Friday Five, the OKC Edition

1. I am distracted going into this race. It's not an excuse. It's just that I've been reminded there's more important things in life than racing, or the number on the clock when you finish. But these same things have reminded me that I cannot, will not, ever stop running and being active. I won't. There's too much at stake. 
2. I need to do laundry. And pack. Instead I'm blogging at 3:00 AM. Priorities, people, priorities.
3. The shirts for the gang for OKC? Mostly Awesome. With a side of Amazing. Many, many, many thanks to Fawn and her great hubby Jack for the design and helping with the logistics. You will love them when you see the pics of us at the start. 
4. People are making me race this thing, which means no carrying the camera. What? I am the official photographer of all running events in which I participate. For reals. Somebody joked during Beer & Bagels the other day that if I quit taking pictures my finish times would be an hour faster!! That's not too far off, I bet!! I love taking pics. But I am actually racing on Sunday with a goal time and schtuff. So I'll give the camera to either one of our cheerleaders or to Sherpa Jason, Mel's hubby. And if they don't take adequate pics, I'll come after them. Proper documentation is required for all group runs and races. No pics, it didn't happen!! 
5. As I tucked in the Dread Pirate Monkey Boy, aka Thing 2 last night, I told him I would be gone by the time he came home from school today, but that Dad would pick him up, then he'd go to Grandpa's per usual on Friday night, and I'd be home after the race Sunday afternoon. And he said, "And you'll bring us home another medal, right?"  The boy loves him some hardware! 

Good luck to everyone racing OKC Memorial, Flying Pig, Heels & Hills Half and whatever else is going on this weekend. Be fast, be fleet, have fun!  And, um, TAKE PICTURES!!

Stupid Michael Scott

If you're not a fan of The Office, go here first.  OK, now... 


Seeing this episode last week and hearing that song made me think about the song from the original production of Rent. We saw it come through Dallas eons ago, but I have always remembered that song. When I pulled it up on YouTube, I was struck again by the lyrics and how appropriate they are to this week and this little race I have coming up. 

Five hundred twenty-five thousand 

Six hundred minutes

How do you measure, measure a year?

A year ago, when I ran the Oklahoma City Marathon the first time, I did it pretty much on my own. I drove up all by myself, and while I was lucky to run into Mark, Felix & Jeff on the street outside the expo, I didn't really know anyone else that was running.  I had met Suann briefly at the Cowtown tweet-up and we tried to meet at the start, but were unable to connect because there were so many people. I missed the pre-race tweet-up Saturday night because I had a horrific headache and was so tired that I couldn't make it to dinner. When I crossed the line, I called my husband and then wandered around the memorial by myself for a bit before I walked back to the bus stop to get back to the hotel and clean up for the drive home.  


This year?  This year, I'll be driving up with Kris & Megan. We've got a room at the Marriott downtown, and Mel and her hubby will be joining us Saturday. Marci, Bojana and Shannon will be driving up Saturday and staying in the same hotel. Fiona will be there, girls in tow, and running it out with us. We will be meeting about 50 other folks Saturday night at what is guaranteed to be the most epic pre-marathon tweet-up ever, hosted by the great Glenn (can't wait to meet you for real!!). I was surrounded by my "bubble of love" at Cowtown, and for this race, just a year after I did it completely solo, I am sharing my bubble with most amazing set of women, of athletes, that I have ever known. What a difference a year makes. 

In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights

In cups of coffee

In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.

So when I heard the lyrics to Seasons of Love again last week, I was touched by them in a different way than the first time I heard it.  How many daylights have I shared with these women? How many dawn mornings when it was cold, hot, muggy, windy, miserable, or awesome did we share as we ran around the lake, or in the neighborhoods, or along the trails in Grapevine or in Dallas or Allen (ALLEN!!)?  How many miles did we cover as we shared a hella lot of laughter and, yes, sometimes, strife? How many teary phone calls and text messages have I traded with these girls in the past year?  How many FaceBook exchanges and random tweet strings in our timelines that set me off cackling and smiling for the rest of the day have I shared with these women?  More than I can count and yet just a drop. So much more to come in the years to come, I'm sure.  

In five hundred twenty-five thousand

Six hundred minutes

How do you measure

A year in the life?
How about love?

How about love?

How about love? Measure in love

I have said before, and I will say again, that one of the most rewarding things about my running is not the miles that I cover, or the medals that I collect (although, hey, hardware is SWEET!!), but the friendships that I've discovered and nurtured and grown. And we in the months and weeks and days leading up to this race, this adventure in which we all are striving for sub-five finish time, we have determined that we each have our own race to run, and we have no idea what race morning will hold for us.  Someone's stomach might be uncooperative, or the heat or humidity or wind might be a killer, or a knee (that would be MY knee - please knee, please behave!!) or an IT band, or a lung might decide that, no, this isn't the day for a sub-five. We don't know what race day will bring. We won't know until we get there, until we toe the line in six days.  But we do know that we will be together at the beginning. And we will be together at the end, waiting for each other at the finish, with laughter and hugs and maybe tears (happy tears - NO MORE CRYING IN RACES, DAMMIT!).  And while we may not be together physically during the race, we know we will be together in our hearts and in our minds every step of the way.  I know Mel will hear my voice saying "Just a 10k, just a 5k left...", and I will hear "NO PICKLES" from Marci when it starts to get hard, and we'll all laugh at Mile 19 when we know what Marci is singing, and the pancake song will cross all of our minds at Mile 13, because you *always* have to sing the pancake song at Mile 13. And we may not run side by side for the whole way, but we will be together, because of the last year, a year that we can measure in miles and laughs and tears and love. 

