Run Like the Wind

A Weekend of Running

2010-02-15T06:31:00.000-08:00

Saturday morning was the Oakdale Library Run 5K and 1 mile. I haven't run this race in several years but I needed some speed work so I registered. We arrived early to help set up the finish line and registration tables. Roos and Connor also came along to help. I worked the pre-registration check in until 5 minutes before the race began, then we lined up and the count down began. I was secretly hoping to run under 20 minutes but this was doubtful since my legs didn't feel recovered from the previous weekends marathon.

We took off and began into what felt like a ridiculously fast pace. I backed off and got into a uncomfortable but tolerable pace. I have a tendency in the shorter races to start slow the first mile and pick up the pace as the miles progress. At mile one my watch said 6:47. The course has changed since the last time I ran. It headed west, through a housing division. It felt like there were many turns. I hit the turn around point and could see their were two girls in front of me. At mile two my watch said 6:48. A young girl was in front of me and I began reeling her in. I came up right beside her and said, Go Sierra, push it. I had remembered her from check in. She told us she is a cross country runner from Downey High. I think this was a great boost for her (or she was scared shitless because I knew her name) because she picked up the pace. Both of the females were now within view and I really pushed the last mile to close the gap. My watch read 6:43 for the third mile and I crossed the finish line in 20:38, 3rd female overall. The first and second females finished in 20:24 and 20:34. Ok, the females were 15 YEARS OLD!! both of them.....

The best part of the day was when Connor asked if we could go home yet. I said, we have to wait for the awards because I'm getting a medal. He said, don't you have enough of those!

Sunday, Roos, Connor and I joined in for another 5K in Riverbank.

The run was being put on my a high school senior for her senior project. The run was to benefit the earthquake ruined Haiti. It was a very low key event in the beautiful Jacob Myers Park. The course was 3 1/2 loops. The were many ShadowChase members out to enjoy the day.

We took off and of course, Mike Boyer was out of the chute like a jack rabbit and right behind him was Nile Sousa. I settled into a pace just behind Adrian Crane. The course was surprisingly hilly. On the second loop as Adrian and I climbed the little hill, and as I was pulling up next to him, he said, isn't it time for your walk break? Silly goose.. I passed him and continued on to come in 1st female. Of course, there were maybe only 20 participants for the whole race. My time was 21:56.

I ran on to catch up with Connor and we finished together. Roos finished in 37 minutes and Connor in 40 minutes. After the little awards ceremony, they had a raffle. Roos won a bag of Ghiradelli Chocolate, and Connor and I each won a $30 gift certificate to a salon in Riverbank. Does it get any better than that? Almost everyone won that showed up won a raffle prize so that was pretty cool.

They had an AWESOME playground at the park and Connor and I had a blast playing on the equipment.

The Stanislaus River runs right next to the park.

It was a perfect way to start Valentines Day.

Run fun....

Surf City

2010-02-13T21:00:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, for the second year in a row I ran the Surf City Marathon and Roos ran the half marathon. We didn't bring Connor this year. He stayed home with Carisah (which he loved!!)

On Friday, we headed to Huntington Beach to the expo. It was pouring rain. We got there early and had lunch at the Long Board Cafe which included several beers!

We hit the expo, picked up our bibs and did a little surfing.

On Saturday, we spent the day at Downtown Disney, just looking around and shopping. It was pouring rain again and I was worried Sunday would bring the same. We found a fireplace at the Grand Californian hotel and sat and had a few drinks. (Is there a theme here?)

We woke up early Sunday morning and drove to Huntington Beach. No rain!! It actually was a beautiful morning. I started at 6:30 a. so I made my way to the corral where I could see the 3:30 pace group sign sticking up from the crowd. I have really been trying to run under 3:30 so I thought I would stick with the group and give it a try. I know your not supposed to do anything different on race day, it's the #1 cardinal rule but what the heck....

We were off and I started into a comfortable pace. The miles ticked by. We hit the 13.1 mile mark at 1:45:10. By mile 17, I was needing to get some supplies from my fanny pack so I stopped to walk. I refilled my water bottle at the next aid station and looked up and saw Roos running towards me from across the highway. He, Christe and Keith were just at the 3 mile mark.

I could no longer see the pace group sign so I just settled in to running 10 minutes and walking 1 minute, which is my usual routine. I was running strong and my legs felt pretty good and I was passing lots of runners which is always a mental boost.

At mile 24, you come up from the boardwalk and onto the Pacific Coast Highway. Last year this was a killer but this year, I felt good and pushed it. I crossed the finish line in 3:33:35. I had a positive split on the back half but I'm okay with that.

I waited for Roos to finish. He had a PR for the day with a 3:08. He is now determined to take 8 minutes off his time in Oakland on March 28th.

I took second in my age group (45-49) which is always nice. Here is how I officially finished:

Chip time: 3:33:35 (average of 8:09 per mile)

Gun time: 3:34:14

236 out of 2353 overall

36 out of 963 in women

2 out of 130 for women 45-49

72.09% age grade

The weather was great, I couldn't have asked for a better day!

Run fun...

Inaugural Modesto Marathon

2010-01-18T08:23:00.000-08:00

Modesto will be having an inaugural marathon on March 21, 2010. It will benefit Teens Run Modesto. It is based after a program called Teens Run LA. It will target at risk kids with the hope of redirecting their life in a positive direction. Here are the links for the Modesto marathon and Teens Run Modesto.

www.Modestomarathon.com

www.teensrunmodesto.org

Come on out and enjoy!

2010

2010-01-18T07:09:00.000-08:00

I've been a bad blogger. Really not much to write about. I got into Miwok 100K in May so that will be my focus for the first half of the year. I also put in for the lottery at Way to Cool but didn't get in so I've offered to volunteer. This is what I have on the calendar for this year (so far):

February: Surf City marathon

March: Volunteering at Coyote Two Moon

Volunteering at Way to Cool

Inaugural Modesto Marathon (Volunteer coordinator)

Oakland Marathon

May: Miwok 100K

Modesto Classic (co RD)

June: Volunteering at Western States.

Not a lot! Looking forward to training though.

On January 13th I went over to Lake Chabot with some fellow ShadowChasers and had a nice 12 mile run. It was nice to see some sunshine which is a nice break from the valley fog!

The following weekend I went to run the "unofficial AR50 training run" hosted by James Barstad. It was awesome. Good weather, great people! We carpooled down to Cavitt School and ran to Auburn Dam Overlook, 21 miles in total.

On Sunday, ShadowChase running club hosted a Run of the Month. It was a preview to the Modesto Marathon course. We started at 11th and M and finished up at the 14 mile mark. I ran an additional 2 miles with a gal named Melissa who is training for the Modesto Marathon. This will be her first marathon. The rain held off and it was another great running day.

Connor was my training partner, you can barely see him in the photo above which was taken at mile 7. Roos also rode his bike.

Run fun....

St. Jude marathon

2009-12-19T14:23:00.000-08:00

Anita, Andy, and I flew to Memphis to participate in the St. Jude marathon on December 5, 2009. We ran for Team Chase in memory of Anita and Andy's grandson, Chase.

I flew in to Memphis and my sister in law, Siti picked me up. She was competing in the half marathon also. I stayed with her and my father in law in Eads, TN.

We went to the expo on Friday and then had the privilage of touring the St. Jude facility. Wow, what a fabulous place!

On Saturday morning, Siti and I drove to Memphis and met up with Anita and Andy. We walked to the starting line where it was a very chilly 25 degrees. After we started running, we warmed up and the course was really nice. It had lots of rolling hills which are my favorite. I finished the marathon at 3:36, 3rd in my age group. Anita finished in 4:37, Andy finished 5:18 and Siti completed the half in 3:18. We had an awesome time. Below is a video we created to thank all those who donated to our team. As a team, we raised almost $10,000 for St. Jude. It was so emotional to run through the St. Jude campus and see little ones with masks and their IV poles cheering the runner's on. Truly inspirational!!
Run fun .....

Thanksgiving

2009-12-19T13:57:00.000-08:00

I'm so behind in my blogging but I will try to catch up.

Thanksgiving first. Connor and I drove to Indio on Tuesday before Thanksgiving. We stayed at

our time share on a golf course with the mountains nestled behind us. It was beautiful. My mom and Ben were already there and the following day Matt and Sarah drove up. It was awesome.

We had a relaxing visit. On Thanksgiving morning I had signed Matt, Sarah and myself up for a local 5K turkey trot in La Quinta. It was a benefit for Martha's Village and Kitchen.

The weather had been gorgeous the previous days and Thanksgiving day followed suit. It was a little chilly at the start but by 10:00 a. the thermometer read 77 degrees.

Matt and Sarah planned on walking and my goal was to run 20 minutes or less. It was a bit crowded at the start with almost 1400 people participating. They started the "competitive" participants at 8 with "non competitive" participants at 8:10. The course was a big square with some hills in it. Nice. We finished up at a park and in the last .3 miles I passed a woman I'd been trying to catch and raced to the finish. My time was 20:36, 1st in my age group. At the finish I started talking with a woman who came in 2 seconds before me. It turns out she is an ultra runner and is in Western States this year. She invited me to run some trails in the Palm Springs area on Saturday. I was pretty excited about visiting some new trails. It turned out her husband became ill and spent the night in the hospital so she had to back out. I'm really excited to see her come through Highway 49 aid station at Western this year. This is her 4th attempt and has never completed it (I don't feel so bad now!) She is an awesome runner and has won Angeles Crest and Vermont 100 mile races a few years back.

We headed back to the condo and cooked up an awesome turkey feast. Of course, Connor had to do some swimming first!

On Saturday, we headed to Joshua Tree National Park. I had never been there before and was pretty excited. The weather had taken a turn and rain and dark clouds appeared. We drove into the park and took a scenic drive.

This is skull rock. As we got higher in elevation, it became very cold and there was even some snow on the ground.

Here is Connor and I in front of a Joshua Tree.

I would love to go back and spend some time camping and hiking at the park. It is spectacular with the contrasting desert cactus' and plants and the rocky mountains.

We returned home Sunday and back to the grind. I think we should plan this for next year!!

Run fun.....

Why do we run?

2009-11-19T14:25:00.001-08:00

This is awesome!

St. Jude

2009-11-15T13:55:00.001-08:00

Dear Family and Friends,

Almost 6 years ago, while at work one day Anita said, "I'd like to run a marathon". Big mistake! I said, "I'll see you at 4:30 am ". That's how it all started. We have been running friends, running enemies, co-workers, cohorts in crime, and lately, shoulders to cry on. As some of you know, Anita's grandson Chase is now in heaven. These last 10 months have been very difficult for the Schlenker and Hawkins families. We have decided to participate in the St. Jude Marathon on December 5th in order to raise money for St. Jude's. St. Jude is the most wonderful place that you never want to need. St. Jude provided Chase with outstanding care from the beginning to end. We would like to give back to St. Jude in Chase's honor. Here is the link to our page for the marathon; www.mystjudeheroes.org/lesanita. Please make a donation if you can, but more importantly, please forward the link to your friends and family and encourage them to do the same. We know it's nearing the Holiday Season and the economy is in recession, but any small amount would help the children and families at St. Jude who are battling their worst nightmares.

Thank you so much.

Love,

Leslie and Anita

Lake Chabot Marathon

2009-11-09T13:19:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had the privilege of running the Lake Chabot marathon. This event was sponsored by Coastal Trail Runs, which in a small way, is affiliated with Pacific Coast Trail Runs. This was a new event and offered distances of 5, 9, 17 and 26.2 miles. The event started at a sanely hour of 8:30 which meant I could sleep some before driving over to Castro Valley. At 8:30a. all participants lined up and Marissa sent us on our way. The marathoners were to run the 17.1 mile loop first followed by the 9.1 mile loop. I headed out running at a nice pace. The course followed the East side of the lake with 2 miles of pavement before hitting the dirt trails. The Skyline 50K, Dick Collins Fire Trails 50 mile, and the Lake Chabot half marathon all run on these Redwood Regional Park trails and I love to run here. We headed down the bridge

and up the Live Oak trail. I met up with a nice man named Ron from Hickman. He used to belong to the Turlock Running club so we had several mutual friends.

This was taken on the Grass Valley trail. Here is my new friend Ron and another runner.

I didn't wear a watch so I had no idea of my time or pace. I felt really good as I came into the start/finish area to head out for the 9.1 mile loop. I dropped off some clothes, grabbed some food and headed out. I haven't really done any trail running since Western and I found myself walking a lot on the uphills.

