Family Affair at the Oceanside Turkey Trot

This year it was decided that instead of staying home for Thanksgiving, we would head south to our family's ranch in San Diego county. So, being the kind of person that I am, I immediately got online and started searching for near-by turkey trots. I found the Oceanside Turkey Trot and contacted my cousin (who I've run 2 1/2 marathons with) and asked her if she'd be interested in getting up really early on Thanksgiving morning, driving over an hour on dark, windy roads to the ocean, run 20-30 minutes, drive back to the ranch and then eat everything we wanted to without feeling guilty. She immediately said yes.

It wasn't long before her 8 year old son said he wanted to run it too (it would be his second 5K, not bad) so I asked my hubby if he wanted to run. Just like that, we were a group of 4, ready to have a very fun adventure together.

Pat and I and the girls left home at noon on Tuesday headed for my parents' place on the central coast. Caitlyn had her first performance of kindergarten that morning, a Friendship Feast, where the kids sang 2 songs on the stage then re-enacted the first Thanksgiving meal. I was the typical parent taking lots of video while Pat took the pictures.

Caitlyn (middle) enjoying the feast with friends

After spending the night with my parents we hit the road early and made our way down to So Cal. Traffic wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be on the day before turkey day and we made good time. Hung out with the family and even visited and paid our respects to those who couldn't be with us.

My parents and I paying respect to my grandparents in our family cemetary on the ranch

It was still dark and quiet on the ranch Thursday morning as the 4 of us got ready to make the drive to the ocean for our turkey trot. The time passed quickly as we all gabbed non-stop. I had feelings of guilty about dragging everyone out so early but it seemed like everyone was happy to be there. (Race started at 7am).



After a short unplanned detour (driver error) we found a parking spot halfway between the start and finish lines. We picked up our race packets and I helped Pat figure out how to attach the timing chip. It was fun to realize that this is still pretty new to him. The day before had been incredibly windy on the ranch but things seemed calmer today. Beautiful blue skies and moderate temperatures greeted us.




We had agreed earlier that we would all run our own race. Pat was dealing with some calf pain that flares up during running so he would go his own pace. Joey wanted to run with PJ (her son) so he would dictate their pace. I wanted to run fast. As fast as I possibly could. I wanted to suffer and see how long I could hold that pace without giving in to the pain. And then push it some more.


Pat and I lined up in the first wave of starters and Joey and PJ lined up in the second. I didn't get much of a warm up and that had me worried. I'm notoriously a slow starter and I was afraid I'd red-line early and never recover. The gun sounded and we were off. After about 3/4 mi I started seeing runners coming back and knew the first turn-around was close. I saw Pat as we passed each other going opposite directions but he didn't see me. He looked very focused and I just hoped his calves were doing ok.

I broke the race down like this: mile 1- get into a good, fast rhythm. Mile 2- maintain speed. Mile 3- push hard to the finish. I was a little worried when the first mile was clocked in 7:11. That's pretty fast but I felt ok. However, turns out it was a little fast when my second mile came in at 7:30. This is a fast course and I knew I'd be able to really push the last mile as there's some downhill and then a fun homestretch right next to the ocean.


I used the people right in front of me as motivation to keep pushing just a little harder. 2 ladies who had passed me earlier were right there and I was determined to finish ahead of them (no, I'm not competitive at all). I did pass them and set my sites further ahead. The finish banner was in sight so I hit it hard. Turns out I started my finishing sprint just a tad early, had to back off just a smidge and then hit it again across the line.


So it turns out my pacing needs just a bit of work but I felt really good about this race. I finished in 22:39 (5K PR) and 7th in my age group. I got my medal, some water and goodies and waited for Pat to come across the line. Only a few minutes later I saw him coming. His calves gave him some problems which slowed him down but he still did a great job. I'm so proud of him for getting out there. We hung out a bit longer and then there was Joey and PJ with big smiles on their faces. PJ said this was a 5K PR for him too. We grabbed our goodie bags and shirts and then made our way back to the truck. Time to get back to the ranch and some serious calorie ingesting.






