Back on the Wagon

(ed note: for those of you who asked, I've included some pictures of the new "do" at the end of this post).


It's been nice getting back into a routine of consistent exercise and better eating habits. Unfortunately, I'm still not seeing the weight loss but I can't obsess about this, it will come in time. I just wish I could run, I know that's the fastest way to lose the weight. In the meantime, I was able to get in 3 bike rides, 2 elliptical days, 3 weight days and 1 day swimming last week. I was suppose to do 2 days swimming but I forgot to take my swimsuit to the gym on Sunday so I just did weights then went home and did a quick mountainbike ride while the girls napped and Pat was taking it easy. Shortly into my ride I noticed the ride seemed a little rough. I got off and checked out my rear shock, it was bottoming out anytime I sat on the bike. When I tried to ride it like that, I felt like I was riding a low-rider. Luckily I was able to lock out the rear suspension and finish the ride. It was a rough ride occasionally, totally old school!

I'm trying to up the intensity of my workouts and make each one count. My easy days are usually days I can't work out at all. Yesterday was one of those days. We usually don't go anywhere on Memorial weekend, too many crowds and the weather was bad. Seems someone turned the calendar back to February. That's also a nice advantage of the firefighter schedule, we usually plan our trips for mid-week to escape the crowds. This weekend was all about family and enjoying some quality time together.

Recently I've been really curious about Cross-Fit. Pat and I did a demo day a couple months ago with the guy who runs a shop in Grass Valley. It's really intense and has a lot of possibility but the cost is a bit high and the hours pretty limited. We just can't justify leaving our gym that has much better hours and child-care. So today I made up my own little cross-fit WOD. I did 10 minutes warm-up then 20 minutes of 10 jump pull ups, 10 squats with a 15# dumbell acting as a kettleball, and 10 incline push ups. I was able to do 11 sets in the 20 minutes and I was worked. I finished it off with 20 minutes of Pilates. Earlier I had done almost an hour on the elliptical so it was a pretty good day. And it was all on shift too (most of it after dinner).

It was nice getting back into the pool too. I'm not that great of a swimmer, very slow no matter how hard I try. If I have a day to do anything I want, swimming is usually pretty low on that list. However, I've noticed in the past that when I swim with a buoy between my thighs I swim faster. It seems strange to swim faster when I'm only using my arms but it's true. Pat said it's because I'm letting my lower body drop and it's dragging through the water, slowing me down. So now I concentrate on bending a bit at the waist, pushing my chest down into the water, tucking my chin, and push my butt into the air, out of the water. It's exaggerated right now but I do notice that I'm faster when I do this. I think it straightens out my body, brings my lower body up a bit so there's less drag. Ideally I'd like to join a class where I could learn better technique but with a full time job and 2 little kids, there's just not enough hours in the day. I do what I can and right now that's enough.

My MRI is on Friday so I'm really looking forward to that. I keep saying that if the MRI comes back negative I'm just going to start running again, despite the pain. That's probably not the smartest move but then I've never been all that smart when it comes to this kind of thing.

I should probably mention that I took your guys' advice and got my haircut and a whole new "do". I love it. It's so different and easy and fun. Thanks for the suggestion!

Hope everyone had a safe (and dry) holiday weekend.

Moving Forward

All right, enough about depression. Time to get off the couch, get positive, and start enjoying this wonderful HOT weather we're having. Welcome to summer! Hope you all survived your runs at Pony Express and Silver State.

After my last post I received a lot of supportive comments and I really appreciate it. I know some of you are also going through injuries but I didn't expect my post to hit so close to home. Seems we're all in the same boat heading to Gilligan's island...............

On Tuesday I had a rare spare hour and fifteen minutes before work so I decided to explore an area just off I-80 called Negro Canyon. I last visited there in January where I took the photo that was at the top of my blog. I've since changed the picture to something more "spring/summer" feeling. It was taken along the American River during the AR50.

