First Tracks

Last week my running miles took a big hit. But I had a good excuse. A huge, 3 day Sierra blizzard, dumping up to 10 feet of fresh snow in what I like to call "my backyard". I just had to take advantage of it.

My first exploration took place near White Cloud along Hwy 20 with Yuba. It was fun to travel on the Pioneer trail that I usually run or bike on. When I snowshoe, I usually go higher in elevation because of the views and wide open spaces. But sometimes traveling through the forest when it's entombed with fresh snow can have a great effect.

Storm damage on the trail

Along the way, Yuba took off straight downhill from the trail. He does this sometimes when we're running and usually catches back up. This time I continued on and after another 20 minutes or so, he was a no-show. So I started backtracking and found no new prints from him. So I got to the point where he descended down off the trail, sighed, and careened down after him. I followed his prints until they suddenly went in about 10 different directions. What to do. I called his name and low and behold, he suddenly appeared from out of the trees. I have no idea what he was doing, why he didn't come back up to the trail to find me, or what he would have done if I'd just gone back to the truck, assuming he had done the same. Oh well, I'm just glad to have my buddy back.

A few days later after some more fresh snow fell, Pat, Yuba, and I parked at the Loch Leven trailhead and discovered to our delight that we were the first visitors to this very popular spot. There was so much snow along the road that we had to use the snow shovel to build steps so we could start our snowshoe hike.

Building steps just to start our hike

Our destination were the railroad tracks about a mile away. It was slow going but very enjoyable. It was probably the hardest mile I've ever travelled as well. We repeatedly sank up to our knees and sometimes mid-thigh. Yuba would venture out on his own only to realize the best route was to travel right behind us.

After 1 hour 18 min we finally got to the tracks and had a little picnic. We were hoping a train would go by but no luck. We started back but of course had to make a little circle because we couldn't follow in our own footprints, that would be too easy. We actually followed the real trail on the way back. It was fun to see the bridge that crosses the creek just before the last climb up to the RR tracks.

These tracks haven't been used in years! (Inside joke)

Bridge just before RR tracks

By the time we got back we were pretty tuckered. A well earned 2 miles.

Pooped pup

Our next adventure took us to the Castle Peak area. This was a lot different because it was a Monday after an absolutely gorgeous weekend. Needless to say, there were trails everywhere! But even still, we were able to find plenty of untracked powder to test our weary legs in.

Castle Peak in background

We made it almost to the ridgeline that separates Castle Peak and Basin Peak. On our way up we noticed some tracks descending from the base of Castle Peak (was that you Gretchen?) It was a beautiful day, lots of sun and little wind.

Lunch stop with Basin Peak in background

Leg burner

We had a lot of fun "running" down the slopes back into the trees on our way back. Just the perfect amount of powder and we floated. The only thing missing was my dad. In years past, we spent a lot of time together on these slopes in both summer and winter and I miss those days. He now lives on the central coast and doesn't get up to this area enough.

Taking the plunge

Wheeeee!!!!

What a view

So the running miles took a hit but the cross training certainly took off. I think I can equate the workouts to a tempo run (Loch Leven) and intervals (Castle peak). No wonder I've been exhausted this week. And yesterday my 14 mile long run took over 3 hours (but that's another story).

Bringing in the New Year in Missouri

My husband comes from a large mid-western family and they are big college football fans. So last year we decided it would be fun to plan a trip back east that would incorporate New Year's Day and "Bowl Mania". So two days after Christmas I found myself doing something I swore I would never do: travel by airplane during the holidays with 2 small children. I saw nightmare written all over it. Luckily, I had 2 things going for me: 1) my parents would be joining us, there-by the adults would out-number the kids 2:1, and 2) I found a non-stop flight from Sacramento to Kansas City. We flew out just ahead of an incoming storm and the flight was incident-free.

The girls showing off their Christmas dresses from Nana (my mom)

Pat is one of 7 kids and we all were able to get together on the Saturday after our arrival (except for 1 brother). We spent the day visiting, showing off our girls (no one had met Sara yet), watching football, and "noshing". I had never heard the term "nosh" before joining Pat's family but it means to eat, eat, eat. I am amazed that Pat's dad, all the brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends were able to come together during the holidays to see us during our visit. It was really special.