On the drive back I treated everyone to Starbucks as a thank you for joining me on the run. It was nice to see all the big smiles and hear about how much they enjoyed this little adventure.

Back at the ranch showing off our Turkey Trot shirts

Pat, me, Joey, and PJ (front)

The rest of the day was spenting visiting and playing. The ranch is very special because there's 4 generations living there and it really takes you back in time.

Cousins hanging out together

Nothing like a man and his daughter. This is my cousin's husband and little girl.





Caitlyn wanted to visit her special place on the ranch with me so we headed to the horse barn. She loves to just watch the horses and this time she got to feed a couple. I think her older cousins will have her riding one on our next visit.

This is the only picture I got that actually had Sara smiling. Lately she doesn't like her picture taken very often (must be a 3 year old thing). She has her daddy's finishing medal around her neck.

It wasn't soon enough and we had lots of food appearing from various kitchens. Cousin Jim (the almost patriarch of the family, got the honors of carving the turkey. (My dad is now the patriarch but I don't think he's a big fan of the position).

Early Friday morning Pat and I and the girls started the long trip back home. The best part is the beautiful drive up Hwy 395. We always enjoy this drive and we got really lucky with traffic. I think everyone was staying put where they were for the weekend so we had an easy drive. That is until we hit snow in Truckee which made for a slow trip over the summit. But over-all, not a bad trip. And we're so lucky that our girls are such good travellers. 12 hours in a vehicle is tough on anyone but they're real troopers.

It was a real enjoyable trip and always nice to spend time with loved ones. Next up, Christmas!

Getting Caught Up

Hello again. I thought I better get a new blog entry up before people started to think I dropped off the face of the earth. In a way, I did. I was pretty discouraged after Leadville and I quit running for 6 weeks. Started physical therapy on the ITB with some good results. It's been awhile since I haven't run for that long and I needed something to fill the time usually spent running and to take my mind off not being able to run. So I discovered P90X with Tony Horton.


P90X has become more popular among firefighters lately and that's how I discovered it. Seems firefighters are commited either to Cross-Fit or P90X (ultrarunner Catra Corbett is hooked on Cross-fit). For those who don't know, P90X is a 90 day workout system incorporating a lot of old fashioned exercises like pull ups and push ups, free weights, and cardio. It's made up of 12 DVD's, each lasting about 1 hour and you just follow the plan and do the prescribed workout on the right day and at the end of 90 days you'll be "ripped" (according to Tony).


I'm on Week 9 and although I'll never show "before" and "after" pictures (plus I still have 3 weeks to go), I know I'm getting into better shape. The push ups and pull ups have been great since I've always been weak in my upper body. I use pull up assist bands and I've been able to progressively use thinner bands as I've gotten stronger. You just put the band in a clove hitch around the pull up bar and stick your foot or knee into the band and the elastic helps "assist" you.


In addition to the P90X, I've gotten back on my road and mountain bikes to help keep up my fitness since the San Francisco Nike Womens marathon was looming on the horizon. Every year my cousin and I run a marathon together and this was to be our third year. However, she just had a baby in the spring and is dealing with some slight injuries and with my ITB problems we made the prudent decision to run the half marathon instead.


So my build up to the half marathon consisted of 7 weeks of no running, P90X, and bike riding. I finally decided to test myself before the race by running 2 miles the Friday before the race and 1 mile the day before and I was delighted to be pain free.


The hubby had to work all weekend so it was an all girls weekend in SF (plus my cousin's husband who would be on kid duty while we ran. How cool is that?) We had adjoining rooms at the hotel so we could open the door between them and the girls loved running back and forth. We decided to help them burn off some more energy by walking the mile to the expo to pick up our race packets.

