Trailing Along

Angel Fire Trail Race

2012-05-25T08:57:00.000-05:00

Angel Fire Endurance Run is an inaugrural event beginning and ending at The Lodge at Angel Fire Resort at Angel Fire, New Mexico and it will take place on June 30, 2012. There will be a 50K, 50 Mile and 100 mile and it looks to be a challenging event with a good mix of single track trail, forest road and a short paved section. I've read that this will be New Mexico's first 100 mile trail race? And did I mention it's put on by Chisholm Deupree who has a great track record with putting on fun events. He's also RD for 24 The Hard Way and Double Dirty Dozen. The race will start at almost 9,000 feet and will climb up to over 10,000 at it's highest point. Since I have never ran a race at high elevation I have NO idea what to expect. It will probably be a slow race for me.

The Lodge at Angel Fire Resort is offering special rates for race participants and is opening their awesome looking zipline the day after the race! Check out the YouTube video and the picture. This will be a must..a reward for completing the 50k! ; )

Yes...that tiny dot at the top is the person on the zipline. weeeeee!

More Mt. Scott

2012-05-20T14:09:00.001-05:00

In preparation for next months Grand Canyon R2R run, the trail group headed out to the Wichita Mountains again for some laps up and down Mt. Scott. For any Oklahoma runners looking for some fun hill training, this is your place. Just get there early to beat the car/motorcycle traffic going up & down the mountain. We started running at 6:30 am and ran for about 1.5 hours before they opened the gates to cars. We ran for another 1.5 hours after that, but the traffic was really light until the last 20 minutes or so and then started picking up. It was a gorgeous day! We finished up with a soul cleansing 6 mile run/hike on Dog Run Hollow trail. The wildflowers were out in full force and it was another gorgeous day. Not quite ready for Grand Canyon..but ready as I'll ever be I suppose!

Frisco Railroad Run Race Report

2012-04-30T21:42:00.003-05:00

I made the 4.5 hour drive from Norman, OK to Springfield, Missouri after I got off work at 5:00 on Friday to run the Frisco Railroad Run marathon. My hotel was easy to find and after a quick check-in, I laid out my running clothes and my race gear. Since there was going to be aid stations approximately every 2.5 miles along the course I decided to go with one handheld water bottle with a few GU’s in the pocket and some S! caps. It was already heading towards midnight so I tried to wind down and get to bed so I'd be fresh for the race but sleep eluded me because I was so excited to run the next day. :)

I woke up before the 5:30 alarm and popped outta bed. After quickly getting ready and making some oatmeal and coffee, I made the 10 minute drive over to Willard, MO to find the middle school where the race would start. Packet pickup went smoothly and I got my number and chip on. I love race shirts, especially if they are tech shirts and the Frisco Railroad Run shirt did not disappoint. Cool shirt!

I didn’t see any porta-potties in the parking lot and was told the only bathrooms there at the start were inside the school by the gym. I got in line thinking that I had plenty of time since the race didn’t start for 25 more minutes. WRONG! After standing in line for 15 minutes and barely moving I got out of the line and went outside to wait for the race start. I really needed to pee, but the website had said there would be a porta-potty 5 miles into the race so the plan was to run and try not to think about my over hydrated bladder until I got to the 5 mile mark.

I saw Ken Childress at the start line and got to chat with him for a few minutes. He was running the 50 mile race and ended up with a great PR. Congrats, Ken! The race started right on time and the fun began. J The first 2.5 miles were on a paved trail, then we were on the crushed limestone trail and it was beautiful. Trees on either side of the nice wide trail and the scent of honeysuckle permeating the air. Lovely! Running felt smooth and I had some good tunes going. I remember thinking at one point that it just doesn’t get any better than to get to spend the weekend doing exactly what I was doing. Missouri is beautiful! The temperature was about 63 degrees but the humidity was high so I decided to take an S! cap and gel every hour and drink my 12 ounces of water between aid stations. This worked out well and I never felt bad or like my hydration or nutrition was lacking, which is rare for me. I got it right during a race for once!

Soon enough I was at the 5 mile aid station and the first thing I was looking around for was the porta-potty and got a sinking feeling when there was none to be found. I heard people around me asking the aid station volunteers for the porta-potty and they seemed to be in as bad of shape as me. I decided to run to the next aid station and if there still wasn’t one to be found, I’d find a tree and just hope that I didn’t flash any unsuspecting runners! There was a lot of poison ivy in the wooded areas on either side of the trail so I wasn’t looking very forward to ducking into the woods OR squatting down amongst the leaves of three. The next aid station came and went with no bathrooms to be found so I started the hunt for a suitable (and preferable hidden) location. It hurt to run my bladder was so full! Luckily for me at about 8 miles in I saw a little grove of trees with a house tucked way back on the other side. The homeowners had mowed all around the trees up to the trail so I could easily run off the trail through the mowed grass, duck behind the trees and take care of business. I felt a million billion times better and hit the trail again with a renewed vigor. SWEET RELIEF!!

I caught up to two guys that I’d been leap frogging with since the start of the race and we all started talking. I wish I could remember their names, but when I run long races I get a little brain dead and end up forgetting a lot. One was from Hot Springs and we talked races and compared stories. The time passed so quickly having other runners to chat with and before I knew it we were at the 13.1 turnaround and heading back. One of them was telling me about their friend Leah Thorvilson and that she had just won Hogeye Marathon and Carmel Marathon. She was at Frisco running her first 50 miler. Apparently the 50 mile distance agrees with her as much as marathons do because I read this article about her today on www.ultrarunning.com. Way to go, Leah! Smokin' fast lady!! The two guys and I stuck together until about 14-15 miles and then we all drifted into our own paces and race. My headphones went back on and I was enjoying every second. There was a little bit more of a breeze on the second half which felt wonderful and made the humidity not seem so bad. I kept hearing sirens and saw an ambulance and some fire trucks and rescue units. Someone said that some racers ran into heat/hydration issues and I said a quiet prayer for them and hoped everyone was okay.

Gorgeous Trail

Hot Springs, Arkansas runners..wish I could remember their names

At about 16 miles in I realized that I was slowing and would probably not make it in under 5 hours which was just a loose goal for this race. A guy jogged up beside me and asked if I was trying for a sub 5 hour marathon and I told him yeah, but didn't think it was going to happen. He told me that we were only 200 yards behind pace for finishing under 5 and if we got to running then we had a shot. So we got to running and made up a little time but after a mile or so I told him I had to ease back and he should go on ahead. He declined and said it was more fun for him to run with someone and to get to know other runners so we settled into a slower pace and chatted. This is one of the things I love about trail races is I usually end up meeting the nicest, most interesting people! He told me his name was Chad Spilman and he was from Texas. Chad and his friends had driven up to Missouri to run Frisco Railroad Run marathon and then were leaving right after the race to drive to OKC where Chad was going to be a 4:10 pacer for the OKC Memorial Marathon the next day. AMAZING! So we had a lot to talk about. I was fascinated that he could run double marathons in a weekend and he told me some of the things that keep him healthy enough to run so much mileage. We talked ITB syndrome, stretching, running, trail running and ultras and the last 10 miles of the race flew by. Okay, not flew by...but went a LOT faster than if I'd been struggling them out by myself. Chad could of ran the rest of that marathon so much faster but he paced me in and I know I finished faster than I would have had I been on my own. Thank you, Chad! Hope to see you at future races and that your pacing duties at OKC Memorial Marathon went well!

