Eflat alto trail runner

Scary Times at Carkeek 12 Hour Run

2009-11-01T20:01:00.000-08:00

Halloween weekend has a new tradition for some of us in Seattle - Carkeek 12 Hour Run - the toughest 12 hour run out there! The nice thing is (as in most timed runs) you don't have to run for all 12 hours. I did this last year, and ran six loops, or about 11.58 miles for an elevation gain of 2580 ft - not bad for an in town park! This year, I chose to spread my 12 hours out over the course of the day with five loops - three in the morning and two at the end of the day, with some napping, shopping and baking in between.

The start was at dark thirty (6 am) and we were gathered round a nice bonfire roaring in the firepit, overlooking Puget Sound (which was not really visible at that hour). My friend Tracy was hoping to go for all 12 hours. As for me, I had considered the option of starting late, but I rarely get to run in the dark, and this year, with glow sticks out on the trails (marking the major turns), it would be a bit easier to navigate. After a pre-race briefing, Sam said "Go!" and off we walked. I stayed with Tracy (or should say, I hung on to Tracy!) and we had a nice up and down trot through the darkness, coming in to the aid station at about 30 minutes. Coming through the fish hatchery the third time, I heard a rustling of branches above me, followed by a spray of water and a "whomp whomp" sound. An owl was waking and not liking all these people so close to its nest. I heard that someone behind me got attacked, but not so bad that he couldn't relish in the excitement of it. It was really appropriate for Halloween! At the end of the third loop, I left Tracy and headed home.

I showered and napped, and prepped for a ChiRunning class for the next day. Donn and I went to the U District Farmer's market, where he got a giant rutabega for carving. Apparently they used to do that in merry old England, before pumpkins were brought over from the New World. While a pie baked in the oven, I applied some "makeup", put on my "headgear" and went back to the final hours of the run. I had my Vibram Five Fingers on, but took my La Sportivas along, and planned to decide which to wear once I got there. I stopped to pick up firewood (the checkout gal told me I scared her) and made it to the park in time to see Tracy come down to the aid station. I had just enough time to set the pie down and take off with her - in the VFFs. She said she was walking a lot, so I had no worry about whether I could keep up with her. We encountered a couple of other gals who were walking, and formed a nice conga line on the trail. I got several compliments on my makeup and headgear, and if my stride was too choppy, the headgear bounced and hit me just above the ears. I've discovered a new body sensing technique and will be marketing it as a training tool! The pace was nice and easy and Tracy called it a day at 21 loops, or 40.53 miles with 9030 feet of elevation gain!

After a job well done, a leg soak in the Sound, and good coffee, we all parted for our respective homes and Halloween.

I had fun on the way home watching people as they reacted to my makeup and head gear. Donn carved a beautiful rutabega, and, unfortuantely, no kids stopped by to get scared at our house. Oh well...next year....

Korima from Seattle - Caballo Blanco's Talk

2009-10-22T20:41:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday night, I went to hear Micha True, aka Caballo Blanco, speak at Seattle Running Co. He's the "mythical character" who lives among the Raramuri (aka Tarahumara Indians) in Copper Canyon, Mexico and has become well known through Chris McDougal's book, Born to Run. In this book, the author chronicles his journey into Copper Canyon, where he meets Caballo Blanco and learns about the indigenous people who live in the caves and canyons that form Copper Canyon. These people are known for their endurance running, and Caballo, an ultrarunner himself (5 times at Leadville 100) establishes a race for villages to compete against each other. He invites runners from the "outside world" to run one of these, with hopes it will bring awareness of these people to the rest of the world. The book carries the story of the race throughout, as well as McDougal's own journey into helping him solve his own running issues through minimal or barefoot running. His thesis is complete with research studies backing up his claim that barefoot running is the best way to go. The book, now a bestseller, has gotten almost a cult following with people determined to throw away their bulky, built up running shoes, and follow Chris in sandals, Vibram 5 Fingers, or barefoot. In fact, Vibram is having a hard time keeping up production as the shoes have become so popular!

So, naturally, at this talk by Caballo Blanco, 1) the house was packed (people were standing in the cold, watching through the store window!) and 2) I noticed Vibram 5 Fingers on several pairs of feet. I don't know if these people were expecting to hear him talk about minimalist running, or if they were just wearing the "race Tshirt", so to speak, or if they truly enjoyed wearing their Vibrams and won't put anything else on their feet. I enjoy a weekly run in my own Vibrams, or other minimal shoes, so I don't fault these folks for theirs. But it was just funny (to me) to expect to see them and there they were....

But Micah wasn't there to talk to the wealthy about the many options we have for shodding (or not) our feet. Rather, he was there to talk about the people he's come to love and the conditions in which they live. While he spoke, a slide show played, showing beautiful scenery of the Copper Canyon, and of the people who inhabit that area. They live very minimally ("when it all comes crashing down around us, these folks will be okay because they're already treading lightly on the earth" he pointed out) and subsist mainly on what the earth gives them - corn being the main staple. If there has been a drought, then they have a bad year, and don't eat so well. It's vice versa if the rain gods have been good. They live at 8000 - 9000 feet, so winters are fairly chilly, as their caves don't have central heating. Caballo first learned about korima (gifting) when, after pacing a Raramuri at Leadville (they were brought there by someone promoting their running talents), he asked for donations for sweaters and blankets to take down CC, and filled up his pickup truck so full he had no room to sleep! In return, the Raramuri kept him fed and allowed him into their homes and villages. After a year or so, he built his own little house (with the help of some of the locals) and spends most of his time living down in the CC with the Raramuri as his neighbors.

Today, the Raramrui are exploited by the Mexican government as a tourist attraction, and they suffer from malnutrition, lack of education,etc. Infant mortality rate is high, with tuberculosis being the main cause. Caballo's mission, so to speak, was to raise awareness of this culture that has been around for the last 10,000 years and to seek monetary donations to help them preserve that culture while meeting basic needs. His talk was well received, and Seattle came through, raising well over $500 (and $500 was matched by Scott Dunlap's company NearbyNow)! Way to show the korima, Seattle! As expected, some folks wanted to know what he wore when running. (He prefers sandals - anything cheap, but right now he likes Hi Tec Vitarroz.) But he reminded us we should run in what works for us individually. His main mission is to see that his neighbors are cared for by the rest of the world - and he got one step closer to that goal last Tuesday night in Seattle.

time on my hands

2009-09-25T22:37:00.000-07:00

Facebook is down yet again and has been all afternoon and evening. What did I do before FB? I read blogs. And I blogged more. AND I got more other stuff done.

This all reminds me why I don't watch TV. Facebook is a lot like TV. It sucks you in and it becomes harder and harder to tear yourself away as you get involved in the daily (sometimes hourly) dramas and happenings that go on in others' lives. It's a quick look into friends' lives, changing moment by moment, with little need for sustained attention. You sit down to go through the latest updates of your friends and when you look up, two hours have gone by. That's two hours of your life you lost without noticing. And you wonder why your hips hurt, why your back is stiff, why your eyes are tired. And when FB is down, not available, frustration ensues. What do you do with all that empty time on your hands. What did you do before you got on FB, only a few short months ago? You lived those hours and life happened, with you as a participant. Time to live.

Burning Man 2009

2009-09-10T21:54:00.000-07:00

Brevity is not my strong point so this is going to be a good exercise for me. The band Donn plays with (and I used to) Orkestar Zirkonium, was invited to play at Burning Man 2009 for the burn. I was lucky to go along as support (sous chef to the fabulous Erin Brindley). We left town Wednesday Sept 2 on the Mellinium Tortoise, aka Mel with Colin at the helm. There were 11 of us riding in this converted Greyhound bus - it was made into living quarters and had a dining area/ living room with a Mac, kitchen, bathroom, queen size bed, bunk beds, and a recording studio. Every bus should have a recording studio! The bathtub served as the pantry for non-perishables, and the fridge was stuff to the gills. We hauled a trailer full of bikes and water behind us, and our first stop was Eugene. We fueled, ate dinner in the Value Village parking lot (looking like proper gypsies) and headed to camp for the night, getting lost on the way. Getting lost on a bus is a lot different than getting lost in a car - your options for turn around space are a lot more limited. Jerry phoned Dean, the campground host, who met us at the gate on his Segway. He could really get around and puff on his cigarette at the same time! There we met three more people bringing our total to 14. Amazingly, we all fit and it was rather comfy!

Thursday we were on the road again heading towards Klamath Falls. We passed through some beautiful forest land and I kept an eye out for great trails! After fueling and lunch in the gas station parking area (we pick the nicest spots!), we headed on towards Gerlach and Burning Man. Going into CA, we remembered the fruit in the tub and when the inspector came aboard, she just looked in the fridge and declared us good to go. Whew! Later down the road, about 20 miles north of Alturas, Colin happened to look in the rear view mirror to watch the tire de-laminating on the trailer. Oops! He pulled over, put out the road hazard triangles, and proceeded to change the tire, only to discover there was no lug nut wrench for that size. So Anne started flagging down cars; one guy stopped on his way back from Burning Man and gave us a bottle of wine he said he made, but he didn't have a wrench. Meanwhile, Matt decided he needed to get a run in to get rid of his hangover, so he took off towards Alturas. The rest of the band members who weren't working on the tire got out their instruments and started practicing by the side of the road. It was all very surreal and added to the gypsy-like appearance. A forest service truck pulled over and they provided a wrench and some company. We managed to direct the sparse traffic around us, and finally, near the end, a CHiP pulled up to direct traffic and see if we were okay. Thanks, guy! He asked if the guy running down the road was with us and was he okay. Well, how can he be a drummer and be okay??? We took off, picked up Matt, got a new tire (and wrench!!) in Alturas and ventured forth.

The drive through the pass and then the desert was very beautiful with a nice moonrise. We got into Gerlach, the last town bfore Burning Man, about 9, where we fixed dinner and shopped the stands of Burning Man necessities. I got some goggles and a nice desert scarf and Tamara scored a cool pair of pants for $5! Finally we got back on the bus, and headed to the entrance. There we showed our tickets and they made us get out of the bus, and put our hands on it while they pretended to prepare for some bodily inspection. It was all very carnival-like and a little frat boyish. Next stop was another point where they "oriented" us virgins, having us roll in the playa dust, etc. FINALLY, we were allowed to go forth and find our camp, which was in Nectar Village. Sari, who had been there a couple years before, was very excited to get going and perform, despite it being midnight. Band bikes were unloaded, people changed into whites, and they took off to tour the playa, leaving Colin and me to find our exact location. Our host, Grady, directed us to the camp, where he and Colin immediately put up a shade structure. We shared camp with Gamelan X, a band from the Bay area that does Indonesian (mostly) percussion based music. Poor Colin had driven all day and was totally whipped but hung in there and got stuff set up. The band returned about 3:30, and left again, on foot this time, to play around the camps. I went to bed, stuck in my awesome earplugs (blocked out the constant bass beat of the electronica from the DJs on the playa and the art cars), and did not hear Donn get in the tent at 5:00.

Donn and I were up at 7:30, and I was in desparate need of an espresso! The propane hadn't been turned on and I didn't want to wake Colin, so we hopped on our bikes to tour the camps and buy and espresso at Center House. That and ice are about the only two things you can buy there; all the rest is self supplied or gifted. On the way there, we ran into my friend Dan, who goes every year, and Foxy, a first timer and mother of Master Nashwan. It was a fortunate meeting, as I had no idea where Dan was camped and I wanted to spend some time with him! We got my espresso (Donn brought caffeine pills) which was REALLY REALLY good and put me in the best mood ever, and rode back to camp. There, people were slowly coming alive and awake. The day was loose and free, with some going around to see stuff and others hanging out. I rode around and found Dan's camp, and visited a while. I was still getting oriented (I'm slow that way) so I didn't take in as much of the art as I would have liked. I did love riding my burner bike around as it made me feel like a little kid again! And I made lots of trips to the bathroom. The playa is laid out like a hemi-wheel, with the spoke streets numbered like a clock, every half hour, and the radial streets as letters starting with "A" in the center. Our camp was at 8:00 and Fossil (8 o'clock and F). The porta johns were on all the spoke streets every two blocks starting between Chaos and DNA. The theme this year was Evolution, so all the streets were named aptly.

Friday night, there was a marching band contest at Center House, and Orkestar Zirkonium was one of the five contestants. The band members rode their bikes to Center House while we support folks walked, but somehow we all ended up there at the same time. The contest was lots of fun and in the end, they took second to March Fourth, a fabulous marching band based out of Portland. If you have never heard this band, you are in for a treat. They will get you up out of your seat and onto the floor - such awesome energy! OZ played afterward and lots of folks danced and enjoyed their energy. Ivan's friend Jenna showed up with a gallon of whiskey, which was passed around the band, and disappeared quickly. I only took one slug as it helped clear up my nose from all the dust. But others weren't so frugal and consequences ensued later. We caught a ride on the Birthday Cake art car where the band played while it rode around the playa. It was a great way to celebrate Sari's birthday! Unfortunately, one person wasn't able to keep his whiskey down and he was whisked back to camp in another art car. Good thing we had walked, as we managed to get all the bikes back to camp. I had a blast riding Josh's bike, a little girl's sting ray complete with banana seat and coaster brakes. I even zoomed past Donn on his adult sized bike. I want one!!

Another late night to bed and then we were up early again. This time I had coffee in camp; it was Saturday, the day of the night of the big burn. I rode over to Hushville (Dan's camp) where I found Scot (Master Nashwan) and Foxy napping, but no Dan. I visited with them til Dan came back. Then Dan took me to meet God, who was holding a discussion with a rabbi who had stopped by. I sat on a couch and chatted with another fellow who was also a burn virgin. The rabbi sang a beautiful chant in either Yiddish or Hebrew, and then rode off. A woman came out of a tent and announced that gale force winds were headed our way in a couple of hours with major dust storms. I decided to hightail it back to camp to batten down the hatches and warn others. There were several minor dust storms going on already, and as the day progressed, they got worse. We spent a lot of time just hanging out in the bus, while others went out on to the playa in white-out conditions. Josh and Paul looked like old men when they returned, with white hair and faces. Sometime during the day (I think it was Saturday) Colin hopped an art car and lost his night time glasses, which were hooked on to his kilt. He was doomed to wearing sunglasses, but after trying on several of the campers' glasses, Donn's came closest to his prescription. So we were okay (sort of) if he had to do night driving.

That night, the dust was blowing strong, but the storm was predicted to die down by 10. The band had to be in position about 8:30, so after they dressed and Sari passed out our badges which would get us in the inner circle (!!), we processed towards the man. About halfway, the band split into two groups. Ours was the lead group, and visibility was down to about 5-10 feet. We pulled up next to some brightly lit art cars, and the drummers started playing, thinking this would attract the other group's attention. Several long minutes later they started to appear, coming towards us, but then headed off in a different direction. I ran out, got them and led them to the rest of the band. Whew! We made it to 3:00 where we waited for the procession to begin. Security checked our badges several times over, so it was quite the privilege to be in the inner circle. The dust storm slowly died down, our torch bearers appeared, and the band marched and played around the perimeter of the inner circle. It was really fun to tag along and dance, and at one point, a guy dressed completely in a drum major outfit appeared out of the crowd and directed the band! When the circle was complete, we settled down in the dust to watch the fire performers. They put on an amazing show; I hadn't seen anything like that since my first Trolloween in 1998 (the fire marshal put the kibosh on that!). At some point, we were asked to move further into the circle, which put us much closer to the fire. Soon, the fireworks started and before I knew it, the whole structure was ablaze. At one point it was so hot, everyone had to put on goggles. I was sitting next to Paul and we decided to lay down, which seemed to work, as it put us under the heat. It was quite a fire show - beautiful to watch!

The next morning I wanted to get to Center House for an espresso, but the line was really long when we got there. Donn gave me one of his caffeine pills at the usual dose for him, which sent my heart rate sky high! We rode out to the temple and checked out the scene. It was very heavy, emotionally speaking, with different people or groups mourning over lost friends and lovers from the past year. There was a beautiful poster of Shane McConkey, the extreme skier who died last December. I could only take so much, so we went out to our bikes. There were so many other bikes that ours were hard to find but my beautiful streamers and hi rise bars came through and we were on our way. We stopped by the slide, which was sort of a super slide covered in astro turf, with various objects (sleds, sheets, whatever) to slide down on. At the bottom, which was abrupt, there was a stack of cushions to crash into. I had knelt on enough astro turf in high school, as a drill leader at Band Day, that I had no desire to slide on it. Plus there was a sign noting that there were on average twelve injuries per day. Donn decided he had to try it. He found an old plastic sled and walked up to the top, where, eventually, he hopped on and slid down. It was a successful slide, and the cushions needed restacking. He helped put the last cushion high up on the pile, and something slipped, knocking his glasses off. I watched as they landed in two pieces, breaking at one side of the nose bridge. I grabbed them, and said 'dude, you're f**ked!' and then 'oh, we're f**ked!' They were meant to be Colin's back-up glasses - oops! We headed back to Center House to see if they could be repaired, but Playa Hardware was closed down so no luck. We got back to camp and told the tale, and Colin said no problem! He took Donn's glasses and fashioned a new nose piece out of wire and knots. It looked a little wonky on Donn, but it worked!

That night the band processed to the Temple and created lots of good energy. As we approached, they quieted down, as this burn was a more somber affair. Not everyone understood that but enough did that they weren't that obnoxious. There was a procession, which we couldn't see much of since we were towards the back of the crowd, but then flaming parachuters started appearing in the sky. That was totally cool!! I don't know how many there were but it was more than a couple! Soon after, the temple started burning, along with all the memorials that were put up. When it was about done, we stood up and the band processed out with Ethiopique. Very fitting. The River Boat art car owner asked Sari if the band would come play on it, so we headed that way, where we rode around the playa for a while. Afterward, we eventually ended up at camp and got ready for the long drive home the next day.

The bus got packed the next morning and we were on the road by 8:00, after goodbyes to Grady et al. We only sat in line to leave about 1.5 hours, and Sari gathered some playa dust in a baggie while we waited. The ride to Ashland was fairly uneventful, except when Colin tried to turn the bus around on the road between Klamath Falls and Ashland. Just didn't happen. We stayed at Emigrant Lake campground, and broke open that bottle of wine the burner guy gave us. It tasted a little funny, but Donn drank most of it. Apparently, he was really funny (I went to bed); who knows what was in the wine? He doesn't remember much. The next day we were on the road early and made it back to Boeing Field by 7:00 - ahead of schedule!

It was a fun trip and I want to return next year, early, so I can take in more stuff. I didn't take many photos of the art but there are some great ones out there. My pics can be seen here. And last, here's an interesting article about Burning Man. I'm looking forward to my next burn!

Cougar in the snow...

2009-03-07T14:20:00.000-08:00

I got to join Chris and Tracy this morning for a short 7 mile run at Cougar. I've been rehabbing a sore posterior tibialis (result of protecting the opposite hip) and got the full go ahead from PT to start running - 3 min on 2 min off. I had already gotten in a couple of trail runs before that 'go ahead' while we figured this thing out and I've been working hard on my core strength and balance issues. So, with Tracy being slightly injured (knee) and in taper for next weekend, and Chris recovering from a longer run last weekend, I figured I could keep up. Or at least they wouldn't have to wait for me too long at the junctions.

Snow was predicted and we drove through some decent rain to get to Sky Country, but when we got up higher near the trailhead, all was dry, but cold. We set out towards the north side and soon the precipitation started, in the form of ice. I was having a blast running through it and really enjoying the moment! As we looped around and started heading south, the snow was really coming down. The plan was to head to Shy Bear Pass and decide whether to turn back or continue with a loop along Deceiver and then back up to Shy Bear, and home via Fred's Railroad and Old Man Trail. We were all feeling good and I was focusing on good form - landing under my center of gravity, listening to my glute to tell me if I was overstriding (great post by Rooster on this), and eating when I needed to. The climb back up to Shy Bear was a little challenging on my tight gastrocnemius and soleus, but I managed to grind it out. I walked when I needed to and overall I stayed ahead of or with the gang. It was fun to "break trail" on freshly fallen snow! Plus I could check my footprints to see what I needed to shore up, as in the Sandpit Exercise.

We got back to the car and a winter wonderland in about 2 hours. I love that Sky Country isn't a popular destination and there were only three or four cars there, including Tracy's. I took some photos with my cell phone to record the snow and then we were off to Starbuck's where I "discovered" they don't have short drinks. I ordered a double split shot dry cappuccino, and they wanted to know what size. How do you make a "grande" cappuccino without turning it into a latte??? As you can tell, I don't frequent Charbucks much but after a run like today, it really hit the spot. It's a good day - I hear the snow is headed our way. Bring it on!

Sky Country - this all happened while we were out running!

Tracy lovin' the snow!

Chris is done running and wants a hot drink!

Fun on Tiger with Chris

2009-01-25T17:25:00.000-08:00

My new BFF (best friend forever, for the clueless) Chris, whom I met through Alison (thank you thank you Alison!!) lives part time next to Tiger Mountain. The other time is spent in Winthrop. I'm so lucky cuz when she is on this side of the pass, and not working, I get to join her and the dogs for a hike on Tiger, starting from her place. She and Dave have built a trail that joins other "neighborhood" trails and leads up to Tiger Mtn's trails. We hiked a four or so mile loop on MLK Day and then again yesterday. The dogs got in some good exercise and we got in some good talk time, though the pace was not leisurely by any means (I don't want it to be!) And yesterday, we were joined by Leah, new buddy Ted, and Eddie the Wonderdog (yes, I am in love with him.)

Ted is testing some new shoes that have a one mm sole made of puncture proof fabric. They allow him to still run barefoot but avoid puncture wounds from sticks and rocks. He was having a blast testing them out on all sorts of surfaces. Leah was being a patient but slightly nervous mom - Eddie is brand new to the trails and Chris convinced her he would be okay off leash. Amber and Diva knew the route and he pretty much hung with them til we got around a loop. He took off, and didn't come when called, so Diva went up to get him but came back empty-pawed. Chris suspected he was following our scent around the loop and we should stay put. After a few minutes Leah and Ted decided to go look for him. Chris and the dogs and I waited, and sure enough, about 15 or so minutes, Eddie came trotting up the loop with a hiker, like he knew what he was doing! He was so funny! The hiker was a nice fellow who didn't seem to mind the company at all. He left and we held on to Eddie til they got back. We finished our hike (where Ted got to really test the shoes over some sharp rocks) and then enjoyed being catered to by Chris with toast and tea, in a warm cabin. On the way home Eddie crashed until Ted started taking his photo and he wanted to know what all that beeping was! Here are some of the photos from MLK day and yesterday....

Self portrait - C&L

WTA built stairs

Diva on a tree that blew down in the recent storms. Chris's friend Bill attacked it with his chainsaw.

Ted holds up a potential table top

Those shoes are great for balancing on a log

They also did well over sharp rocks

Chris and the girls wait for Eddie's return

Sir Eddie looking very handsome with his lovely mistress Leah

Bridle Trails mudfest

2009-01-11T19:57:00.000-08:00

In my quest to regain fitness, I did the Bridle Trails 10 miler Saturday afternoon. It's a 5 mile loop at Bridle Trails Park, an equestrian single track trail. There is usually mud and horse manure to deal with but the amount varies, depending on conditions. This year with all the snow and then rain, it was especially muddy. For me, I knew it was going to be a slow one. Along with lack of fitness, and my layoff while in Hawaii, my SI joint had been talking the last week or so, and a knot in my calf has taken up semi-permanent residence. Still, I couldn't bear to miss out on the fun! I picked up Danika and we arrived in time to sign up and visit with friends before the fun started.

We ten milers took off at 3:05. I was somewhere in the middle of the pack, with Danika, Ali, and Kathleen, and when I took off, at first I thought I was going too fast, then thought it was just race nerves and I'd settle in. I could have sworn I saw all of them ahead of me. The trail is mostly single track with a few wide spots here and there so it was hard to settle into a pace and not be worried about clogging the line up. About a mile or so in, Ali caught up to me and asked what I was doing there. She said I was going too fast and should slow down! I agreed - I was starting to pay for the speedy start. Danika was close behind and they both soon passed me. I guess I was stuck on a 5K pace from my New Year's Day run - not good for 10 miles! Other folks passed by and said hey, including my old podiatrist. I was surprised to see him out there.

The first loop was a bit of a struggle from the too fast start, and I also realized I hadn't eaten anything since a light lunch of almond butter and honey sandwich. The tortilla chips I had with that were starting to make themselves known. Ugh. Glad I brought some gels along! Soon the 50K folks started coming by and I got to say hi to a lot of friends I hadn't seen in a while. It's always fun to see them out there and catch up a little, though my pace was too slow to have a lasting conversation! The usual mud was there, and I started to slip a couple times but managed to stay upright. My back was talking to me, and I had to work extra hard to protect it and keep my SI joint from going into spasms. I considered dropping, but decided to take the second loop and walk when I needed to. On the hills, when the little knot in my calf flared up, I switched to a lateral stride to take the pressure off and that seemed to help. And last, but not least, I was developing yet another blister under the callous of my right bunion. Lots to think about and feel on the trail. This turned out to be a good opportunity to learn how to deal with extra pain on the run!

I came in through the aid station slower than last year (not surprising) but can't remember if it was 51 or 57 minutes. Anyway, I grabbed some chips for salt and asked where the trail was - I really get disoriented at that one spot! The rain was really coming down now, but the canopy helped keep most of it off. One thing I've been dealing with since I had surgery is my core temp - it runs way higher than it used to. I can be a waterfall of sweat while everyone around me is fresh as a daisy. It's hard to predict how much I'll sweat if the temperature is cold, so I tend to overdress (which is really underdressed by everyone else's standards) and by a few miles, I'm carrying most of my layers. It's frustrating but something to keep working on...

The second loop was much slower and I tended to walk a lot. Jenny, Rob, and Steve caught up to me and I got to hear Rob narrate to Jenny what to expect in later loops. They were all doing the 50K. I managed to keep them in my sights for a while til they finally diappeared around a bend. Meanwhile, I played leap frog with a guy named Jeff. He was doing the ten miler and it was to be his longest run ever! I think I would have picked better conditions (like a dry road?) for that. He was working up to a half marathon in March - no doubt he'll do fine. At some point Uli went flying by and I watched him dance through the mud. It was a pretty sight and inspired me to lift my feet a little higher, if not for a while. The light was fading fast and I was glad I packed along my headlamp, which came in handy the last mile, which I think is the muddiest.

I finally came in a little under two hours and was so glad to be done. My back spasms held off, but I was drained from having to work hard to protect it and I was wet and cold. My fingers went numb pretty fast (thanks to Reynauds) and fortunately Danika was waiting in the car for me so she could let me in. She came in about 20 minutes ahead of me. Untying shoes was not an option, so I pulled my feet out of them, which caused calf cramps. I got into some dry clothes, and after saying goodbye to Danika (her husband had shown up) I got the heater blasting and headed home to a hot shower. A big bowl of Gypsy stew and a beer capped off the day, followed by a good movie!

I am inpressed the 50Kers stayed the course (or some of it) through the pouring rain and cold, and some even PR'd! I am also grateful to the volunteers (Glenn, Linda, Allison, Marty, to name a few) - you guys make the race happen! And I am also thankful to all the running friends out there - it really feels good to hear my name yelled out as I come through, and to see you on the trail! What a great community!