Meeting a new friend who also likes books

Luckily, Joey had run the half the year before so she knew the layout of the expo which helped get us through a little quicker. It had been a long day already of plane rides and driving so we decided to head straight back to the hotel. Plus we're not that thrilled with large crowds (it's a Davis thing).

Kids love small spaces

We had an early dinner then got our stuff ready for the next morning. It was such a relief knowing that it would be an easy walk to the start.

Sara helps Mommy get her stuff ready. Note the creative placement of the bottle tops

The next morning Joey and I headed out on our short walk to the start. As we got close we noticed a few people looking up into the dark sky saying "there's money falling from the sky". Yeah, right. But of course we looked up and holy smoke, there WAS money falling from the sky. Dollar bills floated down with the currents and we each caught one. We quickly decided that we are now elite runners since we got paid to race!

Money from the sky

20,000 women await the start

We found our pace group (at least a rough estimate of what we would be running). I enjoyed looking around at all the other runners, reading t-shirts, and wondering about all of their individual stories and what got them there on this beautiful SF morning. Finally the large group started moving and little did I know that eventual marathon winner Caitlin Smith (also incredible ultrarunner) would be almost 3 miles down the road before I even crossed the start line.

Over 17 minutes would pass before I got to the start line

Joey and I fell into an easy pace and soon we were on the Embarcadero. This is what I had been looking forward to the most. I love early morning runs along this route and into Fort Baker and Crissy Field whenever we visit the city. However, this morning the runners would own the roads and it was great. I was enjoying the sights and smells so much that I didn't take any pictures until we were almost to Ft. Baker.

We kept an easy pace, walked when we needed to, and I even e-mailed and texted my husband and mom on my phone to let them know the race had started and all was going well. My initial instinct is always to push myself as hard as I can but I quickly put those desires on hold and told myself that this isn't the race to do that. Today was about spending time with my cousin and enjoy a beautiful run together. But I was pretty happy with how good I felt. We'd hit an uphill and I literally felt like I was bounding up it effortlessly. I guess 6 weeks off running but good strong cross training can really keep the fitness up.

Descending to the Great Highway

After taking advantage of every aid station and its goodies (oranges, Luna Moons, Luna bars, Ghirardelli chocolate; I think we weighed more after the race then before) we found ourselves running the last couple miles through the forest of Golden Gate park. I was happy to turn right when the half marathon made its split because I had started feeling a little tightness in my ITB since mile 8. Nothing serious, just happy not to be running 26 miles.


We crossed the finish line together in 2:38:09. I could hear the announcer saying they were expecting the marathon winner shortly. Caitlin Smith won in 2:48. So she ran twice as far as we did and it only took her 10 minutes longer!!! Wow.

We made our way through the finishers chute, collecting lots of goodies, shirt, food, chocolate milk (yeah, my favorite) and mylar blanket. It was still sunny but the wind was chilly, especially as we cooled off from running.

3 years, 2.5 marathons (San Diego, Big Sur, SF half)

We caught the bus back to the start line and enjoyed the quick walk back to the hotel. Showers, packing, and we finally went our separate ways, already planning next years marathon. After 3 years on the California coast we may make our way to Utah next fall. I think that's the best part of this sport, always planning the next event. Thanks, Joey, for another great run. And thanks Andy for taking such good care of "all" your girls. You're the best.


And now just a final note about what life is like with a 5 year old. This is a conversation I had with Caitlyn just the other day. I was doing my P90X Kenpo workout while the girls were watching me. Since I can't see myself I'm not always positive I'm doing the moves correctly so I asked Caitlyn:

Me: Caitlyn, do I look like the people on tv?

Caitlyn: You look better than them.

Me: (feeling pretty smug)

Caitlyn: Mommy, you sure work out a lot.

Me: Why yes I do.

Caitlyn: Is that so you can get rid of the fat in your belly?

Me: (ego deflates). Yes, honey.

