MacDonald Forest 50K

Last weekend was my 9th running of the Mac.  One of my favorite 50K events!  The only time I have missed the race is when I was running Miwok 100K.  This year I felt really good about my training and wanted to push the pace and see how fit I am as I head into the taper for SD100M.  Unfortunately Bill brought home some horrible crud.  Though I gave it my best attempt, even trying some Jedi mind tricks to ward off the bug it got me good.  I had antibiotics for the horrible sinus infection that took over my face but instead of admitting to myself I was sick I chose to ignore it. Secretly hoping I could out run it or better yet run it out of me. My immune system had none of it. On a NyQuil induced sleep the night before and a 4:45 wake up I felt really horrible on the drive to Corvallis.  However, the more time I spent upright the better things seemed. I was really looking forward to running and just forgetting about my head.

The weather has been great!  PNW sun...there's just nothing better I promise. Saturday was gorgeous!  After catching up with friends and getting settled I soon forgot that I felt like crap. The race started with it's general quick pace and I did my best to settle in. Soon a slight compromise in my breathing appeared but I kept a descent pace. At the top of the first climb I pulled over to re-tie my shoes. They felt loose and sloppy. I chose to wear some old Cascadia's which I planned to toss after Mac. They had really nothing left in them. There's only one reason I can come up with for making this decision.  I had a brand new pair sitting in a box and was saving them for SD100M.  Not sure that's a sound reason but that's what I'm going with. Soon after tightening the shoes I pulled over to loosen them again.  Carrie kept catching up and said, "what's the deal with your shoes".  I told her I have turned into Goldie Locks! My shoes are too tight, too loose, too stiff and just not right.  Laughing it off I moved on with loosened shoes.

As we began winding through MacDonald Forest in and out of trail  my head was just clogged. That's the best word I can use to describe it. My ears were plugged, my nose was plugged and all I had was my gaping mouth to move air. With that soon came the chills followed by body aches. I am officially sick!  My body is pissed at me and I am pissed at it! I decided to take some Tylenol hoping to gain some control. My equilibrium was just "off". Every time we wove back into the woods I had a hard time maneuvering and BAMM, I sprain my ankle.  It brought me to one knee and the guy behind my said, "I heard that, are you okay".  I said yes, and sat there adjusting my very loose shoes and checking out my foot. I got up, walked it off but knew it was more than a minor sprain.  I made my way out of that trail section and back onto the gravel road.  I did more assessing.  How much does this hurt, should I quit, can I run and so on?  I felt like I could run but wasn't sure how it would be in any kind of unstable ground.  The good news is this took my mind off being sick.  This happened somewhere between mile 11-13.  I spent the next 9 miles deciding if I should quit.  By now my head felt better and all the body aches were gone.  Now I was just stuck with current pending issue, my foot.  When I got to Dimple Hill at mile 17 I just coninued on to the next station. That's how it goes....run to the next aid station until you run out of aid stations.  My ankle seemed to hold up okay but my downhill running was rather pathetic. When I left mile 22 aid station and began the climb out my ankle did not like the dorsey flexing required to climb.

Coming into my final chance to call it a day the thought didn't even cross my mind. Nice work..... keep thinking you're going to quit, run to the next aid station until it's the last and then why would you quit?  So I finish my 9th Mac.  Not anywhere near what I wanted to do and now I have a torn Anterior Tali fibular Ligament. This is the one closest to the top of the ankle which is why I kept feeling like my foot hurt. This will heal and rather quickly I hope. I am pretty thankful it's not worse. I am a freak though. Carrying a cooler of ice in my car, compressing it and today began to work on stabilizing. I tested it out on the bike and the doc say's I am good to go on the MTB. Though I was hoping to have one final bad ass weekend in the Gorge before the taper for SD100M that might not happen. I have a MTB race on Memorial Day weekend and that's it.  If I can heal super quick I might get a weekday session out there but not going to take any risks. I CAN'T sprain it again or I'm done. As for the sinus infection, well, by Monday I was so sick it was horrible. I feel a ton better today.

I wish I could say I made a good decision but I should have stayed home. On the other hand I love the Mac and didn't want to miss out on any fun. Plus, it was my 9th! I also wish I could say I I turned a negative to a positive. Not so much! The only thing I can say is I finished and didn't quit. There is something in that that seems to satisfy my stubborn nature.The only thing around me showing any bright side that day was my outfit! See how the justification works? So moving on to a short MTB race then SD100M. :)

Mixing it back up!