You know that love is a gift from up above 

Share love, give love, spread love 

Measure, measure your life in love.

I don't know what my finish time will be in Oklahoma City this weekend. I know what I want it to be, and I know what my body is capable of if all the pieces come together.  But I know that no matter the time on the clock, the experience will be an amazing one, because of the women that are sharing it with me, and that I can measure not just my running life, but my whole life, in love. 

Let's do this, girls!! 

Watch out, OKC! White Rock Girls are on the way!

Friday Five - The I Said it Out Loud Edition

1. It's 2 weeks before Oklahoma City Marathon. I finally got some good weekday runs in this week, so I am feeling way more confident than I was after last week's disastrous 20-miler. There is a lot to be said for the mental part of this game, and I am glad that I have started to come around mentally and be excited about this race again. I was kind of beat up physically after Grasslands & Hells Hills coming so close together, but I feel like I am on the upswing and will hit my stride right in time for OKC. 
2. I've already started looking ahead past OKC & Minneapolis. First thing is that I will have surgery to remove the remaining girl innards that have been causing me trouble for oh, the last 27 years or so. That will force a summer of recovery & cross-training before the fall activities/madness ensues. 
3. This means I will not be running El Scorcho 50K as I previously planned. I will be there, for sure, just sitting in a camp chair with a big cooler of ice water by my side, possibly a bottle of Patron, and a huge SuperSoaker, ready to splash anyone who needs it with a big sploosh of cold water. I think between the Patron & the water gun I will be a very popular girl that night!! 
4. I have picked out two sprint triathlons for September and October. Time to get over Danskin & move on already. Ain't no way I can ever do the things I want to do if I don't just shut up and start swimming already. 
5. I've also picked out a 50-mile run for the late fall. The plan is that a summer of cross training, REPS workouts and triathlon preparations will add to the double long run miles and position me to handle 50 miles of trails just fine come November. That's the plan. (insert small voice) squeee!!

NINE MILES!! (Hells Hills, Part Deuce)

Life got kinda busy... didn't mean to leave you hanging for a week on the second installment of my #HellsYeahHills race report!! Where were we? Oh, yeah!

Loop Two
So, we come into camp, wave to Fiona and the girls, then hit the aid station to refill bottles and take advantage of the real plumbing facilities before heading back out for the last 15.5 miles. I also changed out my shoes, as I was feeling the bottoms of my soles a little more than I was comfortable with. We tried not to linger and were on our way as soon as we could get out there.

As soon as we started up the hill out of camp, we realized why we had a hard time finding our breathing patterns - the first part of the path was a nice uphill. We couldn't see in the dark, but in morning light we could finally see where we had been earlier.

Julie had to explain to me that those are deer feeders...
What? No deer in the suburbs!

We were both feeling pretty strong in the first five miles or so, and this part of the path was fairly runnable now that we could see, so we made pretty good time along this stretch. We kept to the routine we had established earlier of walking uphills and any particularly rocky sections where footing was dicey, and running as much as we could for stretches at a time. Mostly, we just focused on forward motion. And we chatted and laughed and talked. Honestly, at this point, I was quite content to just walk it out and finish, but thanks to Julie and her enthusiasm, we ran a lot more than I had planned to or otherwise would have had she not been with me. We took turns on point and setting the pace, and made a lot of progress while we still felt strong.

Julie leading the way on early part of second loop.

By the time we got to the first aid station, we were feeling the fatigue of 20 miles on up & downs. We did have a nice chat with the couple who were manning the aid station.  They were the newlyweds who were married after Race to the Altar down in Warda a few weeks ago. We listened to some Def Leppard while we refilled our bottles and grabbed some fuel (Oreos? Yes, please!!). Then, they basically kicked us out and told us that not only was the next aid station offering popsicles (YAY!) but that we only had about nine miles left to go once we turned the corner past the station. 

NINE MILES?! That became our battle cry for the next section of the trail. It had gotten warmer, and a small tease of sprinkles ended up for naught. Thankfully we still had some overcast skies that kept the warmer temps at bay and we were still feeling pretty good. From here on out, we were just doing what we needed to do to get to the next aid station and those popsicles, and working on the last NINE MILES!!

I chose to go around rather than risk this rickety thing collapsing!

Loved this part of the path - no rocks, no roots, no SAND!

Moment of truth! Decision point!