I was surprised to see how low the water level was. This is a picture of a marshy area, which used to be water.

The nine mile loop is gorgeous. It has a lot of single track trail with lush greenery. There are no bikes allowed on this narrow trail so it's in pretty good shape.

I hit the pavement on the East side of the Lake and knew there was only 1.75 miles left. I tried to run, even on the little uphills but my legs were tired.

I came into the finish at 4:01:58, good enough for 1st woman and 2nd overall (it was a really small marathon). Results can be found here.

Here is Marissa manning the finish line.

I couldn't have asked for a better day!!

Run fun......

Halloween

2009-11-07T06:47:00.000-08:00

On Halloween our running club, Shadowchase hosted a fun run to benefit the Teens Run Modesto.

It was at East LaLoma park and they offered a 5k and 10K. It was a "no frills" event.

Roos and Dino

ran the 5K. Roos pretty much ran most of it and finished in 35 minutes. He's s l o w l y starting to run (although he says he doesn't "get it").

Anita and Kiwi

ran the 10k.

I ran the 10K also

It was a great event and raised $1700 for the Teens Run Modesto program.

Here is Connor at his school parade.

He is a combo of a mad scientist, zombie and old man????

Hope your Halloween was spooky...

Chase Ryan Schlenker

2009-10-29T15:15:00.000-07:00

Anita's grandson, Chase has been battling Neuroblastoma since December 15, 2008. He has been at St. Jude's in Memphis Tennessee until last month when the cancer metasitized to his brain and they sent him home with hospice. Sadly, he passed away yesterday.

I have been praying for the Schlenker and Hawkins family since December 15th. I know there is nothing to be said that can take away the pain of losing a small child. It just doesn't seem fair.

You can visit Chases' caring bridge site here.

Doug

2009-10-26T08:54:00.000-07:00

Sadly, on Friday last week, Doug Braash was found down at East LaLoma park. He was taken to the hospital where he remains in critical condition. We are all praying for him and Barbara.

Grape Stomp

2009-10-26T08:38:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I ran into Barb Elia at the park and she said she was going to sign up for the Grape Stomp in Livermore so I decided to sign up also. It's in Robertson park along a bike path with a stream on one side and vineyards on the other. It's been awhile since I've run in that park but there are no longer any vineyards, they are houses! We started off at 8a. My goal was 1:44 or less which I thought it was doable. It was an out and back course with a small amount of trail but mostly paved bike path. I felt pretty good. I only used my 10 and 1 watch because my garmin's broke so I had no idea of my pace. I just put my music on and ran. At the turn around there were two women in front of me. I could see the second place girl and she was within reach. I passed her at about mile 6 1/2 then took a short walk break and she passed me. We did this one more time and at mile 11 I ran. I knew she was close behind but I didn't want to look. At the dirt path I knew there was only a half mile left. I came across the finish line in 1:38:16!!! I'm so excited with my time. That's a 5 minute PR for me. I got some nice sway for finishing second - a nice bottle of wine, a running bottle, a plaque and another string shoe bag. (I have quite a collection of these now....)

Barb ran a 2:21. She placed second in the 60-65 age group.

Run fun......

Ride em' Cowboy

2009-10-18T07:39:00.000-07:00

One of our Trauma PA's just had a baby. Him and his wife are big horse riders and have a cattle ranch. I saw this sweater in a book and decided I needed to knit it for their new baby boy. Can you believe they make wranglers for 1 year olds??

National Geographic

2009-10-17T14:04:00.001-07:00

If you didn't get a chance to see the October Issue of National Geographic, check it out. I'm quoted along with my friend Steve Holman about ultra running. Very cool.

Run fun...

Leslie

Cowtown

2009-10-17T13:35:00.000-07:00

The weekend following Tahoe was the Cowtown Marathon, Half marathon, 10k and 5K. I decided on Friday to run the marathon. I drove up to Sacramento and registered. Linda McFadden from our club was also planning to run it so we could carpool together on Sunday morning.

The weather was cooperating, it was perfect running weather. I didn't really know anything about the course but Linda informed me it was two 13 mile loops. Man, I dislike loops.

The run starts at the beautiful William Land Park next to the Sacramento Zoo. We run through some neighborhoods (with big, beautiful houses), then hit a parkway along side the Delta. The Delta was on our right and the freeway was on our left. It would have been very serene except for the whizzing car sounds!!

We then loop around back into William Land park and repeat the loop. Around mile 5 I caught up with the 3:40 pace group. My friend, Karen Hoffman was the pace group leader so I hung out with her. I haven't seen her since Western States and she filled me in on how her run went. It really made the time fly by. Soon, we were at the start/finish again and Karen handed her pacing duties to a guy named Dean.

Somewhere around mile 22, my left knee started hurting. I'm sure the 72 miles of concrete the weekend before had nothing to do with it??

A half mile from the finish line was a very cute sign that read, "1/2 mile to the barn!"

I crossed the finish line in 3:39:26. Good enough for first in my age group. The medals were cowbells - very original!! I waited for Linda who arrived in 4:25. We packed it up and headed home. Overall, a very nice day for running....

Catching up

2009-10-07T20:34:00.001-07:00

I have been busy lately and really need to catch up on some blogging. I'll start with Tahoe.

I ran the Tahoe triple in 2007 and in 2008 I signed up for the "Super" Triple. You run a marathon on Friday, a marathon on Saturday and then Saturday at midnight you run the whole 72 miles around the lake. Well, because of my Achilles issues in 2008, I was able to postpone my entry until 2009. When I emailed the race director he said I could sign up for any race - WOW just the out I was looking for. I haven't really been putting in many miles and didn't feel in shape so I opted for just the 72 mile Ultra around the lake.

Robert and I headed up to Tahoe on Thursday. We arrived late in the afternoon. The weather was warm. Unseasonable warm for Tahoe.

Friday we decided to hike to Eagle lake. It's about a 2 mile hike and it was beautiful!

Friday afternoon, we rode bikes to the casino so Robert could place some College football game bets and then we hit an outside bar for some Blue Moon carbo loading...

Matt, Sarah and Connor drove up later Friday evening and we had a nice pasta dinner (more carbo loading..).

On Saturday morning we decided to watch the bicyclists finish their 72 mile race around the lake.

They were flying. We got to Zephyr Cove just in time to watch the winner cross the line.

Here's my photo as he whizzed by:

(I shouldn't give up my day job huh?)

We drove up to Spooner parking lot so I could stash some water. I figured I would be needing a refill about that time. If I figured right, I would hit there about 4-5 hours from Pope Beach. We also stopped at a vista and Connor did some rock hopping.

The Pre-race Briefing:

On Saturday, after watching the bikes, we headed to the expo. We ran into Les Wright, the RD and he informed me that the 72 mile ultra race was officially "cancelled". Due to some permit screw up on his part, Cal-trans and NDOT (Nevada department of transportation) denied his permit for the ultra. He said he would give us full details at 4 p.m.

At 4 p. Les informed us, "it was a free country and if you wanted to run a 46 mile warm-up before the marathon, it was your right". The other options offered, were:

1. Run the marathon

2. Refund your entry fee

3. Roll it over until next year

Since I had already rolled over the previous year and I didn't want to just run the marathon, I opted to do the free country bit and run the 46 mile warm up!

The Start:

Robert dropped me off at Pope Beach at 9:50 p. Surprisingly, there were between 10-15 people gathered for the 10 p. start. At exactly 10 p., we took off. I started out running with 3 guys from the bay area. At Round Hill, one of the guys, named Chris peeled off. He was the "crew" for a guy named Ben Balstar. Chris said he would look out for me since I was crewless!!

I arrived to Spooner lake and found my hidden water. It was very, very dark so Chris held a light so I could refill my hydration pack. I didn't see what time it was because I didn't really care. By now, we were pretty spread out along the road. I ended up running alone for the majority of the 46 miles.

My stomach started revolting shortly after that. I'm not even sure why. It wasn't hot, I had been drinking enough fluids, I took some salt although I wasn't really sweating because it was chilly outside so I'm clueless as to why it felt awful. When I got to the Vista where Connor had been rock hopping, I barfed. It was gross!! Immediately after, I started drinking and TRYING to eat but nothing sounded good.

When I arrived to the turn for Incline Village, Chris was waiting for me. He said he would see me at the finish since Ben was running fabulously. He wished me well and was off. It's amazing how many nice people there are out in the world!

When I arrived into Kings Beach, it was bright because of all the neon signs for the casinos. I was on a walk break and a young man came from one of the casinos. We exchanged hellos and then he asked me what I was doing. I told him I was running around the lake and then he said, "What the hell for?" It was very funny. He too, wished me well and told me there was a 7-11 about 2 miles up the road since I really needed a Sprite to calm my stomach.

I found the oasis in the desert and bought some sprite. It tasted very good!! I continued to drink but hadn't really eaten anything in sometime.

When I was about 7 miles from Tahoe City, I looked at my watch. I was making pretty good time. I new I would arrive earlier than we had planned so at 5 a. I called Robert and told him to meet me at 6:30a. not 8 a. like we'd planned.

It took forever to get to Tahoe City. Here I come down the street.

I was surprised to see Sarah and Connor had joined Matt in dropping Robert off. It was a very nice pick me up and mentally I needed it. They also brought some ginger snap cookies which tasted great. I was also happy to drop off all the gear I'd been carrying.

Robert and I started off. I was pretty much toast. I thought the walk 50 steps, run 50 steps thing would work and it did for awhile but eventually I just ended up walking. Robert tried to make me feel better by saying how nice it was to walk so you could really take in the views.

I made Robert carry my water bottle, I've never had anyone "mule" for me and it was nice.

Finally, I arrived at the turn into Pope Beach. Only 1/2 mile left. Robert left me at this point because he wanted to hit the $2.00 beer booth.

I saw Matt, Sarah and Connor and then the finish line. Yea!!!

I ran the 72 miles in 15:40:26, "unofficially" of course!!

I can now check this off my list of things to do before I die!!

Run fun...

Tahoe

2009-09-24T09:56:00.001-07:00

I'm off for Lake Tahoe to run the 72 mile Ultra. I'm pretty excited and nervous. I don't feel in good enough shape so I might have to gut this one out! We'll see......

Run fun...

A Bike

2009-09-02T09:59:00.000-07:00

If only I were 8 years younger or 5 minutes and 50 seconds faster I could have won that!

Last weekend my family and I ran the Inaurgural Santa Rosa Marathon and Half Marathon.

Roos, Connor, Matt and Sarah did the half and I ran the full marathon. We arrived on Friday evening and stayed at Windsor. What a cute little town. We walked around the main street and had dinner at a cute little diner. It was hot and sticky in the evening. We were all hoping for some cooler weather for the weekend.

Saturday, we went to the expo, got our stuff, and walked around downtown Santa Rosa. I wanted to hit a knitting store in the downtown area. I love to explore new knitting stores and check for "local" spinners and yarns.

We woke up Sunday morning and the weather was cool. Perfect for running. The course consisted of two 13.1 mile loops. Mentally tough to run past the finish line....I know!

536 people towed the line for the inaurgural event, with the majority of those doing the half.

Roos, Connor, Matt and Sarah started in the back because they were walking but I lined up around the 9 minute mile group. We started at 7a. sharp. The course ran along a bike path that paralled the river.

I felt pretty good. The weather was really cooperating. It was overcast and cool. I finished the first loop and headed out for the second loop. As I hit the second aid station, the nice volunteers informed me I was the second female. I was quite surprised.

At mile 23 the wheels fell off - my legs turned to concrete and I slowed down. I came upon Matt and Sarah around this point and Sarah said, "There's only one girl in front of you and she looks young." Wow! I got excited, maybe I could win the women's master catagory. I have really been wishing I had a road bike so I could do some miles with Anita, who is training for a triathalon. I figured it would be a great way to cross train.

This was a pick me up and I tried to put the pedal to the medal (haha). As I rounded the corner to the finish I saw my dad who was cheering for me, which was exciting. I crossed the finish line in 3:34, second female overall.

As I looked at the posted final results, the "young girl" was 42 and won the women's master catagory (and the slick new bike) and the girl who finished 5 minutes behind me won the women's open catagory (and a slick new bike).

This is what I won:

Connor was disappointed he didn't get to meet Guy Fieri.

He is a native Santa Rosan and he was promised to be there and Connor was promised an autographed shirt and picture with him. So he was just as disappointed as I was.

My dad and Connor after the race.

