land under my power, and finally, I was feeling that way again. It was so nice to be in a "happy place" while running that I knew I would be fine letting go of aspirations to battle at the front.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5hm7g7CzXL6JL7GEaHzdWNfjpk8CzkyDUVfdM5p6GyYXPdQCyBDNKivqFYnkmkjw6Vd5pOD6925T7iJ2PnRzoYeFibN8VKeQBm0fq9CAmbulAFPt9BqF-bD7yvr1V2_IgSB-w0airR1g/s1600/wscamp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5hm7g7CzXL6JL7GEaHzdWNfjpk8CzkyDUVfdM5p6GyYXPdQCyBDNKivqFYnkmkjw6Vd5pOD6925T7iJ2PnRzoYeFibN8VKeQBm0fq9CAmbulAFPt9BqF-bD7yvr1V2_IgSB-w0airR1g/s400/wscamp.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying Western States training camp with Mac and Dennis, my fabulous crew and pacer.<br />
Photo: Joe McCladdie</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv0095126283yui_3_16_0_1_1432135738496_180501" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
And so I ran Western States. And I had a great time. No, my race wasn't great. But it wasn't even my lack of fitness that did me in. I started very conservatively and was only 4 minutes faster to Duncan Canyon than what I reported to my crew as "worst case scenario (4:40)". I felt amazing climbing to Robinson, and on the sun exposed switch backs I even said aloud, "I fucking love this climb!". Out of Robinson I had the honor of running with Nikki Kimball for five or so miles. And by Dusty Corners, I was catching people and had moved into the top ten for the ladies. Things were going great, the legs felt good and I was having fun. And then my stomach gave out.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWewXXuifaFWlIVhILIHZKrqt-a4B0McK0rEfoL0iXyhHC5AePFAllu2tBcWd2-AJmBOywCwnM3J1m7rK4W9nN9jwbU9l_f1O-8L8kCul7GLP84ol10DPU-Ro1SCMNwUMd4lVBU8HUS6s/s1600/ws15escarpment.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWewXXuifaFWlIVhILIHZKrqt-a4B0McK0rEfoL0iXyhHC5AePFAllu2tBcWd2-AJmBOywCwnM3J1m7rK4W9nN9jwbU9l_f1O-8L8kCul7GLP84ol10DPU-Ro1SCMNwUMd4lVBU8HUS6s/s400/ws15escarpment.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The hills are alive with the sound of music..." The wildflowers were amazing this year!<br />
(Ph: Bob Hearn)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv0095126283yui_3_16_0_1_1432135738496_180501" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
Being more laid back about this year's race meant I didn't have a regimented fueling plan. I have a plan that works, but sometimes it feels like some kind of torture trying to get down powdered drinks and sticky gels and that didn't seem to fit with the "fun" goal. Unfortunately, eating whatever I wanted at aid stations also did not lead to fun. A few too many Oreos, PayDay segments and a greedy two Popsicles at Devil's Thumb had my stomach in knots by the time I was climbing to Michigan Bluff. I arrived there only to start heaving at Mac's feet and I wasn't able to get much down. Nikki, Sally McRae, Joelle and I all grouped for the run down Volcano Canyon and I had a great time with them and enjoyed our soak in the river until Nikki announced, "All right, it's time to get going." I was able to get a little food in running with them and felt strong on the climb to Bath Road, but a little extra effort there once again found me dry heaving at my crew's feet at Foresthill and not taking much in. From there on out I couldn't get much in and my energy levels dropped similar to the trail dropping to the river. I got down a few cantaloupe chunks and two pieces of black licorice which lead to the most Goth looking puke ever on the climb to Green Gate. Unfortunately, puking was not the "control-alt-delete" reset my stomach needed and I still couldn't take much in. I ended up walking most of the way to Hwy 49.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZX_UYAMY1sQ3SRolX-QZSMmiBw8A-30Lit7-LYbs1gc-JTq0NOGPGNR05pguD8pTOV1hQptlGFq16GPF5ozyQb0hKiv2Kl7i1gLFjwRw92AWOW3DzrfWoc6Vkhx8vWkZLiIJ8MPJOniQ/s1600/WS15michbluff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZX_UYAMY1sQ3SRolX-QZSMmiBw8A-30Lit7-LYbs1gc-JTq0NOGPGNR05pguD8pTOV1hQptlGFq16GPF5ozyQb0hKiv2Kl7i1gLFjwRw92AWOW3DzrfWoc6Vkhx8vWkZLiIJ8MPJOniQ/s400/WS15michbluff.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Feeling like shit, but still joking around (ph:Bob Hearn)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv0095126283yui_3_16_0_1_1432135738496_180501" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
But I was still in good spirits and the only point which was a bit disheartening was the stretch when 4 ladies passed me in about 5 minutes. I didn't have my heart set on top 10 this year but still it sucked to go from 9th to 13th in a matter of minutes! I took several minutes at Hwy 49 and got in about 8 ounces of orange soda. Once it kicked in, I was able to run again and had a decent (though not exactly fast) push to the finish: 22:46 - my slowest sub-24 by a long shot (70 minutes slower than my rookie year!) but still light years better than 29 hours! In the end I was very glad to have gone and I am proud to have my 6th Western States finish. There were challenges but I never felt defeated, which makes me think my head is back in the right place.</div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv0095126283yui_3_16_0_1_1432135738496_180501" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv0095126283yui_3_16_0_1_1432135738496_180501" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