Pat enjoying a laugh with his siblings

Of course the highlight of the day was the "white elephant" gift exchange. The two top gifts were animals: a blow up head of a moose and a singing, dancing gopher from the movie Caddyshack (my daughter got that). There was some stealing involved but over-all it was tamer than in years past (too bad :) )

Clarifying instructions for the gift exchange

Pat's brother got this and I think it goes with his singing fish

Caitlyn enjoying her new Caddyshack gopher

About the running: I was able to get some runs in and it was cold. An ice storm had moved through the area a week of so before leaving clear, cold weather. I would get up early before the others and dress in 3-4 layers and hit the streets exploring. My brother and sister-in-law live in a small, rural town about an hour from Kansas City. My parents stayed at a darling Bed and Breakfast called the Mulberry Inn about 1.5 miles away so I made it part of each run to go by and write "hi" in the ice on their windshield. My last run was the coldest: 8 degrees with a windchill of minus 8. I know some people would scoff at that, they run in sub-freezing weather all winter but I'm not used to it. However, I must say it was quite enjoyable.

Strolling downtown KC

Pat and Sara

Another highlight of the trip was a surprise planned for Pat and I and the girls: an evening horse drawn carriage ride in downtown Kansas City to see all the beautiful lights. Our carriage was a "Cinderella" carriage, pumpkin shaped and quite beautiful (Caitlyn loves Cinderella). We got a wonderful tour of the downtown buildings all lit up for Christmas. It was very special.

Enjoying the carriage ride

This was one of those trips where we didn't have a lot of things planned. We could just be lazy, visit an antique store, relax and enjoy ourselves. On New Years Day we even got to see the University of Missouri win their bowl game. Unfortunately, Kansas won their game a few days later (it's a big rivalry). We flew back to Sacramento one day before the "big storm" hit California and shut down various airports. Perfect timing.

I thought I'd get tomboys...............

Winter Wonderland

White-out. Blizzard. Treacherous. Stranded. Life-threatening conditions. 165mph winds. 10 feet of snow. Flooding. Millions of people without power. Big rigs getting blown over on the freeway. These are just a few of the descriptions of the storm pounding Northern California right now. You may have heard a little about it on the news. After getting home from Missouri on Thursday night, I made it to work in Reno Friday morning just ahead of the storm. Now I'm stuck here. I got off work at 8:00 this morning but I-80 going over Donner Summit is closed. Nothing to do but shop I guess. Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, Costco, a running store.....it's been nice shopping at a leisurely pace with no children :)

We had a bit of a break this morning but it is dumping snow again. My husband is home on the other side of the Sierra Nevada mountains with the girls. It's so tough to be away from them. They were without power for almost 2 days but it came back on this afternoon. However, now I just heard they're out again.

I also have family down in San Diego county who were affected by the Witch Fire this fall. Sounds like they're getting quite a bit of rain and can only hope they're faring well.

Since I'm on my work computer, I can't post any pictures. Maybe I'll be able to get some up if I ever make it home again!

Stay warm everyone.

2007 Recap

I'm still in Missouri but noticed I got "tagged" by Gretchen so I guess I'll do some reminiscing about my first year in ultra-running. It's been a lot of fun. I did a sprint triathlon, 3 5k's, 1/2 marathon, 2 25k's, 1 marathon, the Reno-Tahoe Odyssey Relay with my fire department, 1 50k, and 1 50m. Since I don't have my own computer, I don't have access to any pictures. Maybe I'll get some up after I get home.


1) Most memorable moment on the trail: That would have to be back in April during the Prison Hill 1/2 marathon. It was a beautiful day and I really wanted to push myself and see what I could do. I felt great right from the start, the trail was an exciting roller coaster of ups and downs and I just had a lot of fun. And the best part was having my family there to cheer me on. I also have to add running my first 50 miler at Helen Klein. I was sure I could do the distance, I just didn't know if I could finish it in the alloted time. Having my husband along on his bike leap-frogging me between aid stations was so nice. Having his support really helped me get through.



