Catching up

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

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

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

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

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



Run fun.....

Modesto Midnight Half Marathon

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

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.......