Waikiki to Cougar - a study in contrast

2009-01-03T19:51:00.000-08:00

I found a couple more Waikiki photos from my last day there, Christmas morning, when I took an early morning run along the Ala Wai canal and past the deserted beaches. Today, Chris and I went up for a "short" run, more of a hike, at Cougar. While some of my friends were being moronic fat asses (really!) on Tiger, we were sticking to the lowland stuff. Still enough snow to make it a challenge, especially for someone as out of shape as myself! Enjoy the photos!

ala wai canal and Honolulu

early morning beach in Waikiki

snowy trail

blow down

Chris charging up the trail

yet another winter wonderland shot. You sick of 'em yet?

watch out where the huskies go. look out for the yellow snow. (Zappa)

the snow finally made it snap...

frozen fern

Happy New Year All!

2009-01-01T15:09:00.000-08:00

I started January 1 off in my usual way - a 5K with Club Northwet (not a typo) Resolution Run and Trip and Drip. It was a sloppy day with lots of mud and puddles - great trail conditions. I started out with my friends Paul and Jim and had fun stomping in puddles to try and soak Paul. Of course he had to do the same....There was no use trying to go around the wet stuff - just like on the trail. It was lots of fun!

I wore my new bikini I scored in Waikiki under 3/4 tights and a jacket. No photos but I'll post if the race site has them. As I neared the water I took the jacket off, and also removed my shoes; I just felt like finishing off with a barefoot run! Tom C. was there announcing people passing by and he made sure everyone knew I was going in - hah! The poor volunteer standing in the water (in hip high waders) looked pretty cold and all around I could hear people gasping as they entered the cold. It wasn't so bad and I managed a few Alohas and a Mahalo to him. He returned a stare that said "are you nuts?" It was only when I made the final dip, covering my head, that it got overly bracing. Guess all those hot flashes I have count for something!

After gathering my discarded items (and returning to retrieve a tossed ear warmer - I wasn't in this for time), I had a wonderful sock shod run to the finish, laid my shoe on the mats to get the time, and finished up. Forgot to stop my watch for a minute or so - doh - another reminder time didn't count for me! It was a nice way to start the new year, though I think this has to be the coldest on of all the runs I've done.

I hope you all had a great time celebrating in whatever way you chose! Happy new year - may the new year bring you peace, happiness, and personal fulfillment!

Kauai Part II - the North Shore, with a little Waikiness thrown in

2008-12-28T19:50:00.000-08:00

Thursday, Dec 18, we headed to the North Shore to cap off our vacation in a yurt. We first stopped in Lihue to exchange my phone - the first one I had kept freezing up and I would have to remove the battery to reboot. Not very convenient! I had been in daily touch with my kid who was house - and cat- sitting for us. He regaled me with tales of the snow and conditions in Seattle. I didn't grow up with snow and normally would have been bummed about missing it all, but every time I spoke to someone back home, I relished where I was even more. It was crazy there!

Our journey took us into Hanalei where we stopped by the grocery to stock up on food and beer. We also checked out some of the shops and bought some souveniers. Our gas tank was getting low - Donn realized later he was looking at the wrong guage. He likes to run the tank way down (and we have run out of gas before) whereas I like to keep a comfortable amount in there. My theory is it's because I grew up in hurricane country and you needed to make sure you had enough in the tank in case you had to evacuate. In the current case, we were heading into a very rural area with no room for breaking down on the road. We went on to the yurt with the promise that we would head to Princeville for gas the very next morning.

The yurt was past Hanalei about six miles, just past the Hanalei Colony resort. After a couple of turns on dirt roads we found it. Here's what we saw when we pulled in to the property:

We let ourselves in as no one was around, and made ourselves at home. It was on the property of the owner, Christine. She and her husband paint airplanes and travel a lot, so she was gone at the time we got there. We found inside a small refrigerator (couldn't fit all of the beer and food in there at the same time so the food had to stay out - kidding!), a hotplate, some appliances, a full bathroom (the shower was outdoors though - we used that exclusively), entertainment (TV, DVD player, CD player, games, books), a sofa, dining table, bed, writing desk, and small closet. Pretty soft for a yurt! I loved it!! There was a fan in the middle that hung from the ceiling, which had a skylight in it. Also, Donn got a new pet - a gecko....

Outside, the yard had a couple of plumeria trees that gave off a delicious scent at night. The wind would carry this through the yurt and the smell would fill it up. It was very intoxicating.

There were also a lot of other trees and the backyard was left as when they moved in an built the house. Christine also worked as a gardner and volunteered at the Limuhuli Tropical Garden. She did a wonderful job lnadscaping the yard with native plants! There was also an outdoor table which we dined at a few times. My favorite was the hammock - I had at least one nice nap in it under a couple of palm trees! It was all very peaceful and serene, and so different from anywhere I've been lately! Our directions said the beach was nearby. It took us a while but we found access down a little trail to a somewhat secluded beach. At any given time there may have been as many as four other people there; Tunnels was a couple of beaches away and that's where most of the people went. Plus the access here was known only to the locals. So nice!!

Friday, we headed back towards Princeville and rode in on fumes to fill up the tank. I was a nervous wreck so Donn made me drive. I told him I would kill him if we ran out of gas, and that I was sure the locals would support me! We shopped in Hanalei where I found my favorite store - a little variety store in the Ching Young village. The owner was an older local guy. I saw another older guy shopping there who was wearing an old tank top that said Boston Marathon on it - made of cotton, not technical material! I asked him about it and we struck up a conversation. Turned out the owner of the store qualified but didn't run it. He was 22 at the time and did a 2:59 at the Honolulu marathon. I think it must have been a long time ago cuz he was no spring chicken! After getting some board shorts and a tank top (I was starting to get the local look) we headed back to yurt central and to the beach for some snorkeling.

Our beach had a lot of live coral and it was really tricky maneuvering around it, but we saw some really cool fish. My favorite was one that looked like the sand. When it got spooked, it would burrow down til you could only see its eyes. If you didn't know it was there, you would think you were looking at a couple of rocks. The water was on the cool side so we didn't stay in long. We got back to the yurt and warmed up in the hot tub, while sipping a beer. Christine came home from her travels for the weekend and we had a nice chat. After a lovely dinner made by Donn, and a game of Scrabble in which he kicked my butt soundly, we headed off to bed and listened to the wind. We fell asleep smelling the plumerias...mmmm!

Saturday we headed to the Hanalei Farmers market. It was set in a field with a beautiful backdrop of Kaliki mountain (I think). The crowd was as thick as the University District farmer's market in the summer and the food was as good and diverse. I overheard some women exchanging Solstice wishes and how glad they were that the sun was going to be around longer. I had to laugh and said at least it's not dark at 5 here. They said but it's dark at 7 - in the morning! Then they realized I meant 5 PM! It's all relative - they won't have the luxury of it being light at 9 pm in the summer.

As I was walking around, I spied a very tall girl with only one arm and it clearly was not a birth defect. I could see the scar from where they sewed the surgical flap. It was Bethany Hamilton, and she was there shopping, wearing the local surfer uniform - board shorts and tank top. Very pretty girl - she's about 18 now. Last time we went to Kauai in 2004, she had recently been the victim of a shark attack. She was 13 and was out dawn surfing with her best friend and her best friend's dad. They were home schooled, and the dads took turns taking them out surfing in the morning and afternoon. She was already being looked at as a potential pro - she was that good. Anyway, she was bitten and lost the lower part of her arm; later they removed the rest up to the shoulder. She opted out of a prosthesis and vowed to get back on the board, and today she is (I believe) one of the top ten women in the world. She competes in the same category - i.e., not handicapped. Pretty inspirational! She's got a book out about her comeback called Soul Surfer, and a movie is in the works about it. Seeing her at the Farmer's market made my day, if not most of my vacation! You can check her out at her website.

The rest of Friday and Saturday were filled with more beach time and snorkeling. We walked to Tunnels and checked out the snorkeling there - it was even better than where we were, though swimming out to the second reef through the deep water made me nervous about sharks, especially since that's where Bethany was attacked. But we snorkeled on and enjoyed the scenery. One of the days, we walked down the beach all the way to the end, at Ke'e beach. It was a long walk - about 2.5 miles, in the sand. We checked out the scene at the end of the road and headed up the road, with a short stop by the trail head at the Kalalau trail. We would decide later whether to hike it Sunday. I was feeling torn - I could hike/run at home, but snorkeling wasn't going to happen any time soon when we got back to Seattle. I love the water and its one of the things I miss about not being near a swimmable beach. We walked the raod back home and took in the sights there. We were both pretty worked from the long walk and spent a quiet evening hanging out in and around the yurt. At night, the stars were out and we walked down to our beach and gazed and gazed. It was just too beautiful!

Sunday morning was nice, so we headed out to the beach and got in a snorkel session. Donn saw a turtle - I missed it. Boo! We came back for lunch and hung out after an outdoor shower (which we had been taking advantage of after every snorkel session). Later, we discussed whether to get in one more snorkel round or hike the Kalalau trail. As I mentioned above, hiking in Seattle was an option but snorkeling wasn't. Plus we were both a little tired from the walk the day before. In the end, we stayed "home" and snorkeled and napped on the beach.

We got our things organized Sunday night and I called Hawaiian airlines to see if we were flying to Seattle. They weren't sure but said they would call and let us know if it was canceled. Christine said we could have the yurt one more day if we needed. Monday came, and no call, so we headed out for Lihue to return the car and fly out. At the ticket counter, I asked again if we were flying all the way through to Seattle. The guy said they would know better when we got to Honolulu. I thought I should keep a bathing suit in my carry on just in case but opted not to. I did pack my trail shoes in it though, since I thought I'd need them in the snow back home, along with warm clothes. We flew to Honolulu, deboarded, and checked the Seattle flight. Canceled. What??? Other planes were going in and out of Seatac! But by that time SeaTac had closed down and Hawaiian couldn't get their planes back to fly us home!

For a while, it was a mess, trying to find our luggage, calling my boss (who said just enjoy my extended vacation - it was too crazy in Seattle), finding a cheap hotel, getting rebooked and figuring out how to get there. We got on a flight on Christmas day - direct to Seattle. They had wanted to fly us through Maui but we didn't want to take any chances! I called a friend whom I knew had been to Honolulu several times and she recommended staying in Waikiki. We found a reasonably priced hotel and figured out the bus line to get there. We still didn't have our luggage, but the awesome rep told me she would send it to our room. So off we went to wacky Waikiki on the local bus. We got quite the tour on the way there - even saw the Dole Pineapple factory! Our room was on the 14th floor and the whole experience was a huge culture shock from the yurt!! OMG - it took a day or so to adjust. The beach was way less secluded than "our beach" and the buildings were a lot taller.....

After checking in, we went out exploring and checked out the International Market. I picked up a very cute bikini for $20 in case our luggage didn't arrive. We ate some Mexican food at the food court and made our way back to our hotel. It had become a very, very long day. Our bag had arrived and I was amazed at how my spirits had lifted. Our snorkel gear was with us and we could wear summer clothes again!! We went back out to the grocery store and checked out the local scene. There were lots of Japanese tourists and there were all these people wearing sandwich boards for an indoor shooting range where you could "shoot real guns!!" We guessed they were directed at the Japanese tourists since most of them had probably never seen a real gun, much less shot one. They were also way into Christmas - it was like Disneyland for them. Crazy!

There was a lot more to do in Waikiki, but the thing I enjoyed most was the people watching. We were across the street from Fort Derussey, which led to the beach. I got in a couple runs (did some in Kauai too, that I forgot to mention - heat and humidity were killers!). Wednesday we walked to Kapiolani beach and found a snorkeling site that was reputed to be one of the best in Hawaii. It was shallow, and the coral was mostly dead (sunscreen kills the coral, as well as standing on it or grabbing it), but there were lots of fish because they feed them. We saw some species we hadn't seen before, as well as the usual. It was nice because when you got tired you could just stand up. The water was on the cool side, and a couple we met who went in with us, got out much earlier. He had snorkeled in the Florida Keys and said it was much warmer there.

The walk back was filled with more people watching, but Donn got a sore spot on his metatarsal, from walking in loose shoes or flip flops. That, and the fact that we decided too late in the day to go, put the kibosh on plans to hike up Diamond Head. So I went to the beach and got in some swimming instead. It was really fun siting off of Diamond Head and getting a good swim in! Again, people watching was primo, and I watched this woman walk backwards with a bottle of water balanced on her head, listening to her ipod. When she would pass the lifeguard stand, she'd remove an earbud and yell Merry Christmas and continue to walk backwards! We went out to eat that night at Irifune's - a Japanese restaurant my friend Tracy had recommended. The food was quite good, although I would go for sashimi stuff next time. I had the ahi stir fry, and it was cooked through. I like my tuna almost not cooked.

Christmas day I got up and got in a five mile run around the Ala Wai canal and the beach front all the way to Kapiolani Park and back along the canal. Really humid!! After a shower, the shuttle came and took us to the airport. The flight home was uneventful - we had seats in the very back - nice! Shuttle Express was not going to residential drop offs so we shared a cab with a guy who lives near us. It was another shock to be home in so much snow - and I understood it was half of what it had been! But home, we were. I really didn't want this vacation to end, and didn't expect the surprise of getting "stuck" in Waikiki. Had I been there the whole time, I would have been ready to come home. As it stands, we are already looking at other tropical places to visit - we gotta start saving pennies now!

Kauai Part I- the South Shore

2008-12-27T19:54:00.000-08:00

Donn and I got away on December 11 and flew through Honolulu to Kauai. It was pouring rain in Honolulu when we went through - not a good sign. Especially since the marathon was in a few days (I had a friend running her first marathon there). Storms usually pass through quickly in Hawaii but this one seemed to be hanging on. Our flight was uneventful and we landed in Kauai in time to visit a couple of places on the island before checking into our cottage in Poipu.

When we got to our cottage - Koloa Landing Cottages - we found the manager in our unit cleaning up and looking very tired. The storm we saw in Honolulu had passed through Kauai early that morning and the place, save our cottage, was a disaster. Her office was flooded and all the other cottages had leaks; she had been there since 5 AM! These cottages are slated to be razed when the economy picks up for building more condos. Ours was a cute studio that used to be a boat house and was built pretty solid. Throughout the weekend the storms came and went; some were pretty spectacular but we stayed dry. Waikomo Stream near our place; it dumped into the ocean at Koloa Landing. When we arrived this is what it looked like:

By the end of the weekend it was a torrent of raging red dirt and mud:

The housekeeper at the cottage said she had lived here 19 years and had never seen anything like it! We had considered shipping our snorkel gear back home since we thought we'd not get any in with all the murky water; so glad we didn't.One of the benefits of the rains was seeing the small animals that usually live out of sight. We got a new pet - not sure what to name him (her?)- maybe Sluggo. He (she) reminded us a lot of our cat. There were also anoles hanging out eating all the bugs, which helped keep the mosquito population down.

Our friends Sarah and Zach had been up on the North Shore three days and came into town Sunday afternoon. They were going on a snorkel tour the next morning that went along the Na Pali coast. It didn't look good for snorkeling due to all the mud in the water (sharks can't tell you from a sea turtle) but we wanted to see the coast, so we managed to secure a spot on the boat. They picked us up early Monday morning and after a little talk by Captain Trent, we were off to sea in a big catamaran! I took lots of photos -too many to post here, but here are a few:

Sarah heading to the open sea

Zach contemplates life in Kauai

When we were heading back to port, someone spotted a whale or two off in the distance, so the captain steered the boat over for a look. It was a humpback and her calf. She put on quite a show, breaching and slapping her fin. Too bad my camera was below deck by then! We also saw some porpoises and a manta ray. My favorite part was laying on the deck and relaxing to the gentle sway of the boat. After a good lunch and a beer, that really hit the spot! It was a long and fun filled day and Sarah and I were pretty tired near the end of it!

zzzzzzzzz......
All afternoon I took naps and that night I slept the best since being there. Tuesday we visited the farmer's market in Lihue in the pouring rain, and that afternoon I sneaked into the pool associated with Sarah and Zach's place. It was longer than 25 yards and had a water slide and hot tub. We took advantage of it all, getting in a nice workout, some good sliding, and good gossip in the hot tub. After dinner at our place, we met them at the bar at their condos and were treated to the best Pina Coladas I have ever had. Plus a "baked Hawaiian." Mmmm!

The next morning we met them again for an early morning snorkel - first of the trip- finally!! I saw some cool fish and had fun hanging out in the water. Later, Donn and I went to Waimea to use the internet at a cafe/art gallery and check out the west side of the island. The weather turned out to be a little cool and rainy, with some residual flooding which closed some of the roads. We kept hearing people talk about digging mud out of their homes and how much water they got, etc. Later we headed over to Kapa'a to the farmer's market. It was quite a bit bigger, and the rain had stopped, bringing out more people. Lots of hippies on this side of the island made for good people watching! Two older women who looked like aging hippies were selling vegetables. We wanted to get some kale, and one of them started giggling at her own joke about it being Russian kale - it's rushing around! I told Donn I make it a rule to never get stoned before doing retail.

The weather continued to improve and by Thursday morning it was perfect for a surfing lesson with Sarah! We hooked up with Amy from Aloha Surf lessons; we were her only two students for that 2 hour session! We did a quick ten minute lesson on land and then carried our boards down to the water where Amy stood armpit deep and helped us catch waves. She interpersed the lessons with stories of growing up in Kauai - like when Hurricane Iniki went through during her first week of high school. It destroyed the school, which made for a bunch of really happy kids! The roof blew off her house but that just meant they had to sleep in the open for a while. It was all good. Meanwhile, Donn was up on the beach and snapped photos of us. Here we are attempting to look like real surfers:

up on the board

steady now...

WIPEOUT!!

Surfin' Sarah shows great form!

It was great fun and after 1.5 hours, I was toast - There were a lot of plank poses and push ups involved, along with paddling. We took a break and then went out to try and catch some waves on our own, but they had gotten pretty crumbly. We have both vowed to continue lessons back home....

Donn and I took off for the North Shore that afternoon to our little yurt near Hanalei. More about that in the next post. We were so glad we were there for longer than a week, as the weather slowly improved. In Hawaii, just wait a while and it will get better!

Been a while....

2008-11-01T23:39:00.000-07:00

It's been too long since I last posted. I seemed to notice I'm not the only one guilty of that. I think it's good to take a break once in a while, like you do (or should do) with running. So this post is meant to be a little catch up...nothing more.

Running is slowly coming back. I've been getting out on the trails with the old gang and last week did the NW Trails 10 miler at Soaring Eagle park. I did a run 8 min/walk 2 min with Robin and we had a nice time. I felt very strong coming in the last mile and my hip cooperated, giving me minimal soreness afterwards. I've decided not to worry about time (not that I did that much before) but to enjoy the moment of the run more, and it seems to be paying off.

Today I did three hours of the Carkeek 12 hour run, getting in 11.7 miles and 2580 feet of elevation gain. Not much compared to those who did more loops or all twelve hours, but it was enough for me! It was a 1.9 mile loop, which gave me lots of opportunities to catch up with friends I hadn't see in a while. I hadn't run on the trail in the dark before (I know, hard to believe) and this started out in the dark. We startled one woman who was walking her dog (with no light) through the trails in the dark. I thought that was kind of odd that she would be out there in the dark; obviously she knew the trail better than me! The more I think about it, the nicer that sounds, especially with a big dog. Anyway, I was only going to get in about three loops but it was so much fun, I kept going back for more! Put this one on your calendar for next year - and work on hills before hand! That climb out of the aid station is killer!

That's about it for now - looking forward to Wednesday when the suspense will be over. I'll either be moving to Canada or cheering in the streets. In either case, I'll be glad to see this current administration end. Don't let the door hit you in the butt on the way out!

Baker Lake - more volunteer fun!

2008-09-21T21:02:00.000-07:00

Though some might think I'm going for maniac status for volunteering, I'm really using it as an excuse to go hang out in the woods all day long. That said, I worked the aid station at Baker Lake 50K, got some more "forest time" and had a pleasant time getting to know more folks in the ultra scene. Robin and I were the aid station captains, but I felt I barely had to lift a finger thanks to the folks hanging out waiting for their runners. They were runners themselves and knew what made a good aid station work!

When the runners had all come through the first time and were safely ensconced on the trail, I sat down to my knitting to finish the cuff on a slipper. I got it done just in time - a minute later James came barreling in! He threw off his shirt, grabbed some goodies and headed back out. He was having a lot of fun! Other folks rolled in in his wake, including Eric and Michelle Barnes, celebrating their 29th anniversary with a trail run together! Steve Stoyles and his son Robin were with them at the 20 mile mark. One of the stellar helpers, a veteran of several Western States and Leadville runs, was helping Robin refill his water bladder. He told him he really needed to clean it. Turned out Robin had borrowed it - I won't say whose it was but he knows who he is! Geez - they make stuff to clean it; so use it already! Anyway, it was another fun day in the woods and the race seemed to come off really well, despite the frantic last minute re-routes. And the rain held off til the end! Nice job Shawn and tc! Enjoy the photos!

Cle Elum - more volunteer duties - briefly

2008-09-15T20:57:00.000-07:00

Cle Elum Ridge 50K volunteer report in brief.....

Friday night - beer and pizza in Roslyn with JV, AH and WW, followed by camping and sleeping under the stars at the race site.

Saturday morning - Socializing, ES shows off his fancy water, and race starts. DM and I head to AS2 and set up; enjoy beauty all around;

replace ES's fancy water (in drop box) with empty Pringles can.

Runners start coming: JV in lead; ES panics over missing water (priceless); chat with MB waiting for SS (they later go to crew EB and RH at Plain); yuk it up with DM and the ham radio guys; go out to meet sweeps....try to take GT's photo

GT's powers prevent clear pic

meet last three runners on trail; meet sweeps and head back; take LB back to finish.

At finish - eat good food and get one of GM's beers. Shoot the breeze then head home. Good times had by all.

photo -Glenn Tachiyama

Good busy Labor Day

2008-09-01T21:14:00.000-07:00

This was a good day - I got up this morning and decided my body could handle a little run. After a shot of espresso and a little food, I got dressed and headed out the door towards Fremont. I was able to run/walk for 30 minutes with no bad effects! Yes! From that I had a lot of energy and did a little work around the house, til we decided to load the boats on the car and get in a little kayaking.

That was pretty sweet - we went over to Mercer Island, and drove around for half an hour til we found a little secluded pocket park to put in. It was nestled between some huge gated mansions - I still can't figure out who has that much money to build those things. Anyway, we were on public land, so they had to tolerate the riff-raff. We launched the boats - we were on the east side of MI. I won't say where because 1) I don't think those folks would be very happy and 2) I couldn't tell you if I tried! After crossing the East Channel, going under I-90, and heading past Enatai beach, we went into the Mercer Slough and paddled as far as 405, where it was blocked for further navigation. It was quite a nice paddle with calm waters, some wildlife and interesting scenery. Wish I had brought the camera, but there are plenty of photos online. Coming back out of the slough, we had to cross the channel again, through rough water and windy conditions. As soon as we went under I-90, it calmed down. Back at our destination, as I was getting out of the boat, I sat down in the water. That was the worst thing to happen, and that wasn't bad. All in all, nice afternoon - and good day! I'm pooped!

Cascade Crest 100 - volunteer duties

2008-08-30T08:52:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I did my first volunteer stint at a 100 miler - Cascade Crest 100. I've been pretty lax getting something posted about it - even most of the bloggers who ran it have already managed to get a race report up. Oh well...At WR50 Alison asked if I wanted to work at No Name Ridge with her and James, and of course I jumped at the chance - even though it meant being awake most of the night (something that is harder to do - at least voluntarily - as I get older). So here is a brief report....

Saturday after dinner, I drove to Hyak to meet Alison, who was pacing Suzanna Bon from there to No Name. No one wanted to pace Suzanna the whole 47 - she's too dang fast! - so her training partner Paul was to pick her up at No Name. I met Paul at Hyak and gave him a ride to No Name. James called and said the trail between No Name and Thorp needed glow sticks - I was in no shape to run 9 miles (much less 2!) and he had fallen at Cutthroat Classic earlier that day and banged his knee up bad. We were definitely the gimp aid station! Adam was also going to be there, but he had run 26 miles earlier in the day and was refueling at Village Pizza in Roslyn. After adequate pizza and, more importantly, beer, he was ready to mark the course. Whew!

We arrived, after a nice little climb up logging roads, about midnight. Paul made a nest in my car to get some shut eye and I plopped down in the zero gravity chair to watch James putz around the aid station. About 1:30 a call came over the ham radio to expect our first runner. We waited...and waited...and waited...and a little after 2 am, Tom and his pacer Justin came through - not who we were expecting. They said Jesse (first runner) had left Mineral Creek 18 minutes ahead of them. Oops. Justin said the markers at the junction were hard to see and he may have gone off course. Since Adam was still out and I had the only other car (besides the ham radio operator), I was elected to go hang glow sticks at the turn and look for runner #22. I even got to carry a handheld to report back if I found him (my dad, a ham radio operator who is now a 'silent key' would have been pleased to see me finally using a ham radio). Sure 'nuff, after coming across a few runners and pacers, I saw Jesse climbing up the road. I reported in, marked the course and headed back to the AS.

From here on, runners trickled in every hour or two. I managed to get a little sleep in the back of my car after Suzanna and Alison came through (around 4 or 4:30) and she and Paul left. James would give a whoop every time he saw the lights of a runner approaching. I must have slept through a couple of those whoops because I came back out of the car a little after 5:30. The sunrise was really pretty.
Throughout the morning we heated up raviolis, made grilled cheese sandwiches, and crepes filed with Nutella or cheese or whatever we had on hand. I had brought some freshly roasted Ethiopian beans and a hand grinder and French press. Some of the tired runners seemed to really perk up after a hit of that. Alison tried to combine a nap with an escape from the mosquitos - see if you can find her in this photo:
At one point I was surprised to see the intrepid Rob Hester and his faithful pacer Eric Barnes heading up the road. I wasn't aware Rob had planned to do CCC! He looked really strong and seemed to be in pretty good spirits for someone with 81 miles under his belt! He's a machine!
Other familiar faces appeared throughout the morning and by 11:30, we were ready to strike the set and head back down to the finish. Alison rode back with me and it was really amazing to both of to see all that road they had to climb up! Really puts it in perspective...

Back at the finish, Devon and her runner Monica were soaking their tired feet along with others. Jonathan was tiredly walking/limping around after finishing his first 100 miler - he had decided last Tuesday to go ahead and get it done this year. And he ripped it out in 26:06!! Stud.

All in all it was a great experience - I love volunteering at these things. You get the best of both worlds - being outside and having energy left over to take it all in, plus a very minimal recovery time! Back in Seattle, I wore my volunteer shirt today at the University District Farmer's market and someone commented on it. I turned around and he had a blue version (mine is orange) - he crewed his nephew Devin Corcoran who came in at 23:48. Another person - a gal working at one of the stands- said she was getting ready for Seattle marathon but wanted to do some volunteering at ultraruns. I highly recommend it.