After the race I headed back to the hotel and put on compression socks and propped my legs straight up against the wall which I think really helped with post marathon leg soreness. I also used the foam roller and rolled out my calves with The Stick. I stayed one more night and got lots of sleep before heading back to Oklahoma the next day.

I never had any real low points in the race. Never felt horrible and no injuries other than the always predictable ITB and hip discomfort that I consistently have in long or flat races. This course was both flat and long and I'm no worse for wear which is encouraging! I felt great the next day, very little soreness. Now two days out my legs feel fresh and ready to run.

This race was a lot of fun...great course and volunteers. The aid stations were pretty light on food selection but did have the basics and I usually carry everything on me that I might need such as gels, water and salt caps. Porta potties would be nice too. But I really did love the race and would run it again. I heard that the race was a lot bigger this year than last year so the few glitches might just be growing pains and all in all I think it was a great event. Thank you so much for all the wonderful volunteers and to the race director for putting it on. I can't wait to go back to Missouri for more running!

Endurance Buzz

2012-04-26T14:06:00.000-05:00

I'm excited that I've been chosen by EnduranceBuzz.com to contribute articles for the website that informs, inspires (hopefully!), and entertains other runners in the ultramarathon and trail running community. Please check out this site if you haven't yet! Great product reviews, race reports and a regional race guide. Excellent website, check it out!
http://endurancebuzz.com/about/

If you're looking for some great trail races in the north Texas area then go to http://endurancebuzzadventures.com/.

Frisco Railroad Trail Marathon

2012-04-16T11:23:00.001-05:00

I was reading Trailzombie's blog yesterday and he was talking about the Frisco Railroad Run. I took a look at the pictures of the trail and description of the course and that old familiar buzzing started in my brain.. trying to work out details and figure out if it was do-able. And turns out, it is! So on a whim I've signed up for the marathon. I was needing a nice long run and this will fit the bill perfectly. It's a rails-to-trail course on the old Frisco Railroad. The race starts in Willard, Missouri and looks pretty low key and smallish. My kind of race!

Change Of Date For Red Dirt Championship Fat-Ass Trail Race

2012-04-15T11:43:00.000-05:00

Please note the corrected flyer lists the corrected date of May 6th which is a Sunday. Also, the 25K time has changed to 11:17 am.

Lake McMurtry 2012 -- The 50K that became a 25K

2012-04-09T08:59:00.004-05:00

Peggy, Henry, Donna, Beth, Nancy, Maurice, me and Cindy before the race.

All of the stars aligned and the weather looked to be nearly perfect this years Lake McMurtry trail race. My training had been a little light but I was uninjured and feeling good so I had hopes that this would be a great race and lots of fun. But you never can control or predict what will happen on any given day..

I woke to lots of lightning and thunder, but there wasn't any heavy rain falling. I knew it was suppose to clear out by the time the race started so wasn't too concerned. We watched the awesome light show the whole 1.5 hour drive to Lake McMurtry. The temperature was 52 degrees with a forecasted high of 68 degrees, which was waaaaaaaay better than the temperatures last year!

The race started right at 8am and I felt great and was enjoying every second. We've had such a mild winter and early spring that the woods were lush and green. Usually everything is still dormant and the green is just starting to peek through in places. This year looked totally different than usual and it was gorgeous! I felt at times like I was running in Oregon with the misty rain, lush green surrounding me and on the north loop there was even that musty, cave-y smell that reminds me of Arkansas. Nice!
:) I did notice that I was feeling fatigued about 5-6 miles in and just figured it would pass and that I needed another gel, which I ate and also took an S-cap.

After running the north 7.5 mile loop I came into the start/finish area and grabbed a few Fig Newtons from my drop bag and headed out for the south 7.5 mile loop. With my hands full of Newtons I was working my way down the big hill that goes down to the lake (or if you are going the other way heads UP to the finish line) and lost my footing on some leaves. Fell hard on my butt. I got up and started running again but could feel my tailbone aching. Ouch. It was about 2 miles into this south loop that I knew something wasn't right...I was aching and hurting all over, especially my lower back and hips. It was hard for me to tell if the lower back pain was from the fall or if I was just sick and achey. I was sweating but had cold chills all over, had body aches and felt feverish. At this point I was having trouble running because of the achiness but tried to keep moving forward as quickly as possible. I got to see Dave, Brandon, April, Colby, Don, Nancy, Peggy, Beth, Donna and David Hanenburg on this loop and they all looked so good and were running so strong that it would give me that momentary lift and then within a few minutes I'd feel like I was crashing again and bonking. Towards the end of the loop it dawned on me that I was sick and that there was no way I could run another 15.5 miles. When I came into the start/finish again and saw Dave I told him that I was done and what was going on. Brian Hoover dropped me to the 25K and Dave and I headed home. Surprisingly it ended up being a 25K PR for me! After a day in bed recovering I woke up Sunday feeling like a million bucks and no worse for the wear. WEIRD! I wish I'd got to run the whole thing, it was such a beautiful running day and with so many friends and family out there it was an ideal, perfect day. But I had fun running 15.5 and am already looking forward to next year. Is it too much to ask for perfect weather again next year?!?!

All of the distances were turned up a notch this year with some really speedy people showing up. Scott Downard won the 50K in 3:39:57 and Jenny Graef won the women's 25K overall in 2:03:26. Fun to watch them speed by!

Ken, Brian, Dana and all the wonderful volunteers did so good with the race, as they ALWAYS do and I thank them all from the bottom of my heart for putting this race on every year. It just wouldn't be spring in Oklahoma for me without Lake McMurtry!

Red Dirt Championship Fat Ass Event

2012-04-04T13:48:00.002-05:00

This is a very fun Fat Ass event held out at Lake Thunderbird trails which is east of Norman, OK. Almost 20 miles of wonderfully hilly single-track trails and fun people to kick back with after the race. And did I mention FREE hot dogs, burgers and beer? Life to me doesn't get much better than a day running gorgeous trails with my peeps followed by food and beer. :)

Donations are welcome and they go to Norman Relay for Life.

Everyone is welcome, come out and run with us!

Running in the Wichita Mountains

2012-03-25T11:57:00.003-05:00

OTRA decided to head to the Wichita Mountains in southwestern Oklahoma to get in some hill training on Mt. Scott. Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim is coming up quickly! Mt. Scott is a mountain located in the Wichita Mountains near Fort Sill military base. It rises to a height of 2,464 feet and is a perfect way to get ready for Rim-to-Rim and Angel Fire 50K, both in June. The plan was 12 miles on Mt. Scott (3 miles up and 3 miles down, then repeart), then 6 miles running the Dog Run Hollow trail (very rocky and hilly trail) and then finish with a 3 mile run/hike up Elk Mountain.

We all met at the base of Mt. Scott at 7:30 am and started running up. (and up. and up. and up!) : ) I am a former hill hater, now a hill lover and this was FUN! I loved the trip up because I could push myself and the trip down was fun because gravity did most of the work and I could enjoy the gorgeous views. Nancy, Cindy and Matt were off like rockets barreling up the mountain and back down. Peggy, Beth and I took it a little slower and took some pictures. It was so much fun we are planning on going back next weekend for round two!

After 12 miles on the mountain, we went over to Dog Run Hollow and got in some good running, hiking and picture taking and then did the same at Elk Mountain. I came home with 21 miles of hills on my legs, sunburned, happy and tired. Who says Oklahoma isn't a beautiful state?!?!

