Cleansed

I had two beers New Year's Day watching football and then decided: That's it! Time to clean up my diet. I am real lightweight, so the beer may have had some input, but I must have meant it because I put it down in writing (goal #6 no less!). So I decided no sugar and no flour for all of January - kind of a watered down version of paleo or whole 30. Well, the my hubby weighed in over 170 for the first time in a long while and after hearing a friend's story he got a bug up his "Mac Ass" to do Dr. Oz's cleanse diet. 

After reading a bit, it was hard for me to fathom how the hell I hadn't dropped dead yet since I had never "cleansed" in my 38 years. God forbid, I let "80,000 toxins" continue to wreak havoc on my body, plus there was all the added benefits of "resetting" my organs to function properly, jump starting my metabolism, increasing my energy, replenishing my nutrients, balancing my hormones, and relieving stress, and cause you to lose lots of weight. Wow - can you believe you can do all that with just three days of juice! Yeah, that's sarcasm for those of you who don't know me too well.

So, yeah, I was a bit cynical (when am I not?) about the claims, but I couldn't see how eating, er, drinking a bunch of fruits and vegetables could be bad, so what the heck? Fire up the blender! It's only three days, right?

We decided on Tuesday-Thursday because Mac thought it'd be too hard to do on the weekend with other activities, but with my Thursdays off, I only had to do two days at work. Plus, it only hit one hard run day.

Tuesday breakfast started ok. The smoothie tastes pretty good, but after chugging it down, I was kind of longing for something else. Uh oh - this could be a long three days.

But it turned out not to be the case. I never got super hungry and my energy levels were good throughout. I did 31 miles those three days without any problems.

The dinner shake and snack (repeat of breakfast) were also good. The lunch shake was a different story. The taste was actually pretty good. With green apple and pineapple, it had a sweet-tart taste. Unfortunately, it had the exact look and texture of pond slime - the think hairy green kind in the most stagnant pools. It wasn't really chewable and yet the texture was too thick to easily drink - kind of like a slurpee, but not in a good way. But Mac and Liam brought the shake to me at work both days, so at least I had good company while swishing slime.

Slime tastes better with cute company

Excepting the texture of the lunch shake, I had no problem completing this. I did add in an extra tablespoon of almond butter on day 2 and 3. While I wasn't hungry, the desire to chew something was overwhelming! It is amazing that I didn't knock Liam out and steal those Frosted Mini-Wheats just for some crunch! I am not sure if my organs are reset and my hormones rebalanced, but I do feel good. I only lost two pounds but Mac dropped 7. He obviously was a lot more toxic than me. ;)

I did come away with a desire to eat a plant based diet incorporating more variety of fruits and veggies. So that was a plus. But I was so happy to be able to eat real food again. So happy that I immediately made soup to eat for Friday. Um, maybe not the best planning. 

Friday morning, free to eat whatever I wanted. So I had another smoothie. And then soup for lunch. Good job on adding texture back to the diet!

I am still dedicated to limiting refined carbs, but I have no desire to be perfect. Like tonight when I made cupcakes for Megan's birthday party tomorrow, I licked the beaters. And the spoon. And then I dipped the spoon back in the batter and licked it again. And of course, I had to sample a cupcake when they were done. Oh my god - can you imagine my toxicity levels after that?? So I got on the treadmill and ran an extra 2.5 miles to sweat it off -ha!

This is not the actual cupcake I ate. It's what Liam left me on my iPhone after having some fun with the Cupcake Maker app. He also left me these:

Bon Appetit!

(funny aside: spell check wants to change the above to "ape tit". Happy Ape Tit to you!)

Mac Ass

I keep joking Mac Ass is not something I call my husband when I am mad, but rather it is short for the McMinville Fat Ass. However, it does have a nice ring to it and I may have to adopt that little nickname in the future!

But for me, this was a Fat Ass in the true sense of the word - a great early season day on the trail with lots of good friends and no pressure. Heck, I didn't even bother to finish the whole thing!

