5 Days And Counting...

I have been waiting for this weekend for awhile. Don't believe me?

My official countdown started 80 days ago...

It actually started way before that, but that is when I started to put it on paper to really focus to keep myself motivated. I am a visual person, so it helped. (Another trick I did is here.) Seeing the mileage go up gave me confidence and a sense of accomplishment. If I were to doubt myself, I just look at my training. 

People have been asking how I am feeling?
My mom was astonished when I talked to her on Sunday that I wasn't frazzled - both for the race and the planning, packing, etc. and I thought about this and figured out why...

Did the research.
There are a number of resources you can tap into to prepare yourself for any race: internet, blogs, friends, books, etc. Not only can you research the actual race, but on all the components that might affect you as well on race day: long distance nutrition, running in heat, running up hill, etc. Thankfully, Comrades has a great website and numerous fanatics, so information was not at a minimum. I have read articles, reached out to Comrades veterans, grilled friends on their ultra experiences, etc. to help gain some insight on how to make this a successful day for me. 

Did the training.
No matter what you are training for, there comes a time when no matter what you do from there to raceday, it's not going to matter. At this point, you need to sit back and trust your training.

Mentally ready.
To me, I have been thinking about this for the past 6-9 months, so I pretty much have it in my head what I want to do. I have thought about all the "what if"s and thought about how I would answer them.
I think that is an important thing for each athlete, to have in your head what you want to do and how you are going to do it. It's the unknowns that make me nervous and, in this case, I have eliminated a number of the unknowns and feel prepared to handle those that come my way.

Ready to take what the day gives me.
All the factors above make it really easy for me to roll with what the day gives me. I feel like I have done everything in my power to prepare myself and now it is just a matter of putting my body to the test and seeing what happens.

So here I sit. Ready to Roll.

Running Collegiate Peaks

What better way to top out a weekend in Buena Vista without a little jaunt up into the mountains?

I missed the Collegiate Peaks Trail Run by a weekend, so I thought I would just run the course. After all, I had all the information on how to do it. The race itself is one or two 25-mile loops depending on which distance you register for. And, for those of you not familiar with it, it is a doozy of a climbing race.

Elevation map ~ 8,000 - 9,400 ft.

 Sunday morning I woke up and just prayed the weather - and my body - would hold up on me for my last long training run before Comrades. Ideally, I wanted to do a 25 mile loop and then an out-and-back somewhere between 10-15 miles more.

I started out with cloudy skies and cold weather and just plugged along. With the weather, the beautiful scenery was muted and, honestly, I was more worried about what the day would bring me. I ran a mile into town and then started the course. As I ran back out of the town, I settled into a nice pace. I got to where the road turns to dirt road and it wasn't so bad. Whew! Looks like the rest would be runnable.

Got to mile 3.5 and realized I was supposed to hit a trail. Couldn't find a trail, so I ventured up the fire road more. Then onto another road and hit the trail I wanted to be on. While trail is ALWAYS fun, there were a lot of steep ups and downs (more so than the fire road). What it made me extremely aware of were my quads and how much they hurt on the way down.

 I looked up and... was that snow up there?

 

 Surely I wasn't going to go up that high.

I continued on and hit about mile 7.5 and found the water Ross and I had left. Then it was my first real downhill. Yay!

But as you can see by the elevation map above. All good downhills are only followed by uphills. And there was definitely plenty of that on this course. So, up, up, up I went.

I guess I was going that high. Snow. Seriously? It was 70 the day before down below.

As I continued climbing I really worried about my quads and the second half of the loop. Not so much the uphills, but I knew there was a long, STEEP downhill towards the end of the loop and I was worried about my quads. They were already screaming at me. So instead of looping around, I opted for an out and back and turned myself around at little over 13 miles.

Turn around point

As I headed back I realized a little HOW MUCH I had gone up. I now had gravity on my side and watched my average pace tick down. Never as much as you want, but down none-the-less. I was VERY happy to see my water station again. Refilled and on my way. About this point, I realized how much my legs hurt. A lot. It was odd because generally it is something else that hurts, but today it was my legs. 

On the way down. I look like I feel. Tired.

 As I bottomed out and headed back to town, I really assessed my leg situation and weighed my options. My nutrition was good, so I had the energy, but was it worth it? Once I hit the 25-mile mark where Ross was to meet me, I called Charley to chat and we decided to cut it short. Probably the best decision EVA. Two weeks away from my race I really did not want to do anything stupid or push myself too hard. I had had a good climbing run at 8,000 - 9,250 ft and worked on my nutrition (one of my major goals). It was time to call her quits and finish her up in the morning. I was happy and so was my family.

