Things I got at Miwok

Besides running a well organised and fabulous 100K course, there are other things I took away from Miwok. Of course there was the cool shirt, (not pictured), which will come in handy if the weather every warms up, it's like May-vember here in Seattle. Included in the swag bag was a local brewed Miwok Beer with pint glass, a very spacious grocery/after running/misc bag;
a running hat;
and a copy of the latest issue of UltraRunning magazine featuring an article on trail running with dogs and one of the featured dogs is none other than Struth! He is Struthie the Ultra Dog, having run lots of 50k's with me and other long training runs. My faithful companion.

What WASN'T in the swag bag, but which I did acquire is a lovely case of poison oak which has been keeping me up at night and generally making me pretty uncomfortable.

However, after I drink this Miwok beer, maybe I'll feel better....

Miwok-ed, Mi-Ran and Mi-finished

I've heard the views at Miwok are amazing and it is one of the more beautiful runs. Being from the northwest, there are quite a few beautiful runs here and I was looking forward to seeing some new scenery. Well, we all checked the weather incessantly the days and night before Miwok on Saturday and it didn't appear there would be too much of a view; rain was in the forecast for at least part of the day. Oh well, those of us traveling from Seattle to San Fransisco for Miwok are quite used to this type of weather. That being said, I was looking forward to warmer weather and some sun but reality presented itself in the form of rain, fog, wind and then some more rain fog and wind. However, I really can't complain and I hope it doesn't sound like I am. The day was awesome and the race was awesome. The volunteers were perfect and the race was very well organized. I'd do this race again and again.
Of course I was super nervous having never run this distance before. The night before was restless and I kept dreaming the same dream over and over again. I dreamt that we were late to the start, couldn't find the starting line despite people yelling at us with a bullhorn "OVER HERE!" Once we started we were a full 30 minutes behind and I could not catch up with a single person. The aid stations were in people's houses and we would have to sit at people's kitchen tables for turkey sandwiches before heading back out to the next aid station. At one point I was running next to a parked car and for the life of me, could not move past it. It was at this point in my dream that I became somewhat conscious and said to myself, "you know this is just a dream right? There is no way an aid station would be in some one's kitchen and that you couldn't run past a parked car in under 30 minutes." So I would wake up, look at the clock and think to myself, "man! I am never going to fall asleep!" Repeat....until the alarm went off at 3:30 AM.
I figured I wouldn't get a restful night's sleep, so I was prepared with lots of good night's sleep earlier in the week.
We got to the race at about 5:20 or so with a 5:40 start. It was still pretty dark but quickly becoming dusk and soon enough, before we hit the second mile, it was light. Having never run this distance before and with only one 50-miler under my belt, I really didn't know what to expect with regards to time and pacing strategy. After looking at previous results, I had made 3 goals for myself, besides to have fun. The first was to finish, the second was to finish in under 14 hours and the 3rd was to finish in under 13 hours. I thought that if I was having a good day, I could run 12:15-12:30.
I hit Tennessee Valley AS, (mile 12) in about 2 hours and was feeling pretty good. It was starting to drizzle and I had started listening to my iPOD about an hour previous. On the way to Pan Toll AS, via Muir Beach AS, the rain and wind had picked up. It was so foggy that I couldn't see more than 25-35 yards in front of me. I didn't really mind, it's not like I really knew that course so with each step, the course was revealed to me. It was a real mystery and with many many miles in front of me, a mystery kept my mind busy. The 6 or so miles before Pan Toll were pretty rowdy. The wind was really picking up and so I just cranked my iPOD and really, I was feeling pretty good. I knew it would be a muddy mess on the way back, but that wasn't for hours so why think about it. I hit Pan Toll, ~mile 21, and I was at 4 hours. I overheard a few people say they were dropping. I was feeling kinda fired up with being 1/3 of the way done and got my drop bag and reloaded with delicious gu's in my water bottle holders. Off I went, onto Bolinas AS. Wow, the rain was really picking up here and I was thankful that it was not too cold.
(this photo courtesy of Victoria Folks)