Week in review - WR50 and Tahoe Vacation

2008-08-03T20:52:00.001-07:00

Since I wasn't able to run White River 50 miler, I got to volunteer. This was way more fun (I think) and recovery time was negligeble. My training partner Chris was running it and heading back to Seattle hours later to hop a plane to Michigan. We were sharing a hotel room and I thought it was silly for him to drive down, since I sort of had the same plan, but my plane was headed to California. So I offered to drive us both and let him relax for the ride back. We got in late Fri night and were up by 4:30 to make the early start. The pics from a volunteer's perspective, mostly at Buck Creek aid station. My favorite moments were two: first were the good ol' boys and gals who ventured over from their campsite to watch the runners come through Buckcreek aid station. Uli was standing next to them and they were asking us how long it takes to run one of these things. Then they asked how fast the fastest person was. Uli told them, without hesitation, 6:32. They were in awe, and then asked him if he was the one who did that. When he said (modestly) yes, they couldn't shake his hand enough! It was really cute!

Second was Lesa Overfield's husband and two dogs - a black and a blonde pug. The blonde pug liked to climb up on his back and hang out there. Never seen a dog do that, though I did have one that climbed trees. We were always having to rescue it. At any rate, enjoy the photos.

Sunday after that, we flew to Reno and drove down the west side of Lake Tahoe to visit Donn's uncle Bill. He lives in El Dorado National forest, and last year the Angora fire came up to 80 yds from his house. The fire damage is pretty dramatic; some of the pics below are on the trails behind his yard, where Donn and I hiked one afternoon. In places it looked like something out of the Princess Bride - really scary! We also hiked on the PCT a couple of times - once at Echo Lake and once to Lake Winnemuca. I took a nice "ice bath" in Winnemucca - felt so good!

Radioactive Hip

2008-07-17T19:50:00.000-07:00

I went for my MRI arthrogram today on my hip. They were running a bit behind so I got to listen to this lady tell me her life story in the waiting room til the nurse thankfully rescued me. She got me prepped and then a couple of docs came in and, after some explanation, located the right spot and shot the lidocaine into my hip. We all donned thyroid shields and they proceeded to inject the dye. I guess it was bound up when it was in cuz we removed the thyroid shields. They let me out into the hallway where I got to run up and down and see if it hurt. Damn it felt good to run! Oh how I love drugs! The downer is, if it didn't hurt, then it is most likely a labral tear. The good news is that means it's probably not a stress fracture (which I doubted anyway).

Next I was sent to the MRI suite where I was greeted by Aaron, the tech who did my MRI on my ovaries last year - about a year ago exactly! We joked about seeing each other yearly and that this was our one year anniversary. Now we're going steady! Hope I don't see him next year. They strapped me down, tied my feet together (so the hips couldn't move), put my headphones on (I chose Beatles music) and slid me into the tube. You gotta have a high tolerance for small spaces as the top is inches above your face. I thought about camping in a small backpacking tent - that and remembering when I did a Yoga Nidra class. I was in there for twenty minutes - but it did help. One thing I remembered from last year was my rings - they aren't pure silver like I assumed they were. Whenever they would shoot the rays (or whatever you call it) they would vibrate - a weird sensation, indeed. When all was said and done, they released me, and Aaron and I said our fond goodbyes and hoped this was the last time we'd see each other.

When I got back to the lab, I got Mattias to hold the Geiger counter to my hip to see if we could get a signal. We managed to get a light one going; when he put the probe on my arm, it was silent. Cool - in a nerdy, geeky, science way! Tomorrow I meet with Dr. O'Kane to discuss results and strategy. I'm thinking of asking if he'd sponsor Chris, Tracy, and me since we all go to him. We could get Team O'Kane tshirts - that would be awesome!

Update: No labral tear or stress fracture - just a really cranky psoas muscle - off for some rest, stretching and PT!

WR Training Run number one

2008-07-08T21:03:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday (7/6), Tracy, Chris, and I headed out early to meet Jeff and Robin at Buck Creek campground for a preview run on the White River course. SRC was holding the first of two training runs up there and we were expecting to do the first loop, which tops out at 5800 feet at Corral Pass. Due to snow above 4000 feet, Scott decided to do the second half first, which tops out at Suntop (less than 5800). I was going along for a 15-16 mile run, and Robin was going to keep me company while the others did the 23 or 27. My adductor has been acting up and it was uncomfortable to start out running, but okay as long as I kept moving, and I had ibuprofen keeping the inflammation at bay.

After getting ready and seeing some of the SRC group arrive, we headed out towards the airstrip. When we came out onto the road, they headed one way, towards the trail to Fawn Ridge, while we headed the opposite way, where we inadvertently took a tour of the camp ground south of that junction. We came back to where we had left them to find Scott and Shannon there waiting for the runners to pop out onto the road. Scott was heading up to Sun Top after that to set up the aid station. We talked to him and tried to figure out where we were, and ended up getting a ride with Shannon back to our cars. We originally were going to go up with them to the top, but I really wanted to run the Skookum Flats trail. Plus my leg was really hurting (from stopping and standing) and I wanted to be able to get back to the car when I needed to. So in the end, we did an out and back on Skookum Flats trail, which is nice and soft. Leg was okay - no worse - and we had a nice time. Robin was great company and I really enjoyed the run. Click the pic for some photos of the day:

WR-1

During the week I listened to my body and my pectineus muscle was not happy so I didn't run, but I did swim across Greenlake with my friends Karyn and Sarah and had more fun than I expected, given I haven't been swimming regularly! And Thursday Donn and I took an impromptu trip to Port Angeles and hiked the very easy hike to Hurricane Hill. It was a long but fun day! See some pics here:

Hurricane Ridge

I also got in a couple pool running sessions, some stretching and strengthening, and a short stretch session with Laura. But it still was complaining, though it has been getting slightly better, so I decided to rest it this weekend (no WR training run :-( ) and see what Dr. O'Kane has to say when I see him Monday. I did volunteer at SRC's Cougar Mtn series 10 miler (and had fun!), and if WR is a no go, I still plan to head down and help out. Meanwhile, a much neglected house will get cleaned, and my swimming and biking will get more attention.

Lessons from ultrarunning

2008-06-26T10:14:00.000-07:00

On cancellation of Western States '08: Life is what happens when you're making other plans. There was another somewhat appropriate quote from Marat/Sade (it's Donn's favorite movie) where the Marquis de Sade is talking about the world falling apart and nature watches, unmoved. He goes on to say "I hate nature". Not exactly how I feel in that I don't hate Nature, but she sure doesn't take into account our hopes and plans when she does her thing. I'll have to watch that movie again and hope that I'm awake for that line.

On getting violently ill from food poisoning and recovering: Defizzed Coke is a wonder drug. My non-running boyfriend got me a Coke in the middle of the night and, upon my instructions, defizzed some for me to sip on. Someday, he'll make a great crew chief! And sipping Nuun today to rebalance the electrolytes is a good lesson too.

running crazy weekend

2008-06-24T22:11:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was my biggest training yet - two 20 milers, back to back. For someone who was told not to run every day, this is huge that I made it through unscathed (so far).

Run 1 - Solstice Day from my house to Discovery Park and back home.

I left the house around 8 and ran by the parade site in Fremont where they were staging the start. The plan was to meet Tracy at Discovery Park and run some loops with her. On the way back I was hoping to hook up with my friends Bill and Cindy and see if we could get away with a skinny dip in the ship canal, or at least a soak for my feet. My friend Bob was having a "living room set" at the parade and encouraged us to bring a stuffed animal and pillow. He would be next to the judging stand where he is every year. I threw my mini polar bear in my bag - it was a prize for 5th place in my AG in the Maui Polar Bear Swim in 2005.

I ran through the Locks and saw some Chuckit folks on their long run. It's been a long time since I ran with them, seems like a world away. Tracy called while I was talking and was already about to start her second loop. She went counterclockwise and I was to go clockwise and we would meet up somewhere on the upper loop. I got to the park and soon met her on the trail about half a mile from where she started. I turned and we continued CC, and soon heard someone say "My two favorite runners!" We were joined by the jet setting Kathleen Egan, who had just returned from traveling in Germany and Switzerland and was still feeling jet lagged. She joined us for a loop down to the beach and then parted when we stopped by the car. After one more beach loop with Tracy, I headed back home.

As I approached Fremont, I could hear the parade in full swing. A couple of naked cyclists came down the trail towards me - one was on a tall unicycle so I was eye to eye with, um, things. Quite a traumatic sight after running 20 miles - I almost had to lay down right there. I called Bill and Cindy but the parade was too loud for them to hear their phones. I swung into PCC to get my chocolate soy milk and ran back out to look for Bob and the living room set. Too crowded for me to find them, so I went home instead and took a nice cool soak in the tub.

Party to recover.

After stretching and a nap, I headed to party number one where Devon was pre-celebrating her birthday. I wanted to wait for Donn, but he was still out gigging with Orkestar Zirkonium so I went stag. I met several of her friends and relatives and had a blast talking to all of them! Some ultrarunning folks showed up including Dan from Bellingham, who entertained us with stories of a 135 mile run in Minnesota last February. Brrr! Soon Donn called and I headed off to pick him up for party number two. This one was with the Bicycle Alliance friends, Steve and Louise, out in West Seattle. They were in full party mode when we arrived and the food and drink were flowing. I filled up and rehydrated and had fun chatting with various folks. We stayed til after 9 and then headed home to get me ready for run #2.

Run 2 - Cougar Mountain.

Danika picked me up at 7 am and we headed to Cougar to meet up with Tracy and Tim, and see some of the SRC folks. Ali was there as well and a new woman, Amy, who had moved here recently after living in Bolivia for a while. Brian was heading up the SRC group with his last long run before Western States. We did a ten mile loop, except for Ali who decided to make it a 13 mile with the Wilderness Peak loop. Danika and Amy were a bit faster and were only doing one loop so they were gone when we got back. My stuff was in Tracy's car, and she, Tim and I refueled and refilled bottles and took off again. Well, they practically had to drag me out again. Plus my right foot was cramping on the fifth metatarsal and I was worried it might turn into a stress fracture. We kept thinking of turn around spots for me, but after Tim massaged my leg, it loosened up and that, plus more salt, kept the cramping at bay. We varied this loop a bit and at one point we were on a long trail heading back to the cars (eventually). They got way ahead and for some reason (blame it on the flying monkeys) I got it in my head that I may have missed a junction. I didn't have a map (mistake #1) or my phone (mistake #2) and got more and more rattled. I started calling Tracy's name out but to no avail. I was going down a nice decline and really didn't want to turn around. After a few minutes (seemed like forever) I saw Tracy coming up the trail towards me. She had heard me, and called out, but I didn't hear her call. They were waiting for me at the next junction - duh!! I felt really dumb and was kicking myself for not carrying a map and not trusting that they would wait at the junction. Lesson learned. It was a really pretty trail and I may go back there next Sunday with Chris. We soon finished up our run at 22 miles and after a little soak in Coal Creek, we headed home.

That weekend was a hugs confidence booster for me and despite feeling a bit tired, and some twitches on my lower legs, I feel pretty dang good! I'm so glad I stuck it out and finished it with them, and was so glad Tim was there to fix my crampy foot, as well as give us support. Thanks Tim!!

Now it's on to recovery and keeping up with the great race that's coming up next weekend at Western States. The field is so deep in both the men's and women's races that I may have trouble sleeping Saturday night since I'll be glued to the computer! Plus I'll be sending my buddies great vibes for good running!

Lastly - a shout out to Linda Barton who finished her first 100 miler at Big Horn last weekend! When the going got tough for me, I thought of her running at that moment and it gave me mega inspiration to keep going! Congrats Linda!!

Lake Youngs Ultra - a family affair

2008-06-14T19:12:00.000-07:00

I did Lake Youngs ultra Saturday - all three loops, total 28.8 miles. It was a fun day and lots to celebrate - from Jenn Sempsey's first ultra (as well as others') to Van Phan's 100th ultra! The entire Martineau clan put the race on, with Arthur and Jennifer as Race Directors and the kids checking off the times for racers coming in from a loop and grandma chasing down the younger ones. It was quite impressive and very well organized!

The day started early - way too early for me, but it's good practice for White River and the early start. After a fitful night's sleep, the alarm went off at 3:45 and I bolted out of bed (highly unusual behavior for me) and went in the bathroom to get dressed so as not to disturb the sleeping Donn. I managed to get breakfast, make an espresso, and get myself ready to go by 4:25 - a new PR! Funny - when I got up Donn thought to himself as soon as I was done in the bathroom, he'd get up. Next thing he knew, I was leaning down to kiss him goodbye. Damn I'm good!

I picked up Danika in Ballard and we headed to Renton, making a quick pit stop before getting to the race site, as the restrooms were still closed. There were quite a few folks at the start when we arrived and several had already taken off. The area seemed socked in with clouds and despite the nice sunrise we saw, the sun was not going to appear there today. It was also rather chilly - something that would last the whole race. Tracy and Jenn drove up and we picked up our race bag and numbers. The shirts were a short sleeved version of the Chuckanut shirts (made by Patagonia) and very low key - not any advertising. It's my favorite summer shirt! The Martineaus managed to secure some awesome sponsors as the bag had some decent stuff in it!

When we were ready, we thought about taking off, but it was so close to 6 that Arthur asked us to wait. Finally we were off and Jenn and Danika soon sped ahead. Jenn had some unfinished ultra business- last year, while training for the Northface 50K, she sustained an injury that put her out of that race, and left her unable to train for another til now. They both looked very strong every time we saw them on the trail - oh to be young again! Tracy and I had a nice loop together, but I wasn't quite awake, and hence, not very talkative and maybe even a little grumpy. Poor Tracy tried, but I just wasn't very responsive. We came in (9.6 miles) at about 1:48. The regular starters had already taken off, and we decided the second loop would be a reverse of the first one (which was clockwise). We saw Shawn and *tc heading towards us near the end of the first loop, and I pointed out to them they were going the wrong way. *tc said 'oh crap!' and started to turn around but Shawn protested so they continued backwards. Hence our decision to try the next one backwards.

We soon started seeing other people as they came towards us. Arthur was running in his own race and oops! we were busted for going backwards! Steve Stoyles came towards us and we stopped to exchange hugs. Soon Rich and Linda came our way - more hugs! I told Tracy it was amazing I didn't come away from these events with a cold from all the hugging. Eric and Iliana came our way too and so may others I can't remember 'em all. I was amazed to see Jess out there since she had run her first 100 miler the week before. She was doing a one loop "recovery" run - wow! At one point we got a peek-a-boo of the reservoir which got us to talking about soaking in cold water after the race. Neither one of us could think of a place to go - no rivers or lakes were nearby. Bummer. The loop soon ended and as we came into the aid station I heard Arthur yell "Laura!" and I looked over to see him sitting in a kids wading pool! Brilliant idea! I yelled to Tracy - there's where we can soak when we're done!

Tracy changed shoes, I ate my PBJ, we both hit the toilet and then we were off - clockwise this time. Funny thing about this loop - seems like a lot of people decided to go counterclockwise so we saw many more as we went along. The amazing Bob Stoyles (Steve's 80 year old dad) was out there cranking out the miles. He's my hero -hands down! About halfway through this loop, I started getting bored. Plus, little aches and pains kept coming up and I was getting ready to be done. I must have checked my watch every half mile thinking 'are we there yet?'. I tried all kinds of tricks - speeding up a little, going to certain points on the uphill, you name it! Thank goodness Tracy was there - at least we could talk! About a half mile before the end, we came to a nasty hill. I totally did not remember it from our first loop! I was really shocked! We grunted up the hill and finally came to the nice slight descent back into the parking area/aid station/finish. Done! And so glad to be, that it made me nervous thinking about the upcoming 50 miler.

There was a fabulous post race barbecue and Team Hippy had a brief reunion. It gave me a chance to wish Linda well on her first 100 at Bighorn - let's all send good vibes!! I stood in the kiddie pool for a while but couldn't bring myself to sit down. It was still cloudy and cool and I was getting chilly. A little while later, the two youngest Martineau kids were playing in it. Young Arthur really had to pee, but was refusing to take the time to go to the bathroom, no matter how much Jennifer tried to coax him. When I saw him in the pool, I thought, hmm, guess it's a good thing I got in there earlier. Of course Arthur the elder could have been doing the same thing while sitting in the pool....nah!

I have a spot on my right bunion that gets rubbed. I have tried taping it (that rubs off), lubing it (no help) and two coats of New Skin. It still gets rubbed and there may be a blister under the callus. It's a little tender when I step down. I talked to Karen Wiggins who gets the same thing and she uses Elastikon. I'll have to try that. It bothered me through the second loop but as my feet swelled, it didn't bug me so much. Still I'd like to take care of it once and for all. The Mizunos did well, though maybe a little too cushioned for that trail (?) as my knees started talking. I still love them for trails like Cougar. All in all, this was more good training for what's to come.....

More good training

2008-06-04T20:35:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was a big training weekend for me - at least in terms of my schedule. I was supposed to get in a 16 and a 20 miler, but I'm starting to be okay with doing what I can do. I also had to fit in a ChiRunning intro class in there somewhere. And to top it off, I was supposed to work Friday, processing a sputum sample (yum!) for a study I'm helping on. Here's how it all turned out...

Friday....lowered expectorations lead to a long run

Our patient couldn't produce a good "specimen" (i.e., they weren't expectorating that day) so my Friday became free. Seeing as how Saturday was going to be pretty busy and on the feet all morning, I went for a run from my house to Discovery Park. I went through the Locks and into the park via a back way (a secret I cannot reveal lest it becomes overrun), ending up at the Indian Cultural Center. I took in the lovely view of the Sound and continued into the park. I had been feeling particularly blue and really felt like I just wanted to sit and cry. It was weird since I haven't had that feeling (hormonal like) in about 20 years, but there it was. It lasted for about six miles, when down by the beach I saw a woman walking towards me. I flipped on my sunglasses so she wouldn't see my sad eyes. Wouldn't you know it?? She stopped me to ask if I knew where the restrooms were. I was able to answer her and snap out of my funk at the same time. It never came back. Whew!!

I did a couple loops that included the beach and then ran back the way I came. The Locks were really crowded the second time through. Got back home and treated myself to a nice ice bath - 18 miles down. Still dislike the pavement too.

Saturday...if I faint, will I still be demonstrating good form?

I had a ChiRunning intro class to teach to thirteen people from 9-1. It went well, especially when we got to exercises and it became more interactive. When I was having to do all the talking there were times where I felt I was on the edge of bonking. But they were all understanding and we took a break about every 55 minutes to refresh. Just like hitting the aid station, I fueled up and took care of my personal needs. The last hour of the class we went outside and did some light running to put it all together. That was fun (as always); but then they wanted to see how it was supposed to look and asked me to run for them. I mustered up my best form and hopefully showed them what they were wanting to see. But it was hard since I was tired - great practice for later in the race when I am tired!

Later that evening we went out to eat (get a couple extra bucks, get more beer - Donn says that's the life of the unemployed!) and went to a goodbye party for a friend. We were back home early so I could get some sleep before meeting Tracy and Chris for a run at Cougar Sunday morning.

Sunday...Cougar and It's a Small World After All

Tracy, Chris and I met the other SRC runners at Red Town Trail head. The plan was to say "hey" and do our own thing, but follow their route. Phil was leading and I had him check out my Mizuno Wave Ascend 3's. I think I am finally in love, at least this month. My Innov8s were great in really muddy stuff, but they still felt a little too tight in the toe box and a little too hard for my old feet. So I was trying the Mizuno's to see how they would do.

We all started heading up Red Town Trail and were soon left in the dust by the younger more energetic folks (there was one woman who looked like she might be in our age range - she was tough and hung with them). The really cool thing about running with them is that at every junction, they (Phil?) would place three fern fronds in the shape of an arrow telling us where to go. This was so cool as we didn't need to stop and think about it!

We decided to not do the Wilderness Peak loop as Tracy is still taking it easy on her fibula. So when we were stopped, a few came by, including Michael Havrda. Now here's the funny part: a few posts back I reported on a neighborhood project where we put up orange crossing flags at a couple of crossings. We had solicited donations, one from Bastyr Clinic, which is at one of the crossings. They kindly donated some money, which I received in the mail (I bought the flags). The letter included was very nice and signed by a one Michael Havrda. I kept seeing this name in race results - like third overall in North Face 50K. I kept wondering to Donn if it was the same person, and he, ever the doubting Thomas, would always say no way. So when we ran into Michael, Tracy started talking to him (she met him at NF) and I asked if he was the same guy. Hah! He was! I couldn't wait to get home and brag to Donn at how RIGHT I was!! I had that song "It's a Small World After All" stuck in my head all Monday!

We wrapped up our run at 10 miles, said hi to Michael again in the parking lot (he was getting in 34 miles that morning), met his fiance Shannon, and headed back to Seattle. At Chris's, we hung out with daughter Emily and wife Nancy and went over to the Volunteer Park Cafe for coffee. It smelled SO GOOD I had to get a slice of the veggie quiche! Nancy used to be in the dental field as an administrative support person and I used to be in the Perio dept doing vaccine research. We caught up on all the people we knew in common. Tracy and Chris were doing the usual "Laura knows everyone" when I felt someone touch my shoulder and say "We missed you at swimming." I couldn't remember her name, but definitely know her! She swims several lanes over; that's the funny thing about swimming - unless you are the same speed, you probably won't get to know your pool mates very well. Anyway, it was good timing on her part relative to Tracy and Chris's teasing!

The rest of Sunday was spent lazing around and watching the rain fall. Oh yeah - and the Mizunos did spectacular! I didn't wear my ankle brace OR tape it, and it handled the roots and rocks like it was used to them! And the width was great - forefoot loved them! Guess it's my summer shoe for now...til they change it!

Training the BTM way

2008-05-24T19:58:00.000-07:00

Week of life change....

Donn's job was one of the casualties of the (historic) layoffs at UW in the UW Technology (til recently it was called Computing and Communications). For some interesting comments regarding this, click on the soundoff. The last two comments (#7 and 8) really say a lot - at least in my opinion. So what does this mean for us? Until Donn lands on his feet or starts receiving unemployment, we will have to do with my salary, which is about a third of what he brought home. Kinda scary, but I think we'll do okay. One day at a time is clearly in order here! The thing that really riles me (in addition to the layoffs) is for TWENTY years of service, he got one month's severance pay. I'm not sure if that's the norm in today's world, but it sure it cheap.

Training "Brian Morrison" style....

With the life stuff going on, and work getting busy (we're starting a new project that I'm very excited about), it's been tough to get all my running in. Suffice it to say, I didn't meet my weekly mileage goal, but then all the folks I ran with today don't train that much anyway (and some of them are getting ready for 50 milers too). Note that most of us are over 50 and those under are over 45, so maybe they are on to something. But that's not what I am referring to when I say "Brian Morrison" style.

Friday I wanted to take a friend out to Watershed Preserve. She's a road runner and she works near there, and she had never been on that trail before. Normally I take Friday off from running to rest up for my long run on Saturday. But this time I threw caution to the wind and took my friend out for a 5 mile loop in the preserve. I figured my legs would be ready to go on Saturday, as that's not that far. The other thing about this weekend is it's Folklife - which means several gigs for Donn and at least one for me. Friday night was the annual party at Bob G's house where he hosts a slew of Morris Dancers who have come in from out of town to dance at Folklife. It's always a good time and Bob's house is absolutely stunning, set next to Discovery Park and overlooking Puget Sound. There are always lots of musicians there, so jam sessions are inevitable. I knew I was running long early Saturday and almost skipped the party. Donn was going anyway to see if he could get in some networking and tuba playing. I decided I would prep everything for Saturday and go with him.

We got there about 8:30 and were treated to the most gorgeous sunset I've seen in a long time, with brilliant colors over the Olympic Mountains. Too bad my camera was at home! Donn and I agreed we would stay til 10:45 at the latest. I saw and chatted with folks I hadn't seen in a while and met some new ones. Finally about 10:15, people started gathering to play together. Several fiddles, a recorder, a drum or two, a bagpipe, guitars, banjos, accordions, a musical saw (!), and Donn on tuba filled the room with all sorts of music. I settled down in a comfy chair and enjoyed the show and sipped on a beer. About 11, Donn looked over at me to see if I was ready to go, and I mouthed "one more song". I thought of Brian and how he used standing on tired legs at a concert til 1:30 am, and viewed this as training his screaming legs to toughen up. Okay -this wasn't exactly like that, but getting to bed past midnight and up and out the door way too early would push my body to run when tired - much like the later part of the 50 miler. We finally left about 11:15 and I was in bed before 12:30 am - at least five hours of sleep!

Masters Runners at Tiger....

I picked up Chris and Tracy at Chris's house at 6:45 and we drove to the south end of the Tiger Mountain Trail off Hobart Road to meet Jeff, Robin, and Tim. Not a single person under 45 was in the group - a little different from past runs, but great for comparing training notes relative to our aging bodies! We set out with Tim leading the way - he was a machine climbing the hills and not looking like he was working hard at all. I was surprised at how good I felt - not as tired as I expected. We ran/walked up to Paw Print station, where I took advantage of the facilities. Jeff had left a car on a different part of the road, and left us to do a return on our own. We had a nice mostly downhill run. The cool thing for me was I decided not to wear my brace (though it was in my pack) and overall my ankle did great! I do have a blister under my left bunion, so I still need to figure that out. Almost to the end, we saw Eric coming up the trail by himself. I swear they let anybody on the trail!! He asked if we saw the bear up the trail (near Paw Print?). We hadn't but I guess he/she had been sighted by several folks. After more nice downhills we made it back to the car in four hours and headed for home.

I still don't know if I'll be able to make the cutoffs for White River 50, but it doesn't matter as much to me as getting out and enjoying the scenery! I love having this outlet to let go of life's stresses! And finding new ways to train (i.e., the Brian Morrison method) is always a bonus!

Watershed Preserve training run - fun in the heat

2008-05-18T21:17:00.000-07:00

This was my "recovery" week and I didn't need to do anything crazy, running-wise or other, so I agreed to help out at Watershed Preserve 12 hour run, at least for half a day. Too many other obligations pulled at me to stay all day, though I would have loved to! So for handing out goody bags and generally helping Chris check in runners, I got to do three loops on the course and socialize with the other runners. It was a good thing I didn't plan to run further than that, since we were invited to Vashon Island Friday night for dinner and too much wine! But I digress.....

I was up early Saturday morning and at the race start before six, where Chris was already setting up a check-in spot. A couple runners had been checked in so I high-tailed it to get oriented. Along with a goody bag (which I stuffed on the spot) there was a sort of grab bag of various stuff that I sent people to sort through and pick out what they wanted, as well as a bag of Linda Ripley's hand crocheted hats. The hats weren't really needed that day, but one could take one and fantasize about cooler weather. There were a bunch of old watches that were really popular for some reason. I guess runners love watches!

After the runners were checked in and eventually sent off by Tom, I got myself ready to go out. I started out on the trail about a half hour after the start and enjoyed the beauty and peace of a very well groomed trail all by myself. The run was a 5.4 mile loop; it wasn't long before the lead runners started passing me. One fellow did a double take when he passed me - I think he must have thought I was in the lead. Hah! The trail was totally runnable, even most of the hills, and the heat hadn't gotten too bad yet. There were a lot of bugs and I must have swallowed a pound of them. Every time one flew in my throat, I chased it down with water and called it calories. Yum! There was a little loop before the end that was really enjoyable as well, and my only complaint was my second toe that usually gives me trouble. I had forgotten to tape it - it sticks way out past the others and gets pretty beat up. So after taping it, I went back out for another loop.

