La corredora

OPSF Ultra 50/50 Race Report

2011-11-05T20:35:00.009-04:00

This story starts out medium-good and then ends with a sad personal pity party.

My mom told me that her coworker's husband, Jay, was running the OPSF 50 mi race in Spencer, IN in Nov. so I looked it up and decided to sign up since it was in the Fall and was close to home. Bernie did it with me and crashed at my house last night. We ate a ton of food at Bazbeaux with some good beer---yumm.

Anyway, we met up with Jay in the morning and got to running. The course had a five mile loop, then a 14 mile loop that you did three times, and then you ran the five mile loop again. I guess they said it was 52.8 miles all together.

At first glance the course seemed pretty easy with a few hills but nothing major at all. Then as the time passed you noticed all of the gradual climbs and it made the legs pretty tired. Because of the recent rain most of the course was super muddy so your shoes were super heavy and then there were a million puddles and little creeks so my poor feet were soaked. Speaking of, why are my feet so screwed? I think my big toe is purple already and might come off. Off 50 some miles?? Ugh.

At the aid station at mile 31 is where the pity party kind of begins. First off, I was previously told that there was one 50 mile girl ahead of me. When we got to mile 31 I was looking for her but they said she was actually doing the 50k. Sweet, so I'm first girl. Then somehow we ended up taking a really long break at the aid station and in the meantime, the dang 2nd girl shows up and a minute later the 3rd girl shows up! Ugh. Then the 2nd girl spends one second at the station and then leaves while we're still there.

When we finally left I knew she was at least a few minutes ahead but I wanted to catch her. Finally at the next aid station I caught her and took off but I knew she was near me. Bernie and I cranked that stupid loop out and went faster on it than we did for the 2nd loop and were rocking it; we even passed a few others. I was feeling good and I knew the 2nd girl wouldn't catch me.

At some point we came upon like four huge horses (with riders) that just so happened to be standing RIGHT in the place where we needed to access to continue on our trail; no other way around it. Why did their riders think it was cool to stand there while us tired runners just looked at them and were afraid to push the horses away? Oh, you don't understand? Here, I drew you a diagram of how it happened:

The red represents the path that Bernie and I took. Yes, we almost ran on top of the horses, getting our clothes snagged on thorns and almost falling over while the horses kind of acted spooked and looked like they were going to attack us and while the riders just laughed at us (on the inside, I'm sure) while they looked down on us lowly peons without horses.

We hit the end of the loop and were ready to start the final last five miles, which should be nice and easy and quick. Welp, we get to a T in the road and there is no dang course marker so we randomly picked to go left. We went left for about .5 miles or so and realized that wasn't the right way, so we walked back all sad and annoyed and then looked around in the other directions and finally hit the right path after seeing other runners (we did end up seeing Jay and his wife again so that was nice). We had wasted about 30 minutes doing this.

At that point we had probably already run close to 50 miles and I was just ready to call it quits. Who wanted to run another dumb five miles after all that?

But anyway we started truckin and besides getting chased by some random dogs, the five miles were pretty easy and I finished.

What's dang annoying is that while Bernie and I were in la-la land getting lost, ole girl came up and beat me by 20 minutes and then the three people who we had passed finished, too. We were on track to finish in 5th place and now I think it was 8th or something. I don't even care about my place. What bugs me is that we worked our butts off to catch the girl and maintain the lead, and then right at mile 47 we got screwed. Ahh! How come those other people didn't get lost? Not saying I wanted them to but how did they know to go the other way?

Overall, it really was a good race. Everything was well marked except at the end, where I heard someone took the sign down (but really, why did it have to happen at the end? Reminds me of my sad tale at Gnaw Bone). The course was fun and challening enough and it was beautiful out and perfect temps. It was fun being out there with Jay and Bernie. And, Jay did AWESOME, especially for his first 52 miler!!! Enjoy the video.

Malibu Canyon Trail Run 50k Race Report

2011-10-28T10:16:00.003-04:00

I went out to Santa Barbara, CA last Friday to visit my new cute little nephew and got to fit in a 50k race in Malibu last Sunday. The race consisted of a 15.5 mi loop that you repeated once. Most of the first half of the loop was climbing up a mountain and the last half was coming down it.

I was nervous looking at the elevation beforehand because it looked like I would make a 2,000+ ft climb in the beginning, which I don't think I've done before. I was envisioning standing at the bottom of the mountain and looking straight up to make a vertical hike. Also, I was intimidated at the start of the race because I had never raced out west before and I didn't know how the other runners would compare to the ole midwest. I thought they may run straight up the whole mountain instead of walking it since they lived out there and were used to those hikes.

The race started at 8am (seems late) and so the sun was already out and it was getting hot. The course going up turned out to be on a wide dirt path that curved and rounded, so it wasn't a straight-up hike, thank goodness. It was a good climb that worked me but it wasn't too hard. Annd, it was just beautiful being up there at the top. I was somehow passing people on the climb and it made me a little nervous; I didn't want to be some rookie Hoosier going up too fast on the mountain. But, I just kept going. The second half of the loop was awesome because most of it really was all downhill so I just flew by.

I started the second loop and I was already going slower. The sun was hotter and my legs were tired. I learned that I was first female but I didn't know how long that'd last. Around mile 22 or something I was super slow because of the heat and my warm water didn't quinch the thirst at all.

When I got to the mid-point aid station I sat down for a second in the shade and right as I left, I saw a female runner coming in to the statoin. She freakin stopped for a few seconds and was already out of there. Since I was feeling crappy and I don't like the pressure of another female on me, I was going to let her have it. There was a big climb right out of the station so I was just waiting for her to pass me anytime- I didn't want to look back to see how close she was.

I finally hit the downhill and knew I'd go fast, but I figured she would, too, and would pass me anytime. I kept going and kept wondering how close she was and if she could see me but she never came. At the end I was walking a little more and I was basically giving her the finish and I didn't care.

I knew the heat was getting to me because I started getting goose bumps. I was afraid to drink too much of my water because I didn't want to run out (7.8 mi in between the aid stations are too far apart for an ultra in the sun). A quarter mile to the finish I started gagging and puked up a little water- yuck.

I made it into the finish in 6:04 and somehow was first female and 4th overall. There were only 34 runners in the ultra but I am still proud of the finish. The second female finished just four minutes after me.

I'm glad I got to experience a race out there and loved the scenery. I think I still prefer the trail courses that I've done so far to this race since they're more technical and such.

DWD Hell 50M Race Report

2011-09-27T21:06:00.008-04:00

I'll keep this report short. I didn't know how this race would turn out having come right out from Woodstock a couple of weeks ago but this race turned out to be the best ever. It was perfect weather, my legs felt fresh the whole time, and I beat my previous Hell time by over two hours.

Chris, Bill, Bernie, and I started out together and we didn't really have a plan other than to finish. Chris was planning on doing a 12:3 strategy so we tried it out with him. I was practically sprinting on the 12 minute part and I kept saying how dumb I was to be going out fast again but I didn't care- I kept going and kept feeling good and made it to the end. It was a great time with everyone; loved it.

Here are some gigantic pics (thanks Angel) and video:

Woodstock Hallucination 100 Mi Race Report

2011-09-12T07:23:00.005-04:00

Finally another one in the book! Bernie and I drove to MI last Friday afternoon, we met up with Bryan (poor Chris couldn't make it) and we started the race at 4pm. I finished the race in 27:16 and it seems like it rained about 24 of those hours.

From the get-go we decided to do a plan of run 7 minutes, walk 3 minutes all the way to the finish. We laughed and disregarded this strategy at Mohican but when we DNF'd that race and the guy who followed that strategy, Mike, did finish, we were convinced. So, it was definitely hard to stick to that slow pace during the first 30 miles. People kept passing us and I was feeling good and wanting to run harder. Luckily the guys kept reminding me to hold back and then run hard at mile 80 if I still felt good. The first loop was in the light and even though my shorts were already soaked from sweat and I was chafing, I felt pretty good. We finished the first loop in 3:30 which was pretty fast so we tried slowing down our pace a little bit afterwards.

On the second loop we met a guy, Joe, who was out there running alone and he ended up staying with us until the end. It was rainy and dark but we kept truckin; finished in about four hours.

It was still raining on the third loop and so the course was getting muddier and harder to run through and my feet were still getting soaked, even though I changed out my shoes and socks. I was feeling pretty tired after the third loop and it surprised me since I had only run 50 miles. I think we finished this loop in four hours, too.

Bernie wasn't feeling too hot either but we convinced him to start the fourth loop with us. Right then at 4am, good ole Bill (whom I ran this race with last year) surprisingly met up with us out on the course and ran a few miles with us. He woke up at midnight, drove a few hours over, ran a few miles with us, then turned back around to make his 50k start at 6am. Crazy. Bernie ended up dropping at the end of this loop; just wasn't his day. It was hard when he dropped because it tempted me to stop, but I kept going because I didn't want three DNFs.

My blisters were getting worse on the fourth loop because of the non-stop rain and mud puddles we had to run through. I really didn't want to stop this race because of blisters so I was going to push through it even if it killed me. We were running a good pace so far so I knew I could walk a lot if I needed to and still finish within the cut-off time. By this time we were sick of the dark and just kept begging the sun to come up; that was our only motivation to start the fifth loop. I think we finished this loop in four or four and a half hours.

Same story for the fifth loop except we had day light which helped. It was hard to keep going. I was tired and my feet really killed. We finished the loop in 4:30 and I had a breakdown; just overwhelmed and in pain and I wanted to stop but knew I wouldn't. I knew if I did the fifth loop then there was no way I wouldn't do the sixth. I cried and cried but kept going and headed out for the last lap.

At the beginning of the sixth loop lucky Bryan was feeling awesome and somehow his magical feet didn't have any blisters so he ran on ahead and Joe and I struggled through the end. Joe's feet were jacked up, too, so we decided we'd change our running plan to run 1 minute, walk 2 minutes. It was so hard to run that minute and we really thought we were working hard and making progress, even though our feet barely left the ground. Joe's girlfriend came and paced us for a few miles and then headed back.

Bill had finished his 50k and caught up to us to finish the race. I couldn't believe he stayed with us until the end; I literally said about five words the last five hours. I couldn't be in a good mood and I couldn't make myself talk at all. Very nice and patient of him.

Joe and I tried the 2:1 strategy for awhile and then ended up just walking most of the miles and running occasionally. At the end Joe's walk was faster than mine so he went on ahead and Bill and I slowly finished the race 20 minutes after him.

Oh my goodness it was rough at the end. It seems like my legs were fine the whole time; it was just the darn blisters that got me again. I don't know what to do. I used the good Drymax socks; I used the Injinji socks; I ran in about six different pairs of shoes (two of which were brand new). Don't we all have the same type of skin? How come my feet were affected and others' not? Doesn't make sense.

Well speaking of, I saw Joe's feet after the race and they looked like ground beef. His blisters had actually already ripped off and a ton of his skin was exposed- yuck. He ended up going to the ER to have them get fixed. During the race he had talked about wanting to do that anyway; get hooked up to some meds and then have your feet worked on. :)

So I finished and that's all I care about now. I think 89 runners had at least pre-registered for the event; 27 finished.

Below's a video of some of the course. I apologize that it's not too entertaining; I'm pretty depressing in it. Warning- I show my nasty blisters at the end.

Canal Runs With Bernie

2011-08-19T09:12:00.002-04:00

Bernie's in town so I was finally forced to actually go out and run straight miles (vs ultimate frisbee). He's been reminding me each week that Hallucination keeps getting closer and closer; I guess it's time to get ready. We ran 6 miles yesterday at the canal at 5am and then 7 miles today. Man, that's early but I'm glad we went out. My goal is to run at least 12 mi tomorrow morning; hopefully I'll make it 18-20.

DWD- Devil's Lake Pics

2011-07-15T14:51:00.010-04:00

Pics from the recent race this year, thanks to Chris and Bernie:

DWD Devil's Lake 50M Race Report

2011-07-11T12:25:00.002-04:00

Last year I ran this race and thought it wasn't that much fun. It was hot and hilly and I was tired. I somehow finished it in 11:07 and I remember being really disappointed with that time and feeling like I should have gone a lot faster. So anyway, I must have forgotten the pain over this past year and I signed up for it again. Hopefully I won't make that mistake next year. I'm done.

Well, crap; this year it took me 12 hrs 27 minutes to finish it! I've never been that close to the cut-off time. What the heck is wrong with me? I know it was nasty hot and all but dang, I'm definitely not making progress. Maybe it's this new running crew I have that's holding me back?? Ya right!

So anyway, Chris, Bernie, Bryan and I ran another race together which was very fun. Chris was having an awesome day and took off at mile 30 to finish an hour before us. I was dragging after mile 20 and Bryan and Bernie made me finish. It was super hot and I was really hungry the whole time and I'm sure it didn't help that I had only run twice in the last three weeks.

I tried out my new Drymax Maximum Protection Trail Running socks and I guess I'm pretty pleased with them. I still went through three pairs of socks/shoes during the race since they were soaked with sweat but I came out of it with only one small blister. I can't use this race to determine if the socks help prevent blisters since the course wasn't as technical and rooty and some other painful ones.

I camped out at the start and crashed early after the race. I woke up Sunday morning super hungry and chowed down on a McDonald's burrito, hashbrown, bagel sandwich and large Coke. That food would never have sounded good before but it was great this time. You can only take so many saltine crackers, quarter-sized PB&J sandwiches, and pretzals.

So anyway, I'll try to average a few runs per week until September's Hallucination. Here's a video from the race. I look pretty dead in it at the end.

Latest Workouts/ Races

2011-06-29T08:46:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was the first day back at running since Mohican. I ran 4.25 miles in the morning, did Zumba in the afternoon, and then another 1.75 miles to call it six for the day. The legs were pretty tight; I definitely should have been stretching this past week.