I was running alone at this point. I hadn't seen anyone in a while and the people at the aid station were a welcomed distraction in my head. I fueled up and onward I went, mostly downhill, to the turn-around, Randall Trail, mile 35. I have never taken an Advil in a race, but my hips were really quite sore, an issue I have been dealing with the past 10 days, so I decided to take 2 Advil. At the turn around I was feeling pretty good but kind of anxious about what the last 27 miles might bring. I hadn't run more than a 50k in a race since last July and so I felt as though I was reaching uncharted territory. I remember Owen telling me to look for people running my pace and try to stick with them. I had been running behind a woman who looked tough for the last 3 or 4 miles so I thought, well, maybe I can stick with her for a while and see how that goes. I was behind her until we hit Bolinas AS station again, mile ~mile 43. I refueled and then continued to run behind her. I turned off my iPOD in case we were going to have a conversation. I didn't want to be annoying and run right behind her, yet I wanted to run behind her for pacing and even if we never said a word, for company. We talked a little, she told me her name was Betsy. We chit-chatted while we ran in the most windy part of the course. It wasn't even single track, it was more like 1/2 track with a slant and it was muddy and slippery, and IT band irritation waiting to happen. But thankfully, that did not happen. We hit mile 50 and as I approached the aid station I hear..."ALLISON!!!!" I'm thinking....WTH? Who is this? Well, it was my dear friend Annie and her boyfriend Mark who had showed up to the race despite the weather. What troopers and an amazing lift to my spirits! This is what they sat through....
I thought I might change my shirt because I could tell I was chaffing under my arms. But I saw that Betsy was cruising through the AS so I didn't want to get too far behind her so I said hi to Annie and Mark, refueled and was on my way. I was at 9:17 for 50-miles and thought I had a chance of doing a good time. So, I ate my 2-quarters of PB&J with a small piece of banana and ran behind Betsy. I was feeling pretty fatigued at this point. I don't know if this is where she told me that she would be running her 10th Wasatch this year and her 9th Hardrock or if she told me that before, but I knew I was running behind one tough chick with lots of experience. So I stayed with her the best I could. As we approached mile 55, we were talking about all kinds of things. We were at 10:24. With 7 miles to go, I was wondering if I could make it in under 12 hours. She gave me 2 Anica tabs to help my fatigued muscles and gave me some good pointers in how to train for a 100-miler. She was absolutely amazing and I felt so lucky to be running with her. As we approached the last AS, there was a slight uphill on the road. I don't think I would have run that if she was not running it, I was just focused on staying with her great company. At the last AS, Tennessee Valley, with 3.8 miles to go, I was knackered. I ate a bunch of watermelon. I had never felt this fatigued before and the uphill route that I saw in front of me looked so daunting. At times I was pressing on my legs as I stepped up in the hopes that it would make the climb easier. Who knows if that was effective or not, but I was still moving forward to maybe it did. As we got to a lesser grade climb, Betsy turned to me and said, "shuffle with me." So shuffle we did. We shuffled at what felt like a crawl. If I was alone, I wonder if I would have shuffled or walked. Her experience and company was price-less to me at this point, so I followed her the best I could. As we approached the top, I could hear the finish line. OMG! The finish line! As we crested the top, I could see the tent and finish line and that it was downhill, all downhill to the finish. As we were running down, I heard someone yelling into the bullhorn, "11:53!". Wow, I was going to finish in under 12 hours. Betsy was a few steps in front of me so she waved me on to run side by side so we would finish together. We did, we crossed the finish line together at 11:55 with high fives and hugs. I was just so appreciative of her company and her expertise. I didn't know I had that in me....and with a little inspiration, I found out I did. Betsy gave me her number so we can go on some runs when she comes to Seattle next. I later looked up Wasatch and saw that she has won it 5 times, including last year. I knew I was running with a bad ass, but WOW, she is SUCH a bad ass. And a very genuine person as well. Wish I had a finish line photo, but I don't. But here are a few race photos of other things.
Jonathon and I after the race cheering people on.
Linda finishing with her best time and just right there behind her, after a 100-miler only 3 weeks prior is Jess finishing!
I had such a great time and can I just say that I have never been so sore as I was the next day in my life. It was well worth it. Everyone did great and now it's time to recover and eat lots of good food and sleep.
next up: Watershed 12 hour run! (yikes)