Racing Across the Sky in Leadville

Well, it's about time I get this report written. It's not going to get any easier. Writing about my experience at Leadville may help me get some closure and be able to move on. Don't get me wrong, it was a wonderful adventure with some great friends (including my wonderful husband) but it just didn't turn out the way I wanted.

Leading up to Leadville, the big news in our house was Caitlyn's first day of kindergarten. All summer she's been looking forward to going to the same school her mother went to many years ago. We were all up early for the first day of school. My mom came to town to watch the girls while we would be in Colorado and she brought with her a whole bunch of new school outfits so it was no problem getting Caitlyn dressed.

We got Caitlyn settled into her new classroom, figured out where to put her backpack and lunch box, and talked a bit with her teacher then it was time to leave my little girl. Wow, kindergarten.

A tender goodbye

Now that my little girl was safely tucked away in her class, it was time to start concentrating on my own great adventure. Pat and I hit the road and 16 hours later we pulled into our friends house in Crested Butte, Colorado, 1:30 AM. We were met with a warm cozy bed, fresh baked chocolate chip cookies, a couple Nalgene bottles full of water (gotta stay hydrated) and a sweet note welcoming us. Thank you Dan and Mary.







We spent Thursday exploring the wonderful little town of Crested Butte. I had run very little since my injury on Aug 1 so I decided to take a little run in the hills right near town. I met a lady who would be pacing one of Dan's neighbors at Leadville so we hit the trail together and that was a real treat. The leg still hurt but it wasn't debilitating. I had hope for Saturday.

BBQing fresh halibut flown in from Seattle

A little wine with your fish?

Early Friday morning we loaded up and headed across Cottonwood Pass to Leadville for medical check in and to get settled into the Delaware Hotel. I was surprised to find that my oxygen saturation was 91%. If I had a patient with that sat I would put them on an oxygen mask. Things are different at 10,200 ft.

The STEEP stairs at the historic Delaware hotel

Getting weighed in

Once again Ken whipped everyone into a frenzy declaring we would "commit, don't quit". I just wanted to get on the trail. The waiting was killing me. The not knowing if my leg would hold up, if I would be able to cross that finish line. I knew I was physically fit enough to do it and I just wanted a fair chance to prove it.

Merilee and Ken, the founders of this grand adventure

I spent the evening getting my stuff organized and ready for the next day. Pat and Dan would be crewing/pacing me so I didn't use drop bags. They would be at each aid station except Pipeline. Two days before, a military helicopter doing training operations crashed on Mt. Massive causing the Halfmoon area to be closed by the military. The race would be re-routed onto part of the bike race course before re-joining the Colorado Trail. I appreciate the military working with the race organizers in order to make this race happen. Running through this area the next day, my thoughts were on the 4 crew members who lost their lives.

After a few hours of sleep, race morning came early. I was surprised at how warm (relatively) it was. A sign of things to come. As I headed toward the start line I heard someone call my name. It was Jael, a new friend that I met at training camp. It was so good to see her. We snapped a picture, wished each other luck and after a countdown from 10, the infamous shotgun sounded that started over 500 runners on their way down the road.

Me and Jael at the start

The first few miles are a gradual downhill and I settled into a rhythm, if a bit painful. Right before getting to Turquoise Lake there's a nasty little powerline climb that I hadn't seen before and it was pretty amazing to see all the headlights spread out ahead and above me. I continued an easy pace around the lake thinking there was no way I would make my time split to May Queen at the slow pace I was going. So I was quite surprised to pull into the campground right on time. So far so good.

Dan joining me the last few feet to the aid station. Goofy guy.

I dropped my lights and was going to shed my long sleeve shirt but May Queen was COLD so I kept it on for the climb to Hagerman Pass Rd. I made good time over Powerline but the trouble started when I started the descent. My right leg/knee/ITB was hurting and I found myself favoring the leg which put more pressure on my left quad. It was already whining to me. I hit the pavement and did a run/walk to the Fish Hatchery aid station. I told Pat that I would finish but it probably wouldn't be pretty. I still had quite a bit of confidence in my ability to just keep moving forward. Plus I hit my second time split right on the money. 5 hours.