I'm doing Zumba again today, maybe run 1-2 miles afterwards, and then ultimate frisbee tonight. Whoop whoop. Last time at frisbee my little running app said we did a total of three miles; not too bad.

So, even though I did not like Devil's Lake I decided to sign up for it again on July 9th. I figured it'd keep me running through the summer and it'll keep me on track with all four DWD races. Annnd because I don't like the DNF feeling I signed up for Hallucination 100 miler again in September. I'll probably get bored with the course again but heck, at least I know I can finish it. I think we'll have the whole crew there again for both races: Bernie, Bryan, and maybe Chris and Bill. Sweet.

Mohican 100 Mile Race Report

2011-06-20T14:09:00.013-04:00

0/2 on Mohican attemps, darnit! Bernie and I made it 71 miles; I think we stopped after 18 or 19 hours. Mohican is hard!!!! I don't know if I'll ever finish it. I'll try my best to not be so pessimistic on my recap.

Last Friday morning I met up with Bernie and his fam in Bluffton and we drove three hours to OH.

We met up with Bryan and Chris and camped out.

Ya...the whole queen size mattress in kiddie tent doesn't really work anymore.

It poured down raining that night but I still got to bed okay around 8pm. Woke up at 3am and got ready for the race. Note to self: Will stay in hotel next time before a race. Too hard to get ready for a big race with everything in the trunk of your car and only a flash light to see.

Our race plan was for Bryan, Bernie and I to stick together as best we could, and then have Chris pace us at mile 53. We were going to try to meet up with Bill and Marit as well, but knew it'd be hard for the big group to stick together. We also weren't going to try intervals since that didn't really work out at Gnaw Bone.

I saw Bill and Marit at the start but somehow immediately lost them before the race began. I also ran into Randy whom I had run with a little bit at the end of my last Mohican attempt in'09. It was good to see he will still out there truckin. (I believe all three of them finished the 100 miles- great job!!)

They changed the course this year and it consisted of four loops: they were all the same except the last two had different middle sections. About two miles from the end of each loop was a set of four long-arse hills of each .5 miles or something and they SUCKED. Why would they want someone to want to kill themselves right before the end of each loop?

They also said no water crossings. Don't let that fool you in the future. Your feet still get wet. If not from the puddles from the rain from the night before or not from the tiny creeks, they will get wet from the sweat from the humidity. I changed my shoes and socks at every drop bag location; I think seven or eight times total.

So as we started the first couple loops we felt pretty good and were making a lot of progress. We kept wondering if we were going to fast but we decided to cover as much ground as we could while it was daylight. Bad idea, I guess. There were tons of hills and larger climbs than I remembered but we were still able to go up them with not too much pain.

Bryan wasn't feeling too hot at the end of the second loop and so with five miles left of the loop, Bernie and I sadly left him. We told Chris to hang back with him and convince him not to quit and Bernie and I would be fine without the pacer. (Turns out Bryan just rested for 20 minutes, ate some food, and was able to keep going with Chris- all the way til 83 or so. Awesome job!)

So Bernie and I started the third loop (mile 53) and we felt pretty good until around mile 62. I could feel just a few blisters at that time but nothing too terrible. I was so nervous because it wasn't until this point in '09 that I really felt the pain.

We passed the Fire Tower and these two HS girls asked if we wanted pacers so we said they could stick around. I guess their cross country coach was running the race and they tagged along to help runners out. They just ran behind us for about five to ten miles and said about five to ten words the whole time. One girl told me to think happy thoughts about butterflies and rainbows but unfortunately that didn't do the trick.

During the third loop we hit the middle section that was different and it was full of downhills with tons of rocks and roots. It may have been nice with fresh feet and some sun light but it really sucked when you felt blisters on your heels and had sore knees and quads and could only see a tiny circle of light in front of you. Uggh! I hated it.

We were all out of words at that point and the HS girls couldn't come up with any stories so all I thought about was quitting. I tried hard not to but I couldn't help it. It took us foreeever to reach the next couple aid stations and finally we made it to mile 71. I told Bernie I just wanted to rest for a little bit (knowing in my head I was done) and so we slept for 10 or so minutes. I looked up and those poor girls were just sitting on the side waiting for us. I thought they would have left by then.

Randy met up with us at the aid station and he and the aid station workers tried yelling at us to keep going, tried cussing, tried playing loud music- everything to get us to stand up and go but we couldn't! We were well on track in terms of time and we could have walked the rest of the race and still finished under the 32 hour time limit...but who the heck wants to walk a marathon?? I sure didn't. It already stunk walking two hours just to get five or six miles; I did not want to walk for ten more hours while I was in pain and couldn't see anything and then to go up those huge hills again. Ugggh! I'm sure we painted a really pretty picture of ultra running to those girls.

Bernie and I quit at 71. When I got back to the campsite and was about to take a shower, my body scared myself! I had huge scrapes all over my chest, back, thighs, armpits, and stomach from chafing. It was so humid during the whole race that my short and shorts were constantly wet and I guess it jacked me up. Next race I will definitely be switching clothes throughout it.

What's hard is when I was out there, I was DONE and didn't care if I didn't finish. I was hurting and knew more blisters would come and bla bla bla. Now at home, even just one day later, I forget the pain and wish I would have finished. Dang, I thought it would have taken at least a month for me to say that.

I make myself feel better by knowing that the winner of this race finished it three hours later than in the previous year, and that only 33% of the starters actually finished (58/174). Now that is crazy. Too bad I wasn't part of the 33% though. Boo.

They already said they're going to change the course again for next year and will cut out some of the harder hills they had right at the end. I wish I didn't know that because it tempts me to try it AGAIN, just in case the course is a little easier.

Below's a few short clips from the race up until mile 40 or so. I wanted to actually get footage past this point (since I didn't in '09) but I didn't get to. You just start feeling so crappy that you really don't want to pull out the video camera.

Last but not least- big thanks to Chris for being such a huge help before and during the race! He was constantly asking if we needed anything and even tried popping my nasty, dirty blood blisters that had Glide all over them. He was fantastic and it's too bad Bernie and I didn't get any miles in with him.

Also thanks to Bernie's fam and Bryan's fam for being so helpful at each aid station. You guys made it very enjoyable and fun!

No Training...

2011-05-31T17:27:00.002-04:00

Man, no matter how many months in-between races I go I'm on a continuous "tapering" schedule. I've only run a few times since Gnaw Bone and Mohican is sooo close. I've been keeping up with the P90x stuff but that leaves little time (more like desire) to run. I'll probably keep doing the P90x for another week and a half and then stop so I don't overdo it.

Yesterday I ate a bunch of chocolate, napped for an hour, then tried running a measly six miles in 88 degrees. Ugh; I stopped once for water and almost puked and considered turning back home. That chocolate needed a lot more time to digest.

I'm sitting here at work debating running right now...I'd like to get in another six miles but the temp is not cooling down. :( Help!

3 Cardio and 3 Showers

2011-05-19T19:57:00.004-04:00

Today was cardio-mania! Woke up at 4:50am and did P90x's Plyo, then showered. Went to work and did Beachbody's Insanity at 12pm, then showered. On way home from work I stopped and did Zumba at 5:30pm, then showered. That can't be good on the skin.

Btw, my new favorite cardio is the Insanity. I've only done it three times and I love it! I've never sweat so much in my life.

DWD- Gnawbone 50 Mi Race Report

2011-05-16T13:45:00.013-04:00

Well the good news is that I finished with no knee pain!! I ended up taking four ibuprofen throughout the race as sort of a preventative measure but I'm feeling fine today so that's all I care about.

Bernie and I planned on meeting up and running the race together and we didn't know if we'd see Bryan (who we ran some with at Green Swamp) or not. At the start we ended up seeing Bryan and also met his friend, Chris. I also saw Greg who I ran the same race with in '09 so that was neat.

So Bernie and my plan had been to finish sub-10, if possible. That would be cutting 19 minutes off my '09 time. That would be great. So Bernie, Bryan, Chris and I got together at the start and ended up running the entire 50 miles together. That is the first that I've stuck with that big of a group for an entire 50 miles. It was great having different conversation and also having different people support you when you're feeling weak, and vice versa.

From miles 1-30 we ran at a 12:2 interval pace (as well as walking hills) and then around 35 switched it to 10:2 and then I think around 38 or 40 we switched it to 8:2. It was working great the whole time and I felt like we were strong and not all tired and slow at the end. There were a lot of hills like I remembered but I didn't mind them as much and I felt like we made good progress. From roughly mile 25 on we didn't pass anyone and no one passed us; that was weird.

So anyway, what I'm really confused/surprised/disappointed about is our time. Once we knew we couldn't make sub-10 I was hoping for at least a sub-10:19 so I could beat my previous time. Nope. Somehow we finished in 11:12. I guess the time was okay overall since we were like 12th/80 entrants but I'm still confused as to how it took so long if we felt so good. Did the intervals end up screwing us? We did them at Green Swamp and felt like it was working and I felt like it worked this time...but maybe not. It seems like in '09 I was feeling good but that the hills were really hard on me. So how come I felt better this time but with a slower time? The trail/temp conditions were very similiar.

Another thing that bothers me is that I got 2nd female in this race and the first female finished in 10:19. That was my '09 time which means I could have beaten or tied her if I was in the same shape. What happened?? I'm confused and concerned. Am I more out of shape this year? If so, what does that mean about the people I ran with? I know that Bernie and Bryan were putting in more miles than me and we stayed together.

Oh well. Oh well.

Here's us coming in the finish line (Thanks for the pics, Angel).

Enough about that. Post-race we jumped in the lake and it was glorious.

More post- race:

So, next on the list is Mohican and unfortunately this race kind of made me more scared of it. I just had all these memories of aches and pains and trying really hard to finish it. Ugh! I have to finish...I don't want to try to have to finish this race a million times. I doubt I'll get in a lot more training because of the P90x so it'll have to be 99% mental strength. But about Mohican- Bryan said he's probably going to run the 100 with us and Chris might pace us so that'd be tight. It'd be Bernie, Bryan, Chris, and good ole Señor Bill.

Vamos a ver!

2011-05-13T13:28:00.003-04:00

Well looks like I got one run in this week again! How crappy. Oh well, it won't be the first time that I've been low before a race. My legs are starting to feel achy again for some reason so this morning I did some of the P90x stretching for 30 minutes. I took the last two days off of P90x so that I won't be sore at all tomorrow. I'm determined to finish this thing, with or without meds! This is a great race and I need to do it.

Change in Workouts: P90x

2011-05-06T09:06:00.003-04:00

Well last Sunday, May 1st, my husband (Josh) and I decided to give P90x a real try for three months: the diet and the 6x/wk exercises. I've done the exercises before but never noticed a change, since I didn't do the diet. Everyone says that you get the most results if you do both together, so we want to make the most of it.

The best time to do the exercises for us is in the mornings before work, which means waking up around 4:45am (they last 1-1.5 hours). Uhh, I am so tired! So anyway, I am no longer running with Jon in the mornings and I'm trying to fit my runs in after work. I know that my mileage will be cut back even more. For example, today is Friday and I have only run ONE TIME this week- which was a measly six miles yesterday. Too many things get in the way, especially when work is busy.

Speaking of things getting in the way, the P90x diet has been the hardest thing so far. Not the change in food but the time it takes to plan out your meals to make sure you're eating enough! You have to get so many proteins (five servings for me) and carbs and veggies in a day. It seriously takes Josh and I at least an hour to plan our dinner and our lunch. For example we each had six egg whites and two pieces of turkey bacon for breakfast this morning. For lunch we'll have six ounces of tuna with an egg and cottage cheese and almonds. Ay ay ay!

But anyway, I've never really done any strength training or any other regular exercise for the past five years except running (which can be the cause of many injuries, so I hear). So, I'm definitely interested to see how this will affect my overall health and endurance and such.

I'm nervous now for my 50 miler, DWD Gnaw Bone, because I've been sore from these exercises and I noticed it yesterday in my run. Ugh, I'm in this dilemma- do I cut back on my new P90x exercises so I can complete the race well or do I keep them up because I want to give P90x a full 100% try? :(

Worse comes to worse- at least I'm eating a lot better now and staying active; err something like that....

Another 10

2011-04-28T14:48:00.007-04:00

So I'm on day 2 of kid duty and I don't know how people do it everyday! I chose to nap during the kids' nap time yesterday instead of run. Kids went off to play-group today at 9am so I made myself go out for ten miles.

Even though it was sunny and pretty nice out I couldn't make myself enjoy the run. My knee was hurting a little bit the whole time and I just felt lazy. Waaaaaaa.

At least I enjoyed the scenary and even got to stop and see the hubby at his work downtown.

10 Miles

2011-04-26T08:31:00.004-04:00

Woke up at 4:50am again and it was 66 degrees with wind gusts up to 27 mph. Jon and I were tempted to cancel but thank goodness we went out and got ten done. I had a late night Greek burger and ice cream and wine and about five hours of sleep but I surprisingly felt good this morning and didn't puke up any food. Nice, huh? Weird how Jon and I can get 18 miles in in two days some weeks and then 18 miles for a whole week other weeks...

Chafing

2011-04-25T10:40:00.003-04:00

Thank you, sports bra. I look like a freak.

Wet 8 Miles

2011-04-25T09:15:00.002-04:00

Woke up tired this morning at 4:50am and had weird dreams last night so I was out of it and did not want to run with Jon at 5am. Was tempted to cancel but thank goodness I didn't. We went out in the rain and ran eight miles and it felt great.

I was disappointed to have only run 38 miles last week but oh well. I'm definitely going to try to spread out my miles this week...maybe run six more tonight.