At the aid station (my car) it was so hot I was pouring sweat - literally! But when I went back into the woods, it cooled way down. I made the switch to S! Caps recently and the increased sodium made all the difference in the world! Second loop was much easier too since I was now in familiar territory. I also started seeing more people. When I came into the aid station, I hadn't decided on a third loop; technically I was going for 10-13 miles. But Tom said I was at 10.5 miles, and should make it an even number. I didn't know if a horrible fate would befall me, so I went out for a third loop, lest I should be struck down. Shortly after starting I came upon Barefoot Jon, who was walking and running. I decided since I wasn't "supposed" to be doing this loop, I would hang back and walk with him a while. We even got Mike Sharkey to take a photo of us (with Jon's camera - my battery died), and after a little more socializing, I went on ahead. Jon had told me to watch for David who was attempting the whole 12 hours in order to make Marathon Maniac. Soon I caught up to him, and was ready for another break. He was walking so we walked together and had a really nice chat. Soon I was ready to run again and took off.

The rest of the run I saw various folks I knew and enjoyed the beautiful woods. In the last little 0.75 mile loop, King Arthur zoomed past me. For a few seconds, I pretended I was a fast runner, and was able to hang on. He tried to shake me and eventually did, but I felt a twinge of guilt since he was in it for the 12 hours, and I was on my last loop. In the aid station I poked him and said "I almost got you!" but he was too hot and tired to respond. If I were in his shoes, I would have dumped my drink on me. He got me back later, squirting me with a hose as I walked by. Tom informed me that I was at 16.2, and should try to make it more even, like a whole number, no tenths. I took my chances with fate and called it quits.

After I cooled down, I got in my lawn chair and iced my knee, which isn't getting any worse. Still is talking a bit though, so I'm keeping an eye on it. Tim decided to call it quits after four loops, and found a nice spot in the shade to sit in while he waited for Paul to finish. I pulled up my chair next to his and we provided a cheering section for the runners coming into and leaving the aid station. I gave him an empty gatorade bottle to fix up with a nice pale ale, and we shared it while watching the runners come and go. Paul came in and left once, and then we were sure he would be done. We even bet on it. We watched run in from that loop and kept an eye on him as he handed his water bottles to be filled again. That got us up out of our chairs for a reality check. I told him he looked tired and ought to drop. Truth is, he looked like he got more energy with each loop! I just wanted my dollar. He said he had at least two loops left in him and bounced off down the trail. Tim gave up waiting and I gave him a ride to his car.

I was really sapped when I got home. I can only imagine (and barely at that) how the runners who kept going must have felt. My beer glass is raised to all those who took it on, and even higher to all those who persevered. All I can say is "Damn y'all!!!"

Trail Time

2008-05-14T20:08:00.000-07:00

After running on pavement last Saturday, followed by a shorter run yesterday on the Burke Gilman trail, my feet were begging for some time on the trail. I didn't have time to make it over to Cougar this morning but decided to make it a late morning to work, and go to Discovery Park - the next best thing. When I got there mine was the ONLY car in the south parking lot. It was 7 am - wasn't anyone awake?? I only saw a few people on the trail, and the beach was pretty deserted. What I did see was this bird; for you non-birders (like me) that's an American goldfinch. He flew down to greet me as I ran along the north beach trail, so I had to stop and gawk for a while. Nice to see summer is on its way!

Tacoma Marathon - a new PS

2008-05-10T20:12:00.000-07:00

I did the Tacoma marathon today. According to my training schedule I was supposed to do a back-to-back on trails but this was my chance to make up for my DNF at Capital Peak and sign up for the Marathon Maniacs. I asked Alison what she thought, and though the back to back was good for specificity, if I promised to take it easy in the marathon, then I could do that instead. With that in mind, I planned to take it really easy today.

Up at 4:15 and out the door by 5:10, I made it to the marathon at about 6 am - plenty of time to park, get my bearings and say hi to folks. I saw Rob, volunteer coordinator extraordinaire, and he seemed to be handling his job quite well. In fact, he took a moment to pose for my camera:

"Good Rob" is sitting on Rob's right shoulder

King Arthur was working the packet pick up and Eric was wandering around lost, since Michelle had taken the early start. Other familiar faces like Little Leslie and Van "Pigtails" Phan passed by. Soon we were ready to line up for the start. I was surprised at how small the field was; I guess since it's in its second year, word still has to get out what a nice course it is. Maybe it was because I was hanging at the back....

I was standing near the back of the crowd since my goal was to take it easy and not push my pace. A woman standing next to me asked me what my goal time was and I laughed and said it was to finish so I could be a Maniac. I hadn't run that far on pavement in a long time and my last road marathon was Boston 2006. She was aiming for a 4:30-4:45 and I thought that sounded good, so she asked if I wanted to run together. Rose turned out to be from Texas (my home state) and from the town where my father went to undergrad! She was out here visiting family in Bremerton and wanted to do a marathon out here while she had the chance. We started out nice and slow, and were not really on a 4:45 schedule. I'm fond of negative splits since I don't really warm up till much later in the race. The course started out going through town (this was my first time seeing Tacoma other than from the freeway) and then dropped down to run along the water. The half marathon leaders soon caught up to us, about mile 4 or 5, and for a while we had company. I came up to an aid station hosted by The Balanced Athlete and got a big hug from Eric! The half marathoners turned around near the end of this stretch and on their way back, I saw Iliana. She was bookin'!

By about mile 7, my feet were starting to complain, like they were spending too much time on the ground with each stride. I turned on my metronome to check my cadence and sure enough, it was slower than 90 bpm. I gave Rose, my Texan running partner, a mini-crash course in ChiRunning and how to relax the lower legs. For me, it felt much better when I got back on cadence, but I think it may have been too late in then long run (so to speak). We entered Point Defiance Park, another place I'd had yet to see; it reminded me of running through Golden Gate Park in SF. We got a peek-a-boo view of the Tacoma Narrows bridge, so I had to stop and snap a photo. It didn't turn out very good because of the haze. Rose ran on and I ran to catch up to her. That little semi-sprint felt good, and my legs were wanting to pick up and run a little faster, but I held back. I got a good shot of Rose as we were about to descend a long hill:

After we left Pt. Defiance, we entered a neighborhood. It was fun to see the locals and get cheered on by them. By about mile 13 Rose was fading and asked me to go on if I wanted. She had just gotten over a nasty cold and hadn't run for two weeks, plus other life issues were pulling at her, so it was no surprise that she was tired. I was impressed she was out there on the course! I decided to stretch my legs a bit and told her she'd probably catch up when I had to walk. That turned out to be the last I saw of her for the day.

Soon thereafter, I rounded a corner and got the most amazing view of the Narrows bridge, that I had to stop and take a photo. But first, I took a shot of the volunteer standing there:

who then offered to take a shot of me with the Narrows bridge in the background:

I ran on and soon caught up with another gal. We played leap frog for a bit and then settled down to run together for a while. This was her second marathon and she was doing quite nice. Her goal was a sub 5 hour run, and she was on target. The funniest thing was, though she lives here now, she was originally from Texas too! This was a day for the Texas gals! We ran and walked from the neighborhood and onto the bike path along the freeway. This was my least favorite part of the course because it was so noisy. There seemed to be a motorcycle gang tearing up the road, but it was a lot of old farts on their Harleys, probably going to a bar to discuss finances and investment strategies.

The Texas duo soon got back into a neighborhood and into the final stretch. She took off and I watched her fade out of sight and smiled because I knew she was gonna get her goal.

Seeing the mile 26 sign in the distance pepped me up and getting into my best posture, I kicked it in and came in at 4:59 - the new PS, or personal slowest. I later told Little Leslie I got a PR - the slowest time ever - and she said that was a PW -personal worst. But since it wasn't a bad marathon experience (except for the bottoms of my feet) I decided it should be a PS instead. I'll save the PW for another time and hope I don't ever have to use it.

So I finally got my qualifications down, and sent in my request to the gatekeeper, and got approved. Funny - I was talking to one of them at the marathon expo and I told him I had run Chuckanut and Mt Si. He said running Chuckanut alone should have qualified me - it was too hard for him! So now I am back to the trails - no more road races for a while!

DNF At Capitol Peak aka The Princess and the Pea

2008-04-26T20:01:00.000-07:00

I ran at Capitol Peak 55K today and made it all of 15 miles before calling it a day. But first the prequel....

I originally hadn't planned to run Capital Peak this year since I was running Chuckanut in March. But Rich, whom I ran with last year, said his mom was flying out from CT to run and he wanted us to run together. She's exactly my age and apparently he told her about me! So I agreed to sign up. I also decided to run Mt. Si 50K (I forget why) and realized if I ran all three, I would be eligible for the elite status of Marathon Maniac! So I had a plan to do all three. All was on track, and my friend Tracy wanted to try Capital Peak, originally as a comeback ultra from her achilles injury. But as they say, life is what happens to you while you are making other plans. Tracy plays tennis, and during a game, she came down funny on her leg and knocked her fibula out of whack. The first diagnosis said it was injured and she needed to allow it to heal. But after seeing a PT, he suspected it was just out of whack and recommended a chiropractor, who also happens to be mine. After one adjustment, she felt better (but has some more). He and the PT allowed her to run just half of the course. So now the plan was for her to hang with us and drop at AS#3, which was also the start area.

Meanwhile, I managed to catch a very mild intestinal bug which hit Wednesday, and by Thursday I was messed up in the electrolyte dept, as well as really tired. My latest chemistrys showed my sodium and chloride were low (after Mt SI - duh!) so I was a little extra cautious about getting hydrated for Saturday, drinking water and Gatorade or Nuun. Friday I had a kinesis session at 7 am (note to self - no strength training the day before an ultra, even just upper body!) and got stretched by Laura at 8, and saw my chiro at 9:30. I had a weird feeling on my right knee, like I had scraped it, but all that was internal - no surface scrape at all. And there was some swelling to the right of the front, below the kneecap. Laura massaged some Arnica into it, and I showed it to Mike (chiro). He said it looked like a case of patellar tendonitis, and not to do any long runs this weekend. I told him I had one planned but didn't say how far. I decided to see how it felt, and also make sure I took my Arnica. Also topped it off with a hit of ibuprofen to lessen the swelling.

Tracy picked me up and we stopped by Essential Bakery for a coffee and treat. We ran into Mike who was also on his way to Oly but to volunteer. He had just come back from running rim-to-rim at the Grand Canyon - tres cool! We made it to Oly in time to get our packets and get a bite to eat (another note to self - stop eating creamy pasta the night before a race lest you wake up with a head full of snot!). After a somewhat fitful night of sleep, we got up at 4 and got ready. I put my shoes on and they felt tight. Well, my toes felt it! What was going on??? I thought maybe they would loosen up when I ran. We headed out in the dark to Capitol Forest and got there with a few minutes to spare before the start.

I saw lots of familiar faces and met Chandler's dad - really nice guy! How did he get someone like Chandler??? Oh wait - Chandler's cool too - duh!!! My reason for being there was no where to be found, though I found Rich. Mary Lou was somewhere but the Go signal started and off we went. She was hanging up front, but after a couple miles she got more sense and came to the back with us. Finally I got to run with her a little and chat. What a sweetie! I wished I could have lasted the whole way to hang with her! Here are her and Rich catching up after a quick bathroom break:

We leapfrogged off and on and when we were together I got to learn more about Rich and his siblings. I snapped a photo of Mary Lou on the trail - hopefully I'll get to run with her back east some day!

We climbed and descended and after a while, my knee felt funny (but not where there was swelling - more later) and my toes hurt- like raw hurt, like they would feel near the END of a race, not in the first half. What was going on???? About mile ten I made the (somewhat) tearful decision to drop with Tracy at AS#3. I couldn't see running another 16 miles with toes like this; the knee, maybe, but not the toes. So we came in and Tracy and I dropped and said goodbye to Rich and Mary Lou.

While we hung out, I asked about my shoes and toes. Alison's theory was I hydrated really well and my feet were swollen. Possibly, but my other shoes fit fine. My toes were tender though. I asked if shoes could shrink. Eric said by all means, especially if they had gotten repeatedly wet. Well duh! I went with that theory. Til later....I also iced my knee and discovered the source of my "pain" was an allergic reaction to something I had rubbed against. It had nothing to do with the swollen area! We socialized a bit more and eventually got it together to get in the car and head home.

I called SRC to see if I could talk about my shoes and to exchange some road shoes I had recently bought. I went in, with my muddy shoes in a bag. I told my story to Robert, and noted that they also hurt at Cougar last Saturday, and that I had gotten a pedicure the day before. He started laughing, and it turned out he had personal experience with getting a pedicure (and getting the callouses taken off) and trying to run afterwards (he did his gf a favor when she needed to do a practice pedicure for Gene Juarez). The callouses were there for a reason - which may be why my toes are so tender! Especially at the tip and where the end of the nail and skin meet. So that is my latest theory and in future (if any) pedicures - I'll forgo the salt scrub and callous removal, thank you!

So I have until the end of May to figure out where to do my third marathon or beyond. I'm thinking Tacoma marathon, especially after seeing Rob's mug in Northwest Runner. He's the volunteer coordinator - I might as well race and make the job worth his while!

Spa Day, Snow Day

2008-04-20T00:00:00.000-07:00

Spa Day....

Friday was crazy busy even though it's supposed to be my day off. It started with a 7:15 am Kinesis workout at 5 Focus. We worked on core strength and endurance. And man did I work!! I knew I was gonna be feelin' it later but it was good! I needed something like that to kick my butt into action and get the day going! The only downside was my trainer was up in arms about the state of the Democratic party and how Hilary should be nominated and how mean and nasty the Obama people were (news to me) and blah blah blah. I saw shirts for sale at the Ballard Farmers Market today that had a drawing of Barak Obama on them and the words "Come Together". I thought about buying and wearing one to my next session, but I was afraid she'd really work my butt off. Don't you just love politics?

After the workout, I headed back home for a quick breather and something to eat and then headed up to Capitol Hill for a Mayan Abdominal massage. I have been having tightness in my right side of the hip, on the abdomen near where one of the incisions was. I've always had trouble on that side with a kinked up psoas muscle, probably stemming from my scoliosis. When Laura has been stretching me, a lot of times my pelvis is torqued and it's possible that scarring is contributing to that. She recommended a therapist, Megan, who specializes in abdominal massage. Most of Megan's clients are dealing with fertility problems but she also deals with other problems of the pelvic area. So I thought I'd give it a shot and go for a free intro session.

We started off with an intake, and while my feet soaked in a warm herbal foot bath, I drank the most amazing herbal tea I've ever had! She blends it herself - she should sell it but she doesn't have time. Anyway, after that, I got prepped and on the table and she went to work on my back first. She managed to get it in line fairly fast (I look like I have two backs - a small and a large side) - her approach was to work on my tailbone. It was a bit painful at first but then it settled down nicely. After some great massage, in which I fantasized about peanut butter and jelly tortilla wraps (yeah, that tea was workin' good!), I flipped over and she worked the front. She was able to locate the troubled spots and work them down to a quiet roar. The whole massage was a little under two hours and I felt deeply relaxed. I have at least two, maybe three more sessions, and we'll see how my body responds to it. I wish I could have gone home and continued the relaxation but I had a client at 1 so I had to hurry home and make that PBJ wrap. It went well with a cold glass of soy milk. Yum!

I met my client at Greenlake and our lesson was in and out of the CC and in and out of the hail and rain. We had a good time and afterwards we went to the Derby Salon to get pedicures. She had mentioned she had an appointment and I asked about the place. I don't usually get pedicures unless I really can't get the mud out of my toes myself. In the end, I decided to go too and got my toenails painted clear, but painted nonetheless. They look so pretty! And clean too! Just in time for me to run in mud and snow the next day!

Snow Day...

Saturday Tracy, Chris, and Laura S. and I went to Cougar for a very short and sweet run. We got there about 7:30 and there was a good dusting of snow on the ground. It was a nice winter scene, except it's spring!

Tres Amigos ready to run

We set out from the Sky Country trailhead and headed to the north end of the park. Along the way we saw skunk cabbage poking through the snow and a regular winter scene.

looks like we're gonna have a cold winter - or summer?

As we climbed higher it got snowier and soon snow was coming down like it was December or January instead of late April. Weird weather indeed. The run was over too soon and we were back at the car.

all done for now

The Seattle Running Company van was parked next to my car and I couldn't resist getting this photo taken by Laura S.

Look - we match!

Soon we were back in the city and off to our separate lives. I didn't feel the least spent which was good since next up is Capitol Peak 55K - or 51.6K since it got shortened this year.

Winter continued to happen and in the worst of it, some of my neighbors and I completed our little project, hanging buckets to hold crossing flags at 38th and Stone and 36th and Stone. Geoff took photos (I don't have them) and we all got a big feel-good out of it. Our first customer came at 38th, pushing a baby stroller, while we set up the ones at 36th. Very cool! Next time you are in our neighborhood and need to cross Stone Way, use a flag! Thanks to Bastyr Clinic and Morgan's Plumbing for donating money and goods!

Now - will spring please show up before it's summer! Geez!

A Perfect Weekend

2008-04-14T21:23:00.000-07:00

For those of you who didn't stay in Seattle last weekend, you may have heard what an awesome Saturday we had in the weather department. It felt like summer with temps nearing 80 and clear blue skies overhead. For some reason, when it is like this, I get a burst of energy to clean my house. Donn likes to be outside, but I feel an urge to mop and dust, so I gave into it, until he observed that it would be a good day to be in our boats on the lake. So I dropped the housework and piled the gear into the car while he loaded the boats on top.

Testing paddles on the lake....

For my birthday, Donn wanted to get me a new kayak paddle of the carbon-fiber variety. We went to NWOC on my birthday sans our boats just to see what they had. Herbie showed us the variety of paddles and suggested we bring the boats by to demo them. I was too pooped from running Chuckanut the day before so I said I'd come back another weekend. Well finally we got back there and boy was it crowded! Lots of people were renting kayaks and getting out on the lake to enjoy the rare weather we were having! But they weren't too busy to let us try some paddles. First I had to compare low angle versus high angle paddles. We got in the boats and were off. As you can see, it was a pretty day!

Donn testing one of my paddles

After deciding on the low angle paddle, next I compared bent versus straight shaft. I like to feather my paddle at abouto a 45 degree angle, feathering the right paddle. I discovered that Donn feathers the opposite paddle and at 30 degrees. I kept wondering what the hell was wrong with the paddle - it took me a while. I ended up really liking the bent shaft; it felt easier on my wrist. So I decided on that and am now waiting for it to come in to NWOC. Yay!!

What was really perfect about this day was I was walking around NWOC in shorts and a tanks top and barefooted and didn't even feel the slightest of chill! It was such a contrast from two weeks earlier of January in March to July in April - nice! After dropping off the boats at home, we headed to Ballard for a Goodwill drop off and ran into Linda and Mike, who suggested we try a new Vietnamese restaurant called The Monkey Bridge. It turned out to be a great prerace meal for Mt Si 50K. I highly recommend it - it's on Market and 17th where the old Stimac's Pharmacy used to be.

Hanging with the ultra legends....

Three years ago, I ran on a relay team at Mt Si Relay and Ultras. I saw the 50K and 50 mile runners out on the trail and was in awe of them. I was two weeks away from running my second marathon (in my life AND in 20 years). I told several of them how I was in awe of them. So it was really deja vu but from the other side to hear that last Sunday as I ran the 50K! Even got it from a former running partner who didn't recognize me at first (I had sunglasses on); when I shouted Hi Desiree, she almost flipped! But I get ahead....

I got there at the leisurely hour of 7:30 and immediately looked for my friend Kaci who was running her first official 50K. She ran the 25K Orcas Fat Ass for her first trail run and got hooked. She is such a stud! Here she is ready to rock and roll--->

I was ready to go as well and wondering how the day would unfold. I hadn't slept well most of the week, and on Thursday I tried to body surf the trail along the Montlake Cut while out on a run with my boss and a lab mate.
I skinned up my right knee and left elbow pretty good, but tegaderm is my savior. By Sunday, I felt as good as I could and was ready to see what the day held.

As we took off, I tried to hold a little back and ease into my pace. The fast runners were off, and the rest of us seemed to hang together more or less through the golf course. The sun was out and it seemed it was going to be another warm day. My stomach wasn't feeling so hot and I was hoping off and on for a porta john to appear on the trail. A gal was running behind me and soon came up to my side and started chatting. She was in the 2005 ChiRunning class I took with Danny Dreyer; she said she noticed my running style and thought I was ChiRunning. Guess that's a good sign about my form. She lived nearby and said she runs these trails in minimal shoes; she also ran Portland marathon last fall and was really into the technique. She soon moved ahead and I chatted off and on with other folks nearby.

I saw two gals running up ahead and recognized one as Lynn Yarnell. I had met her at Capitol Peak Mega Fat Ass. She and her running partner were on a run/walk pattern and I caught up to them about mile 5. I re-introduced myself to Lynn. The other woman turned out to be none other than Chris Ralph, former RD of White River, and co-RD of Plain 100, to name a few. I had the privilege of hanging with them and listening to some great stories. They were such a blast! In addition, as much as I love ALL my running buddies regardless of age, it was fun to chat about issues (physical, life, whatever) with gals in my age range.

We came into the mile 10 aid station where local ultra legend Jim Kerby was hanging out. He saw them and gave them big hugs. He turned to me and said he didn't know me but he'd give me a hug anyway! He asked how I was doing and gave me a mini-lecture about eating every 30 minutes. I promised to get back on track pronto with the nutrition!

Lynn and Chris both grew up in Seattle and went ice skating at the same rink in Ballard but didn't know each other at the time. They talked about life in Seattle in the old days and where they went to school. At one point, they started singing "15 Miles on the Erie Canal"; I could only remember the first verse, but they remembered the whole song! I think ultras enhance your memory! I ran with them til the turn around when I stopped to get a rock out of my shoe. I had 15 miles to go with "15 miles on the Erie Canal" going through my head!

At the turn around I had taken my pack off, and when I put it back on, I thought I had ants in the back and got a fellow to check my back. It turned out to be a nasty rash from all the sweat and rubbing. Fortunately, the clouds were returning and cooling the air off. After eating a piece of ginger, my stomach and gut started behaving. We had seen some of the front runners of the 50 mile race coming back from the turn around including Kendra and Eric, and on the way back, I saw Linda and Jamie. The relay turn around was before the ultra turn around, and once past that point (on the way back) I started seeing more relay folks. One was the aforementioned Desiree, who was running towards her turn around and yelled at me what a rock start I was. I yelled her name and she said "Laura???" She told me I looked great (she may have been trying to be nice, but I WAS feeling much better by then). I am hoping in less than three years she'll decide to try an ultra.

As I made my way to the mile 21 aid station, I thought I had a little pebble in my right shoe. I was wearing road shoes, which were comfortable, but I hadn't run this far in them before. I stopped at my drop bag and took the shoe off. The "pebble" was a blister forming on my pinkie toe. I wrapped some sport tape on it, put more powder on, and put my sock and shoe back on. For some reason I thought we were headed to Rattlesnake Ledge after this, until a volunteer told me it was a mostly slight downhill from this point on. I could have kissed her! Just before leaving the aid station, Kaci showed up. Her friend Scott had come out to run the last 10 with her and to see what this ultra stuff was all about. She fixed up my sore spot on my back with an ultra band aid and soon I decided to head on. She had some good blisters forming and was taking the rest easy. On I ran, seeing the relay folks and trying to find a rhythm. I was about to "go inside myself" and try to get in a zone, when I saw Tien from the Chuckit group. He was on a relay team. That was unexpected but fun to see him out there!

The miles rolled on and my Garmin kept track of how much further. I focused on form and technique and noticed where I was tense or sore. One thing I picked up on was the source of my constantly tense right upper back. It came down to the way I held my arm - if my wrist was flat and parallel to the ground, the tension returned. But if I kept my wrist "neutral" and perpendicular to the ground, the tension went away. Just another old bad habit I have to overcome. Nice to know I figured it out! That's what I like about the really long runs - the chance to get to know yourself and hopefully make some improvements. Another thing I need to get back to work on is my endurance. I would lean and speed up but tired quickly (okay, I was in my 25th mile, but still....). Anyway, it was a nice day to work on things since it was a totally runnable course.

Soon I was back near the finish and could hear the announcer. It felt so good to run into the finish and know I had gotten another ultra (my third) under my belt! I hung out and socialized with various folks and hooked up again with Lynn and Chris. Chris won our age group and got a nice ceramic bowl with engraving on it. I saw Robin (I had seen her following Jeff in his 50 miler on her bike) and soon Jeff came racing in. It was a good day in the end, shared with many good friends - old and new!

Today I had the privilege of seeing and hearing the Dalai Lama speak on compassion. I never in my life thought I would get to see him in person and was somewhat overcome with emotion as he came out into the pavilion. He is such a simple yet amazing man, and his message is mostly common sense, or at least what seems common sense to some of us. His sense of humor was outstanding and though I was a little stiff from yesterday, I didn't feel it much the three hours I sat and listened. I'm a very lucky gal indeed to be where I am!

January in March

2008-03-30T15:29:00.000-07:00

Good timing with the knitting and 3 minutes of fame
I love my new sweater! Why? Because I finished it in time for the spring snow! It has been serving its purpose well in keeping me toasty warm while it snows outside. Here it is:

This has been a busy week and weird one, weather-wise. Wednesday I was on TV running back and forth for the camera as King5 did a Health Spot topic on Laura's new wellness center, 5Focus. Since one of their services offers ChiRunning and ChiWalking instruction, she got four of us instructors together for a taping about it. We had fun running by Lake Union while the camera rolled. Tim Robinson, the interviewer and local TV personality interviewed Laura and Mary Lindahl about the technique. At one point, he ran to us to tell us something - probably an eighth of a mile -and we all commented on how natural he looked! Then he started running all goofy just to show off. Ha ha! Anyway, it aired on Wednesday but I missed it!! Arghhh! Laura said they will send a file and if it's kosher, I'll post it.

Soaring Eagle snow and mud run
Fast forward to today - the NW Trail Run series had a five and ten mile run at Soaring Eagle park. I did this last year as a training run and it was pretty darn muddy. Plus about mile 6 of the ten miler, there's a pond that you go through calf deep in water. Last year, it was rainy and a little cold. This year, thanks to our weird weather system, it was snowy! In fact the last mile it started snowing again. But I get ahead. Tracy and I drove over there (the eastside); she walked the five miler with Ali since they are both on injured reserve right now. As we got further and further from Seattle, it got whiter and whiter. Going through Redmond looked like January:

It got weirder! As we turned up Sahalee way and started to climb the hill, there were all these cars abandoned alongside the road! I guess they got dumped on last night and people freaked out about climbing the hill. There is a neighborhood nearby; I suspect the owners lived there. Very odd. We got to the park, picked up our bibs and chatted with folks, all of us talking about the weather and snow. Here's the trail head for the race:

I started out in the middle of the pack and climbed up the very muddy road to the single track trail where the fun began. I ran with Lisa, Murray's wife (he's on the adventure team Mergeo that puts this together), and after a while, I slowed so I could down some gu. There was a pack of people behind us who we let go by - they were doing the five miler and having a fun time. Here's Lisa and me before all the fun began:
While I was running alone, I noticed my ankle more, though it was taped and braced. It was really challenging in all the mud and on the inclines trying to keep it quiet. It talked to me and said I should consider turning with the five milers at the aid station. When I got there, Lisa was finishing up a snack and asked how I was doing. I told her my ankle was a little sore and I was going slow, and she offered to run the rest of the ten miler with me! How could I refuse???