Looking back down at Turquoise Lake from Hagerman

My awesome pit stop crew got my hydration bladder filled, handed me a Nutella/Honey/Banana sandwich, and I was on my way for the dreaded road section. I told the guys I would be fine and they could just meet me at Twin Lakes. I planned to be there at 1pm.

Enjoying my sandwich. Thanks Pat!

This next section is long, hot, and exposed. It's level so it should be run easily but I just couldn't do it. I would pick phone poles and run past a couple then walk a bit. Run, then walk. It was all I could do and I noticed a lot of other people doing it too. It was here that I started seeing military helicopters flying through the valley and my thoughts turned to the crash. Made me grateful I could be in this beautiful place, doing something I love with great friends and family.


I passed through the unofficial Pipeline aid station without stopping, except to confirm with Merilee that there would be another aid station before Twin Lakes. She confirmed that there was one at Box Canyon just a few miles up the road. The road continued to be hot and exposed and it undulated allowing me to run occasionally. But I knew I was walking way too much. At this rate I would never reach Twin Lakes on time. But everytime I ran pain would shoot through my leg causing me to limp, putting more pressure on that left quad.

I finally made it to Box Canyon and after spending a little more time than I wanted to there (in an outhouse) I finally got back on the trail feeling a bit better. More undulating road then a final climb up to the Colorado Trail and familiar territory (from the training camp). It was so wonderful to be back on smooth singletrack in the canopy of aspens. The descent to Twin Lakes was just as long and annoying as it was at camp but I finally flung myself down the last steep pitch to the aid station. It was 1:03 PM. Right on time. I couldn't believe it. 40 miles in and I was feeling better and better. I was going to finish this thing!

Twin Lakes from the Colorado Trail

All smiles coming into Twin Lakes

I left TL ready to tackle Hope Pass. I almost ran race leader Anton Krupicka off the trail as I made my way to the river crossing. I looked down for a second right as he ran by and didn't see him so I couldn't get off the trail in time. He said excuse me very politely and kept right on running.


The cold water of Lake Creek felt great on the feet. It wasn't long after this little oasis that the real climbing began. And it is steep. I got into a slow rhythm that I knew I could sustain but it just felt too slow. At training camp I ran from TL to Winfield in 3:20 so I was giving myself 3:30-4:00 today. At this point the heat of the day was really beating down. Bikram yoga has given me an edge when it comes to heat but I know it was having an effect on me. That and the altitude. Turns out today would break records for Leadville, the hottest day of the year.

After an eternity I finally reached Hopeless Aid Station just below the summit. I had only heard of this AS and really looked forward to seeing it. To me it takes on a mystical quality considering it's so high and they use llamas to carry all the supplies up and camp up there in the preceeding days.

Hopeless AS but not hopeless yet

Llamas

I finally reached the summit at 4pm. 4pm?! I was suppose to be at Winfield right now. How did that happen? I downed a Tylenol to help dull the pain in my legs and I started a very choppy, ugly descent to Winfield Rd. I knew Pat and Dan would start worrying about me since I was well behind my target time now. I checked my little paper with cut off times on it and was dismayed to see that Winfield was 6pm. I knew I could cover the last 5 miles in 2 hours but how was I suppose to get back in time? My dream started to fade.


After a long, painful trip down 3,000 ft I faced an annoying 2.5 miles of dirt road that climbed slightly to Winfield. I saw Jael coming the other way and I threw up my hands saying "cut-off". She yelled at me that I could still do it but I need to RUN! So I ran. Well, if you can call it that. I really wanted Pat to be able to pace me back to Twin Lakes so I forced myself to keep moving forward and beat that cut off. And I did. By 20 minutes.