In the weeks after the race, I got more and more pissed about the race, especially why I - an anal retentive over planner - decided to "wing it" on the food and why I didn't do more to try to correct it at Foresthill and especially why I didn't even try to stay with any of the ladies that passed at mile 87. But I think being pissed is a good sign, too: it makes me think I am hungry again and ready to push myself to do better. </div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv0095126283yui_3_16_0_1_1432135738496_180501" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv0095126283yui_3_16_0_1_1432135738496_180501" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
I've run a couple times in the last week and I feel great. Right now that is the most important thing for me as I think I may still need some time to fall back in love with all of the grueling aspects of this sport. But I am very excited for some trail adventures this summer (Trinity Alps backpacking and Leadville pacing!). Plus, 100k Worlds are only two months away (!) and being part of Team USA always gets me fired up. Hopefully those adventures get the running stoke factor back to high in the next few months!<span style="text-align: center;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv0095126283yui_3_16_0_1_1432135738496_180501" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj96m-OM31adOD3MDtLbxYQt1aH_oJ-4AkFg663rA5x0wOwumd6EMaaN-XlSKxuCq5iTllLWW3cz1IkaXR28IjdI9K74z2h7MgDfXijMzrXFmHvmOmNNJ82uhFJ7r0AXn8N25vroEFpnJQ/s1600/WSveteran.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj96m-OM31adOD3MDtLbxYQt1aH_oJ-4AkFg663rA5x0wOwumd6EMaaN-XlSKxuCq5iTllLWW3cz1IkaXR28IjdI9K74z2h7MgDfXijMzrXFmHvmOmNNJ82uhFJ7r0AXn8N25vroEFpnJQ/s400/WSveteran.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pre-race veteran's panel. This was a lot of fun and I like to think I gave some good advice, but I still have plenty to learn myself! (ph: Mark Tanaka)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikjZRiFHGHiI9pjhYdsQKVL5bAZLtCxbPIQrvRahsxXTpItzg5m-lV0liBLzdwp1aUU_LemBxSDK1ZxtFHaY3Q7NkvgWgqWCKYtcpEa_steAbXYICwBWK-fTNYRzHIz78VpU0nl2pKoAM/s1600/WS2015F4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikjZRiFHGHiI9pjhYdsQKVL5bAZLtCxbPIQrvRahsxXTpItzg5m-lV0liBLzdwp1aUU_LemBxSDK1ZxtFHaY3Q7NkvgWgqWCKYtcpEa_steAbXYICwBWK-fTNYRzHIz78VpU0nl2pKoAM/s320/WS2015F4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17695365862543446730noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-69990276161341769882015-04-14T05:35:00.000-07:002015-04-14T05:35:40.576-07:00The Ultra Mindset by Travis Macy<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfhHylBCdhB1Ll4psEfocDo_xMSUWPWpLUJphIVJa8L6fDOOvLDRLCGVFgzjWIR9pt4lk2Is4ZZhY-zMhDNHRp0T-Ts6EDBffAIZN3fV8Ux7DaIZ-Z6c5Jvf8iZxg2zzDdvoqxx0-kPYc/s1600/Ultra+mindset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfhHylBCdhB1Ll4psEfocDo_xMSUWPWpLUJphIVJa8L6fDOOvLDRLCGVFgzjWIR9pt4lk2Is4ZZhY-zMhDNHRp0T-Ts6EDBffAIZN3fV8Ux7DaIZ-Z6c5Jvf8iZxg2zzDdvoqxx0-kPYc/s1600/Ultra+mindset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfhHylBCdhB1Ll4psEfocDo_xMSUWPWpLUJphIVJa8L6fDOOvLDRLCGVFgzjWIR9pt4lk2Is4ZZhY-zMhDNHRp0T-Ts6EDBffAIZN3fV8Ux7DaIZ-Z6c5Jvf8iZxg2zzDdvoqxx0-kPYc/s1600/Ultra+mindset.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Today is the official release day of Travis Macy's book, The Ultra Mindset, and I encourage you to check it out (available at Amazon). Travis was kind </i></span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">enough to ask me to write a blurb corresponding to one of the principle's in his book. Some of what I wrote got cut (I am too wordy!) and some got edited to better fit the theme of the book, but here is my original transcript:</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As a mom, I think ultrarunning models many of the life skills I hope to teach my two kids - things like determination, perseverance, goal setting, pushing your boundaries, and working hard. I also hope they see the joy and the passion that I have for being active and getting outside. Yes, I run because I love it, but ultimately, I hope my running influences my kids to think big and to pursue their dreams, too. And knowing my kids are proud of me (at least until they hit their teenage years!) feels great.</span></span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-5d0a47bc-b607-434f-4663-27553301eb48" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In 2010, I lost sight of the impact my running has on my kids during the Angeles Crest 100 mile race. The day was hot, I was tired, and my knee started hurting. I got to a point where I didn’t care any more and I dropped. Certainly there are good reasons not to finish a race, but that night when my five year old daughter Megan asked, “Mommy, why did you drop?”, I didn’t have one. The next morning when she looked at me with her big eyes and said, “Mommy, you should have finished the race,” it felt like a dagger to the heart. I vowed to give my best efforts to get to the finish line from then on.</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In 2012, I had a chance to truly test my resolve when things spiraled downhill at the Western States Endurance Run. Instead of the normally hot conditions, the competitors battled through thirty miles of freezing rain, sleet and snow, before dropping to lower elevations and milder conditions. Unprepared for such weather, I became hypothermic. The cold triggered my asthma and my frozen hands were unable to work my pocket zippers, leaving me without any food for several hours.