Jon and my sister are going to HI on Wednesday and I'm gonna get my feet wet with what it's like to have kids. I'll be watching their three kids on Wednesday and Thursday. I was planning out my miles for this week yesterday and already realized that I probably won't be able to run those two days. I could run in the morning before the kids wake up but Jon will be gone and so I'm not gonna go by myself in the dark...and then when my hubby gets home from work, I don't want to make him stay with the kids alone during dinner time while I go run.

Ahh! It'll be hard when I have kids but I'll have to work out something. Anyway...I know I have it good right now with all my free time; that's all I'm trying to say.

26.2 Run

2011-04-23T12:42:00.003-04:00

Jon and I planned on running this morning at 5am; he would do 10 and I would hopefully do 22. Well dangit I missed my first two alarms and thank goodness I woke up to him calling me at 4:58am. I grabbed the clothes and headed out the door in two seconds.

We went down to the canal and around downtown. I was hoping to see a hot pink sunrise but it must have been hiding in the clouds.

So Jon left at mile eight to head home and I was feeling good so far so I kept on.

I was getting pretty tired at the end so I took more breaks...took some pics, stretched, filled up water, and just stood debating whether to cut it at 22 or keep going to a marathon.

Lovely White River on my way home...

And then some beautiful flowers that smelled so good...

I made it home after 26.2 miles, all sweaty and nasty with white salt all over me. No pain during the run; sweeeeet!!!

Runs Recap, Bernie, Fish Oil/Pain

2011-04-22T09:14:00.005-04:00

1) Runs Recap:
I just ran one mile last Sunday; didn't run Monday; was going to run Tuesday + Wednesday in the a.m. but didn't get to because the b-n-law couldn't; and I FINALLY ran 12 miles yesterday (which is sad that it only averages out to four miles the past three days).

2)Bernie:
I have a 45 minute commute home from work each day. It's crazy that from the first 40 minutes, I am thinking about the run I'm going to do and how many great miles I'll finish and so on. Right at minute 41, one mile before my exit to my running path, I think about how great it would be to go home, sleep, clean the house, watch TV, and not run. Ugh! I always do that...I'll get right to the exit and then say "screw it...I'm not running".

Well that all happened yesterday but somehow I at least made it off the exit to the running path. I parked the car and just sat there. I debated not running again for like three minutes, even though it was beautiful out and there were lots of people out exercising. Ugh.

So, I texted Bernie and begged for help and motivation. Before I heard back from him, I somehow made myself get outside and start running (I was probably thinking about the cinnamon roll I wanted to eat when I got home and I knew I'd feel better if I ran).

Bernie texted back and forced me to keep running. He was just starting his run, too, so we agreed to do 12 miles. Somehow that tiny little text to a person in another city was enough to make me keep running; it changed my mentality immediately. Woohoo! That's what I'll have to do everyday now.

3) Fish Oil/Pain
So a couple weeks ago my cousin said she was having similar knee pain as me. She said she was told to take fish oil to help it. So, I took fish oil, too, for like two days and then just got lazy and stopped. Well I'll be darned, the other day she said she doesn't have anymore knee pain.

Caca. Why didn't I keep up the fish oil? So, I think I'm on day four of taking it again three times a day and yesterday my knee didn't hurt at all. I doubt it has a ton to do with the fish oil, but I'll try anything.

However, my dang calves were sore since I switched my stride last Saturday. Whoops. I know you're not supposed to change your stride but I don't care...I'd rather have my calves be sore than my knees. err?

Monumental run

2011-04-17T17:23:00.000-04:00

I had been eating crap the past few days; yesterday morning I woke up at 10:30am, ate a cinnamon roll and had two cups of coffee, went back to sleep...and then at 12:30pm decided I needed to run. Isn't that nasty and lazy?

My goal was to run 22 miles; mainly because that's what my little route from home would equal out to. It was in the 40s, sprinkling, and had winds from 20-25 mph but I was so determined to finish the miles since the most I've been able to run at one time lately was 11.5 miles.

I set out and already at mile two my knees felt tight. I decided I needed to change my stride somehow because obviously the current one wasn't working. I didn't know if I should stretch out the knees and lengthen my stride or shorten it by heightening the knees and almost do butt-kicks. I randomly chose the high-knee stride and I kept it up the entire time.

The stride made me feel like I was running slow, especially against the wind, but I didn't care how long it took me- I was going to make myself finish. For some reason I had the most powerful, detrimental run and I pumped out 22 miles; probably an 8:15-8:30 pace.

It was the best run of my life and I would have shot for a marathon or 50k had I had the time. My knees would tighten everyone once and awhile but I would heighten my knees again and it would go away. I have been so nervous about Gnaw Bone and this run boosted my confidence a ton. If I could just have another 20 miler before the race then I'll be set.

I iced the knees and my quads feel a little sore today, but that's it. I might go run a few more miles this afternoon if I feel up to it.

Indianapolis Bloggers

2011-04-17T16:23:00.001-04:00

Hey everyone-

This is a little break from my daily routine to let you know I joined Indianapolis Bloggers. It's a little community of bloggers from Indy; go check them out!

Poor Runner Etiquette

2011-04-15T19:00:00.002-04:00

I went running on the canal just now and had my first runner-to-runner collision. :( Of course everyone knows you're supposed to always run on the right side/ pass on the left, especially when you go around turns and under tunnels where no one can see you. I get so annoyed when people don't do that and aren't paying attention and have their music too loud and so on.

Well why was I running on the wrong side today, going around a big curve? I don't know but I smacked right into another guy who was running on the right side. Dangit....I felt dumb and I know he had to be annoyed. We hit hard but luckily didn't fall (probably because of my darn-slow pace) and then we kept going.

Stupid stupid.

Tiempo en España

2011-04-15T12:09:00.006-04:00

I was in Spain again from 4/4-4/13 and got some good runs in with my co-worker who was there and runs super fast. He's the guy that I was supposed to be in the Boston bet with in '09 but I backed out.

I should have taken more pictures...it was beautiful out there and in the 70s everyday. We ran about 55 miles together and only on the last day did my knee feel tight. What the heck?

I did just 2 miles yesterday then Zumba at night and I hope to get at least 6 in today.

Land Between the Lakes Race Report

2011-03-20T18:32:00.001-04:00

Last Friday Bernie and his fam and I drove down to KY for the LBL 50 mile race, which consists of four loops. There were a lot of small rolling hills that were easy to run through but we knew we'd get worn out later on if we didn't walk some. So, thanks to Bryan again, we started with a run 12:walk 2 minute routine, including walking up the bigger hills- felt pretty good.

We started the 2nd loop and were passing people and got in a groove and then bam, at mile 14.5 my darn knee started acting up again. :( The pain wasn't that bad but I knew it was the same injury or problem that I had been having since Swamp. So very sadly to say, I walked to the next aid station and called it quits at mile 16. I've yet to finish the 50 miles on this course.

Since I didn't have my phone and didn't know where Bernie's fam was, I waited at the start/finish line for seven or so hours...but it actually wasn't that bad. It was awesome weather out in the 70s, contrary to my previous LBL races in the snow. I took a nap, cheered other runners on, and just hung out.

Bernie did freakin awesome and finished in 9 hours, faster than the Swamp time that was a flat course! Sawweeet.

Anyway, I'm really hoping that this DNF pays off and that I heal up and am ready for big Gnawbone in May.

But what is wrong with me? Why am I having these dumb leg problems? I'm gettting ollllder.

So stretch, ice (maybe), and strengthen other muscles. Yesterday I was doing that sit-down weight machine that curls your legs and works your hamstrings. It was only on 10 lbs and it hurt all around my knees. What the heck? Does that mean I keep doing it to strengthen something or do I stop so I don't hurt it more? Ay ay ay

Oh well. Here's a little race video for your enjoyment:

Recent Activity

2011-03-04T14:33:00.005-05:00

Oh ya...I know how to do it right. We really didn't think they'd be that big...

The week after Green Swamp I went to see Heath-ther and her little babies in WI. I went running for the first time since Green Swamp and my darn knee started hurting again. I think I made it three miles and I stopped a million times during the run to stretch.

So off and on the inside and outside of my knee was hurting and I got a little scared. I continued stretching and it finally (knock on wood) has temporarily gone away.

I made it 34/50 miles two weeks ago (stopped b/c of leg) and then 50 this past week. I'm shooting for 20 miles this week and then on Friday I'm off to the LBL race in KY with Bernie and the fam. Woohoo!

DWD- Green Swamp 50 Mi Race Report

2011-02-14T14:07:00.011-05:00

After only meeting Bernie once at Hallucination last Sept. and then another time in Indy, I somehow let him convince me to hop in a van with him, his wife, and this other couple (all of whom I've never met) and drag me 14+ hours away to FL in a three day period to run the last DWD race that I haven't scoped out yet: the DWD- Green Swamp race. Thank the Lord I am back home alive and they did not abduct me or make me too crazy. I know I am naive sometimes....that's all I'll say.

So anyway, we left Thursday afternoon and made it to FL Friday morning. We stopped at a Yuengling (huh?) brewery, walked around, ate some blizzards, then went to bed early.

The race started early Saturday morning in the dark and I've learned my lesson that I will always carry a good headlamp with me during runs. Mine was low on battery and very dim but I tried to manage. Nope, I had to pee around mile 3 and when I started back at it, everyone had left and I could barely get around...I was tripping and worrying about getting lost this early on. I somehow carefully made it back to the start/finish aid station at mile 5 and caught up with a faster group who had gotten turned around. I didn't know where Bernie was at that point.

To my surprise, the course was flat the entire way and a lot of it was on either a soft sandy path or on some kind of horse trail path. So, the footing was kinda hard because your feet were sinking in every other step and were getting twisted around in different foot prints all the time. I immediately felt blisters forming on the sides of my arch and stuff. Anyway, prior to the race I hadn't really been running. It was too bad because I could have really gotten a good, fast run out there.

So, I met back up with Bernie at mile 15 and then shortly afterwards I could tell my legs were pretty tired. I took my first salt and meds and I got my 2nd wind. At mile 25 you hit the start/finish aid station again, repeat the same last 20 miles, then repeat the first five. I didn't know how I'd repeat those miles but thankfully we met up with Bryan, whom I briefly met at last year's DWD- Devil's Lake race in WI. Bryan told us about the little 8:2 exercise where you continuously run 8 minutes, walk 2, and repeat. You save energy, run better when you're running, and there ya go. It worked beautifully. We finished the last 25 miles doing that and it was amazing how we kept up our pace. Ole Germany girl was running the whole time while we did our 8:2 and we kept passing her; amazing.

Here's a short video from the race:

That's about it. I enjoyed being out in the sun and getting miles in in Feb. but don't know if I'd do that particular race again...course was kind of boring; similiar to Hallucination. The good thing was us three finished together in 10th, 11th, and 12th place out of apx. 50 runners and I got 2nd woman. I'll get that Krystal another time! :)

Ahhh---Mohican Again!!

2011-02-07T12:23:00.003-05:00

Well crap- I just went out on a limb and registered for the 100 mile Mohican again. Scary! I guess that means I won't be attempting Kettle Moraine's 100 miler this year on June 4th. Oh well, I wasn't a huge fan of that course anyway.

So I know I had tons of blister problems during Mohican '09 but I think I can come into this race prepared now and finish it out! I will change my shoes and socks OFTEN (I think I only changed them once in '09), even though it'll make my time even slower, and I already know the course and made it up to 80 miles, and I already have a 100 under my belt...

The difference this year will be that I won't be going with a pacer and that means I might be in the scary dark by myself, which would suck because I'd be thinking of ghosts the whole time and also I would be more likely to get lost. Oh well, I guess. I hope the determination to finish this one is enough to keep me going.

It's scary signing up for a race four months in advance but at least they offer 1/2 refunds up thru May. Here we come, MI!

Spain and Running Slacking

2011-02-04T10:11:00.011-05:00

I made it back from my short trip in Spain last Thursday and had a pretty good time. I didn't make it out for any runs but I kept to my bet and did random exercises in the hotel room. Hope no one saw me. Here are some pics from my trip:

La Plaza Mayor:

Flamenco dancing:

Random bar:

Yummy paella:

So anyway, once again I'm writing to say that I didn't meet my 2011 goals in January. I keep forgetting that I made those, dangit. I'm still hopeful.

And nope, due to the traveling, ice storm, and overall laziness I haven't run in a couple of weeks and I have DWD-Green Swamp 50 miles coming up in a week. Ouch. At least I think it'll be a fun race so that will make up for lack of endurance.

Not-so-great Weekly Recap

2011-01-19T10:23:00.003-05:00

0 for 0 on getting all of my weekly goals done. :( I finally got my ab exercices in last week but am still not on track for my 200 miles/mnth and have yet to get in my sprints. I'm still not giving up though. The good thing is that I said "average 200 miles/month" so technically I could have some 80 mile weeks in the summer and make up for it, right??

I'm headed off to Spain this Friday for a week so it's doubtful I'll get miles in; I don't think our hotel has a gym and I don't know if I'm brave enough to aimlessly run around a Spanish neighborhood at night. We'll see.

I am, however, making a new 3-month bet with my friends starting this weekend and so I'm adding stiuplations that say while I'm abroad, I have to do an hour of random exercises each day. Got to work off that constant restaurant food!

Goal Update

2011-01-10T09:47:00.003-05:00

Only 36 miles from last week, and that week even counted nine days instead of seven. :(
I only did one ab workout, not two. I'm gonna change that! I wanted to change the font to blue so bad.
Still no sprint workout yet.
No morning run today.
I have to run eight miles this afternoon- will most likely take place on the treadmill

Mornin 5 Miler

2011-01-08T06:30:00.010-05:00

I didn't run yesterday so I could help the knee out a little bit and I actually stretched last night for about 10 minutes. I woke up and thank goodness, the knee felt better! Wow, stretching works. Go figure.