2) Best new trail discovered in 2007: The Marin Headlands without a doubt (I know, that's not just one trail but a whole area of trails). I did a couple of training runs and 1 race there this summer and they kicked my butt but I had a smile on my face the whole time. A great event for couples with kids is Envirosports relays. We did the Marin Crossing, my husband biked 51 miles to the top of Mt. Tam while I watched the kids then I handed them off to him and I ran to the Golden Gate Bridge. I'm finding that any run in that area is challenging, beautiful, and fun.



3) Best performance in 2007: The Cascade Shores sprint triathlon (for women only). Due to my poor ability to swim fast, I never expected a top 10 finish in my home town tri. I was also happy to win my age group in the Run Through The Colors 5K to get one of the coveted Sierra Club calendars and set a 5k PR.



4) I don't know how I survived without.......gaiters. They're great. Nothing worse than to run these beautiful, rocky trails and get small, annoying pebbles in your shoes. Dirty girls puts out some wild gaiters. Something else I can't imagine being without is similar to Gretchen's answer, and that would be my best trail running buddy, Yuba. He just goes and goes and goes.



5) Person I most want to meet on the trails: That would have to be my new "blog buddies". It's been so much fun following other ultrarunners on their blog sites then actually meeting them in person at the races.



6) Race most excited about in 2008: I was hoping that would be WS100 but alas, it was not to be. So I would have to say Rucky Chucky 50k. I'm really looking forward to running part of the WS trail and seeing "the crossing". Another race is the 12 Hours of Cool night run. Gretchen and Peter really raved about this one and I've never run through the night before.

Tomorrow we head back to California for what I hear is a series of some potent snow storms coming in this weekend. It's been sunny but very cold here. I did 6 miles this morning and it was 8 degrees with -8 wind chill. A bit nippy but fun.

Hope everyone is having a good start to the New Year.

Jingling my way to a win

My last race of the year and it was a blast. Gordy Ainsleigh puts on the Cool Yule Jingle Jog 5K & 10K in Meadow Vista, CA on Christmas Day. I don't know how many years it's been going on but it's long enough to have past champions and the young man who shattered the 5K course record last year was there today to defend his title.

My last race was the Helen Klein 50 miler in early November and I've only been doing maintenance miles since then with no speed work so I had no idea what to expect from my performance. My parents, daughters and I (Pat had to work) headed over from Nevada City for the 45 min drive and when we got there it was COLD, about 32 degrees. My older daughter and I were the only ones brave enough to get out of the car (because we had to use the restrooms) and it wasn't too bad in the sun.

My girls enjoying the sun

I only gave myself about 10 minutes to warm up and I forgot to have my routine small snack about 30 min before race time so I felt a little unprepared as about 40-45 of us lined up and listened to Gordy give a very long speech, giving us directions for each race distance (it felt long as I watched shivering runners hopping up and down trying to stay warm, their bells jingling on their shoes; at check in we were all given bells to get us in the holiday spirit).

Gordy giving pre-race directions

I had no idea where we were going so I lined up on the front row and finally we were off. I found myself just behind the lead pack of male runners, I knew I was first female. Before long, the 5K turned right and started up a paved road, up and up and up. I felt strong but slow. Not soon enough we turned onto the canal ditch and it was just like running my ditch at home and I picked up the pace. One guy in front of me and no one behind. Coming off the ditch it was downhill. I thought it would be all downhill but there was one more nasty little climb just to keep us honest.

Smile for the camera!

The guy in front of me was faltering a bit so I picked it up. I had no idea if anyone was in front of him. I was able to pass him on the last downhill about 1/2 mile from the finish and pushed it back to the park. I sprinted across the finish line not knowing my position and was thrilled to find out I was second finisher overall. Wow. I've never done that well in a race. I was checking my watch to see that I finished in 27:42 and that's about the time Gordy announced "oh yeah, it's not really a 5K race, it's actually a 6K".

Finishing strong

Me and Santa, I mean, RD Gordy

The winner was the same young man who won it last year, I believe he finished about 3-4 minutes ahead of me, I didn't get his final time and I think his first name was Shane. Overall winners (and I believe age-group winners as well) received absolutely gorgeous poinsettia plants donated by Eisley nursery.