</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But the real issue came at 2 o'clock in the morning when I got to mile 85. My weight was up seven pounds and the medical team forced me to stop. I sat for two and a half hours, but was unable to urinate enough for my weight to get back down to a point where the medical team would let me continue. As the cutoff time approached, I knew I needed to get going or I would be cut from the race. The medical team was concerned I might be hyponatremic but I knew I had been drinking large volumes of broth to get warm and was fairly confident that I was not in serious danger. I signed a waiver of liability and left against medical advice, determined to get to the finish. I was stiff and cold from sitting for so long, but I trudged through the remaining miles to get to the finish. My time was more than eight hours slower than the previous year and I finished fourth from the bottom, but I was so glad I finished. I knew it was a great example for my kids. I was able to tell them sometimes things don’t go your way or the path gets difficult, but you can still do your best and not give up.</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Though I was proud of that finish, I certainly didn’t want a repeat of that experience for the Western States Endurance Run in 2013. I took that experience and the mistakes I made to motivate me. I trained harder than ever, I became very regimented with my nutrition, and I picked apart every little detail to have a rock solid race plan. All of these elements came together for a magical race and I ended up winning by more than 40 minutes. My daughter Megan (now 8), joined me for the final 250 meters on the track. Sharing that finish with her was one of the proudest and most memorable moments of my life. It was a triumph after adversity, and I hope the memory and the lesson stay with her for a lifetime, too.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17695365862543446730noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-45657847596689168902015-04-01T04:20:00.000-07:002015-04-01T04:20:22.189-07:00The "Fool" Proof Formula For Predicting The Western States Winner<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgStIm_za3_ZiSyLBuY55ZMfYt_IPY7LkBLqJbPwAWOFFRdOHltJfnN6G4md5Eo-4OG7nqpQXVX9d4_e6B0Y5xTSF-t28Nr37lhBTmmFUijSawL5Sqs9SkKi4XcpFW1goamj0RvYavRmJs/s1600/cougar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgStIm_za3_ZiSyLBuY55ZMfYt_IPY7LkBLqJbPwAWOFFRdOHltJfnN6G4md5Eo-4OG7nqpQXVX9d4_e6B0Y5xTSF-t28Nr37lhBTmmFUijSawL5Sqs9SkKi4XcpFW1goamj0RvYavRmJs/s1600/cougar.jpg" height="320" width="273" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Who will take home the cougar this year?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Well, Gorge Waterfalls has come and gone meaning only Lake Sonoma remains before the elite entrants' field at Western States is complete. Which means it is almost time for ultra-fans to start furiously speculating on who is going to be taking home cougars this year.<br />
<br />
Historically, fans have favored those with quick marathon times in the pre-race hype. If Runner A is ten minutes faster than Runner B at 26.2 miles, then simple math says Runner A should be nearly 40 minutes ahead of Runner B at the finish of 100 miles. But this is folly! Anyone who has run a 100 miler knows simple math enters the Twilight Zone about two-thirds of the way through the race: a place where simple addition and subtraction can confuse Mensa members, where the distances between aid stations are warped and don't seem to be represented by rational numbers, and where paces are no longer predictable. A place where lightning fast marathoners can get beat by middle-aged plodders (and routinely do!).<br />
<br />
Sure runners with impressively fast legs will continue to captivate us, but when it comes to the 100 mile distance, leg speed is not enough. A runner must possess the right combination of leg speed, gastro-intestinal fortitude, and mental strength. But how can you weight these things to figure out which runner will come out on top?? This is where my <i>very</i> scientific formula comes into play. Just assign numbers to each category and add up the score. The highest scoring runner in the field is <i>guaranteed</i> to be hoisting the Robie Cup at this year's Western States award ceremony. <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(small print: results not guaranteed)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<b>Legs:</b><br />
1) Marathon time: Ok, running 100 miles requires a lot more than just leg speed, but there is no denying that being fast is a benefit at any distance. Sub-2:45(M)/3:00(F) = 5 pts; Sub-2:35(M)/2:50(F) = 7 pts; Sub-2:28(M)/2:43(F) = 9 pts. No additional points for being faster than that because if you are, you are probably better trained for the marathon than 100 miles!<br />
<br />
2) Ultra Sign Up Score: We all know when it comes to running ultras, your Ultra-Signup score is the be-all, end all representation of your ultra-potential. One point for every percentage over 90.<br />
<br />
3) Strava Crowns: If you are the best over lots of little sections than surely you will be great over one big section. And we all know that after your Ultra Sign-up score, Strava crowns are the most meaningful proof that you are a badass. One point for every crown. Not on Strava?? Minus 2 points.<br />
<br />
<b>Stomach:</b><br />