So Jon and I made it out for five miles this morning and I brought my new reusable hand warmers. So, they were too big to fit in my regular running gloves so I put them in big, fluffy mittens. They were awesome in the beginning and super warm and my hands got sweaty but then after 10 minutes, the mittens let the cold air in and then the warmers got stuck in their contorted position and no longer gave off heat. :(

Before:

After:

Hmm.

Well anyway, I'm not off to a good start with this 50mi/wk thing. Gotta make it up!

Back of Knee Pain

2011-01-07T14:57:00.002-05:00

For the past couple of weeks the back of my knee has felt weird, kind of tight or something. It feels like my leg isn't being extended enough, like I can't stretch it fully and it needs to pop. What the heck does that mean? I notice it sometimes when I run and sometimes when I do Zumba.

Unfortunately I hate anything that's related to anatomy so when I tried researching the "injury" online, I got a sick feeling. Ugh. But, the leg's not swollen and I don't hear a popping sound; I don't think it locks up but I don't know. I hope I didn't tear a ligament or something. If I did, wouldn't the pain be sharper and constant?

Is it all this non-stretching catching up with me? Old age? I think I'll play my naive card again and hope for the best but didn't know if you guys are familiar with this feeling??

Six Goals for 2011

2011-01-06T14:41:00.004-05:00

Well...I couldn't think of any more than six goals (half of which I stole from this guy) so here they are for 2011:

1. Run another 100 miler
2. Complete at least one 100 mile non-race week
3. Average 200 miles/month
4. Run at least five ultra races
5. Do at least two ab workouts 2x/wk (notice how I don't specify what a "workout" is)
6. Do a set of sprints 2x/month

I think #1-4 are attainable and #5-6 are iffy. I just can't make myself do any other workout other than running (and Zumba, of course). That's why I got injured back in April- for not strengthening any other muscles- butttt...oh well. Life's tough.

CA Video & Pics

2011-01-05T09:05:00.013-05:00

Here's a video from running on the beach in CA last week. It'll probably be pretty boring to you all but it's nice just seeing the scenery.

San Fran pics:

Hike in San. Barb:

Beach somewhere:

CA Recap & 2009 Mileage

2011-01-02T16:22:00.003-05:00

I finally got in some miles out here in CA. I ran the 6.5 miles on Thursday, 8.5 on Friday, 10.5 on Saturday, and only 6.5 today in the wind and rain. We went on a nice hike up a mountain yesterday just for 1.5 hours. Man- it'd be awesome to train on that path every week. Are all the CA runners 50x better than everyone else? It seems like they would have to be because of all their resources.

Anyway, it feels great to get the legs moving and I hope to keep it up. Back on the plane to Indy tonight and arrive tomorrow morning.

It'd be nice to get in 200 miles/mth for 2011 but I don't know if I'll be dedicated enough to keep it up the each time. We'll see. I'll count the 17 miles from today and yesterday towards the total. :)

Here's the monthly recap for 2010:

December:

11/29-12/5	12/6-12/12	12/13-12/19	12/20-12/26	12/27-1/2	Total
8	16	7	3	32	72.5

November:

11/1-11/7	11/8-11/14	11/15-11/21	11/22-11/28	Total
32	62	40	56	190

October:

10/4-10/10	10/11-10/17	10/18-10/24	10/25-10/31	Total
37	61	64.2	43	205

September:

8/30-9/5	9/6-9/12	9/13-9/19	9/20-9/26	9/27-10/3	Total
*70	70.25	18	115	0	273.25

August:

8/2-8/8	8/9-8/15	8/16-8/22	8/23-8/29	Total
13	50	50	70	183

July:

7/5-7/11	7/12-7/18	7/19-7/25	7/25-8/1	Total
57	0	37.5	28.5	123

June:

5/31-6/6	6/7-6/13	6/14-6/20	6/21-6/27	6/28-7/4	Total
17.5	50	17.5	6.25	50.5	141.75

May:

5/3-5/9	5/10-5/16	5/17-5/23	5/24-5/30	Total
0	0	.6	1	1.6

April:

3/29-4/4	4/5-4/11	4/12-4/18	4/19-4/25	4/26-5/2	Total
45.75	0	0	0	0	45.75

March:

3/1-3/7	3/8-3/14	3/15-3/21	3/22-3/28	Total
47.5	47.5	50	47	192

February:

2/1-2/7	2/8-2/14	2/15-2/21	2/22-2/28	Total
2.3	14	27.8	28	72.1

January '10:

1/4-1/10	1/11-1/17	1/18-1/24	1/25-1/31	Total
0	35.5	0	0	35.5

*: 9/1/10 New shoes- black Brooks Adrenaline GTS 10

Californiaaaaa

2010-12-30T18:01:00.002-05:00

Merry Xmas and Happy New Year! I've been in beautiful Santa Barbara, CA since 12/26 and am staying until 1/3. I finally got in a run this morning for the first time. It was so awesome running right along the beach with all the boats and palm trees and nice weather. I had to watch my pace since it's easy to get carried away and start off too fast. But yes, I feel out of shape. December running was a bust!!

Pics/video to come.

Whaaaaaaa

2010-12-16T05:55:00.002-05:00

Man, I thought I was a bad arse who could run in the cold weather and snow but I'm not! I'm a loser who can't fit in running. :(

Work has been busy and Jon's knee has been hurting and then it's been freezing and windy and snowy. So, once again I'm slacking on the miles and have only run seven this week so far---three yesterday and four today...in the snow. We were sooo slow on today's 4:45am run- I think it was 10 minute miles. Felt like running up sand dunes.

Anyway, December will be a crappy month. The last week of Dec. we're going to CA so don't know how many miles I'll get in there.

8 Miles on Treadmill

2010-12-07T19:16:00.002-05:00

Jon's knee started hurting yesterday during our cold run (probably because of the cold...) so he took this morning off. I bet Anna again that I had to run eight miles on the treadmill today after work or I had to give her a five minute massage for every mile I didn't do (bets are the only things that work in my life).

So, I got on the dang treadmill and already took a break after three miles. I just can't make it on that thing. Then I had to go to the bathroom so that was another break after four miles. Then I considered quitting but I knew I didn't feel like giving Anna a 20 minute massage (it would have really been 35 minutes because I already owe her 15 minutes from the last bet I lost). So then I did two more miles...then a break...then considered quitting, but finally made it to eight miles because good ole Wheel of Fortune came on and kept me through the end. Woohoo!

It's Cold!

2010-12-06T09:11:00.002-05:00

Jon and I took off all of last week from running except for Monday. I could tell I was eating worse and just lazier because I was out of the mood. Dangit.

So this morning we got back at it and went out at 5:05am for eight miles. I guess it was the coldest morning in the past 11 months- 11 degrees out with wind chill of -1 or so. So, I put on some tights and wind pants and then a spandex shirt with winter jacket and a headband. Ugh! Way too many clothes to be running in. I felt like a fat marshmellow who could barely bend their limbs and the junk food from last night didn't help at all. Then you get home with frozen hair and a red body. Oh well. I'm hoping for at least five days of running this week!

Updates: WS Race, Mini-Marathon, This Week's Mileage

2010-12-02T09:18:00.002-05:00

Aiight...let's see.

Western States: I decided not to enter the lottery. My heart wasn't in it yet. Maybe someday. (and...I don't want to die from a mountain lion)

Indianapolis Mini-Marathon: Back in the day my dad, sis, uncle, cousin, neighbor, and whoever else would run this race each year. I haven't run it in the past five years or so but for old times' sake, I told my cousin that I would run it with her next year (5/7/11) if she wanted to give it a shot. So, on the last day before the prices jacked up even higher, she told me she registered and so I did likewise. I still can't believe I paid almost $60 for a 13 mile race but oh well. It'll be fun. (I hope to still run Gnawbone the following weekend).

This Week's Mileage: It succccks so far. Only eight measly miles from Monday.
Tuesday: I backed out of the morning run because I was lazy and said I was too tired
Wednesday: Jon and I were both at home ready to go but we didn't make it out because my phone was all messed up and so we couldn't get in touch with each other to confirm. Isn't that dumb? We only live a few blocks away.

I bet my friend Anna that I had to run eight miles after work or else I owed her a 15 minute
massage but when I left work, it was wayyy too windy and cold so I said "screw it".

This morning: Jon cancelled because he's sick. Ohhhh well...I'm at least maintaining some endurance so I'm fine. I did Zumba Tuesday, Wednesday, and will tonight. Woohoo!

Thanksgiving & Black Friday Run

2010-11-26T10:35:00.002-05:00

Happy post Thanksgiving! Did you eat lots of delicious foods? Run any? Jon texted yesterday morning and canceled our 5am 10 mile run because it was rainy/windy/cold out. I still wanted to go because I ate like crap on Wednesday night (did you know a 24oz bottle of Coke has 290 calories and 78 grams of sugar??? That's a candy bar, at least! I never drink Coke but I bought some and hot dang, that's a full meal!) and I knew yesterday's diet wouldn't be any better. So, I kept sleeping and got up at 7:30am and made it out for my 10 mile run. It was raining some but 50 degrees and it felt nice.

Then because we're psycho, we went running this morning at 4:45am and made it 16 miles in the freeezing cold! It was 24 degrees out and since I normally wear shorts and a jacket in 35 degrees, I figured that wind pants/jacket/baseball cap/light $1 gloves would suffice. I have a fear of overdressing and then getting too hot and having to carry the extra layers with you. But nope! From the get go my ears were freezing and same with my poor fingers. I kept telling myself I wouldn't die from cold hands but it sucked. I had brought my water bottle (which was pointless since I didn't drink more than four ounces the whole time) and it stunk carrying it the whole time with my fingers exposed. When I got home I thought my knuckles were going to break off and die.

Uhh! I have some better gloves that I'll wear next time but I think my fingers still get cold in them. I don't think even the most expensive pair would help because your little fingers are still hanging out there alone. I need mittens. I think I might waste some money on those hand warmers and bring them for 10+ mile runs.

Oh well. It was nice knowing that I burnt off some of those dessert calories.

Western States Dilemma

2010-11-22T22:53:00.004-05:00

The other day I randomly got a comment on my Hallucination post from "Doodlegirl" and she casually mentioned that her sister is a big runner who has done Western States, among other ultras. Well why did that little random comment start me thinking about applying for the 100 mile Western States' race next June?

I don't even know what Western States is...I've only heard its name pop up a few times and for some reason, I'm thinkin it's the Boston of the ultras (or is that Badwater or Barkley?). Well, since it's popular and since it's hard to get in, I'm intrigued.

So, there are a few ways to enter the race but the main way is by the lottery which just so happens to be open right now until 11/27. I guess only 369 runners can be on the field and over 1,000 usually apply to get in.

Here's the dilemma:
If I'm thinking about kids in the next one-two years, now is the time to try to run this race. However, after reading some things about the course (see below), I don't know if I'd be fully prepared for the completion of the race without having run on anything that even a tiny, tiny bit resembles the actual course conditions. So, would it be a waste of time and money?

Here are some risks/things to consider:

1) Everything's non-refundable. Since I was injured this past summer and took a few months off for PT and STILL am not movitated to stretch before/after running, who's to say I won't have the same muscle pull next year and be screwed?
2) The course has a few water crossings (and wet snow paths...yeah, part of the course is in 20 degree weather and part of the course is in 90 degree weather) so there'd be a chance that my feet would get jacked up again with a million blisters
3) No pacer/crew lined up = less motivation
4) I read that you could be running downhill for an hour at a time and that they recommend training on a hill that's at least three miles long. Huh? All I can find are little dinky .07 mile hills to run up and down. (Have they invented a treadmill that has a decline-grade yet to serve such a purpose?) (Oh my gosh: check out this cheesy downhill converter someone's trying to sell)
5)Uhh...why did I just read in Alan's race report that a runner was killed by a cougar on the same Western States' course some years ago? It's already bad enough running half-asleep through the night in the dark with other people, let alone by yourself in some crazy wilderness. I would be way too freaked out the whole time out there. Why do all of these athletes get eaten by animals in CA?

I know, I know....it's very unlikely that my name would even get drawn in the lottery but if it was, I need to know if I'd be ready for it since the drawing seals the deal; no backing out.

What do I do??

Last Week's Recap/ This Week's Mileage

2010-11-22T08:43:00.004-05:00

Every Monday Jon and I talk about our great plans for our mileage that week and then as the week progresses, it always ends up that either we can't run all six days as planned or we can't run as much due to whatever reason. Usually one of Jon's kids wakes up a ton during the night and then he's too tired, or our alarm doesn't go off, or I have to go in early at work....

So last week we wanted to run 55 miles for the week, which included a 15 mile run on Saturday. It turned out both of us got sick (along with a million other people) and so we only ran two-three days and then only 10 miles on Saturday. It stinks. So after our 10 mile run on Saturday, I knew I wanted to get in more miles than 28 for the week so I made myself run another 12 that afternoon, which brought me to 40 miles.

Then yesterday morning I actually woke up to my alarm before church at 7am and was planning on running 10 miles. I freaking got dressed, got my water and went outside and started to run. When I got about one-two minutes into it I decided I just didn't feel like running so I turned back around, went home and got back into bed. I'm lazy!!!

I told myself I'd run in the afternoon...then I said I'd run in the evening after the Colts' game (sniff, sniff) and then I just didn't do it. It's hard to make myself get more miles in when I don't have any upcoming races yet. Darnit.

So this morning Jon and I planned out the week as such: eight miles today; tomorrow I'm off work so we each bet that we have to run eight miles on our own or pay a whopping dollar for each mile we miss; Wednesday 10 miles; Thursday 10 miles; Friday 15 miles; Saturday is unknown and may just be a make-up day. Let's hope we make it!