Looking south toward Tinkers Knob, Jan 2008

Mid-May, 2008

It's a south facing canyon so there's very little snow left so the hiking was easy. After a climb straight up the middle of the canyon the road tapers off to the west and intersects with the Donner Lake Rim Trail. I haven't hiked any part of this trail so I eagerly hopped onto it heading east. It basically followed the contour of the hill with some fun rollers so I eased into a very slow jog. Painful. Oh well, I wanted to have an accurate description for the orthopedic specialist that I was to see the next day.

Donner Lake Rim Trail

I eased back into a walk as I headed downhill back to the car. It occured to me that I don't particularly enjoy walking since becoming a trail runner. It's just too slow and takes forever to get anywhere.

Spring is coming to the high country

My visit to the orthopod Wed was quick and to the point. He took an x-ray there in his office and was able to read it. Still no stress fracture despite all the running during the month of April. Next step is an MRI that I should get next week. In the meantime, sometimes it hurts, sometimes it doesn't. Whatever.

Friday Pat and I finally got a chance to do a nice ride together. The kids were in daycare and we were both off work. One of the rides we've been wanting to do is ride the American River bike path from Beals Point to Fanny Ann's restaurant in Old Sacramento, have lunch and ride back. But with temperatures projected to be around 102 we decided to wait another day and head to the mountains instead. Truckee was only suppose to be 80 on Friday and that sounded much better. We parked at Cisco Grove off I-80 and rode Old 40 over the summit and down around Donner Lake. The climb back up to the summit went ok, we're both lacking some fitness but at least it wasn't too hot. The best part of the ride is the return down Old 40 to Cisco. All those miles of moderate uphill become a blast downhill. After the ride we drove over to Truckee for lunch. Weren't sure what we were looking for but we sure found it with Smokey's Kitchen BBQ. I made a pig of myself with a pulled pork sandwich and we shared a small order of onion rings. Topped it off with a chocolate milkshake. Mmmm, mmmm, good.

Following the Yuba River

Pat's training for his first triathlon, the Donner Lake Tri in mid-July that uses this same course. Should be a lot of fun and quite a challenge that I know he'll be up for.

Crossing Rainbow Bridge with Donner Lake in the background

Another project we've been working on is starting a garden using raised beds. This will be my first attempt at growing vegetables (my mom says we had a garden when I was really young but I sure don't remember helping out at all). We've started with the basics: tomatoes, zucchini, bell peppers, about 3 different types of cucumber (I didn't know what I was buying), and herbs.

Yes, that's a kids rake, but it worked pretty well

We also planted a bunch of flowers to add some color around the house. We started this project for our girls. We wanted them to see the whole process of planting something, helping it grow, then eating what it produces. Plus it'll be fun (I say that now............)

Caitlyn's watering the bell peppers

Sara's checking out the pretty flowers

The diet and exercise still isn't what I want it to be but at least it's better and my attitude is improving. Baby steps. I can also be pretty hard on myself so maybe I should just lighten up. Carpe Diem.

Diagnosis: Depression?

There's nothing worse than a runner who can't run. I miss being a runner. It's been 2 weeks since Big Sur and I haven't run a step. My leg feels like it did before the marathon, nothing worse. I have an appointment with an orthopedic specialist on Wednesday. I hope he can give me a definitive diagnosis and come up with a plan that will get me back on the roads and trails.

In the meantime, I think I'm suffering from depression. Not the really bad, clinically depressed, "I hate my life" depression. Just a low grade, nagging feeling that I'm always feeling "down". I think anyone who has suffered (or is currently suffering) from an injury can relate. You try not to think about it but it's always there. I've surrounded myself with running stuff too. Ultrarunner, Runner's World, and Trail Runner magazines, and everyday on my commute I listen to Phedipiddations podcasts by Steve Runner. I also check out quite a few blogs to keep up on where everyone else is running and racing. And I can't stop eating. I have lost all control. I keep going back to my "comfort" foods and I eat, eat, eat. To top it off, I have no motivation to work out. I have been doing some workouts but not with the same spirit I had back in Feb and March. Add that up and you have WEIGHT GAIN! And that just adds to the depression. So I eat more. And I don't work out much. It's a vicious cycle.