4) GI fortitude: GI woes can derail even the speediest of runners in a 100 miler. How well does your stomach hold up? Minus 3 points for every race that has suffered due to GI issues.<br />
<br />
5) Gag reflex: Will you be able to choke down a gel at mile 85 or will you start gagging on that sticky sweet wad of goo. 5 points if you have ever swallowed a live goldfish; 4 points if you can eat organ meats, tripe, or haggis; 2 points if you like sushi.<br />
<br />
6) Nutritional product sponsor: If you have a nutritional product sponsor, you obviously have the benefit of the most awesome product on the market. We know this because you tell us every other day on Facebook. 5 points for each nutritional product sponsor.<br />
<br />
<b>Head:</b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">7) Game strategy - Running 100 miles doesn't require intelligence per se, but it does require a certain mental focus and an ability to strategize. 5 points if you can complete a 'Hard' sudoku, 5 points if you like strategy board games, and 5 points if you can read a scientific paper without falling asleep AND you understand what you just read.</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv6595472659yui_3_16_0_1_1427738318166_39929" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv6595472659yui_3_16_0_1_1427738318166_39929" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
8) Experience: When it comes to 100 milers, experience counts. 1 point for every previous 100 miler. Of course, there are several people who have won Western States as their first 100 miler, but almost all of these people were experienced ultra-runners at the 50 mile and 100km distance. So 1 point for every three 50M or 100km races you have completed (Sorry, running a 50k has NOTHING to do with running 100 miles, so they don't earn you any points here. But hopefully they make your Ultra Signup Score look good.)</div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv6595472659yui_3_16_0_1_1427738318166_39929" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv6595472659yui_3_16_0_1_1427738318166_39929" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
9) Toughness: Are you tough enough to stick with it through the rough patches? Minus 3 points for every DNF.</div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv6595472659yui_3_16_0_1_1427738318166_39929" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">There you have it. A <i>very</i> simple formula that weighs in the need for strong legs, a strong stomach and a strong head for success at Western States and other 100 milers. Just calculate out the Holy Trifecta score for each competitor and you'll be the first to know who is going to win Western States!</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17695365862543446730noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-53959275021682392552015-03-02T06:43:00.000-08:002015-03-02T07:28:32.771-08:00My Sh*t Show at the Phoenix Marathon<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As the saying goes: The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I had all the best intentions when deciding to run the BMO Phoenix marathon this December: get back into a training routine after 6 months of just surviving through every run, emulate my very successful 2013 when I started the year by focusing on road speed, see what I could do at the marathon after a 3 year hiatus, and even spend some quality time with my brother who decided to run the half. Ah, yes, they are all such good intentions, which is probably why I found myself in Hell at mile 16!</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The intentions were good, but the downfall was the plan. I had done AC100, World 100s and two 50k’s in the previous few months so I had great confidence in my endurance and figured I just needed to hone my speed. Starting January 2 (I took the 1st off to recover from the Recover from the Holidays 50k. That’s right, I needed to recover from my recovery event), I began training, giving me six solid weeks plus two weeks to taper. No problem!</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well, there was a big problem. It took me a couple weeks to readjust to everyday training and to “buy in” to the whole concept of marathon training. I mean, I couldn’t do any speed work or a long run the week after a 50k race, right? And the following week, I got paged out of my long run after 7 miles. I mean, a liver transplant is more important than my training, right? I did a 10k the next weekend, which served as a good training run, but it was a weekend light on mileage. And the last weekend in January when we were down in California, I opted to run with Katie DeSplinter and Dom Grossman on the PCT from Wrightwood, rather than do a marathon pace long run by myself. I mean, beautiful trails with friends I don’t get to see that often trumps a boring scheduled long run, right?</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_GkAhEiTvBaKnXaGlbpaa9b_CVzSoJ9DUQEeZGQVe_HE_2R0pl_fjiETaHXh7HJq5EYLdImwjXTe-HoGAZdhQbdREz13qoMDQ0HDsHyv4y7Q_wBmt6yTn5wbgCi_Mj1NBGQbEdUgN32Y/s1600/workrun.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_GkAhEiTvBaKnXaGlbpaa9b_CVzSoJ9DUQEeZGQVe_HE_2R0pl_fjiETaHXh7HJq5EYLdImwjXTe-HoGAZdhQbdREz13qoMDQ0HDsHyv4y7Q_wBmt6yTn5wbgCi_Mj1NBGQbEdUgN32Y/s1600/workrun.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Run cut short to evaluate a liver for transplant. At least I had enough time for a selfie!