Sat-Monday Runs

2010-11-01T08:38:00.002-04:00

Last Saturday I ran 16 miles in the morning; Jon did 13 with me. Yesterday Bernie was in town and we ran 13 miles together. It was fun catching up on Hallucination stuff and talking about other random things (like Bernie's story of seeing a naked woman running during one of his trail runs back home; she was running as if everything was normal and not looking like she had been in some crazy attack or something). And, it was weird having normal conversations (better than playing the dumb alphabet game) and not being wacked out since we hadn't already been running 20+ hours again.

Then, this morning I ran 8 miles with Jon at 5am and we ran around the Lucas Oil Stadium and there were already a few people waiting outside its doors. I wish I could take the day off and tailgate all day. It's time to get hyped for the Colts tonight; woohoo!!!

Week Recap and Happy Halloween!

2010-10-29T08:50:00.006-04:00

Well, darnit! It's funny how you have some good mileage weeks and some not. Jon and I were planning on running everyday this week but for various reasons, we only made it out twice. I'm gonna try to run this afternoon and some on Sat and Sun but I bet I won't get the miles in that I'd like to. Oh well.

Anyway, Happy early Halloween! Eat some good candy and enjoy my costume: OCTOMOM!!

Mornin Marathon

2010-10-23T16:58:00.002-04:00

This morning I ran 13.1 miles with Jon, who is trying to get ready for his first mini marathon in May. I almost ran over a homeless guy sleeping on a step that I didn't see. Man, that would have sucked to have tumbled on him. I'd break a random bone and then I'd become part of his nightmare or something. I did this long, delayed-reaction scream/yell because he startled me and then I felt bad; I had woken him up. Sowwy.

I came home and still had energy so I went back out, planning on running 6 or 10 miles more. Well after 10.1 miles I couldn't just stop and not complete a marathon, so I tacked on 3 more miles and called it a day (and with no more ankle issues, btw).

I've learned that I do much better with long runs if I don't plan them out ahead of time (unless I'm going to be running with someone else, that is). If yesterday I had said I was going to run 13 more miles alone after my time with Jon, I probably would have headed back out and then made a million excuses as to why I was tired or sore and needed to quit. Instead, I went out with no expectations and since I felt good, I kept on going. That's the way to do it.

Funky Ankle

2010-10-19T08:09:00.003-04:00

Ever since Woodstock, for the past 2 weeks or something, part of my right ankle/heel has been hurting a little bit during my runs. It's usually tight in the beginning and then is fine by the end. When I stretch it (which is pretty much never), it feels super tight like something needs to be worked out. Then I found out that if I run with a better stride and land more on the balls of my feet, it doesn't hurt. Does that mean I've just been slamming my heels down on the ground with every stride? That sounds gross. But now that I put more pressure on the balls of my feet, I got a blister on the top of my left toe. I'll be danged!

So bottom line- can I just keep ignoring it and running differently or do I need to do something about it? Lord knows I don't wanna stretch regularly. And why is it only my right ankle? Weird.

100 Miles, Baby! Woodstock Hallucination Race Report

2010-09-27T09:13:00.008-04:00

Woohoo, I finally finished 100 miles; did it in 24:30.

The course was 6 loops of 16.6 miles and I think I liked it that way for a 100 miler. You could put one drop bag at the start/finish area and one at the 8 miler aid station. The majority of the course was flat with just a handful of hills that you could walk up without too much pain. I was surprised at how much of the race we actually ran. We probably ran 46 or 47 out of the first 50 miles and then a good bit of the last half, too.

Also, the course was surprisingly easier than all of the other races I was used to- nothing too technical or hilly like Mohican, the DWD races, or the Buckeye/Run for Regis run, and no water crossings. It was weird not seeing deep scratches and wounds on my thighs with thorns sticking out of them after the race.

I ran the whole race with Bill. He was so nice to have stayed with me the whole time, especially the last 2 loops when I was struggling and not talking much- just grunting. He somehow still had this super fast energy in him at the end and would run up ahead and then wait for me to catch up.

We ran a few loops with a fast runner and fellow Hoosier, Bernie, who was sneaky and stopped after 4 loops without telling us he was even struggling. It was actually smart of him because then he didn't have to listen to us trying to guilt him into finishing it out. Too bad, though. Next time! I also met Melissa from OH and James from IL.

So my feet...they started to hurt a little bit with just 8 miles into it. I did not want to get screwed again by dang blisters so I ended up switching out my socks 1-2 times each loop and then I switched my shoes about 4 different times. Only on loop 5 did I start to feel some blisters form but I kept on truckin, taped the toes at the end of the loop, took meds, and finished out fine. I think I'll actually keep my toenails this time. Awesome!

The ultimate problem has to be that my feet aren't used to running on trails, moving in different angles and stuff all the time. A couple weeks ago I ran 31 miles on flat pavement in the same pair of socks/shoes and had no problems...but when I go to trail, I have problems after just 8 miles. Hmm.

Let's see....I made it the whole way with just my handheld water bottle and Nathan vest- no heavy CamelBak. Thankfully the food situation was fine. I never had to force myself to suck down another turkey sandwich or anything. I ate and ate and felt fine. But uhhh, how did I burn around 10,000 calories but the scale now says a couple pounds more? Something's wrong. I wasn't eating donuts and drinking sugar water out there. And no, it's not a swollen body or water weight that's making the scale say what it does. I'd like to be like Mikey and get sick and lose 12 pounds after a 100 miler. Joke.

Overall it was a good experience and I never thought of quitting. I knew I came to run 100 miles and I was gonna do it. Right when I finished the race I said that I probably wouldn't do another one- anything over 12 hours is a lonnng time to be running and it gets kind of old. But---yesterday and today I'm reconsidering. Who knows what's next- maybe Burning River.

Enjoy the choppy video below and the bloopers at the end while my husband videotapes.

50k run and Taper Time

2010-09-13T18:46:00.002-04:00

I slacked on Friday and didn't run so I bet Anna that I had to do 24 miles last Saturday. I was feeling good at 18 miles so I hurried and texted her saying I had to do 30 miles. My course was a 6 mile loop that I repeated; I figured it was good practice for Woodstock since that's 6 loops of a 16+ mile path. I ended up throwing in an extra mile so I could call it a 50k and I felt pretty good. The last time I had run a 50k on pavement was back in 2007 at the Lakeshore 50/50 race. My legs felt like noodles at the end of that one.

I finished off the week with 6 miles last Sunday and took today off....now I'm ready to slow down these last 2 weeks. Yes! I'll probably run 45-50 this week and maybe 30 next week. Vamos a ver!

Week Recap and Upcoming Race

2010-09-09T09:39:00.002-04:00

I was originally going to be running at Hell this weekend but somehow my registration got messed up and so I'm not going to do it now. I've been trying to prepare for Woodstock and get the miles in so some extra rest will help. I'm not looking forward to that drive home alone after the race. I don't know how I'll make it, all jacked up.

I had my first bike accident last week and it wasn't even anything to brag about, dangit. I was going slow and I must not have been paying attention because my huge mountain bike tire wheel got caught in the grass and when I tried to bring it back over the sidewalk I got all tangled up and fell. I hit my head but I was wearing a helmet so I was happy that looking like a nerd paid off finally. The weirdest thing was having my hearing go out for a minute after the accident. I got on my bike and heard nothing...not my chain and not the cars going by. It was kinda scary but finally it came back. Now I'm too scared to invest in that road bike I was going to get. I don't mind dying (or going deaf) in a big running race or something but during a stupid 6 mile bike ride? Nah. It sucks though..every time I go running my stupid knee scrape breaks open again. It'll never heal.

Month to month mileage from '09

2010-08-30T08:36:00.002-04:00

...just cleaning up a side tab.

December:

11/30-12/6	12/7-12/13	12/14-12/20	12/21-12/27	12/28-1/3	Total
0	5	2	7.5	13.5	28

November:

11/2-11/8	11/9-11/15	11/16-11/22	11/23-11/29	Total
6	9.5	14.5	15.5	45.5

October:

10/5-10/11	10/12-10/18	10/19-10/25	10/26-11/1	Total
0	0	0	0	0

September:

8/31-9/6	9/7-9/13	9/14-9/20	9/21-9/27	9/28-10/4	Total
6	50	0	0	0	56

August:

8/3-8/9	8/10-8/16	8/17-8/23	8/24-8/30	Total
0	0	0	3	3

July:

6/29-7/5	7/6-7/12	7/13-7/19	7/20-7/26	7/27-8/2	Total
0	3	0	3	10	13

June:

6/1-6/7	6/8-6/14	6/15-6/21	6/22-6/28	Total
47	8	85.5	0	143.5

May:

5/4-5/10	5/11-5/17	5/18-5/24	5/25-5/31	Total
50.5	32.1	26	26	134.6

April:

3/30-4/5	4/6-4/12	4/13-4/19	4/20-4/26
56	4	18	51.7

4/27-5/3	Total
60	189.7

March:

3/2-3/8	3/9-3/15	3/16-3/22	3/23-3/29	Total
10	47	17	43	117

Feb:

2/2-2/8	2/9-2/15	2/16-2/22	2/23-3/1	Total
60	45	10	25	140

Jan '09:

1/5-1/11	1/12-1/18	1/19-1/25	1/26-2/1	Total
40	40	43	20	143

70 Miles and Pooped!

2010-08-29T15:16:00.004-04:00

I finally made a 70 mile non-race week; woohoo! All I have to say is that it is a sacrifice to run that much in a week. I average about 6 1/2 hours of sleep a night so that I can run early with the b-n-law (and yes, people at work do notice I look like a zombie!), I delay social activities on the weekend so I can get my long run in and still have time to nap because I'm drained at the end of a work/running week, and I let my house look like crap and say that I'll clean everything after church on Sunday but really I just cash out in front of the TV for 3 hours (yep...just woke up and I'm sitting with a pile of clean sheets on the dining room table, needed to be folded). Dang! I don't even have 1 kid, let alone 2 or 3 kids, who need to be driven around to sports and plays and fed and cared for. How do other people do it?? I actually have a little extra time at night since my husband's in school but what do others do? I know that Nick has some kids and he does it; gets up at 3:30am everyday and counts on his espresso. Ay ay ay.

So about the 70 miles, I started out ahead because I didn't have to work last Monday so I ran 16 miles. Then I hit 35 or something on Thursday so I bet Brian again that I had to do x amount of miles over the weekend to equal 70 and there ya have it. Yes, my legs were tired and heavy and my 16 mile run yesterday took forevvvvver.

Even after my long-arse ponderment on the sacrifice of running (I just googled "ponderment" to see if it's a word and I still can't tell. I like it though.) there's something about it that makes me want to do it again...keep uppin the mileage. It's crazy to think how much time and energy the 70 miles took in a week and I'm going to attempt 100 miles in 24+ hours at Woodstock. Why will I do it??

Disappointing Drymax

2010-08-15T15:44:00.010-04:00

No, that's not my foot.

Last year at Mohican I got hit with a ton of blisters and it ended up forcing me out of the race. Nick had the same problem and finally recommended me some good, expensive socks that supposedly do the trick: the $20/pair Drymax Socks Maximum Proctection "made for ultra runners, guaranteeing to keep your feet drier than any other pair of sock" socks. Since these were the "top-notch" socks that everyone loves, I kept them in the back of my mind and was going to buy them as my mileage picked up and as I got closer to attempting another 100 mile race (Woodstock is 9/24).

So the other day I forked out $60 for three pairs of them, assuming they'd get me through a 50 mile race. I ran six miles in them the other day and felt fine. I was on a ten mile run today and at mile EIGHT my feet were soaked with sweat! I could feel the water sloshing around. I came home and I already had a little blister on my toe. The crazy thing was that it was cooler out today (76 degrees) than my other runs and for some reason I noticed the wetness in these socks more than other socks on different runs.

I'm pretty disappointed as big races are approaching and I have yet to find a solution to blisters. I wasn't even in water today and my socks were wet. What the heck am I going to do with a million water and mud-caca crossings during a race? Buy 30 pairs of socks and then change my socks every five miles? Maybe I should just run in water shoes. After all, wouldn't water shoes be similar to Vibram shoes and isn't barefoot running in style nowadays?

Someone at my last race suggested putting the powder that you put on baby's butts on your feet to help. I forget what it's called. I'll go ahead and get my money back for these socks and keep on searching for solutions.

Am I the only one having problems? No one else in these ultras seems to suffer. Any suggestions? Any help?

Morning run and off to camp

2010-07-24T07:25:00.004-04:00

Last night I knew I wouldn't want to run this morning so I made a bet with Brian that at 5:10am today I had to be running and I had to run 12 miles, otherwise I had to pay him $80. It was my only motivation.

So I went out in the dark to the canal alone this morning. I felt a little scared in the beginning and then it just became awkward because I ran by so many couples making out on the benches. Anyway, it was NASTY hot out and my clothes were so soaked. I had brought some extra water in a bottle and put it next to some flowers. I saw it each time I did a loop of the canal until the very last loop; it was gone. :( Some maintenance guy probably threw it away, even though I didn't see it in the trash. Ohhh well.

This afternoon I'm heading off to camp again for a week so this is it until August. It'll be a low mileage week yet again. I plan to just run 2-3 miles each morning with the kids.

Until next time...

A Jacked up Morning

2010-07-16T15:56:00.002-04:00

Last night I worked part of third shift and went to bed at 2am; woke up at 5am to go bike/run with the b-n-law, Jon. It was gonna be the first run since the race. I was super tired this morning and did not feeling like going but I did. When we started out biking, I was going super slow for some reason and I couldn't keep up. I was confused because my legs weren't sore at all but my bike wouldn't go anywhere.