From there, it was some chili, Mix1 and onto the hot springs for recovery.

As for the run the next day - the "last" 15 miles - KILLED IT. And I feel great about it! 

Ordinarily, I think I would have felt like a failure for not completing my 35-40 mile goal that I set out to do, but I don't. 40 miles on that course so close to my race was an ambitious goal. I am proud of what I did do and that I had the wherewithal to do the right thing in this situation. As I was told by a Comrades veteran the next day, "You probably saved your Comrades by stopping when you did."

Here I sit 12 days out from Comrades. Tapering and ready for whatever the day brings me. That run may have taught me more about myself than my legs, nutrition, etc. It taught me to (smartly) go for a lofty goal and if, by chance, it doesn't happen then to be very proud of what you do achieve. I have put in the training and the day will be bring me what the day brings me. No regrets.

Ross' Xtreme Adventure!!! (race)

After Ironman, Ross really didn't feel like racing for awhile. He had had his share of swim/bike/running to last him a lifetime. Or so he thought.

This past winter Ken decided to ask him to do an adventure race and... game on!

Adventure Racing involves a number of disciplines that all vary depending on the race, but what they all DO include is finding (a) your own course and (b) multiple checkpoints over the course, which make it in the "not for me" category. I like WELL-MARKED courses and I HATE being lost.  But, I DO love supporting my husband in his endeavors and new places, so staying home was not really an option.

So, it was off to Buena Vista for us this weekend. For those of you who have never been here, it is GORGEOUS! It is about 8,000 feet in altitude with fifteen 14'ers in view. It's beautiful just about any way you turn.

Friday evening, Ross and Ken went to the pre-race meeting and got all their info. Fortunately, Lori came along as crew (as I would have no clue what I was doing) and Friday night night was devoted to a good dinner and the guys getting their logistics together.

Saturday morning was off and to "downtown" Buena Vista.  I let Lori and the guys go ahead to get all situated. Believe it or not, traveling with our kiddos can be a little distracting.

I know this picture is blurry, but I like it b/c it kinda captured Ross' pre-race jitters before we arrived.
He didn't know I was there. 

I think having the boys there actually helped.

Last minute plotting of where they think they need to run for their race.

Before the big dance

And off they go

They started off running and had to navigate up trails and such, visiting checkpoints along the way-- if they miss a checkpoint, they have to go back and find them before they are allowed to go to the next leg. The only thing anyone knows is where the transition to the next leg is. So that is where I took the boys.

Ross and Ken heading in to the transition after running for 1:07 up trails and through the mountains.

Ross' run report: Very challenging, but scenic and beautiful.

The guys were both in good spirits after the run and thankful to be done. They quickly changed into rain gear. I can only imagine how cold that water was. Yikes. Now it was off to the kayak.

All decked out

Down to the water

 Here is where my camera battery died. Ultimate bummer. I really wanted to get some picts of them getting into the water. The river was high and the rapids looked not-so-nice. Regardless, I was excited for them and their trip. Ross had never kayaked before, so this was gonna be interesting.

After putting in, we rushed to the next transition. With the water running so high, we figured they would be done pretty fast... and they were. About 40 minutes later I spotted Ross' neon yellow jacket paddling up to the shore. Again, both in high spirits. I guess a number of racers had rolled, so they were happy they managed to keep upright through the whole ordeal. Success!

This transition, Lori and I had a bit of trouble putting Ross' wheel on, so we thought he knew the "secret", but he did not. Oh no! Lori and I put on our biggest puppy dog eyes and asked another team's support crew if they could help us out with Ross' bike (they totally looked like they knew what they were doing). And they did. Thankfully they were able to do a short-term fix for Ross' bike- a feat I will forever be grateful for. Lori offered them money but they would not take it by any means. I love nice people. So, after a 35 minute transition, Ross and Ken were on their way to their last leg.
 
For me, I took the kids to a park, had a picnic and charged my camera battery. Then it was off to the finish line to cheer them in.

Ross' Bike Report: A little technical, a lot of climbing, exciting/the downhill was very fun. Glad they didn't miss the last checkpoint and have to go back UP (like some other teams).

Riding through the finish line together!

Boys VERY proud of their father

Glad to be done. Smiling, just like they were all day!