A Chlorine Bath

Sometimes nothing is better for me than a swim. I grew up swimming on a swim team and after taking 7 years off swimming COMPLETELY, I got back into it because I was hit by a car on my bike and the physical therapist recommended that I swim. ARG, I thought. When I stopped swimming competitively after college, I had hung my swim suit up literally and figuratively. There was NO WAY I would ever swim again, or so I told myself. When the PT told me swimming would help my injuries, I quickly scuffed it off. But as my neck and back continued to be sore, I thought, well, it's summer, I could just jump in the lake and swim and see how that feels. By then end of the summer, I was swimming in the lake about 3 days a week. I told myself that this would have to do until next summer because there was NO WAY I'd swim in a pool ever again. But as the weather cooled off and the lake was much too cold to swim in, I found myself thinking about swimming more and more. I searched for public pools and found some lap swimming times and headed to the pool. Soon I began swimming 3-4 days a week and wondering why I had ever been so opposed to such a luxury. From there I went to swimming 5 days a week and meeting lots of people. Through these people, I discovered other sports as well and now I spend most my athletic time running. But I still swim and I still find it the most therapeutic thing I can do for myself.
Swimming brings me back to a neutral level where I feel I can start over in regards to my physical and mental being. I can feel beat up by running sometimes and cross-training. But when I get in the pool and swim, there is just nothing better for my body, mind and soul. Although I don't swim nearly as much as I used to, I still swim because my body and mind crave it. And each time I go, I always say to myself, I really should swim more, but then I don't. I am sure that once the coolest pool ever, Colman Pool, opens in May, I will swim more.
One of my favorite things to do is swim underwater. It's an entirely different medium. It's the best way to isolate myself and really feel like I am getting away in the pursuit of rejuvenation.
Yesterday I went swimming, and I swam underwater. I felt so refreshed afterwards and I slept like a rock. As Miwok approaches, there is nothing more I can do to get prepared physically. But the mental terrain still needs to be worked on. I've been worn out lately but thanks to that chlorine bath I had yesterday, I am mentally and physically rejuvenated and ready to tackle that mental terrain.
See how happy these swimmers are?

Tiger-Squak-Tiger

Another beautiful warm and sunny spring day in the Pacific Northwest, NOT.

Ok, I won't complain, after all, can I ask for much more than the opportunity to actually be out there running on the trails with dogs and good friends?

That being said, we caravan-ed out to Tiger; Alan, Adam, Owen, the dogs and me. It was chilly and wet and Owen had brand new shoes on. BRAND NEW SHOES! Not for long...

We headed up and around the TMT for quiet some time. We didn't hit much snow, thankfully, just lots of mud and slippery roots. I was pretty careful as to not fall and break another finger. Lots of fast running creeks for the dogs to drink from. It was a 2 bottle plus hydration pack day so good thing the dogs had their own water. There was also lots of biscuits for the babes..and some parts of sandwiches as well.

We got to the base of Tiger near the school in Issaquah and hit the gas station to fuel up. I was famished. I got cookies with vanilla creme filling. It just sounded so good. It's really weird the things I crave to eat while running or what I fantasize eating when I am done. Fried food, pickles, croque madam at Cafe Presse, etc. So we all got something weird and ate it outside the shell station.