From the top of Mt. Scott

Beth running up

Me running up, up, up

Peggy enjoying the view running down Mt. Scott

Happy group of runners!

Peggy and Shay running on Dog Run Hollow

Beth, Cindy, Peg and I on Dog Run Hollow

Top of Elk Mountain

Where the buffalo roam

Longhorns grazing on the Wichita Wildlife Management Area

Green Smoothies

2012-03-23T10:50:00.000-05:00

After reading and hearing about green smoothies for over a year now, I finally tried one and am amazed at how delicious they can be! I like spinach and kale, but didn't necessarily want to drink a smoothie that tasted like greens, so I was pleasantly surprised at how sweet it is! I bit the bullet earlier this week and bought a Vitamix and don't think I'll regret it for one second. Expensive, yes. Absolutely amazing and fun to use, YES!! It will grind and puree it's way through no matter what you put in it, and does it so fast.

This mornings concoction was: spinach, kale, avocado, carrots, flaked coconut, chia seeds, raspberries, mango, strawberries, 1 orange and some aloe vera juice. Delicious and maybe it's my imagination, maybe not..but I have been drinking these for breakfast the past couple of days and I feel so energized. It's hard to describe the feeling, but I feel clear-headed, lighter and full of energy.

I'm curious to see how the addition of a daily green smoothie daily will affect my running. It can only be a good thing, right?

Forgive the poor picture quality...it was taken at 7am this morning and the kitchen was pretty dark. Once I have had time to play with it more and develop some good recipes I'll be sure to share on my blog.

Post Oak 25K race report

2012-03-18T16:54:00.000-05:00

Well, it's now been almost a month since the race and I should of sat down to write this soon after the race but time got away from me. So this will be short but sweet with a few pictures.

I loved every single thing about this race! The organization, volunteers, course, post race food...it was all great!

Post Oak Run is held at Post Oak Lodge which is just northwest of Tulsa in the Osage Hills. I chose to drive down early Saturday morning rather than stay overnight, since it's a short 2 hour drive. I arrived early to the lodge and after running inside to pick up my bib, shirt, sticker and cup, I went back out to my car and ate my oatmeal. It's rare I'm early enough to lounge around in the car for an hour before a race and it was kinda nice! The weather was perfect, not a cloud in the sky and temps in the 40's to start then rising to high 50's during the day.

I found Peggy and Beth right before the race and we started together. Peggy took off like a flash right after the race started and I knew Beth was just behind me in the crowd. I settled into a comfortable pace and tried to stay on my feet the first few miles. It was rocky and hilly with soggy sections. After 3 miles or so we came to some beautiful wide open sections of prairie and rolling hills. This race is known for having "The Hill from Hell" and we got to climb it twice. Once we went almost all the way up, then curved back down and around the other side of the monster hill...then climbed it all the way from the other side. This course had a little bit of everything: open prairie, wooded technical single track, a paved section around a large pond, long steep hill and really pretty views. It's rare to have a race day that is perfect from start to finish but if there ever was one, it was today. I never had any anxiety or low points, just settled into a good pace and enjoyed it all! Finished in 3:31:03 and headed into the lodge for a delicious post race meal. They had vegetarian chili and BBQ sandwiches. I ate, then put on my compression socks and headed home. Will definitely run this one again next year!

Cross Timbers Trail Marathon 2012

2012-02-19T18:22:00.001-06:00

Another Cross Timbers Trail Marathon finish is in the bag! Although this one was nothing like last year. With a forecast of temperatures in the 40's and 70% chance of rain all day long, I knew this would probably be a long day.

Photo courtesty of: Bryan Moore

There was a group of 7 of us driving to Lake Texoma the morning of the race. Nancy offered to drive and pick me up in Norman as she was driving through. My friend Kim, who is usually a road runner but does like to run on trails every now and then, decided at the last minute (Friday night!) to run Cross Timbers and was riding down with Nancy, Janice and I. I had packed my bag the night before with towels, warm dry clothes, plenty of plastic bags to put muddy clothes in and my compression socks to wear on the drive home. My alarm went off at 2:45 am (ouch!) and I quickly got dressed, made some oatmeal and filled my race bottles. Kim had been planning on running the half marathon but decided on the drive down to just run the full marathon. No big deal, right? Except she has never ran more than 16 miles and that was over a year ago! She was pretty prepared in her current training for a half, but a full would be uncharted territory for her and she was a little nervous.

The drive down went quick and the weather was pretty nice at the start. No wind, only a slight drizzle and humid temps hovering close to 50 degrees. We picked up our packets and got ready to run. The race began with a short loop on the pavement to spread the runners out and then we jumped onto the singletrack. It was apparent about 20 seconds after we got on the singletrack that the area had been getting a lot of rain. The very first downhill had everyone slipping and sliding and grabbing for tree branches to steady themselves. Yikes, here we go! The mud there isn't ordinary, plain ole mud. It's heavy clay. And in areas it felt more like an ice skating rink! Fun, but scary in spots because there are also cliffs, rocks, roots and plenty of hills and it required constant attention and going a lot slower than normal.

A few miles into the race, the rain picked up and would continue the rest of the day. It got heavier as the day went on but we didn't feel it too much as the trees blocked it. You could certainly tell by running on the trail though. The puddles got deeper and the mud got thicker. Kim and I ran it all together and went through every phase and emotion you can go through. Excitement, confidence, doubt, fear, hysterical laughter, fatigue, silliness...I really can't even be bummed about our slow finish time because we had so much fun and the mud just made running fast impossible. So we made the best of it!

Photo courtesy of: Bryan Moore

Miles 1-7 Stairway to Heaven aid station:

We kept up a pretty good pace through here. The rain was very light and the mud was only bad in sections. Kim was amazed at how beautiful the trails and lake looked. Short but steep hills and some running in rocky ravines. This aid station is well known for it's abundance of food and awesome care that Larry and Jackie give to all the runners! It's more of a smorgasbord than aid station. :)

Miles 7-13

Once we came out of the Stairway to Heaven aid station the trail leveled out tremendously and we were running on an old road and some much tamer dirt trails. One of my favorite parts of this race is at about mile 9 when you hit a new blacktop road that leads to a big wide open section right next to the lake. Very pretty and a great change of scenery. Then you tuck back into the woods briefly, then run along the beach for a minute. The turn around aid station is pretty awesome as well. Laurie had truffles! I think I ate three...SOO GOOD! You start seeing the signs about 1/2 mile before you get her aid station and they are all Irish sayings which we loved reading. The aid station is even decorated for St. Patricks Day, love it! We began the return trip with bellies full of truffles, chips, pretzels and coke.

Photo courtesy of: Bryan Moore

Photo courtest of: Bryan Moore

Photo courtesy of: Bryan Moore

Miles 13-19

We kept up a good pace after leaving Laurie's aid station until we hit the paved road. The rain was getting heavier and we started to feel wet and cold. It was a little worrisome to see how much the trail was changing as the day went on and the rain picked up. As long as the trail was flat we could run, but slowly. On the hillier sections we were hardly making any progress at all. We'd try to run up even the smallest hill and would slide right back down. Once finally up a hill, we'd slip, slide and ski our way down the other side. I fell numerous times but all were soft landings in the mud, thank goodness.

Lots of these rooty hills

Miles 19-finish

We hit Stairway to Heaven one last time and barely ate or drank anything. It was time to be DONE. All I could think about was the hot potato soup and burgers at the finish line. We slid our way through mile after mile, alternating between quiet concentration and hysterical laughter over just about anything. We were bonking one minute, running with purpose the next, and sliding down hills laughing the next. It was crazy and I'll never forget it!

