When I get a little, run run run....

2/16/15

2015-02-16T12:31:00.001-07:00

Snow for days and some generally uninteresting treadmill miles.

2/13/15

2015-02-13T17:24:00.001-07:00

The kitten was really into the snow squalls yesterday. I got in a double today with an extra lunch run to refocus during the work day.

2/11/15

2015-02-11T08:10:00.001-07:00

No trip to northwest Mississippi is complete without a trip to the huge Goodwill bookstore. A short time browsing here is the best relaxation after long flights. My 3 miles of stair stepper / hill climbing this morning were a start to the day that will include more walking and more airports.

2/10/15

2015-02-10T21:44:00.001-07:00

This is the start round 2 of Hal Higdon's Half plan, which I'll be supplementing with longer long days and hiking to support ultra training. I didn't think I'd be able to run the faster pace this morning, but it ended up being a very good run.

2/9/15

2015-02-10T06:36:00.001-07:00

The kitten was very happy to have me working at home today.

2/8/15

2015-02-08T22:18:00.001-07:00

This week was good for ultra training, not so good for half marathon training. Long work days, short on sleep, 8 flights, and 31 miles during the weekend (27 walk, 4 run). Definitely a successful week and weekend though.

2/7/15

2015-02-07T11:24:00.001-07:00

A morning run through the quiet, slate and brick paved sidewalks of the French Quarter. 12 hours from now they'll be full of people celebrating Carnival.

2/3/15

2015-02-03T20:06:00.001-07:00

3AM start to my workday, 3 mile run to match. I'm really loving the snow this year. Everything is so white and fluffy and the sky holds its glow at night.

2/2/15

2015-02-02T17:26:00.001-07:00

Our pretty stacks of snow have turned into intricate layers of ice on the driveway. After my flights were cancelled for today I was itching for an outdoor run, but stuck to the full traction surface of the treadmill for just a few miles.

January 2015

2015-02-01T16:14:00.001-07:00

Running for January 2015 - I'm pretty happy with this number since I'm focusing on the half marathon distance and took about a week off to rest a minor quad injury. This month was about balancing frigid temps, piles of snow, and long drives with fitting in the miles and making the most out of my time at home. Photo from the Minneapolis's arctic blast - the same spot as September's totals:

1/31/15

2015-01-31T15:28:00.001-07:00

Within seconds of stopping the treadmill, Stu jumped up to rub and roll around. I felt like I could run all day and I'm really digging these Hokas. 262 miles on them and they show almost no wear.

Also, 2 short quick miles yesterday.

1/29/15

2015-01-29T17:46:00.001-07:00

Getting word that I'll be crew and a driver for Hope Express put some pep into my treadmill tempo run. In 3 weeks we run For The Kids, connecting Hershey and State College for THON! Photo from Ricketts Glen State Park earlier this week.

1/28/15

2015-01-28T16:57:00.001-07:00

Look, you can see the sky today and there was still sunlight at 5:30!

1/24-27/15

2015-01-27T19:10:00.001-07:00

This weekend was one for recouping - resting my injured quad and thawing out from all the snow - with a quick trip to Texas.

13 hours of this blizzard drive today on 3 hours of sleep. More outdoor work and driving to come tomorrow - no running for me today.

Stu was so excited to have me home, he was a spectator for most of my run tonight. Taking a week off ("off" being trips to Detroit, San Antonio, Rochester, and Scranton) seems to have helped my quad a bunch.

1/23/15

2015-01-23T08:22:00.001-07:00

I've had a painful area in my quad this week, so I've been trying to let it heal. Lots of time driving in the Midwest and short easy runs have been my MO. Photo from a snowy Detroit this week.

1/18/15

2015-01-18T12:24:00.001-07:00

I didn't want to start the run this morning, but once I did, it was a good one. Ranged from long run pace to half marathon pace, while still healing the windburn in my throat. Photo from Warren County, PA earlier this week.

1/17/15

2015-01-17T16:16:00.001-07:00

No filter needed on today's hike in the Forbes State Forest. There was the perfect amount of snow - a solid few inches of ground cover but not enough to post hole.

1/16/15

2015-01-16T17:40:00.001-07:00

Getting back into tough runs after a tough cold.

1/14/15

2015-01-14T19:31:00.001-07:00

Lots of rolling mountain views today in northern Pennsylvania's Appalachia. If I'd planned/packed better, I could have spent some time on one of the hundreds of trails. Instead, I found the only treadmill in town and it locked up after 20mins. I'll be back hopefully when it's warmer than 5 degrees.

1/12/15

2015-01-14T19:30:00.001-07:00

and I ran! Ok, it was only a week of sickness / crappy runs, but today felt much better. I didn't need a cough drop the entire 3 miles.

1/11/15

2015-01-14T19:29:00.001-07:00

10 fast-walking miles on the treadmill with a box of tissues and a bag of cough drops. Last night's sunset in downtown Pittsburgh was lovely.

1/10/15

2015-01-14T19:28:00.003-07:00

I spent this week in Minnesota and central Illinois, working significant chunks of time exposed in -25 to -35F windchills. Unsurprisingly, I came home with a raw throat and big problems breathing. It's derailing me just when m running was starting to feel on track. I'm trying to still have some mileage bit it's at such a slow pace before I start constant coughing that it's barely running.