It's that time of year here in the PNW.  The time when trillium's are blooming, rhododendrons are think with flowers and temperatures are rising.  Yes, we still have rain but it's more like "mizall (mist and drizzle). Portlander's are running around with shorts and tank tops on showing way more white pasty skin than you might see in any other part of the country :).  It's really not warm enough but we have to take advantage of any and all globe sightings.  The mood is high.

My mood is high as well. Though who can complain about being extra motivated it can spell trouble for me. I am all to familiar with over training.  Seems I am lucky enough to dodge a lot of bullets but I can't stand the feeling of over training.  The tired, poor workouts, sluggish look like crap kinda thing. I have pushed through too many times and have promised myself I will behave with more maturity.  Last year I never felt over trained. Even with races every other weekend I felt rested and strong. Clearly the addition of MTBing served my body well.  Keeping me from running too much and beating my body to death. 

The Umstead 100M backed up with Peterson Ridge 2 weeks later looked good on paper.  I made it through Peterson in better than expected time and felt relatively fine when done.  I was pleased. I can clearly handle volume. The following week was not so fun.  I was really tired and my body was achy.  I had bits of tightness and soreness in weird places. That was my signal I needed to back off. I took it fairly easy during the week just to pound out some Gorge hill repeats on Saturday. Then Sunday hit the Hood River area for some big girl mountain biking.  I got my butt handed to me there too. Still riding the line of recovery......or ????? It's been awhile since I have climbed any loose terrain on my MTB.  The climbs were long and not so easy.  My butt and quads were screaming!  I was chasing a rabbit too.  Kristen is a killer athlete both running and MTBing so it's a great training partner for me.  We are doing many of the same MTB races this year so our goals for the bike are well matched.  However, she has a big engine! She can climb like crazy then knock of a sub min pace for a long run.  That means she rides back down to get me :).  Though I was beat I came back from the dead better, hmmm.

Since I have stacked my Spring and Summer with a race every other weekend I am finding it hard to get in a good training rhythm. My biggest goal is to have my quads ready for SD100M on June 9th. With the exception of 2 quality runs during the week that focus on speed every other run I am doing includes hills. I am not so concerned about the climbing but am petrified of the long descending.  I haven't been doing much of that in the last year.  I can run/power hike up anything but the downhills will be brutal for me.  That means lots of time in the Gorge!  Who can complain about that?  With a low snow year and any big snows coming so late in the season the melt is fast. Many of my normal haunts are snow free and I haven't seen that in at least 6 years.  Generally I can't get above 2,500 feet before MacDonald Forest 50K without hitting snow.  This year there is none in those areas.  Very nice!  

After my first really big effort in the Gorge I was mildly pleased with how my body bounced back.  My quads were sore for sure but not crippling. I think this is a good sign.  I did this run the following weekend after Peterson Ridge.  The run's up was just ok, not great but not horrible either.  It wasn't until my track workout this last Wednesday where I seemed to have turned a corner. Nervous going into this workout and confident coming out!  I hit my paces but most importantly it seemed to bring me back around.  This was the first super strong effort since Umstead 100M.  I rebound the next day and by Friday tore up my hill repeats feeling strong and fast going up and down.  My quads felt nothing the next day for another killer Hood River MTB ride where we climbed 4000 feet in 13 miles.  I even felt like I had power.  Then on Sunday back in the Gorge at the crack of dawn we busted out a long run with 7K of climb and descend in just about a 12 min. pace.  Sweet!  

I think the moral of this post is that mixing in the MTBing gives me the opportunity to recover better.  Though while I am riding I feel like I am going to breath out a lung I seem to rebound much quicker.  My muscles and cardio system eat it up.  Plus, it is sooooo much fun and still scares the crap out of me! 

Peterson Ridge Rumble 40M!