Finish Line

Nancy was waiting at the finish for us and snapped some pictures. She had been done for almost 2 hours. (!!) David Hanenburg was also there to give us our wooden Cross Timbers finisher awards. So nice to see friendly faces at the end! Kim and I had decided we didn't want to cross the line with excuses for our slow finish time..we wanted to play it up. So as we were approaching Kim was yelling to them how much fun she'd had and that she was coming back next year to run the 50 miler and I asked them if we'd won the race. :) It felt SO GOOD to be done. Nancy got busy bringing us steaming hot bowls of potato soup and then hot veggie burgers. Nothing has ever tasted as good as that potato soup tasted to me right then!

No matter what Cross Timbers throws at you as far as weather, Teresa and the volunteers step it up and take care of everyone and make it a great race. It's a beautiful and challenging course and I find myself back there every February. What a day!

Isle du Bois 50K Race Report

2011-12-11T13:35:00.007-06:00

The first annual Isle du Bois trail race was held on December 10, 2011. I truly can NOT even say enough for how much fun this race was and how superb Endurance Buzz Adventures did in putting on this event! Perfect in every single way. The weather was great for running but probably a bit cool for spectators and aid station volunteers. 27 degrees at 8:00 race start and I think it got up to about 48 through the day with abundant sunshine and a light breeze. The RD, David Hanenburg, really put his personal stamp on this race with it's emphasis on being green and reducing environmental impact. There was no race packet bag with junk inside which was nice. We received bamboo t-shirts which are SO soft. I'm in love with the shirt! It was a cup free race so everyone was told to bring their own water bottle or hydration system. Love it!

Brance, Mike and I before the race

Dave and I got up at 4:20 am, threw our stuff in the car and was off for the 2 hour drive down to Pilot Point, TX for the race. It's held on the beautiful Isle du Bois trails at Lake Ray Roberts which is located 55 miles north of downtown Dallas. We arrived 30 minutes before race time, just enough time to pick up my bib and shirt, make a quick trip to the bathroom and set up my drop bag. There was big spacious bathrooms with hot showers in the parking lot in front of the trail head..nice!!

The race started promptly at 8:00 am and I could tell from the start that things were just clicking and it was going to be a good day. :) The first loop was 1.2 miles on a paved path and then 10 miles on the single track wooded rocky trails. At about 4.5 miles we came to Larry and Teresa's aid station which ROCKED! Hugs from both of them, hot broth, oranges, bananas, potato chips, peanut M&M's and pretzels. I stayed a minute or two to eat and chat then was off to finish the first loop. I finished that loop feeling great and better yet, not one fall yet!! I'm so clumsy and these trails, while not terribly hilly, are very technical and rocky in sections so my main goal for the race was to not fall and get hurt. One lap down, two to go!

Larry and Teresa's aid station, a welcome sight

The wonderful Teresa, the RD of Cross Timbers Trail Run

Coming in from lap 1

Lap two felt good, no major aches or pains and I kept thinking to myself that this was one of the best days EVER. :) Doing what I love to do so much on such gorgeous trails with good weather and like minded people all around me. I fell for the first time at 14 miles. It was a soft landing and no harm done. Then at 16 miles I fell again, another soft landing thank goodness. At 19 miles I fell again and this time came down on my knee kind of hard but lucky for me I fell in the dirt and not on any rocks. Finished up this loop still feeling good and without any major ouchies or pains, just some knee and calf soreness starting. When I finished up this loop I noticed my Garmin said 22 miles so I knew that the course was going to be a little long and end up at about 33 miles. Fine by me, I was having a blast!

Lap three was quite a bit slower than the previous two laps but I was having fun. Came to Larry and Teresa's aid station one last time and gave them one last hug. About 2 miles later I was running down a rocky downhill and stumbled. I'm not sure exactly what happened but it happened so fast that I didn't have time to bring my arm up to break my fall. Came down on my head and busted my lip and the side of my head on a rock or root. As soon as I raised up I could tell it was bad...there was blood all over the ground and my clothes. I reached up and felt of my teeth and they all seemed to be intact so I started running again. I knew I was getting close to the finish and there was NO way I was not finishing after 7.5 hours of running! I could feel a flap of skin hanging from my bottom lip and knew I'd probably need stitches so I called Dave to tell him what happened and to load up my drop bag and be ready to go when I got to the finish. An interesting thing happened...I stopped feeling the calf and knee pain! It's like it just disappeared. Maybe my mouth pain overrode the other pain or maybe it was adrenaline..not sure. The last two miles were long but I moved as fast as I could and got there pretty quickly. Finished just under 8 hours for 33 miles total according to Garmin. There was a paramedic at the finish line that took a look and said yep, some stitches would be necessary. He had already given Dave directions to an emergency medical center so we headed there immediately. Was in and out really fast with 11 stitches, a tetanus shot and a lot of swelling. The doctor said I'll have a noticeable scar but all I can think of is that it could of been a LOT worse with missing teeth or a busted head.

Headed out for the final lap

Crossing the finish line

Bloody bib...this ones a keeper

We stopped at Sonic for a chocolate shake and a grilled cheese which I ate by tearing into itty bitty pieces. It tasted fantastic since I hadn't eaten anything solid all day and was soooo hungry and thirsty. We made it home about 8:30 pm and I crashed early. Today my mouth is sore (duh), swollen and my gums, chin and lips are black & blue.

As much as it sucked getting hurt, this race is SO much fun and so well organized that I would actually do it all over again. It's that great!!! A must-do and I will be back next year for sure. That trail and I are bonded now..I have my IDB scar to prove it. :)

*** Later update, went to the ER two days after the race because of headache, nausea and dizziness and confirmed that I have a concussion. ( I still love this race! )

Palo Duro 50K Trail Race Report

2011-10-18T18:52:00.003-05:00

This was my second ultra (read about my first here) and my second year running Palo Duro and I still think it's one of the most scenic and fun trail races there is. The organization is perfection and there is great campsites right there in the park where the race is. In case you can't tell, I love this race!

We headed from Norman, OK to Canyon, TX on Friday morning. There were a bunch of people from OTRA coming and we reserved two side by side campsites so once we made it to the canyon, we checked in at the park office and headed down to our site. We set up tents and everyone started arriving. There was a sense of excitement in the air..even the people that run this race every year are excited and glad to be back. :)

After everyone got situated we all drove to West Texas A&M where packet pick-up and the pasta dinner was held. Pasta, salad, bread and desserts...it was all great. After the meal the race director talked for a bit and answered questions. He also had maps on the big screens around the room and showed everyone exactly where they would be running.

We headed back to the canyon after our meal and spent a few hours playing washers, goofing off and laying out running gear for the morning. It gets really cold in the canyon at night so we piled on the covers and went to bed pretty early.

Race morning!! Temps were upper 40's and a light breeze. I was up early getting on my clothes. I went with a running skirt, tank top, running sleeves and headlight. I was freezing but knew it was suppose to heat up into the 90's during the day and dressing light was a must. I ate lightly, just a piece of bread with some peanut butter and sliced banana. I double and triple checked my hydration vest pockets and drop bag to make sure I wasn't forgetting anything. We headed down to the race start at about 6:30 to check in with the timekeeper and use the porta potty one last time. One thing I noticed was the stars and moon..the sky was so beautiful! So clear and lit up.