1/6/15

2015-01-14T19:28:00.001-07:00

Tough morning running miles on a treadmill heated to almost 90F followed by a long lunchtime walk in the 5F snow.

1/4/15

2015-01-14T19:25:00.001-07:00

The dreariest of dreary weekends in Pittsburgh. Good, easy treadmill miles to start the day.

Javelina Jundred (50 miles) Race Report

2011-11-20T21:54:00.001-07:00

The Javelina Jundred is a race that I fell head over heels for in 2009 when I spent a great big chunk of time volunteering at the main aid station and having a blast. In 2010 I came back to run the Javelina 12 Hour, to volunteer again at the main aid station, and to act as a pacer for 15.5 miles. There’s a camaraderie and a joy that comes with this race that I simply can’t describe. Every time I’m there, I feel instantly like it’s exactly where I’m supposed to be and that we’re all in for a super fun Jalloween Party.

My start of race outfit – the race has an award for “best ass” and the drawing of a Javelina on the back of my skirt was my form of entering, while being able to keep on all of my clothing (others don’t):

Jan and I just before the start of the race, who I paced last year:

First loop [0-15.4 miles, 3:56:07]
Fantastic. The loop started in the dark, but within a very short amount of time light crept in, and before I knew it, it was turning out to be a lovely, slightly cloudy and cool, day in the mountains.

I spent time talking with other runners and moving very comfortably and happily. It was a lot of run to meet other people who were doing the race and hear their stories. The loop was over before I knew it. I was 30 minutes ahead of schedule but felt very comfortable and not worried about going out "too fast." It was fantastic to see all of the faster runners starting out on their second loop, and (almost) all of them were very friendly, cheerful, and happy to see the other runners - part of what makes ultra running so great.

About 2 hours or so into the race, with the sun up and runners strung out starting the day off easily:

Second loop [15.4-30.8 miles, 4:58:48 lap, 8:54:55 total]
Pain city. The counter-clockwise loops on this course just eat me up. This loop features a steady, slight, even climb of about 8 miles and then turns into downhill sections through rocks that just beg to apply pressure to my feet in all that wrong places. I was alone for basically the entire loop, developed fairly large blisters by about half way, and felt generally miserable. There were many times during this loop where I doubted that I could ever be a “real” ultra runner and that I was destined for failure – stalling out and never braking through the 50k mark. Not my strongest time, but the ups and downs are part of what comes with distance running. I did my best to remember that there are always ups and downs, and in a short while there was promised to be an up. When the time came, I’d either still be out there chugging away or I’d have given up. Chugging away is what I wanted to be doing.

Photo by Elaine Acosta, a view of the wonderful trails and clouds that provided a bit of shade during the second loop:

Third loop [30.8-46.2 miles, 6:05:08 lap, 14:59:03 total]
Wow, I feel like superman turned holy ouch. I took a long (about 30 minute) aid station break to get my blisters drained and taped (thank you, Jon for talking me into this and Kachina Fire and Rescue for being good at what they do). Combined with seeing my crew chief, taking some anti-inflammatory meds, and downing Red Bull, I hobbled (yes, actually hobbled) out of the aid station but felt incredible after a half-mile. It felt like I was only an hour or two into the run at this point, not more than 8!

At about half way through the loop my right shin started to hurt. A sharp pain progressed and progressed. I also had the fear of kidney failure stuck in my mind because of how extremely well hydrated I was, although I was assured by medical that I was fine. (It turns out, I’m not used to being well hydrated in a race!) I did not want to be a person who showed up to an event and end it in actual death – that was not an option for me. I slowed very dramatically the last part of this loop, pulling down my overall pace to about 19 minute miles. With 1.5 miles to go I called my crew chief and let her know that I'd decided on stopping at 50 miles - knowing that going to 100k would almost most certainly mean a stress fracture in my shin.

Partial loop 4 [46.2-50 miles, 1:30:13 lap, 16:29:16 total]
Three fun, very painful, VERY slow, walking (limping) trail miles to reach the 50 mile mark.
After about 30 or 45 minutes in the aid station to talk to medical and rounding up my group of fantastic pacers, I headed back out with all three of my pacers to wrap up the last little bit. It was incredible to spend this little bit of time with all of my pacers (such luck! all at once!) out on the course. They were saints for sticking with their slow, hobbling runner, but at least it was only for 3 miles and not for another 50.

Hitting 50 miles for the first time, the end of my race:

With my pacers (and closed eyes):

I'm glad that I finally broke through my own barrier and hit the 50 mile mark - it's one that's been haunting me since getting injured at Leona in April. I'm a little disappointed that I didn't continue on to get to 100k and finally earn myself a belt buckle, but I'm happy that I DNFed [Did Nothing Fatal] I genuinely believe that going for another 12.5 trail miles beyond what I did would have been dangerous for my shin.

I am beyond happy with my nutrition during the race. Aside from the swelling in my feet, (which is typical for me of any run over 10 miles) my nutrition was spot on. After the nutritional disaster that was the 12 hour run, this was a pretty big deal.

A week later, my feet, legs, shin, and everything else feel in great shape and I’m very happy with my decision to run to the point that I did and no further. I’ve healed very well and am ready to be able to spend time doing what I love to do. A huge thank you goes out to Araviapa Running, all of the ultra runners involved, and my crew – the Jundred was a fantastic day, and I have you to thank for it. I feel fortunate to have been able to spend my time in such a way.