Mac was planning to only do 15 miles, while I was going to do the 50k, but when he figured out the loop was long, he cut a bit, so I caught up to him and ran the last two miles in with him because at that point it was more like Mac (Feels Like) Ass, so I knew he could use the company and it is always nice to get an opportunity to run with him. By the time we jogged it in, plus stopped to talk to Gaby and Michael Libowitz from Long Run Picture Company, I was way behind the main pack of 50k'ers and the hot food and blazing fires were so inviting. Not having much of a real training agenda right now, 18 miles and three hours of running seemed like a fine place to stop.

I always look terrible in race photos - my face muscles go slack when I run so I always look like a zombie.  Same reason I don't do well sleeping upright - my jaw goes limp and I end up snoozing with a gaping maw like a bear cave - not pretty! Now I see the secret to great race photos: Stop and smile! Thanks Michael for one of the few good photos on me on the trail!

I was surprised by the great trail system in McMinville and would love to get out there again. But the biggest surprise was the restorative nature of the trail run. Saturday afternoon, I told Mac my legs felt better than they had in a month. And by Monday my abysmal track times from  week ago were history. So with that, I guess I am fully recovered. Now time to start training for real so I can shred up my legs all over again!

This was a great way to stick to the New Year's plan to race less - all the fun of a big event, with none of the fatigue. Thanks to the organizers for getting this together and even bigger kudos for getting a sunny day in Oregon to do this.

What I Learned At Desert Solstice

I signed up for Desert Solstice to hopefully learn something about running 100 miles successfully. I promised to share what I learned, so here goes:

Nutrition: I think I have found a fueling combo that works for me and it is almost all liquid nutrition. The big change in nutrition for me at Desert Solstice was using Perpetuem. I got a bag of Perpetuem about a year ago and I made a test sample right after I got it. I thought it was gross and it has been sitting in my cupboard ever since. But over the years, I have found I really cannot palate sticky sweet foods late in a race. This rules out basically every gel, chew, chomp and bar out there, plus more than half of the standard aid station fare. On a whim I decided to pack Perpetuem. Yes, I tried something completely new on race day. The funny thing was that unlike in my kitchen, I didn’t mind the chalkiness of the drink, and as weird as this sounds, I actually liked it. I tried to drink a bottle the next day and it was gross again, so the key here seems that it is only drinkable while running. I also drank 2 Ensures(vanilla) and about 48 ounces of root beer. My only other calories were one handful of pretzel sticks and 2 Clif-shots. An important note: I am not sponsored by Hammer and I paid full retail price for the Perpetuem, so this is an honest endorsement, not just a sponsored athlete shamelessly pushing product. Oh, and you should buy La Sportiva shoes. ;)

Toe socks: I’ve gotten a couple of pairs of promotional toe socks, and always thought they were cute but nothing more. I lose all my toenails no matter what, but I really only get blisters if my feet are wet, so most of the time I don’t pay much attention to my socks. With the forecast of rain I knew there’d be a good chance of wet feet for a lot of the time, so I went with the toesocks to prevent blisters between the toes (mostly where I get blisters). Around mile 65, I stopped to address a hotspot on my left foot (the start of my timing band snafu), and ended up changing into a regular sock because the toesock was too hard to put back on. By the end of the race, my left foot had three times the blisters of my right. Granted the left had a hotspot to begin with, but it seemed significantly different to me. So much so that I wrote to the toe sock company thinking maybe it would be a good sponsorship fit. In effect they said, “Good job on your run; here’s a coupon for you to use.” So it doesn’t look like I’ll be getting boxes and boxes of free toe socks anytime soon, but I’ll save my coupon for Western States. :)

Noakes may be onto something. I haven’t read the book Waterlogged, but I read a couple of reviews and I attended a talk from Liza Howard, enough that I think I get the gist: Drink to thirst, about 400-800ml/hr (~13-27oz/hr), and extra salt is not necessary. I drank 1 scoop of Perpetuem in 12 oz of water every half hour for the first 8 hours. I only felt bloated just a little right around that point, so I took my only two salt pills for the entire race. After that I switched to Ensure and root beer and cut down my fluid intake and never had any more problems, nor did I need any more salt. It was cool and rainy much of the day, but still, 2 salt tabs for 15 hours of running blew my mind.