The bagpiper started playing and we were off! The 50 milers and 50K'ers took off together and the 20K folks would start 30 minutes later. There was really only about a mile of congestion and then it was pretty clear all around me. I would see headlights bobbing around in front of me and occasionally behind me but pretty much I was already running alone. I enjoyed the quiet and the dark and by about 4 miles in, the morning sun was peeking up over the side of the canyon and an orange/pink glow was bathing the trail and canyon walls. This is my FAVORITE part of the race. (well, and the bagpiper) I was happy and feeling great, just running along loving life! The first 4 miles of the course are rolling hills with mostly hard packed dirt and sand but some rocky sections. My race nutrition was going to be simple, just one Roctane gel and one Endurolyte on the hour. I came into the start/finish at 6 miles and found my drop bag that Dave had set out for me. I swapped my headlight for my visor and was out within a minute or two. The next two laps would be 12.5 miles and I'd get to see some of the prettier sections with rocky bluffs and cliffs. The trails get pretty technical in the middle of this loop but it's also breathtakingly beautiful. I was steady and feeling great this whole lap and came back into the start/finish area at exactly 4 hours. I figured I was definitely going to go sub 7 hours and was pretty excited everything was feeling so great! While in the start/finish Peggy taped up my arch since it was hurting some and I ate some banana nut bread and a Honey Stinger waffle. I headed back out feeling excited and ready to get this last lap done. It was starting to heat up quite a bit and I had tied on a frozen bandana/tie thing around my neck. I got it at Academy and it's suppose to stay cool for a long time but it didn't seem to help as far as I could tell and was more of a nuisance than anything else.

The wheels came off about 5 minutes after leaving the start/finish. :( All of a sudden my mild arch pain turned into excrutiating pain with every step and at the same time, the opposite knee started hurting bad enough I had trouble going down hills and had to start hobbling down. And my stomach went south too...everything at once hit. I had left my ginger in my drop bag and didn't want to go back for it. I took two Ibuprofen and hoped I could just keep making forward progress no matter how slow. (I know you aren't suppose to take Ibuprofen during exercise so you don't have to warn me in case you were just thinking about doing so...) : P

My friend Brad caught up to me at about mile 21 and he was suffering pretty bad himself with ITB pain. He is a tough cookie! We soldiered on together both hurting but determined to make it to the finish even as our time goals were drifting farther away. We tried running all the flats and hobbling up and down the hills but did have to do quite a bit of speed walking too.

Brad and I on the last section of trail

About to hit the pavement and the finish line

When we were getting close to the end and on our last little stretch of trail before turning onto the road for the finish, I saw Dave, Holly and Jason up ahead waiting to cheer me in and I just lost it! Started bawling like a baby. I don't know where that came from but I love those guys and seeing them there waiting on me did me in. All the emotion came pouring out. We finished in 7:31:03 and I went straight to a chair. Melissa got me ice and iced my knee while Dave brought me ice cold water, veggie burger and cookies. What a great feeling...even though I was slower than I had hoped to be! Just finishing after feeling so bad felt like sweet victory.

That finish line was such a beautiful sight!

After the race we had a great meal that our "camp cook", Jessica made. Chicken fried steak and red beans & rice. Soooooooooo good! My knee felt pretty battered and getting around was a chore. I've never had knee issues so this was a new thing for me. As I write this it's been 3 days and the knee is still sore but feeling better every day. My arch is still really sore and I am doing massage with a tennis ball, ultrasound and Arnica on it.

We had pancakes on Sunday then loaded up and headed back home. I had brought my shiny new beautiful mountain bike to ride but was way to tired and sore to do any biking Sunday. Darn it!

I'm already looking forward to next year! Palo Duro is a magical, beautiful place.

My Marathon + .01 Training Run

2011-09-25T20:17:00.000-05:00

My training plan for the Palo Duro 50K called for a 26 mile trail run this weekend. I headed out to my favorite hilly trails early this morning. I was excited to get started and had a feeling it was going to be a great run. And it totally was!!! :)

Can you spot the deer?

Dave even came out with his mountain bike and rode by me a few times to offer words of encourgement and bring me cold water. I loaded up my vest with 70 ounces of water, dates, energy bars and S! caps. The first 10 mile loop was blissful with the outside temp only 59 degrees. There was a breeze blowing through the trees and I was totally in my element and loving every second. I purposely picked the hilliest routes to help me get ready for Palo Duro, although I think the route today was much hillier than what I'll see at PD. The second 10 mile loop was a little warmer but still comfortable. At the 20 mile mark I started running some flatter sections of the trails and finished up strong. I couldn't be at 26 miles and stop there though, right? At first I thought I'd tack on the .2 to reach marathon distance, but kept going until my Garmin hit 26.3 so that I went OVER marathon distance today. Awesome!

I'm sore but happy.... last really long run done. Next weekend will be a 16 miler and the weekend after that a 12 miler.

Have a great week!

DoWackaDo 50K Race Report

2011-09-24T20:56:00.002-05:00

It's been a couple weeks since I ran the DoWackaDo trail race and I've been having trouble figuring out how to write a report about a DNF (my first).

I signed up for the DWD 25K months ago. But as the race got closer and I started looking at my Palo Duro 50K training schedule I realized that I was going to need a 24 miler that weekend. I decided to bump up from the 25K to the 50K so that I could get in a good training run for Palo Duro. I knew I wouldn't be fully trained going into the race but thought I could at least walk out last 5 or 6 miles if I had to.

I decided do some food/hydration experimenting with this race. I was wanting to take in only "real food" during the race and try to get by with no gels or sugary sports drinks. I made my own energy bars (dates, puffed brown rice, honey, dried cherries, sesame seeds, cashews, cocoa, cacao nibs, coconut oil, almond butter, flax seeds and chia seeds) and carried a couple in the the back of my vest. I also packed dates and beef jerky in the easy to reach front pocket of my hydration vest. I brought several cartons of coconut water to mix with plain water to carry in my vest.

Energy Bars made

We drove down to Erick, OK on Friday afternoon. After stopping at the Roger Miller Museum to grab our packets, we headed out to Sandy Sanders WMA to set up our tent at the race start. There was a burn ban in that county (as well as the rest of Oklahoma I am sure) so no campfires, but we were able to bring our propane stove. Dave cooked up some awesome black bean burgers, turkey burgers, roasted bell peppers and corn on the cob. We turned in pretty early and were treated to the sweet sound of coyotes singing to us. It was a gorgeous night and we slept wonderfully. :)

Dave at the Roger Miller Museum

I got up rested and ready to run!

Beautiful western Oklahoma sunset

Our home sweet campground

Kimmie and I before the race

Brad, Kim, me, Peg and Melissa

Peggy, Melissa and I

Some OTRA friends showed up Saturday morning so I visited with them until the race started. The gun went off and the first hour of running was about as perfect as it gets. The temps were in the low 50's and the early morning light so pretty. I concentrated on not going out to fast and just relaxing into the run. So far so good.
Something happened to one of the trail markers so most people took a wrong turn and we ended the loop with 12.3 miles instead of 16. They remedied this with a short out and back near the race start and the sign was fixed so that the next loop was the full 16 miles. Well let me tell ya.....the part we missed the first loop was the TOUGHEST part of the whole course! Loooooong extremely steep uphills. And the sun was out and the day was heating up.

Plenty of steep hilly fun!