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ3NR3TxQduSCxArXbumlT86WHHNtAkaGTJlPlohaiQDF0SyrRT1UYgtaG0wDhIovZoRcvUYbPUMnN-ZUMEKHF3iAOp9huVeLjdWJN6d52i64aoep_3mGaESCLlpc286ZbHwLGTcWUPqY/s1600/PCTwKatie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ3NR3TxQduSCxArXbumlT86WHHNtAkaGTJlPlohaiQDF0SyrRT1UYgtaG0wDhIovZoRcvUYbPUMnN-ZUMEKHF3iAOp9huVeLjdWJN6d52i64aoep_3mGaESCLlpc286ZbHwLGTcWUPqY/s1600/PCTwKatie.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">A beautiful day on the PCT</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Finally, by February I was ready to buckle down and do the scheduled work, but I had basically squandered half of my allotted training time. Still I was optimistic: I ran a half marathon at about the same pace as that January 10k, my tempo times were getting faster, I was doing the full Monday morning track workouts routinely. Well, I was in much better shape; unfortunately, I was really only in shape for 16 miles when I scheduled a 26.2 mile run!</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCTjB1nbYfZmKIPDTNO3D5mu0JCnKMScN4rLIbpgTPwxwgDn9DNrSfV_BqkTcQyXMmb7rrJmdpjP8IkH2T1VlTczg4SkZKfJ5Oea_2hrelD4iWnhmLqFCpZFWCYKbc9_WUaLdLy5u3HoE/s1600/PrePHX26.2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCTjB1nbYfZmKIPDTNO3D5mu0JCnKMScN4rLIbpgTPwxwgDn9DNrSfV_BqkTcQyXMmb7rrJmdpjP8IkH2T1VlTczg4SkZKfJ5Oea_2hrelD4iWnhmLqFCpZFWCYKbc9_WUaLdLy5u3HoE/s1600/PrePHX26.2.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My bro and I ready to board the buses. Only we parked right next to the half marathon shuttles and I had to hike nearly a mile to get to my buses!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The BMO (pronounced Bee-Moe I learned) Phoenix marathon starts in the scenic, cactus dotted foothills outside of Mesa, though the predawn start made it hard to appreciate the views. It was a fast start due to 300’ of elevation loss in the first 4.5 miles, so I wasn’t concerned that my 6:25’s were faster than planned as I wasn’t even mouth breathing. Mile 4.5-6 was uphill but I backed way off almost to 7:00 pace knowing that I was still keeping to a sub 6:40 average. When the course turned back downhill, it once again felt so easy. We got into the flatter town roads on the way to the half marathon mark and I hit several miles right under 6:40, getting to the half at 1:26:34. The legs had those little twinges of fatigue, but I’ve been there many, many times and it didn’t seem too concerning. My breathing wasn’t out of control. Even if I ran the second half three minutes slower, I would still PR and I’d be happy with that.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And then we turned south into a solid wall of wind. The official weather stats were 12 mph winds with gusts to 23 mph. That sounds kind of wimpy especially after reading <a href="http://www.irunfar.com/2015/02/a-harsh-reality.html" target="_blank">Geoff Roes tales of Alaskan blasts</a>, but as a marathon runner with absolutely no education or relevant knowledge on wind, it felt really strong! ;) 6:41, 6:46- I was struggling to hit my pace. I tried to “draft”, I ate a gel, but in those two miles my legs went from feeling little twinges of fatigue to full cement seizure. Welcome to Hell! A very pathetic and very painful next ten miles resulted in a ten minute positive split and a disappointing 3:03:05 finish. The day of the race, I told people I thought I had blown quads, but based on my soreness (mild) and strength climbing stairs (fine) afterwards, I don’t think this was the case. Instead, I think the proverbial Wall claimed another victim.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The most prevalent theory on the Wall involves lactic acid production, with poor utilization and accumulation, which prevents muscle contraction and can lead to cramping. Similar to how many ultra runners try to maximize fat utilization, marathoners can improve lactic acid utilization through training. Increased fitness can also raise the lactate threshold, or the pace at which a runner begins to produce lactic acid. In these ways, runners can train to avoid the Wall.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I spent much of the last 6 months running at low heart rate and following many of the guidelines in the Maffetone method. I will confidently tell you that Maffetone <i>saved</i> me. I was so broken at the end of the year and low HR/MAF training allowed me to not only keep running when I was so fatigued, but also to get through 100km Worlds fairly respectably and more importantly, it allowed me to fully recover. Plus, it is great "fat-burning" training.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But Maffetone has a fatal flaw: it only addresses one system of fitness. Maffetone claims that his method optimizes aerobic fitness and I will not dispute this claim. But fitness is a combination of aerobic abilities, anaerobic abilities, muscle strength and power, VO2max, lactic acid threshold, etc. And while MAF training may optimize aerobic fitness, all of those other systems go to shit. And that was my starting point for this round of training. The 4 weeks of truly dedicated marathon training was just not sufficient to develop all my systems or convert from being a “fat-burner” to being a “lactic acid burner.” I think the extra effort to maintain pace with the headwind (it was HUGE, I am telling you!), was enough to push me past my lactic acid threshold and my body wasn’t able to deal with it. CRASH! - I hit the Wall.