No caffeine: Caffeine is a known ergonomic aid, meaning it can make you perform better. It can also lessen the sensation of fatigue. I have used caffeine in races for these reasons; however, I do very little caffeine on a daily basis and I am very sensitive to it. More specifically, my colon is very sensitive to it. I was totally spent after 100 miles, but another factor that kept me from making it the 200km was diarrhea that started right after I crossed the 100 mile finish and which lasted all night long. (My caffeine consumption at Desert Solstice: 2 double shot Clif-gels, one at 8.5 hours and one at 12 hours=400mg of caffeine total). Basically, I will save caffeine (single shots or ½ shots only!) for major downs, but I do not plan to use it routinely in races ever again. It just isn’t worth it for me. This probably isn’t such an issue for people who better tolerate caffeine.

I will always love road racing, too. Ok, don’t throw stones just yet. I love trail running, but I still really enjoy road racing, too. I know a lot of trail runners are purely trail runners, but I think I will always be a hybrid. When I race, I love to get in a groove and just GO! It’s the most efficient and I do well at it. I do pretty well at trail races that allow you to find a groove, such as Miwok and Run Rabbit Run, but I think that is one of the reasons I don’t do very well with technical trail - I just can’t get into a repetitive cadence that suits me. So I’ll race a mix of everything for the love of it, but when I really want to feel fast and smooth, I’ll be hitting the pavement.

One goal at a time. I can have extreme focus, but I realize now I can only do it for one thing at a time. I got derailed from the 200km goal, because I added in a new goal. I put a lot of focus on the new goal and then I wasn’t able to refocus on a new task after that. Talking to several people at the 24 hour race, they also had this issue. When I run a 50k, I always finish and think I couldn’t go any farther, but on other days I go out and run 50 mile races with no problem. However, at the end of a 50 miler, I’d tell you I couldn’t go any farther, no matter how slow, yet I know I can do 100km and even 100 miles. The mind and body can accomplish whatever you set out to do, but if you set your sights short, I think it is very hard to subsequently add in a new challenge. Next year at Desert Solstice, there will only be one goal: 200km. I think the same goes for training, and I’d do better training for one race at a time.

I am hoping some of this stuff comes in handy for Western States and hopefully, some of it helps you a little bit, too. Happy Trails (and roads!).

Looking Back and Ahead

2012 was a good year. The highlight was definitely standing atop the world podium with my awesome USA teammates at the 100k World Championships. TransRockies was also an epic week, and in some ways, it truly was life changing. I ran 15 races in 2012, which included a 3k cross country race, a local 5k, several 50k's, a high altitude 50 miler, two 100k's, a trail 100 in a dreadfully slow time and a track 100 in a fast time. I traveled to Italy, California, Arizona, Washington, Texas twice and Colorado twice for running events. Certainly not the globetrotting a lot of top ultrarunners are doing these days, but I feel lucky to get to any new place just to run, even Texas! (Just kidding, I have always loved the winter trips to Texas).

I think it is a good idea to be continually setting new goals for oneself, rather than just putting together resolutions for the new year. However, January 1st does feel like the beginning of a new cycle, especially since I am just coming off a couple of down weeks and am getting ready to ramp things up a bit. So here are my running goals for 2013:

1) Run 3,000 miles. In general, I don't care about my mileage all that much. I track it, but if my week ends at 59 miles, so be it. And when I am tired I take days off. In fact, I take a lot of days off, because after races, I am tired! But I have been within 200 miles of 3K the last three years (last year only off by 31 miles). So this year I plan to be over...just because.

2) Race fewer miles. Note that I did not say race fewer times! I love to race and I usually rise to the occasion. I like the anticipation, the strategizing, the feeling of giving it everything. I also like running in different places and seeing different people. But I almost felt like this year, I was recovering or tapering all the time, without very many solid blocks of training, one of the reasons my mileage stays low. Also, I did a few races where I was not at my prime and my results showed it. Substituting a few 10k's and half marathons for 50k's hopefully will scratch the racing itch, but allow me to get back to training more quickly.