So what to do? I was listening to Phedippidations this morning and he was talking about Dr George Sheehan. He mentioned that every day is a chance to be the first day that you change your life. Now I've heard that before and I'm aware of it but I just keep putting off that first day. But hearing it this morning it just hit me right. Today is my first day to change some things. A couple other things happened this weekend that also made me start thinking about how good my life is. My good friend sent me this great story about what it means to be a mom and how important our job is. It really struck a cord in me. I also stumbled upon The Fat Cyclist's blog again. I used to read it a couple years ago when I was doing a lot of mountain biking but got away from it. What I just read yesterday was incredibly sad and it made me appreciate everything I have in my life. So what if I can't run right now. I WILL get better and in the meantime, it's a chance to ride my bike which I also love but had forgotten. I have a wonderful family who loves and supports me, a good job with great co-workers, and I'm healthy. What more could I ask for?

Today is Mother's Day and I'm at work. Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful, special moms out there. This morning we had an assignment to take our fire truck to the local Moms On The Run 5K road race and hang an American flag from the tip, actually stretched between two of our trucks. It was hard for me to be there and not be able to run. I soon got over that and enjoyed cheering on all the hundreds of runners and walkers as they took on the challenge of completing 3.1 miles on a beautiful morning. I felt very patriotic watching that flag wave in the breeze as the National Anthem played.

Setting up for the start

One of Reno Fire Department's own

Great sense of humor!

Then the runners were off! Our very own firefighter, Shawn Lawrence, beat out the second place finisher in a desperate footrace right to the end. The crowd went wild. Every female finisher received a beautiful long stem flower. One lady was so impressive she had 2 kids in a double jogger plus one in a backpack. It was great to see all the families it made me miss my own. This race will have to go on the agenda for next year.

Shawn Lawrence just edges it out for the win

Flowers for the female finishers

So I guess the bottom line is, I'm tired of feeling down, fat, and out of shape. So I'm taking it upon myself to change my attitude and it starts today. I'm eating better, cutting down on the portions, more fruits and vegetables, and I'm getting back into my routine of weights and cross-training. And wouldn't you know it, my leg feels better than it has in a month.

Dean Told Me To

So I'm not sure how to begin this entry. Should I talk about how we spent a wonderful weekend in Monterey supporting my cousin as she ran her second marathon and save the surprise for the end? Or should I just get it out of the way now? I vote for the latter.


We did spend a wonderful weekend in Monterey supporting my cousin as she ran a wonderful marathon. She started out slow, well within herself, kept a consistent pace and effort and crossed the finish line in 5:06:34. I finished right next to her in 5:06:33. But it's not my fault. Dean Karnazes told me to do it.


We headed down to Monterey on Saturday after I got off shift in Reno. Friday night had been spent moving fire engines and trucks in and out of the station after all the earthquakes hit. The biggest one was 4.9 and I thought someone was shaking my bed in the middle of the night. It's our policy to move the equipment out of the station in case another big one hits for at least a half hour. So it was a busy night.


Our hotel room wasn't quite ready so we met up with my cousin and her family at the Expo. As we were walking in I noticed Dean Karnazes walking by. I immediately said hello and was impressed with how genuine he was. He asked me my name and we spent a few minutes talking. I mentioned I probably wasn't going to run the next day because of my injury and he said that I just needed to go to the start because it's such a beautiful race I would hate to miss it. I could just see how things felt and play it by ear. Now you need to understand my mindset here. In the days leading up to Big Sur I was 85% sure I wasn't going to run. But I packed my running bag anyway, just in case. I guess I came up with another one of those "you know you're a runner when........you take your running bag to an event that you're pretty sure you won't run just because you believe in last minute miracles". Dean's comment shifted that ratio to 85% sure I WAS going to run. By the time I picked up my chip, #, bus pass, and beautiful technical t-shirt, I was hooked.