I ran strong and felt great till I hit about 18 miles and then the sun, heat, hills and lack of hill training started catching up to me. I slowed way down and would have spurts of feeling ok and then feeling overheated and bad. Upon coming to the aid station at my mile 24, I decided to drop. I had the training run I needed for Palo Duro and just didn't have it in me to keep going. I was totally fine with dropping at the time but have to admit I have second guessed myself since then and do wish I'd stuck it out and followed my plan of walking it out if I needed to. It was about 90 degrees when I made it back to the start finish and I was pretty dehydrated and tired. Joel had a delicious meal at the finish line that I took full advantage of! There was brisket, coleslaw, baked beans, mac & cheese and rolls. And peach cobbler.. mmm..peach cobbler. :) I have heard over and over that there are lots of rattlesnakes in western OK and to be on the lookout. I didn't see any personally while there, but they did pull one off of the course right before I ran through. Cool!

Diamondback rattlesnake

As for my nutrition experiments..I'm happy to report that everything worked. I took two S! caps during the race, ate one energy bar, 3 dates and a handful of beef jerky. I did get behind in hydration and I think it might of been because the water/coconut water got warm. Warm coconut water is kinda ick which caused me to slow way down on drinking. I forgot to put ice in my vest before going out for the second loop. I never really felt low on energy at any point during the race, just felt overheated and dehydrated. So I have to give all the food a big thumbs up and I'll probably do the same thing for Palo Duro.

Joel puts on a GREAT event and I can see this race getting bigger every year. Everyone seemed to have a great time and there were some talented athletes out there. He added a 50 mile race this year and a few finished despite the heat. I'm sure I'll be back next year, we had a blast!

Bushwacking at Lake McMurtry.

2011-08-21T23:10:00.001-05:00

OTRA made a little road trip to Lake McMurtry in Stillwater, OK on Saturday for our long run which is about a 1.5 hour drive from home. I was looking forward to this all week! McMurtry holds a special place in my heart since it's where I ran my first ultra.
We decided to be there by 6:30 am to try and beat the heat. According to the forecast, the high for Saturday was 105 degrees. Ick! (Please fall, get here early!)

After just 2 minutes of hitting the trail we knew we were going to be in for some slow running. Recent storms had left the trails in really bad shape. Downed trees, limbs and debris all over the trails. In some places it was hard to even see if you were on the trail! To make it even more difficult, our extremely hot and dry summer had caused the trees to prematurely go dormant and drop their leaves, so in places we were running in deep leaves, sticks and branches.

Clearing the trail? Or goofing off..

Lots of this.

Trail blocked again.

Finding ways around the downed trees.

If you look close you can see Don trying to make it through.

But, in typical OTRA fashion we had a great time. :) I had planned for 16-18 miles but had to stop at 13 and call it good. The temps were nearing 100 degrees and I'd let myself run out of water and get pretty dehydrated on the last loop. We soaked in the lake, changed clothes and drove into Stillwater for some lunch. All of us (especially Don!) have some pretty impressive scratches and scrapes to show for our ~~bushwacking~~ trail run. Even with all the storm damage out there, I love those trails. Can't wait to go back in April for Lake McMurtry Trail Race!

And as a side note, thanks Ken for all the awesome trail markings from the last race...it was the only way we were able to keep from getting lost! Amazing to see all those big huge trees uprooted and huge limbs all over the ground, yet see a paper plate with "Tell Pat hi and wish her a happy birthday!" still looking like brand new on the tree before the aid station! We were thanking and blessing you every time we spotted a pink ribbon or arrow pointing our way! :)

All in all, I got in some good training for Do-Wacka-Do which is 3 weeks away. Still undecided on which distance I'll do, the 25K or the 50K.

25K or 50K..that is the question

2011-08-15T11:09:00.000-05:00

Soooooo glad to see some sub 100 degree days starting to make appearances. It's been a rough summer here in Oklahoma. Record breaking heat with day after day of 110+ degree temps. As a person who is not fond of the heat, it's been rough . BUT...it's mid August and the end is in sight! :)

I'm now starting week 5 of training for Palo Duro 50K. To get through the first few very hot weeks of training I had to rely on doing all of my runs early. Really really early! As in 4:45 am early. And surprisingly, I enjoyed them! Could be that a leopard can change it's spots, since not only do I not enjoy hot temps but I've never been a morning runner either. And now I am! It's quiet, the stars are bright and beautiful and I get to spend a little quality time with Ladybird. It's really been the only time I can possibly run. By 9:00 am it's over 90 degrees outside and it wasn't dropping below 100 degrees until after 10:00 pm. Crazy! So ya do what ya gotta do.

Running with my girl

Thankfully, I am feeling good and running strong. (!) Running about 30-34 miles a week and although I can still feel the ever present ITB tightness and hip bursitis, it seems to be gradually diminishing. I'm seeing a chiropractor regularly as well as keeping on top of my nutrition, stretching and hip strengthening exercises. Since I am feeling good I am considering bumping up from the 25K next month at Do-Wacka-Do to the 50K and using the race as a training run for Palo Duro 50K in October. I need a 22 mile training run that day and my reasoning is that I could run the 22 miles and then run/walk the remaining 9-10 miles and take it easy. Thoughts anyone?

I'm getting so excited for fall races and cooler weather that I can hardly stand it...fall fever is a real thing! And I have it!

Do-Wacka-Do Needs You..

2011-06-19T13:56:00.008-05:00

One of my favorite races last year was Do-Wacka-Do. It's in Erick, OK and the race is held on the Sandy Sanders Wildlife Managment Area. The views are gorgeous! Most of the course is dirt double track with a bit of single track thrown in. It benefits the Roger Miller Museum. Roger Miller (King of the Road and Dowackado were among his many famous songs) was from Erick, OK and the race entry includes a free museum pass.

Sadly, the race may not go on. From the race director, Joel Everett:

www.dowackadotrailrun.com
The run is in jepordy!!!! Beginning Jan1, 2011 everyone who enters any Oklahoma Wildlife Area MUST HAVE a hunting, fishing or Passport lisence,which cost $25 and $26. You must go to a business who sells lisence or pay $3 to get it on line. This is in addition to the race cost. We think this will be cost prohibitive, butwe will have it if we can get 50 people to say they will come anyway. Please post AS...AP on the event page or on Joel Everett or Retta Snowden's wall. if you plan to enter this event and which run
__________________________
The DO-WACKA-DO 5Mile. 25K, 50K Trail Run on Erick, Oklahoma's rugged Sandy Sanders WMA is one of the first and most ambitious trail run projects in Western Oklahoma. This will be a top flite run with lots of goodies and fun included.

DO-WACKA-DO, in honor of Roger Miller's song of the same name (and with Mary Miller's permission) is a benefit for the Roger Miller Museum, a non-profit organization in Erick.

The DO-WACKA-DO Trail Runs are designed to attract runners of all abilities locally, regionally and eventually on a national scale.

This really is a great race and is so much fun. Hopefully there will be enough participants that don't mind the extra cost and decide to run it. The way I look at it is, even with having to buy the license and pay the race fee, it's still cheaper than most road marathons! And it's only a two hour drive west of Oklahoma City.

Saturday Morning At Draper Trails

2011-06-11T11:59:00.000-05:00

This morning O.T.R.A. met at Lake Draper trails for our Saturday run. It was laid back and we all talked and drifted off into different groups by pace and the distances we decided to do. Draper felt pretty easy and flat after running in Arkansas last weekend! :)

I got in 11 miles but it wasn't easy or pretty. Lots of walk breaks and gimping around. My ITB and hip pain has gotten a lot worse and I'm having Graston Technique done on it Monday. Has anyone else had any experience with this? And if so, could you let me know what you think? I think I need to take some time off of running (wahhh!!) to try to get this hip pain under control.