We carried along and had a really nice time getting to know each other. She is about my age and her two sons are just a couple years younger than mine. This was her first time on this course and she thought for sure we must have come to the "pond" but I kept saying nope, though inside, I had hoped it somehow had drained and we had already gone through it. But alas, as we ran along, I heard her shout OMIGOD! Yup, there it was - big as and maybe even bigger than it was before. Tracks in the snow showed that people had gone up into the woods to get around it, but we decided to try and go along side the "shore". I still managed to get my feet soaked and thought it was a good thing we only had four miles. After that obstacle, everything else seemed easy.

We got to the little loop around the lake and as we were heading back up the hill at the end of it, several people were coming down. It was somehow comforting to know we weren't DFL. I thought I had brought enough gu and tried to find it since I was starting to feel bonky. But I couldn't find it at all so I did without. (Later at home, I found it in a side pocket - I had thought it was trash - arghhh!) We finally got to a wide trail, which I thought was the road leading to the finish. Lisa didn't remember it (we had come up part of it in the start) but I was pretty sure. Fortunately, I was correct, and when I saw the sign the said 800 meters to go, I was so glad! I was really getting hungry! We came across the line together holding hands. It was so good to run with her - I even focused on her heels at one point to get me through the bonking. It was a minor bonk, but nonetheless, it was good to have someone pull me through it. And I bested my previous time by 10 minutes - in way worse conditions than last year. I think there were a lot of PRs - go figure cuz the course was no different from last year.

Ali and Tracy were waiting at the finish line and I got an incriminating photo of them (for their docs and PTs) as they showed off the mud on their shoes and legs:

After dropping Tracy off and a quick trip to the lab (where I got to show off the mud to HK) I headed home for food and icing, followed by a hot soak in the tub.

Now maybe spring will arrive - the sun is out as I type. Always a good sign!

Bachin' It

2008-03-22T14:21:00.000-07:00

I'm bachin' it this weekend - Donn and Orkestar Zirkonium are on tour with Circus Contraption. They played in Olympia last night, Eugene tonight, and Portland tomorrow night. I'm holding down the fort and giving Abby her daily meds, as well as getting bugged by her constantly. You'd think that cat would be happy just to hang in her bed - I worked hard to make it for her!
Anyway, I've been enjoying having the house to myself and sleeping in late. Donn is usually up and at 'em early and I always feel a twinge of guilt for hanging out in bed. It gets even worse when I can smell the espresso brewing. So what have I been doing?

Well...last night I went to swimming, had the lane to myself, and stayed the whole hour, doing the entire workout. Haven't done that in a while! It started late (8:30) because they had the dive-in movie before our group. Earlier in the day, I had gone out to Agua Verde with the lab to celebrate Matthias's birthday. He is from Switzerland and tradition there is he buys all the birthday drinks. I got one margarita, which is usually my limit. But then HK got up to get more and I ended up with another. Holy moly! I rode home (only a couple miles) and could barely feel the pedals turning. I had been going since early that morning, so the alcohol added to the fatigue. Donn was about to start dinner when I walked/stumbled in; I went straight up to bed and passed out til he called me for dinner. By the time I decided to go swim, I was feeling better but a headache was already coming on. So when my coach asked me how I was feeling about halfway through the workout, I thought he was referring to my inebriated state. I replied that the alcohol was almost out of my system. It was then I realized he was talking about recovery from Chuckanut! Oh yeah - that! I was happy to report I just had one tender toe, but other than that I felt good.

After knitting way too late (check out this endless knot pattern I put on one of the arms of my sweater)I fell into bed and slept the sleep of death. It was great! I woke my lazy butt up and puttered around the house, finally getting over to Discovery Park for a couple of loops about 10:30. I ended up running only 7.5 miles, but the first loop was not as easy as planned. Someone was breathing hard down my neck about half way through and I couldn't shake them. Finally, the last hill before the visitor's center, I was able to leave them. I looked back and saw some woman catching her breath but not sure it was her. I wanted to yell - hey I am recovering, leave me alone! but instead just pushed through it. Second loop I ran some extra trails and went to the beach and back up. I ran into Kathy J. and her training partners getting ready for Vancouver full and half. They had finished up a long run and looked great!

Back at the car, I decided to call it a day. I had been trying out a new ankle brace and my metatarsals on that foot were feeling the difference, so I didn't want to push it. After a trip by PCC (they will be carrying Chia seeds in a month for those interested) I came back home and now have to decide on what movie I want to get. It will be one Donn wouldn't find himself watching; maybe the Bee movie, since that's what was playing at the dive-in.

Chuckanut 50K and Good Birthday

2008-03-16T23:25:00.000-07:00

Having just read Devon's great report about this race, I am ready to report from the other end of the pack. This was to be my second ultra and my first since surgery last August, and I can say I am feeling like I am back! It was a long day, but I am so glad I did it and happy to have made it through relatively unscathed (more on that later).

Friday, I spent the day wrapping up loose ends and waiting for Chris to come by. Midafternoon we, our gear, and the two traveling 5 gallon Gatorade jugs (known from here on as my Ultra Jugs) piled into his VW Golf. We were going to go by Krissy's parents house to drop off the Ultra Jugs before Bellingham, but decided to go into town first to get our race packets. They had the usual goody bag items in them plus a very awesome race technical Tshirt. In fact, it's my new favorite shirt - I am wearing it as I type!

After checking into the hotel and getting something to eat we headed to Bow to drop off the jugs. I had Googled the Moehl's address but Google maps didn't provide enough detail, so, though we were on the right road, we couldn't find the correct address. We ended up pulling into some fellow's driveway (he was watching us) and asked if he knew where they lived. He hadn't heard of them (the houses are like a quarter mile apart), so while he a Chris chatted I called Krissy who said to go further west and watch for her Subaru at the top of the driveway (she was still at Fairhaven Park). We found it shortly and put the jugs on the deck. I looked around to see if there was a front door - maybe we could let someone know they were there - but no luck. There were several cars around the driveway. Unbeknownst to us at the time, James and Alison were sitting in one of them watching us and waiting for Krissy to return so they could get in. Apparently (unbeknownst to them) Devon was in the house* (the basement) and could have let us all in! Too funny! I did notice Devon's car parked there on the way out, but thought she must be at the park.

Back in B'ham, I woke up about every hour wanting water. Between the dinner beer (bad idea) and moisture sucking heater, I was really dehydrated. Finally the alarm went off and we were up, packed and out the door into the light rain. The race start was about five minutes away but we decided to park in a remote lot and walk to the start. The lodge for the number pick up was nice and warm and CROWDED. I saw lots of familiar faces and trash talked with a few. Eric was sitting in a corner and at one point, I wanted to show off my new camera. I was sort of in the doorway and he was holding his camera up point towards me, so I held mine up pointing towards him. I was waiting for it to focus and click and I heard someone say "excuse me." I said "hold on just a sec" and turned to look right into Krissy's eyes - she wasn't very pleased that I was blocking her way. I felt awful - I know how stressed she must have been organizing and coordinating a race of that magnitude! Oy!

From Chuckanut 50K

Soon we were out on the lawn with the rest of the racers and volunteers and ready to take off. The first six miles were relatively flat and the pack never really thinned out til we got to AS#1. There Robin was volunteering and it was good to see her. Van Phan was also there cheering folks on. I had started in a long sleeve T and hat with my short sleeve in my pack. I was already heating up despite wearing shorts so I left my long sleeve T and hat with Robin and put the short sleeve one on, then my Patagonia jacket. I had my buff to keep my head warm when I needed it, and my mitts for my hands. I was off and ready to start climbing. The trail up to Fragrance Lake was different from what we had gone on for our 20 miler. For this, we went back down the to Interurban Trail, then a sharp right onto trail and started climbing. A little ways up, Jamie came limping down, saying she was headed back to AS#1 and dropping. Still don't know what happened, but she looked at her watch, and asked me how come I was running so late. I said, um, this is my usual pace. She looked a little startled for a moment, and then said "I knew that!" Pretty funny. We'll see where she's at pace wise in 20 years. After more climbing and a pretty run by Fragrance Lake, we headed downhill to AS#2 where I got more Nuun. Dan Sears was waiting down there and called out my name - I think I knew someone at every aid station, which makes it all the more fun! We started the long 2.9 mile climb up Cleator Road. I mostly fast walked but occasionally ran, and fell in and out of pace with Cheri Pompeo, who was getting over a nasty cold. She had run a marathon in Greece two weeks ago and finally succumbed to the cold that was making its rounds. This was her tenth Chuckanut! We chatted off and on all the way up to AS#3. Just before that AS, the front runners were coming down the hill by us, and I high fived Scott as he ran by. At AS#3, another familiar face, John Pearch, RD of Capitol Peak Ultras, was waiting to see to our needs. I got more Nuun, some coke, and snacks, and headed out to the ridge trail.

It was pretty cold up there and we were socked in with a misty fog that chills to the bone. With the first step up over a boulder, my calves seized up. Very painful. I took an electrolyte tablet and sucked on my Nuun, but it took a while to calm down. Every time I lifted my leg it would cramp. I soon figured out that if I focused on using my psoas muscle more, it wasn't so bad. It was pretty rooty and rocky, but my ankle was holding up really well! I got to one huge boulder that I started to crawl over. it was slanted down and about 3-4 feet long and very slippery. I slipped and sat down hard on it, and started sliding down it. There was a hole at the bottom and all I knew was I didn't want to go into that hole. I managed to land in soft ground on my feet bit got pretty dirty - in fact later at home I discovered dirt all inside my shorts, and well, I got dirt in places that had never seen dirt before. I also felt my leg scrape as I slid down, and thought, ooh, that's gonna hurt later. After shaking off the fall, I started running again and actually started feeling a bit better. Finally, Dan's Traverse sign appeared and the trail turned more level and easier to negotiate, but I knew mud lay ahead.

A guy I had seen climbing Cleator came by me. He had been walking with his buddy whose achilles tendon was in pain. His buddy decided to stay in the race, but told him to go on. He stopped at one point (up ahead of me) to shake a rock out of his shoe. As I passed, I reminded him wryly not to get mud on the velcro of his timing chip. Yes, the timing chip guy asked that we wear the chip UNDER our sock to keep the mud out of the velcro. I can only imagine what shape they came back in since no sock would protect from that much mud. Anyway, the trail continued on, and my ankle did well through all the mud.

Finally I came to Chinscraper and began the climb. I was so glad we did this in our training run! It was bad, but not as bad as it could have been. There were a few people down below me, and a mountain biker came through from above. As I stepped aside, I asked if he was going to catch some air; I thought it would be so cool if he sailed over those below. Climb climb climb - finally I reached a little sign telling me to turn left!! In all the climbing I thought about me turning 53 the next day and how my mom had her first heart attack at 53. Of course, she was in a high stress job and smoking three packs a day. I, on the other hand, was out here climbing up this monstrous hill.

Soon I came upon Glenn taking photos; I was so happy to see him - I think he got a huge smile out of me! Cyrus Gates overlook soon appeared, this time with no snow. Back out onto Cleator road, I came to AS#4, which was also #3. John gave me some hot soup, and I got more Nuun. I thought about changing into new socks, but the niggling spots I felt coming on had settled down, so I stuffed my dry socks into my pack in case I changed my mind and headed down to Fragrance Lake.

The road descended and a sharp turn took us onto a nice soft trail. I went into a sort of Fell running mode, using my quads and hips to keep stable. My ankle just loved it! I ran pretty much the whole 3.9 miles to AS#5, save a stop or two to catch my breath and take a photo. As I came into AS#5 they were closing up shop. I grabbed more Nuun and headed down the flat trail to the finish. This part seemed more difficult than some of the climbing I did and psychologically was harder to run the whole way. I would imagine seeing myself running 3-4 feet in front of me, and get a good clip going, but soon as I looked up towards the horizon, my mental fortitude would fail me and I would have to walk. I did this most of the way, playing leap frog with another woman. Finally about a mile before the end, I was able to maintain and run into the park, finishing in 7:56, just under the 8 hour cutoff.

Chris was waiting for me at the end - he did it in 7:29:09. His first ultra in six years! He was beaming and it was so good to catch his excitement! Olga was at the end and I was a happy recipient of one of her famous hugs. Robin and Jeff were there as well, and kept me company while Chris went to get the car. After getting some food, and putting on my dry tights over my shorts, we headed for home, making it there in record time.

Today was my birthday and I headed to the pool for a short stretch out swim with the masters group. Turned out that one of the gals, Jerri, works two doors down from Chris. I can't wait to hear what he says when she tells him she saw his results in the paper! Hee hee! Donn and I went to lunch at Senor Moose, and then over to NWOC to look at kayak paddles. I'm heading over in my boat next weekend to demo some carbon fiber paddles - can't wait!

*Apparently Devon was still at the park earning her stay (see comments).

An interesting week

2008-03-10T21:32:00.000-07:00

Haven't posted since there were no races last weekend but it's not because life hasn't been interesting. This month marks the anniversary of the death of Susie Stephens, former executive director of Bicycle Alliance of Washington, and a friend of mine. When Susie was director of Bicycle Alliance, they had a raffle which I had entered. I got a phone call from her, all excited, because I had won a bicycle - a Montague folding bike, which my son uses to this day. She told me it was really fun when she picked someone's name and she actually knew the winner. I really miss Susie, as do many, many people.

Fast forward to last week. There was a product show at work put on by Fisher Scientific where they showcased all the vendors they work with. You got a "bingo" card and if you got at least 20 signatures from the vendor reps, you could put your card in a raffle. I got 25 signatures and actually had a nice time checking out all the new lab ware out there. I went back to my lab and an hour or so later the phone rang. My boss picked it up as I joked that it must be someone calling to tell me I won something. I heard him say 'yes she is, just a minute.' It was for me and it was Susie Miller, a friend, from Fisher telling me I won something and had to come get it. I went over to the show and she said 'It's always fun when you pick a name and it turns out to be someone you know!' Where had I heard those words before??? I won a gift card to REI for $100! Wow!

It was only when I was walking back to the lab I realized that this month was the anniversary of Susie's death and how odd/funny that someone named Susie called to tell me I won something.....thanks Susie (both of you)!

Des Moines Creek trail run

2008-03-01T17:49:00.001-08:00

Okay - I thought I'd try and beat Eric to the draw for a blog account of this run today. This was the end of a long week (mileage-wise) for me and the start of tapering for Chuckanut. Not that I have any aspirations of winning my AG or anything, but I just want to run it and let my body actually enjoy it! My ankle is very happy about this; it was a tad swollen when I woke up this morning, so I promised it some TLC if it got me through this little three hour jaunt. Including last Sunday, my mileage was 51; not high by a lot of standards but up there for me. Consequently, I'm a little pooped today. Now onto the run....

This was a NW Trailrun sponsored event in a park just south of SeaTac airport, directed by Eric Bone. The run for me was a three hour run on a (approx.) 3.84 mile loop. Driving there was pretty easy except directions didn't say which way to turn off of the main road. To the right was a closed gate; I didn't see a left turn at first. I ended up calling Donn back home who went on his computer. He has a really slow and retro browser and he couldn't get NWTrailruns to come up, because he kept trying NW Trails (site of Skyway luggage). Arghh!! We went through this last year when I was trying to find Soaring Eagle Park. We finally figured out where I was supposed to go; I think it would be nice to have a sign at the main turn off, much like James and John do for the Capitol Peak ultras. Apparently I wasn't the only lost one. Fortunately, I had plenty of time to get lost (unlike Soaring Eagle, where I was late) and got checked in and had time to arrange my "aid station" aka my car. The first little loop (less than a mile) went by the cars so it was a no brainer to make that my stop.

We got prerace directions, well, some - the planes were flying over pretty low and I missed most of what Eric said. But he does such a fantastic job of course marking that I wasn't worried. At about 9:03, we took off. One poor lady fell near the start, but bounced back up and was off. I had sort of planned to run with my friend Kathy (Mile's GF), but as usual, I overdressed and fell back. I swear I sweat way more and get way more heated up now than I did pre-ovarianectomy! It's like a continual hot flash! I'm still figuring out how to adjust. I even had shorts on this time. I did the first loop in my overheated gear (gloves, earwarmers, visor, long sleeve and short sleeve shirts, and Patagonia jacket - it was damn cold standing around). I'm not sure how long the first loop took, but at my car, I stripped and left in just my shorts and the long sleeve top, and was pretty comfy the rest of the run.

I almost caught up to Kathy, but the ankle would not settle down. It was really pissed we were out here and was giving me holy grief. The trail was nice and soft and not bad at all! I enjoyed the single track and even going through the really shallow puddles. There were a few short steep hills, which I walked so as not to overstretch my calf and achilles. I had time to think about form and some little tricks I've been reading about on Danny's blog. My favorite was visualize yourself running 3-4 feet in front of you and run towards that. It's so cool! I imagine it's a lot like focusing on a pacer's feet in a long run when you're really tired. At any rate, I was having fun playing with that and other tricks he had.

I stopped at my car each time and it was nice to have fuel and Nuun waiting for me. The course drink was Gookinade, but I didn't try any. I had it before and it isn't bad, but Chuckanut has Nuun, so I wanted to be prepped. I also gave in and took some ibuprofen in the third loop to calm my ankle and ate some banana quarters and Girl Scout cookies from the main aid station. Yum!

During my second lap, near the bottle drop, Greg Crowther passed me and zoomed on. We both said hi and he was gone. There were people standing around the water drop (it was near the start-finish, but you still had some looping to do) and they must not have known who he was. I said to them, that guy kicks ass! One guy said, so do you! You're right behind him! I pointed out that he was on his third, maybe fourth loop and I was still in my second. That's the fun part about looped runs - you never know who is where! The other thing I like is when someone passes me, it seems to give me energy. That happened again when Devon went by me in my last loop. I was so tired and was ready for a nap right there, and she cheered me up just by being Devon. She is so funny - what a crack up!

Another thing about looped runs, that still confuses me, is I know there are other people out there running who are faster than me; in fact that would be most of the field! But I didn't see those people until I was done. Some of them in the 3 hour run did the shorter loop (there was a 6.4K loop - the main one- and a 1.7K - the short one). I just assumed they all were doing the long loop. Maybe the six hour runners were taking it easy? At any rate it puzzled me.

Like in lap swimming, I tend to lose count if I am out there too long, and in a 25yd pool I have tricks to keep track (I yell out the number just completed underwater). This loop was a little too long for that, and in my 4th loop, I had a hard time convincing myself I was on loop four. Fortunately there were monitors to keep track of that. And, also fortunately, as I felt better and more energized (thanks Devon!) I eventually caught up to Kathy, who had slowed down. She was ready to be done and didn't want to get to the end too long before 3 hrs, lest she should have to run the short loop. I ran the last couple or so miles with her, and we ran into the finish together. I was glad to be done, and though it was under what I should have run (at least what's on my schedule), my ankle was thankful we were done. It wanted some ice, so after some socializing, I headed to my car and treated it to a nice ice massage with my Ice Up.

A quick change of clothes and Kathy and I headed back north to Seattle. I'm pooped and so glad to be going into taper. My ankle is just beside itself at all the rest it's going to get! RICE, RICE baby!

Eric - where's your report????

Post blog: My bad - looking on the NW Trail runs site, Eric has excellent directions! Shoulda used that instead of google maps!

Training Run up at Chuckanut

2008-02-24T20:46:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, after signing up for Chuckanut, I saw my friend Chris Allan's name on the entrants list. I was excited because he has spent the last two or so years trying to come back from a tough hip injury - a tear in the labral muscle of the hip. Chris is an awesome runner and it was tough to see him sidelined with such an injury. So naturally I contacted him to talk about Chuckanut. He was up for a training run in the coming weeks and we decided on Feb 24 for a 20 miler. I picked the mountain part of the course since that would be the trickiest part. Tracy joined us and at dark o'thirty this morning I picked them up for a road trip north.

We saw lots of cool nature stuff along the way, including an eagle (or hawk - it was so fast) swoop in front of my car to pick up a mouse. He/she got breakfast and was outta there! We got to the Clayton Beach parking area about 8:00, where there were other like-minded folks getting ready to hit the trails. Weather was great - a little cool, but not bad at all. After doctoring up my feet (moleskin over a pesky sore toe - damn Morton's toe!) we headed off on the trail.

Wrong turns abound

Using the cue sheet from the Chuckanut Race, starting at AS#1, we headed up Fragrance Lake trail. It says to keep right at a junction at 0.8 miles, so naturally we turned right at what looked like a junction. We climbed and climbed and climbed....to a sign that said "Chuckanut Mtn 1000ft". Hmmm...that doesn't seem right. So back down the road/trail we went and back onto the Fragrance Lake trail. We soon came to the right turnoff and headed down to Fragrance Lake. All went well and we went part way around the lake, and headed towards a switch back.

As we started up, we heard some people below us and I recognized Devon's blond pony tail poking out of her Nuun visor. As they approached, I yelled "I know you!" She was running with a guy named Dan, who fortunately had run this route before. We chatted a second, and made introductions all around and headed on. The cue sheet said "switchback at left" so we took the left one. Dan said this wasn't right so we turned around and took the other one. Looking back at the cue sheet, that made more sense - thank goodness we saw them - we really would have been lost! They took off (in fact, I'm sure Devon was back in Seattle eating a homemade meal by the time we finished!) and we proceeded forthwith. We got to Cleator Road and climbed that for a while. At the turnoff onto the "scary" trail, we saw a stash of two water bottles and lots of gels behind a post. We hit the scary trail which turned out not to be so scary and full of amazing views. It was quite technical with lots of roots and some big potentially slippery rocks. I did manage to roll the ankle a couple of times but not too bad. We were getting impatient for the turnaround and my stomach was starting to not feel so good. About a quarter mile before the junction at Dan's Traverse, a guy named Rick came up behind us. We stopped to talk to him and ask about the trail. He was quite a talkative guy and the longer we stood there, the colder I got. I just wanted to keep moving and in retrospect, I should have asked if we could walk and talk at the same time. We were all headed the same way so why not? Anyway, he was really helpful and gave us an option to bypass Chinscraper and head back to the car. Eventually he took off and we headed on where we saw our long awaited turn around to head back south.

Mud, streams, hills

The Lost Lake trail was described as having a stream running down the middle of it and to be prepared to get your feet wet. Indeed there was a stream, but it wasn't as bad as I anticipated. Could have been because the weather was so nice, but we went through it with minimal wetting of feet. When we hit the mud, that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I think that's because of Capitol Peak mega fat ass - even though I only did 8 miles. Since then, any muddy trail has paled by comparison! We got to the junction where we had the option to short cut to the car. Chris said he really wanted to try chinscraper and thought it wouldn't be that much further. I agreed and off we went up a trail towards Fragrance Lake.

Soon, after some awesome downhills (thought I'd never say that with my bad ankle!), we came to the inobvious trail and started up Chinscraper. We had been told by Rick to watch out for mountain bikers but none appeared - just a couple with chainsaws doing some trail work. I called it the Bellingham Chainsaw Massacre. Chinscraper was a grunt and met all my expectations. We came out at Cyrus Gates overlook (more awesome views!) where there was lots of snow and bathrooms. After a quick pit stop, we headed down Cleator Rd. Unfortunately, we didn't take the Fragrance Lake trail (sharp left after the gate); instead we pounded down this road for far too long, eventually connecting with the interurban trail. We had to go a couple more miles to get to the car, but they were runnable and flat. A guy coming towards us stopped me and asked if I had seen some water bottles. The ones we saw earlier were his and some scum butt bastard had stolen them. He was out of water and gels. I gave him a gel - that totally sucks! Hope he's okay.

The Fat Lady Sings - It's Over

We finally arrived at the car and while Tracy changed clothes in the bathroom, I laid in the parking lot and elevated my tired feet on my car bumper. I proudly left a huge wet spot of sweat on the pavement! We were going to try and find beach access to soak our legs, but it had gotten so late, we decided to just go home.

I was so glad we did this, despite getting lost. Also, I did it on semi-tired legs, since I did a ten mile run yesterday morning (at dawn) and helped out all morning at a ChiWalking workshop. Good to know that I can do this course and if I taper, I might even enjoy it more!

Trail Running Camp, aka Orcas Island Fat Ass

2008-02-18T18:15:00.000-08:00

Do you remember going to camp as a kid and the hardest part was when it ended and you had to go home again? That's what it was like after this weekend at Orcas Island Fat Ass. Too much fun and plenty o' sun!

Prequel...
For me it started with rushing around trying to pack and make two vegan gluten-free birthday cakes for Linda Bear Barton, aka Carrot (and not because she's vegan). She specified a white or carrot cake since most vegan cakes seem to be chocolate. Devon came through with a link to a great recipe for a vegan gluten-free carrot cake, and to be all-inclusive, I made one with walnuts and one without. Cakes got made Friday and Donn and I went out for Valentine's dinner (we wait til the day after - easier to get a table). I wasn't feeling too great and was concerned I was catching the cold that was all around me. I felt like what Kendra described - a little bowling pin with my arms raised! I hit the Zicam regularly; my flu shot I had apparently was for the wrong strain, according to a CDC report my boss had read, so I was going on luck! I decided I'd go anyway and see how it went.

Road trip...
Come Saturday, I headed to Everett to pick up Linda and Chandler - a newbie to ultrarunning, but ya wouldn't know it! The boy rocks! We made it in time to sit in line for the 1:15 ferry, so they headed to the beach, while I ate my lunch. Later I ran into Dan, who had been in a serious auto accident on his way to Bend a couple weeks ago. I had read about someone on Krissy's blog and prayed it wasn't him, but alas it was. He is lucky to have survived and we are very lucky he is still with us! He was on his way up to Orcas to volunteer and support Christel in her 50K.

The ferry ride was unremarkable except for all the familiar faces from the ultrarunning community - I love that! Linda kept exchanging phone calls with Rich who was already on the island and he assured he got us all in the same bunkhouse. So nice not to have to worry about getting there in time to take care of that. Apparently James (RD) had assigned bunks since there were so many, but Rich got it rearranged. Just like going to camp and rooming with your buddies! We got to camp and checked in. James had opted for the alternate snow route, meaning no Mt. Constitution. So Chandler, Linda, Jamie, Shannon and I drove up to check out the view and snow. There was indeed lots of snow up there, but I think as much as last year. Hard to tell what it was like in the woods though. We climbed the tower and did all the photo ops (here) and headed back to town for dinner.

An odd dining experience....