It was really nice as we got closer to the second aid station to recognize a lot of the landmarks we had passed along the first route. We got to enjoy the signs posted on the trees again, and knew that with every turn of the path, every descent and quick rise that we were closing in on Julie becoming an ultramarathoner.  The miles started to wear on us for sure in here, but every time we flagged, all I had to do was yell "NINE MILES" and that put a pep in our step (OK, it did for me - Julie may have wanted to kill me by now!!).  

Pretty true words!

I'm walking because there's an incline. Really, there is!!

You really thought I WASN'T going to take a picture here?!

So, here we were, occasionally getting passed by the fifty-milers on their third loops, and sure enough, from behind us, a bit before the last aid station, we hear "Looking good, ladies!" We turn around and there is the unmistakable flash of neon yellow worn by none other than Jeremy, looking super strong. He ran right by without breaking stride, too fast for me to get a picture of anything but him blasting past us.  I may have yelled at him that he was driving us home the next day if he was so fresh at mile 44!! 

50-miler Jeremy smoking us on his third loop. Gotta be the Salty Banana shirt.

Right after we saw Jeremy, we came upon the non-existent field of bluebonnets again and we knew that we were closer than ever to realizing Julie's goal of finishing her first ultra. As we turned into the field, we saw a girl ahead of us, obviously struggling to walk. We passed her right before entering the Tunnel o Pines for the second time, and really ran it out into the aid station. Not only were we hankering for those popsicles, but I know I for one was ready to have this done with.

The aid station volunteers were great as usual, and offered us more Oreos (YAY!) and a red popsicle. Sadly, my popsicle slipped out of the wrapper before I could grab the stick, and I had to crestfallenly watch it fall to the dirt. OH NOES!! I'd been coveting that popsicle for five miles!! Luckily, they didn't make me pick it up and wash it off (had it been the last one, I would probably have not hesitated to do that), but instead offered me another one. This one was ORANGE! um, YAY! Need I say more? Was that the perfect popsicle for me or what?!

So I stood there, with my bottles refilled and Oreos in my belly, happily munching on my popsicle. Couldn't eat it too fast because I didn't want to get brain freeze, plus I really wanted to savor the cool goodness. I know I'm waxing poetic about a popsicle, but trust me, after seven plus hours on a dusty trail, that popsicle was just that awesome! The volunteer there tried to kick me out, and tell me that I could walk and finish it at the same time, that there was box for trash down the path, but I politely refused on the grounds that I can't walk and do anything else at the same time, especially not on the trails. At this point, Julie was ready and raring to go, though, so I finished it up, profusely thanked the aid station folks and headed out for the last few miles.

Julie very patiently waiting for me to finish the damn popsicle already!

This part of the trail was by far my favorite, as we hit the soft pine needles before the climbs of the Grind and the Wall.  But fairly soon after we left the aid station, the popsicles that were so awesome for me started to rebel on Julie, giving her a pukey feeling. As close as we were to the end, we had to walk it out more than we wanted while we let her stomach settle. She wanted to run, I wanted to run, but we were so close and we knew we had this finish in the bag, so it was OK to just walk it out. I know Julie was frustrated, so I just kept yelling "NINE MILES!" and urging her forward. She was awesome - she kept saying how hard this was, how this ultra thing was harder than any marathon could be. But she never faltered, and she never complained, and she never said "I can't." She was solid!! But then, to add injury to insult, her knee started to ache a bit on the hills leading to the Grind. That was pretty sucky, but at least she was with someone who knew exactly how to handle hills & descents with one working knee.

At this point, my mantra changed from "NINE MILES" to "The Wall, the Grind, your tent." We knew that those three things were all that stood between us and the finish. And we knew that we were soooo close. As much as we were dreading having to climb up the Wall and the Grind after 29 miles, we were also looking forward to them, because each landmark meant we were that much closer to being done and DONE.  So we were thrilled when we saw those down-ward pointing arrows again, and excited to scramble up the far end of the Wall (I didn't even need to give Julie a hand like I did on the first loop) and to barrel down the steep descent of the Grind. And I cannot describe how happy we were to come across the cattle guard for the second time and see Julie's tent in front of us - we knew it was less than half a mile away now. Julie's stomach had calmed down enough that we could run it out a bit, and we strategized how we were going to cross the line, with our chipped ankles over the timing mat at the same time, so we would have the same finish time.

It was so much fun to come out of the last stretch into camp, see all the cars in the lot and then spot a gathering of folks in lawn chairs cheering, then realizing that they were cheering for us!! It was all of our friends, hanging out and making a ruckus, and making us feel like superstars! Nine hours and 50 minutes after we set out in the dark, we crossed the finish line in perfect synch, giving Julie her first 50K finish and giving me an hour and 25-minute PR! WOOT!

YAY! Julie is an ULTRAMARATHONER!!

Dirty girls!!

Matt finished his first 50-miler & Greg OWNED his first 50K!

50 mile bad-a$$ runners Matt & Jeremy

Our cheering section Greg & Fiona. 

THIS is what's cool about ultras!!

You EARNED it, girl!!