Overall, we did have a great time. It was a perfect family weekend!!

Run fun...........

Vacation

2009-08-23T14:24:00.000-07:00

I have just returned from a 10 day visit to the awesome state of Minnesota. My oldest son, his wife, Connor and I flew to Minneapolis on the 12th and returned on the 22nd. I just wanted to give a brief summary of the trip. We arrived and I promptly caught a head cold. I think it was from the stuffy plane trip. Connor and I spent the entire time at my parent's in Garfield while Matt and Sarah spent 4 days discovering the many things to do in Minneapolis. Here are some photos:

This is Ollie in Alexandria.

Connor had a run in with a bear at the Runestone Museum in Alexandria.

Here is the picture of lightening, taken with my highly quick shuttered ipod camera phone during an awesome thunder and lightening storm.

Here I am before my lightening fast 10K women's win. I ran the Run for the Melon. I was hoping to win a new pair of melons but instead received free watermelon after. The run took place in Vining Minnesota on Watermelon day!

AND, I knitted Sarah an awesome pair of socks.

It was a fabulous vacation!!

Run fun.......

Mod Moms Club

2009-08-17T10:55:00.001-07:00

Roos and I were featured here in the Modesto Bee Moms Club blog. Pretty cool.

Run fun.....

Modesto Midnight Half Marathon

2009-08-09T10:38:00.000-07:00

On Saturday evening, Modesto had it's very first half marathon. It was pretty exciting. The run was hosted by Fleet Feet in Stockton. Surprisingly, there were between 600-700 participants. They also offered a 2 mile fun run but the majority of the entrants participated in the half marathon.

The run started at 9 p.m and consisted of two 6 mile loops. The course left a little to be desired because of the park we enter into. I run down there all the time and know that it is a home to many of Modesto's homeless population. Plus, there are VERY few lights at the park but despite that, it was fabulous. I like to run at night, lots of new sounds - lots of wildlife emerging.

I had set a goal of 1:45 but thought that might be impossible due to the limited visibility and the narrow bike path that was shared by all. I brought a handheld light and was really thankful that I did.

I started out pretty fast (as usual). I wasn't going to look at my watch except to see if it was time for a walk break. I did my usual run 10 minutes, walk 1.

Despite the darkness, I saw many familiar faces and shouted out to lots of runners. I saw Roos and Connor walking at a nice pace.

When you do walk breaks in your runs, you play leap frog with many people. I sometimes like to use this as a motivator to run faster, to catch and pass them. I'm sure that it's pretty annoying to some people but I really like the break. Walking for that short period allows my legs to recover some and I find I drink more fluids. I have read many a heated discussion about walk breaks and it's not "running" an event if you walk but all I can say is it works for me.

I played leap frog with two girls last night. One is a member of our running club and the other I didn't know. I did this until mile 12 and then passed them both to finish up at 1:43. I felt pretty good. I was happy that I achieved my goal. It's not a PR for me but very close - 5 seconds! I can't seem to get below the 1:43 mark. I suppose if I did more speed work, I could achieve that. Priorities for the past few years have been L O N G runs and not speed.

I stood at the finish line for sometime and cheered lots of runners in. Anita finished up great with a 2:10. Afterwards, we hit the beer garden for a beer then returned to the finish line to see Roos and Connor run across in 3:18.

It was a pretty late night. I didn't hit the pillow until after 2 am. I really enjoyed this event and would do it again next year. It's kind of nice that ShadowChase didn't have to do participate in any part of the organization so LOTS of members were out running instead of helping. It was awesome....

Run Fun.....

Not to be..again

2009-06-29T13:47:00.001-07:00

Well I'm 0-2 at Western States. I was really excited and nervous about this year. I so desperately wanted to finish. I wanted to get to Highway 49 to see all my running friends at the ShadowChase aid station. I wanted to cross that finish line in Auburn and get a buckle.

I felt great prior to the start. No injuries and a new regime of hydration and electrolytes that I hoped would work for my wimpy stomach, but that too didn't work.

I volunteered for the cardiac and hyponatremic medical study which was really cool. I got to have a DEXA scan and an echo. I had lots of labs drawn and yes, it is awesome to stand and pee!

I started the race with Melissa and Jeffrey, going out slow. That was the plan. I wanted to hit Robinson before noon and I got into Robinson feeling good. I hit the canyons and it was warm. I felt like I was hydrating and taking enough electrolytes. I guess in hindsight, it wasn't enough electrolytes. When I got out of Devil's thumb aid station, I vomited but continued to rehydrate with salty broth. At Michigan Bluff (thank god for my Anita) she forced me to eat a sandwich and more broth which came up down the trail. Again, more broth at Bath road which came up. I have left more barf on the last 50 miles of that course than you can imagine (not sure if that's something to be proud of though!!!).

When I hit Foresthill I was done - physically and mentally. I had my labs done which showed I was very hyponatremic.

I decided to call it quits, not to go through what I did in 2007. The death march...... 16 miles is a long way to walk and then wait for a ride out of Driver's flat!!

I am deflated, I wanted to finish so bad but it wasn't meant to be. There won't be another 100 miler in my future. I'm done. It takes to much time to train, time away from my family, money and it is emotionally draining to go through these feelings.

You know what best friends are for? They are for telling you "not completing this race is not what defines you".

I have had a blast and will look forward to pacing and crewing others in their endeavors to complete that 100 mile distance.

Again, I want to thank my wonderful family for all that they've done for me. For all the support and emotional uplifting. I am truly blessed.

Run fun.......

6 days to the big day...

2009-06-21T16:19:00.000-07:00

Wow, it seems like forever ago that I started training for Western. I can't believe it's almost here. I am really looking forward to it. I am nervous and anxious. I am also excited to see lots of old friends and looking forward to making some new ones.

Some things to look forward to:

Some things I'm not looking forward to:

Run fun.....

Canyons

2009-05-29T21:10:00.000-07:00

Today, Steve and I

and 3 million unwanted guests ran the canyons!

Run fun......

May's run of the Month

2009-05-22T06:27:00.000-07:00

Our running group (well usually Heidi) puts these "run of the month" together. They are awesome. There is nothing like running with a group of friends. On Sunday we went to Twain Harte. This was a run that was done last year but I was unable to go and I'm sorry to have missed it. Wow, what a great place to run.

Vicky B. is taking the photo!

We parked at the golf course and ran to the start of the aqua duct. It is 2 miles up hill and then you hit the path. The path is flat and meanders around the water. It is shady with a great surface. I ended up running a little over 14 miles. It was a great day!.

Run fun.....

The Yellow Shower curtain

2009-05-19T07:04:00.001-07:00

On Saturday before Mother's day I went up to the WS course to run from Michigan Bluff to Last chance and back. I met Jeffrey and Carrie at the park n ride in Auburn. Carrie has been running ultra distances for some time yet ran her first organized ultra at PCTR's Mt. Diablo. She finished just a bit over 12 hours and is quite the studette! As we were driving up to meet Steve and Rich at Michigan Bluff, Jeffrey asked Carrie is she'd been on these trails and she said she had. Jeffrey was worried that it might be a "yellow shower curtain day"? I asked what that meant and he said he was running a training run with the man who was lost on the WS trail last year. He had gotten separated on the climb to Devil's thumb and was found safe the next day. You can read about it here.

The five of us set out from Michigan Bluff and were having a great day. We saw many people out enjoying the day.

We started on the final descent to Eldorado Creek before the climb to Michigan Bluff. I was clearly the ball and chain in the group. As you know, downhill running is not my forte. I was behind the group and kept running, off on the wrong trail. Well, I didn't realize it was the wrong trail right away, it took me awhile. There were ribbons hanging (just like the rest of the day) so I thought I was okay. Well, I finally turned around and tried not to panic. I had run out of water and food! I used my Garmin watch to go "back to start".

Of course, it was mostly uphill and took me forever. I'd walk a bit and then would yell "HELLO". No answer, finally I made it back to where I took a wrong turn. Steve was waiting there. Boy, was I happy to see him. Another runner headed up to Michigan bluff to tell Jeffrey I was found. We waited for Rich and Carrie to return from searching in the opposite direction. I was thirsty and hot!

It took us awhile to climb out to meet Jeffrey. He had called Placer search and rescue, worried that I had gotten hurt. No, I wasn't physically hurt, just my pride. All I could think about was the "yellow shower curtain"!!! as I was trying to stay calm while thinking I would be mountain lion/bear/vulture food!!

I felt awful for taking so much extra time and stressing out everyone else. A 25 miler turned into a 28+ miler.

I was supposed to have Mother's day dinner with my son and daughter in law at 6 p. but ended up eating at 8 p. What a longgggg day.

run fun....

On a side note, I ran Monday with a new found glee, glad that I was still around to run another day.

Miwok 100K

2009-05-10T19:59:00.001-07:00

On Saturday, May 2nd was my third running of the Miwok 100K. 2007 was my first year. This was the year I was training for my first WS. Everyone said, "you have to go past the 50 mile mark"! So I signed up for Miwok. I loved it, I even ran bonus miles, missing the infamous left turn and ending back up at Pelican Bay at Muir beach!

The second year, 2008, was not good! I had stomach issues and ended up walking the last 15+ miles. I barely finished before darkness set in.

This year, since I have changed up my eating and (knock on wood) I haven't had any real stomach problems, I thought I could do well. I was secretly hoping to come in around 12 hours, possibly even less.

Early in the morning (and I mean early) Linda, Anita, Barb and I headed over to the Headlands. They day didn't start to well. I arrived late to pick up Anita and we were 15 minutes late to Linda's. On the drive over, I couldn't find my bib, my bag was totally discombobulated. It wasn't looking good! We arrived in plenty of time to park close and we headed to pick up our stuff. I checked on my phone and the weather forecast was pretty decent: 30% chance of rain in the am and 40% chance in the afternoon. Hopefully, the weather would hold out.

I saw Jeffrey and Tony in the parking lot. After our hugs, the first thing Tony said is, "what are you wearing?" Everyone was perplexed about the weather. Bring a rain jacket or not??? It was about 55 degrees at the start and beautiful. I decided to go with a light weight jacket and put my gore tex jacket in my drop bag. That turned out to be a smart move.

We walked on to the beach and at 5:40 we were off. The start is about a 1/2 mile across the sand to a bottle neck that heads up a small trail to Bunker road. I wanted to start in the back so I wouldn't go out to fast. We made it to the top and started our climb up Bunker road. I warmed up and soon took off the jacket and tied it around my waist.

The course was a little different this year due to some trails that were closed. As we left out of Muir beach aid station, it started to drizzle some. As we started climbing up Deer park road, it started to dump buckets of water. It was raining so hard, I had to take my glasses off because I couldn't see a thing!

I arrived into Pantoll aid station and headed straight for my drop bag. The bags were sitting out completely exposed and they were all wet! As I was digging through my bag, Steve Ansell came over to help. He was kind enough to refill my bottles while I dug around in my completely disorganized drop bag. I set my glasses on the bag next to me. After I was done, my nice warm, dry jacket on, I headed for the bathroom. I was in the bathroom for some time and I got to thinking, where are my glasses? I returned to the aid station. I was yelling for Steve hoping he had them. A volunteer came up and told me she had put them in the bag I had left them sitting on top of. Thankfully, it was Clare and Scott's! I couldn't wear the glasses anyway due to the rain but I still needed them. I put them in my pocket and headed out. 15 minutes wasted...

The bolinas ridge section is my favorite part of the course. It winds around for miles. This section was almost comical when you saw the rain coming down so hard and the wind blowing the rain sideways. At times it would blow you right off the trail. I had my hat pulled down and my hood cinched so tight on my jacket that it was awkward to look up. I did notice the flowers on the trail were beautiful!!

I hit Bolinas ridge aid station, ate some cookies and saw Carol Cuminale. She said some 60 people had dropped with hypothermia. I guess the weather at the start had left many people under prepared. The next section is an out and back to the turn around point at Randall aid station, which is mile 35.6. This is where you see the leaders on their way back. Eric Grossman was in the lead for the men and Anna Ortiz for the women. I got to see lots of friends on this section.

I got to the bottom, ate some and turned around. I started the long climb back to Bolinas aid station when I heard someone yell my name. I saw Anita, Barbara and Lindsay heading down to Randall. Anita was not a happy camper, if fact her exact words were, "I'm f*^%)@!% miserable." I talked with them a short bit and kept moving. I was worried they wouldn't make the cut off.