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">While it may have been a little arrogant to think I could get in shape for a marathon in 6-8 weeks when just about every respectable marathon training plan is 12-18 weeks, I still believe that a marathon at 6:30-6:40 pace is not an unreasonable goal for me. But in the future, I know I need to have a lot more consistency with marathon pace and tempo runs. I have spent the last three years turning myself into a 100 mile runner; I am going to need more than 6 weeks to transform myself into a marathon runner!</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Still there are lots of positives from this whole event. I ran 16 miles at 6:38 average pace, which has got to be close to 16 mile PR (haha!). I enjoyed spending time with my brother, who PR’d in the half marathon and I got to see one of my cousins. I feel like this did jump start my fitness for the spring and I am excited to be back to the “heavy” training routine. And I am someone who gets super motivated by failure: When I dropped to a shorter distance in my first 50 miler, I signed up for a 100 miler. When I DNF’d Angeles Crest, I had it in my mind that I would go back for the course record (done!), and when I bombed at Western States, I came back so focused that I won the whole thing. So this is just one more thing to use for motivation and I am already thinking about when another marathon might fit in (late fall, using the base from 100km Worlds??). </span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">AND - I won the master’s prize! My brother told me at the finish that one “pretty old chick” finished ahead of me, but it turns out she was only 39, and so not officially old like me! While $300 is not much money and it certainly doesn’t change my finances, there is something very consoling about being handed a check! I treated my brother and cousin to lunch at Sweet Tomatoes, because the money was just burning a hole in my pocket and we needed to live it up! ;) </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Plus, all-you-can-eat salad and ice cream sounded like Heaven after my ten miles of Hell.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtsA65tu-725LLX_PMHbElP-VZNJc3d8uc3PZrRyfY0GBVYWwJEMARe8XQ3KsBqVdjNBBpevStKARYOd0c63I_sViLo0JebFdKs3d0rhK3mpuNx49C9G5-6LJ9T3zmmBQk59D2lMKTo1I/s1600/PHX26.2after.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtsA65tu-725LLX_PMHbElP-VZNJc3d8uc3PZrRyfY0GBVYWwJEMARe8XQ3KsBqVdjNBBpevStKARYOd0c63I_sViLo0JebFdKs3d0rhK3mpuNx49C9G5-6LJ9T3zmmBQk59D2lMKTo1I/s1600/PHX26.2after.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Going crazy at Sweet Tomatoes! Just after this my cousin lost his glasses in the lake due to his uncontrolled laughter as I entertained them both with hilarious stories of fecal transplant in the hospital (it's a real thing, seriously! You can Google it!). I always know the appropriate things to talk about at meal time!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji1Hsqmap80nDKINb81IuH8s9j-zDyFaTSr7RvHVanHCYkAhwJF4GO70HKX12s5bQKlCwkQth5SKjvVmaXCGPNYZGeELNN-hxPnA5rCwRF4JbqV93BBQ-oTHeV_oZeAQcmSpktKUyAFTA/s1600/PHXsleep.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji1Hsqmap80nDKINb81IuH8s9j-zDyFaTSr7RvHVanHCYkAhwJF4GO70HKX12s5bQKlCwkQth5SKjvVmaXCGPNYZGeELNN-hxPnA5rCwRF4JbqV93BBQ-oTHeV_oZeAQcmSpktKUyAFTA/s1600/PHXsleep.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spending "quality time" with my brother. He napped for three and a half hours which is twice as long as it took him to run his race. That boy knows how to recover! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; text-align: center;">Next up: Lake Sonoma in six weeks! Hmmm, that really doesn’t sound like enough time!</span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGvQcwYIY_Mspro3Ikf-8Fbgl0YKH8BQKsNH8Ih22Z8-lZ_vKZyyUd5Qowy0XRQqixAMdLvq2srEpm7yd75a-jpHDO_YEM5XFBEtEtaPOwUZw8IpEac1svBlVpyzW5vwPP-rym1b9n4_k/s1600/PHXpodium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGvQcwYIY_Mspro3Ikf-8Fbgl0YKH8BQKsNH8Ih22Z8-lZ_vKZyyUd5Qowy0XRQqixAMdLvq2srEpm7yd75a-jpHDO_YEM5XFBEtEtaPOwUZw8IpEac1svBlVpyzW5vwPP-rym1b9n4_k/s1600/PHXpodium.jpg" height="400" width="222" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Podium! This other woman wanted to break 3:00 and ran a 3:16. We were laughing that we both got paid for having missing our goals by so much. As they say,"Half the battle is just showing up!" I hope to do more than just show up next time I run a marathon!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; text-align: center;"><br /></span></span>Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17695365862543446730noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-33535868702809969142015-02-22T18:49:00.001-08:002015-02-22T18:49:26.797-08:00On Sponsorships - Part 2<div dir="ltr" id="yiv6671832276yui_3_16_0_1_1420831264650_189791" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
(<i>This has been festering in my Draft file for almost a month. I started it soon after my first <a href="http://theturtlepath.blogspot.com/2015/01/on-sponsorships.html" target="_blank">Sponsorship post</a>, and kept meaning to edit it or add more - perfectionism can be so paralyzing! - but I lost my enthusiasm and it never happened. Still, I liked all the discussion from the first post, and felt like I had more to say on the subject. So here is my "raw" part 2 on how sponsored athletes influence sales.)</i></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv6671832276yui_3_16_0_1_1420831264650_189791" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv6671832276yui_3_16_0_1_1420831264650_189791" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