3) Nail Western States. I don't have a place goal or even an exact time goal (though, at least sub-20 hours). I don't care if I miss the top 10, I just want to finish the race and feel like I had a really good run for me. So far, I have struck out! Maybe 4th time is the charm. I know a lot of people obsess over Western States, and I agree it really is something special, but I am ready to mix things up a bit and try something different than WS. But first, I want to feel like I ran it one time really, really well.

4) Another gold for Team USA. The US women should be fielding another very strong team this year. The British team is also likely to be very strong, especially if Ellie is on the team. But hopefully, the US can hang on to the gold and I certainly like to do my part to see that happen.

5) Break the 200km American Record. This was my goal for Desert Solstice. I got a little greedy and let another goal get in the way. I am not unhappy with my decision or the outcome (well, ok, I wanted sub 15 hours, but I am still happy). However, I have unfinished business, so it looks like 500 laps on a track is in my near future. Shocking that more people don't attempt this, huh? ;)

6) Nutrition. Good goals are suppose to be concrete and measurable. I don't really have one for this category as I am not trying to hit a number on a scale or follow a specific diet plan like Whole 30. But I eat too much junk food and it is all sugary sweets. I have no desire (or will power) to cut out all treats, but I need to get rid of the attitude of, "Wow, somebody brought doughnuts to work, so this must be a sign from the Heavens above that I should eat a doughnut today." Mostly, I wouldn't care, except a lot of people are talking about nutrition helping with recovery. I don't think my recovery is great. Time to stop whining and start trying new things.

7) Do Yoga. I hate to stretch. It is boring, it hurts and it is a painful reminder that I am as flexible as a 2x4. So I bought a ten punch card to a local yoga place. I plan to use it once a week. If I still hate it, at least I can say I did yoga for a while whenever someone else suggests it to me.

8) Address my lower ab/groin/hip pain. I always call this my pelvic pain, but I don't know that it has anything to do with my pelvis. My lower abs feel tethered; I get a pinch in the inguinal region when I lunge or step up on something high. This started last year around CIM. It bothers me, but it doesn't stop me from running. It was at its worst right around Bandera, but it has never gone away. So I am going to have my C-section scar dry needled (needle in a haystack??) and will see PT if that doesn't work. Again, time to stop wishing and start doing. Besides, the wishing didn't work. :)

Hope you have some great goals for the New Year, too. So much to look forward to in 2013!

Two Week Training Plan

Lots of people like to post their training logs on-line. So in that vein, here are my two weeks following Desert Solstice:

Sunday, Dec. 16- Drove through McDonald's for two hash browns, which I ate during the final hour of Desert Solstice, watching the hard core 24 hour runners. Then I laid in bed watching Crossfit game reruns for the next 12 hours.

Monday, Dec. 17- walked 25 minutes through the rental car lot and airport. Almost got shoved down the back stairs of a plane by a septuagenarian couple annoyed by my slowness.

Tuesday, Dec 18 - I took the stairs up to the second floor at work. It felt like a Herculean accomplishment. I took the elevator back down in the evening, because I could not face the stairs again.

Wednesday, Dec 19- I concentrated on nutrition by drinking two big glasses of eggnog. Have you ever looked at the nutritional info for that stuff? It is like liquid obesity! Mmmm, perfect for calorie replacement.

Thursday, Dec 20- Bike 12 miles. Our 5 am run group likes to play Santa's Helpers around Christmas, delivering goodies to all the good little runner girls and boys in Salem. I wasn't up for the run, but didn't want to miss out on the fun, so I biked along. This was pretty much the worst rain storm we have ever been out in. (We are pretty tough, but if it is totally pouring we bail. But we didn't have a back up delivery plan, so we headed out). Dennis and Steph were two tough little elves, covering 17+ miles, but I bailed early because I was frozen solid and water was sloshing in my shoes. I took a 30 minute hot bath when I got home and then was worthless the rest of the day.

Friday, Dec 21- Rollerskating 2 hours with the kids, while Mac was at the Crossfit Christmas party with another woman. Hmmm, does that sound weird?? At the skating rink, I was checking out the other moms, and I have to say, I may have some talent for gliding around on wheeled shoes!

Sat, Dec 22- I went to a Christmas party WITH my husband. Crazy stuff, I know. I ate way too much, but didn't drink much - didn't want to exacerbate any dehydration!