Time for some recovery drink

Mixes just right with post-race food

Cheyenne Mountain 50K

I have been really excited about this race from the get-go not only because it fits in perfectly with my training for Comrades, but because my friends, Andrea and Steve, were putting it on. Over the months I have got to witness them in their planning stages, research, give them feedback, help with a little design, etc. and so I was excited to be a part of the event and see it all come together for them.

Logo design. Not my strong suit, but I was happy with this one. :)

Even though Colorado Springs is only an hour away, we decided to make it a mini-vacay and have the whole family go. So Friday morning I woke up to Hunter in my face telling me HOW EXCITED he was to go to Colorado Springs. Friday afternoon it was off to CO Springs to pick up my packet, dinner at Rasta Pasta-- YUM, and then checking into/swimming the hotel.

The kids LOVE traveling with their suitcases. Even for a night.

Saturday morning we were up and off to the race at no other than-- Cheyenne Mountain! 

 

I figured this race would be a great race for my Comrades training due to the length (50K) and the climbing-- any race with "mountain" in the name is certain for some and this one did not disappoint.

The weather was a little on the chilly side, so we hung in the car till almost race time. Then it was time to go!

A little national anthem with the color guard. Very moving and patriotic.

Quick hug from Andrea-- friend and race director.

Ready to run-- so excited!

Off I go!

 We all took off and settled into a nice pace.  We were immediately winding up and while I told myself I would take it easy the first lap around, I was exerting a little more than I think was probably smart... but that is what I think racing will do to you sometimes.

The trail meandered up and up. The trail itself was nice. Not too technical but enough variety to keep you always aware. And... I can't help but say that I just love running out in nature. It's harder. It's slower. But it has its own rewards.

About 2.5 miles in we hit an aid station, fully stocked, but kept on running. The trail winds up some more, then down, then more up. It was constantly changing and that was nice. After winding up, you circle around and come back down, hitting the same aid station about mile 6.5.

While I was out and about on the trail, there were some other (equally as important) races starting down below. (1) the 25k, then (2) THE KIDS RACE.

Off they go!

Run, Hunter, Run!

Linc trying to catch his older bro!

Medals and certificates! Thanks for the fun times for my little men!

After making your way back down from the first section of the trail, you pass by the start/finish area around mile 8 (along with another aid station). I was happy to see Ross and the boys hanging out and playing.

I think my favorite picture from the day

 Then it is off to the second part of the first loop, another route up and around. As you headed out that way, the wind was brutal, but once you started climbing again, you were somewhat sheltered and the wind became less of an issue. Then, it started snowing. I tried to get a picture of this, but you can't see the flurries.

Windy, exposed part. Brutal, but beautiful.

 The second part of the loop you wind up, up (with a little rolling) till you reach the top of Tallyn's and then circle back around and down again. 

Winding my way up to Tallyn's.

More climbing-- yay

So after reaching the top of the second climb, it is mostly down to which my body, or rather my heart rate, said "thank you". Down, down, down. Mile 16.68 I passed by the start/finish again and off on the second loop.

The second loop was a pretty lonely loop in that I was nowhere near anyone. By this time, everyone had  spread out and evidently I wasn't doing anyone's pace. The good news is that I was doing better than most people thus far in that I was passing people without anyone passing me. My legs were doing ok, but I could tell by my pace that my nutrition was off. Real off. So I started playing with things till I found my Perpeteum solids and they seemed to be doing the job.

Before I knew it, I was on the top of the second climb and heading back to the finish. With only about 5 miles to go, I felt good... and fast. I think it is the only time all day that I saw some sub-8 paces on my Garmin... At the last aid station, about 2 miles from the finish, Beth was there with a walkie-talkie and I asked her to make sure Ross knew I was coming, so she did.

When I reached the end, the boys were there, waiting to run into the finish with me. 

I was happy to be done. The course measured a little long (33 miles vs. 31), but the longer run actually worked in even better for my training. And besides, it's not an ultra if it's measured accurately, right? It was a long day and I learned a lot-- basically about my nutrition, heart rate and climbing pace-- all of which I plan to focus on improving in the next 34 days.

The race itself was a HUGE success!!! It had an awesome trail and course, well-stocked aid stations, friendly volunteers, fun swag (did I mention the gloves and t-shirt I got!), plenty of activity for the spectators, just overall good day! I am so proud of my friends, Andrea and Steve, for putting it on and I look forward to many other great events by them.