As I mentioned in my Umstead report my recovery was going very well. I was honestly barely phased by the race physically. However, just because I felt no pain the deep fatigue must be there. The week following Umstead was packed with personal things.  I had to take an extensive eye exam for glaucoma because my left eye has an irregular optic nerve. This test lasted 2 hours! Being the genious I am (not) I had it scheduled for the afternoon on Tuesday following Umstead. I had to identify blinking lights for 4 minutes per eye just to get the ball rolling. That day was probably not the best day to do such a test.  I was tired and seeing stars as it was.  Thankfully after 2+ hours of poking, screening, taking pictures of my eye I am cleared. Because I feeling so spry physically I couldn't resist a run in the Gorge on a beautiful sunny day.  By the end my legs were letting me know I was stupid. After that I tried to keep the running to dull roar so I could be somewhat able to run Peterson. I figured my true recovery would be unveiled as the race unfolded. Running a 40 mile race 2 weeks after a 100M PR looked fine on paper!

Central Oregon was gorgeous! The sun was awesome and the views of the cascade range reminded of my youth. I felt very comfortable. I had no plans for Peterson except to have the strength to take the turn at mile 23 and finish the 40 instead of calling it a day and taking the 20M option. I hoped I was on some sort of high point when I had to make that choice.  In hindsight, like anything we do, it's mental. 

Right of the bat I had a governor attached to my body. I had no gear beyond where the governor had been set.  That was between a 8:30 and 10:30 depending on terrain. Even on the downhill stretches the dexterity in my legs was compromised. I had no issues with the pace but found it interesting. I pondered what that meant.  How was my training playing a role? Is it even prudent to ask that question since I was just off a 100M?  Anyway, as the day progressed I seemed to hold steady.  Not in any REAL pain but rather just mild aches. Just your normal running stuff however it might have set in a bit earlier than normal.  

None of that really matter because I was having a glorious day. Peterson is my kickoff run for the Spring/Summer ultra running season. I love the feel of that race. Sean does something special there. He really cares about all the runners no matter what level of runner they are. I am pretty sure that's why I love it so much. He's a humble guy and treats all of us like we're special. Because of that every aid station and course volunteer do the same. At the last minute there was course change which left my airhead brain very confused. I couldn't figure out where I was or what mile I was at. I also took 3 bone head wrong turns. The trail system is pretty extensive and I was looking down way to much. 2 of the detours happened before 20 miles. When I arrived at the last aid station before I had to take that turn and forever seal my fate I was feeling pretty good. The race is now shared with 20 milers and that's always fun. The turn came up before I knew it and I dove in without blinking.  I took this as a good sign. I made my way back up the ridge and after the 26 mile aid station I took another detour.  Though I wasn't pleased with putting in any extra miles I wasn't all that upset either, weird. I think that's a result of very low expectations.  Since I had set my expectations at a 7:15 time goal missing turns and logging more miles wasn't a big deal.  Mental, running is mental :). This part of the course was new from last year. The re-route was worth it!  We got to run back up on the ridge where the mountain views were incredible! The trail wound around a manzanita forest. I cruised around there getting sunburned and loving it!  Bopping along to the Monsters and Men album (This is my favorite song. if you listen that might explain my demeanor). Alex has promised we will do this duet for Mothers Day :). Bill crewed me the whole day. Seeing his enthusiastic face often was another high moment. 

Though I was cruising around at my same old speed and having a really nice day I was really wanting to see the final aid station. Since I was so confused about the mileage I was hoping to come in and find we had 6 miles to go not 10.  I don't think I was up for much more.  When I finally found the station that was my first question. And as with all races once it was confirmed I only had 6 measly miles to go I perked up.  I finished in 6:37, last year 6:36 and the year before 6:35.  I don't even know what to say!  Clearly I have one speed.  I was thrilled! After discussing my run with a friend.  I asked, "Where do you think I should go from here"?  Reply, "Don't get injured".  Good advice!  I have stacked my year with ultras and MTB races.  It's tight but I am really having a blast!