Sun, Dec 23- More airport walking; feeling pretty spritely on the jetway!

Mon, Dec 24- Christmas Eve with Mac's family, so I drank A LOT. One of the best Christmas Eve's with his family that I can remember. (I think there is only one I don't really remember and that was in my much younger days!)

Tue, Dec 25- Christmas. Worked up a sweat crumpling up all the used wrapping paper.

Wed, Dec 26 - Kicked butt at Ticket To Ride and Qwirkle. You think I am competitive when I run?? You should see me playing games with my family!

Thursday, Dec. 27 - More food, more games!

Fri, Dec 28 - 3 mile hike in the Glendora foothills with the family. This took us about an hour an a half but still nice to get out, especially because it was so nice out. Only Mac and Megan actually summited above Alosta canyon, because Liam had a major meltdown with about 200 yards to go.

Sat, Dec 29 - 16 miles. Two weeks later, I finally got out for a run. But this one was worth waiting for. I joined the So Cal Coyote Running Group on the Ray Miller trail for some great views of the Pacific. My quads felt great, but I was disappointed in how stiff and tight I was in my hips, hamstrings and ankles.

Ok, obviously, this is not a training log. The last two weeks were all about recovery and much needed time off, as promised. I have some tightness, but otherwise things are coming along well and I am ready to jump into the new year. However, I am just stunned by how many competitors from Desert Solstice are back just two weeks later tackling Across the Years. WTH are these people made of?? And more importantly, how the heck do they recover so fast? I am lucky that I haven't had any major injuries (knock on wood!), but I do seem to be slow to recover. I realize sitting on my butt for two weeks is not the optimal recovery strategy, but it was nice to have some down time and to be able to enjoy the holidays without worrying about getting runs in. But if you have any recovery secrets, please share!

Happy New Year!

Post Race Highs and Lows

Following Desert Solstice I was physically wrecked. But the "runner's high" after a hundred miler is intense. For three days, I was on top the world; I was in Happy Land. It was more than just the good results; it was the endorphins coursing through my veins. The only thing keeping me from dancing Gangnam style in my kitchen was the muscle soreness.

Early in the week I felt like this

By Thursday, the soreness had abated. But so too had the adrenaline, and fatigue set in. Climbing stairs felt like I had cinderblocks dragging me down. Staying awake at work became a task in and of itself. And why do you have to lift your arms so high to wash your hair??

By Thursday, I felt more like this

In those days, the true run addiction rears its head. Certainly, that is no surprise to anyone - we all know those crazy ultrarunners are addicts anyway. It is not actually the high I was seeking to get back to, but just a way to get past the low. And so Friday, I was all over the internet. "Hey, I never considered Rocky Raccoon." "Hmmm, I wonder if I could get in to American River?" And, "Did you know there is another 24 hour track race in April?"

But time off is doing me well, and slowly plans for 2013 are starting to take shape.

Tramp Stamps and Bongs - My Run at Desert Solstice 24 Hr

Before this weekend I had completed four 100 milers, and while the times may have gotten better, I would have to say the execution and overall performance was worse with each year, culminating in this year's 28:58 grand fiasco at Western States. I feel like I should be good at 100 miles, as I generally get better as the distance goes up, I think strategy is one of my strengths, and I do pretty well eating on the run (ie. I am not a puker). But obviously, I still had a lot to learn. So I decided I needed an "easy" 100 miler to practice. I considered Javelina, but ultimately, I decided to run the Desert Solstice 24 hour race in Phoenix, AZ. I know even most of the passionate ultra-runners would view this as complete insanity, but to me, it was running at it's purest form - just me, the distance and the clock. No mountains, no technical footwork, no headlights, no altitude, no limits on food and water access...and no excuses! The track had the added bonus of being eligible for some non-standard distance records and I will admit my original goal was actually to go after the 200km American record.

One challenge that I was not anticipating was the weather. I would estimate it was wet for at least half the time I was running and some of it was serious down pours. At one point I had to change my (waterproof Gortex) rain jacket because I had water sloshing inside of the sleeves. And while I may not be the first to figure out the problem, I do learn from my mistakes. After my hypothermia at WS this year, I was super diligent about adding layers and keeping a jacket on. It may have taken a few extra seconds, but I know it was crucial, particularly after watching Ian Sharman struggle mightily with the cold and ultimately drop.