When we got to the canal to run, I just assumed I hadn't fully recovered yet from last weekend and so I opted out of the run. I slowly rode my bike next to Jon while he ran 3 miles and then we got on our bikes again to go home.

Well I'll be danged; my back tire had gone all the way flat and I couldn't ride it more than a half mile. That was the dumb reason I couldn't bike on the way up. It sucks that it affected my mentality and made me think I couldn't run...so I missed out on a workout.

So, we locked up my bike on the canal and Jon was nice and let me ride his bike home while he ran home. When I got home, I grabbed my dad's van and went back downtown to go get the bike....then I went to sleep.

I felt like I wasted 1 1/2 hours this morning since I didn't even break a sweat, and then I missed out on some good sleep, too. Poor me.

DWD Devil's Lake 50 Mile Race Report

2010-07-13T11:26:00.004-04:00

Well, I have mixed feelings about this race. The good news is that I finished the 50 miles in 11:07, my leg that was injured did not bother me at all; not during the race or after it, and I never got lost. Woohoo! I made it through with just a handheld water bottle and a smaller water bottle in my Nathan vest.

It was dang hot out all day and the worst part was that there was this beautiful lake two feet away from us at times and we just had to run sweatily by all of the people swimming and splashing and floating and boating. Ahhh, it was torture. My body was soaked from sweat from the start but at least my wet shorts worked as a good wash cloth for my hands when they'd be sticky after eating Fig Newtons... err something like that anyway.

So I wanted to make sure that I capture the course in my blog well so I can make a wise decision next year on whether to run it again. The course was similiar to Gnawbone and Hell in that you run through some woods, go on a few streets, get off the course a little bit, do random climbs...but the main difference in Devil's Lake is that you don't go through any big water crossings (you passed through a couple of tiny creeks but your feet don't get wet...but maybe I shouldn't be complaining since the water ruined my feet at Mohican) or any crazy mud bogs. I was really disappointed because that's what makes the DWD races fun and mixes things up.

It seems like the overall elevation of this race wasn't terrible; it was just all condensed into two big climbs that you repeated twice: one climb up awful rock stairs that lasted forever and one climb up the large bluff that kept going and going. Those sections were not fun. Oh ya, at one point up the climb there was a right turn but I kept going up straight ahead. Thank goodness these two people overlooking the view yelled and told me I had missed my turn. Ahh! I would have been so annoyed to have gotten lost, especially on that ascent.

And although there were a lot of trails in the woods, I was suprised that a lot of those sections were paved. There were also a good bit of rocky sections that kind of hurt your feet and blisters. And then there were a handful of sections where you ran out in open fields without shade, but most of them only lasted .5 miles.

I haven't actually compared the elevation on all of the DWD courses but it seems like Gnawbone was the hardest course because you consisently did a million random hills, and then maybe Hell and Devil's Lake are tied. I probably prefer Hell over them all because of the fun mud bogs.

So another thing that made this race only medium-fun is that I ran the majority of it by myself, surprisingly. I don't know how it ended up that way but I would go to the aid stations and ask where everyone was since I couldn't see anyone in front or behind me for miles.

I was so tired and discouraged at the end from people catching up to me that I was tempted to quit. At around 45 miles, I finished a loop and I could see the finish line with people cheering and I heard the loud music and then someone told me that you have to repeat the same 4.8 mile loop again that you did in the beginning. Ahh! I had no idea how I was going to finish it; I thought it would take me over an hour.

The beginning of this loop entailed going up the Bunny Hill which seemed soo easy in the beginning but by this point I just walked the whole thing, cussing to myself, and I kept looking back to see who was getting closer to me. Thank goodness this guy I met from Ft. Wayne, Jason, caught up with me and didn't feel like running either. We walked the last loop together and the conversation made it go back so quickly. He probably got sick of me yapping off his ear since it was my first human contact in awhile.

So I finished the race and hung around for awhile, talking to Dorn and others. I bought a fat Subway sub, went back to Heather's parents' house, forced myself to shower, and then hit the hay. I have no idea if I'll run this race again next year....most likely I will because there's something about that terrible challenge that's appealing.

I took a few short videos during the run and stuck them all together in the YouTube video below. Dang, I didn't realize how out of breath I was.

Oh ya, why did I find a dead gnat in my ear on Sunday night, after I had showered and slept and all? Trifling.

Tuesday Workout!

2010-06-29T11:31:00.002-04:00

I'm embarrassed to say that I only made it 6 miles last week (but at least I'm tan now though, right?). I just hope I don't finish dead last in my upcoming race.

I biked and ran 6 miles this morning before work and it felt great! Now I'll have Zumba in a few minutes, and then I'm vowing to run at least 9 miles again today after work. Gotta do it!

Lazy Week!

2010-06-21T09:07:00.006-04:00

Dang; how did I run the same low amount two weeks ago with a gimpy leg as I did this past week with a fine leg? I was lazzzzy and each day I didn't feel like running, especially in the heat. I went out last Saturday wearing 5 tons of running gear (music, 2 water bottles, berries, PB crackers, salt, etc), hoping to run 12-18 miles to bump up the weekly mileage, but I ended up only running 2.5 miles....just didn't feel like it. Caca.

This week's mileage will probably be low again, too, since I'm going to the beach from this Friday-Sunday. Wooohooo!

DWD Devil's Lake 50 Miler

2010-06-15T16:24:00.004-04:00

Alright, I'm registered for the 7/10 race in WI! This DWD race will be a new one for me. They cancelled the race a couple of years ago; I think because they got a ton of rain and they had sewage problems or something and all the poop from the Port-o-lets starting leaking. Is that right?

Anyway, I'll go up on Thursday night to spend some time with Heather and then drive back that Sunday. I feel like I should be able to fork out some slow miles, as long as I make sure to warm up the leg beforehand. Four weeks away---Vamos a ver!

Saturday Exercise

2010-06-12T17:17:00.004-04:00

Biked an hour to Bripple this morning; ran 13.3 miles in 2 hours in the POURING rain (leg felt better the second half); biked back home and as I approached downtown, I ran right into the works of a Gay Pride parade with people in costumes and crowding the streets--- or something of the sort... it was a little awkward. It'd be nice to finish up a 50 mi week tomorrow.

PT & A hot mess run

2010-06-10T08:51:00.003-04:00

I had PT yesterday and I'm told to still hold off on ultimate frisbee for now; not 100% cleared yet. We agreed that the PT sessions are forcing me to cross train and stretch and they're still helping my recovery anyway, so I'm going to keep going for a little bit. Mo money down the hole.

After PT I headed to the canal for another run, not having any particular goal in mind (although I thought it'd be nice to do 18). I didn't eat much all day and I didn't have water or food on me so the run wasn't too pleasant.

I stopped at the IN State Museum every 10 minutes to take a water break and then had to sit down a few times to rest at the end. I had run 15 miles and was struggling to keep going because I was exhausted so I decided to drive real quick to the gas station and buy some food, then finish the last 3 miles. I picked up my favorite foods (pretzal combos, cinnamon poptart, and blue Gatorade), ate them in 2 seconds, and drove back to the canal. I was about to finish the mileage when I decided to go hang out at the frisbee field since I had already been gone a couple of hours.

Then when I got to the field I felt all nasty and sick and still hungry so afterwards I left and picked up an awesome, huge burrito from Qdobas. Then I got home, ate some, and still felt nasty and tired and fell asleep on the floor---then went to bed in my filth with salty legs and nappy hair. Trifling!

So anyway, I made it 15 miles and the good news is that my leg never hurt; I was just too tired. I don't know if it was worth all the pain and moaning though.

I woke up this morning and was still hungry so I finished last night's burrito then headed on the bike with the b-n-law and went downtown, ran 3 tiring miles with the burrito at the tip of my throat, then biked home. Now I need coffee.

Back up and running!

2010-06-09T08:45:00.002-04:00

I think I am just about all healed up (knock, knock!!)! Each run seems to get a little better. I finally ran a good 6 miles last Monday; the first 3 at an 8:37 pace and last 3 at an 8:00 pace. I ran 2 miles yesterday morning and then 4.25 this morning, sub 8:00 pace. It feels so great to get back out there and it's hard to be patient and take it slowly. Today might be my last physical therapy apt...we'll see what he says.

Morning Workout

2010-06-05T10:10:00.002-04:00

Biked for 1 1/2 hours at 5:30am; walked the dog for 20 minutes; then ran 10 miles at a pace just shy of 10 minutes. Slow and steady. The good thing was I wasn't in any pain; woohoo!!! I hope I'm not ramping up too soon. Maybe I'll be ready for 50 miles in July??????

5 Miles!

2010-06-04T10:36:00.002-04:00

They were a very slow 5 miles but I pumped them out yesterday on the treadmill. First four miles at a 10 minute pace, last mile at 9:15. I wanted to take it slow to ensure I made it and I did with no pain; just tiny pressure at the end. I had to warm up for about 15 minutes beforehand and I think that'll just have to be part of my routine when I run now. :(

1 Mile Run!

2010-05-27T08:36:00.002-04:00

Made it one mile on the treadmill yesterday at about an 8:50 pace. It wasn't totally pain free- felt a tinnny bit of pain and some pressure. Oh well...slowly but surely.

.6 Miles in the books

2010-05-21T15:57:00.002-04:00

It's hard to believe that it's almost been two months since I stopped running. I had to miss my fav DWD race and also the upcoming Kettle race. :(

I've been going to physical therapy 2x/wk for the past few weeks and I think it's helping. The therapist narrowed the injury down to the adductor magnus muscle. Sooo we've been working on some hip/thigh/glute strengthening and been doing a lot of balance exercises that I suck at. The hard thing will be to keep the exercises up after my leg is healed. Although I know they will prevent further injuries (knock), I don't know if I'll have enough motivation.

So for the first time I got on the treadmill and was able to run .5 miles at a slow 9:50 pace. It didn't hurt but I was aware of the muscle. I took a break and then did another .1 miles and then stopped so that I don't jack it up more.

Progress!!

Trifling

2010-05-15T15:09:00.001-04:00

How did I get pooped on twice yesterday while sitting in the same spot? Nasty.

Docta docta

2010-05-03T19:27:00.003-04:00

I went to the Dr today about my leg and after first ruling out an adductor strain, he concluded that that's what it was. He then sent me to a physical therapist and the same conclusion arose: I flunked all of the tests that would lead you to think it was an adductor pull...but since he didn't think it was anything else, he said he will just treat it as if that's what it is. Hmm.

At the end of the day, he just gave me a few stretches to do at home and then told me to come back next week. Well, I hope the next meeting is worth my while because I'm not going to keep paying $35/wk for some stretches that I know I can do on my own. Ay ay ay.

I'm also going to [sadly] hold off on my ultimate frisbee for the moment so that my leg can keep on healing; butttt, I will be doing some Zumba still tomorrow.

So after work today I went to the gym and did the elliptical for about 17 minutes, then some stretches, then some weights that work the inner and outer thigh. It's about time my lazy butt did some moving around.

Tennis, Zumba, Ultimate Frisbee

2010-04-25T21:01:00.002-04:00

Slowing but surely I think the leg is coming along. I played tennis last Monday and the little sprints hurt; Zumba was awesome and fun on Tuesday; and ultimate frisbee on Thursday was medium. I couldn't run in the beginning so I took a half hour off and then got back in. I wasn't 100% but I was able to run a little more and it felt good. I was going to try to run 2 miles tomorrow for the first time but I think I'll wait. I went ahead and cancelled the Gnawbone race in May. :( :( :(

Gimpy Gimp

2010-04-13T08:03:00.004-04:00

Why did my leg jack up for the first time that I actually got in a running groove since eight months ago? I actually had five consistent weeks of good miles and then BAM. Nothing. Whhhhaaaaa!

I have never been one to stretch before I run...not for races and not for anything. I'm just too lazy to do so and since I've never had any running injuries or pulls or anything, I thought I was good to go. So, that's why I'm a little shocked that I pulled something even though it may be normal for a lot of runners. I just liked being in my naive world, I guess.

So speaking of stretching, I've been doing little stretches for the past couple days and I think it's helped a little. I can finally balance on the injured leg without it hurting anymore so that's progress. I hopped on the treadmill yesterday just to see how it'd react and I managed to make it .1 miles at about a 15 minute pace. Sweet.

I'm getting a little nervous because my favorite race, DWD-Gnawbone, is coming up on May 15th and I don't want to miss it. I've also just recently been considering running Kettle again in June, and perhapppps Oil Creek.

Heal, leg, heal!

Injured :(

2010-04-05T22:20:00.002-04:00

I ran 18 miles last Saturday on a flat, plain course and at around mile 13 or so, the inside of my upper thigh started killing me for some weird reason. I kept running through the pain but it was difficult.

I tried to run 4.25 miles yesterday to complete a 50 mile week but I couldn't make it past 1 minute. :( I was immediately limping and in pain.

I had today off work and was planning to get a great run in to start off the week but my leg still hurts. What the heck happened to me? My family says it's just because I've been running more lately but I'm not running thattt much and other people run more than me and are fine. I've never been injured before so this is weird and definitely frustrating to take time off. I'm hoping that I'll be good to go by Wednesday.

Health Screening / This Week's Miles

2010-03-16T09:47:00.003-04:00

We had a health screening at work today and I learned my BMI is 20.2 and 19 of my 128 lbs are fat, 15.2%. Since that's normal for my age, I'm hopeful that some of these extra pounds are actually turning into muscle instead of flabby mush. It's all a mind game for me.

I opted out of this morning's run to get more sleep so I am vowing to run 12 miles this afternoon after work. It should be in the mid 50s and sunny out.