Trying to hide the tears

I went through the aid station, got weighed (showed I was down 8 lbs) and checked out. I think I mentally gave up here. I know people have finished the race in time after leaving Winfield this late but I knew I would have trouble making the cut off at Twin Lakes since I could no longer run down steep hills. I was surprised to see Pat and Dan so adamant that I could still do it. My race wasn't over yet. They hadn't cut my wrist band off so let's GO!

Pat anxious to get me back over Hope

Pat threw on my hydration pack and we hit the trail. I would have 4 hours to get back to TL. Any other day that would have been plenty of time. But it took me over 4 hours to get to Winfield. So despite the odds, I was game to give it a try. We ran the whole section of road back to the trailhead where I had stashed my trekking poles. We started up the trail with Pat encouraging me every step of the way. I wouldn't stop. I wouldn't complain. I would try to stay positive for him......and for me. But it was hard. So hard to know that I was bringing up the rear of the pack. That my chances were getting slimmer by the minute.

The sun was setting and it made for a beautiful sky. We even saw a rainbow. We passed runners sitting beside the trail with head in hands, pacers fervantly trying to encourage them to get up and keep moving. Pat would offer his encouragement, tell them to keep moving forward and eventually they would. More than one would thank Pat for his words.






It was incredibly important to me that Pat get to pace me back to TL. That he get to see part of what I had been through. Where the wheels came off. I sacrificed so much during the year, time with my family because I needed to "get in a long run". So even though the dream had gone so terribly wrong, I was right where I wanted to be, doing exactly what I wanted to do, with exactly the right person. I was standing on 12,600 foot Hope Pass, watching the sun set over the Rocky Mountains, with the man that I love.


The first few steps down from the pass were excrutiating and it didn't get much better over the next 5 miles. Every step would cause me to whimper and there was nothing I could do about it. I had heard of runners dropping out of Western States because they "blew their quads in the canyons" and I can honestly understand that now. But I kept going back to the fact that I had an untimely injury that caused me to stop running 3 weeks before the biggest race of my life. My legs just lost the ability to take a pounding.


As we descended, I noticed the TL cut off time come....and go. The pressure was off. There was no longer a reason to push it, as I had been still trying to do. We reached the creek and I gloried in the cold water on sore feet.







Pat and I made it back to TL where we met up with Dan who was dressed and ready to take me to the next aid station if I had made the time cut. Their enthusiasm and positive attitude was amazing. I know under different circumstances they would have gotten me to the finish. Thank you both so much. I got my wrist band cut off (something I NEVER want to have happen again) and I crawled into the front seat of the truck.

My faithful Mule

Dan, ready to run but nowhere to run

Pat was all the talk in my spare heart gaiters

We made it back to the Delaware where the stairs were as bad as I thought they would be (and would be worse in the morning coming down). I fell into a troubled sleep thinking of all the things I could have done different that would have had a more favorable outcome. But the bottom line is, there really is nothing I could have done different. But after putting so much time, effort, and money toward a singular goal, it was incredibly hard to walk away empty handed, knowing that I had failed.

Now I know that's a strong word, and many people would disagree with me. They would tell me to try and see all the successful things I did this year, all the races I ran, new friends I made, and the great shape I got into. Plus I just ran 60 tough miles, a personal best for me. And I do see that. It was an incredible year. I did things I've never done before. And I will be back. I have unfinished business in Leadville.

The next morning we got a bite to eat at Provin' Grounds before watching the last of the finishers cross that line. I needed to see the end of the race and be there for the last runner.

Merilee with the finishers medals, Ken with the shotgun

And that's it. 30 hours. Race over.

Running Out of Time at Leadville 100

Just wanted to give folks an update on my run at Leadville this last Saturday while I collect my thoughts for a more thorough report later. The bottom line is I had a great race for the first 40 miles. I was hitting every split at the aid stations despite my knee giving me problems. Then I hit Hope Pass. That was where the wheels came off. I climbed slower then I expected and when I finally did hit the top, I found I could no longer run downhill. My left quad was shot due to compensating for the painful right knee.

