San Tan Scramble- my first 50K

Another glass for the collection!

San Tan Regional Mountain Park is in Queen Creek. It is almost an hour drive there. I kind of liked having some dark quiet driving time to reflect and prepare for what I was about to do. I was looking forward to testing my body- to trying a new distance. I have finished a few marathons thinking I could do more. Could go farther. It was time to try.

I got there in time to visit the bathroom twice. This helped me feel prepared and luckily I didn’t need a bathroom for the 5.5 hours out on the trail. Yay!

My course was loop style. Three loops of 10. The loop included a few miles out and back segment. The out and back included a mountain to climb up, down, and then turn around, climb up it backward, and down it back into the loop. So 3x over the mountain, 6 big climbs and descents. I knew that the course had a big climb, but I guess I wasn’t prepared for how big!

The cool thing about the out and back segment was that I got to see the fasties flying by me- on their way back up the mountain. I saw the Speedy Paulette all 3x on the mountain. She on her way back to finish each loop. She would go on to set a course record of 4:46:something…!

The first time up the mountain I kept running form. If I were to go back, I think Id walk up the climbs every time. I bet walking would be as fast as running up. And it would give my legs a break from running form.

On my first loop I took a wrong turn and ended up giving myself some extra mileage. Probably just an extra .3 or .4. You have to watch those ribbons carefully. There are orange ribbons tied in the trees to indicate the correct trail.

I think I did okay with pacing. It was interesting to find that the last 5 miles weren’t the hardest 5 miles. Throughout the race I went back and forth between highs and lows. Sometimes Id say to myself, possibly out loud, “I feel good right now!” Then sometimes Id say to myself “Im not feeling so good. But there is an aide station ahead…” Eating a GU every 5 miles helped the time fly by. I noticed myself getting through my gu’s, meaning more miles were done. First the 2 gu’s in my front pouch, then the gu in my water bottle pouch, and then I got to the 2 gu’s in my fanny pack! I ate all 5 gu’s I brought. I also had a pack of pomegranate honeystinger chomps, and I sucked on one in the back of my cheek most of the time. I started the chomps about half way into the race.

I had a low point at about 16.5 miles, when I mentally realized that this was the longest I had before run on trail. I worked through it.

I was alone allot. Except on the mountain. There were always people on the climbing portion. On my 2nd loop there was a guy fairly close behind me for probably over 4 miles. It was kind of nice knowing there was someone around, but I really liked when I was alone too. When I was alone I didn’t have to be embarrassed about all the crazy breathing and grunting that was coming from me. Sometimes I even laughed at myself because I was so noisy!

A couple of friends had texted me the day before reminding me to “have fun” and to “remember that I’m doing this because it is my passion”. This became a mantra of sorts. I just kept reminding myself to enjoy it and take in every moment. I kept reminding myself that I have wanted to do this for a long time, and that I’m ready for this opportunity. I kept reminding myself to look around and notice how beautiful the views were.

When my watch showed that I was over 26.2 I kind of got a high point. I got excited thinking “this is the part that is making me an ultrarunner!!!” Maybe it’s a weird thing to be excited about, but I feel like I really loved those last 5 miles! Even though my legs were getting really tired.

In the last few miles I had a few problems creeping up on me….one that the ground seemed a little fuzzy. Like I couldn’t see the ground clearly. So I had to look around more and look less at the trail! Which is a little risky.

The other problem creeping up was leg cramps. I had used up about 3 electrolyte tabs in my water. But I was out of tabs. I had taken a few salt pills at aide stations. But when cramps were starting to shock me, I figured that I was running low on electrolytes. I had several chomps left so I started gobbling them up. I knew that I was near the end, and hoped that there were enough electrolytes in my chomps to get me through.

At the end Noah was there clapping for me. Trail races are not like road marathons. Not allot of fan fare. Noah might have been the only one clapping for me! I was glad that he made it. He said it was close! He said he had only sat down for maybe 2 minutes when I appeared…so it must have been fate for me to take that wrong turn earlier! The extra distance was worth having Noah there to greet me at the end!

I love talking about food, so here are some food facts:

Pre-race carb loading: noodles Thursday night from PF Changs, sweet potatoes and rice Friday for lunch, pizza Friday night.

Morning of race: Cheese bagel, banana.

During race I brought and used: 5 GU’s and 1 packet chomps, and 3 electrolyte tabs in water.

During race I took from aide stations: orange wedge, baked potato wedge, 2 salt pills, 1 bite pb&j. Water refills.

Post race recovery: half a wheat bagel with cream cheese, pepsi, egg burrito, rockin refuel chocolate milk.

That night when I was ready to enjoy a reward food: Ben and Jerry’s chunky monkey, and nachos with warm Tostitos Queso. Yum!