Umstead 100M

Umstead 100M was a huge success! I am thrilled to have gone sub 20, 19:37 to be exact. I went thinking I had a shot at breaking 20 but all the cards would have to align and all systems would have to work in a state of perfection.  I would say that most everything went very well.  I'll start by confessing that I am a geographical dork. Born and raised in Oregon and certainly not a world traveler the East Coast is like going to China for me.  Once we arrived in North Carolina we used Micheal's phone to see where in the US we actually were.  Were we close to the ocean, how far east were we, what were we near and what's the weather like here?  Since it was so warm and sunny we were curious. Some residents heard us discussing our whereabouts and quickly jumped in to give us a much needed lesson. You would think I would have this all figured out before I left.  No, I didn't.  I appears I have gotten lazy when it comes to planning these 100's.  Micheal was not at all impressed when he realized I had no crew bags, no instructions, no pace chart and I didn't even know what time the race started or where.  Susan had all the race details so I jumped on here organization.  My race however, could use a bit of attention.  I whipped up a pace chart on the hotel pad.  I figured my race would unfold lap by lap and it would be easy to adapt on the fly.  This didn't pan out making my crew stops a bit more lengthy and bit chaotic.  Nothing like my normally well thought out, a bit annoying but effective race plans.

Umstead is geared for first timers. The race officials really want to do all they can to ensure everyone finishes. At the pre-race meeting they talked at length on how to get through this and offered key advice to runners.  At the end they asked everyone who was running their first 100M to stand.  Whoa!  I was blown away by the number of first time 100 milers. It brought chills to my skin and I got goose bumps. With a lump in my throat I said, wow.  This was super inspiring!  You could feel the excitement. There were 107 runners going for their first 100M finish.  I think the total field was around 240.  I am sure this happens in other 100's like Leadville and such but the attention brought to it here was special.

I sleep like the dead and pre-race sleep was no different.  I woke up ready to roll.  The sound of rain wasn't really what I wanted to hear but I knew it wasn't going to be cold.  63 degrees and rain for the start.  More like a drizzle than a down pour (that came later). The moisture in the air was thick and just got thicker as the day progressed.  I thought this race would go out fast and I vowed to go very slow and not get caught up in anything that would drain me early.  I purposely did not carry a light for the dark start knowing the lack of good vision would keep me dialed back. It did. However, this race did not go out fast!  Everyone seemed to be in a comfortable groove, including myself.  The wet weather was not so bad. It was plenty warm enough but my clothes seemed be heavy on my skin. I think this should have been the first sign that NC has some humidity.  Since the only race I've ran in any real humidity was Vermont 100 I have no experience in this.  When I ran Vermont I got lucky and it was a relatively low humidity day! Laps 1 and 2 were good.  Both around 10 min pace.  I walked the 2 short but steep hills on the back side from the get go.  It felt nice to change up the motion.

Loop courses are hard but fun. They're hard because you have to keep yourself motivated.  They're fun because you share the race with more people.  You're never alone and it gives the opportunity to meet people. I was overwhelmed by the amount of encouragement shared on the course.  I don't think I have been in a race where the other runners were this enthusiastic and friendly. I got to meet some of Sophie's friends, Jenny and Rick.  I got to share a few miles with them.  I got see Allison and Owen kick some PNW butt!  I got to see Mike Morton set a course record.  And...since he's my ultra running idle I was awe struck by how friendly and encouraging he was to all of us! Even though he was setting a blazing pace he had demonstrated the true ultra spirit of camaraderie.  I want to become one of the Virginia Ultra running group members because those folks take care of their friends like no others!  Very special.

By lap 3 the rain had stopped and the temperature was rising.  It was crazy fast too.  It popped 20 degrees in a blink of an eye.  The humidity was so noticeable now. Lots of folks didn't seem to be bothered by it. I however felt like a slimy slug, literally. My skin was wet and sticky.  My clothes would not dry!  I couldn't take it anymore and lifted my tank top up so my belly and back could get some relief. That felt so good however my skin remained very wet. Now running in shorts and bra is no big deal. Girls do it all the time.  NOT ME! This just goes to show my level of desperation. My plan was to lift up my tank and get some relief while on the back side of the course. Then when I got back in public I would pull it back down. That plan went out the window when I just couldn't bring myself to blanket the wet, warm, slimy body.  Then on top of it I got tired of carrying my empty handhelds so I stuffed them in my shorts.  Ahh, freedom.  I came in from my 3rd loop in this new fashion statement and Micheal looked at me and said, "What the?????".  I told him this was my new look and I didn't really care.  Ok, we'll go with that I guess.  I was using mass amounts of Vaseline in areas I won't mention.  I was covered in it!  Under my arms, under my bra, down my legs and a couple of other places. Nice......