Rich got us reservations at Lulu's, an Italian restaurant on Prune Alley Dr in Eastsound. There were eight of us, and they seated us soon as we arrived. The food was good and I shared a bottle of wine with Casey, Rich, and Georgia (another bunkmate). When it came time to pay the bill, things turned sour. Jamie wanted to pay her portion with a credit card, and the owner got upset. He told us we needed to bring cash if there was going to be this many and didn't like taking the CC. Jamie offered to pay the whole bill (and have us reimburse her) so he took her card. Linda told him he didn't need to lecture us about how to pay the bill, at which point he said "Fine. This is my restaurant. So leave." We got up to leave and Rich stayed behind to ask for a copy of the bill so we would know how much to pay Jamie. The guy would not let Rich see the bill, and after some arguing, Rich (nicely) said "Dude, don't be such a cocksucker." The owner told Rich to leave or he would call the cops. Rich stood his ground so the guy picked up the phone. He left, but not without telling the rest of the patrons what an ass the owner was. I support Rich - it was way weird! Fortunately , Jamie at least had the foresight not to tip him. I feel bad for the waitstaff - what a jerk to work for!

Back at the lodge we made race preparations and I socialized a bit with some friends and finally got off to bed. My bunkmate was a guy named Matt and his buddies had put little graffiti notes on the bunk (along with the other graffiti) about what a hot dude he was. Pretty funny. Most of the other group consisted of first time trail runners except for their organizer, Nathan, whom I had met on Tiger Mtn FA. I was quite impressed they came out to do this - he must have magical powers of persuasion!

Race Day, finally....

Race day dawned bright and beautiful, in stark contrast to last year's conditions (snow, rain, ice). I almost opted for shorts (and later wished I had). I started out in a short sleeve shirt with arm warmers, my Patagonia jacket, 3/4 tights, a buff, and gloves. Oh, and new shoes - Innov-8 Roclites (320). So much more roomier in the toe box!! And comfy! James gave the prerace instructions and we were off across the lawn. After a nice trail along the lake, which I remembered running last year in reverse, we came out on the "bit of cross country" section. We started climbing a hill that resembled Lord Hill - oh what a hill!!! Oh man! At one point, we had to use hands too. It kept going up and I heard "good job, Laura" and looked up to see Glenn perched there with his camera. He's an amazing photographer and has some of the best race photos I've ever seen! He really knows how to capture the moment! We briefly crossed a semi- level portion, and then went running down a really steep hill - so steep I had to hold back to keep from tumbling down it. I babied my ankle all the way - focusing on eversion so I didn't get another inversion sprain. My brace helped keep it steady. The trail led us back into forest and along Cascade Lake again. As we headed along towards Mountain Lake, several people out for hikes had to step aside. I wonder what they thought as they watched all these people wearing numbers run by. Maybe they wanted to join? Maybe they just thought we were crazy? Whatever, they were all nice and smiling - not one grumpy gus amongst them. Lulu's owner must have slept in.

At the aid station, I had stripped off the arm warmers and jacket; it was really getting warm. I put my arm warmers in Robin's (my companion at Lord Hill) drop bag and we were off. More climbing ensued, and I felt like I was getting stronger on hills as I warmed to them. But of course what goes up must go down. Because I rolled my ankle for the umpteenth time last week, and it was a tad swollen, I really protected it on the down hills. I had gotten stretched by Laura on Friday and she noticed the calcaneus and talus were "stuck" so she worked them loose and gave me some great eversion exercises to do. I used the uphills to evert and stretch out that area; it really helped!

We worked our way around Mountain Lake and came to the Secret Loop. Another steep climb up this led to a mossy area. We had heard somebody whoop and when we got to the "view" we saw why. It was incredible!! Unbelievable! Mt Baker was right there with the Sound and shoreline and oh man! I wish I had my camera! As we descended, I looked and saw another awesome scene of farmland below. We had to stop again to take that in! If I had had the strength, I would have made the double loop just for that view.

Back down into the woods we ran along the boundary trail. As we climbed hills, I would almost catch up to Robin, only to watch her disappear on the downhills. I was so envious at how easy she made that look...Come on ankle - heal, dammit! We passed a shack where someone lived, just down off the trail, along a creek. How he got food in there was beyond me; he was definitely off the grid. No electricity or running water...wow! We climbed some more and finally down towards Cascade Falls. Glenn was waiting at the falls to photograph people as they ran across the bridge, with the falls in the background. I can't wait to see those photos!! We climbed some stairs (where were the escalators???) and soon headed back to the lodge to the finish and food.

Post race
Inside there was amazing vegan soup (two kinds), a keg of organic beer, and a live bluegrass band. That, combined with seeing friends - both new and old - made for a great post race party. Alison was giving 10 minute massages and I signed up for one to loosen the legs. So great!! I grabbed a beer and headed to the shower - another post race tradition - beer IN the shower (there was a shelf...). The weather just got more awesome and people were hanging out playing frisbee, knitting, or just soaking up rays, waiting for loved ones to come in from their race. I flitted between in and outside and occasionally watched runners come in. As Linda, Jamie and Christel came in, I tried to light candles on the birthday cake, but the wind kept blowing them out. I thought it would be real funny to test Linda's VO2 Max in trying to blow out a load of candles after racing in, but evil plans failed. So we just went in, got them some food, and proceeded to eat cake.

Sunday night was spent hanging out in the lodge or cabin, drinking beer and watching running videos. The Badwater video was playing, and when they got to the part where the British unsupported runner was popping her blisters, the guys kept yelling to hit replay so they could watch the stream of serum squirt into the air. By their yells, you would have thought they were watching a bad fumble in the Super Bowl. Pretty funny stuff! I finally hit the hay about 10:30 - end of a fun filled day!

Camp is over....

But not before a massage. I arranged with Alison for an early morning full massage! I got up early, got coffee and oatmeal, cleaned up, and headed next door to my massage. It was so great! I wish she were closer and I could see her more regularly. When I was done, and paid, I picked up my bags from my cabin, hopped in the car, and headed towards the ferry, pondering how awesome life was at that moment. Linda and Chandler were walking to Eastsound for coffee, but didn't make it before I came along. We were able to easily make the 9:50 ferry, and had time for one last round of socializing before heading back into the mundane reality of everyday life...with no cold!

Valentine Day Hooker

2008-02-14T19:46:00.000-08:00

I've become a hooker. No, not the kind you see on Aurora, but the crocheting kind. I have been knitting a couple of years now and tried to learn crocheting a little while ago. I remember someone trying to teach me at work in the break kitchen, and remember one of my colleagues slowly backing out of the kitchen as I cussed at the yarn and hook in my hands. It's quite different from knitting and most knitters I know dare not venture, though I do know a few who can do both. So I got The Happy Hooker by Deb Stoller (of Stitch and Bitch fame) a little over a week ago and have become hooked, so to speak. I made the requisite swatches and decided to tackle a hat. I mentioned to Donn what I really wanted to crochet was a bag (for some weird reason). He, who has way too many tuba mouthpieces, mentioned he'd like a bag or two to carry his mouthpieces in. So I found a pattern here yesterday and stopped at my new favorite and convenient yarn shop, Bad Woman Yarn, on the way home, and made him a bag last night while he was out at band rehearsal. I sneaked downstairs and put it and a card on the table while he was getting ready for bed. It was a little large for one mouthpiece so I started another at lunch today and finished it tonight. Here they are:

I'll crochet another small bag, and he can tie them together and hang them off the lead pipe of his tuba, and call them Tuba Testicles! It could be a whole new line of products!

Just an aside - I realized yesterday I am becoming a yarn addict. I have been partaking in too much SEX (Stash Enriching Expeditions) and when I rode up yesterday, there was a bag of yarn on my doorstep. I couldn't remember for a minute why I had ordered it, then remembered it was for making a cool sweater I saw. Anyway, I need to get organized better - I'm running out of room!

It was Donn's turn to cook dinner tonight, so he baked a pizza. He made it special for Valentine's Day, as you can see here:

The heart is made of San Marzino tomatoes - they were very yummy!

Off to go pack for Orcas and organize a meal plan!

start studded day

2008-02-09T15:27:00.000-08:00

Stars on the trail

I got in a three hour trail run with two lovely ladies - Tracy and Laura S - today at Cougar Mtn. Tracy and I hit Discovery Pk yesterday for a two hour run so this was #2 of a back-to-back for me. There were lots of people on Cougar today, since Tony from Always Running had a group out there for training. We were running the opposite direction and at one point felt like salmon swimming upstream.

The conversation we had going covered various topics as usual and Tracy recounted a spill she had taken going down a switch back one time. There was a guy behind her and above, higher up, and she kept looking to make sure she wasn't in his way. When she fell, she looked up and didn't see him. Turned out he fell at the same time, and later told her when he saw her he always fell. Was that a pickup line?

Later we were running down Wilderness Cliffs and a dog followed by a group of guys came bounding UP the trail. We stepped aside and I recognized the dog as Piper, who belongs to Justin Angle. I played with her and she nearly bowled me over in her joy. That dog loves to run! Behind her came Justin and I confirmed it was Piper and introduced myself. Behind him came Scott Jurek, who said hello to me, and immediately slipped (it was a really steep muddy part) stretching his entire length down the hill in an uphill fall. I told Tracy to add him to her list of men whom she makes fall. Matt Hart came up behind him, followed by someone I didn't recognize (I felt bad too as I had been calling out names like a race announcer). Funny - earlier, as we were starting to descend down the switchbacks, I had told my friends that Scott had suggested running UP this trail for uphill tempo runs. When I saw him, I reminded him he had told me to run here (he probably tells most his local clients to do that) and said (jokingly) "well screw you!" He said "excuse me?" to which I yelled I was just kidding! Oh the trail does bring it out in me - have to watch myself!

As usual I rolled the weak ankle several times, but the last little loop we did (Klondike to Cougar Pass) I really wrenched it. I walked quite a bit while they ran ahead. Part of the issue (I think) is my right eye tears up with cold air (going downhill) and it doesn't drain well, and it distracts my whole body and mind, and then I land wrong. I've had the duct clean out before; think I'll call my optometrist and look into this (so to speak).

Stars in politics

We got back in time for me to shower and change while Donn made me lunch. After taping the ankle and putting on a brace, we were off to our neighborhood democratic caucus. We found our room and we walked right in to stand next to our awesome neighbors. The only thing missing to keep it from feeling like a block party was a keg of beer! Donn was decided but I went in undecided. So I was fortunate to be on the listening end of both sides (Clinton versus Barack). Eventually, through the listening and deciding, I went over to the Barack side and ended up as an alternate to the next meeting on April 5. We had three precincts in our room (a gym) and David Horsey, a neighbor, was walking around taking notes for fodder for his next column or cartoon. It was really interesting to be such a non-anonymous part of the process and listen to the passionate arguments about people's choices. This is an exciting time to be alive and I have felt more involved in the process now than I ever have. It'll be interesting to see how it all plays out.

We're all getting older and climbing the Lord's Hill

2008-02-04T19:41:00.000-08:00

My cat Abby is getting up in years and starting to show signs. She went for her yearly checkup last week and her thyroid gland has started getting overactive, something not uncommon in older cats. She also is on something (Lactulose) to help her bowels (at least she didn't have to have a colonoscopy to figure that one out). In some ways, our lives are following parallel paths - her thyroid and my blood pressure (and now cholesterol); her lactulose and my psylium; and just getting older in general. I have one advantage over her though - my telomeres should be flapping in the wind! A recent study showed that active older people have longer telomeres (the "arm" part of your chromosomes) than their sedentary counterparts. As we age, we lose nucleotides that make up the chromosome and the outward effects are those of aging. That loss is slowed down through an active lifestyle. So all you active old farts pat yourself on the back! Now if I could just do something about my genetics - at least my doc says my HDL is so high (thanks to an active lifestyle) that it negates the slightly high LDL (the High Density Lipoprotein is the good cholesterol and keeps the arteries clean, where as the Low Density Lipoprotein clogs up the works).

As for an active lifestyle, last Sunday was the return of Lord Hill run. Several of us, Laura S., Lauren, Ali and Ida all met and carpooled to the run in Laura's cool Prius, feeling like VERY GOOD citizens! We got there in good time and were smart to make a pit stop on the way, as there was one porta potty and a long line at the start. It was pretty dang cold - 32F - while we were waiting around, but I guess I'm getting used to it cuz it didn't bug me that much. At least there was no rain! We saw lots of other folks from other runs including my friend from Capitol Peak Ultra, Linda B., and Erik Barnes, who has a nice report and photos here. After getting prerace directions from Tim, we took off. Ali, Laura and Lauren were all ahead of me from the start and I settled into my nice semi-slow pace. I like to start slow and taper off from there (apologies to whomever I stole that phrase from). I enjoyed listening to other people talking and cheering on the speedier ones on the out and back section in the first part. After the first turn around, I ended up running with a couple, Jeff and Robin Loen. Jeff was doing the 50K and had done it before, whereas Robin was doing one loop, like me. He eventually went on ahead (and ended up running with Linda B - small world, this ultra community). Robin and I hung together the rest of the run and enjoyed keeping each other company. Usually I am running alone, and she said the same went for her. Anyway, there were parts of the race where the scenery reminded me of the woods I grew up playing in, in southeast Texas! I think it was the deciduous trees that triggered that memory - certainly not the hills! And oh what a hill the Lord provided - there was a notoriously steep one in the middle where I felt we were just shy of using our hands to get up it. Don't know what that would have been like had it been raining and muddy - fun, I'm sure. Further, the 2 and 3 loop folks had to face it again - what studs! There was the usual mud, though not much compared to Capitol Peak, and other smaller hills. We finally came in at 2:16 (10.5 miles, according to Tim), where all but Ida from the carpool were cooling down. Tim had the soup going from the back of his truck and there were lots of awesome goodies that people had brought. Soon as Ida came in (about 12 minutes later - her first trail run, I think), we pretty much packed up to head home. It hadn't gotten much warmer (39F) and we all had obligations back at the ranch. I got one obligatory photo before we piled into the green-mobile to head home.

It was a good run and I really enjoyed hanging with Robin. I felt great all day - maybe next year I'll have to do three loops so I don't feel so damn good at the end! Next up is Orcas Island Fat Ass 25K and Linda's birthday weekend! Yay!!

And you thought that was muddy!!!

2008-01-22T20:20:00.000-08:00

Last weekend was Capital Peak Mega Fat Ass (has anyone out there googled Fat Ass? - third hit is some porn site) in Capital Forest down by Olympia. The course had been rerouted due to too much snow on top and was a figure 8 of two loops for half and four for full.

I ran at Cougar for two hours on Friday with some of the gang, and felt okay for Saturday, though my stomach rebeled at getting up so darn early. I carpooled down with Dan and Kathleen, and enjoyed listening to them chat, while trying to ignore the lead, er, breakfast sitting in my stomach. We made it to the start, where it was raining/snowing and a little cold, but not too bad. After John said go we headed off to the first loop, and faced an uphill climb for a couple miles (maybe less). I still wasn't awake and had to step aside several times to let the speedier ones pass. We had already started to hit mud, and I saw it suck the shoe off a gal in front of me. Hoo boy! This was not a course for tired ankles! My stomach still was rebeling and a gel helped- either it pushed the "lump" through or my symptoms were those of bonking. From then on I was pretty good about eating every 35 minutes or so and felt fine, digestively speaking.

The disadvantage of letting all those people pass is by the time you get to the muddy part, it's REALLY muddy, with all the feet mashing it up. I was doing as best I could and was able to get through the mud, but when I hit "level" ground (not muddy) my ankle must have gotten used to moving around, and I rolled it pretty good. Felt the ripping below the ankle bone - ugh! I spat out a lot of profanities and a gal in front of me turned around to see if I was okay. Turned out to be Jenny, #401 , whom I had been hoping to meet! We ran together a little bit, until I stopped to walk and eat some more. She was trying to break 4 hours for the first loop to make an eight hour 55K. Along the way every now and then, my ankle would painfully roll. I decided finally that I would bag the rest of the race when I got to the aid station. Having made that decision, I decided to work on my hill climbing. It's my goal this year to get stronger on the hills, and we have plenty around here to work on. As long as the ankle said it was okay, I ran up all I could, or power hiked them. It was good fun! I came upon another guy, Eric, who had rolled his ankle and was bagging at the aid station too. He had more trouble walking and/or running than I so I told him I'd save him a beer and ran on. I limped into the aid station and gave the time keeper my name, got the car keys and after changing, alternated between standing in the rain by the fire and sitting under the tarp, where it was much colder. I cleaned off as much mud as I could and taped my ankle and proceeded to wait for Dan and Kathleen to finish their second loop. I think I spent more time socializing than I did running, which was a lot of fun, as I got to know some of the other runners more. Some of them I will see at Orcas; hopefully Tim Stroh will bring more mulled wine - that was good!

The ankle isn't too bad - still a little sore - and I got the mud finally cleaned out with a little pedicure on Sunday after swimming. It's bad when there is still mud ground in and chlorine doesn't clear it out! I got a massage from Alison at SRC and afterwards Donn and I marched with the AFMB in the MLK Day parade. First time I've played my horn since December, and it wasn't too lame! Back home I worked on a hat I'm knitting and learned to crochet (for the edge). It'll look cool when I am done!

This morning (it was DAMN COLD!!) I attended a miniclass of Kinesis (a strength training system utilizing pulleys and weights) at 5 Focus, which my friends Laura, Jeff and Beth recently opened. I did one circuit of the workout - all upper body. It was quite good and I am looking forward to doing more, though I am pretty sore, between that and the horn playing and knitting. Time to lay on the yoga bolster and stretch out the pecs!

Lastly, I broke my mile-a-day streak today because I decided the ankle needed to rest, as did I. Back on the wagon tomorrow!

Dancing in the mud at Bridle Trails

2008-01-14T20:10:00.000-08:00

I finally ran at the Bridle Trails Winter Running Festival last Saturday. I've been wanting to do this and chickened out last year because it was so snowy and icy - I wasn't driving ANYWHERE! The options are a 5.2 miles loop, 2 loops at 10.4, a variety of relays for 50K, or a solo 50K, most of which would be in the dark since the race started at 3 pm. I opted for the 10.4 miler and agreed to meet my friend Ali there. When I got there, I saw all sorts of friendly and familiar faces, and met some more. It is really starting to feel like I am a part of that community of folks who enjoy working out in a natural setting and don't mind getting dirty!

Shortly before 3 pm, the five milers gathered at the start line and got instructions from Scott McCoubrey about the course. He claimed to have "marked the hell out of it" and there was lots of mud for your enjoyment. At 3 he gave the signal and they were off. Next up was my group; after a similar lecture, at 3:05 we were off. I was not warmed up at all, and Ali was quite a bit speedier; I saw the back of her for about a mile and then no more til the end. The first big hill I came to, I walked a little bit. It was a lot warmer and though I had stripped down some, I was still too warm. I think I was also having a hot flash - don't know if that's possible while exerting one's self, but it sure felt like it! As promised, there was lots of mud on the trail and it was fun figuring out how to dance around and/or through it. I've run this course several times and always seemed to know where I was, though I still get thrown off by the water tank about half mile before crossing the power line section again. Once you make the second crossing of the power line, you're almost home.

Coming into the aid station, I refilled my water bottle and took off. I wrapped my jacket around my waist but had a hard time getting it tight enough. Finally got it right and felt better with less on. I also had finally started to feel like I was hitting my stride and a gel I had taken earlier had started to kick in. Ali had convinced me not to take a flash light, and she was right. I didn't really need it, though the light was failing in the last two miles. The last mile goes up into the woods more and was even more muddy, but it still was not too bad. I finally crossed the finish at 1:46, about five minutes behind Ali.

We hung out and chatted with folks and watched some of the 50K folks come through, including both of the Jureks, and several marathon maniacs. I hosed off some of the mud (Scott M. pointed out there was a hose if it was too muddy for you) and headed for home. It was getting cold and I opted to leave my wet shoes on for the ride home. Probably not the smartest idea, as I could feel some blisters trying to form. Also, I left my water bottle and buff on my roof. When I got home, they were wedged up against my roof rack - how cool is that?? I had a nice soup (Gypsy Soup from the Moosewood Cookbook) cooking in the crock pot and picked up a loaf of bread on the way home. I also had some goat cheese rounds breaded and ready to bake for a baked goat cheese spinach salad. A hot shower, a good beer and all that food made me a tired but happy camper!

I thought about my race time and a little perspective. It wasn't as speedy as I might have wished it to be, but then I remember what all I have been through health-wise the latter part of 2007, and I'm so glad I can get out there and enjoy running again! I may get speedier over time, or I may not. When I think of the alternative, or when I think of people I know who are sidelined, either temporary or permanently, I count my blessings and remember to enjoy the journey. This life is a gift and it is a privilege to be able to enjoy it!

Running Resolution

2008-01-11T22:32:00.000-08:00

Today is day 11 of the new year and so far I've managed to run every day. Most days are easy, and some are shorter than others (like ones where I would have had a no run day). While some people get in a run every day, for others it can be a challenge, trying to fit it in with work, social activities, and family obligations. And that is to say nothing of the weather - it can be downright ugly this time of the year, though, thankfully, not freezing and icy (most times). It requires a little creativity. For instance, Wednesday, I was going to get in a little run and hadn't really decided where to go. I called Donn and told him I was going for a short run, in case he got home before I got back. He said he needed some tofu from PCC, so there you go! Route was planned. I strapped on a waist pack, ran to PCC, got said tofu (and other stuff), and ran home.

Today was another one- my boss, who turns 40 tomorrow, has been stuck at home with a really sick family. He's the only healthy one, probably because he works at Children's hospital and has a primed and pumped immune system. We weren't sure he would be in, so we hadn't gotten a cake for lab meeting. Fifteen minutes before meeting he called and said he'd be in. We HAD to get a cake, and one of the folks said we could go in his car to get it. Turned out, his car was halfway to my house! Fortunately I wore my Brooks Radiuses to work today (I walked in), because we decided to run to the car. It would have been easier to just go to the bakery on the other side of University Bridge, but my friend got a plan stuck in his head so we had to go get his car. I wasn't peeved at all - I got my run in!

Tomorrow, it's Bridle Trails winter running festival. Lots of mud - 10 miles of it. Yay!

Tiger FA - a race of attrition....

2008-01-05T15:09:00.000-08:00

Except I felt like the attritionee! I ran the 25K loop this morning with a bunch of other Fat Asses, and though my time was slightly faster than last year, and I thought for sure I would be DFL, I feel better than I did last year. When we took off, I felt weirdly strong running up the road. By the time we got to the first big climb (about mile 3?) I was starting to fade a little. Soon the faster younger set left me and I could occasionally hear their shouts but never saw them, except when they stopped for a break at Paw Print. It was always a surprise to me to come up on someone, especially when running for an hour or more alone.

At times it felt a bit like relentless forward motion, as my climbing skills leave a bit to be desired. And I ran most of the middle to end by myself, which I kind of liked, as there was no pressure to try to keep up with someone and hurt myself. I did the usual left ankle roll about 2 miles in, but seemed to recover okay. My left foot also bugged me in the third metatarsal and my right ankle had a weird twinge if I stepped on it wrong. Don't know if it had to do with the buddy taping method to limit mobility in my big toes, but all this lasted off and on for about 3/4 of the run, then mysteriously went away.

I had fun at Tiger No. 1 summit - arms spread wide and taking in the view. The wind be damned!! Okay, that lasted a minute then I wanted to get out of the wind. The other two summits were sort of anticlimatic and I was so happy to see the sign saying I had 3 miles to the end at No. 3! Right before I got to summit no. 3, I did see Uli Steidl coming down the trail for his second loop (50K was a double loop, with the second in reverse from the first). I stepped aside and then greeted him with praying hands and slight bow. I'm sure he thought I was nuts, but what else do you do when a demi-god comes running towards you?

As I started the three mile descent, I really had to "tuck in", keep a strong core, and think upwards so I wouldn't land too heavy and roll the ankle. Last year I must have rolled it six times going down, so I was determined not to repeat that mistake! It was rocky, some roots, and muddy, but I did okay. At times coming down the snow was blowing hard into my eyes making it tough to see. And I am sure my obliques are going to tell me about the descent tomorrow - I felt like I had overdone it on the bicycle kicks!

It was fun to see people coming up the hill for their second loop, like Van, Eric, Steve, and Shawn. They are such studs, or more masochist than me! All in all, even though I had some low moments out there, it was better than last year, and I feel pretty good! My goal is to get back to Tiger for some more training. Beat me, whip me, make me write bad checks!

Happy New Year '08

2008-01-01T13:20:00.000-08:00

Every year I do Club Northwest's Resolution Run and always go for the Trip and Dip option - a polar bear dive into Lake Washington. Well, actually not a dive, but more a reluctant walk off the boat ramp, complete dip to cover my head, and a faster walk onto shore, followed by a short run to the finish line. This year was no different except for a few things. The water temperature seemed warmer (did all those who went before me pee in the lake??). Also, I treated it more like a tempo run and really focused on keeping good form. My right hip is still a little tight where my scar is, and I must have been compensating because my left calf (and ankle/ achilles) has been cranky lately. In fact, there's been a little knot in the gastrocnemius; lots of massage, arnica ointment, and keeping relaxed lower legs is working to loosen it up. Anyway, though my time was a couple minutes slower than last year, and I am positive I didn't make the top three in my AG, I'm very happy with the run. It's the first time in a while I've felt good going into and coming out of a race, and I didn't have a heart attack going in the water (I'm semi-serious about this with all the issues surrounding my blood pressure and heart). So life is good right now!

Some "celebrity" sightings - Speedy Greg Crowther (I think he won) coming towards us on the out and back portion of mile 1-2, right behind the pacer car; Karen "kick-ass" Buttram (who is dealing with frustrating health issues, including tachycardia); Gina Young (who usually finishes top three - I think her partner, Ann Rinehart, won our AG); Greenlake Bob (Berg), trying to run from the eagle perched on a tree along the water; and all my running buddies from Chuckit - I miss seeing them so good to catch up. Oh yeah - and thanks to all the volunteers who made the run possible!

Lastly, my "crazy" new years resolution is to run every day this year, at least a mile. That may involve some running at airports if Donn and I head south for a tropical vacation. We'll see...also I got into Chuckanut 50K, so now I am committed to toughing out bad days/weeks (sleep-wise) to get ready for it. Yeehaw!

Happy new year to all and happy running, or whatever you do to float your boat!

tired flat ass

2007-12-22T16:18:00.000-08:00

I ran 25K in the Pigtails Flat Ass this morning. Rain, cold and lack of sleep this past week made for a long slow run. I had insomnia 3 nights in a row and finally got on Zolpiden Thursday night. Took a half pill and felt AWESOME on Friday. Last night took 3/4 pill and felt really exhausted this morning. So 1/2 pill seems to be my dose.