But the most awesome part of the day is that the end of our race wasn't the end of our fun. Far from it.  After taking some finish photos and updating our Twitter & FB accounts with news of our finish, we both pulled up camp chairs and settled in to join our gang of friends and cheer in the remaining 50-milers. Not only was the camaraderie and the exchange of trail tales relaxing and so enjoyable, but it was such a blast cheering on the 50-milers. It was especially great to cheer on the girl we had passed back at mile 26, and see her finish strong and smiling even though she was so obviously hurting back at the aid station. Watching Fawn finish her 50-miler, flanked by her adorable twins (one of them barefoot!!) and Greg's girls was so cool. Hearing that everyone jumped at the "root snake" out on the trail was hilarious. It was just a great way to end an incredibly rewarding day.  I can hardly wait to do it again!!

Fueled by Oreos & Orange Popsicles

So my last few races have been, oh shall we say, dramatic. There has been some monumental event or emotion or something that made me walk away from the finish line with some big breakthrough about myself and my running. In that regard, this run, my second 50K, at Hells Hills in Smithville, was kinda-sorta boring. Not really, in no way at all can a 50K run through the woods be boring, but it certainly was not as revolutionary emotionally for me as my first 50K was three months ago.  In any case, I had set the bar pretty low at Bandera with my stunning 11:14 finish, so I was looking forward to a new PR at the minimum. I was really, really looking forward to two things here: 1) running the 50K with Julie, who was attempting her first ultra just a few weeks after her first marathon, and 2) seeing a whole slew of amazing folks from FW-D and elsewhere on race day. We'd been planning this for months, and it was exciting to have it finally arrive.

My traveling companions for this trip were a couple of folks I've done road trips with before and one new friend from Twitter & DailyMile I'd met at the "after party" at Grasslands a few weeks ago. Libby and I had been van-mates and room-mates during our Texas Independence Relay adventure in early March, and she was looking forward to her second ever trail race. Jeremy had been a great road-trip buddy for Bandera and wasn't sure he'd be able to make Hells Hills, so when his schedule cleared up in the last few days before the race, we were glad to have him along for the ride. It's always great to have an experienced trail hound like him as a captive audience in the car - we certainly picked his brain enough about everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) related to trail running on the drive down. The last passenger was Stacy, who like Libby is fairly new to trails but was so hooked after Grasslands that she wanted MORE!

Everyone arrived at my house right on time and we loaded up the back of my EBV with 2 coolers, 4 bags, 4 camp chairs, cases of water, snacks and everything we would need for our trail adventures. I had bragged that I was a champion packer, and I have to say I panicked some when I saw all our stuff scattered on my driveway. But we were able to get it all in the car & then hit the road just a little past our scheduled departure. Let the adventure begin! The drive down was mostly unremarkable, but we did pump Jeremy for all kinds of trail tips and tricks as we had warned him we would.  We just chattend and laughed in general as we all got to know each other more, the way you do on these road trips.  We made it with only two stops before we got to our destination, once for goodies at Czech Stop & once because you can't go too far with 4 overhydrated athletes without having to stop.

We got to Bastrop and met up briefly with Fawn and her family at the local Italian/Mediterranean restaurant, where we also met up with another runner from DFW who flew in. We missed a couple of other folks that were either en route still or had arrived earlier & had an earlier meal, so that was a bummer, but in any case, Sally Albright would have been proud of the way we ordered pre-race dinner - we made sure we had no extra cheese, roughage, breading, fried anything, or really anything that could potentially come back to bite us on the trail the next day. When dinner was done, we found ourselves suddenly anxious to check in and get to bed - we had a VERY early wake-up call to get the 50-milers ready for their 5:00 AM start.

Race Day
We woke up early. Very early.  Jeremy and our friends Matt and Fawn had the earliest start at 5:00, followed by the 50K group at 6:00  (me, Derek, Sarah, Jen, Kevin and first-timers Julie, Greg and Dat) and then the 25K group at 7:00.  It took less time to get there than we expected, so we had plenty of time to meet everyone, apply sunscreen, set up our drop bags, hit the bathrooms (real flush toilets!!WOOT!) and get ready to roll. And of course, we had to take photos!

Libby and Fawn before the 50-mile start. Libby was chilly but that didn't last long.

My heroes! These three are so cool! Matt & Jeremy passed us on their third loop!

Go Matt! Tackling his first 50M in Superman Style!

Greg and Dat bibbing up. Fold that bib smaller, boys!

Sporting matching Chupa shirts!

Julie looking adorable as usual, with new Twitter friend Derek.

THESE PEOPLE ROCK MY WORLD!
Awesome people, every last one!

My 50K girls Julie and Sarah!

Kevin and Katie! Katie did her first trail race out here! WOOT!

Once the 50-milers were off, it was time for us to really get ready for our race. Sarah had originally signed up for the longer distance, but had dropped down to the 50K since she had been sidelined by a pretty bad cold earlier in the week and hadn't had much time to train. So we were excited that she was going to be able to run with me and Julie. But apparently, I wasn't terribly excited about much - in fact, I was pretty laid back about it all, if you believe the photographic evidence:

Relaxed much?