We headed through Issaquah on our way to Squak. While running through town, some young punk yells out the window of his pick up "nice legs faggot!" We all started to crack up. We assumed this person's comment was directed towards Owen and his tattoo-ed legs. It provided us some entertainment and some knowledge into the town of Isaquah.
Squak
had some tough climbing with lots of slippery mud on the descents. I had my awesome Vasque Blur's on and so I felt pretty stable sliding down the hills. It was a little like skiing at times. It had been raining on and off and so the air was pretty wet as was everything around us. It wasn't cold really, unless we stopped for too long. But I will say that I am so ready for the rain to go away and for it get to get warmer, wearing gloves all day in mid April is a bit much.
We headed back to Tiger via Issaquah and this time, no comments from the town residents. We didn't stop at the gas station this time even though I wanted to b/c I was so hungry. However, I think I just wanted to be done more than I wanted cookies. We were coming in in 6-1/2 hours and I was ready to call it a (good) day of running so I kept quiet about my growling stomach.
Next thing I know, we are at High Point trail head parking lot and done! So just over 7 hours of trail time and that is good for me. We were muddy, wet, sweaty and I wanted a hot beverage with some sugar. As you can see, Owen's new shoes have been through the ringer...

I was feeling cranky, but I knew I was just hungry. I'm experimenting with what I need on a long run, how much food, what types of food etc. I can say that I need more food than I ate on this run. After a vanilla steamer and a piece of lemon loaf bread, I was restored and euphoric. It's funny, but when I am in a less than optimal mood when running during a long day, I think to myself, arg, I'm going to remember this, I'm going to remember that this sucked and that I feel crappy, blah blah blah. But after the run, after the many ups and down during a long day, all I seem to remember is that I had a blast.

Heavy Legs

Well, just less than a week of logging lots of miles to go before I start to shut it down as Miwok approaches. My legs are HEAVY...between running and cross training, I feel like my legs weigh as much as an elephant's but I only have my strength to pick them up and move then from step to step. At times, it really makes me laugh. But it's right where I should be at this point in training for Miwok, so it's all fine by me.
I'm really excited about Miwok. It's going to be beautiful, it's going to be warm, (I hope) and I will get to see a great friend from childhood while I am down there. I am excited about running this distance, it is the longest I will have ever gone. So I am venturing to where ALM has never been before....

On Monday, Owen and I attempted 12 summits at Tiger Mt. I was really looking forward to it. It was about 70*, 12 summits is an excellent training run, I was well stocked with food and water and dog biscuits. Gradually, we started to hit some snow. Well, after about an hour and a half, we were breaking trail and post-holing it in about 2-3 feet of snow. The trail was getting harder and harder to find and we were getting cut up on our ankles and shins from the crusty snow. I can only imagine how the dogs were coping. Even though they never complain, I am sure they couldn't have been too happy to sink down pretty low with every step they took. And I am sure eventually, their paws would have been bloody. We opted to turn around and head back.

With only a few hours on our feet, we decided to get in some miles at Cougar, which was snow-less, mud-less and beautiful. Although I felt terrible while running, my spirits were pretty high knowing that the warmer weather and the sun are coming..... finally!

It's been a long time

I have not been posting because I still don't have a working home computer. But I think tomorrow I will have mine back with a new and healthy hard drive. Thank you Fabien!

I couldn't possibly catch up on all that's been going on in a post written on my work computer. I will have to start off fresh once I have my computer back home. I have so many photos to post!

On a quick note, Chuckanut 50K was last month and I was excited about going up there and running the race. Last year I trained entirely different for it. This year I had more experience and experimented with different training ideas. It seemed to have paid off; I was pretty happy with my results. I ran a lot more of the course this year and I struggled a bit more the last 6 miles, but it was worth it.
(photo by glenn tachiyama)

The after race was quite fun too....

It was great to hang out with friends in the SUN!

A little quote to leave you with.