When I got to Bolinas ridge fire road, there were large sections of the fire road that had puddles extending all the way across. On the way out, I tried to run around the edges. This was annoying because it was super muddy and you really worked your ankles trying not to slip while still running. I decided on the way back, to just power through the middle of the puddles, screw trying to hit the edges. The very first puddle I came to, I bolted in. Shockingly, the puddle was about 3 feet deep. It hit the bottom of my shorts. I was afraid my shoe was going to get stuck in the mud and I wouldn't be able to reach in without my face going underwater. I had to laugh at this point. I got a mental picture of being able to do a cannonball in the middle of the puddle!!

I got back to Bolinas ridge and started moving. I passed about 8 people on this section. They probably were pretty annoyed with me because I had my head down (due to cinched hood) and would run right up their back side before I realized it. They would step off and let me pass while I'm sure they were cussing at me under their breath. The trail was VERY muddy and slippery at some sections.

I got to the tricky left turn and met up with some very nice sisters. One was from Oregon and one was from Washington. How fun would that be to run ultras with your sister? We chatted quite a bit and before long we were at highway one crossing. It was there that I ran into Scott.

The four of us headed out and did some chatting and running. By now, the rain had stopped and the fog had started moving in.

The sister from WA was an awesome uphill runner while the sister from OR was an awesome downhill runner. Together they made quite a team! We stayed together for sometime before everyone separated. We were all trying to find our mojo and push towards the finish. It had been a long day.

As you finish up on the Coastal trail, you could hear the cheers from the crowds as runners crossed the finish line but because of the fog, you couldn't see a thing. I knew I was close. Just as I headed down the stairs, I saw Heidi, Mike and Barb. I was surprised to see Barb. I learned that her, Anita, and Lindsay had dropped at the Randall aid station due to hypothermia.

I crossed the finish line in 13:02 - better than last year, but not my best! I was a little disappointed but considering the weather and the condition of the trails, it'll have to do!

I did finish feeling great! My stomach held out and my legs felt pretty fresh. I never really got cold during the day, just wet.

Here I am at the finish talking with Clare and Steve Ansell (who is giving us the low down).

Of course, Roos and Connor drove over to watch us finish. Here is Connor playing near the beach.
On Sunday night, I found a large deer tick in his ear. I'm sure it's from playing on the beach and around the bushes at Headlands. Gross!!

Run fun.....

Big Sur Marathon

2009-05-10T19:05:00.000-07:00

Last year I signed up for the Big Sur marathon but the Wednesday before I got some god awful stomach flu. 3 days later, I was still sick so I didn't run the marathon. This year when Robert said we need to put a marathon on the calendar, I suggested Big Sur. It is ranked the #1 most beautiful marathon by runner's world!

My blister was starting to heal nicely after Diablo. I ended up with a really sore right quad muscle. I think it was because I was compensating for my blister and sore left ankle. I had a massage on Wednesday and it felt 100% better.

I talked Anita into running it also so the three of us left Saturday to head to Monterey.

The forecast was supposed to be cold and windy. We awoke in the middle of the night to catch the shuttle bus. We made it just in time for the last bus and the hour drive to the marathon start. We arrived at the "runners village" and there were people everywhere. We made it to the porta-potty and then headed to our spot. Robert and I got behind the 3:50 group. The weather was beautiful.

The first 5 miles run through a wooded section that was beautiful. It is mostly downhill and you warmed up pretty quickly. I took off my tivek jacket and tied it around my waste. A woman at the expo said, when you hit the ocean, it can get cold so hold onto the jacket for awhile. Smart woman! We hit the ocean (and the wind). It was really gusty. The course is also pretty hilly. As I was making my way up a hill, I saw a runner in front of me. His gait was familiar and it was Howard Wood, whom I met at the Tahoe Triple several years ago. I have also run into him at several PCTR runs and he ran Diablo 50 miler the week before also. He is quite a runner. We ran together for some time braving the wind and hills. He lives in Santa Cruz so he decided to make it a long day. He drove to the finish (at 2:30 am) and ran to the start and then ran to the finish. Crazy! He is in training for Big Horn 100 mile in Wyoming.

The views of the ocean were gorgeous:

We started up the hill to Hurricane point. It is a pretty steep hill between miles 10 and 12. It was great to get to the top. My legs were pretty sore but I managed to power through it. Surprisingly, my quad was feeling pretty good.

Here is the infamous Bixby Bridge:

And the amazing piano man, Michael Martinez.

They had some interesting bands and music along the course.

The finish line is in Carmel at the middle school. I crossed the finish line in 3:50 feeling pretty good. I'm glad I saved my jacket because it was chilly at the finish.

Robert finished in 4:49 and Anita right behind him in 4:52.

I would definitely do that marathon again. It is beautiful!!

Run fun....

Diablo

2009-04-29T07:56:00.001-07:00

Sunday, April 19th was Wendell and Sarah's Diablo 50 mile and marathon run. I've heard this run is very difficult and a great training run for Western States. I decided to enter this year in preparation for WS. First of all, let me say, I'm pretty sure Wendell enjoys making his runs "difficult". Mount Diablo is in Wendell and Sarah's backyard and they know those trails. So finding the most difficult ones was pretty easy for Wendell!

The weather for April started unseasonable warm. We were seeing temps in the 90's and projected temps of 100. This scares me, how warm will WS be? Possibily like 2006?

Back to the run...

You know your in trouble at the 7 a.m start when your already feeling warm in just shorts and a t-shirt! The run starts out with an uphill climb to Eagle Peak.

The views were beautiful:

It was a long climb up. The terrien was rocky and technical, which is not my favorite but I need the practice. I hit the first aid station, Juniper City feeling pretty good. I brought my camera with me in my pack and when I took it out for some photos, I couldn't get it back in. I ended up carrying it for miles so I dropped it off in my drop bag at Juniper City. Of course, I regretted that decision when we got to the summit and the views were fabulous!

After leaving the summit there was a very long steep downhill and Scott and Clare caught up to me. Clare and Scott were taking it easy in preparation for Miwok so we all ran together. Those two are awesome!

We arrived to North gate aid station and headed out for a 5 mile loop. There were a few creek crossings and we took the opportunity to cool ourselves off. My feel were pretty wet. I could feel a blister developing. I always tape my feet because I tend to get blisters in the medial aspect of my heels. This didn't seem to work today. I developed a large blister on the inner part of my left heel which caused me to run with a funky gait.

After leaving Rock city you head down a very long 6 mile trail to Finley road. Due to my unusual gait, I ended up twisting my ankle which made me run even more awkward. On the return to Rock City, I decided to save it for another day. It took me 10 hours to complete 37 miles. That is one tough course with over 13,000 feet of elevation change.

Overall, it was a good day. I got to see lots of friends. The temps ended up being over 90 degrees, so it was some good heat training and my stomach held up.

I don't think that I want to complete my unfinished business on this course. I can live with the ass kicking!!

Run fun...

The A's vs. Boston

2009-04-16T21:52:00.001-07:00

On Wednesday, we got some tickets for the Oakland A's vs. Boston Red Sox baseball game. Roos was "working" the game. I use this term loosely because from what I saw, he ate a lot of sunflower seeds and stood around getting paid overtime. Sweet!

Connor and his friend Levi and I arrived just after the first pitch was thrown. We had some nice seats behind first base. Not bad for free!

I was surprised at the large number of Boston fans at the game, I think their were more Boston fans than A's fans and we unfortunately, had an obnoxious Boston fan sitting directly behind us. Boston won 8-2. The obnoxious guy behind us was thrilled.

Spring Vacation

2009-04-16T21:20:00.001-07:00

This week my son is home from school because of spring break. As I was on my hands and knees mopping the floor on Monday, I thought how awful this is that I have to do housework while my husband gets to do all the "fun stuff" with Connor. So Tuesday, Connor and I packed up our bikes and headed to the American River bike trail.

We arrived around 12:30 and hit the trail at Howe Avenue. It was a very windy day but the trail was pretty much deserted.

We started out nice and slow. I was just out there two weeks ago but when I was running, I never realized the things around me. I saw signs I'd never seen before. There were tons of dirt trails around us so we decided to take a dirt trail. Connor was leading and we had quite an adventure.

On our ride, we counted 16 squirrels, one rabbit and lots of ducks. We stopped at a fishing pier and checked out the ducks and geese.

I have never noticed the Mountain Lions signs before or the number of wonderful parks and playgrounds along the trail. We stopped and played at a playground and finally turned around about 8 miles out.

We stopped to have a snack and I snapped this picture of Connor eating fruit snacks.

OK, not the best picture. I decided to take another:

OK, again, not the best picture. Special needs - helmet and all???

Finally, I got a nice picture.

We ended up riding about 16 miles. We had alot of fun. It was nice to look at the bike trail from a different perspective. It's sad to realize I don't really notice alot of things around me when I'm running. I always thought the bike trail was kind of boring but on Tuesday, I noticed it's beautiful. I just need to look around....

Run fun....

Knight's Ferry

2009-04-16T21:08:00.001-07:00

Saturday, April 11th our running club, ShadowChase had a run of the month at Knight's Ferry. It's been awhile since I've been out there to run.

We met at SaveMart at 7 a. and carpooled out. Robert, Anita and I drove together. Robert and I both had to be back before noon. We arrived and of course, took a group photo.

We decided to head out Sonora Road. It was an exceptionally windy day and as we headed out, the wind was facing us. Sonora Road is very hilly and the wind made it worse. Robert, Anita and I started out and soon Anita fell back. We ran around a 9-10 minute pace out and about an 8 minute pace on the way back. The wind, of course was pushing us along. Team in Training was out there also and they were kind enough to let us replenish our water bottles at their aid stations. Robert and I ended up doing 14 miles. Most people averaged around 10, some doing as much as 20. It was a nice day. I arrived home in time to shower and head off to work....

Run fun...

AR50

2009-04-06T07:36:00.001-07:00

On Saturday, I toed the starting line, along with 509 others, for the 30th annual American River 50 mile run. Julie Fingar took over as the race director this year and she did a fabulous job! It turned out to be a spectacular day. You couldn't ask for better weather and the flowers on the trail were beautiful.

We started the run on the bike trail near the Guy West bridge in Sacramento. The start was a little different this year but I started out with Bill and we were underway in the dark. I lost Bill and ran alone for some time before I put on the ipod. Tony Overbay and Scott Dunlap came up beside me, WOW, I was going way to fast. They didn't stay long but I did play leap frog with Tony for most of the way to Beals aid station.

I've changed up my eating and drinking, trying to fine tune it. I started with Gu2O drink in my handheld and refilled with the same. After that I switched to plain water. I think this is working well. The electrolyte drinks tend to get too sweet after awhile. I also had the privilege of trying a new product - Gu Chomps. They are like Gu Rocktane only in a shot block. They are fabulous! like little magic beans. They don't have any caffeine which is okay with me. I also changed the brand of electrolytes I'm taking. The endurolytes seemed to repeat themselves and after a bit, I had a hard time getting them down. I've switched to SaltSticks and they seem to be doing the job.

Onward with the day, I did my usual run for 10 minutes, walk for 1 minute. I felt pretty good. It's funny how sometimes when your running, your mind isn't in the game but your legs feel good and vice versa. I, unfortunately, had the latter on Saturday. My legs were not perky. This is understandable with all the hard miles I've put in in the last 3 weeks.

At Nimbus dam aid station, this man was waving and yelling at me so I took off my headphones and he stated, "your the 20th female". A few feet further, another man said the same thing. This struck me as funny, I was only at mile 18. I had along way to go. Besides, I figured all 19 other females were probably in my age group. The 40 year old female age bracket is TOUGH. Look at Kami Semick, she kicked ass!

I finally arrived at Beals. I was greeted by a happy Melissa and Nancy.

From Jean Pommier

I headed out for the last 23+ miles. Once I hit the trails, I turned off my 10:1 ratio and tried to keep moving. My mind was saying, you can run this, but my legs were saying, oh no you can't!!

I was now playing leap frog with Tim Quinn. I left Rattlesnake with the happy thought of only 9 more miles. We had 1 1/2 hours to go 9 miles, could we do it? Tim said no, I said yes. We started out and I passed Tim in my attempt to do it, I really wanted to finish in 8 1/2 hours. Well, I hit the last hill and looked at my watch - 8:17. I wasn't going to make it. I decided to run for 50 steps and walk for 50 to get up the blasted hill, 3 miles to go. The folks working Last Gasp aid station were awesome. They came running to you and refilled your bottle while you just kept on moving.