I almost didn't start the run, but got convinced that a run might make me feel better. It did except that run was 16 miles and now I am tired again! I ran most of it by myself as not many others were doing the 15 miler and we missed the one other person about my speed who was. Nonetheless, I had an okay time really working my focuses when I got tired and I was extra good about taking a gel every 36 minutes. As a result, my legs feel good (though my metarsals are a little tired) and the exhaustion I feel is mostly from the effects of the medicine, I think. The first 5 miles were really pretty going along the Cedar River on a gravel trail. The houses across the river were nice but I wonder if they have gotten flooded before. They sure were close to the river. After five or so miles, the trail became paved and eventually ran along a busy highway. Not so pretty anymore, and noisy with all the cars speeding by on wet pavement. Oh well. I was glad when I finished although it was a little longer (by my Garmin) than advertised. That's not a bad thing - more miles in the bank - but I was really anticipating that last mile and it became two! I got a cute styrofoam pig made by Van (RD) herself and a hot cup of soup.

Afterwards I made it back home in time to give some friends their birthday presents and see old friends I haven't seen in way too long! Then a hot bath and off to make tofu turkey!

I have reevaluated my goals and am definitely not ready for a 50 miler. With the blood pressure issues and tight hip (left over from surgery) I needed to scale back my training. I'm cool with it - when I have my lab tests done and my ultra sound on my heart done, and have a better idea of what my body can take, then I'll get back on track. I'm hoping for at least one 50K this spring (Chuckanut?) and a few 25Ks. We'll see.

Dumb Ass Indeed!

2007-12-01T14:11:00.000-08:00

This morning Tracy, Ali, Shadow, and Tim met at Tiger Mtn to run at least one loop of the Tiger Dumb Ass run, which is to be held in two weeks. Holy moly! I'm renaming it Tiger Drag Ass. I guess I'm still a little tired from last Sunday's 20 miler, and my right side is a little touchy, so for me this seemed like a pretty tough run.

I picked up Tracy at her house - I was so glad for the company because there was light snow and ice on the road, and having her there somehow made me feel less nervous. We kept thinking about planning to turn around if the snow got any harder, and sort of planning an escape route. With no phone call (to cancel) from Ali, and Tracy not knowing Tim's number, we had accountability driving us there. Ali was waiting in the parking lot but no sign of Tim, so we dawdled and fiddled with packs and clothing. Finally as we were about to head out, we saw a car driving up the road - it was Tim. Other folks had the same idea, as the parking lot was pretty filled.

Tim came up and we got started. We headed in a few yards, and then hit the first junction, where we commenced climbing. We climbed and climbed for what I guess was about 3 miles, about 2000 feet, turning at several junctions. Good thing Tim was there - he knows Tiger pretty well. In fact, as we climbed higher, he commented that this was more of a climber's trail. How true! The going was fairly slow and tough, though I could feel the work I've been doing on my weak glutes paying off. Tim was very patient, since I am sure he's used to going much faster. Eventually, we got to Tiger Summit No. 3 where it was quite windy and blowing snow. At that point we weren't sure which way to go, even with the map and cue sheet, but thankfully, Tim knew from the description which trail to take. We headed towards No. 2 and started descending.

I wished I had remembered my Yak Trax for the run back down. Each of us, except Tim, slipped at least once. I came down, buckling my left knee under me, and had to sit a minute to see if it was okay. I was more worried about my right, as I am having some tightness over the VMO, which seems to be related to my hip stabilizers (for which I am doing exercises - see below). We came through several junctions that could be sketchy, but fortunately had the footprints of other dumb asses to lead the way. That's a plus for being slow! We got down a lot faster than we got up, so we topped it off with a run around Tradition Lake and back to the cars.

It was a tough loop and hard to believe that people are going to do five of these for a 50K! I'll be glad to crank out two. It will depend on the weather too. Today it was light snow and up top there was a few inches of snow on the ground. If it's raining heavy, it could get really slippery. So just have to keep my fingers crossed.

Back in Seattle, snow is coming down and even sticking! It's really pretty as I sit here at the kitchen table watching it fall. My lab buddy, Hemantha, sent this self portrait from Tasmania:

Looks so warm and sunny!!! I informed him of the snow he was missing....

I've been working with a colleague, Laura Robinson, who has a new place called 5 Focus, on my unstable hips/glutes. She uses a method called Stretch to Win, and also gave me some exercises to do. As I mentioned above, they are really having a positive effect on my climbing strength! I highly recommend her and this technique!

Off to a nap and watch the snow....

Thanks

2007-11-24T08:47:00.000-08:00

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone, though I don't really consider it over until the Seattle marathon has been run. I joined some former Chuckit buddies Thanksgiving morning for a run at Discovery Park. For some of them it was only their first or second time to run here. That made me feel thankful for my trail running endeavors and where my training takes me, as this is one of my "in town" staples.

I got there early and ran one loop, expecting that they would be running the loop again, which would hold my mileage down to 5-6, on schedule for me. But a few were gung-ho to run to the beach, and I couldn't resist! It was such a gorgeous morning and the water was relatively calm, so I HAD to go to the beach. We were such a big group, and a bunch of folks from Brooks were also out there running, so I joked that next year there would be a race fee (all going to me, of course). A fellow from Toulous, France, joined us and he really smoked the trail. I asked him if he had heard of the Tour du Mont Blanc; of course he had. I thought he should consider it someday (he was only 23) and he kept saying no-no-no. I kept at it; hopefully I planted a seed in his head. :-)

After the run we headed over to Jim's house where I had some great smoothies and caught up on what was happening in people's lives. It was great to reconnect - I wish I could get them out on the trail more, but they are dedicated roadies and triathletes! I'm thankful to have those folks still there as I wander off into the woods....

Friday was a day at the marathon expo with Tracy. I picked up my race number for the half. There was a SNAFU where they never got my registration; I had signed up at JocknJill and fortunately they gave me a confirmation card in case this happened. Good thing as it had cost me $85 plus $15 to the charity (UWMC patient family housing). So after looking through all the races (full, half, and walks) I had to re-register, but for free (they attached my card to the registration). From now on, I'm signing up for all big races online, if that option is available. Anyway, after that we headed into the vendor show to get my race number and shirt and do some shopping. I saw lots of people, from trail runs, road runs and teaching ChiRunning. (I really hope we can swing a booth there next year. It wasn't as huge as Bloomsday, but it's pretty big.) Late, we headed up to Seattle Running Co., where Scott M. had put a Nathan Women's Intensity vest on hold for me. It fits much better than my old pack, which was designed for a man's torso, so I think I'll be pretty happy with it.

Today I will go to Farmer's Market with Donn, pick up some veggies for yummy burritos for tonight, figure out what to make for a potluck after the marathon tomorrow, and get ready. I am planning to run a 20 miler, with the half marathon in the middle. Compared to last year the weather looks pretty decent, though it's pretty cold. I am going to take it nice an easy - this is a training run with a bunch of friends.

What am I training for? Well, I had hoped to be able to run OP50, but may not be able to get in (I'm on the wait list). And I don't know if I'll be ready for it either, though I'd like to be ready if I can. So I decided I am training to be ready to do it, and have the benefit of being able to run other distances, and while at it, have FUN. For that, I am thankful. We don't know what's around the bend, so to be able to enjoy this moment is huge, and a lot to be thankful for!

Ramping up and feeling it

2007-11-10T15:49:00.000-08:00

Since last Sunday, as of today, my weekly mileage is 30. Now that might not seem like a lot to most runners, but for me, it's the most (weekly) since last April. Add on to that two swims this week with our masters group. Another thing I haven't been doing much of since surgery. The pool has been closed since last summer, and after I was allowed back in the water, it hurt like hell. Took a while for the obliques and all those other muscles to come back. So swimming a mile in the lake just wasn't as much fun (though I did get in a few during September). Consequently, my upper body strength has suffered, despite starting a strength training regimen that includes biceps, triceps, and lats, to name a few.

So today we hit the trail at Rattlesnake Lake and climbed partway up Rattlesnake Mountain. I ran/walked up with Jerri while Tracy, Eric, and Austin zipped up the mountain. After returning to the start, we headed out the Snoqualmie Valley trail for a few miles, going down a gradual hill. Of course, we had to climb it on the return, so I was pretty dang tired by the time we got to the cars. Austin left, as did Jerri and Eric, so Tracy and I ran part of the Ironhorse Trail. We didn't go as far as we planned which was fine by me! I probably didn't eat as much as I should have, but it was also all the running, swimming, biking (to and from work and for errands), and weight training that added up to tiredness.

Despite all the crabbing, I still reached my goal of 30-35 for the week, and after resting, am looking forward to more.

I just got the video of Yiannis Kouros, the legendary Greek ultramarathoner, and watching him run is just amazing. It served as a great muse today when I was so tired - he would just keep going. On foot in front of the other, with attention to good form. I will try to watch it every evening prior to a long run!

old friends/new friends

2007-11-04T20:00:00.000-08:00

This weekend was a mesh of hanging with new friends and seeing old friends, all in an athletic setting! Saturday, I met the folks I've been trail running with for a 9-10 miler around Lake Youngs. I hadn't been there before and looked forward to checking it out. It's the end of a "recovery" week for me. My peak week ended with a (grueling) 13 miler at Cougar last Saturday, so I was quite pleased how easy this run felt. Though not as hilly as Cougar, it was rolling, and very pretty with all the fall leaves! The best part was I met more new faces. I ran with Tracy and Ali, whom I knew (though not that long) and met Jerry, Eric, Cam, and Kevin. We had such a nice time and they are such good people. I can't wait to run with them again - next week it's Rattlesnake Lake, or something along those lines. Afterwards, Tracy and I headed to The Balanced Athlete to look at shoes. We ran into Scott M. from Seattle Running Co and helped him load some shoes in his car. I got some Filas to try - they encourage a midfoot landing - and Tracy tried several shoes before she decided to take more time. We visited a little with Eric, who was running ragged as he was the only one in the store at the time. Then we went over to Wild Wheat and had a yummy lunch, before heading back north to Seattle. The rest of the day was spent hanging out at home with Donn and enjoying a movie. It was a very pleasant day!

Then, today, for the first time since July (?) Queen Anne pool was open for our swim club! It was SO GOOD to see old friends, and I even managed to make some new ones too - met a trail runner in our lane! But first, I met up with Charlene and Sarah for an easy run around the top of Queen Anne. Then we got back to the pool (Sarah went to work) and got in to see all the changes they made- new filtration (half UV, half chlorine), cool new pool lights (LED, and they can change colors or go to disco), and new spiffed up locker room. It was way cool!! I came in all sweaty from my run, and saw Michael coming out of the locker room in just his bathing suit. I couldn't resist giving him a big hug and rubbing my sweaty face on his chest! :-) The pool was a little cool - 78F - but not bad for swimming, once you got going. They are still bringing it up to temp; too bad! Our swim was good and I took breaks when I felt my bp was getting too high (headaching, pounding). I even managed a hypoxic set - 3-2-1-0 breaths for 25! I just loved it! Got some sauna time afterwards and then out to Cafe Ladro with some of the gang. I'm so happy to be back there - signed up for 2x/week come hell or highwater!

What a great weekend! I shall sleep well tonight!

trail running and blood pressure

2007-10-20T15:14:00.000-07:00

Since my surgery last August, my body has gone through some expected and some unexpected changes. One of the unexpected changes is my blood pressure. It had been running borderline high (around 130/90) for the last three or so years and my health care provider and I had been keeping an eye on it. She said she didn't know what to tell me about modifying my lifestyle, since I was so active, didn't smoke, didn't drink to excess, and all my chemistries looked good. So it never really climbed higher; in fact the only time it had been high in my life was when I was pre-eclamptic right before my kid was born - 25 yrs ago. So I got laid off last January and lo and behold - my bp returned to normal! Wow! Was that all it was - stress?? Things were going along great until I recently went to see a personal trainer at the gym. He took my bp and it was 150/90. What??? So I started monitoring it again. I had noticed at night when all was quiet, I could hear ringing and had a "tight" sensation in my head. Anyway, it was still up. I bought an automatic sphygmomonometer and started monitoring it. I also contacted my health care provider, and she saw me last Tues. It was still up, so she ordered some blood tests and a chest x-ray (I had an EKG on file from surgery). Also, she said to start monitoring it several times a day. So I am doing that - yesterday was the highest reading - 149/100 - just randomly in the middle of the day. A little scary - but I'm trying to let that go. It could be tranistional, like all these other menopausal symptoms.

So today, I went up to Cougar to meet some people for a run. I was running late, lost my wallet (I found it) and got stuck behind a wide load on I-90. I phoned ahead and left a message, but knew I'd probably be running alone. They were gone running by the time I got there, so I took off on a 5-6 mile loop. When I was climbing, if my head started pounding, I walked. I was glad to be alone because 1) I didn't have the pressure of trying to stay with a group, and 2) it gave me a chance to work on my navigational skills. I returned to the parking lot and still no sign of the gang, so I took off on my second loop. It was much slower; there was more climbing, but I felt like my body was moving more smoothly. I also worked on downhill skills - only rolled my ankle once! Looking ahead and shortening up the stride, sitting back a little (engaging the glutes/lower abs) really got me over the wet leaves, rocks, and roots. When I hit a really hilly part (Quarry Trail upwards from Indian Trail) I started walking and paying attention to my HR, as well as how much my head was pounding. Before I knew it, I was on"flat" land again. Soon I was back at the parking lot where Tracy was stretching. I chatted with her and then headed home to a long soak in the tub (I even ate lunch in the tub). Afterwards, I took my bp machine downstairs, and read my pressure - it was normal. Several readings were normal! Was it the trail? Was it the teary outburst I had at Donn right before I sat down (in which I did feel some relief)?? I'll continue to monitor it, but maybe a morning in the woods (and or a cry) is what I need to calm it down. I just love (not) going through all these changes!

Northface Endurance 10K

2007-10-06T14:57:00.000-07:00

At the last minute I signed up for the North Face Endurance 10K run to be held up at Cougar Mountain. With four distances to choose from, runners could go long (50 miles) or short (10K) or somewhere in between (50K or half marathon). I chose to go short. It would be my second longest run and first time back at Cougar Mtn. since my surgery. I've done only two runs in Discovery Park since the summer, so I knew my hill climbing skills, which aren't that strong to begin with, were going to lack a bit. But I was anxious to try out my new Teva trail running shoes and ready to buck up and hit the mountain.

I signed up earlier this week, and got up early this morning to drive over to pick up my packet and get ready. It was cold and rainy, typical NW fall, so I brought lots of options to wear over my base. One thing I will have to work on is suffering the cold at the start. I look like a clothes rack by the time I am done, with all the stuff hanging off of me! One gal, who watched me peel layers during the race, was convinced I was going to be naked by the time we were done! I started out with 3/4 tights (Sub4), my Seattle Running Co short sleeve shirt, a long sleeve tech shirt, a vest, gloves and hat. The vest, gloves and long sleeve shirt were hanging off various parts of my body as I crossed the finish line. But back to the race.

I saw Teresa there who, along with Jan, was doing the Half. I hadn't seen her since the end of July, so it was good to see her and catch up a little. Tom Cotner was there doing the announcing and I struck up a conversation with him between announcements. I know several of his athletes, as well as work colleagues, since he is (was) at UW. I mentioned that my goal was not to be DFL, which is why I chose the 10K instead of the Half. More to come on that later. We saw the Half folks off at 9, which included Dean Karnazes and Nikki Kimball. She is SUCH a stud - I like that (can't remember where I read this) she is my height, and not a skinny stick (she said she weighed in about 130?) and KICKS ASS. I'm sure all that "extra weight" is muscle; she's just tough!

After they were off we gathered round for our directions which amounted to "follow the red arrows and you won't get lost". We took off at 9:16, and headed out to Clay Pit road and on to the trails. My usual doubt about being on course kicked in when we hit a stretch without markers, probably for a whole half mile. I was able to quell it, thinking I could go back if needed. I was really panting hard in the beginning because I stayed with the pack; they finally took off when we got in the woods and I hung near the back. I had been running the hills; after all this was only a 10K! But my steam soon ran out and I started ChiWalking the hills. It was the only place I could walk with my hands and arms moving fast upwards and nobody gave me a funny look. I played leap frog with a few people, and finally, about 40 minutes, we came to the first aid station. Tom was there and cheered me on - really cool! The trail was relatively level for a while and then we took a sharp right and started climbing again. By now, there was a guy following me, but at some distance. Still I felt like I was pulling him along, which was fine. I really focused on trying to be strong and using my upper body to climb. I need to do more upper body strengthening to be able to do that up here where it's hilly. We got to a right turn and started heading down to a creek. This time I worked on my down hill skills and tried to remain light on my feet. Also focused on keeping my left foot landing inwards so as not to roll it, and kep the right glute engaged. Focusing ahead for rocks and roots helped too. My buddy passed me and said he would pull for a while. He pulled way ahead! Finally we got to the creek and crossed the bridge. Now it was pretty wide but I still managed to bang my arm on a railing! Ouch! We crossed and started climbing again. My buddy ran out of steam and I pulled ahead again. At the top, we turned onto a trail going up up up. I hate this trail when I start from Red Town Trail head. You have to climb forever. Ugh. Fortunately, it wasn't that far before turning off of it onto the final trail, which was level. I could hear the finish line but couldn't really see it. Soon I came through and we went right into the finish while the "50" people had to still keep going! I came in at 1:12, which was good enough for first in my AG, especially since all the other 50 year old gals were either running the longer distances or stayed home in bed!

I was glad I chose the 10K. You have to have endurance since you start tripping and falling when your body gets tired. I remember almost falling on the way down to Coal Creek and seeing a huge rock in the ground ahead. Had I fallen, I most certainly would have hit my head on that rock, and it wouldn't be pretty! At any rate, my body is still bouncing back, and I need to remember to be patient with it. I also need to go even lighter in the clothing dept from the get-go so I don't waste so much time pulling off layers. And lastly, I need to trust the trail markers and know that I am on the right trail!

And now for the best part - the awards. As I said, I was the only one in my AG. Nonetheless, Henry Wigglesworth told me a Woody Allen quote - 90% of life is showing up! For my efforts of showing up, I got a gold medal, a nice technical tee, a North Face waist back and water bottle holder, and - get this - a Zune! Since my age group category was last, and I told Tom I had won and that I was the only one in my AG, instead of just announcing my name, he prefaced it with "And dominating her field". What a crack up!

I hung out a little and saw my friend Linda come through during her 50 miler. She said it was tough, very brutal. Also talked to some of the Half finishers who said the course was harder (and hillier) than they expected. Welcome to Cougar Mountain!

progress - racing and a hiking/driving adventure

2007-09-23T15:38:00.000-07:00

I raced (more than just "ran") the Fremont Oktoberfest Brew Ha-Ha 5K this morning. It's in my neighborhood so it was an easy jog down. I saw lots of friends - some I hadn't seen in a while and some I saw just last week at Cle Elum Ridge 50K.

When I got there they were pretty disorganized. I decided to do day of race sign up, along with about a thousand other people, and they ran out of chips. They announced that you had to yell out your number as you finished and someone would write it down. Good thing I had my Garmin 305 on to keep all my data! I got in a line that looked right, until someone said it was for M-Z. So I got in another line; this one turned out to be for the porta potty. Finally I got in the A-L line. I was still near the street at the top of the stairs at Adobe Plaza. I looked down and saw Barefoot Jon talking to James Varner and Alison Hanks, so I ran down to say hi. Before I knew it I was registered and ready to go. As I was hanging out I saw Tory and Roy Klementsen and chatted with them a bit. They were there volunteering for the Street Scramble. Finally the race was about to start so I headed up to the street. The horn went off and we headed down 34th. As we started to head uphill, Jon passed me - kicking some barefoot ass! I felt pretty strong but could tell it had been a while. We headed down towards Latona and made a hairpin turn onto the Burke Gilman trail. As we headed back towards Fremont, I kept trying to wander over to the dirt part on the east side of the trail. Not often that one gets to run southward on that part so I took full advantage! As I felt my body tighten up, I gathered to my center, as Danny says, and relaxed. Also focused my foot landing so I didn't supinate too much. Glute medius and quads felt good. My stomach was a little nauseous, reminding me it'd been a while since I raced. By mile three I was mainly trying to not throw up and just let it be what it was, not focusing on finish time. After we went under the Fremont Bridge (not on the trail) we had to run down the weird stairs to the trail. I walked down them so I wouldn't fall - they are irregular and "artsy". I resumed running to the finish. A guy instructed us to head left to remove our chips. I told him I didn't have a chip and asked who I was to give my number to. He looked confused and then wrote it down. I have no idea if I will be listed in the results and know I didn't win my AG as I saw Karen Buttram hanging around waiting for someone. She looked like she had finished at least a few minutes prior.

My finish time was 26:27; not bad for coming back! I ran into Jon when I went to look for water and we wandered into the Tshirt line. We found out they were just cotton, but wandered up to the front to ask for sure. One of the guys said they only had small, so Jon got one for me. I sort of felt bad for all those people standing in line waiting, but I still took it. Nothing fancy - I don't think I would have stood in line for it. I hope they all got one though, if they wanted one that bad.

I wandered back towards Wallingford, running into Matt Manges who had just flew in from Colorado where Circus Contraption was on tour. Finally I made my way back home to food and a shower massage. Nice workout and social time to boot!

Yesterday Donn and I headed east to Vantage to hike in the Petrified Ginko forest. We climbed up a jeep road for about 2.5 miles. It was super windy and very exposed. Didn't see any ginko trees as we didn't go through the interpretive center. We mainly just wanted to hike the desert. On the way back down, we detoured off the road towards the Columbia and got a little out of the wind where we ate some lunch. We enjoyed the view of the Columbia for a while, and then bushwacked our way, as it were, back to the road and eventually the car. We then headed back west, where we took another detour to get to Taneum Junction Road. I wanted to show him where I had been for the Cle Elum 50K last weekend. We got to the campground and stayed on road 33, as the sign said Cle Elum, 14 miles. Soon it turned into a forest service road and a lot of climbing. About two miles in I heard a clunk clunk clunk. I stopped the car and Donn jumped out to see what I was dragging. He laughed and said Uh-oh. Your muffler is hanging on barely. I got out to look and sure 'nuff, one of the extension pipes had broken (probably the one with the hole in it) and the muffler had hit my rubber bumper, leaving a nice mark in it. It and another pipe were hanging on by a rubber clamp, which we easily cut off. I threw the muffler in the back and continued towards Cle Elum. We got to a junction with no sign of which way to turn. Donn said right so I went right. Immediately (and fortunately) I saw the back of a sign; as I passed it and looked, it told me Cle Elum was the opposite way. I turned around and continued a little up. Finally we started seeing a couple more folks, and within 45 minutes or so, houses and a paved road. Eventually we ended up on a major arterial and kept following that by pure instinct, and got to South Cle Elum. We kept at it, ending up in Roslyn at the Village Pizza for a well deserved pizza and dark Roslyn beer. Yum!! After our bellies were full we headed back over the pass to home. Car ran much better without that pesky muffler and wasn't too noisy either. Still I have to get that taken care of before my trip to Vancouver BC next Friday, as the border patrol will most likely not appreciate my noisy arrival. What an adventure!!

My own private Hood to Coast

2007-09-09T21:18:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I really ramped up my running and I am pretty tired tonight. Friday I was off work and had free time to get a casual run in - about 3 miles. I was itching to go since I have been coming back very conservatively and not running two days in a row. I also took a risk knowing that Saturday I was going to run with Charlene and Sunday I was signed up for the IronGirl 5K at Greenlake. The run on Friday left me with a ton of energy so I really cleaned the house - mopped, dusted, straightened the clutter up. It felt great!!

Saturday I met Charlene at Discovery Park where we did a loop that included the beach trail. She was getting over a cold, and I was trying to hold back so we promised to walk the hills. But I must say, for getting over a cold, she sure was getting speedy! I think Scott has been "training" her hard! I was huffing to keep up at the start!! I want to improve my downhill technique so I really tried to open up going down the hills. Right foot is a little sore today. It was great fun though!

Then last night, I didn't get to sleep til after 12, and had to get up a little past 6 to get some food in me before heading up to Greenlake to the 5K. I walked/jogged to the community center, and got there in time for the race. I saw Ann Rinehart warming up, and she said she hadn't been racing all summer. She and Gina Young did the 5K. I got in line at about the 9:30 pace, and really felt woozy for a minute. I think it was a hot flash. When we started, I took it easy for a half mile, then started passing folks. I leap frogged with two gals I had been standing next to through out the race. They stayed ahead of me the last mile, but I caught up to them near the finish chute and we came across 1-2-3 with me as #3. My time was 27:41 - not a PR, but not bad for my first comeback race and also for being tired. Ann and Gina beat me in our AG, as well as two other women. I came in 5 out of 49. Not bad either!

Since you do three legs in Hood to Coast, and since I missed H2C due to surgery, I am calling this my private H2C, even though it was over three days instead of two! Now time to rest those legs and feet!!

back in the swim

2007-08-24T15:41:00.000-07:00

After a trial swim of 500 yds at the IMA last Wednesday, I wasn't sure I was ready to swim yet. My belly muscles were SORE after that swim!! And the hip flexors were a little sore too. But I thought - wait - I have a wetsuit that can act as an ace bandage! And if I wear my full one, I don't have to kick as much.

So this morning my friends Sarah and Karyn joined me at Greenlake. We decided to swim east beach to the dog tree (it looks like a terrier profile) and see how I felt. Sarah wore my shortie suit and I wore my full. The air was cool enough that I was not going to overheat. We got to the dog tree and I felt pretty good so we continued to the other side. Nice! After hanging out at West beach side and answering a guy's question about wet suits, we headed back east - INTO THE SUN!!! It was almost impossible to see the other side due to the glare, so we went to a buoy a little south and out of the sun. We hung out and chatted a bit, and then continued to east beach. We stopped to savor the beautiful morning. Karyn and I lamented that neither Donn or Chad liked to swim, and Sarah said Zach didn't like to get his face wet. I said Donn didn't either and Karyn said the same about Chad. Then I launched into a little teasing about them being afraid to get their makeup wet and called them girlie men. Pretty soon we were all giggling hard and treading water. I wonder what the people on shore thought....

It was an awesome morning and it felt great! to be back in the water and great to be with good friends!

first run post surgery

2007-08-19T21:41:00.000-07:00

I ran around Greenlake with Terry last Saturday. Or I should say gently jogged and walked in the middle when my low abs were talking. It felt a little weird like I was not quite ready. A little out of shape. It could have been that we stayed out way too late on Friday visiting friends for dinner out in West Seattle. And we had a gig at Pike Place Market for their 100th anniversary. I am definitely not ready to run Hood to Coast so I am glad I dropped out of the team!

Afterwards I came home and took a hot bath (finally, I can soak!!) and lay down for a nap. Almost woke up too late for the Marysville gig! Donn drove and I was still groggy by the time we arrived. But it gets a little better each day though today I didn't get to all the errands I wanted to do. After shopping at Ballard Farmers market and PCC, I was too worn out and just wanted to go home and start the peach ice cream.

So tomorrow I may attempt a swim at the IMA before work and maybe a little run after work - who knows. I'm taking it one day at a time.

And they're gone!

2007-08-04T09:53:00.000-07:00

Had surgery on Thursday (8/2) to remove the ovaries and all seemed to go well. I remember getting all groggy in the OR while they held a mask over my face to breathe in, and one of the anesthesiologists asking me if I was alright. I told her I was just getting all wonky-eyed and sleepy. In my mind's eye, I saw a casket sitting across the room with the sun shining on it. There was a body on top - it was my father's. Very weird.