So since I was running so slow, I took some pictures and tried to enjoy the slower pace. Draper has some interesting things on the trail. Love the warning sign about escaped convicts. There is also the remnants of an old farmstead along the green loop. It's very old and I'm guessing is probably from an old house built in the Land Run days.

We got some rain last night and it was a cool gorgeous morning. I wish every morning was just like this. (except with maybe a healthy hip and IT band!) :)

War Eagle Tailtwister 25K

2011-06-07T12:44:00.002-05:00

Last weekend Dave and I drove to Arkansas to run War Eagle Tailtwister. SO glad we did! Dave ran the 3.8 mile distance and I ran the 25K. This race was extremely well organized from start to finish and I'm so thankful to Rush Running, Jeff Genova and everyone else that made this race happen. Thank you, thank you!

We left early Friday morning for the 4 hour drive to Bentonville, AR to pick up our race packets from Rush Running. Lots of goodies in there such as a water bottle, energy gels, glide and coupons for $25.00 off at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. The shirts are awesome!! Yellow tech shirt with the coolest design I have ever seen on a race shirt. This is my new favorite running shirt!

We browsed the store for a few minutes and got some directions from Jeff on how to get to the race in the morning. Since we weren't very familiar with the area, we decided after checking into our hotel to drive out to Hobbs State Park (where the race is held) to look around and make sure we knew where we were headed in the morning. We found it with no problem and Hobbs is gorgeous. They have a beautiful visitors center so we went inside and met the staff and bought some souveniers. I knew from the gorgeous views all around us that we were going to be in for a treat running these trails and I wasn't disappointed!

We ate a simple dinner at Johnny Carino's got back to the hotel to lay out and organize race clothes and supplies and turned in early.

Quick note about the hotel, we lucked out! Jeff (race director) had told me about Simmons Suites and that we could get a special rate if we told them we were running the trail race. We booked there and got a rate of $63.00 per night. I don't expect to much with a rate that cheap, but this was probably the nicest hotel room I have ever stayed in. It was gorgeous! We had a kitchen with granite countertop, sink, full size refrigerator and microwave, big flat screen TV, two large closets, king size bed and beautiful bathroom. The hotel also offered a nice indoor pool and hot tub. We ended up staying 3 nights and got that rate for all 3 nights. The night before the race I turned on the ice maker in the hotel refigerator and bought a big jug of water from the convenience store. Race morning I was able to fill my hydration vest with ice and water which stayed cold the entire race. This helped so much as it was a HOT day.

Back to race morning... We got up at 4:30 am, ate a PB&J sandwich and drank some coffee and I got my hydration vest ready. We drove out to War Eagle Farms where we parked and caught a shuttle to the race start. Everything was ticking right along like clockwork, very efficient and well organized! There was a long line for the porta-potties as there were only two...but this was definitely no fault of the race organizers. All available porta-potties in NW Arkansas were in Joplin where all the recent tornado damage clean-up is still going on. From what I heard, they had to beg, plead and work miracles to get the two that we had. Even with the line, everyone got through in time and I was able to get my chip on my shoe and visit for a few minutes before the race started.

At 6:30 am on the dot, we were off! Although it took a mile or so for us to thin out on the trail, the trail was mostly downhill and everyone was moving at a pretty good clip. I felt relaxed and happy the second my feet hit that single track! :) I knew it was going to be a fun day. These trails were so differrent from what I am use to running at home. Instead of the sandy, red dirt flattish trails, these were hilly and rocky with lots of pine needles. Just gorgeous! Even though there were a lot more hills than I am use to, I wouldn't say it was extremely difficult. The hills were mostly long and gradual or short and steep. Not very technical. A good challenge for this central Oklahoma flatlander!! My plan was to eat a Chocolate Outrage GU once an hour, take an S! Cap every 30-45 minutes and drink as much water as possible. It was about 80 degrees at the start I think, with high humidity. I heard when I finished the race that the temperature was 95 degrees with a heat index of 104. Ouch. I did fine though and never felt bad, but was relieved I was only running the 25K and I felt so bad for the 50K'ers out there running for so long in that heat!

I ran as much as possible but stopped to take pictures, talk to other racers and grab a few things at aid stations. There were aid stations at 7 miles, 10 miles (I think) and about 12 miles. Fully loaded and with the most helpful nice people. The TATURS were running the 7 mile aid station and Brian was running around with a big pitcher of ice water filling everyones bottles and hydration vests. Thanks so much to all of the volunteers!!!! My favorite aid station food of this race... square pretzels filled with peanut butter! Hit. The. Spot!!! I am not sure what they were called...but the perfect race food. :) I never had to refill my hydration vest during the race, the 70 ounces lasted me the whole time. I grabbed a couple handfuls of Pringles, the pretzel/peanut butter things and a few gummy bears at the different AS and ate three GU's during the race.
I didn't talk to very many other people during the race until the last 5 miles or so. Met a really nice guy from Bentonville named Raymond and we encouraged each other through the rough spots during the last part of the race during the hilliest sections. I kept thinking the whole time I was running, "I'm SO lucky to be out here experiencing this and I'm SO thankful"!!!

I came in at 3:33 and got a fun finshers award. Isn't it awesome?!?!

We hung out for a while afterwards while they had giveaways. Dave won a pair of new Salomon trail shoes! They also gave away Salomon packs and two PS3's with games. The race organizers and RD really know how to put on a great race. I saw only smiles and happy runners after the race. We tried to hang out until a friend or ours, Don was finished with his first 50K but as the day got hotter, I felt more and more wilted and was needing to get out of the sun and heat and fill up on food and water. Don ended up finishing his first 50K in 9:30. It was after cut off and I'm sure he came in to little fan fare and I feel horrible about that and am so proud of him for finishing! It was extremely hot and I know the next ultra will be that much easier for him. Congrats Don!!!

One of the funniest things of the day was seeing Ken finishing the 25K BAREFOOT! Dave spotted him first and asked if that was Ken about to cross the finish line...I said NO because I saw the bare feet and I knew Ken was not a barefoot runner and really liked his Hoka's. But sure enough, it was Ken. ; ) He ditched his shoes before rounding the curve to the finsih line and finished barefoot. I didn't get a picture, darn it! Here is Ken's race report.

After the race... Not much soreness at all and not one single blister!! First trail race I think I have ever ran that I didn't have foot issues and blisters afterwards. My Saucony Kinvara's are amazing and I'm so excited to have discovered them. : ) Dave ran in his Merrell Pace Gloves which work great on our sandy trails at home. The trails were much rockier in the race than he was use to and the bottoms of his feet are bruised. I've never seen bruised feet bottoms, but he has them. Three or four bruises on the bottom of each foot. He was hobbling around a bit Saturday afternoon and Sunday but is feeling all better now.

We are planning on coming back next year and I am already planning on running the 50K. I highly recommend this race.. it doesn't get much better or more fun than this!

Arkansas Bound And Kinvara Love

2011-05-31T21:32:00.003-05:00

This weekend is the War Eagle Tailtwister 25K in Rogers, AR. Cannot freaking wait! I've never ran a race in Arkansas and from everything I've heard and read, this race will be amazing. Hilly, scenic and lots of fun things to do in the area. I briefly thought about running the 50K but the always nagging ITB and hip have been especially cranky lately so it'll be the 25K for me. Dave is going to run the 3.8 miler. We have a weekend of running, bluegrass and exploring to do and I'll do a race recap when we get back.