You can check out their website here

Running America

I am not sure what has come over me. Ok, maybe it is fear. Nerves. Anxiety. A combination of all three? But I have turned to trying to soak in as much as I can about running, ultra-running, Comrades, everything. So when I was at Runners Roost the other day, I picked up an invite to a book launching/documentary screening on, you guessed it, ultra-running. The book is written by Marshall Ulrich and the documentary follows his and Charlie Engles journeys as they attempt to run from San Francisco to New York City-- very appropriately titled...

While what I was expecting in watching the documentary was another feel good story about running, how it is good for you and "look at what I can do"...this was not that movie. And I am glad it was not.

Set in Sept-November of 2008 (think Wall Street bailout, presidential debates, etc), the men were running across the country at a time when change (or the lack of) was affecting everyone. When movement forward was on the forefront of everyone's minds. While the runners themselves did not touch on these subjects, the film did in both dialogue and editing style.

Over the two hours that the saga played out, we watched beautifully composed running shot after beautifully composed running shot, juxtaposed against the hardships the runners faced along their route. Now here's the twist, the director threw in some very real and gritty commentary from fellow Americans. The interviews were not only skillfully art directed, but the subjects were carefully picked and the content of the conversation touched on elements that made you question things like what direction you want your life to take, what it you believe being an American means, is change always good and so much more.

At first I found a very large disconnect in the two storylines playing out, however the more I thought about it, the more I appreciated it. Too many running films talk about just that; running. That is it. Sometimes they will be focused on getting people more active, fighting childhood obesity, etc. but not often about some deeper seeded meanings.The movie itself asked you to ask more of yourself.  

I found the way the film was shot even lent itself to this theme in its cinematography. When you watch the film, you will see that the runner and/or interviewee is rarely the center of the screen. Rather, the subject will be slightly to severely off-center letting the surroundings take up the majority of the space. We are not in control of our environment, rather a product of it. How we move through it can and will make all the difference in the experience we take out of life. 

As Charlie and Marshall make their way across the U.S. you see them face their inner demons and battle through what they are going through. At the same time, you gain the perspective of a group of Americans (very different from Charlie and Marshall) and how they are choosing to navigate through life in tough economic and political times.

So as not to spoil anything, I won't give away the ending, but I will say that it tied the two storylines together. It completed the story, but at the same time, left me and Ross with plenty to talk and think about. I guess that is what I like in a movie.

For me, I think this documentary was a winner. I found it to be artfully directed with more than one meaning to the story. I like when you take something like a story about running and make it bigger than "a story about running". I think I like this because that is often what running is to people... to me. Yes, running is a form of exercise. But often enough it is so much more. A stress reliever. A release. A way to test your limits. A way to fight your inner demons. A means to achieve a goal. It can be a lot of things to a lot of people.

Ross and I with Marshall after he signed our books

Like the movie, I am hoping his book has a bigger meaning, too.

The Platte (Double) Half Marathon

It all started when Charley asked me if I would be up for running the Platte Half Marathon, then turning around and running back to the start line. HECK NO! I, mean, run away from food, friends and fun???  So I replied that if he thought I would benefit from running 26.2 that day, I would run from the finish to the start and then start with everyone to run back to the finish-- and the plan was on!

So yesterday morning it was up early (like almost always) and then down to the finish line. Thankfully, there are a number of factors that make the Platte pretty easy to run backwards:

• It is a point-to-point
• It is pretty much a straight shot along a river trail-- easy to navigate.
• The course is open to the public-- many people hate this, but it worked for me yesterday.
• The course goes "up" in elevation from the finish to the start, so the "harder" leg was first for me.

I started off running and around mile 3, Elizabeth met me. She had to get in a 20-miler, so she opted to run part of it with me. We continued on running, chatting, etc. E had warned me that she wasn't much of a talker, but that wasn't really the case. Chatted the whole way.

Before long, Charley was there, checking in on us. He did this twice just on the way up and three times on the way back-- thanks, Charley! We started passing aid stations that actually had volunteers setting up. We didn't see any other runners out on the course, so I am pretty sure we were the only ones doing the FULL marathon. ;) As we got to Littleton, Elizabeth navigated us through the town towards the start line. One volunteer shouted out that the race went the other way and she shouted back, "we're running it backwards!", like duh!

But we timed it perfectly. As we rolled into the start line the announcer announced that the race would start in 6 minutes. Elizabeth ran and filled our water bottles and I did a quick wardrobe change, dropped my drop bag (with everything I had been previously carrying) and then we were in the corral.

Not too bad for an relaxing 13.2 up to the start...