Recently Montrail and Pearl Izumi essentially disbanded their ultra-teams despite having several top level runners on their teams such as Ellie Greenwood, Max King, Amy Sproston and Kaci Lickteig. This change in marketing strategy by these companies begs the question: Do sponsored athletes improve sales?</div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv6671832276yui_3_16_0_1_1420831264650_189791" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv6671832276yui_3_16_0_1_1420831264650_189791" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
In response to a previous post, Gretchen Brugman admits that after seeing Ellie Greenwood on her blog in a black puffy jacket, she immediately ordered one for herself. I do think elite athletes can influence impulse purchases, because impulse purchases aren't based on logic or need, they are based on wants and emotions. Having one top level athlete in agreement with the product you desire may be all the reason you need to go ahead and buy that item you have been longing for. </div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv6671832276yui_3_16_0_1_1420831264650_189791" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv6671832276yui_3_16_0_1_1420831264650_189791" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
Impulse purchases aren't necessarily bad - Gretchen says she loves her jacket and has no regrets - but when it comes to products that typically cost upwards of a hundred dollars (shoes, jackets, hydration vests, sunglasses, etc.), how often do we buy these things on impulse alone? More often than not, people do at least a little internet research before shelling out their cash. When making an educated purchase consumers may compare price, manufacturer's specifications and online reviews. But I'd be surprised if anyone weighs which top athletes are wearing the products they are considering.</div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv6671832276yui_3_16_0_1_1420831264650_189791" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv6671832276yui_3_16_0_1_1420831264650_189791" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
Of course, for someone to consider purchasing a product, they have to be aware that product exists. And sponsored athletes may bring that attention to a product. But do sponsored athletes really increase sales?</div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv6671832276yui_3_16_0_1_1420831264650_189791" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv6671832276yui_3_16_0_1_1420831264650_189791" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
Ken Michal noted in his <a href="http://ultrarunnerpodcast.com/ken-michal-interview/" target="_blank">recent URP interview</a> that he thought it was cool that Dave Mackey wore the same shoes as he did, but as a back-of-the-pack guy what he really cares about is if the shoes work for other back-of-the-packers, not if they work for fast guys like Dave Mackey. I know when I got into this sport the three goddesses of ultrarunning were Nikki Kimball, Lizzie Hawker and Kami Semick, all sponsored by The North Face at the time. Those three were my heroes and I wanted to be just like them, yet I have never bought a single item of The North Face gear. To me, being like them meant training hard, performing well in big races and having lots of amazing running experiences; it didn't mean dressing like them.</div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv6671832276yui_3_16_0_1_1420831264650_189791" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv6671832276yui_3_16_0_1_1420831264650_189791" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
I think most consumers recognize the success of the elites is due primarily to their hard work, natural talent, and gritty racing tactics and very little to do with the equipment they wear. We continuously watch elite athletes switch sponsors with virtually no change in their level of performance. And I don't think one has to be too cynical to think the reason athletes change sponsors has more to do with money than the products themselves. As I heard from one elite last year, "I really loved working with [company X], but the deal from [company Y] was too good to pass up." Similarly, as Montrail announced a cut in funds to athletes, most of their athletes quickly abandoned (sponsor)ship.</div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv6671832276yui_3_16_0_1_1420831264650_189791" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv6671832276yui_3_16_0_1_1420831264650_189791" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