I told my husband I really wanted to run. We came up with a plan. I would run the first 10K and see how I felt. It usually takes me about an hour to get warmed up and into my stride so that would be a good time. If my leg was really bad, I would go to medical and get a ride to the finish. At least I would be on that start line and try. Problem is, I hadn't run a single step since the AR50 and Daffodil 5K weekend (3 weeks prior) and had no idea if I COULD run. Plus, I had promised a lot of people I wouldn't run and further injure myself so I could see I would owe some people some apologies.


Race morning came early, 3am early. Joey's husband gave us a ride to downtown where we would load onto buses for the hour drive down the coast to Big Sur. It is definitely daunting to drive what you know you will be running. 26.2 miles is a long way. Especially in a school bus at 4:00 in the morning.

Joey and I at the start

We arrived at the starting area by 5:15 with 1 1/2 hours to wait. It was warm, about 50 degrees. We visited the porta potties a couple times, snacked, visited, and people-watched. Then it was time to line up. We found a spot in about the middle of the mass of people and a gentleman sang the national anthem. It was incredible. His voice was deep and strong and it echoed up and down the canyon. When he finished they released a flock of white doves and they flew around the canyon in beautiful circles.





The race started and the first couple miles are downhill. It was agony. My leg hurt a lot more than I expected, especially with that downhill. I was worried. If it continued to hurt this much, I was in trouble. I had taken some Ibuprofen before the race and I had a couple of Tylenol in my pocket for later. Finally the course leveled out and we got into some rollers. I started getting warmed up and it didn't take long to figure out that I did much better on the flats and uphills, less pounding on my leg. Things were improving.

Point Sur Lighthouse

The next 7-8 miles flew by. I couldn't believe how fast the mile markers kept going by. Our pace was slow, we averaged 11:00 min/mi but the effort was perfect for us. Joey has been dealing with some health issues, I've been dealing with my injury so we were perfectly matched. It was great. We talked with folks around us, playing the typical leap-frog with the same people. I really enjoyed reading all the different shirts. There are a ton of runs out there to be explored.

Loved the shirts (says Hills Ahead, Carmel 26.2 miles with a vulture on it)

Occasionally the terrain would open up and we were faced with a pretty strong headwind. I later heard reports that it was up to 30mph. When the road would take us in and out of the coves the wind would die and it would immediately start warming up. Occasionally we would get lucky enough to get an uphill AND a headwind. But the views were incredible. The first 5 miles were run in the trees of Big Sur. Stunning terrain. By mile 6 the ocean became our constant companion. The green hills were full of California Happy Cows munching grass in peace.

Following Joey down the long open road

Up to about mile 12 my leg was doing really well (at least as well as could be expected). But then we started the long descent to Bixby Bridge and that downhill just about killed me. It was the most pain I would experience on the whole run. My stride was short and choppy, I was favoring my leg which put more strain on my right quad, and I was just really hurting. I could hardly wait to get down to the bridge so we could start the 2 mile climb to Hurricane Point.

Bixby Bridge, halfway there

The climb wasn't bad. We just put our heads down and kept putting one foot in front of the other. Before we knew it, we were at the VERY windy top. I was carrying some gu's and shot bloks and was surprised at how quickly I was going thru them, I was hungry. Miles 17-20 were tough for me. The heart/lungs were feeling good but my body was getting really sore. 20 miles on pavement is tough. I was able to get some apple slices and bananas at one aid station and some more gu's at another and that kept me going. Joey and I were so intuned with each other the entire run. Sometimes we'd walk through aid stations and other times we'd just keep running on thru. Our pit stops were well timed and we ran every step of the course except when we'd walk through an aid station. But our bodies were getting tired.