I caught up with a group of 4 people. They were very nice. It turned out to be Lisa Henson, the RD for Lake Sonoma, which I ran the previous weekend. She was very encouraging!

I finally made it to the top of the hill, rounded the corner and could see Connor and Kaytyln waiting for me. We all three ran in together. I crossed the finish line in 8:48.

I got my very cool Brooks jacket and tickets for an awesome BBQ, complete with Cold Stone ice cream for dessert.

Full results can be found here: Capital Road race.

Our running club had a great showing for this race - 13 runners in total. It was awesome to see them come across the finish line. Charles had a great day, a sub 8 hour run and Berklee ran her first 50 in 8:30. Barb Elia, who never ceases to amaze me, ran under 11 hours. She is the energizer bunny..... We had many club members come up to pace and cheer us on. Our club, Shadowchase, rocks!

I had a great day. No stomach issues at all and I am VERY happy with this. I will still continue to fine tune the hydration/nutrition component of ultra running because this is what makes or breaks you!

I have an awesome family who supports me in my endeavors. I don't think I'd be able to do this if I didn't. I received a text from my son and daughter in law, wishing me a good run and of course, Roos and Connor at the finish line cheering me on.

Up next, Mount Diablo 50 miler!

Run fun.....

Lake Sonoma

2009-03-29T23:23:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I need to post a race report or something. I was pretty lame. I forgot my camera. I planned on taking lots of photos and taking the scenic route, well, instead, I got stuck in this conga line with 120+ people with a crap load of climbing.....

Wow, Jon was smoking fast on that course. Ok, so now I can start my summary.

I had a fun day. I finished in 11:09 and got some really cool swag!! Done....

Henry's March 5K

2009-03-24T07:01:00.001-07:00

On Sunday, March 22, Roos, Connor and I participated in the 2nd annual Henry's March in Turlock. This run is for Henry Johnson.

We got there early and hung out in the gym at Stanislaus State University. They had free food and booths with vendors. They had face painting for all pre-registered kids and were selling raffle tickets. The goal was to raise as much money as last year, which was a whopping $25,000.

The 5K started at 9:15. I wasn't sure how much I had in my legs since it was only one week post CTM. I was shooting for 22 minutes.

There was a significant head wind but my legs felt good. I hit the one mile mark but didn't want to look at my watch. I saw the first place girl in front of me and Steve from our running group slightly in front of her. I just kept my sights on them. I started to close the gap as we hit the 2 mile mark. I had the youngster of the run, she looked over her shoulder twice. I finally closed the gap around the 3 mile mark. I came up along side the young girl and congratulated her on a good job, then I passed her and caught up to Steve. I told him to pick it up and sprint in. Just as he started to sprint and I started to sprint, the young girl blew by both of us! She finished in 21:24. Steve finished 21:28 and I finished 21:29.

I was very happy with my run. My legs felt pretty good. I took second female overall and first in age group. The girl who won, was 26 years old and it was her second organized run. I congratulated her on a nice job with an awesome kick at the finish!

Roos and Connor walked the course with an great time of 46:06.

We hung around for awards and the raffle. It was a very fun day.

The total amount raised for this year was $21,400. Not bad for a crappy economy.

Next up: Lake Sonoma 50 mile on Saturday March 28.

Run fun....

CTM

2009-03-16T20:41:00.001-07:00

On Thursday, Linda, Anita and I drove down to Ojai for my second running of Coyote Two moon 100 mile run. It is an incredibly difficult and challenging run.

We went into Venture for some bowling fun that evening. Anita and I were on the same team and I am proud to say Anita won an award for the lowest bowling score, a whopping 35! Vance's team won some award and they all received snow ski's and poles, which they had to bring to the start of the race with them. If your wondering about this run and the sanity of the race director, here he is at the pre-race briefing:

Chris Scott is the race director and he is quite a character. The atmosphere of the race is awesome, very relaxed.

If you've not heard of CTM, Chris' thought process is to have staggered starts so that everyone finishes within a four hour window. Your not allowed to have pacers because you will always be near another runner with the staggered starts.

THE START:

I was scheduled to start at 11:00 p.m. on Friday night. In my group were 17 other guys. I was afraid of being dead last, the slow poke.

We started and immediately 1/2 mile up the road, I stopped at the port-a-potties. When I came out, I was second to the last runner - oh well.

The start this year was at Thacher school. It is a 4.8 mile trek to the ridge. It took me 2 1/2 hours to do 4.8 miles. It also entailed 4 stream crossings in which rock hopping was successful and no wet feet. It would not have been good to start a 100 miler with wet feet at mile 1! At the top we took a right and ran down the ridge road towards Sisar Canyon. At the bottom of Sisar canyon, I was expecting my drop bag so I could get some GU2O for my bottle, but no such luck. It was "misplaced" but they had a real bathroom which was nice. I caught up with another guy in our group at the stream crossing. His name was Keen and it was his first 100. Boy he sure picked a doosie! I was, unfortunately, not successful at rock hopping and my left foot got soaking wet. Oh well, it did dry pretty fast.

SISAR CANYON

The climb out of Sisar Canyon was long but we took a right turn on to a single track trail that brought us up to Lion Canyon aid station. I will say, the course was marked excellently. It even had one sign with a map and said, "you are here" with an X.

LION CANYON

This was a great aid station. I ran into Linda here. She was all cuddled up in a chair with sleeping bags. It seems she was having some hypothermia issues. It was cold up on the ridge road. Lyon Canyon also had a nice rip roaring fire which made leaving difficult! From here is the dreaded climb to the top of Topa Topa. It is a peak that sits 6500 feet up and is covered with ice and snow.

This is what the ascent looked like. Lots of snow and ice. Once at the top, you must get a card from a deck of cards and then return to Lyon Canyon aid station. I tried to step in other's foot prints so I wouldn't slide down the mountain.

As I got to the bottom near the aid station, Linda was heading up Topa Topa. She decided she had warmed up enough and would try to continue on.

ROSE VALLEY

From Lion Canyon aid station, you climb up the ridge road until you take a right turn on single track trail that leads towards Rose Valley. The trail here is very narrow at times. I would shine my flashlight down the side of the hill but couldn't see a thing. I guess ignorance is bliss. There was snow along the side of the trail also. I remember last year heading down and the temps dropped significantly - into the low 20's. This year I was more prepared. I had hand warmers and a thicker jacket. As I continued on, the night was coming to an end and by the time I reached the bottom it was light out and cold. It was 24 degrees at the aid station. I quickly ate a hot, grilled turkey and cheese sandwich and headed back.

The climb up took a long time. It was warming up and looking like a beautiful day!

Now in the daylight, you can see those drops and long downs next to the very narrow trail.

Here is the drop down:

Here is the very narrow trail next to that long down.

Once you get back to the ridge road, you hit the Lyon Canyon aid station one more time. From this point you return down the single track trail to the ridge road just above Sisar Canyon.
This was a nice excellent down hill but of course turns into a long climb up towards the start. Once we hit the top to Thacher, the 100 milers and the 100Ker's will follow the same course. As I was almost back to the start, I could see those poor bastards making that 4.8 mile trek!
ROSE VALLEY
You continue on the ridge road for 8 miles until you head down a road for 2 miles until you reach Rose Valley aid station again. I was running down thinking how nice it would be to use a real bathroom and have a diet pepsi from my drop bag. As I got to the bottom, I was eating and drinking and I looked up and guess who I saw:

Anita was hitting Rose Valley at mile 12 of her 62 and I was at mile 48.8 of my 100 miles. We decided to stay together until the finish. We made the long climb back 2 miles until you hit the ridge road again and we head towards Howard's Creek.
HOWARDS CREEK
This was a very nice gently single track trail that led to an aid station on a road. They had some wonderful homemade peanut butter cookies there!!
COZY DELL
From last year, the only thing I remember vividly were that the climbs up Thacher and Cozy Dell sucked. Cozy Dell had some sort of rock bed with large boulders that you had to climb to get to the aid station. Anita and I were running nicely. The trail went from runnable to rocky technical quite frequently which is difficult to get into a groove. Run, walk, run, walk. We were trying to get down to Cozy Dell before dark. We had handheld in our backpacks but didn't really want to stop to fish them out. But no such luck, before the rock bed, we had to get our lights. If you know Anita and I, it's the blind leading the blind and not really safe so lights were a good thing~
At Cozy Dell, nothing really sounded good food wise but we tried to eat. I refilled one bottle and left the other in my drop bag. I don't like carrying two bottles and a handheld light, especially when I'm tired and my feet are dragging. It makes for a good combination of taking a header!
GRIDLEY TOP
When Anita and I finally made it to Gridley Top aid station, we were COLD, well freezing was more like it. It was 27 degrees up on the ridge road and windy. We just wanted to sit and huddle up with blankets. Chris came over and told me I was past the cut off time. He said I could only keep going because I was running with Anita and she was a 100 k and started much later than I. He said to get going if I wanted to finish in time. We stayed at the aid station for maybe 2 minutes. I was worried. Holy crap, I am a slow poke....
We headed down the trail towards Gridley Bottom. The trail again is very runnable with some patches of rocks which slowed you down. As we headed down and up this little dip, we heard a scream. I yelled, "are you okay". The response was a moan. I swear, I sprinted (difficult on legs that have gone 70+ miles) back and saw a runner down. It was Karen Hanke. She was laying face first on a bed of rocks. She was talking and we got her to roll over. Her knees were bloody but that was it until she took off her glove and her left wrist was deformed. Badly deformed. She is one tough cookie. She wasn't even crying! We got her up on her feet and tried to think if we had anything to make a splint, which we didn't so we had her hold her arm and I walked in front of her shining my light backwards to she could see. We walked for many, many miles until we reached Gridley bottom. Fortunately, there was a doctor there and a retired paramedic. They fashioned a cardboard splint and placed ice on it. Karen had broken down and taken 400 mg of advil before we hit the bottom. See, I told you she was a tough cookie. As she sat there, and the adrenaline finally wore off, she cried. We felt so bad. At least she was in good hands. They were working on getting her to her hotel since her husband wasn't answering his cell.
Chris was also at Gridley bottom since someone had told him a runner went down. I walked up to him and said, "did you realize I started at 11 p. and I'm sure I wasn't close to any cut offs". He said, "I know but you got your ass moving didn't you"! I was thinking what an a$#@*^%.
We made the long climb back up to Gridley top aid station and headed towards the finish. 13+ long miles until the finish. It was still 27 degrees and windy. We were really cold.
Anita and I and two other girls, Georgeann and Kim were the last four people out on the ridge road. We would all be walking and then someone would say, "I can't feel my fingers" then quiet. Then another, "I"m so freaking cold". It was quite funny (now).
We hit the ridge junction aid station (where they had a fire). Like a moth to a flame Anita had to pull me away. We're only 4.8 miles to the finish. Anita said, we can run down to the finish. As we started down towards Thacher, it is rocky, narrow, steep, slippery and dangerous. What kind of crack was she smoking to think we could run that!
It was a long walk down. We hit the 4 creek crossings and Anita was successful at rock hopping 3 times. On the last creek, her foot got wet. Anita really DISLIKES wet feet. I giggled and she cussed at me.
THE FINISH
At some point, Georgeann and Kim had pulled away and taken the lead. Anita and I were it - DFL.
As we came to the track and took our lap, the awards ceremony was just starting. How embarrassing was that! Mostly everyone was already showered and had eaten. How embarrassing is that!
Anyway, we finished, together. The final time for me 35:45 and Anita's was 23:45.
It wasn't important what our time was. We had a good time, helped someone in need and didn't freeze to death. Much more important things.
RECAP
I just wanted to say, I didn't hurl once. I really concentrated on eating and drinking. I ate grilled cheese sandwiches, cheese quesidillas, chips, cookies, etc. I even had a sip of beer at the Rose Valley aid station the second time around. I did slow down on the fluid consumption but was still sipping water to the end. I did also take electrolytes faithfully. I am most happy about that and will continue to work on that.
I also wanted to say, that the volunteers and all the aid stations were fabulous!! They waited on you hand and foot. Next year, if the timing is right, I want to volunteer. Then I can drink lots of beer and cater to the crazies that do Coyote Two Moon..