And it is hard to take recommendations from sponsored athletes at face value due to the inherent biases they have from being sponsored. Don't get me wrong, I am sure most sponsored athletes are with companies they believe in and are using products they really like, but would you ever expect them to recommend a brand other than the one they are running for? For example a Western States rookie runner recently asked me, Amy Sproston and Denise Bourassa for hydration pack recommendations and we all three recommended packs from companies that sponsor us. I know we are all quite happy with our packs and the responses were not disingenuous, but being sponsored means we may not have the same breadth of pack experience as someone who has had to go into a store a try out multiple packs before picking one, or even if we had two packs we liked, we might not mention one from a competitor brand. (For the record, I paid full price for my Ultimate Direction AK vest long before I was sponsored. Then again, I am probably telling you this to promote my sponsor. ;)</div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv6671832276yui_3_16_0_1_1420831264650_189791" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv6671832276yui_3_16_0_1_1420831264650_189791" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
A Forbes study from 2012 showed that recommendations from friends or family had the greatest weight in determining what people purchase. Other promotions can influence sales as well. For example, Garnier beauty products got a bigger boost in social media buzz and sales after a coupon promotion than after announcing Tina Fey as their celebrity endorsement (but indeed there was a significant boost with that endorsement). Ace Metrix, a company devoted to television and video analytics, studied 2,600 commercials and found those with celebrity endorsements were no more influential (and in some cases even slightly worse) than those without celebrities. A study in the Journal of Advertising Research concluded professional athlete endorsement equated to a 4% boost in sales if that athlete was performing well. There was a lesser boost from retired or "non-winning" athletes. </div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv6671832276yui_3_16_0_1_1420831264650_189791" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv6671832276yui_3_16_0_1_1420831264650_189791" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
Ultrarunning is different than a lot of sports because it is such a "niche" endeavor. Even the best in our sport are largely unknown to those outside of the sport. But I think participants in ultrarunning feel more connected to the elites than the fans do in other sports. Because ultrarunning is so low-key, the elites remain approachable and relate-able. On race day, everyone lines up together and deals with the same hardships of the course, creating a sense of shared experience between the front runners and the rest of the field. The elites hang out post-race and eat the same post-race meal. And because sponsorship dollars remain fairly low, most elites still have day jobs and other obligations like the non-elites. Those that are able to subsist on running alone certainly aren't multi-millionaires living a life of opulence. And because ultrarunning is low key, most pre- and post-race interviews resemble an amicable conversation, rather than a formal press conference. For all of these reasons, I think many of the elites remain approachable and in some ways feel like "friends" with trustworthy opinions.</div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv6671832276yui_3_16_0_1_1420831264650_189791" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv6671832276yui_3_16_0_1_1420831264650_189791" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
Because sales is about exposure and word of mouth, I do think the amount of commercial money coming into this sport will increase, especially as the sport continues to grow. BUT, I think this is going to be in the form of sponsors casting a much broader net with sponsorship opportunities trickling down to "sub-elites", frequent racers, and other visible but non-elite athletes. While sponsorship money for top athletes is increasing, I think true "professionalism" in our sport will remain elusive. Due to the demanding nature of ultramarathons, a single athlete can only run a handful of races in top form every year. Add to that the fairly high risk of injury/burnout and it makes sense why companies would want to invest multiple small amounts of money in many different runners than a large sum in a single high profile runner. So while many were surprised and dismayed by the dissolution of of the Pearl Izumi team, their "grassroots" ambassador program is not without merit or business sense. Those athletes who are trying to make a living will likely need an entire list of sponsors to make it work.</div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv6671832276yui_3_16_0_1_1420831264650_189791" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv6671832276yui_3_16_0_1_1420831264650_189791" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
There's a lot more money coming into the sport these days compared to when I was getting started. That's a good thing for promising runners looking to get some free gear or even subsidize their racing, especially for those who are willing to work for it and have high visibility amongst the fans. But I don't see runners getting rich off of sponsorship anytime soon, which means my job will continue to be my biggest "sponsor". ;)</div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv6671832276yui_3_16_0_1_1420831264650_189791" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv6671832276yui_3_16_0_1_1420831264650_189791" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
So how do sponsored athletes influence your purchases? Do you ever think top ultra-runners will be able to "go pro" and earn enough to own a home or support a family? </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17695365862543446730noreply@blogger.com12