So Marcie and I were discussing what it would take to go further. She asked if I was ready to go further. I want to go further. I am intrigued and want to figure it out. What does it take? I think nutrition is key. I think Id have needed to be able to process allot more food out there if I was going to go further. As for cramps…does anyone have suggestions? I think electrolyte tabs are very helpful. Any other good ideas???

I did have fun yesterday. It is all a super great memory already. I am very happy with my first Ultra! It wont be my last!

Coldwater Rumble

January 21st 2012

Carpooled up with Mary and two of her friends. Kata and Shayna. A good hour drive to Goodyear. On the way we discussed our experiences from Chang’s last weekend. We talked about what makes us feel good or bad about our race. How our goals and expectations shape how we feel at the end. How our final time doesn’t always indicate if we are happy or sad.

It felt nice to be out on the trail again. I didn’t get a trail run in the previous weekend.

At the first Aide station we had to choose to go left for the 31k or straight ahead for the 19k. For our own various reasons, we all chose to take the 19k route.

There were some very serious climbs in the last few miles. The kind of climbs that you are pretty much forced to walk. I ran as much as I could, cause I like to keep my momentum going. But I did walk a little.

Im now looking forward to my 50k on February 4th. It will be my first “ultra distance”. And by far my longest trail run. Up to this point, I think 16.5 is my longest trail run. I expect San Tan Scramble to be 30+ miles. I better mentally prepare for 31! I’m excited to see how my body feels after 30 miles of trail! I hope I LOVE it!!!

Phoenix Rock-n-Roll 2012

Goodbye to Cynthia's Red Velour! She saved it to donate to charity at the race. I miss it already!

Enjoy this picture, because I forgot to take more than one picture. Maybe someone else will post more pics....hint, hint!

Sunday January 15th was a beautiful day to run! All week my friends and I had discussed what the weather was going to be. A week before the forecast ahead had predicted cold and maybe even rain. Every day that approached the marathon, the forecast was getting slightly warmer. And then Sunday we had perfect weather. I took my “charity donation clothes” off before the gun even sounded.

The gun sounded a half hour late. Due to traffic. We were early, but many runners got caught in horrible traffic. Bridgitte was doing the half marathon and had to take a “late start”, because she was one caught in traffic.

Cynthia, Lisa, Karen, and I got a ride to the start from Lisa’s hubby. Then we went through potty lines a couple of times and met up with Julie-Anne.

Cynthia and Lisa started together. Karen and Julie-Anne and I started together. And Brendan. A friend of Julie-Anne’s.

With the late start, we spent extra time sipping water and it quickly took its toll! Karen and I needed to find a porto potty. We sped up a little to find a potty, temporarily leaving Julie-Anne and her friend Brendan. We found some porto’s at mile 6.

After our potty stop we had to pick up the pace and play catch-up. We looked for Julie-Anne’s cute hat she was wearing. We spotted it and had a little reunion with her and Brendan.

I was trying to distract everyone with conversation topics. Being the “Foody” that I am, I asked everyone what they’d eaten the night before…and what they were looking forward to eating as a post-race treat…I love food and never tire of the topic! If you ever want to run and talk about food- look me up!!!

Brendan decided it was time to part ways about 10 miles in, so we bid him goodluck and went on.

I saw Noah and the girls just past mile 13. I took time to give them quick hugs and kisses. A PR day wouldn’t allow such a treat. On this day I had time to treasure their mid-race embraces:)

Dan ran by on the loop section and told us that Mary was out. I was so sad for her, knowing that she was running a super fast race and right on track for a desired BQ time. Soon afterward we saw her on the side lines cheering us on. I later learned that her knee had given out and she had no choice but to stop.

Our average pace had slipped enough that we knew we’d have to pick up the pace if we were going to come in under 4 hours- our goal for the day. Karen said she was at the point she needed to speed up and finish or stop for a bathroom again. I was feeling similar. We picked up the pace and stopped talking for awhile. It was time to be done. Time to have a lengthy bathroom stop.

We had minimal conversation in those last miles. I vocally noted our average pace dropping and we vocalized our mile markers- down to 6 miles, the loop plus fountain, down to 5 miles, the big loop, down to 4 miles, the regular loop, down to 3 miles, the short-cut loop, down to 2 miles, just the fountain…and the final sweet mile. We decided to grab hands for our finish line picture, knowing the risk that we might get stuck permanently together with GU!!!

A third finish with Karen. So nice to have a same pace buddy! And Julie-Anne came in just a few minutes behind us, shaving 7 minutes off her PR!

We went through the finish line shoot, collecting bagels and mojo’s yogurt, and jamba juice. The bagel made my tummy happy.