At the beginning of the race it was announced that Jeff Galloway was there and he'd be running a 5 hour pace with a run/walk ratio. Anyone was free to join him. As the race went on we found ourselves playing leap frog with his group even though we were running most of the time. My psychological high point was getting past mile 20. After that point I knew I could finish. My leg was holding up (with the help of 500 mg of Tylenol) and it became my goal to finish in front of Jeff Galloway. Nothing personal, but everyone needs a goal. Joey and I were picking up the pace, continuing to run up all those little nasty hills at the end when at mile 23 my left calf and foot suddenly seized up and I was stopped in my tracks. I quickly took some Endurolytes and started jogging again. We were able to pick up the speed and made our way in front of Jeff again. But we were both on the verge of cramping, our calves, the arches of our feet, even our hamstrings. We were running quickly but carefully. No sudden moves that would send our muscles into spasms making us cry out in pain.

Jeff Galloway, my unsuspecting "rabbit"

We weaved through runners and soon we were along the last stretch of road where the spectators are barricaded behind the fences. The finish line came into sight. We continued to run hard and finally we made it across that wonderful finish line where volunteers were there to place our beautiful medals around our necks. Suddenly a man was calling my name. He was a volunteer and he asked if my husband was here. I said yes, somewhere, and he said that he had heard my husband yelling loudly and wanted to make sure we found each other in the finish line craziness. What a wonderful touch.


And that brings me to the volunteers. What an incredible bunch of people. The ones handing out the medals at the finish line have a wonderful job. But there are thousands more doing the less popular things. I saw many of them at the aid stations, chasing down thousands of cups that had been discarded by runners and were now blowing across the ground by the powerful winds. And if you weren't running, it was cold. They spent hours out there just to support us. These races just wouldn't happen without all those selfless volunteers. My thanks go out to them.

Joey and I with our new medals

We reunited with our families and made our way back to the hotel. We decided to spend some time out at the pool so the kids could swim. Unfortunately, I must have burned up some brain cells in addition to calories because I didn't put sunscreen on. So that night I got to add the pain of a slight sunburn to my already aching legs. After having some pesto brie and baguette by the pool, we showered and headed down to Cannery Row. Dinner was at El Torito which is an excellent mexican restaurant. We walked the streets after dinner and I even found a Toll House cookie shop for some dessert.


My parents and Joey's parents were suppose to join us on this trip but circumstances kept that from happening. They were missed but I must say it was nice for Joey's and my family to spend time together. We haven't done much of that without also having other members of the family there. We are the next generation and it was fun to make some of our own lifetime memories. Joey and I ran our very first marathon together last June at San Diego. This was our second. I wonder where our third will take us. I can't wait to find out.

Plan B

It's been an interesting 2 1/2 weeks since AR50. I've gone through a range of emotions and my body has gone through a range of repair/rebuild.

The first week after running 50 miles followed by racing a 5K the next day went pretty well, even better than expected. I wasn't overly tired or hungry. I did one easy bike ride, one day on the elliptical and one 6 mile hike with my dog. The overall soreness in my legs dissipated by the Tuesday following the runs and if it wasn't for my injured leg I know I would have been doing easy runs by Wednesday. But not surprisingly the pain in my leg kept me from doing any running. In order to rest my leg I decided to do an easy hike instead which would allow me to spend some quality time with my dog as well. That was on Friday the 11th.

In addition to the leg injury, after the runs I developed pain along the top of my foot. It only hurt when I flexed my foot so I figured it was probably a muscular injury from flexing my foot with every foot swing during the run. However, I was surprised at how much it hurt during my hike. Between the pain in the foot, shin, and calf, I was pretty discouraged. I was able to enjoy the quiet hike through the woods taking in all the sights of spring wildflowers, buzzing insects (gnats can be so annoying this time of year tho,) and the sounds of the river flowing through the narrow canyon a couple hundred feet below me.