By the time I had finished up lap 4 (50M) in exactly 9 hours I knew sub 20 was a possibility.  Besides the chaffing in areas I won't mention I felt good.  Still hotter than hell but managing it okay. I was feeling a bit sluggish and tired.  Micheal picked me up for lap 5.  We spent the better part of this lap getting me back in the running game.  I was walking more and feeling tight and off.  I popped a Succeed tab and drank some broth at the midpoint aid station.  We were thinking I might be low on salt since I looked like a salt lick!  I was covered from my neck to my ankles in crystals.  I generally don't take much salt.  I am not a big sweater and even for a race like WS100M I might only take 1 Enduralyte every 1.5 hours.  I have been popping them about every hour here but Micheal suggested we pull out the big guns and use Succeed. After about 20 minutes all systems began to fire again.  Lap 5 was one of my slowest!  I was 12 minutes faster on number 6.

Laps 6 and 7 were sweet!  I ran 6 pretty fast and 7 was no sloucher either.  I was feeling good.  My feet were the most sore.  Strange, not generally a place I feel sore but this hard surface was beating them up good.  My legs were fine.  Sure, I could feel the hamstrings and calves but nothing worth discussing.  Leaving for a final lap it was pretty clear I was going to break sub 20 baring anything crazy.  Then crazy came.  The storm from hell!  The sky was quickly filled with a crazy amount of lightening.  I have been in some lightening storms in the Wasatch and Leadville that I thought were amazing.  This was a different kind of lightening.  It covered the sky.  Then the downpour. I am still basically naked so I grab my tank top and put it on.  Thankfully Micheal didn't listen to me and ditch our rain jackets.  I had to pull mine out because I was getting chilled and at this state I knew I would quickly be frozen. We were both wearing glasses and within a mile couldn't see shit!  Now leave it to Micheal to have a dry bandanna stashed in his pack.  I pulled it out and we both used it.  We plugged on moving very well.  I chose to barely break step at the midpoint aid station to avoid getting chilled. The rain kept on for another 2 miles then it began to let up and I could remove my coat.  Though I felt like I was slowing I ran my final lap faster than the previous by 20 whole seconds!

Upon finishing I was immediately off to shower.  I had to get the sticky slime off my body. I wasn't excited to get in the shower and determine just how much chaffing I had. I pre-lubed before the shower to keep the screaming to a minimum.  I was also not anxious to see my feet!  I don't generally blister much but I wasn't sure what I was going to find.  My feet were sore so it was hard to tell if I had any bad boys lucking under the socks.  I peeled them off to find my big toe with a blister under the nail. Weird, I don't remember banging my toes but that's what it look like.  Other than that the feet looked good.  My hair though, whew!  I  braided my ponytail but the moisture blew it up into one giant dread lock!  No way was this coming out so I washed the dread lock and rinsed with a ton of conditioner.  Still it was stuck.  Oh well, I will deal with it later.  Off I went to the race headquarters building for some food and rest while we waited for Susan to finish.  Post race recovery has been amazing!  No swelling and besides this toe I feel good.  Biked once and ran once just to get things moving.  Overall I can't believe how well it went and am still on a post race high!

Elements

Every training plan needs some training elements, right?  I like to be very specific with my training so I can get the most bang for a limited amount of time. I can't log big miles. Back in the late 90's and through 2003 I would stack big weeks of long training runs. Though that got me where I wanted to be it really took a toll on my body.  I would find myself struggling with minor injuries and more often I was sick. There were training plans where I logged 10+ weeks at 100+ miles. That just doesn't work for me. My body won't take it and since it takes me a long time to run that many miles time become a factor. :) Below are some of the elements I have included in my training plan for Ulmstead 100M.

Periodization or Cycle Training: I like to work in 3-4 week cycles.  As I head into the Peak Phase I like to bump it down to 3 week cycles because when I am logging more than 70 miles a week I need that recovery week sooner or push myself over the edge.

Speed Sessions: This element is the most crucial for me. I need to work for every ounce of speed I have so having at least 1 solid speed workout per week is critical, maybe 2.  I started with determining a VDOT so I could use the Daniels Method of training.  This method works really well for me during Ultra training.  The speeds are not too intense to dig into other training but very effective is gaining speed.  Once I had a number I had 5 types of speed workouts. True T-Pace sessions, Cruise Intervals at T-Pace, Sustained M-Pace session, Segmented M-Pace Work, and finally VO2 Max Intervals.  For the first part of my training in Dec and Jan I alternating between True T-Pace, Cruise Intervals, and both M-Pace types of workouts.  During the Feb I did only long M-Pace work.  In March only VO2 Max intervals (long track workouts) and one shorter M-Pace type of workout. On a recovery week I would only do 1 speed session.