Loop 1 
Before we knew it, it was time to go!! Time to put the headlamp on and put the camera away, as it was still pretty dark for most of our first loop. OK, for the first 5-6 miles at least it was dark. And we walked a lot in the beginning, because it was dark, and I had a tough time regulating my breathing in the first few miles. We ran little bits here and there, but mostly walked/hiked. We caught up to another group for a bit and walked and chatted with them for a bit, but then we dropped back and let them go on ahead. Sarah went on ahead as well, as she is getting ready to crew Jen at Badwater, so she really needed to get some running miles in.  Before we knew it, we were at the first manned aid station,about 5 miles in, and had caught up to Sarah. But we were also bummed to see Kevin kicked back in a camp chair there, since he had turned an ankle about 3.5 miles in and had called it a day. Boo. Hate to see that in any runner, but especially since Kevin had done so well at Grasslands in his first 50-miler a few weeks previously.

After we left that aid station, we walked a bit more with Sarah, but then Julie felt like she wanted to run a little more. The sun has risen but it wasn't terribly hot yet with the cloud cover, but the humidity was high enough and we were concerned how much we'd be able to run in the second loop when it was warmer. Sarah urged us to go on ahead, as she just wasn't feeling it, so we took off. We ran when we could , on the pine needles and the flats, and sometimes on the little rolling descents & inclines. We walked the uphills and when we needed to. We really didn't have any sense of how fast we were going, since Julie's Garmin crapped out on us about halfway through the first lap, but we were keeping track of time to make sure we timed our nutrition and e-caps appropriately, especially given the heat. Basically, we were running, hiking, moving forward. And enjoying the day and each other's company. Just like we planned.

Julie in the field of beautiful bluebonnets. Or just in dirt and grass? You make the call.

After traveling about 10 miles through the first loop, we finally came to a clearing, and were excited to see the fields of bluebonnets we had been promised on the website. But when we got there? NOTHING. The field was barren, with just a few thin flowers scattered here and there. What a bummer. Apparently, it was too dry a spring for LadyBird's favorite flower to bloom properly, so we were robbed. 

NO! No sand!! 

Only stinkin' bluebonnet out there!

Tunnel o' Pines. Great section through here. 

We were however very quickly treated to the Tunnel o' Pines and the best aid station of the race. I got misted by a friendly volunteer after threatening to dump my head in the cooler of ice water, and grabbed a couple of Oreos. Pretty much the Oreo was my fuel of choice at each aid station, supplemented by my Powerbar energy blasts and a little bit of my clif bar in between aid stations.  They had served me well at Grasslands so I went with them again and was not disappointed. The most exciting part of the aid station was that we now had just a little 20-miler in front of us and we would be done! And that 20-miler was broken up with aid stations.

This was so beautiful. And it smelled glorious!

My favoritest aid station volunteer of the day!

Looking good after 10 miles. OK, Julie looks better than I do. But still!

By this time, we were getting passed by the quick 25K runners, and we knew we were close to the end of the first loop. I had started dreaming about changing shoes soon after we left the last aid station.  We still felt strong, but suddenly, we started a series of climbs, with a few more rocks than we had seen earlier. I had slight Bandera flashbacks, but these rocks were friendlier and rounder than the Bandera rocks, so it was OK. I wondered if maybe we were getting close to the Wall and the Grind, two big climbs we had seen on the elevation profile and in the course descriptions. Just then, we see the signs telling us that yes, indeed, we were upon them. The climbs weren't terrible, just very steep and deep.  Completely manageable, but we knew they'd be tougher on the second loop, and we were very glad we weren't on the 50-mile course where we'd have to do them 3 times!!

The Grind. That's a little bit of a descent there!

The trail arrow goes straight down... Cool... 

After the climbs, it was just a bit more before we came to a cattle guard and then through the trees we could see tents.  The campsite! Julie was so excited to see her tent and her very-inviting hammock! Yay. That meant we were really close to the end!! She ran into her tent for her bandanna and we got ready for the last 1/4 mile into the camp.  

Grateful for big feet for once. 

Campsite meant we were so so close!!

Fiona & the girls were leading the cheering section! So cool to see them!

Camp at the halfway point! Time to head out again! Let's do it!

Yay! We made it! 15.5 down, 15.5 to go!! Now the fun starts!!

Loop 2 and the after party to come later!!

Teaser Trailer - Hells Yeah HIlls Top 10 Things

Full report to come soon. Meanwhile, the Top 10 Moments from this Weekend:

1. Successfully cramming 2 coolers, 4 camp chairs, 4 bags, 2 cases of water & snacks in the back of the EBV (Electric Blue Vibe) after boasting that I am a champion car-packer. Whew - didn't have to eat my words!
2. Trying to explain why I can't eat a sandwich once it's been in a plastic sandwich bag but I can eat a sandwich made with bread that's been in a sandwich bag. 
3. Hiding the computer from the "dirty bastard thieves" in Bastrop. 
4. The 180-degree difference in how we ordered food on Friday night pre-race to how we ordered food on Saturday night post-race. 
5. POPSICLES!
6. Seeing all our friends cheering us on at the finish line!
7. Joining all our friends cheering the 50-milers at the finish line. 
8. "The Grind, the Wall, your tent, the finish..."
9. "NINE MILES!"
10. Crossing the finish line with new ultra runner Julie. She rocked it!!