I went to see Noah and the girls in the family reunion area. I wanted to say Hi before they took off. But they wanted to stay and see Cynthia and Lisa finish. I was so happy for Cynthia to have a PR race. And so proud of Lisa for accomplishing a race that she worked really hard for. All my friends were strong and I am so proud of them.

Another great memory. I love Chang’s. Its close and local. The expo is always a fun event. Ive had a different goal for every one of my 4 Chang’s, and at each Chang’s Ive met at least one of my goals for the day. Thankyou Phoenix! I will be back! Probably with a whole different goal in mind next year!

McDowell Mountain Frenzy

The Bathroom line is not bad at all before race start. Notice the Guys line is longer than the Gals line! This is not typical in life, but has been the case for the 3 trail runs Ive participated in!



This is the Start of the race, and later the Finish!




At the beginning you get to stay warm by a fire, or more modern- space heaters!

December 10, 2011

I got an icky head cold just in time for my December Trail Race. I figured Id be okay…usually congestion seems to clear up for awhile when I run. I was okay but found my nose dripping like a faucet the entire race. This distracted from my fun a little, but luckily I still managed to have ALLOT of funJ

I hate bonking so my typical strategy is to start out conservatively. Then when I am half way through with the race I speed up a little if I am feeling pretty good. The closer I get to the end, the faster I let myself go.


This was my 3rd trail race now, so Im starting to get a little better feel for what I can do. The first 2 races I felt in the beginning like I could keep up a sub-10 average pace. This time I had more confidance and felt that I could keep a sub 9:30 pace.

I try not to look at my watch pace allot because with trail running you have to roll with the terrain. Dig in to the up hill, and then fly on the down hill. Hold some momentum, and get up the next hill. So I think more about my perceived exertion. In the beginning I ask myself, is this a level of exertion that I can keep up for a long time?

But I did go out a little bit harder this time. With my new confidance I felt that I could start out a little less conservative. I also thought that it would be cold, and that I would need to be speedy to stay warm. It was warmer than I expected and I would’ve traded my long sleeve tech shirt for a short sleeve one. But I didn’t regret my tights. They seemed right.

At one point a guy came flying by me and the guy running just in front of me. Passer guy said “On your left please”. After making these 2 passes he took a hard fall. His pride got him back up quickly and he sped off.

I had to pull off at an aide station to ask for tissue. When I pulled off, three women passed me. I would later regain them and pass them.

When I had 4 or 5 miles left I decided I had enough energy to kick in an extra gear. And then when I was just about to the last mile I decided to really cruise. Just as I had decided to make my final sprint- the terrain turned into total steep up hill. I mean the kind of up hill you almost need a rope! So there was no last mile sprint to the finish.

I ended my 15.5 miles with an 8:59 average. 2:19:17 on my watch.

The view was beautiful the whole time. Big blue sky and mountains all around. So nice to be out in nature surrounded by the beautiful outdoors. My trail running experiences have fully converted me to the beauty of Arizona. Ill admit that for many years after moving here from Utah, I had a negative opinion of desert landscape. But I Love, Love the landscapes I’ve been running in over the past few months. Love. Look forward to. Love.




These were the trophies for winners. I coveted. Look how cute!!! Colorful ceramic chickens!

***I never got around to reporting on my November Trail Race. Pass Mountain. Usery Park. It was great. It started out easy and then lots of challenging climbing and then runners were rewarded with SPECTACULAR views from the top of Pass Mountain. And then some crazy down hill. Pass Mountain was a little scary as I realized that at times if I got my footing wrong I might go off a drop. And I was going fast anyway. Just hoping for the best. There was some thrill in the danger…anyhow GREAT race!!!

At the end of each of my 3 trail races I have received a finisher glass. They all say the name of the race. I love my new glass collection!!!

I wish I had a ceramic chicken, but I am happy to have a fun drinking glass.

Mesa Turkey Trot 2011



Before the starting gun...will we be fast?

 

She beat the turkey!


 I love starting my Thanksgiving day with the Mesa Turkey Trot. I started running this in 2007 and have done it every year since. Karen and I went up together and had a fun morning. At the start we discussed the fact that neither of us felt super motivated to be fast, plus we were both fast last year so we weren't sure if we could get faster.  The horn finally sounded and Karen said goodbye! About 46 minutes later she crossed the finish line with a new personal record! Yay for Karen, she even "beat the Turkey" for bragging rights. Go Karen!