The Long Run: Of course every plan needs a long run.  I don't like to do long slow runs very much. I like to add quality into my long run and keep it under 5 hours most of the time. Unless there is a really cool group run. In the final 2 weeks of training I will push it to 6 hours but beyond that, unless it's for Hardrock, it's too much for me. I have several workouts I like to do for the long run. The Progression run, The 10 min, 4 min at AT cycle run, Block runs (varying intensity in blocks), 15 min. easy running with 30 sec. sprints throughout, long AT hill repeats or a Goal Pace Run.  A bunch of options for long runs. I pair these appropriately with they type of speed session so I cover all the upper zones in a weeks time.

Recovery Run: Usually 2 recovery run per week. In the Peak Phase one of these will be 90-120 minutes of total cruising and maybe power-hiking if necessary.

Back to Back Runs: Every Ultra runner generally doesn't feel complete without the back to back. I am one of them. Though I only do back to back long sessions in the Peak Phase so 6 weeks, before the taper.  I like to build my back to back runs so I get a good hard session on one day and the next is easier but back end pacing or focus. This helps me be ready to run on very tired legs and reminds me that a huge part of the 100M run is the metal hurdle we reach at 60+ miles.

Off Days: I suck at off days. I don't like them and struggle to stick with them. Though I know they are a huge corner stone for improvement I still stink at taking them.  I plan at least one day off.  On a recovery week I take 2 days off.

Cross Training: For this training plan I had to do some MTBing in Dec, Jan and Feb. I needed to get on the bike in order to ride Old Pueblo 24HR.  This was actually really nice!  I did back to back on Fri/Sat and rode on Sun with Bill. I only rode for 3 hours max per session in training for OP24HR. It was the perfect recovery session after a week of solid running. When I was done with the race in mid Feb. it coincided nicely with the Peak Phase for Ulmstead.  I bumped my back to backs to 3-6 hours of hilly effort on Fri.  Saturday would be shorter, flatter and faster but no more than 4-4.5 hours.

I have 2 weight sessions a week.  One upper and one lower and Bikram 2X per week.  Can you tell I like details? I use heart rate training for some of the longer stuff when pace won't really work.  I am anxious to see how Ulmstead pans out.  I feel like I am getting in better shape with this focus on training. I hope it works because if it doesn't I am going to have to really hold fast to my goal of no coach.  Wish me luck!

Fortitudine vincimus - By endurance we conquer!

I have some specific goals for 2012. Nothing all that earth shattering but I am finding them to be frustratingly challenging....is that ok word combination? It might be because they have to do with habits and routines. The two things I really really like. First, no coach other than myself. Second, add some sort of restorative workout to my weekly routine. Third, to change up my weight room routine. They seem simple enough but not easy for me to implement. I take pride in the one thing and that's the ability to endure. Once I wrote these goals down I felt the urge to see them through. I knew this would be the case. That is why writing them down was so difficult. I am a dreamer/flounder-er by nature but have taught myself to stay on task. It's not simple to cage the dreamer but ultimately I have found that managing my dreams with the accountant like nature serves me best. When it came time to cement this in writing I knew I had to act on it or suffer my own disappointment. Interestingly this gives more freedom to be successful in all parts of my life.

Goal 1: No coach, uhggg. I thrive on accountability, sad but true. I am not that interesting in what I think! There is no doubt accountability drives me and I love it. Being accountable to myself is not a fire starter. I made this decision because I felt it was time to use what I have learned. Also, I know more than I want to know about how I function and what makes me stronger. I also know a lot about endurance training, I know how to fuel myself through 100M with ease, I know how to manage my pace and mostly I know when I am in good shape. Since I have been coached by Scott, Matt and Howard and followed their plans to letter I have a really good idea of what I need to do and what works for me. I feel it's time to give myself the opportunity to combine all I know to make me better. I can write a great training program but can I follow it?You would think so but it has been extremely challenging. I am incredibly co-dependent on people when it comes to running. I get charged being around people, answering to people and being held accountable to people. I am fortunate to have a solid group of amazing friends to run with. The issue is I want to run with them, whatever their running, all the time. That makes sticking to a plan harder. Nobody is expecting me to adhere to a plan. Also, when I fork out money I plan to get the most for it. I hadn't realized just HOW co-dependent I really am.  It's been good for me but I can't tell you how many times I wanted to re-visit this goal. The year is young so hopefully I can endure, sustain and hold strong. Hopefully I will become an even better runner. Race, by race I will have my answer.