Last weekend I had the great pleasure of getting to run 7 miles out at Thunderbird Trails with my cousin Jenny. The miles flew by with great conversation and nice breezes to cool us off. I have been running much lower mileage since the 50K in April. I'm hoping to stick with the lower mileage through the summer to rest up for some ultras this fall. We've been busy with landscaping projects and I'm in total obsession mode right now creating new planting beds in the front yard and will spruce up the backyard some more after that. Should have some veggies from the garden soon! I love this time of year before it gets miserable hot, when it's still enjoyable to be outside exercising and growing things.

One more random thing I am so excited about.. I ordered some Saucony Kinvara II's from Running Warehouse and am in love with these shoes! I have been wearing mostly minimalist shoes the past year. I wear my Merrell Pace Gloves every day to work and my feet feel so much better and stronger. I also wear them at boot camp, hiking and working out. Don't know that I'm quite ready to wear them running yet as they are as minimal as they come, almost barefoot. I wear my New Balance 101's on the trails for shorter runs (ten miles or less) but for longer trail runs and most road runsI was still wearing my old New Balance 769 stability shoes. They were worn out and I was really looking to find something that was more minimal with a 4mm or less heel drop. Saucony Kinvara's fit the bill and had such great reviews. I ordered them without ever even trying any on and anxiously awaited them to be delivered. It was love at first sight and run! The second I put them on I knew these shoes were made for me. :) They feel SO incredibly light and perfect in every way. I was needing a transition shoe...something light and minimal until I'm able to wear the Merrell's or 101's full time for all runs. Running Warehouse is AWESOME. I've placed numerous orders with them the past few months and have never been disappointed. They offer free 2 day shipping and have great prices.

There are several give-aways out there for some Saucony's if you have thought about trying them out, or if you already love Saucony's and just want to try for a free pair! Here is a link to Amanda's give-away, and here is a link to Shut Up and Run's give-away.

I hope I can get back to more regular blogging....I've been pretty tired and checked out ever since the 50K back in April. Needed to catch up on regular life again. :)

My 15 minutes Of Fame (but more like 15 seconds)..

2011-04-24T19:01:00.001-05:00

Article that came out in the Norman Transcript last Monday. So weird to read about yourself!

http://normantranscript.com/headlines/x405507101/Dolph-is-no-longer-content-to-go-for-a-quick-jog-outdoors

Lake McMurtry 50k Race Report

2011-04-03T11:13:00.007-05:00

Lake McMurtry Trail Race was the perfect race to choose for my first 50k. Fairly flat with no major climbs and this race is laid out perfectly for crew support. It's a figure 8 with the start/finish smack dab in the center. Runners tackle the north loop first, then come through the start/finish area before moving on to the south loop, then repeat. Which means I got to see my crew/kids 3 different times during the race. They always had fresh bottles of Accelerade waiting for me as well as gels, S! caps and hugs. My friends Holly, Jason and Mike drove all the way up from Rockwall, TX to participate in the race. Holly ran the 12k and Mike ran the 50k. My gorgeous daughter-in-law April ran her first 12k and did great! So proud of her!

The day got off to a rough start when our GPS decided that Lake McMurtry was a pasture about 20 miles away from where it actually is. This took us off course and put us pretty close to being late for the race. Eek! We arrived with about 15 minutes to spare and hurriedly picked up our packets, pinned on numbers, filled bottles and tried to calm down a bit. I was bib #1!!! That was fun! : ) Not an ideal start to a race, and it took me a few miles to relax and settle in.

Loop 1- First few miles went by quickly. The weather was perfect! 52 degrees with a light breeze. I had on arm warmers but these came off at mile 6. Gorgeous course. Even got to jump the "Leap O' Doom"!

I got to run and chat with some of the wonderful TATURS during this loop. First I ran with Kathy Hoover for about a mile. She is an accomplished and very nice ultrarunner that is recovering from Rouge Orleans right now where she ran 126.2 miles. Amazing! Then Joel hung back to wait on me so we could run together for awhile. Thanks Joel, I enjoyed the conversation!! He's the race director for Do-Wacka-Do trail run and such a nice guy.
One rookie mistake made itself evident right from the start. I had put all my S! caps and Ibuprofen into a hard plastic small bottle in my fuel belt pocket. The rattling was driving me crazy! I ended up just dumping everything in my fuel belt pocket and holding the plastic bottle. I'll have to figure something out next race because all of the pills melted and when I later would reach into the pocket my hand would come out covered in salt.

Loop 2-So I finished the first loop and came into the start/finish area where my kids had fresh bottles waiting for me. It's such a good feeling to get to see your family after each loop and really gives you something to look forward to. I started the south loop which is my favorite because you are running beside the lake most of the time and get a good breeze off of the lake. Very pretty! So far uneventful..I'm running strong and feeling good. These trails were packed with people since the 25k and 12k was out there now as well. Everyone was friendly and there were lots of "good job" encouragements. Back into the start area where I sat down a minute to put more sport slick on my feet since I had several hot spots developing.

Loop 3-It was kinda hard to get back on my feet and get out there. My family was sitting in the grass and a part of me just wanted to stay and kick back with them. It was really starting to heat up...I think it was about 80 degrees outside at this point. I started getting nauseous and when I made it to the OTRA aid station at mile 20 they suggested I drink some flat coke to settle my stomach. It worked! I also put some ice in my hat and in my sports bra. Cooling down my core did the trick and I started feeling much better.

Loop 4-The temperature was now mid 80's and I was hurting. Would run for a minute or two and my heart would be pounding hard and I couldn't catch my breath. Jason ran part of this loop with me and noticed I wasn't sweating and was getting cold chills. He kept reminding me to drink, drink, drink. At the aid station I re-filled my bottles with cold water and they gave me some ice for my hat. I ran all I could of this last loop but it was rough. I made the stupid mistake at mile 28 of stating outloud "that I had not fallen one time". So of course... two miles later, I fell! One mile from the finish line. ; ) Tripped over a root while going down a small hill but no injuries and now I could smell the finish line so I picked up the pace a little bit. My original goal was 6:30 but I slowed so much with the heat on the last 15 miles that I was just wanting to come in under 7:00. I popped out of the woods and saw the start/finish area in the distance and looked at my watch. 6:55! I could just make it. I went through the last bit of parking area, then trees and then up the staircase finish to the finish line. 6:57:40! I was so relieved and happy to be done. And somehow I even got 3rd female overall. What a wonderful, memorable day. I will remember it forever! Mike got 5th overall male in the 50k, way to go!

Thanks to all my friends for their support and being there to cheer me on and encourage me...I am a lucky girl to have you! Special thanks to Holly...girl, you are my rock! And thanks Peggy, Melissa, Nancy and all of my OTRA friends for inspiring me and making me realize I can do more than I think I can.

The TATURS did an awesome job as always with this race. Exceptional organization, volunteers, food and course marking. Thanks TATURS!!!

I'm an ultrarunner!

2011-04-02T20:56:00.000-05:00

Completed the Lake McMurtry 50k today so I can now proudly claim to be a part of the ultra club. When I'm not deliriously tired and hurting from my tippy toes to my hair on my head I will try to put into words what today was like. Have a great weekend! : )

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