I started out feeling a little sluggish, with 'heavy' legs so I thought I would just settle in to a decent pace and take whatever time I got. However, when I looked at my watch at the mile mark I realized I was actually running at a decent clip. I was warmed up now and felt good so I sped up a bit. The next few miles flew by.  By mile 5 I realized I was going to beat last years time so I thought I might as well try to crush it and I pushed hard for the last few minutes. I came in at 56:07, which was about a 9:05 pace. I'm pretty happy with that! Karen and I enjoyed chatting with a few friends we saw after the race and eating the delicious oranges but we pretty quickly headed home. We earned a diet coke stop for sure and it tasted delicious! I'm glad we were able to burn some calories this morning to sort of help with the calorie surplus I created this afternoon.



The nice man cut off my head!

Happy Thanksgiving! I'm thankful for running and especially for running friends.

Javelina Trail Run at Night

Javelina 100 (25k for me)
Oct 15, 2011, 6:00-8:30 pm.

I have been vicariously running trails for years, so when I struck up a conversation with Mary Knott at the gym, and she invited me to go out on the trail with her, I jumped at the chance!

After trying out several different trails with her, I decided that it really was as fun as it sounded in other people’s blog reports!

Noah took me out on his mountain-biking trail a couple of times too. He would ride ahead of me but wait up for me every once in awhile.

Although Ive wanted to do this for a long time, I didn’t quite have the determination to do it on my own. So its been nice to have some company!

Trail running isn’t highly social- it seems you need your space to pick the best footing. But it often involves allot of driving TO the trail, and then knowing there are friends close by- I prefer not to go it alone.

I was very excited to try my first official “trail race” last Saturday night. I wondered if it was such a good idea to do my first trail race at night, in the dark. But I was anxious and it sounded like a fun adventure.

Now that I think about it, I did do the night trail portion of Ragnar last year- so maybe this isn’t as novel as Ive been feeling. But in my head it was my first trail race and my first night race.

When I got there I was alone for a little while. I was so happy to see Mary and her husband, Dan show up. Dan showed up to support Mary- they have an awesome team- last week she was supporting him at Kona Ironman!

There was no “seeded corral”, so I worried that elbows would be flying in the beginning as we tried to find the right order. But it seemed to fall into place in a very orderly fashion. I didn’t feel like I passed or got passed very often.

I tried to wait as long as I could to turn my flashlight on. I had a headlamp, but it didn’t feel like enough. Noah told me that our flashlight, even with a new battery, would probably only last an hour and a half.

I only got a couple miles in though before I felt like I needed it. When I saw someone up ahead of me turn their light on, I felt justified in using my own as well. Luckily it lasted me to the end!

The field spaced out quite a bit, and there would be lengthy periods where I couldn’t see anyone ahead or behind me! Not even their flashlight! So I often felt like the only one in the dark on a mountain. A little scary, and I think it drove me to keep a fast pace.

I worked into a pace that felt comfortably challenging. I couldn’t look at my watch to see what that pace was- I had to watch the trail and stay focused! Three times I caught my toe and lurched forward. Three times I felt like I was going to face plant. But luckily I was able to run out of it all three times.

Even though running alone was a little nerve racking, I found that when Id get close to someone else, that their light would give me a headache and make me feel dizzy. So it was better to control my own space.

The aide station was about 8.5 miles into the race. I looked forward to the aide station, just knowing that I could refill water and would be close to finish after the station. The aide station was stocked with all kinds of fruit, candy, salty snacks, even pumpkin pie! I ate half a banana while they refilled my water bottle for me. Aide station volunteers rock!!!

The more technical part of the trail was the first half, and in the last several miles the trail smoothed out allot and I was able to pick up my pace. Especially since I knew that I was nearing the finish.

When I crossed the finish line there was a nice group of supporters there to clap and cheer. They sent me to the table for food- again a very nice spread of food- even pizza!

They asked if I was going to go out for a 2nd loop or if I was done. When I said that I was done, they gave me a finisher’s glass. I was confused about receiving the glass- did this mean I won??? But no, everyone gets the glass!

Dan tried to convince Mary and I that one of us needed to get back out there and do a 2nd loop. There was a prize for first place girl in every distance. And the first place girl in the 25k distance was done. So 50k prize was up for grabs! But we politely declined.

I wanted to finish my first trail race feeling GREAT! And, I was anxious to text Noah and let him know that I successfully completed the loop. And to text my Sweat Sisters who were anticipating a finishing text!

I can’t wait for my next trail experience. Noah says that he likes mountain biking because he feels like he is flying. I think this is why I like trail. I like the scenery, but what about when it’s dark? The ups are fun and challenging and then I am rewarded with downs where I feel like I am flying. I really love the rolling hills. The variety keeps things fresh. I like the focus that I have to dedicate to finding the best footing. And whether I can fully appreciate the scenery as I run by it, I still like the feeling that I am out there in nature. It feels right.

A Love Note

Dear Trails,

I love you.

Love,
Lindy