Goal 2: Restorative!, Yuk! Over the last couple of years I have noticed a couple of things. First, I am super tight. My body is just bound up. I roll and try to stretch but not with any regularity. My posture is not great and I look bent and hunched, ick! I cram my days full and the first to go is anything restorative. Fairly regular massage is the only thing that has saved me. I have been super fortunate to escape any serious injuries so far but I felt I was riding a fine line as of late. Not only was I pretty bound up I was shrinking! Oh boy, how does a 5'2" person shrink? My mid back was disappearing and with the additional of MTBing it was become incredibly tight and inflexible. It was also sore often. All of this drove me to give Bikram Yoga a try. Why Bikram? Because of the heat and the length of time you hold a pose! With my very tight muscles I needed the long sustained heat to open up. Adding this was mentally challenging too. I am not a fan of yoga in any form, I am not a heat lover and frankly I don't like to be that


still and quiet. However, I committed to do it 2X per week for 10 weeks then re-evaluate. The first 4 sessions were brutal. I don't sweat when I run at all especially as of late. I have never worn deodorant! I don't sweat and I don't stink, not kidding. Bikram was going to make me sweat and at first my body completely protested. Not only that but I was a total abomination to yoga. I knew it would be bad but I was rather frightened at how inflexible I had become. Also, any static contraction of my lower extremities was a joke. Very eye opening. Speaking of eye opening I learned another thing about myself (just when you think you can't learn anything else).  I never look at myself in the mirror for more than a glance. I was super uncomfortable staring at myself for 90 minutes. The negativity was so oppressive. Finding every flaw and imperfection was not what I expected. Looks like this too is going to be something I NEED to endure! It took me about 3 classes before I decided I had a self image issue and needed to get a handle on. I have never really thought about it until I was forced to reckon with it 2X a week for 90 minutes. I know I am a perfectionist but why couldn't I look at myself? I worked on finding every beautiful thing I could and for the first 3 weeks all I could find was my neck! Pretty sad to say the least. I was very disappointed in myself. I gradually got more opened up in my body and could see huge improvements. It was a tough first 2 weeks though. My body felt like it got hit by a truck and things were poppy and cracking like crazy. I also found some incredible ways to view myself for 90 minutes and eventually began to thrive on the challenge. Finding beauty everywhere and embracing myself with a different more positive outlook. I stuck with my 10 week goal and extended it to 20. It has been almost a miracle. After the 2nd class and my second viewing of my nearly naked body I decided to measure myself from my collar bone to my pelvic bone. I thought I looked very scrunched. I apparently was because I have grown my midsection 1.2 inches! No wonder I was so tight in the back and hips.  Dr. Tollenaar (chiro) constantly says, "wow". Now, I crave it and went from an abomination to an example. Hopefully I will love it in the summer when it's warm out. Right now it's pretty easy to go into that hot room ;) Oh, and I am sweating on my runs now, so weird.

Goal 3: The weight room: I love the weight room and for years have done consistent solid training. Though I have changed up the routines I was feeling over muscled in some areas. I love muscle but I don't like big!  I am tiny person who can put on muscle just by looking at dumb bells (or at least that's how I feel). My body type is very proportionate. I am lucky to have that type. Runners don't need big muscles to run well.  I think there's a balance for sure but I felt I was getting out of balance. In addition, I wasn't loving how I looked. The biggest indicator that I needed to make a change was my inability to move functionally!  I was horrified when I worked out with a trainer who put me through a functional routine and I failed badly! My squats were horrible, Walking lunges just about ripped my legs apart and my shoulders were so tight they wouldn't move more than about 3 inches without hyper extending other body parts. Being tight was one of the major problems so Goal 2 would help with that. However, I was determined to become more functional. I wanted to be quick and agile and not feel like I am going to bust something if I took a wrong step. I also wanted to change my structure some. Instead of 3-4 days a week in the weight room doing dumbbells and loaded bars I was now doing 2X a week. One session of upper body functional work and one day of lower body functional work.  Both challenging and hard. I am very sore but in a different way. I was not a fan of the workouts at first because the pump from lifting was gone. The isolated muscle wasn't sore. Also, mentally I felt like I was letting years of hard work go. I knew I needed to stick with it though. Mainly because I was functionally off! I wanted to remedy that and improve my running. My body alignment was slowly shifting and each week I would be able to perform a bit better. I have lost some mass but I am happier this way as long as I stay lean. Good thing Girl Scout Cookie season is coming to an end. :)