The next moment I heard someone call my name and I opened my eyes. I was in my recovery room and the nurse was by my side. I said "Wow! You guys were fast!" She said it took a while to wake me. Also they pumped a lot of fluids in me - I gained at least 8 pounds! After a while they got Donn and he sat while I worked on waking up. I threw up a few times (before he came in) probably because there was blood in my stomach. They had scratched a few spots in my throat and mouth when intubating me, and I guess that causes nausea. My throat is still a little irritated and I have noticed some rough spots in my mouth.

My mouth was SO dry the crackers just sat there. The nurse got me some jello and it reminded me of the final heat in a mash potato eating contest in college. They ran out of mashed potatoes, so they gave us jello instead. I started spooning mine in and at some point noticed my fellow contestants had the bowl to their mouth and were slurping it in. I came in third, but I learned better race strategy for the next time.

Finally about noon, the nurse asked if I needed to pee, and said before I could leave I had to demonstrate I could walk to the toilet ( with her beside me) and also pee in it. She was a bit surprised (or may have just been humoring me) that I was able to stand and walk without hoding a pillow over my abdomen for support. I told her I had relatively good core muscles - finally - they came in really handy in something other than running or swimming! I passed the pee test and the next challenge was to get myself dressed. First I had to take a quick "power" nap. Then Donn handed me the garment bag and slowly I managed to get dressed. The nurse came in surprised (again) to see me dressed. She got a wheel chair and Donn took me for a (fast) ride to the car.

Back home and on the couch I slept most of Thursday. I noticed on Friday that I was really puffy all over. Legs, arms, face, belly, etc. I stepped on the scale and saw I had gained 8(!!) pounds from Thursday morning. If I were in an ultra, I would have been pulled from the race! I called my doc, and the nurse said it was probably all the IV fluids and I should expect to be peeing a lot, which I had been doing, but not a lot by my standards. So wait and see...

My friend Karyn came over with ice cream and Donn made us dinner. It was really nice and a good break for both of us - she's in the middle of a trial (she's a prosecutor) and has been going at it hard. I feel bad for her but it will be done soon! Anyway, later, I went to bed. About every two hours I had to get up to pee - and I mean pee! Not just a small trickle but like I hadn't gone in days! Sure enough, the 8 pounds I had gained were all (save one pound) gone this morning and my arms and legs and most of my face were back to normal. My lower abs still look weird - like I had been obese and had the underlying fat taken out, with no muscle tone. I'm sure that's because they had to blow up the abs and stretched a few muscles and also it's still swollen there. I'll worry if it's still that way in a month or so.

For now, just taking it easy and following the road to recovery!

another nice swim

2007-07-20T20:25:00.001-07:00

Last night I found out my friends Paul and Teresa were back from climbing in Russia so I called Teresa to see if she was up for a swim. We hit Madison Park this morning at 8 and swam to the Tennis Courts and back - about 1.2 miles. It was lightly raining and very humid and still so the water was nice and flat and not a lot of boat traffic. The water was AWESOME and it was fun to watch the rain dancing off the surface. It just felt great to get out there and enjoy it. I think the time (for me) was about 40-45 minutes, and I had plenty left in the tank (I was taking it easy). So that got me to thinking about the Park-to-Park swim - if it's not too soon post surgery. I'll ask my doc next week at my pre-surgery meeting.

nice morning

2007-07-18T09:03:00.000-07:00

It's raining (duh!) and we are back to more familiar PNW weather today. I was going to go to Madison Pk and swim early (6-ish) this morning but as usual didn't make it out of bed. And I had a hard time visualizing getting warm in the rain after swimming in the lake. However, Pop Mounger pool has lap swim 6-7:30 and I just wanted time in the water, so I made it there at 7. It was a nice swim - not crowded at all and I split the lane with another person. Fun part was watching raindrops hit my goggles during backstroke. Got in just enough to wake me up and make me feel good!

Right knee feels a little "congested" today - there is some swelling over the lateral meniscus. Don't know why since range of motion is good, but should know when I see John O'Kane this Thursday, who will tell me what the MRI showed. He's predicting inflammation which a cortisone shot should stop. We'll see. Have been back on the "strengthening wagon" this week and running a little.

Seattle Hardrockers

2007-07-15T21:03:00.000-07:00

Last Friday was the Hardrock 100 - one of the toughest 100M ultras there is. It's all above 13,000 ft and has an overall cumulative elevation gain of 33,0000 ft. This years winners were both from Seattle - Scott Jurek and Krissy Moehl (also 3rd overall) and they both broke course records for the men's and women's races. Not only that, but Scott ran it on an ankle he rolled the Monday before the race! Damn! Good thing his PT background was there to help him decide whether to run. He almost didn't, according the paper. And I was impressed by Krissy in that she said she had cut her training mileage this time around from when she broke the course record in the HURT 100. Anyone who finishes HR100 is a mega stud in my book - like James Varner who got in at the last minute. He was undertrained and I'm betting didn't get there a month ahead to acclimatize, yet he was on pace to be in the top ten til it caught up with him. He walked more or less the last 25 miles but he finished! That's perseverance.

Congrats to all the runners - what a show!!

out they go!

2007-06-29T08:22:00.000-07:00

After another weekend of missing a race and barely able to stand straight thanks to a swollen ovary, I've made the decision to evict both from the body. Surgery is scheduled for August 2, the day before my son's birthday. How ironic! I was thinking of having a going away party for them and having my friend Charlene design a cake in the shape of ovaries. I have a pattern from when I made a dish cloth for my boss, complete with infection with Mycoplasma genitalium! I also have a Tshirt with "fighting ovaries" on the front - that should be worn to my surgery! Let's hope for a warm day as it is a tank top.

Post surgery recovery should be about 2-3 weeks with no heavy activity - i.e., no running? After the incisions heal, should be able to swim (and kayak). And can bike too. But I PROMISE to take it easy!! This also means no Hood to Coast and no fall ultra. Maybe I'll find a half and work into it....Best of all - no more pain to keep me from running!

Back on the water

2007-06-19T22:08:00.000-07:00

Finally - a beautiful evening! After dinner, Donn loaded our kayaks on the car and we went in search of a launch site. Lake WA rowing club had no parking so we headed along Lake Union and put in at a public boat ramp (forget the name) with the motor boats. We went across the lake and headed towards Portage Bay. Lots of boat traffic made for choppy but fun water. We saw a very able kayaker coming towards us near the University Bridge. He was zipping along in a little fiberglass boat - glad I didn't have to keep up with him! At the east end of the house boats we headed back from whence we came. There were some new house boats in the 'hood - one that was made of metal and had some really cool artwork and sculptures on and in it. We gawked at it for a bit before noticing the occupant fiddling around inside. Guess he's use to that.

I found Cal's place but felt too shy to paddle up to it. Maybe next time. Must also find where Sarah's boyfriend Zach lives. There are lots of places to visit! When we got back to the launch site, we had to wait to get out. It was busy! What a beautiful day! We deserved it!!

on the trail again

2007-06-10T08:34:00.000-07:00

After recovering and then getting sick off and on for a couple of weeks, I am ready to get back out and hit the trails again. Only problem is 1) summer Saturdays are usually tied up with helping at a triathlon clinic, 2) I started a new job (which I love) and don't have free time during the weekday, at least not like I did when unemployed, 3) teaching ChiRunning and ChiWalking (which I also love) has increased, leaving little extra free time, and 4) band gigs are more numerous in the summer. So when do I get out there??? When I can. No more excuses. I had a scare last week that reminded me be in the moment more and take that running (and swimming and biking) when and where I can.

The week after Folklife, I woke up in the night with some abdominal pain and a fever. I called the doctor and my ensuing visit ended up with a CAT scan (to make sure I didn't have diverticulitis). Something seen on the ovaries put a pelvic ultrasound on the schedule for six weeks out. The next week, after a week of feeling better, the cramps were back, so I went back in and ended up getting an ultrasound sooner than six weeks out. A swollen ovary and mutliple cysts promted a blood test for a CA125, a marker for ovarian cancer. This is where I started freaking out. My mom died of cancer, possible ovarian, but it was too metastisized to tell. Plus I have/have had other friends with various types of cancer (breast, ovarian), so it was hitting a little too close to home. I left work early, got the blood drawn, got Donn to leave early, and went to Tutta Bella, where I got drunk (on only two glasses of wine, mind you). I spent a teary evening and got up early to swim with Teresa, after which I looked like I had been beaten up pretty badly, between puffy eyes and goggle eyes. By then I had gotten into a place where, if it was positive, I'd handle it like an ultra. Follow a plan and just get from aid station to aid station. Even fantasized about how I'd look with all my hair gone. By Friday afternoon, I was able to get hold of the nurse, who told me the test was neagtive. WHEW! I feel like I dodged a bullet!

Now the plan is, when I see my doc, to talk about my options and get another ultrasound to see if the ovaries have calmed down. I also intend to ask for the test for the genetic marker (can't remember if I had one) and if it's positive, out they go! I'm not using them much these days anyway, and my chances of osteoporosis are pretty slim, based on my last two Dexa scans.

So I celebrated last Friday with a run up at Cougar mountain! It was raining at the start, but not hard enough that you could tell in the canopy. I took it really easy and walked when it got too steep, protecting my peroneal muscle (I have peroneal tendonitis going on). I had a great time and cherished every moment of it! And the sun came out by the time I was finishing up! Oh yeah, and since I don't work on Fridays, that's my new long run day.

2007-05-29T21:01:00.000-07:00

Another Folklife Festival has come and gone. I played in two bands this year - Orkestar Zirkonium and The Ballard Sedentary Sousa Band. Someone got us on video:

We had a great time -but all that fun and food led to a stomach bug....:-( This too shall pass.

Wherever you go, there you are

2007-05-21T21:35:00.000-07:00

Last Friday night, as we sat down to dinner, the phone rang and it was a social worker from a local hospital calling to let Donn know his dad had fallen and been taken to their ER. His dad lives on an island, and she wanted Donn to come take him home when he was all fixed up. So we finished dinner and I offered my car to Donn, since it was easier for his dad to get in and out of. He left about 7:30 to go 5 miles away. I settled down to prepare for the weekend ahead to assist Chris Griffin in teaching a ChiRunning and ChiWalking workshop.

About 8:30 the social worker called to ask where Donn was. That was a little worrisome. I waited and she called back about 9:30 to say he still hadn't gotten there. Now I was genuinely worried. I ended up driving what I thought would be his route to look for my car, and didn't see anything. Meg called again to see if I had heard anything. I told her I didn't see my car, and didn't know what to do. She suggested I call the police to see if there had been any reports of an accident. I called my son, who was manning the phone at home, and asked him to do that. He also called the local trauma ER to see if they had Donn. No accidents and no Donn at the ER left me really baffled. How could he ride his motorcycle across the state and yet go missing on a five mile trip to the hospital? Meg had said she would see about sending his dad home in a cab.

Back home I called the hospital again to talk to Meg but she had gone home. The person I talked to said they couldn't send him home in a cab because the cab driver would not get off the ferry. I told her I couldn't take him and besides I was worried sick about Donn at this point. She condescendingly offered "Of course. That would be out of your comfort zone." (I wanted to use my foot to get her out of her comfort zone!) So she said they would send him home in an ambulance, which he would have to pay for. It would cost $500-$1000. I said go ahead because I wasn't going anywhere until I figured out where Donn went. By this time I was fighting going into convulsions and trying to stop shaking. I calmed my nerves, telling myself everyone has to go at some point, and maybe this was Donn's time.

I called the police again, and they had no reports of accidents, nor did the State police. Harborview once again confirmed no Donn at their ER. I called the police back to see about putting an APB on my car. The policeman suggested I not do that, beacause if they found it, with Donn in it, they would have to book him into jail. I asked about filing a missing person's report, and he said to wait a few hours, and then file, to give Donn a chance to show up. So all I could do at that point was to drift off to sleep. I decided I would call Chris in the morning to tell him I couldn't help out because I was looking for Donn.

About 4 am I heard Donn's key in the door. As he walked in, I yelled "where the hell have you been?" to which he replied "the waiting room at the hospital". He had gotten there and asked to see his dad (didn't say he was his dad but used his name) and the staff just motioned him back to where his dad was, without asking who he was. That's a violation of HIPAA rules. He saw his dad being worked on and the docs/nurses shooed him back to the waiting room. He would occasionally go ask about his dad, but always got dismissed. Finally, when he realized the last boat was about to leave Seattle, he asked again. They said they had already sent him home in an ambulance! What idiots!!! Donn lectured them about their snafu and about letting him go see his dad without asking who he was.

I went back to sleep for an hour or so (I think I got two hours sleep) and got up in time to bike up to the community center for the workshop. After giving Chris the short version of the night, I settled into teaching and really enjoyed helping the participants. It was like a refreshing break from a horrible nightmare.

At lunch, I called the hospital and asked to speak to Meg. I asked her if she remembered talking to me the night before, and after a moment she did. I asked if she knew Donn was in the waiting room the whole time, and she was really shocked and very apologetic. I also informed her about the violation of HIPAA rules, and suggested the hospital cover the ambulance ride back home. She agreed and said she would check into it with the staff supervisor. I felt a little vindicated for the grief I'd been put through, and went back to the class.

The nice thing was I was able to let it go and give my full attention to the class. It was, once again, a refreshing break from the trauma. I love teaching and helping people connect with their bodies, and watching them grow into the runner or walker they hoped to be. And watching Chris teach was, as always, really inspiring. We also had some new instructors helping and hearing their input was like a breath of fresh air. It was a great weekend despite a very rocky start! For this, I am grateful to ChiRunning coming into my life, and helping me to be in the present moment, whatever that moment is.

My first Ultra - a race report

2007-05-14T20:03:00.000-07:00

Capitol Peak Race Report – a journey to my first ultra marathon

Last fall, after my friends Paul and Teresa took me on my first “official” trail run up at Cougar Mountain, I knew I wanted to try an ultra marathon. I'd done a few road marathons, and was getting tired of the pavement. The forest was so beautiful and it was a completely different challenge running on the trail. In addition, I'd had some sidelining injuries in the past, and the training required for a marathon alone was risky enough. But between learning ChiRunning, working on my deep core muscles, and getting off the pavement, I was ready to tackle an ultra marathon. I picked Capitol Peak 55K.

After consulting with Scott to lay out a training plan, and getting advice on nutrition and other things, I had a plan. The week I met with him was a tough one – I had gotten final notice that I would be laid off from my job, and the son of an old friend was killed in Iraq (I hadn't seen him since he was a baby). So when I looked at this schedule with back-to-back long runs (considering my history of injuries), it all came crashing in. After a good cry (well, really one that lasted off and on through out the week) I turned it around and saw being unemployed as a great time for training! I could go run a trail in the middle of a weekday and be fresh. I also had more flexible time to teach ChiRunning – which was great to practice what I taught as I trained! Race date was April 28, at Capitol Forest – a 55K run that went up to Capitol Peak and back down.

During my training, I did two 25K trail races (Tiger Mountain Fat Ass and Orcas Island Fat Ass) as well as a couple non-competitive trail races (NW Trail runs – Soaring Eagle 10 miler and Squak mountain half marathon, which I used as part of a 20 mile run). Those, along with the back-to-backs got me stronger, though I am still relatively slow. It's all good.

Tamara, my massage therapist and friend, wanted to crew for me when I told her I was planning to do this race. She crews for Urs Koenig and wanted to explore new venues. I was a little hesitant since it was “only” a 55K, but I agreed. We headed down to Olympia Friday afternoon in Joey, her jeep, and got to the packet pick up about 4. Our hotel was just down the street so we checked in, unloaded, and then headed for the race start site. I wanted to go there the day before the race since I wasn't familiar with the territory, and we would be looking for it in the dark. Plus, I had missed the Soaring Eagle race start by half an hour having gotten lost beforehand. Race director John Pearch, and his buddies, did an awesome job at directions and signage. I recognized the sandwich board signs from the Orcas Fat Ass race. Thanks y'all!!

As we got on forest service roads, the surface changed to pavement covered some in mud and loose rocks. It had been raining so Joey got his first taste of real mud. Donn (my partner) had thought about riding his Moto Guzzi to the race, but I was a little concerned about the road conditions. I called him later to discourage his plans. We got to the site and saw a couple guys chatting, one who turned out to be someone I met at Squak Mountain, a veteran of many ultras including 100 milers, Max Welker. I had done part of my training run with him and another woman -Robin Blais- at Squak. When I tried to “pull the age card” about being slow, she said – can't do that. He turned out to be about 12 yrs older! Oh well! Max was camping in his van at the race start so he could take an early start for the 50 miler.

After chatting, we hopped back in Joey and went to Olympia to find some dinner. There was a big art walk and downtown was hopping with nary a place in sight to park, so we headed a little further out of town and ended up at a Red Robin where I had a 'shroom garden burger. Should have asked for lettuce/tomatoes but it seemed logical that they would put that on there. Not so! After dinner, we headed back to the hotel where I worked on laying out everything for the morning. I wanted to make sure I didn't have to think too hard since we were getting up at 4 am. I've been used to sleeping in for the last few months since I've been unemployed. After a little TV watching (I never do that at home so it's a novelty at the hotel!), we were off to bed.

That alarm sure went off early! I rolled out of bed and got dressed, brushed the teeth and headed out the door. T had already packed Joey - another plus for crew!! All I had to do was get my butt out of bed, dressed and out the door. I did almost forget my morning coffee (we roast our own so I always pack a little along with a press). When we got to the start, there were already a lot of people parked up and down the service road. I had warmups on over my race clothes and was glad – it was chilly! I saw some people I recognized and a few I knew, either racing or there to volunteer. It helped me to see some familiar faces, though two I didn't recognize would become my two “new best friends” later that day. I checked in and got my number, and got in the ever growing potty line. As the start time neared, I bucked up and shed the warmups. John gave some prerace directions, thanked the supporters, sponsors, and volunteers of the race, and then we were off. We headed down the trail like a bunch of jack rabbits only to hear a minute later “Wrong way!!” John and some others had to haul butt to the front of the line to catch the leaders! Good thing I was near the back taking it slow! :-) Apparently, someone had parked across the entry to the trail and the leaders missed it, while the rest of us followed like sheople! So we all turned the right direction and into the woods. It was getting lighter as a beautiful day was dawning, and we were all thankful for the lovely weather! We've had more than our share of rain this past year, plus last year there was snow at this race! No one took this nice weather for granted!

We climbed up a hillside through some clear cut. I stepped aside a couple times to let people pass – I was a little out of my league speed-wise and I knew the 34 miles lay ahead, so I'd better not let my heart rate go through the roof just yet! There were two people behind me after the second time I stepped aside and I asked if they wanted to pass but they said the pace was fine. A few minutes later, they did pass, but I kept them in my sight. I was prepared to run most of the day alone, as that's how most of my races had been so far. Not a big deal, and good for lots of exploration. We climbed up through more clearcut and I was close enough to make some conversation with them occasionally. We came to the first aid station where a couple volunteers awaited us. One was James Varner, race director of Orcas Island Fat Ass, and also a friend. I had run into him in Olympia after Orcas Is when my band, Orkestar Zirkonium, had gone down to play a Friday night gig at the Eagle's Hall. We chatted a bit and then headed on. Not too far, I managed to step on a big rock in the middle of the logging road and seriously roll my ankle. I heard a pop and thought this might be the end of the race. My new friends, Linda and Rich, waited for me. I hobbled a few steps and it seemed to settle down. I decided to run on it, really applying relaxed lower leg focuses from ChiRunning, and see how it went. I have run on a broken foot and know how painful that is, and this didn't seem to be that. I took a couple ibuprofen a few minutes later, and we headed on. They were dealing with some injuries themselves – Linda had a very tight IT band. She had done Boston (3:43), then a week later, her first 50 miler at Mt.Si Ultra, and was there today doing the 55K. She's a real stud and my new hero!! Rich was also a veteran of ultras and was planning his first 100 miler for this summer. But his hip flexor and hamstring were getting in the way of decent running. They asked me if I had any hip issues – I almost burst out laughing! Last year I could barely run thanks to a screwed up hip rotator. I sort of hobbled through the Boston marathon in 2006. But thanks to core strengthening and getting better at applying ChiRunning focuses, my hip has been a very happy camper! Still, I qualified for the team due to the past injury, and we became Team Hippie! They were the most awesome trail running partners and watched out for me! They were half my age (Rich is a year older than my son and his mom is a year younger than me – and did her first ultra last year), and I still feel really blessed to have come across them. I did manage to roll my ankle a couple more times, which I usually do anyway, but not as bad. I always use it as a sign that I need to reapply my focuses and level my pelvis. Works every time. Plus, another instructor, Laura Robinson, said she learned from Danny to think about the upward spiral of chi, and that has an effect of lightening up your footfall. It's especially helpful when running downhill on a rocky and rooty trail.

We arrived at the second aid station, about 9.7 miles into the race, where T was waiting to dote on me. I introduced Rich and Linda, and later in the day, T would tease me about “whoring” her out to them! Turns out, she was whoring herself out to folks who showed up with various injuries or pains and applying her awesome massage skills to them! Anyway, one of the aid station volunteers asked me what happened to my legs. I thought they meant my ankle, so I told them I rolled it. They said 'no, that blood'. I looked down and both legs had blood smeared on them near the insides of my knees. I must have gotten a scratch or bug bite that hit a bleeder. I shrugged it off (yeah, I'm a blood stud) and by the end of the day, I had sweat the blood away. We fueled up and headed back out; next aid station 6 miles away. The run was beautiful and we talked about what we had been reading. Linda is getting a masters in information technology and will be a librarian. She's even developing her own catalog system for her extensive book collection! Rich is a firefighter and I guess has some time to read between fires.

As we got within a mile of the next aid station, talk turned to food. We would notice this throughout the day. I keep hearing to successfully run an ultra, you have to learn to eat during it. So true!! Rich was making noises about going to his car for a brief nap, since that
aid station (mile 15.7) also served as the start/finish area. We got in and fueled up and made pit stops at the outhouse. I chatted a little with John (RD) about ChiRunning (beware – I'll talk it up to even the most remotely interested party, though John was keenly interested in it). We hung out there till all felt comfortable and Rich's alarm went off (joke) and then head off to Capitol Peak.
<--Rich showing off his bum hip
What a beautiful climb! I am not as strong on hills as I would like to be, so I was grateful for Linda and Rich “pulling” me up the hill. I even told them about this product I'd seen where you basically put the weaker person on a short rope and haul 'em along – it's called a wego team link. About half way up, another runner came up who was having trouble with his knee locking up. He traced the pain, and it was definitely his IT band. I told him to hold on to my shoulder, and had Linda demonstrate the stretch. He stayed with us a little way, but unfortunately had to drop out at the next station. I felt bad for him, though I did love it when he (almost apologetically) mentioned he was 46. Linda said she was 29, Rich was 26, and I said 52. There goes that age card again – old farts be warned!! Talk turned again to food as we drew closer to the aid station.

We pulled into aid station 4, near the final climb up to Capitol Peak, at mile 20. Tamara was there waiting for us and again doted on me. So awesome! She did notice that I'm not used to that though, so I was trying hard to appreciate it fully! We noshed at the aid station and Rich and Linda worked on inventing a new snack, something to do with pretzels and peanut butter, while I ate sliced bananas and made “banana rings” out of the peels. The volunteers warned us that several people had gotten confused about the sign up to the peak and gone off course. They were pretty specific about which way we should go, though most of it sounded Greek to me. We took off up the road and soon enough came to a sort of fork, but with three roads. Two looked like the same road of a loop, and the third went sharply right and up. There was a sign pointing that way, but not quite “up” that way. The 50 mile sweeper was pretty upset that it was so confusing and sort of freaking out. Linda went a little further to investigate and discovered a trail just to the left of that road, with ribbons hanging from tree branches. That was the correct way, and we were off to the summit! We climbed up, smiling and goofing off for the camera and Rich noticed the view. I turned around and was in awe, even though it was overcast and we couldn't see the mountains. We saw Puget Sound far off and tree tops for as far as the eye could see. It was really pretty! It was also pretty chilly compared to lower elevations. My gloves kept going on and coming off. We headed back down the road and looped around to the aid station again, where I retrieved my jacket from T. We ate some more and then took off for the woods and onto the next aid station. That was about 5 miles away.

We stopped at a road crossing at one point so Rich could stretch his hamstring. That climb must have taken its toll. There was another fork in the road, and I knew we were going to aid station 6, so we followed the sign to that. It was pretty much downhill and I occasionally found myself ahead of the gang. Running downhill with the types of injuries they were dealing with is really tough. I had fun thinking about leveling my pelvis and the upward spiral of chi, which caused me to pick it up a bit. They were so good to me on the uphills, that I felt a loyalty to them on the downhills, so I would hang back a little. Soon we were all together again, and they must have loosened up because once again I was not leading! About a mile from the station (as we were discussing our favorite foods) the 50 mile sweeper came barreling down the trail towards us. He wanted to know if we had gotten to Wedekind (aid station 6) and we told him we were headed there. He said he was on the 50 mile route and wanted to know if we had seen any 50 milers go by. No. I had a map so I pulled it out and was able to show him where we were. He grilled me again about whether we had reached Wedekind (really, I felt like I was on the witness stand!) and finally he turned around and ran back to Wedekind.
We eventually pulled in to aid station 6, where the 50 milers go one way the first time through and make a big loop, while we head for the finish.
<-- Linda and me sharin' the trail luv at Wedekind
The poor guy had taken a wrong turn and was backtracking. He got back on track, and after some yummy Ramen soup (mostly noodles) and other food (coke is good!), I got a water bottle full of gatorade and we took off for home.
The run to the finish was a gentle downhill and we occasionally had to step aside for a speedy 50 miler to pass. We also occasionally took walk breaks and enjoyed the scenery – it was such a gorgeous day! About two miles or so before the end we came out into a clear cut area. In parts of the trail, it was like being a giant walking through a canyon or walking in a ditch. It was hard to get a level footing which was hard especially for Rich's hamstring. My ankle didn't like it too well, and I think that's where a blister on the heel started developing. It was also getting really warm; we'd really gotten used to the shade! When it really got tough, we were back in the shade. At some point, Linda commented how great it was to run together (we'd been saying that throughout the day) but more importantly, how positive we all were. Rich responded with a “shaddup!' which caused her to giggle over the next mile. Finally, we came up to a sign pointing right that said To Finish. We followed the trail and Rich said “I think that sign said we had three miles to go.” Ha ha. We agreed that since we hung together all day, we should cross the finish line together. So we came barreling in and linked up arms and ran across to top off a really great and fun day! Time was 8:46.

Team Hippie arrives at the finish

After crossing the finish line, I heard a deep voice call my name and looked over to see Donn! He had arrived earlier on his motorcycle with out a lick of mud on it! What a nice surprise!

Someone asked me later if I didn't have anything better to spend 9 hours doing and I immediately responded that I couldn't think of anything! After my ankle heals (it's a mild sprain), I'll be looking for another one to run, and for next year, ramp up to a 50 miler (yikes!). I'll be looking for Rich and Linda who plan to run a 100 miler together later this year!

Post note – I headed over to Spokane the next weekend to work at the ChiRunning booth. I ended up signing up for the Bloomsday Run and did it, enjoying myself the whole way!