From Coyote Two Moon

Here is the link for other pictures I took:
http://picasaweb.google.com/5150runnner/CoyoteTwoMoon?feat=directlink

Run of the Month

2009-03-09T14:16:00.001-07:00

On Saturday, our running club, ShadowChase

went to Lake Chabot for a training run. We left Modesto at 7:15 a. and were running on the trails by 8:30 a. The weather was a little chilly at the start but it warmed up nicely. We ran along the lake on the Honker Bay trail. It is an absolutely beautiful single track trail. There was a lot of water due to all the rain but everything was green. Most of us were tapering for one event or another so we took it easy with a 9 miler.

Run fun.....

Sequoia 50K

2009-03-05T11:35:00.001-08:00

"I peed my pants for the first time while racing. So yes people, that is what you saw on my shorts as I headed off for the 20k loop."

Taken from the blog of Caitlin Smith, overall winner of the 50K. That must be why I didn't win, I stopped to pee!!! Oh, and one other small detail, I run slow!!

Seriously, congratulations to her. She came in second overall, took 30 minutes off the women's course record and it was her first ever 50K. She will be running WTC in 2 weeks and yes, she'll be a force to be reckoned with.

Several members of the ShadowChase running club headed over to the Oakland hills to run Sequoia trail run hosted by the ever popular Pacific Coast Trail Runs. I was excited because this was my first of Wendell and Sarah's runs this year.

We started at 8:30 a. I usually have a time goal that I establish before each run but this time, I had a heart rate goal. I wanted to keep my heart rate in the "moderate endurance" zone.

The course was nice, a little sloppy on the French trail due to all the rain we've received lately but still beautiful. I felt good. I tried to concentrate on fluid and nutrition. I came across the 30K loop at 3:29. Not to bad. I headed back out for the final 20K loop. I felt pretty strong. I passed several people on the last loop, which is always a boost, and finished right at 6:00. Overall, I was happy with how the day went. My heart rate stayed exactly where I wanted it.

I think the climbs on CTM will be a challenge. I really wish I had more hill training under my belt but it is what it is. I just need to focus on that CTM is a training run for Western.

Of course, Anita and I hit our favorite post run food. Most people would cringe at our food choice but it really makes sense - lots of sodium, protein, carbs and fat (well, mostly fat) but it does taste good!!!

Run fun.....

Adrenalines

2009-03-03T14:09:00.001-08:00

Ok, so I posted I love my new Adrenalines. Well, I seem to have an issue with the "new" version 9. When I tried on the new version, I only tried on the right shoe. Seems silly not to try on both, I bet your thinking, but I've never had a problem with the 8 version. I could put them on and run a marathon in a brand new pair without so much as a blister.

So, I put on my new 9 and went for a 10 mile run. The shoe bothered my left achilles, so much in fact, it was sore for several days after. I've have just rehabed my achilles and am a little worried about a shoe that bothers it. So, I took it back. I went to Fleet feet in Stockton and they exchanged it. They are fabulous there. Even though I ran 16 miles in them, they still exchanged them. It seems that the heel back sits higher than the version 8 and rubs on my achilles.

I tried on some other stability shoes and decided to go with the Brooks Trance.

I have my fingers crossed that they won't bother my achilles and yes, I did try on both shoes and ran around the store and they felt good. I'll have to go for a run in them tommorrow. Of course, if it's raining, I may wait. I don't want to get them dirty!!

Run Fun....

Friends and Running

2009-02-23T08:28:00.001-08:00

Anita and I went out to Rock Springs Road 2 weekends ago for some hill training. Rock Springs road is out in the country. It is partly dirt and partly a paved windy, hilly, narrow road.
Anita is pictured above after our muddy drive. We had almost as much fun, slip sliding 4 wheelin' as we did running!!
Last weekend our running club did our "run of the month". We decided to stay local and run the canals. We started at Mr. T's (my favorite place!) and ran to Ripon and back. The best part of the run is the donuts at Mr. T's when your done. Fortunately, the rain held out and it turned out to be a fun, friend filled day of running....

Run fun....

running shoes

2009-02-20T11:21:00.000-08:00

Just ordered some new running shoes from Brooks. Ran 10 miles today in my adrenalines and love them.

Run fun.......

Jed Smith

2009-02-10T17:49:00.001-08:00

With Coyote Two Moon quickly approaching, I needed to get some miles under my belt. I haven't done anything long since October so I decided to run Jed Smith 50 mile on February 7th. This run is located at Gibson Ranch in Sacramento and is put on by the Buffalo Chips running club. I have never done this run before but Barb Elia has run it many times and encouraged me to sign up. The course is a 3.3 mile figure 8 loop with paved and dirt paths. I went online to ShadowChase.org to the pace calculator early in the week and figured out if I ran 10 minute miles I could finish in 8:20. This was my goal (which I wrote in my log book, to make it official).

I also choose not to wear my garmin so I wouldn't be a slave to the pace portion of my watch.

I went up with Barb Elia and Linda McFadden. Linda and I were both doing the 50 miles while Barb ran the 50K.

Here I am at the start. We brought our stuff (change of clothes in case it rained, ice chest, food and a chair) and placed it across from the aid station. The event was very low key and at 8:00a. a small group started. The speedsters took off. I fell into a nice rhythm. I was running what felt like a fast pace, which usually means I am running slow! The 50 mile consisted of 15 loops, I know 15!! The first loop went pretty fast because I had know idea what the course was like. My thought on this is, ignorance is bliss! I liked the course, it had hills placed at the right time to change up the pounding on the legs. The aid stations were nicely spaced and they had this wonderfully nice man encouraging us at the Y before the loop. I figured each loop should take about 33 minutes. Well, I started running and each time I passed the clock I was on the half hour so I figured it was all good. My plan was to run 10 minutes and walk for 1 minute for the first 10 loops.

Photo taken by Anthony Brantley.

All during the day, I was trying to focus on hydration and nutrition. My goal was to consume 20 oz. in an hour and eat something each loop. As the day warmed up, I switched to plain water and started taking one bottle per loop. I have a tendency to drop off on the hydration as the day progresses. Overall, I was happy with the hydration portion. I could have eaten more. I wished I had brought some GU. I don't know why I didn't. On loop 11 I left the aid station walking and drinking soup broth. I continued with the 10 and 1, but threw in a few more walks. I limited myself to walking 50 steps then back to running. When I came in from what I thought was loop 12, I was informed it was loop 13. Only 2 more laps. Wow, I was glad to have miscounted. The clock said 6:39. Loop 14 was deadly, my legs felt like lead but I had a good energy level. I started my last loop at 7:17. Loop 14 turned out to be the slowest lap. Barb and Linda were yelling at me to get moving to make in under 8 hours. I headed out for the last loop. I thanked the nice man and the Y intersection for his kind words of encouragement all day!

I rounded the second to the last turn and there was Barb. I really wanted to walk a bit but she kept yelling, run, run. I really had no choice. I crossed the finish line in 7:52:52, first woman in the 50 miler. Wow, I was glad to be done. It was a nice PR for me.

Here is a photo of the three of us at the finish (Linda, Barb and myself)

Linda finished behind me in 8:53. Overall, it was a great day. My legs didn't feel all that bad in the following days.

The first place man, Todd Braje won the race in 5:30 (a 6:37 pace). That just seems so incredibly fast. He lapped me to many times to count!!

I will be heading out to the hilly trails in the next few weeks to get some hill training. I will definitely need it for CTM.

Run fun....

Surf City

2009-02-10T15:46:00.001-08:00

On Friday, January 30th, we drove to Huntington Beach for the Surf City Marathon and Half Marathon. We arrived late Friday but awoke early Saturday to head to the expo and check out Huntington beach. Here we are pictured above at a restaurant enjoying lunch. We celebrated Roos' birthday with a cold one!

The expo was small but nice. We got our stuff and just walked around town. Of course, we went to the beach. Connor had a great time playing in the sand and water.

We stayed in Costa Mesa, not far from Huntington beach and we arrived early so we could park fairly close. I was running the marathon and Roos and Connor were running the half. I started at 6:50a and they didn't start until 8 a. It wasn't very cold at the start which was nice. There is nothing like running the first few miles with feet that feel like blocks because they are frozen! Shortly after we started a low fog rolled in but the weather remained warm. Later in the run, the sun came out and it was beautiful I think the high was in the low 70's. I guess we lucked out because last year, it was windy and the rain was blowing sideways.

The marathon starts on the Pacific Coast highway near the pier and then cuts inland. We ran by some beautiful homes and then into Huntington beach park. For a brief time, I mean brief, we hit a dirt path near the lake and then back on to the path that runs around the park. By the time we hit the road to head back towards the ocean, the speedy half marathoners were coming in the opposite direction. When you get back to the Pacific Coast highway you run north, turn, run south, turn, run north, turn, run south and finish up near the pier. There are alot of turn arounds but it was okay. At one point, I thought we were at mile 15 but no.... mile 17 - that was a pleasant surprise.

Mile 23 and 24 were tough. Overall, I was happy with my time. I had told a few girls I was running with the week before that my goal was between 3:30 and 3:45. The bad thing about actually verbalizing your goals is you have to come through. I finished up at 3:36, so within my goal time. I felt great afterward. I sat on the grass and waited for Roos and Connor to finish.

I looked for them out on the course but never saw them.

This was Connor's second half marathon. His first was Avenue of the Vines in Lodi last May. He finished up in 3:48 ( it was 105 degrees that day).

Roos and Connor finished up at 3:18! They finished looking good. Connor took 30 minutes off his time. I am very proud of both of them. The medal was cool. This is really the reason we did this event, Roos wanted the surf board medal!

Of course, Connor played on the beach for awhile while we chilled. We drove home that night. It was a long drive.

We plan on doing this event next year with my oldest son and daughter in law. It was a great weekend with beautiful weather. Who doesn't like running next to the ocean??

Run fun......

Training

2009-01-26T07:01:00.000-08:00

This last week, I wasn't going to get many training days in because I was scheduled to work four 12 hour shifts. So, I figured I better make those days of training, quality runs. On Monday I decided to drive to Castro Valley and run the trails at Lake Chabot. I love the trail that runs around the lake. It is beautiful. It has some nice ups and downs and awesome single track. This picture is of the bridge after you get off the cement pathway.

I decided to follow the bike path for a few miles and then turn around and take the trail around the lake. The trail around the lake is only 8-9 miles and I wanted to get in around 15 miles. I stayed on the Brandon Trail and took this photo at the top of the hill. A great day!
It turned out to be a nice run.

On Tuesday I talked Robert into going to Peoria flats to run the HILLY loop. We did the loop three times; 2 clockwise and 1 counter clockwise. That hill is a b***ch but awesome climbing and good downhill training for the quads.

I planned on taking off Wednesday and then running Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning. The only problem with running those mornings is I have to get up at 4 a. to get a run in before starting work at 6:30 a. I managed to do it once. The other days, it was dark, raining and my pillow needed me!!

I finished up the week with a group run at Dry Creek park for a total of 11 miles. I managed a 8:16 pace, so sort of a tempo run.

This coming weekend is the Surf City marathon in Huntington beach. My goal is 3:45. It looks like the weather is supposed to be a high of 79 degrees on Sunday. A little warm for running but should be a great family weekend.

Run Fun....

SOLD OUT!!

2009-01-16T11:27:00.000-08:00

I went online to register for the Pacifica 30K this morning and it was SOLD OUT. I looked at the website earlier this week and saw that there was "no limit" for the 30 and 50K, so I didn't feel the need to rush to sign up.

I am sad that I won't get to enjoy the North Peak climb but I am very excited for Wendell and Sarah because their two events this year so far, have been SOLD OUT.

Trail running has taken off like wildfire. Most events are close to selling out or are having to switch to a lottery system to accomodate the larger number of folks hitting the trails!

Well, I am going to look at my list of planned races and sign up for them now, then I will be guaranteed a spot!

Run Fun....

Blame

2009-01-13T10:19:00.000-08:00

Last Friday, I went to Auburn to run with Jeffrey, Trish, Chuck, Anthony and Bill. We ran from Auburn Dam Overlook to Cool and back, approx. 14-15 miles. The run included K2.

The weather was great!! I was a little overdressed at the start because I wore pants and I should have worn shorts, oh well (thinking heat training!).

I felt pretty good, but you would think I'd never been on a trail before in my life. I was slow on the down hills and walked most of the ups. Wimp....

For a few nights before this, I have been waking up with my thumb throbbing in the middle of the night, stagger to the bathroom, take some Motrin and hope for sleep. When I got home from the run, I soaked my thumb. After my shower, I began poking around some and man some gross green pus came out (hopefully, no visuals from that description). I called my doc, went in and sure enough, I have an infection under my thumb nail. So I got to thinking, I am going to blame my wimpiness on my infection.