I plan to stay at this for 2012 and see what comes of it.

What a difference a year makes!

I have been super lazy about blogging. I have a ton of excuses but won't even start. 2012 has started off amazing! Trying to figure out what I wanted to focus on with regards to running or MTBing was hard. However I finally got a grip and have signed up for most the races I want to do.  With Ulmstead 100M looming I have spent most of my time running and very little time on the bike. After Javelina 100M where my lack of overall mileage really showed me who's boss I wanted to get more time on my legs for Ulmstead.  Without the aid and accountability of coach I was left to my own devices. It's been interesting trying to corral my desire to run with all my friends all the time. I have been fairly diligent. There were a couple of weeks where I got out of control but all in all I would say it's been a good challenge. I won't use the word success yet. After Ulmstead I will be able to tell if flying coachless has worked. Since I have the fortunate opportunity to work with 3 great coaches I have tried to combine some of the methodology I learned plus add in what I know I need.

The biggest news I have to share is the amazing race I had a Old Pueblo 24HR MTB.  With my longest session on my MTB being 2 hours I was really concerned about how my body would hold up for 24 hours in the desert. Since I have been logging some really great miles and awesome running workouts I was certain I would have no issue hanging strong for the 24 hours.  But, what about my butt!  Not to mention my hands and feet.  All the contact points with bike have very little endurance.

Even undertrained I was really excited to go back to this race. It's really much easier to go into an event with very low expectations :) In 2011 this was first MTB race I entered. At that time I was still learning how to pedal, which brake was the front and how to unclip without incident. I was incredibly thrilled to just see what kind of MTBer I have become in a years times. On Friday we went out to per-ride the course and from the moment I clipped in I was forever enlightened. I was not the same person who showed up there last year.  Absolutely everything was different! My body, my outlook, my mental state, my ability and almost every single ounce of me was different, better and certainly more confident. With a smile as wide as I my face would allow I rode with ease of effort and not one ounce of fear. I blew my own mind! At this point in life to be able to experience such a huge shift is a gift. Within just one short year, wow.

There wasn't one piece of that course that scared me. There wasn't one section I felt anxious about and for most of the race I had to remind myself to not get cocky or go too fast.  A far cry from the race report form last year.  I rode 34 more miles in 2 hours less this year.  On top of it I felt good the whole time.  My back was hurting some and I felt my contact points but I am still in shock at how my body responded.  Better yet the strength and power I had on the bike was night and day. I did take one good fall but my bike took the brunt of it. I took out a paddle cactus and over 20 thorns got my front tire.  Thanks to STANS I just spun it and bounced it a couple of time and it re-sealed perfectly.  I did make the mistake of trying to pull a few thorns out.  After watching the bubbling and hearing air quickly leave my front tire I just spun it again and it sealed.  My hand got a couple of thorns but I pulled them out with my teeth and was off.  With only a small bruise on my knee and an extra boost of adrenaline I was reminded that night riding is not yet my strong suit.

Though I had great race Bill did not.  He and Darin were off to a blazing start but Bill fell on his second lap and dislocated his shoulder. I had no idea he was at the hospital being put under so they could re-set the shoulder.  On my 8th lap I was getting very suspicious since I hadn't seen them.  After they arrived back and Bill was sleeping all drugged up Darin came out and gave me the news then rode with me.  We came home and Bill had shoulder surgery.  He is doing really well and is already making huge progress with his PT.

Now that Old Pueblo 24 HR MTB was done it was 6 weeks of Peak training for Ulmstead 100M.