This is what I'd like to get in for the rest of the week, totaling 50 mi:

Wednesday = 4 mi a.m.
Thursday = 3 mi a.m./ 6 mi p.m.
Friday = 3.5 mi a.m.
Sat = 18.5 mi
Sun = REST

Upcoming Miles

2010-03-12T08:19:00.001-05:00

Okay...I'll run at least 6 miles this afternoon, 10 tomorrow, and 4 on Sunday. That will give me 47.5 for the week again.

Tuesday Miles

2010-03-09T18:34:00.002-05:00

Yesterday afternoon I pulled up to the canal ready to run, turned off the car, and then my husband called and said he was skipping class....SO, I turned the car back on, drove home, and skipped out on running. Who really cares?

This morning I ran 3.5 with the b-n-law, came home and ate bfast with the hubby, and then headed out to the canal to run some more. It was warm and sunny and I seriously had the best run of my life. I ran 12 miles and felt like I could have gone on forever. I should have been able to just run and then fly, like on Crouching Tiger.

Afterwards I went to work, came home, and then took a nap. Now while sleeping, I've peed before, moaned before, talked, yelled "MOM!", and have jumped a few feet before. Never have I actually spit before. Today I had a dream that I was in a race and had to spit, and then I woke up to a big thing of spit coming out on my shirt! Uhh yeah, it was disgusthing.

Today/Tomorrow Run

2010-03-08T13:49:00.003-05:00

I ran 2.5 miles this morning and will run, hmm....3-6 miles this afternoon, depending on how I feel. I'll run another 2.5-3 miles tomorrow morning with my b-n-law and then since I have the morning off work, I'll run another...is 10 miles fine?

6 Miles

2010-03-07T18:48:00.004-05:00

Well, I ate FOUR FAT donuts this morning for breakfast and felt nastily stuffed afterwards. No, they weren't the small white powdered donuts that you buy in the little bag at the grocery. I waited over 30 minutes in line at Long's Bakery for some cinnamon fried (fried?? yuck) donuts that are gigantic and then stuffed myself with them at home. Why do I wonder why I don't lose weight after running a lot?

So anyway, I really wasn't in the mood to do my 5 miles in the afternoon but I made myself. I went out to the canal and there were tons of people there since it was warm and sunny out. For some crazy reason, I felt really good and was able to run 6 miles at a 7:50-55 pace. Woohoo!

Goal Accomplished

2010-03-06T16:26:00.001-05:00

They were very slow miles but I managed 12 after work yesterday and 9 this morning. 5 more to go.

Upcoming Miles

2010-03-05T08:20:00.002-05:00

I ran 3 miles this morning and will hopefully do the P90x workout this afternoon. I was planning on running 21 miles tomorrow but I'm leaving early in the a.m. to go to IL. Soo, my plan is to run 10.5 (or so) tonight and do the remaining miles tomorrow before we leave. Hopefullllly that will work. I'd like to do 5 miles on Sunday. Wow, that would give me a weekly total of 46.5 miles which is something I haven't done in a non-race week for a long-arse time.

Saturday/Monday Miles

2010-03-01T21:15:00.002-05:00

I ran 18 miles on Saturday; 6 of them with Tim. I wasn't able to run yesterday. I ran 2.5 miles this morning before work and then ran 7 miles after work to make up for yesterday. I had a huge, unhealthy lunch today and could just feel it bouncing around in my stomach and creeping up my throat while I ran. Yuck!

Weekly Recap

2010-02-26T08:41:00.002-05:00

I've been running 2.5 miles every morning before work and it feels pretty good. The distances are short but I finally look forward to running again. I hope to run 18 miles tomorrow and 7 on Sunday. Sunday miles might be hard to get in because I'll be busy but I'll try.

15 miles

2010-02-20T19:18:00.001-05:00

Made myself run 15 miles around the canal again today in 2:05; felt pretty good and wasn't too cold out.

Weekend Run

2010-02-19T14:12:00.001-05:00

...will run 15 miles tomorrow and 3 on Sunday for a grand weekly total of a measly 27.8 miles.

12 Miles!

2010-02-12T16:00:00.002-05:00

Wow...stating that I'm going to run the next day actually works. I ran 12 miles today at the canal on a 3 mile loop in 1:46. My music battery died so it was just me and my thoughts...pretty relaxing. It was nice and sunny out, too.

I now have one complaint about the injinji socks. After being outside for only a couple minutes, my toes were painfully cold. I couldn't even feel them and was about to stop. They need to put some kind of warning label on their product so no one sues them. joke.

Anyway, I felt pretty good running but it sucked afterwards because I was so dang hungry. I had only eaten a little egg white before running and 4 hours had passed so it was lunch time but still; my stomach hurt so bad from hunger that it made me not wanna run. Why does that happen? I didn't eat during the run since it was only 12 miles but perhaps I should have. (Maybe I just need to shut up. There's people starving all over and this is the one time I feel hunger)

Speaking of eating, tomorrow night I'm getting Greek for dinner so now I have to be careful about how much I run so I don't go all crazy like the last
times...maybe just a few miles in the morning will do.

2 Mo Miles!

2010-02-11T12:32:00.002-05:00

Ran 2 miles this morning out in the cold. It's a bad thing when my coworkers who typically don't run are coming up to me and saying that they've been running 3 miles or 5 miles and they're training for marathons and what not. Dangit. I'm now jealous because my lazy butt doesn't even do those 3 miles. I'm off work tomorrow so I'm committing via my blog that I will run 10 miles!

February Miles!

2010-02-04T14:13:00.003-05:00

Alright y'all! I procrastinated running for a couple of weeks but my b-n-law finally convinced me to go running with him this morning around the hood for a total of 2.3 miles. Nice. It felt good to get out there. I ran in my new injinji socks and they felt fine.

For the past four weeks I've been doing some P90X workouts with people at work that last 1-1.5 hours. So, at least I'm getting some sort of exercise in, I suppose. They're pretty intense workouts that I enjoy but it makes it hard to fit in cardio work...

Run for Regis 50k Race Report

2010-01-20T07:02:00.014-05:00

Chris and I drove over to OH on Saturday and made it in time to see the awesome Colts game. Here is my corny celebration dance the morning of the race:

So as you know, I've averaged a total of about 20miles/month since last September. I thought that registering for the race back in October would have encouraged me to run but it didn't happen.

The OH trails were still covered in snow/ice/mud unlike the IN roads (I don't know about our trails since I haven't been out in awhile); similar to running in sand. I made the mistake of not wearing trail shoes, "screw-shoes", YakTrax, or even some nice socks (which, btw, I finally purchased some Injinji socks since my old $5 pair of socks are disintegrating).

I saw Dr. T at the beginning of the race. I had run with him at the first Buckeye race in 1/08 but he finished at least an hour before me this year. After mile 5 I finally got to meet Rob and we ran together for about 6 miles. Then I met up with Shannon, whom I had seen at a few races in the past, and I stayed 2 feet behind her for about 18 miles. After the marathon I was tempted to stop but she kept me going and I'm glad I did.

So anyway, the course itself wasn't too difficult. There were a handful of climbs that we walked up but for the most part, it was fine. I think I prefer the old Buckeye Trail because it's a little prettier and a little more challenging (from what I recall). (Regarding the "pretty" aspect, I actually couldn't tell too much how pretty this new course was because I was focused on my feet for literally the entire time, trying not to fall. Back hurts a little bit from trying to balance so much.)

I finished in 7 hrs 10 minutes; a very slow race! I now realize that I shouldn't keep this style of training up anymore. My knee hurt pretty bad afterwards and was swollen and made me empathize for those that have bad knee problems. Thankfully it's all better now but I don't want to ruin myself completely.

(Ignore my hair wings. I just ran 31-33miles (discrepancy exists))

Thanks to Dr. T for the pics! Go Colts!!!!!

Below's a beautiful video of my nasty feet. I had to post it because they're just so gross and uncurable.

I believe the next race for me will be Dances With Dirt- Gnawbone 50mi in May. This is too hard of a course to not be prepared for so I'll start training in 1-2 months. :)

Recap of Races

2009-12-24T08:15:00.004-05:00

In order to keep up with the tradition from 05/08 and 11/08, here's this year's "Recap of Races":

Land Between the Lakes 60k- 3/14/09- I always enjoy this race and will most likely do it again in March. I had intended on running the 50 miles but I wasn't having too much fun sliding around in the snow so I got lazy and quit at the 60k. After reading my race recap again, I realized I ate way too much post-race. Oh well.

Boston Marathon- 4/20/09- Very happy to have completed this race. It was a lot of fun seeing the city and spending time with my friends. I probably won't run it again...just a one-time thing. I lost the bet at work but I had a good time running a consistent race.

Dance With Dirt- Gnawbone 50m- 5/9/09- This race reminded me that the course is very hard and challenging. I had actually trained well beforehand and felt strong the majority of the time; achieving a PR and 1st female.

Geist Half Marathon- 5/16/09- One week after DWD and also the day of Chris and Jamie's wedding!! This was the first time I had run this race. The course consisted of rolling hills throughout rich people's neighborhoods. It was fun but I probably won't run it again. I had an official half-marathon PR.

Mohican 82.5/100m- 6/20/09- Ahhh, the race that burnt me out. My first 100 miler attempt and a DNF at 80 miles on the course; stopping at 24 hours. Crazy you can stay awake that long. I really enjoyed the first 50 miles but my feet blisters were too terrible to make it much longer after that. I'll just have to invest in some expensive socks that work better. Who knows if I'll try this race again; probably shoot for an easier course next time.

Dances With Dirt- Hell 50m- 9/12/09- I basically stopped all running after Mohican so I was very unprepared for this race...but finished the 50 miles because the course was so fun. I love this race and was happy Señor Bill helped me get through it; mud and all.

Well I hate being one of those people who waits until the new year to start getting back on track but that's the way I'm playing it this year. By looking at my monthly mileage from this past year, I was averaging around 140 miles/mth for the first half of the year. Not bad. It'd be great to have a goal to maintain 120/mth for all of 2010 but that would take a lot of discipline and motivation. Who knows. I have a race coming up on 1/17/10 and I need to get back in shape!

Merry Christmas/Happy New Year everyone!

Sprints

2009-11-12T07:04:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I made myself stay after work to run sprints on the treadmill. I ran a total of about 3.5 miles in .2-.5 increments. Baby steps.

November Miles!!!

2009-11-11T12:26:00.004-05:00

I have finally run a total of three times since my last race in September:
Thursday: 3 miles
Friday: 25 minutes of random running; some hills
Monday: 3 miles

Since my relapse I've lost 1/7 of my whoopty whoop followers. Sowwwwy. Slowly but surely I'll get back into the groove. Maybe I'll get 5 miles in today. I'll leave you with this nice photo in the meantime.

Winter Run for Regis 50k----Bye Bye Winter Buckeye

2009-10-06T09:02:00.005-04:00

*Ignore this post. I've learned from Nick's comment that the course won't be like the ole Winter Buckeye that I remember. :(

In order to maintain my "completed races" tab, I signed up for another race: Winter Buckeye 50k. It's on January 17 and fills up super quickly. I ran it in January '08 (race report here) and I believe it was my third ultra. It's a very fun course that consists of a five mile portion and then an eight mile portion that you repeat. However, if it didn't offer such a cute shirt I don't know if I'd drive 4+ hours to run it (and no, I don't like the color "Happi"). Anyway, I might start running in a month or something to prepare. Who knows.

DWD- Hell 50M Race Report

2009-09-14T08:31:00.006-04:00

Welp...with the help of Señor Bill, I finished the 50 mile race. Woohoo! This was the second race that I entered not knowing if I would finish; Mohican being number one. It was a weird feeling.

Since I was already wingin it with the whole race, I decided to wing it even more and not carry my CamelBak for the first time during an ultra. Instead I carried my Nathan Vest with a handheld bottled water and a smaller bottle in it. It worked out perfectly and was awesome not having an extra 7-8 pounds on me.

At the start line, I met Nick for the first time and then saw Dorn and Michele too. Bill and I ran last year's race together and decided to do it again. We literally started out at the very back of the pack and that pace even felt too fast. After mile 8 or so, I started having more fun with all of the nasty trail path and so the miles came more easily.

This year they let the ultras run through an awesome mud bog section early on instead of just the relay runners and it was a great change. It felt like you were sloshing through some nasty, thick swamp-gunk and you could feel a million little pieces of crap getting all over you.

Here's a random video from last year's race. It's hilarious. I know this guy had to have gotten hurt even though he said he didn't.

Around mile 22 my legs were feeling tired but the combination of salt, ibuprofen, and an interesting course improved it all. Around mile 31 I got an 8th wind and felt surprisingly good and we finished strong together in 11:57. I looked in the mirror afterwards and looked like someone from Lord of the Flies; dirt all over my nose, cheeks, hat, shirt, legs, bloddy heels from too low of socks...

I saw Greg on the trails (from DWD-Gnawbone) and he sped off to finish in 11hrs. I found out that he drove to MI by himself from C'ville, 30 minutes away from me. Dangit! Why didn't we carpool?

Speaking of driving...the ride home sucked. I was tired after the race but thought I could drive a little, stop to sleep for an hour if I needed to, and then head home that night. Nope.

Drove for 1 hr, stopped at a Bob Evans to sleep for 1 hr
20 minutes later, slept at McDonalds parking lot for 1 hr
1 hr later, went to cluster of hotels at midnight: lowest was $60, didn't want to pay that price for 4 hours of sleep; Slept in hotel parking lot for 2 hours
1 hr later, slept in another hotel parking lot for 3 hrs
Got home at 8:45am on Sunday...full of swampy, foul stankness and unable to walk. Trifling.

That drive home was a hot mess! Yes, I would have camped out another night or paid the hotel price upfront had I predicted I'd be so tired. Caca.