Because of my performance on Friday, I am contempling signing up for the 33K instead of the 50K this weekend at Pacifca. Our running club banquet is that night and I don't want to be late. Pacifica is tough and the 50K may take me, gulp, close to 7 hours. What to do???

Run fun....

Flat Arch

2009-01-07T17:40:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, December 28th our running club, ShadowChase, had an informal "fat ass" run. This run is in memory of Al Stoll, a local runner who died while running. You can run any distance you like. The only catch is:

"No aid, no awards, no wimps. Organizers decision is final on all results and disputes (including religion and politics).'

This year there were 44 people. 7 started out going for the whole schabang (50 miles) with only one completing the distance. 2 did a 50K and many (including me) did 15-16 miles.

It was cold at the start but the sun came out and it turned out to be a beautiful day. The best part about the day is we started and finished at Cindy's Restaurant where I ended my 15.78 miles with a patty melt and fries!!

After all, isn't running really about what you eat when your done??

Run Fun....

Slacker

2008-12-25T13:04:00.000-08:00

Ok, I had every intention of running Pacific Coast trail runs Muir Beach 50K and Rodeo Beach 50K in December but due to circumstances beyond my control, I didn't. I have got to get to the trails and do some hills. If not, I will seriously be in trouble come March for Coyote Two Moon!

So, tentatively, this is my race schedule until WS.

January: Angel Island 50K

Pacifica 50K

February: Surf City Marathon

Jed Smith 50 mile

Sequoia 50K

March: CTM

Pirates Cove 50K

Lake Sonoma 50 mile

April: AR50

Diablo 50 mile

May: Miwok (?)

Quick Silver 50 mile

Skyline 50K

June: Diablo 50K

Western States!

Pretty ambitious huh?

Run Fun....

CIM

2008-12-23T15:44:00.001-08:00

Sunday, December 7th, was the California International Marathon in Sacramento, CA. Connor and I drove up to Sac. to cheer on fellow ShadowChase members who were running there very first marathon. We drove downtown looking for a good place to cheer. We ended up right before the 25 mile marker.

There were two women across from us who had a string of bra's hooked together and were yelling, "We support you". It was great.

I saw lots of familiar faces and pretty soon, Danielle came running up. Shortly after, Mark and Dave came running by. It was great to see them with smiles on their faces so late in the game. They finished up in 5 hours 20 something and are already back out there training. Good job!

Run Fun..

North Face volunteer report

2008-12-23T15:04:00.000-08:00

On December 6th, Connor, Roos and I volunteered at the North Face 50K/50 Mile Championship endurance run. The race starts at Rodeo Beach and follows some of the Miwok course and some of the Dipsea course and then finishes up back at Rodeo Beach.

We worked at the Old Inn aid station at Muir Woods. The aid station is mile 19 for the 50K and mile 36 for the 50 mile.

The weather was absolutely beautiful! My job was to check the 50 mile runners as they entered the aid station. Roos' job was accelerade/water server. Connor of course, just played and entertained himself while eating lots of M&M's. It was great to see so many foreign and elite competitors. Matt Carpenter won the 50 mile with a time of 6:49. That's a 8:12 pace on a course with 19,000+ elevation gain. Amazing!

It was embarassing as they day went on, we ran out of chips, brownies, Gu's, jelly, coke, and sprite. We didn't have any heating elements, so we had to serve up cold chicken broth. I was glad I brought my bag because I had electrolytes and ginger with me for those runner's in need.

We did have plenty of accelerade, water, ice and fruit though and I am hoping next year, they will have better stocked aid stations.

This does look like a very challenging run, I might consider running the 50 mile next year.

Run Fun..

Turkey Trot

2008-12-23T14:40:00.001-08:00

The pre-registration table and the chilly volunteers!

On Thanksgiving Day, our local junior college puts on a mile and 5K. This year I volunteered to help. It is a big event for our running club because we do the timing, monitoring the course, and registration. This year there were over 1400 participants.

It was very cold when we arrived and I set out to work the pre-registration table. They offer early packet pick up at the junior college, so many take advantage of that but pre-reg is still a happening place. Unfortunately, they didn't order enough L and XL shirts, so we ran out very quickly.

Connor and his friend, Charlie did the mile and 5K while Roos walked the 5K. It is a great family event and it was our 3rd year in a row.

After the pre-registration table, I went to help at the finish line shoot. It is amazing how many out-of-shape MEN get out there and give it there all only to come in to the finish line drooling or nearly up-chucking. Not a pretty sight!

We didn't stay for the awards because I had to go in to work.

Of course, we'll do this event next year - what's better than running and then stuffing your self later with turkey and all the trimmings...

Run Fun...

San Antonio

2008-12-13T19:24:00.001-08:00

San Antonio Rock n Roll marathon - the last run in the year of Rockin n Rollin'. I have never been to San Antonio and was kind of excited to visit some of the sights. We flew in on Thursday and went to the Riverwalk in the late afternoon. Wow, that is great. You could gain 10 pounds in one visit going from restraurant to bar, to bar, to bar, etc. We took the boat ride that goes around the Riverwalk. I love these kinds of tours. The tour guide is usually some retired guy who is a native and can tell you stories from long ago. It is a great way to learn the history.

We ate at Dick's Last Resort. If you have never eaten at one of these restraurants, I would highly suggest it. The staff are extremely rude! It's their trade mark.

On Friday, we went to the expo for the race. We went to some of the lectures they provided. John (the penquin) Bingham was there. He is very funny! His wife was also lecturing and she was great. We spent about 5 hours there. That's a pretty long time at an expo but we had lots of fun.

As you can see from the photo above, we went to the Alamo. You would expect the Alamo to be this great big, gigantic fortress out in the middle of now where. Well, it is right in the middle of downtown and it's about two blocks in size. In fact, right across the street, you can go to Ripley's Believe it or Not or to the Wax musuem, really - believe it or not!

On race day morning, we left early, thankfully, because the traffic was backed up on the freeway for MILES. They bused you to the start and it was crowded. I can't believe how many dorky people I saw wearing their stupid blue capes....

It was very cold and of course you have to stand around for what seems like hours and by the time the race starts, your feet are little chunks of ice that take about 5 miles to finally thaw out. The course travels by the Alamo and of course Ripley's and the Wax musuem, the missions, and then out in nowwhere land. It was hillier than I expected but I like the rolling hills. I tried to stay on an even pace but I felt like I was slowing down. On one of my walk breaks, the 3:50 pace group came charging up. Crap, I wanted to run around 3:45 so I tried to stay ahead of them. Eventually, I ran with them for a few miles but pulled ahead around mile 24. I rounded the corner to mile 25 and ran parallel with Roos on the half marathon course. He ran with me for awhile but then returned to a walk. If I wasn't so stubborn about getting my goal time, I would have walked with him. At mile 26.1 is this huge frigging hill. It was short but steep - very cruel. Once you get to the top and turn the corner you can see the finish line. I finished about 15 minutes ahead of Roos. I waited for him and we had our photo taken together, kind of cool. I might actually buy that one!

I finished 3:46 and Roos finished 3:11 ( a new PR for him). Anita and Andy finished together in 4:48. We waited in line for the shuttle bus for almost an hour, hit the hotel for a shower and then some much needed food. We had a great time.

The series of rock n rolls was fun because of all the traveling. I enjoyed that part very much. I got to go to Nashville, Virginia Beach and San Antonio.

I won't ever do those series of runs again, or even another rock n roll event for that matter. Those Elite racing people must be bathing in tubs of money!!!!

Run fun.....

Super Six

2008-11-22T07:23:00.000-08:00

This year, Anita, Andy and myself completed all six of the Rock n Roll events sponsered by Competition (formerly elite racing). They consisted of: Arizona Rock n Roll marathon, Nashville Rock n Roll marathon, San Diego Rock n Roll marathon, Virginia Beach Rock n Roll half marathon, San Jose Rock n Roll half marathon and San Antonio Rock n Roll marathon.

Prior to the start of the San Antonio marathon, we received an email that stated their was a "special gift" for us at the Rock n Roll booth at the expo. Well imagine my surprise when we received the blue cape with the Super Six logo. What were these people thinking? Why not give us a nice dry fit shirt with the logo that people actually might wear?

Of course, the participation survey only allows you 100 words to make your comments and I was only half way done complaining when I hit 100 words....

Up next, my San Antonio race report.

Run Fun......

What was I thinking?

2008-11-03T16:01:00.001-08:00

On Saturday, October 25th and 26th, I planned to run the San Francisco One Day. It is a run hosted by Pacific Coast Trail Runs. I have done many of their events. Wendell and Sarah are the owners and put together trail events from Malibu to Oregon. They are very low key events and are lots of fun.

This run consisted of running in loops. A 1.067 mile loop around Crissy fields. I know, a one mile loop, how borrring........ But as you can see, the day turned out beautifully. The weather was nice, even a little on the warm side. There were many people running and we set off at 9 am. My goal was to run slow and consistant. I had my watch set for 10 and 1. During my 1 minute walk I would drink. The start/finish was also the aid station. For the first 20 loops, I was consistantly hitting the start/finish area on my walk break, which was very convenient. I tried to eat lots of food.

Here I am taking a break. This photo was taken by Rick Gaston. He lives in SF and came to help. He stayed for the entire 24 hours!

After 20 loops, I walked a loop. It was close to 2 p.m. and very warm.

Around 3:30 - 4, Roos and Connor showed up and I ended up walking several loops with them. Connor was having a great time, he even did a few laps with Aaron, Wendall and Sarah's son.

This photo, taken by Leanne was around 5p. I was getting tired and my legs were like tree trunks. Since WS was cancelled and I took a recovery break, I haven't done any really long events - pacing Scott was the longest I've run. I don't know what made me think I could go from 33 miles to a 24 hour run. I began to seriously consider my planning. What was I thinking??

Leanne also took this photo. I continued to go loop after loop but I really wasn't having any fun. I had walked several loops. I walked some with Connor, a few with Roos, one with Craig, one with Leanne, one with Heather and after 12 hours 14 minutes, I decided to call it a day. I completed 56.7 miles, which I am very happy with. A great training run. Many Shadowchasers were out in force and had a wonderful day. Vance did over 109 miles, Linda did 100.3, for second place female and Charles ran 100.3 - his very first 100 mile run.

It was nice to go back to the hotel. I took an ice bath and soaked my tired legs.

The next morning, we decided to walk across the Golden Gate bridge. Of course, the weather was cold and foggy! We could hardly see the bridge. It felt great to walk and loosen up the legs. Surprisingly, I felt good enough to run on Tuesday. Overall, I had a great time, even thought I was overly ambitious and undertrained!

Run fun....

Perspective

2008-11-02T11:56:00.000-08:00

My daughter in law, Sarah sent me a post from her friend Emily who also ran the Nike women's marathon. This was Emily's first marathon and her post was her recap of the event. The post started out talking about the marathon and her friend running the last 6 miles with her and then she starts talking about a book she read called the, Zen and Art of Motorcycle Maintanence. She goes on to compare the book to running. After I read the post I thought about it off and on for the day and realized, we all are unique and each person's perspective of running is so different. We all run for different reasons and what we see, smell, hear, and feel when we run, is also unique. This is Emily's comparison. Read and enjoy:

"i would argue that actually runners are those who really take in the pace of life. who run long; who experience the elements; who know the roads; and who really feel the terrain of the ground on which they run, and without any buffers making their experience more “comfortable”. in fact, safety and comfort do not seem to be part of the language of running.

i suppose i speak of this in contrast to the car, with all of its shock absorbers and air conditioning that mask any element that may seem to intrude on the comfort of the rider.

and i suppose what i have learned is that there are those that value such a ride, and…that i am not one of them."

Run fun....

Nike Women's marathon

2008-10-27T14:00:00.001-07:00

On Sunday, October 19th I ran the Nike Women's marathon. This was the 5th year running and my 3rd. Due to the popularity of this marathon, it went to a lottery process for entry. A large group of us signed up and fortunately, we all got in. Pictured below is Cathy, Michelle, Gena, Sarah and Anita (in front) at the expo. This is a very "foffy" marathon. It's not called a Expo, but an Expotique and they offer pedicures, manicures, an oxygen bar and all kinds of other girlie things. So not me!