Me and first place Shane (?) posing for photographer Gordy

A beautiful award

I want to thank Gordy for putting on an enjoyable race and a fun group of people who ventured out on a cold Christmas morning. But especially, I want to thank my parents for braving the cold and watching my girls which made this race possible. I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and that Santa was good to you all.

Two of the people who made it possible, my folks

Thursday we're all headed to Missouri to visit family for a week. It will be fun to get some runs in some place new, even if the high is only mid-30's (I know, I'm a wimp). I'll try to post on the blog but no promises. After all, it is vacation :)

Holiday Week

It's tough to stick to a training schedule during the holidays, especially with family in town. I did my best this week but didn't get the mileage I was shooting for. And that's ok. My 15 mile run today was downgraded to 12 then turned into 6.75 and some quality family time. I headed out earlier than my husband and ran the NID ditch, he was going to leave the girls with my folks and then meet me at one end of the ditch and we would run it together, the second time for me. But as I was finishing my first lap of the ditch, my husband and daughter came running towards me. Turns out Caitlyn wanted to go for a run with her mommy and daddy. So I got my 6.75 miles in but the real quality was the next .75 miles spent sprinting then resting, throwing rocks into the water for the dog, and generally exploring with my hubby and daughter. A perfect afternoon.

Couldn't quite stay awake for Santa

Tonight is Christmas Eve for us since Pat has to work at the fire station on the real Christmas Day. Caitlyn is old enough now to understand about Santa and putting cookies and milk out for him and carrots for the reindeer. Unfortunately, all that running around just did her in. She was asleep in Pat's arms by 5:30pm. As I was tucking her into bed, her eyes opened sleepily and I told her we'd put out the cookies and milk for her, her eyes closed and she drifted off to dream land.

Cookies anyone?

So I better sign off so Santa can come by and drop off the presents meant for my sweet girls. Here's hoping all of you out there are having a wonderful holiday week.

Running The Ditch

There are some cool things left over in the Gold Country from the gold rush days and one of them are the ditches. Miners needed ways to move water so they created flumes, some of which are still in action today. Along some of the ditches are these great running trails that go for miles. I haven't even begun to explore them all. My favorites are Snow Mountain Ditch and Cascade Ditch.

Beautiful trail

I decided to do my long run on Thursday along Cascade which is just over 4 miles one way so I do the whole thing twice for 17 miles. Because I could use my truck as an aid station, I only had to carry 1 water bottle and a couple gels. I had some interviews from The Final Sprint on my MP3 so I was set to go. The temperature wasn't too bad when I was getting ready, I settled on shorts and a long sleeve shirt. One thing about the ditches tho, the water and wooded terrain keep it colder along the trail. The ground was covered in "ice castles" in places where the ground had frozen and pushed the dirt up. These "castles" crunch down under your foot making for some dicey footing.

Ice Castles

My first leg was a little slow due to finding my rhythm and taking some pictures. By the next leg I ditched the camera and got down to business. I ended up having negative splits for each leg. But then I have to remind myself that this is a long, SLOW, run; I'm not going for a PR!

Yuba meets some friends on the trail

but no one is willing to get wet

It turned out to be a beautiful day. Our cold snap has passed but as the day warmed up, those aforementioned "ice castles" melted making for some muddy footing. The mud would collect on my shoes making them feel 10 pounds heavier.

A nice view overlooking Nevada City

A couple of places the trail crosses large gullies where the water travels through pipes and there's a metal walkway that you use to cross. Yuba doesn't like walking on the metal so he takes the long way thru the gully but he doesn't seem to mind.

Yuba taking the long way

I found a great rhythm and just cruised along. My time was about 7 minutes slower then the last time I did this exact same route. It's hard for me to repeat routes because I always want to better my time even tho I'm not in the same phase of my training. Right now I SHOULD be slower, I'm rebuilding my base.

Small bridge

There are a few houses along the trail and some owners have created these small bridges to access the trail. There was also a new bench installed that I hadn't seen before. It's nice to see the trail being used and loved, there's always the risk that these trails will be closed because some property owners don't like strangers walking near their "back yard".

Before I knew it, the run was done and it was time to grab some food, a shower, pick up the girls and call it a day. A great day.