Soon I was at the trail junction and I headed down the switchback trail that would ultimately lead me to the waters edge. I had brought my trekking poles for added support and I'm glad I did.

South Yuba River

That canyon is so beautiful. You feel like you're the only person on earth and it's easy to transport yourself back in time to when miners roamed those hills and panned the river bottom hoping for any hint of those beautiful gold flakes.



First thing I did was find a nice flat rock next to the river, took off my shoes and soaked my legs in the ice cold water. In the meantime, Yuba got in the water and proceeded to try to dig up rocks under water. He'll stick his whole head underwater and blow bubbles out his nose. Often he comes up with a huge rock in his mouth. Soon tho, he decided he was more interested in sharing my pop tart.

Yuba

It didn't take long before my legs were numb from the knees down so I put my shoes and socks back on for the hike back out. My left leg/foot felt better after the soak and I enjoyed a little faster pace back to the car.

Nature's ice bath

By that night I was throwing up everything inside my body and thought I was going to die.

At first I thought it was food poisoning but by Saturday morning I had full body aches, my head pounded, I was completely exhausted and it took all my energy just to stand up. I would alternate between feeling hot and flushed to major chills. Unfortunately, Pat was at work and I had both girls. I explained to them that even though it was beautiful weather, we wouldn't be able to go outside and swing, mommy was really sick. Caitlyn immediately went into "Mom" mode and brought me pillows, medicine, and covered me with blankets. My real mom called to check on me and I immediately felt like I was 12 years old and wanted my mommy. I teared up and must have sounded utterly pathetic as I laid on the couch curled up in the fetal position. That pretty much sums up Saturday.

By Sunday Pat came home to take over kid duties and I spent another day in bed resting. I was feeling better but still exhausted. I think it was the combination of the 24 hour flu and the 50 miler catching up to me. All last week I was tired and lacked motivation to do anything physical. Finally by last Sunday (19th) I woke up thinking about a mountain bike ride. I took that as a good sign that it was time to get back on the wagon.

I signed up for an introduction to Pilates class and have been going 1x/wk for the last few weeks. It's very relaxing and I'm really enjoying it. I'm not a Yoga person, Pilates seems to suit me better but I still find I have to stop myself from laughing during some of the strange moves. But you do them right and it creates quite the "burn".

Pat and I went for a mountain bike ride yesterday and I actually found myself forcing the pace. Nothing over the top but it felt good to get my heart rate above 100 for once :)

So this all leads me to my leg injury. "How's it doing" you may ask. "Not well" I will answer. It almost seems worse. Now I expected it to be worse right after the runs but after 2 1/2 weeks of almost no exercise and absolutely no running, I thought the pain would start to dissipate. It's not. I have big plans of running the Big Sur marathon this Sunday with my cousin. Both families are getting together in Monterey to have a fun-filled weekend. But after a lot of thought (and changing my mind back and forth) I've decided that I just can't do the marathon. It would be stupid. And my physical therapist would kill me. Now I know I've been known to do stupid things before (look at the weekend of April 5-6) but eventually reality settles into my stubborn head (yes, I've been known to be a bit stubborn). I have a summer and fall packed with fun races I want to do and if I don't let my leg heal I won't be doing any running this year. At least not pain free. And that says nothing of the long term damage I could be doing to my leg. I have pin-point tenderness over the front of my shin that I'm convinced is a stress fracture but the x-ray showed nothing but I know they have been known to miss things.

I guess I have reached the point that Sarah and Addy reached long ago with their injuries. I have resigned myself to the fact that I just need to stop running for awhile. I will continue to do road and mountain biking and elliptical because that seemed to do a lot of good in February and March. My original plan on how to deal with this injury was to keep my fitness up with cross-training then just run the races. But I've found that what I miss most are the day-to-day runs, the short runs, the speed work, even the tempo runs, as well as the long slow runs. I want to get better so I can do all that again, not just run the races.