On race morning, we all gathered and headed out our hotel, walked 50 feet to our corral. Man, staying at the Westin is handy! Anita's nieces were going to undertake their first marathon. Only one small problem, they didn't really train. We decided to do a 3-1. Run for 3 minutes and walk for 1 minute.
Here is Sarah and I before the start.
We started out and Sarah was having problems keeping the pace, so we decided to walk the half marathon. At that point, she was going to cut off and finish at 13.1 miles and I would catch up to Anita and the other girls. At the split, I took off looking for the girls. I saw Anita and Danielle at the 14 mile point. The others decided to call it a day with a half marathon also. Danielle was the only one who was going to gut it out and she was looking good. I don't think her legs were feeling so hot though! We dropped down to a 2-2 ratio. Going around Lake Merced is the worst part of the marathon. Once we got back on the Pacific Highway, it was all downhill (sort-of). Danielle got emotional at mile 25, contemplating if she could finish.

She came across the finish line in 5:58. She completed her first marathon. She is already talking about doing another, so that's a good sign. Maybe she will train a little...
Here is the 3 of us at the finish. It was a great day. The weather was beautiful and the Tiffany necklaces are great`

Run Fun.

Leslie

Riverbank Wine and cheese

2008-10-11T13:52:00.001-07:00

This morning Roos, Connor and I went to the Riverbank Wine and Cheese 5k/10k run.

Roos decided to do the 5k while Connor and I signed up for the 10k. Connor is now officially in training for the Surf City half marathon in February. Connor initially decided he wanted to do this without Roos or myself walking/running with him. I agreed but the more I thought about it, the more uncomfortable I felt. I decided to walk/run with him. So I awoke at 5:30 a. to go out for a run. I knew I wouldn't be doing a speed workout today so I opted for more mileage. I ran 4.5 miles, arrived home, we packed up and drove to Riverbank. It was rather chilly this morning but the Galaxy theatre opened it's doors for runners to use the restrooms and to stay warm!

At 8:00 sharp the horn started and we took off. After about 50 feet, Connor was ready to walk - not a good sign. Fortunately we met a young boy who decided to run with us. Pictured below is Connor and our new friend Devon.
We were moving slow, so Connor and I pinky promised that the three of us would walk 50 steps and run 50 steps. This was the key and we watched the mile markers fly by (sort-of). We even found time to play at the playground!
Around mile 4.5, we ran into Devon's brother Gary. The four of us stuck together. Pretty soon, the sag van was right next to us. I'm not sure, but we were pretty close to DFL. Gary and Devon's mom and grandpa met us with about 1/2 mile to go. Connor and I kept trudging on. At this point Connor was very whiny. He didn't want to run at all and just wanted to walk. Of course being the loving and encouraging mother I am, I threatened him and we finished. Our time was 1:30:20. Not bad, Connor finished first in his age group, 12 and under. He got a nice gold medal!

Amazingly, he still had some energy and ran the Kids K-9 100 yard dash and received a sheriff's badge with another pretty pink ribbon. (The run benefitted the Triumph group, a cancer survivor group)

Roos finished the 5K in 46 minutes and change. Overall, we had a great day!

Run fun...

San Jose Rock N Roll half marathon

2008-10-10T18:03:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, Roos, Andy, Anita and I drove over to San Jose to run the Rock n Roll half marathon. This year the four of us decided to do ALL the Rock n Roll runs. They were: Arizona Rock n Roll, Nashville Rock n Roll, San Diego Rock n Roll, Virginia Beach half marathon, San Jose half marathon, and lastly, in November, is San Antonio Rock n Roll. They have been fun and we got to travel alot!

As you can see from the photo above, lots of other ShadowChasers were also running. It was cool because it was Danielle (far left) and Linda's (between Anita and I) very first half marathon. The weather couldn't have been better.

I started out to fast (as usual) and at the 5K mark was: 23:03. At mile 10, I was at 1:19:08. I took a walk break and then the 1:45 pace group came up from behind. Crap! I wanted to do better than last year (1:44) so I tried to stay ahead of that pace group. I hung in there, pushing it to the end and came across the finish line at 1:43:19. My new half marathon PR. My achilles felt pretty good. It was a little stiff on Tuesday morning but is now feeling good. I am so relieved to be healthy. I only hope it stays that way.

Andy finished in 1:58, Anita finished 2:17, and Roos finished at 3:16 (his new PR). Overall it was a great day. What could be better than running and wolfing down In-n-Out on the way home!!

Run Fun....

Rio Del Lago Part 2

2008-10-06T16:20:00.001-07:00

Darkness set in early. We were worried that they didn't pack any flashlights in their last drop bag before arriving at Cavitt School. It would be very difficult to run on the trails in the darkness. We figured since Clare packed the drop bags, they must have packed flashlights!

We could see headlamps bobbing up and down on the trail. We would start whooping and hollering for the runner in hopes it was Clare or Scott. Finally Clare arrived, again looking fresh and happy. She had one small blister on her left baby toe which I took care of for her. Her and Jon set out on the out and back section. Clare was in 3rd place, but not a lot of time separated the 2nd place woman and her. Jon was determined to make up the difference and push Clare.

Scott arrived around 9:30 p.m. He looked awesome. His weight was good, he ate some soup and we posed for a picture before we headed out for the last 33 miles.

When I follow a pacer, I like to flash my light on their feet and just follow their steps. No thinking, just running. I told Scott to do just this. I told him not to worry about course markings and glow sticks, I would keep us on the path. We started running and we were moving fairly well. We walked all the ups but ran everything else. Well, following the trail proved a daunting task. The course was not well marked. Many times Scott and I were stopped dead on the trail looking for the right direction. Once we made a small loop that brought us right back where we started. I'm sure he was re-thinking my plan.

Scott was feeling pretty good. He said he stomach was "jiggly", not really upset, but not right either, just jiggly!

We arrived to the first and second aid station and Scott ate some soup. He didn't really feel like eating but the soup was going down good. After leaving Negro bar aid station, we would come to Hazel Bluff aid station where Kristen and Johanna would be waiting. We finally arrived and Scott was happy to see his crew. Kristen informed us that Clare and Jon had taken a wrong turn and had lost 45 minutes.

We headed out down the trail. This section runs on the trails that parallel the bike path on the American River. It was very beautiful. Scott must have been energized by his crew because as soon as we left Hazel Bluff we were moving. Scott and I ran every step of the way until the turn around point. We were now passing those who were already on the return and we ran into Clare and Jon not far from the turn around point. I think this motivated Scott to pick up the pace. We quickly ate and headed back to Hazel Bluff. We picked up another runner who was without a pacer and he joined us for some time. We were really running. I was in the lead, followed by Scott and then our new friend John. Suddenly I came to a complete stop on the trail with Scott running right into me. Directly in front of me, not 3 feet away, was a skunk with his rear end facing me. All I could think was, no one would like us if we came back stinking to high heaven of skunk! Slowly, he moved off the path and we began running again. John, our new friend, could not keep up with Scott's pace and he fell behind.

We arrived back to Hazel Bluff much earlier than was expected. Kristen and Johanna were so excited. Scott was at mile 90. 10 miles to go!

We headed back towards Cavitt School the way we came. Scott was starting to slow some. He wanted to skip the aid stations but I forced him to stop and have some soup and Mountain dew. He would need the energy. Much to Scott's amazement he passed 3 runners and their pacers. I think this was a boost and we picked up the pace again. We arrived to Folsom dam aid station, 3.1 miles to go. We blew right through the aid station, not even bothering to stop. Shortly after passing through that aid station, we passed another runner.

We came to the levee right before the left hand turn to Cavitt School. Scott could "smell the barn". We ran our last mile at a 10 1/2 minute mile. We could hear Kristen and Johanna yelling.

Scott came across the finish line at 23:32. An amazing time for his first 100 miler. He finished so strong. According to my garmin, we ran a 13:30 min. pace for the last 33 miles, with mile 99 being the fastest.

Clare finished at an amazing time of 22:59. Good for 3rd woman.

She finished only 1 minute and 16 seconds behind the 2nd place female.

Here is Scott's amazing time!

Here we are in the gym, shortly after Scott's finish.

I had a blast pacing and crewing. I am so proud of Clare and Scott. They remained strong and ran well, despite the heat. 96 people started the race and only 50 finished. A job well done.

More photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/5150runnner/20080929Rio#

Johanna's photos: www.flickr.com/photos/1chiquita/sets

Rio Del Lago Part 1

2008-10-06T15:54:00.000-07:00

The Players:

Clare Abrams

Scott LaBerge

The Crew
John Fors: Crew/Clare's pacer

Kristen LaBerge: Crew/Scott's loving wife

Johanna Dennehy: Crew/Kristen's sister

Me: Crew/Scott's pacer

The Story:

Saturday and Sunday, September 27-28, I headed up to Auburn to crew and pace for my friends Clare and Scott who were attempting their first 100 mile ultrarunning event.

The runners start at Cavitt School in Granite Bay, then head towards Auburn Dam Overlook before heading out to Cool, CA. In Cool, they loop around twice and head back to Auburn Dam Overlook (ADO) which is mile 44. They then head back to Cavitt School (mile 67) before starting an out and back section totaling 33 miles. The finish line is Cavitt School, mile 100.2.

I got to ADO at noon. This is a good place to hang out because the runners pass through here twice. The day was brutally hot! Many runners were experiencing nausea and vomiting due to the heat and dehydration.

Clare arrived first and looked fabulous. She didn't have any issues (blisters, nausea, upset stomach, etc.) She ate some and headed on towards Cavitt School.

Scott arrived around 3 pm ish and also looked fabulous. He too, had no issues. Earlier on in the day he was having some calf cramps but those had resolved and he felt good!

The fearless crew and I watched more runners come through ADO then we headed to Cavitt School. This was were I was to meet up with Scott. I was running the last 33 miles with him.

Pacing

2008-09-24T07:54:00.000-07:00

This weekend I will be pacing at Rio Del Lago. I am pacing my friend Scott. (pictured on the left). These photos were taken last year at Headlands 50/100. Clare and Scott (pictured below) are running Rio Del Lago and it will be there very first 100 miler. I am really looking forward to running the last 33 miles with Scott.

Several of the ShadowChase club members and many of the Runner's World forumites will be running also. I plan on going to Auburn Dam Overlook to cheer the runner's on as they pass through then head to Cavitt school where I'll meet Scott.

I will post later about our adventure and will include lots of photos.

Happy Trails!!

My Year Running

2008-09-09T17:06:00.000-07:00

The focus of my running this year was Western States. After my disasterous year in 2007, 2008 was to be my year of redemption. Not to be...

I didn't run as many races this year as I did in 2007. I didn't feel in as good as shape as last year plus I had this nagging left heel/achilles pain. After two weekends of back to back 100k"s, my achilles was letting me know it was done. From May 12th on, my mileage dropped, averaging only 50 mpw (much lower compared to the 70 mpw in 2007). I was worried about completing WS. Would my achilles hold up? I had an MRI 2 weeks before WS. The diagnosis was: Mild achilles Tendonitis. Geez, only mild. I couldn't even imagine what moderate or severe must have felt like. I took 9 days off before WS, hoping this would be enough time to let the inflammation subside. When the shock of the news came: WESTERN STATES CANCELLED, I had mixed feelings of relief and sadness.

We went up to Squaw Valley anyway. We already had reservations so Roos and I used it as a mini vacation. It was very relaxing compared to the year before!

Here is the top of the tram at Squaw Valley in 2007!

Here is the tram at the top of Squaw Valley in 2008. Very smoky!!

My orthopedist prescribed rest, Physical therapy and anti-inflammatories. I took 33 days off then started back running very slowly. I wasn't exactly painfree but it was MUCH IMPROVED.

I have been averaging about 40-45 mpw with good results. Last weekend, I completed Redwood Park 50K and my achilles felt great.

My goal is to stay healthy. I will slowly continue to build up my mileage for the rest of the year then put the training hammer down in December.

I need to work on endurance and speed (they seem to still be on the rest my orthopedist prescribed)!

I do have some up coming running plans:

Pacing at Rio Del Lago
San Jose rock n roll half marathon
Nike Women's Marathon
San Antonio rock n roll marathon

I am contemplating the SF one day and Dick Collins Fire trails 50 but I am afraid to overdo it and get re-injured. We'll see how the other events go.

Run Fun......

New Blog

2008-09-08T11:32:00.000-07:00

My son keeps encouraging me to start a blog so I took the big step and created one. I am not very good at writing but will give it a try. I enjoy reading others blogs so this may be fun!! Welcome to my world......