Friday Five - The Not a One-Hit Wonder Edition

1. So, I have this little race tomorrow. 50K. Yeah, another ULTRA. Baby ultra, as far as ultras go - nowhere near ready to tackle the 50 mile or 100 mile distance yet. Yet. But, still. When I cross the finish line, I will go from being the Falco of the running world to a bonafide "hey, look, she did it again, it wasn't a fluke" ultra runner. A Tommy Tutone two-hit wonder at worst. ha! (try not to hum 867-5309 for the rest of the day now, I dare you!). 
2. Making tomorrow's race even cooler? My trail buddies Julie and Greg are doing their first 50K! Greg is crazy-stupid-fast so he's going to be sucking down his third or fourth beer by the time I get done, but Julie & I are going to be joined at the hip tomorrow, and I hope to repay some of that awesomeness that Sarah gave me during my first race to Julie. Bringing in a new ultra runner into the world and all that!! And, she won't have to send an APB out for us, because she'll be right by us the whole time!!And there best be BUNNIES and PRETTY FLOWERS out there instead of big ugly rocks or sandpits of hell like at Sandlands. 
3. Oh, but wait! there's more!! Sarah, who is the reason I ever wandered onto trails in the first place? She's going to be there too! And she may have dropped down to the 50K so she's going to be hanging with me & Julie too! We're shooting for something a little less than 11 hours this time!! But we are bringing our headlamps. Just in case... 
4. I should really start packing. Peeps will be here to load up the EBV and hit the road in about four hours. But I might have to do laundry first. And I have a couple of things to finish up for work, even though I took a vacation day today. Which is why it makes perfect sense for me to be blogging instead of working or packing. 
5. My toenails have thus far survived Bandera, Cowtown & Sandlands, but one of them was bruised slightly by a revolving door on my trip to Denver. How crazy is that? 

Rocky Mountain High

Quick update: I'm in Denver, Colorado for a conference this week. Spent a lot of time walking/standing/being all professional & stuff. I did get a chance to go run outside, though, but not on the day that it SNOWED here... I dig the cold weather and all, but no, thanks, to the snow. Especially since I melted at the lake on Saturday in a tank & shorts.

But, before I get back to the airport and head home to prepare for my next ultra (YAY!!), I wanted to share this little pic of the creek where I did a short 3-miler on Tuesday. There are way cooler places to run in Denver & surrounding areas for sure, but without a car and with limited time on my hands, this did pretty nicely!

Five Things Friday

1. Things are a little discombobulated around here lately. Neither my body nor my mind has recovered from Grasslands Marathon last weekend. It was a very fun day, but ultimately was more physically draining than I expected it to be. Not sure why. I felt strong all day, and I walked as much as I did only by conscious decision. I have tried to run a couple of times this week and made it no further than the end of my block each time. Last night I didn't even bother getting dressed to try. It is a frustrating feeling, to want to run, to feel like I should, but not really have the self-drive to actually get it done. But there is a lot of stuff going on here at Casa de Skatemom, a lot of stuff that isn't easy to deal with, and I need to focus on my family for a while, so I am not going to stress over one more thing like missing a run or two during what should be a "recovery" week. Or three even. Just keep the Oreos away from me, please. 
2. I have a long run with some of my girls scheduled on Saturday. We return to the Lake for a 20-miler. Wheee. I love that I can pound out a 20-miler at any time without giving too much thought to preparing for it except that I need to know where we'll be meeting. And how hot it will be. Because it's always hot at the Lake. 
3. I leave town on Sunday morning for a few days in Denver for a work conference. I love Denver. I worked there, in Boulder, and in Springs for nearly a year back in my traveling days. I love running down the Cherry Creek path off downtown. I plan to do as much of that as I can next week - shouldn't be difficult since I have an "extra" hour in the mornings and I am staying right off the path. Can't wait!! One last chance to wear my long-sleeved tops since it is way too late to wear them here in Texas.
4. Hells Yeah Hills is next weekend. I will come home from Denver, dump out the suitcase, re-pack the duffel bag and then hit the road to Smithville for my second 50K. WOOT!  I will be running side-by-side with my buddy Julie this time, helping her through her first ultra-marathon. I am also looking for a little redemption from Banderawesome and gunning for a new 50K PR. Plus, there better be bluebonnets, dammit. I signed up because there is an incredible photo of bluebonnets on the website. If I don't see bluebonnets, I'm gonna be pissed. Just sayin'... 
5. I am Marathon Maniac #3621. About damn time. Go here, if you're so inclined, and see my profile. Pretty groovy, huh? I am really excited to have finally reached this goal, but I also think that it may have exacerbated the post-marathon blues I am going through right now. I went through this after NYC, where I was in a "Now what?" kind of mood and didn't really know what comes next. I'm hoping a little run through the woods next week will help resolve that. And leveling up in Maniacs after I finish my next three races will definitely help, too!! 