Desert Solstice is an "elite" invitational, with qualifying standards to get in. I got in with my 100k time, but everyone else qualified with a 100 mile or 24 hour result - I definitely felt like the only kid on the short bus on the starting line of this race. The gun went off and I quickly settled into 8:10-8:15 pace, despite a race plan that said I would NOT run any mile faster than 8:28. I kept trying to run behind some of the more practiced runners to keep my pace down, but invariably they would stop to use the bathroom or get something to eat, and then I'd be off on my own, cranking off laps too fast again. After 50 miles (6:59:17), I figured it was time to scrap my pre-race plans. So I concocted a new plan: Hold on as much as possible for 100 miles to aim for a sub-15, then drop down to a casual walk-jog 14 minute/mile pace for 24.5 miles, for a sub-21 hour 200k time, easily under the 21:07 record. Two birds, one stone - the plan was brilliant! Well, at least to my 200 lap dizzy and rain soaked brain, it was.

I was super fortunate to have my awesome sister-in-law Alessandra with me for this race. She is fun, a passionate sports fan, and in the service industry, so I knew she had lots of experience dealing with demanding and cranky customers. She and I worked out a great system where I would tell her what I would need on one lap and then get it from her on the next. Everyone else kept stopping at the food tables, but I never even broke stride. This definitely helped with my efficiency and I am so grateful to her for being there. Aside from port-a-pottie visits (3), I only stopped once the whole run. Unfortunately, that was a costly stop. Right after the 100k mark (8:44), I knew I had a bad hot spot on my left foot, not surprising since one of the curves was a sloppy mess when it was raining and my feet were soaked. So I told Al to get a bandage and a chair ready, I was coming in next lap.

She was all set up for me, and I started to take off my shoe and sock. But to get my ankle length sock off, I had to take off my timing chip, which I set next to me. Three types of bandages later, I had struck out trying to get anything to stick to my damp, raisinoid foot. A guy gave me some cream, but by that time my sock was practically off and I decided to change it to a dry one, so Alessandra got me a new one from my bag. Sock on, shoe on, ready to go, I just need my timing chip. Where the eff is my timing chip??

We start moving everything in the tent and we canot find it. We dump the food bags, look in every pocket - it is gone. WTF?? I tried to stay calm but I was internally freaking out, and I started saying things like, "I have to get out of here. I need to start running again. What am I going to do?", the pitch in my voice continually getting higher. Thankfully, Nick Coury's dad was there crewing for him and knowledgable enough to say they could manually record my laps or get me a new chip, so finally, I got out of there again. Lap split- 10:25! Ugg- are you kidding me?? (to be fair, 2:20 of that was run time and probably 3 minutes for the sock change, but that is still 5 minutes of waste, plus without the weather, no way would I be taking off my shoes!). The next lap, they got me a new chip. Five laps later, Alessandra found my original (black) chip, inside my clothing bag velcro-ed to a black hat that must have gotten tossed around when we looked for new socks. I switched back to my original chip so I could get TV screen updates on my laps again, and then just started ticking off the laps again, though noticeably slowing as time wore on.

People continually talk about hardening your quads for the mountain races. Why don't people say this for the road(track) races? I couldn't believe how sore my quads were getting, plus hamstring, hip, and IT band tightness - things that don't usually bother me too much in a trail race. No doubt about it, those hard surfaces are tough on the body and after 75 miles it added up, but I was still in the 9:30-9:40 range for almost all my miles and I was just counting down laps. If I stayed under 10 minute pace, I'd be under 14:54. I had this! 20 laps to go, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15. It was going so well! 14 laps to go...

"Pam, you need to pick it up a little bit if you want to break 15 hours," the timing tent informed me. "You need to be around 2:20 per lap." (9:20 pace)

WHAT!!?? I had 39 minutes to do 14 laps, and I hadn't run a single mile slower than 10 minutes yet. What kind of whacked out math was he doing?? This led to a very brief second stop to inquire (very politely, despite what was going on in my head) what he was talking about. "You have 17 laps left, so you need to average about 2:20's."