Ready to run the second half. Bye-bye camera!

So, the second half started and we were off. Getting running again, I felt like molasses. A lot of that is due in part that we had jumped in the corral ahead of our pace time, so everyone was flying out of there at 6 and 7-minute miles. The other part of that is probably due to the fact that my legs were tired.

On the way back, we (Elizabeth and I) didn't talk much. Early on, we set a pace of about 8:45/mile and I was much more concentrated on keeping that going. The aid stations were every two miles and all was well for awhile. Elizabeth had said she would keep with me for at least five miles, but she stuck with me till she got back to her car (10 miles). She told me to keep picking people off and I realized that, as slow as we had been going, I think that we were actually gaining some speed (not much), but some. The last three were on my own, and by that time, I just wanted to get through it. Around the last aid station, I saw both Charley and Sonja and it gave me a boost. Mile 12 is the only hill on the course and I was happy that I was gaining speed going up. At the top of the viaduct/hill you look to the left and there is a cool view of downtown Denver. I enjoyed it, then picked it up to get to the end.

Finished and happy, I ran into some friends from the RMTC and even more from the Roost. We all chatted about our race and I got to meet a Chris Sullivan, who had run Comrades last year. He had plenty of excellent info on the race and then I realized I had read an article by this guy! (Comrades article-- go to page 12-13)  I retrieved my drop bag and got my cell. Charley had texted "Protein. NOW!!! I looked back at the food line which, in the 1/2 hour I'd been chatting, had grown to be 3 blocks long. Serves me right for talking. I was STARVING, so I grabbed a beer, some MIX 1 (protein, right?) and headed home-- with a stop at Qdoba on the way! I figured I deserved it, right?

RMTC Moab Spring Training: Last Day

Today was our last day in Moab and my longest run. 3.5-4 hours and/or 20-22 miles. Either way, I was a tidge bit nervous as I had put my body and, more particular, my legs through a lot so far that weekend. On top of that, this was gonna be a climbing run and I had no one to run with-- everyone else had a shorter run. I knew I had to start early in order to get done in time to recover and get checked out of the hotel, so it was a 6 a.m. start time for me. 8:30 for the rest of the crew running.

I got up and got dressed and off I went. About 8 minutes in I heard my phone say I had a text. Who would be texting at 6:08 a.m.? So I stopped, got my phone from my pack to see it was Charley. "Anyone running this morning?" it said. I texted back I was already on the trail. I got off the trail and made my way up to the road. Sitting there at the road was Charley in his truck. Unbeknownst to me, Charley had been waiting in the hotel lobby for me. He checked in with me and, even though I had a headlamp on, he drove along slightly in front of me for awhile till the sun came up.

The moon as I headed up the canyon

The road snaked up and I ran along through the darkness, just trying to keep it steady. Around 5 miles, the road turned to gravel, the sun came up and Charley took on up the road to drop off some water.

Making my way up the canyon

 I continued running up the canyon. Shortly after, Charley came running back down and paced me up the rest of the climb, showed me where the water was and took off for the day.  Got to the top and then the rest of the run was down into and through the canyon. Once I dropped down inside, it was just as gorgeous as the sun came up. I ran along for about 4 miles, then turned around at the 11 mile mark.

Sun rising in the canyon

11-mile mark. Time to turn-around and head home... well, back to the hotel.

At the top of the canyon again, mile 15.5.

 From the top of the canyon, it was down, down, down-- with a little up. I guess I didn't realize that in the darkness on the way out. Oh well. I felt good. I was happy my legs were holding up after such a long weekend. As I got further down, I saw some of my fellow rmtc'ers heading out. That juiced me up and was fun to see-- even got some high fives. :) And I just kept heading back. It is funny. I find the longer the runs get, sometimes the *easier* (although never truly easy) the ends get. When you are doing 22, it is easier to think "only 3 to go", versus when you are doing, say, a 6-miler.

Getting back, I realized this run was a real confidence builder for me. I did it. With climbing. By myself. In the dark (with Charley's help). On tired legs. And I still held a decent pace considering.

Once back, it was all about recovery. A coupla Mix 1's and a great BIG breakfast at the Jailhouse Cafe. Perfect way to end a weekend of hard training.

It was an AWESOME weekend with the RMTC and I can't thank the officers enough for putting it on, everyone I rode with (Jen, in particular, for sticking with me), my roomie for tolerating me, HR for traveling with us and Charley for all of his help and guidance! What a weekend... followed by a high-mileage week. Gotta love the it.