So I will head to Monterey on Saturday with my family to joyfully cheer on my cousin as she runs her second marathon. I will give her all my support and keep a genuine smile on my face even though I know it will be hard. I know I will want to be out there with her, running side by side, enjoying the incredible views along the Pacific Coast Highway.

Wow, What A Weekend

Yes, it was quite a weekend. It started out on Friday as I made my way down to Sacramento to pick up my race packet. As a thank you to runners for picking up their packets early, Fleet Feet was giving away another technical AR50 t-shirt, nice touch. My parents were coming into town from the Central Coast and we happened to all be in Roseville at the same time so we were able to have lunch together. Another nice treat.

Returning to Nevada City I made a stop in Penn Valley to pick up my race packet for Sunday's Daffodil 5K not knowing if I'd even be able to make the start. But I may as well keep a positive attitude.

After a restless night of watching the clock slowly pass the hours, it was finally time to get up and make my way to the Auburn Dam Overlook where I caught a bus with other runners to the start in Sacramento. During the ride it was fun to listen to all the different conversations going on, races people have been doing, hopes and fears for the coming day, etc......Surprisingly, I just seemed on autopilot. I wasn't nervous, didn't give much thought to the leg, and was just looking forward to getting started.

Start on Guy West Bridge

We exited the buses (there were 2 full size school buses to transport people) and joined the masses in front of the porta-potties. I then found a single propane heater that folks were gathered around. The weather was clear and cold and the heat felt good. Finally lined up on the bridge and Mark Tanaka buzzed by me rushing to the front of the line. I was lined up in the top 1/4 but it still took me about 20 seconds to cross over the timing mat after the gun went off. The path was narrow and crowded which forced a slow pace which was perfect. After awhile I remembered about my leg and pleasantly realized it felt better than it had in 2 months.

Crossing the American River

Things thinned out a couple miles in and I found an easy stride. To tempt fate I was also wearing a new Nathan hydration pack that I hadn't worn in any training. I know, never try something new on race day but the pack was great, comfortable the whole time with no chafing spots. I was very happy with it and it enabled me to not have to get water at every aid station which shortened my time at them.

Look who I found on the side of the trail, Helen and Norm Klein

I ran the first 30 minutes then got into a 15:2 ratio of run/walk which I kept for the first 27 miles of the race. The miles flew by on the bike path and I stayed on the dirt sides as much as possible to limit the time on pavement and that was helpful. I felt great coming into the Nimbus Dam Overlook at 19 miles, my time was about 3:20. The next section of singletrack up to Negro Bar was a pleasant surprise. I've always taken the bike path but the trail was a lot of fun. Had to make a pit stop along the trail (and try to avoid the masses of poison oak) and about 6 people passed but it was worth the stop.

On the bluffs above the River

Heading up to Beals Point involves some hills that I remember from the Helen Klein 50 last November. I stayed strong and steady but the miles were starting to take a toll. I reached the marathon mark in 4:52. After Beals we got on some rollers and fun singletrack going into Folsom Lake. A group of about 5 of us formed and we motored along the trail. I was keeping my time at the aid stations short and I was quickly making my way back onto the trail. This is when it got really hard for me. The trail became an endless series of ups and downs that made it hard to stay in a rhythm. Mentally, this was a low point for me. I had started to think that a sub 11 hour finish was possible but my slow pace through this section made me start to doubt that.

Crossing Folsom Dam

Finally I reached Rattlesnake Bar aid station and I was wiped out. A volunteer asked if I was ok and I could barely answer him because I was afraid of crying if I tried to speak. He asked if I wanted to sit down and I said "no". Chairs are purgatory at this point in a race. I was able to eat some soup and drink some Pepsi and that helped. I was really worried that the rest of the course was going to be like the last 10 miles and if it was, I knew I was going to have to dig deep. My time at Rattlesnake was about 8:25 so I knew I had 2:30 hours to go 9 more miles if I wanted to qualify for Western States.