I don't think I would have made the whole run if it wasn't such a fun, diverse course. I'll have to break 11 hrs next year and try to gain on some of these girls who pass me.

DWD- Hell 50M Attempt/ Awesome Training

2009-09-10T13:19:00.005-04:00

Welp...I thought that signing up for a race would motivate me to start running but nope, it hasn't. DWD-Hell is this Saturday and I'm hoping to make 5 out of the 50 miles. I don't really care, actually, how I do...finish or not finish; just gonna wing it. I'm still lovin my sabbatical right now. Anyway, I'm looking forward to the awesome mud bogs and such like last year and mainly just laughing at Señor Bill again as he gets stuck.

I ran 6 miles last Saturday with Tim and it was pretty tough (that makes 22 miles since June. nice.). We didn't bring any water and it was kinda hot so I'll blame it on the rain, yeahhh yeeahh. huh?

I've been playing tennis about once a week and I swear that during the first 20 seconds of it, my heart beats faster than it ever has in my life. No joke. That's sad. ANDDD, I have realized even more so that I'm in no way a sprinter. I can't even run up and hit the net shots because that means I have to run faster. It's funny; I am just not used to it. How do pros run up and do it all the time? Am I some slow machine that can't move?

Why did I have to halfway follow the Weight Watchers diet in order to lose 7 pounds? I told you that running doesn't make me lose weight (or change dress sizes)...it doesn't do jack for me. And don't say that I'm just gaining muscle and muscle weighs more. I run (ran) a million miles and it takes stupid Weight Watchers to lose 7 pounds. Now watch me run this race this weekend, think I'm healthy again for running, eat a crapload of frostys and what not, and then gain back my 7 pounds. Aww.

Alright...wish me luck this weekend!

Lazy Summer Bum

2009-08-05T07:13:00.003-04:00

Do I ever want to start to run again? Not running is so great. I love coming home and not feeling pressured to run and then shower and then have no life left after work.

I'm in a dilemma though because one of my favorite races, DWD Hell, is coming up in six weeks or so and I've run about 15 miles total since my last race at Mohican. Dangit. I could opt for the 50k instead of the 50m but who wants to do that? Me divertí demasiado la última vez con Señor Bill.

So anyway, I was at camp last week and as a counselor who sometimes likes to run, I was asked to lead the group of kids for a 20 minute run each morning. So, I ran about 2.5 miles four days last week and that's about the extent of my running. Whoop whoop.

Am I the only lazy one around here? What is your motivation for running right now? Help me out now.

Pretty Feet

2009-07-09T10:32:00.003-04:00

I finally went to get a pedicure yesterday for the first time. Ahhhhh, why haven't I done that sooner? You go in and sit in a huge king-like chair that massages you, and then you put your feet in a warm bubbly thing of water...AND you get to read those good gossip magazines that you never buy for yourself. Nice.

I felt so bad for the poor guy who had to touch and stare at my nasty feet. I literally had about 10 places where my skin was torn off from old blisters. Gross. I gave him a good amount of disclaimers before he started.

When he first took off my nail polish, half of my big toe was black and he said it was nail fungus. I thought it was just a bruise from running but he said nope. Well that's even grosser then- I have some funky stuff growing in there.

So after my feet felt all soft and nice and free of the majority of the calluses, I went to Walmart and headed to the feet aisle. It totally felt like a Seinfeld episode or something...the only items in the aisle where I was for fungus treatment. There were these two guys behind me talking and they were probably wondering what kind of disease I have. Hmm.

Anyway, I may just get away without wearing my fake toenails this summer. We'll see.

Burnt Out!

2009-07-06T08:16:00.002-04:00

Ahhhhhh!!!! I've been such a bad blogger lately. Thank you all very much for your comments; I'm sorry I haven't responded to them! I have not run once since the race and I've been lovin it. I've been anti-running-everything...so no blog, no running-related emails, nothing. I think I'm just burnt out from all of the race training and such (I know, I didn't ever really train...but there was still the exhausting guilt from it).

So who knows...maybe after another 2 week break, I'll be up and running again. No DWD Devil's Lake 50miler for me. I hope to be up and going for the Fall races.

I played tennis a couple of times last week and I swear that my heartbeat was faster in the first 15 minutes than it ever was after running 20+ miles. It was good to do little sprints and switch it up a little bit.

We'll keep in touch...just taking a little break for now.

More Mohican Pics

2009-06-25T15:27:00.024-04:00

Pics courtesy of Chris
For other pics/video, click here
For race report, click here

Pre-race/Start:

Thank goodness I didn't climb you, ole Fire Tower!

Mile 37:

Mile 68, wanting to quit:

Post-race Sleep:

Brave ole man:

No clean socks after pedicure so plastic bags on feet:

Mohican Pics/Videos

2009-06-23T08:04:00.015-04:00

Here are a few short videos. Let me know if you know how to make that 2nd video vertical.
For the race report, click here.

Swollen feet, post-manicure:

Mohican 82.5/100 Mile Race Report

2009-06-22T11:26:00.006-04:00

Nope, didn't finish. Ran apx 82.5/100 miles. Stopped at the 80 mile mark but had earlier gotten lost for 40 minutes so I'm callin it 82.5 miles, darnit! If you don't want to read this whole long report, just print it off and divide it up into 10 sections so it looks shorter.

*Click here for pics/videos.

Chris and Jamie and I left to OH Friday afternoon and arrived at the hotel that night; I went straight to bed; then woke up at 2:30am on Saturday. When we went to pick up my packet around 4:30am, it was raining super hard. At the 5am start, the rain stopped and it was super humid.

Since I didn't have many pockets to carry things, I wore my CamelBak and then my Nathan vest underneath it (which surprisingly didn't bother me). I had brought 5 drop bags for all of the locations that included: bagels, Ensure protein drinks, fruit snacks, electrolyte jelly bean things, beef jerky, tropical trail mix, and nasty electrolytle fruit snacks. Yeah, I overpacked and definitely didn't eat all of that stuff.

The course consisted of 10 miles on gravel roads and then a bunch of different, random loops. These random loops repeated themselves and then it's 10 miles back to the finish (I think, anyway). The trail wasn't very technical or hilly and my first impression was that it was pretty easy; much easier than Gnawbone. The hills were mainly just long, gradual ones that we all walked up. It was so hard for me to know how to pace myself since I would be running for a million hours. I started out at a slow-moderate pace in the beginning and since I felt good, I just kept going.

Around mile 21 we started the Purple loop. There was a really pretty section by the waterfall and some fun hand-over-hand climbing section that was about 5 feet long. This loop was only supposed to be 4-5 miles long. However, despite Mohican's website that states that they are known for having a well marked course, this was the loop that every person got lost on, including myself. There were at least 20 people that I know of that got lost. We finally got back on track 40 minutes later. This wasn't the only time that there weren't markings on the course...luckily we just happened to be running with someone who knew the area during those times.

Prior to the start of the race, I had predicted a 27-28 hour finishing time. Jamie and Chris met me at the 37 mile aid station. I lubed up my feet (no blisters yet), put on clean socks, and ate a lot of food. Since I had been maintaining a good pace and I was feeling strong, we talked about finishing at a sub-24 pace. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. How dumb of me to think such a thing so early on. Ohhh how things can change.

So overall up to mile 45 or something, I was having fun talking to people (thanks Doug, Stan, Mike, and Randy!!!). I finished 50 miles at around 13 hours. (I still have no idea how it took me so long...the course wasn't that hard and I was running at a good pace, so I thought. Maybe spent too much time at aid stations and the fact that I got lost?? Oh well, doesn't matter.)

But after those 45 miles, my feet just started killing me from blisters. I could feel a million of them all over which was also annoying because I usually never have blister problems. After Gnawbone's 50 miles a month ago, I had maybe 2 blisters and I never noticed them. Why did I already have a ton of them so early on? We had about 6 or so water crossings that affected it, but #1, there were water crossings at Gnawbone and #2, why weren't all of my fellow runners feeling the awful blister pain then, too? I've heard some people say they love those Injinji socks and that they never get blisters and then I've heard others say they hate them. I've never tried them but who knows what will work for me!

I made it to mile 60 at the Fire Tower where I met up with Chris who was going to pace me. Why the heck was I thinking/fearing for the last 5 months that I'd have to climb that awful Fire Tower during the race? For some reason I got it in my head that that's what we'd have to do before we kept running and I was dreading that narrow, 100+ foot climb. I was showing pictures of it to people at work and talking about how crazy that was. Whew, we didn't have to at all.

I don't want to sound all whiney and annoying but my feet were still killing me at this point. Literally- every single step I took sucked. Every stupid root, every rock, every little maneuver around something hurt me. I felt new blisters forming and then immediately popping and then skin ripping off and all that jazz. I would be limping to avoid pain on one foot and then the limping just caused another blister on the other foot. Going uphill put pressure on one part of my blisters and then going downhill put pressure on the other. I was cussing every 2 seconds. What a beautiful experience, huh?

So at this aid station at mile 60, Chris somehow had the guts to pop some of my blisters and put mole skin on them, then I changed socks and put on different shoes and we kept going. I had to just endure the stupid pain of the popped blisters and try to get used to them. I was afraid I was going to OD on Advil since I took a couple each hour.

It was now dark outside and I had my headlamp on. It was the first time I had run with one and it was pretty annoying to not being able to see all of your surroundings. We kept tripping on a million roots; partly because we couldn't see them and partly because we couldn't lift our legs up off the ground. It would have been really boring (Randy and I ran out of conversation a long time ago) and scary if Chris hadn't been there in the dark.

At mile 68 I sat down (I thought, screw the "beware of the chair" shit). I was in a bad mood because of the pain. Dangit, now I feel bad for the aid station workes; they probably hated me. Here they are at 11pm trying to help me out and I'm just complaining the whole time. I really considered quitting at this point. I was running and walking really slowly and we were getting closer and closer to the cut-off point.

After this station, I made a mental decision to SUCK IT UP and stop verbalizing my complaints. I knew Chris and Randy didn't want to hear it and it wasn't helping anything. I needed to get through it. I turned on my music for surprisingly the first time and I somehow made it to the next station- mile 75.

Jamie was there and was so kind to have bought pizza for me- that's all I had wanted. Unfortunately because I had been running for 50 freakin hours, my stomach couldn't handle it and I barely ate anything. Again, I talked about quitting right there. I was tired and in pain and going slow and it all sucked. Jamie suggested making it to the next aid station (mile 80) and then deciding what to do. So I continued.

I really thought I'd be able to keep going, just 5 miles to the next place. After about 1 mile, I had slowed down so much because of the blister pain that I just told Chris I was going to DNF. Randy had already passed us since he wanted to make the cut-off in time. I walked the rest of the miles and it took us about 2 hours to come in. It felt like forevvvvver. I wanted someone to just come and pick us up in a helicopter.

We made it to the station before the cut-off time but I told them I was done. We had been going for 24 hours. I laid down on the ground and fell asleep for a little bit before they took us to the finish line. Which reminds me- the lack of sleep SOMEHOW didn't affect me that much at all. I never hallucinated, I always knew what I was talking about, I never started to fall asleep on the trail. Of course I was really tired the whole time but I didn't notice a huge change or anything as we entered the night.

Despite my negativity in this post, I'm not super disappointed that I didn't finish. I think if I had DNF'ed because I was just tired or didn't want to continue, I'd be mad. In my case, I feel like I was physically unable to move, even though I really wanted to. It was frustrating because my legs and head and stomach felt totally fine, it was just those stupid blisters.

Having said all that, I don't know if a 100 mile race is that fun. Haha. Maybe if I do more of them then I'll get used to it...but it kind of sucked. Maybe I'll stick to 50 milers. Afterall, that's the part of this race that I actually enjoyed. And yes, 50 milers and 100 milers are different ballgames.

I slept for about 5 hours on the way home yesterday and then napped for about 1 1/2 hours later. Since yesterday was Father's Day, I spent time with the family in a wheelchair and fluffy slippers.

My feet are still swollen and so I tried icing my feet in water this morning. Nope, not gonna happen. I lasted about 10 seconds with each foot and decided it was way too cold to continue. I might soak them in warm water with epsom salt later on.

I still feel tired, kind of sick, and calorie-depleted now. A few days after Nick's 100 mile race, he said he was still losing weight. So I thought, "hmm...wonder what I weigh now". Why in the heck do I weigh 2 pounds more than beforehand? That's retarded! Only I would actually GAIN weight after having run 82 miles. That's bullcrap.

ANYWAY, to conclude everything...I'm sure I'll attempt another 100 miler just because of my dumb, competitive nature. I have to say I did one. Maybe I should just choose a flat, paved race to make it easy. Right now I'm saying I'll take a little bit of time off from running. We'll see what I say next week when I'm all healed up and have forgotten all of this junk.

Thanks again to Chris and Jamie who chose to give up a weekend to help a poor, complaining, slow-walking girl this weekend (!!!!), thanks to the runners who kept me going for all of those miles, and thanks to Mohican staff/volunteers for your hard work!!!!!!!

Mohican Countdown

2009-06-15T08:53:00.002-04:00

Woooohoooo! I did a whoppin 8 miles last week. I tell ya what, I should never taper. Whenever I think of tapering I think, "Sweet, I no longer have to run at all". Anyway, I'm feeling good still and gettin pumped for this weekend. I can't believe the race is in 5 days!

I, of course, haven't even looked at the course, the amount of drop bags allowed, amount of aid stations, what I'm gonna wear, checklists, nothing. I still don't know how I'm gonna carry all of my food on me. I'm planning on bringing 6 Vanilla Ensure protein drinks, tropical trail mix, fruit snacks, and some blue jelly bean things.

I'm trying really hard to get at least 8 hours of sleep each night. Why did I go to bed at 8:45pm last night and I still have bags under my eyes? What's up with that?