The irony of commitment is that it’s deeply liberating -- in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life. -- Anne Morriss

Orcas Fat Ass

Well, my computer at home has died. . . . RIP. So, no photos right now and no long blog entries because I have to do this on my work computer. Whoops.

However....can I just say that the weather and the day of the Orcas Island Fat Ass was absolutely amazing. It was as close to perfect as you can get in this world. It was sunny, clear, warm and the trails were cushy and varied. We arrived Friday early afternoon. We saw Alison, Laura and Matt on the ferry and it was nice to sit around an chit chat with them. We checked in early and got our race numbers and then spent the rest of the day hanging around Orcas and generally being sight-seers (insert photos here...)and then lazy bums lounging around the hotel flipping through too many channels on the TV. I am not missing anything not having cable, I was reassured of that.

Saturday morning came around and I was a bit worried still that my calf would maybe take a dive in it's recovery cycle by running a hilly 50k. But I had been very diligent the week prior, not running, just cross training and icing it. And really, by the time I got up Saturday morning, my stomach had presented a whole new set of concerns, it was churning and churning and I was not at all excited by the thought of making pit stops as I did at Capitol Peak.

We got to the start and there were lots and lots of runners and volunteers and supporters warming up in the hut at Moran State Park. The park has 38 miles of trails, one of which goes to the top of Mt. Constitution. I was looking forward to running and prepared myself for 8 or 9 hours of running as I heard this course just rips your legs off. We started at 9 AM and it was a bit of a mad dash to the single track. I was overdressed with too many shirts and my trusty ALM fleece hat. I had to pull over within the first 20 minutes for a wardrobe adjustment. The first aid station was roughly 11 miles into the run. I did not feel so hot these first 11 miles. I felt sluggish and for some reason I was just not mentally into it. This was going to be a long day I thought. I had good conversations along the way, I did most the listening as I found myself out of breath. We looped around to the first aid station in just under 2 hours and I sheded all the clothes I was carrying, refueled and was off. We soon hit the power line climb, very steep and very long and quite beautiful. It was pretty open and the sun was peaking out of the clouds. I started feeling better and the climb seemed to go well, no calf pain and I was able to keep a fairly steady pace. At the top came the most fun part of the run. The next 6 miles or so were fast and fun. Super soft trails, slight downhill and I found myself running pretty hard here. I usually like to save myself a bit, but I thought, well, if I feel good, I'm just going to go with it and this run will be an experiment. Let's see how I do if I go throw caution to the wind. Next thing I know, I'm at the water self service station and on I go up more hills towards Mt. Constitution. Wow, it was gorgeous and I was still felling pretty good. I had my iPOD, full bottles, food and my stomach was just fine. Next thing I know, I turn the corner and I'm at the top. Spectacular views! (insert more photos here...).
I quickly refueled and started the descent. WooHoo! A bit steep and technical and mighty fun. I was starting to feel tired and asked some of the people in front of me if they knew what mile were we at. 25! Only 6 more miles. I looked at my watch and thought I could make it in under 7 hours. I just tried to keep on Wendy's pace and turned up my iPOD. That worked for about 4 miles and then I started feeling pretty tired. The last 2 miles were challenging. I was hungry but could not stand another gu. I was drinking like crazy, 6 bottles of fluid but not a single pee. But was we rounded the corner and hit the pavement, I knew the finish line was literally right around the corner. I could hear all the people cheering. So, I keep plugging away and finished in 6hr 20min. Having never done this run before, I have no idea if that's a good time for me or not, but I was happy with it because I thought it would have taken much longer.

I felt like an airhead after I finished which is a sign for me that I ran my best, I was mentally tired. It was great seeing everyone there and watching everyone run so well. James and Alison put on a great run and a great time. James had shirts made from used shirts and just put the Orcas Fat Ass logo on each one, what a great idea. For results and details of the race, go to the link just above. For photos of the race, check out Glenn's photos.

My little experiment provided lots of good data of which the conclusions of this data will be used in future runs.