I got to Winfield (50 miles) 20 minutes before the cut off time. My crew fully believed in me so I quickly hit the trail with my husband/pacer for the return climb over Hope. I think deep down I knew I wasn't going to make the cut off to Twin Lakes but Pat and Dan had so much faith in me that I knew I had to give it my best shot. But when we reached the top of Hope and I tried to run down the other side, it was just too painful. I had to walk and therefore I missed the cut off to continue past Twin Lakes.

So my race ended at 60 miles which is still a personal best distance for me. I hate to make excuses but I know the fact that I couldn't run these last 3 weeks really hurt me. My legs lost the ability to take a pounding, especially on the long downhills. It was still a wonderful experience and I love the fact that my husband got to pace me for the first time and see part of the course that is the most beautiful and challenging. I'll try to get a full report up in the next couple days.

Many thanks to everyone who had such positive comments and belief in me.

Cool and Not So Cool

It's Tuesday night and tomorrow is going to be an exciting day. It's my daughter's first day of kindergarten. It's hard to believe I've had her in my life for 5 years and now she's starting school. Today we got to go by the school and meet her teacher, see her classroom, and fill out mounds of paperwork. Her class is absolutely adorable and I've heard nothing but wonderful things about her teacher. And I must say, what makes this even more special, is the fact that I went to this same school in second grade in 1978. I never thought that 31 years later I would be taking my own daughter there.


The other exciting thing that will happen on Wednesday is Pat and I will head to Colorado for the Leadville 100 this weekend. After we drop Caitlyn off we will hit the road. My mom is in town and will pick her up and probably do something special like go out to lunch at McDonald's and then have ice cream. I'm excited about this weekend but I must say, I'll be lining up on that start line at less than 100% healthy. Cool was my downfall. And new shoes. Here's the story.



Running at night is cool. I guess that's why the 12 Hours at Cool Night Run is really cool. Last year was my first time doing this event and it was also my first night run. I was running on an injury so I decided to just do 3 9 mile laps for 27 miles. The first lap is done in the daylight giving you a chance to get to know the course then you gently enter the darkness as the sun sets over the golden hills.

RD Nancy Warren giving last minute instructions

This year would be different. I had a strong run at TRT 2 weeks before and wanted to have another strong run at Cool. My coach wanted me to do a 4 hour run on Sat and another 4 hour run on Sunday. Instead I ran 9 hours on Sat and 1:30 on Sunday. Sometimes I don't follow directions so well.

My plan was to do 4 laps for 36 miles. I figured that would be a good solid run without taxing myself too much. Plus I was having a periformis issue that was causing pain down the back of my right leg. One thing I didn't mention in my last post was that I did TRT in a brand new pair of shoes. Now, you might ask yourself, why would someone do such a thing. Because sometimes I'm stupid. I figured they were the same exact shoe I've been training in so why not do a long run in them. I didn't figure in the fact that my other pair has a couple hundred miles on them and the new ones had, well, zero. That could cause a problem. Since I didn't put together the connection of 50 miles in a brand new pair of shoes and the periformis pain, I decided to do another long run in the new shoes as well. Yeah, like I said, stupid.

Nancy Warren got us started right at 7pm and I quickly settled into a nice pace and was happy that my leg felt pretty good. It wasn't long before I started thinking about doing an extra lap. I must say that the majority of time was spent debating whether to run 4 or 5 laps. Last year's run was magical. It was my first night run and since I was injured I was happy just to be out there. I didn't care about time or distance, I spent 15-20 minutes at the aid station at the end of each lap just relaxing and having a good time. This year was different. I was thinking about time, distance, and a certain 100 mile race looming on the horizon. Needless to say, it wasn't nearly as relaxed but the further I ran, the stronger I felt. My lap times were very consistent and I kept my time at the aid stations very short.