"But the screen says 14," I whined. He tried to explain something to me about changing chips adding laps but I took off running and sent Al up to work it out. The next lap she was still talking, and I kept running. The following lap she was waiting for me. I had to hear what was going on so I walked 300 meters with her while she explained, "When they logged the new chip in and out it crossed over the timing mat and registered three false laps. They went through all the split times and they are sure they got it right. You have to do three more laps." I shouldn't have been concerned with the problem, I shouldn't have walked that 300. I think I snapped back and finished my 4 miles fairly well, but I definitely had a mental break in there and that cost me, too -all going back to that stupid sock change.

Ultimately, I fully accept all responsibility for this. I took off the chip, it was my responsibility, and the timers did what they could to help me out. If they knew I had three extra laps, I do wonder why they waited 30 miles to tell me, but I know they had a lot going on and a lot of other runners to take care of, too.

There was a lot of cheering the last 5 laps, but ultimately I came up short on the 15 hour split, clocking 15:01:40 for the 100 mile distance. I completed the lap and stopped to talk a bit to Al again, get some more clothes on, regroup, and get going again. I walked a mile, but just got colder and stiffer and I was feeling pretty sick to my stomach. I got Mac on the phone, walked another mile. I tried to jog a couple steps and it was the most painful thing I have ever done. Maybe if I had just sucked it up for ten minutes or so to warm up again, I could have got going again. Even if I had walked the whole hour, I would only need something like 5.3 mph to get the record, but I couldn't fathom running at all. By that point I just think my body and my mind were done. 102.6 miles before the stroke of midnight - the longest distance I have ever covered, but quite short of my original goal.

Still, I am quite happy with the day. My running and fueling went really well and I feel like I learned a lot to make me a better 100 mile runner (too long to share here, but I hope to do so in the next couple days). I didn't go sub-15, but 15:01 is still not too shabby - a 4+ hour PR and almost 14 hours better than my last 100 miler! And given the chip snafu, I certainly believe I have a sub-15 in me (not sure if I'll ever try to prove that, for now, the belief is enough). I also believe I can run 200km faster than the current American record of 21:07, and that goal I do plan to go after, either next year at Desert Solstice or possibly a race earlier in the year if I can find a suitable track ultra.

Running on the track for that long was much better than I expected and much of it very enjoyable. Large chunks of time passed in the race without even noticing, so it wasn't like I was counting laps in my head all day long. Most runners would give at least a mini-greeting when I would pass or be passed and I felt connected to the other racers in a way I never have before. Jennifer Arati and I even had a little game going where we would give an "award" every time I saw her on the track: Best dressed, best hair, best legs, best shoulders, best matching outfit, etc. I had 8 hours of music loaded on my iPod and I never even though to get it out (maybe I should have for those last miles!). Plus there was lots of inspiration out there with Jon Olsen, Michael Arnstein, and Jay Smithberger running super fast 100 times and six bad-ass runners out for the whole 24 hours!

All in all it was good for me to do something different and I really enjoyed it. I am however, quite sore. As in more sore than I have ever been, period. And thanks to being sopping wet for 70 miles or so I have the worst chafing ever. Fortunately, I had the good sense to take a spoonful of Vaseline into the port-a-pottie with me early on and get my bra and "panty line", but everywhere else I had on clothes was raw. Just a heads up, I will NOT be wearing deodorant this week while my armpits heal, so don't get too close. And as I told my husband, "I got a Desert Solstice tramp stamp." He gave me a very concerned look, before I showed off my lovely back.

I also got this skull "trophy" with a hollow tube hat. Several people commented it looked like you could smoke something out of it. Maybe that'd make my aching body feel better! Is it terrible that I want to take a Sharpie and cross out the "16" in the date??

Thanks Nick and Jamil, for putting this on and for letting a "short bus" girl in to the race. It was a great way to end the season, plus now I can board the regular bus with my 100 mile time. The next few weeks will just be rest, recuperation, and figuring out how to get up from the toilet without pushing off with my hands!

Happy Holidays!

If you need me, I'll be watching food network and drinking eggnog!