Sandlands 2011

I finished. It wasn't pretty. I started off slowly and got slower. It was hot. It was windy. There was sand. Lots of sand. Imagine the beach, but without the breezes and salty air. But still, this may be my favorite marathon ever. Because after two false starts last year, I finally qualified for Marathon Maniacs. FINALLY.
That thought really kept me moving and smiling in the last hot miles of this race, and I enjoyed every hot sandy step, believe it or not.

The day started really early with a 4:05 wake-up call.  I didn't get much sleep the night before because it was my husband's birthday, and we had celebrated with a pizza and movie night and I had stayed up longer than I should have. Then I kept waking up, certain that I had overslept the alarm. When it was finally time to get up for real, I was dragging a bit, but made it out the door with only one hiccup when I couldn't find my knee brace. Thankfully I was able to dodge into the 24-hour Walgreen's down the street and pick up a replacement. I was still able to get to the race site in plenty of time. It was great to pull into my parking spot & immediately see my buddy Greg pull up next to me, so we were able to hang out & prepare for the morning together, heading over to get packets, get bibbed up and find our friends in the early darkness.

The 50-milers were starting first, so we looked for our friend Jeremy in his bright Salty Banana shirt. Wasn't hard to do, even in the non-light. Then we found Fawn and as we are standing there, Kevin shows up! So of course I had to grab a pic. Greg was in the picture too but he was blinded by the awesomeness of these 50-miler bad-a$$es & his eyes were closed - it's true - you can't really look at them head-on - there is too much Awesome!

Greg with the 50-milers Fawn, Jeremy & Kevin L.

Right at 7:00, they were on their way and it was time to head back to the start of the white loop for the marathon start. Libby was cool enough to come out  90 minutes before her race start and send us off on our way, and I was able to get a few pics of the marathon group. Some of us would have fast days today (GREG! 4:05! Wha?!) and some of us would just be glad to finish, but we were all ready. 

Libby came out to send us on our way before her FIRST ever trail run! Thanks!

Yay! These two are awesome in so many ways!

Yay! Found my TIR vanmate Elizabeth before the start, too!

I had arranged to meet up with an NTTR runner named Deborah before the race and we were going to run together for as long as we could, The plan was to run 12 minute miles. But right away, Deborah got in a groove and pulled in front of me. No worries - I was content to hang out in the back of the pack with Elizabeth and a crowd of 3 other runners that were on their first trail marathon as well as a father-son team. It ended up that we leap-frogged these two groups often throughout the race, sharing parts of the trail sometimes, falling behind them sometimes and jumping in front of them sometimes, just depending on how things were going.  It was fun to have them always nearby, and know that we were all in this together. I also know that I would probably catch up to Deborah later, as she expected to start off at 12-minute miles and slow down (I like that kind of strategy!!).

Right about that time, Sergio came up behind me & said hi! This was his first trail run, too, and he ran the whole thing with a camera strapped to his chest! What an awesome way to capture the sights and sounds of the trails! If I had done that, you could have seen the ground getting up close and personal when I bit it twice out there!! Go to YouTube and you can see the whole series of videos he's uploaded - there is one featuring me that is my favorite!! 

Once we got going and spread out, it was just a matter of getting comfortable and finding a nice pace and figuring out when to run and when to power-walk. Right away I knew I would run the flats & gentle descents and walk the uphills, but very soon it became apparent that I was going to have to walk the sandy sections too. There was so much deep sand that it was murder on the calves & achilles to try to run those parts. You just felt like you were mired.  

So that became the strategy - run when you could, power-walk through the sand and up the hills (have to say, there were not very many hills. Nothing at all like Banderawesome. Just gentle rollers now & again. Mostly, the toughest thing out there was the sand. Every now and again we'd come across a gate, and since there was usually nobody right in front of me or right behind me except Elizabeth, we'd have to be sure to close them. Not a problem, except that some of them were really high and I could barely reach the latches. Yes, I am that short. In those cases, it was easier for me to crawl under (duck under in some spots). Besides, I was already dirty by then, having taken a really nice header into very soft sand (whew! and avoided horse poop! double-whew!) somewhere between the first and second aid station. 

This is what happens when you get sand in the lens... Oops.

Thirsty? Tasty water w a side of grit! 

Like I said, the sand was soft, so I didn't get hurt, and I actually just kind of laughed while I sat there in the dirt. And I took some pictures, or tried to, with a sandy, gritty camera lens!! Time to get up, dust off and keep going! By the time I fell I was already sweating, so between having fallen on my face and then sitting in the dirt, I was a dirty cave-woman mess when I rolled into the second aid station. Thankfully, the great volunteers there just rinsed off my bottle tops for me and topped me off with both fuel & fluids and sent me on my way.