I was able to make a couple of calls to my family who were unable to crew for me to let them know how I was doing. My parents were planning on meeting me at the finish with my 2 daughters and I wanted to give them an idea of when to get there. Hearing their voices and their confidence in my ability to finish this race gave me a huge boost.

After Rattlesnake, the trail flattened out and went through some beautiful meadows with outstanding views of the river. The whole course is beautiful and I wanted to take more pictures but I just didn't have the energy and I didn't want to disrupt my rhythm to pull my camera out. My attitude improved and my energy returned as I really started to enjoy the gently rolling trail once again. I was surprised at how good I started to feel again. I hit the bottom of Last Gasp hill and decided to plug into my MP3. I had been carrying it for 46 miles but not listening to it. To my surprise, as I started to walk up the hill my quads tried to cramp up. So far I had had no stomach or cramping issues. If I stayed in a run/shuffle my quads felt ok.

Final miles up Last Gasp

So I ran when I could, shuffled on the steeper sections and before I knew it, I was almost at the top. There was one guy behind me and my goal became to stay ahead of him. I picked up the pace, put a huge smile on my face and raced to the finish line and my waiting family. Stopped the clock at 10:39:18. It was a great day. I finished 293/467 overall and 17/30 in my age group. Results can be found here.

Me, Caitlyn, Sara, and my Dad

Now the goal became how to recover best for a 5K race the next day. I stiffened up considerably on the drive home and even the smallest stair became a huge obstacle. My injured left leg had given me no problems during the long run, it felt better than it had in the last 2 months. But now I was starting to feel it. I got myself into an ice bath and I had my whole family laughing with my pathetic yelps as I lowered myself into the cold water but I knew I had to do it. Had a pretty good night sleep with the help of some Advil PM and I woke up feeling pretty good. Then I tried to stand up. Ouch. I went outside and walked up and down the driveway a couple times then did a slow shuffle and finally a slow jog just to see if I could eventually run. The verdict for the 5K was a go.

Caitlyn waiting for the runners

We got the kids loaded up and headed to Penn Valley about 20 minutes away. Got there early because I knew I would need a long warmup. Saw some friends who were pretty surprised to see me there. I was surprised at how well I was feeling too. Especially how the leg was doing.

Feeling good (for now)

Almost 500 people were signed up for the 5k and 10K so there was quite a crowd. I started towards the front and the first couple hundred yards are downhill and the pace was high, too high. At the first slight uphill I quickly slowed. I was feeling pretty miserable at my inability to summon more speed but there just wasn't anything there. The fact that most of my training during Feb and March was cross-training with ZERO speed work was becoming evident. Oh, and the fact that I ran 50 miles the day before. Started feeling better at the turn-around and I was able to pick it up a bit. I just concentrated on giving it everything I had and tried to not look at my watch. Time didn't matter, effort did. I made the final turn into the park and there was a slight uphill to the finish line. I dug deep and gave it everything. Crossed the line in 25:34, good enough for 4th place in my age group, 44/209 overall. Results are here.

Ahhh, done

Me and my two fans

My friend Jenni who had a great race finishing 2nd in her AG

So now it's been a couple days. I was able to go to work on Monday but it was sure hard climbing into the fire truck. I can now do stairs without holding onto the hand-rail and I have an appt with my PT for my leg this afternoon. I know I didn't do the leg any favors by running on it but I was happy with how it felt at the time. Looking back, I am thrilled I was able to accomplish all my goals. Not only did I finish AR50 but I qualified for WS. Not only was I able to walk the next day but I was able to race a 5K. I don't mean that to sound like I'm tooting my own horn but based on my lack of running these last couple months and dealing with an injury, I just didn't know what to expect. I know what I wanted to happen but that's not always what does happen. I'm thrilled with how things turned out. Next challenge is a 5K race on April 26 and the Big Sur marathon on the 27th.