Running through the golden foothills at sunset is an amazing experience. As the sun sinks and the shadows grow long through the black oaks, the temperatures cool and you can feel your energy increase. The course is mostly rolling dirt roads with only a couple steeper hills that I had to walk. I also started thinking maybe I could place in the top 3. I didn't recognize a lot of big names at the beginning so I let my ego start rolling.

I was getting a bit faituged by the end of the 4th lap but decided to push on to lap 5. On the backside of the course at Norm and Helen's aid station, a woman showed up shortly after I did. Hmmm, where did she come from? And how many laps has she done? I decided to hit the trail. She was not far behind and I noticed she was slowly gaining on me as we walked the hill. Now, I didn't run over 40 miles just to get passed in the last 3. So I started running where I had been walking and discovered I could put some distance on my pursuer. I was also surprised to find that I was still climbing strong. The legs felt great.

Horses make way for the runners

I reached the top of the hill and decided I wouldn't stop running until I crossed the finish line. I would treat this like it was the end of Leadville and push myself harder then I wanted to. If that lady wanted to pass me, she would have to work at it. When I got to 1 mile to go, I knew I had it. I continued to push and crossed the finish line in 9:07:10. I debated about doing the extra 5.5 miles to the back side aid station but I already had my Western States 50 mile qualifier so I called it a night. The lady behind me came into the finish laughing that I must have really wanted to stay ahead of her because she really ate my dust. Turns out she did 4 laps so I was ahead of her by a full lap. Oh well, it was good to push myself. However, after seeing the results I was a bit disappointed. I finished 4th female but if I had run that extra 5.5 miles, I would have finished 2nd.

I got cleaned up, visited a bit, then headed home. The sun was rising. I had to pull over about 25 minutes from home and take a quick cat nap so I didn't fall asleep while driving. I got home, crashed on the couch for another hour before the family woke up and we headed to Incline Village. I wanted to get in another run but I noticed my right knee was pretty sore. So while my family played at the park, I ran up Tunnel Creek to the flume trail and back down. It was only 6.5 miles but it was a strong 3.25 mile climb with a painful descent.

We had a nice lunch at Steamers in Kings Beach then headed home. By Monday, my knee was really hurting. It felt like a very tight ITB. I got a foam roller and rolled it, iced it, and started the Ibuprofen routine. I ran easy on Monday and Tuesday but it was very painful. So I stopped running. My coach asked if I had done anything different and I told him about running 100 miles in a brand new pair of shoes (TRT and Cool). He ordered me back into my older shoes and I finally tried running again on the 14th. I ran 1 painful mile. Things were not looking good for Leadville but we went on with preparations to go.

I finally seemed to turn the corner on this past Sunday. I ran 4 miles but in a type of pain that I can work through. I've also been seeing my chiropractor trying to get my periformis taken care of. Things seem to be better in that department as well. So here's how things stand 4 days before my first 100 mile run: my leg/knee still hurts but I think/hope it's something I'll be able to work through on race day. I've run about 13 miles in the last 3 weeks (since Aug 5) but I'm hoping my fitness hasn't disappeared (notice a lot of "hoping" here?)

So my diagnosis is this: an over-use injury from running 2 50 mile races within 2 weeks of each other (one with 10,000 ft of climbing) in brand new shoes which aggravated my ITB and periformis. I'm hoping (there's that word again) that I was able to rest long enough that it will be fine on race day. At least I'll be well rested :) It's definitely not the type of taper I was shooting for.

I'm pretty convinced that if I had run the schedule my coach wanted me to, and was smarter about breaking in a new pair of shoes, this wouldn't have happened. But I let my ego get the better of me at Cool and I ran more than I should have. Will I ever learn? I'm sure nobody else has ever done anyting like this before.

I'm headed to Leadville with the intention of finishing. But I'll be smart. There's a difference between pushing through pain and pushing through an injury. I hope I will know the difference.