The middle miles were pretty unremarkable, except for the second fall into the sand (again avoiding the horse poop! whew!), and it was great to run into the main camp at the end of the white loop and find Greg T there manning the aid station. He set me up with fresh icy water, a fresh cold bottle of Heed and more snacks, then I headed out on the blue loop after quickly dumping out my shoes of the half-beach that had gathered there.

Dumping sand out of my shoes at camp, about halfway there.

Hi, Kevin! Kevin was done with 2 of his loopson 50M course by now. 

Shortly after heading out on the second loop, I met up with a Maniac runner who was actually walking much faster than I was running at that point! He was an older gentleman and had a shirt on indicating he had completed 50 States twice. Wow. I chatted with him for a while (as long as I could keep up with him!) for a couple of miles and he shared some great stories with me about the races he had done, his knee replacement surgery (!!) and just good trail tales.  Very soon after, who did I come across but Deborah! Yay! I knew I'd catch up to her! She was great company for the next stretch and really helped me by giving me tips about fueling and e-caps and such, and we just had a wonderful time getting to know each other and chatting. Sometimes we ran, sometimes we walked. It just depended on the terrain and how we were feeling. And whether we were being harassed by the cows!!

Deborah was a great middle-run partner! 

Right about mile 20, Deborah got a surge of energy and my knee decided it was going to make itself known. It wasn't hurting so much as I just wasn't comfortable with the replacement brace, so I let Deborah go on ahead and just decided to take my time and enjoy the rest of the ride.  About this time I also figured that I had a hard time with my ankles and thought it was the sand that had finally worn my ankles down. But I stopped to adjust my laces and realized that I just had tied them too tightly when I dumped out my shoes at the main camp! Duh! I ran/walked 7 miles with my shoes too tight! ha!!  Once I adjusted the laces, all was right and I could continue without any issues! 

It was hotter by now, but I had plenty of water in my bottles and had gotten ice added in at the last aid station so I was set for the last 10K. About this time I caught up with Ian and Alan, the son-father team I had been leapfrogging all race long. We spent a few miles walking together and talking about food, our favorite Thanksgiving desserts and our favorite post-race noshes.  Ian is in school at UNT and Alan comes down from St Louis every year to run this with them. They shared stories of last year's mudfest and just were really good company for this stretch. But soon enough, right past the mile 23 marker, they got a surge and kept going while I just kept to my own little pace, enjoying the walk and the trees and the sand. 

Pic of Alan & Ian on trail didn't come out but I got a great shot of them at finish, when I finally caught up to them!

OK, so maybe I wasn't enjoying the sand. But you know what I mean. I was having a good time. I know I had been going for while, but wasn't sure exactly how long because I didn't wear a watch. And while it was refreshing to not have to worry about my time or my pace, it was tricky to time my fueling and liquid intake. I was left to my own devices and had to drink when I was thirsty and eat when I was hungry. I do have to thank Deborah again for the e-caps, though. She gave me a couple and I took a couple at the last two aid stations, and this was the first race when I didn't have sausage-fingers at the end. And that was after even pretty intense heat and taking in about 100 oz of fluids throughout the day (both bottles were emptied and filled at least three times throughout the day, and there was only about half the bottle of Heed left at the finish).  So that is something that I know I've needed to work on and will continue to fine-tune in my longer races (Hello, Hells Yeah Hills!!). 

Oh, yeah!

A few minutes later, I was thrilled to pass the mile marker on the path that said there was only 2 miles left on the blue trail. WOOT! 2 miles was the length of the taper runs I'd been too lazy to run during the week!! About this time, I started to realize that my goal of becoming a Marathon Maniac was just minutes away. I would admit that I teared up a little, except that I don't cry at races anymore, right? So, no, maybe it was just sand in my eye... Yeah, that's it. Sand. The dang sand!!  I could tell I was close because the cars were going in and out of the campsite and I could hear them/see them on the road. And I could hear the activity at the finish line. I was almost there! Before I knew it, I came out of the path into the same clearing where I'd parked the car and saw the EBV there along with a few other cars. Close, close, close!!  Finally, the finish! WOOT! 

And who is there but some of the coolest folks around?  Yet again, I am reminded how lucky I am to have so many great friends when I see Greg, Michelle, Michelle K & her hubby Erik and Stacy M at the finish. They had completed their races HOURS before me but yet were hanging around to see me and other runners bring it in. How cool is that?  I was so thrilled!! It was the perfect way to end a wonderful experience. 

Every one of these people is filled with AWESOME!

So. There you go. #12 done. The Dirty Dozen completed. Marathon Maniacs intro level done. Great friends (with pringles!!) at the finish. Life is good. It was a great day! I can't wait to do it again next year! 

Sweaty, dirty and HAPPY!

Distance: 26.3 miles (give or take)

Time: 7 hrs, 15 minutes (give or take - I forgot to look at the clock!!)

Feeling when I crossed the line & qualified for Maniacs? AWESOME!