2013: Year In Review

This year has been a wild ride to say the least. Ups, downs, and unexpected twists were rampant. Nothing I've ever experienced can compare to 2013 for the trials, tribulations, and triumphs. Before I look back on my best year of running yet I want to thank the people who made this all possible.

First off is obviously my friends and family. I could never have accomplished my first 100 miler without my crew and coach. I couldn't dream big if it weren't for my family backing me up. And I wouldn't laugh until I cry or get squeezed in bear hugs until I squirm if I didn't have friends like Jenn (both of them), Dan, Kelly, or Paul. I love you all!

FitFluential - I have taken my blogging to a new level and been introduced to opportunities I never would have had otherwise without FF's mentoring. I've also met a ton of wonderful bloggers and been inspired to improve my own. Look for lots of upgrades in 2014!

Representin' FF at the Pretty Muddy

INKnBURN - How could I have run 100 miles and had NO chafing or blisters or other issues without them? I made new friends because I always stand out in their gear. I get to be comfortable and stylish which is something that rarely happens in my 'normal' life. INB4Life! <3 p="">

INKnBURN went everywhere with me this year, even my first Strongman clinic

Altra Zero Drop - The base of all my running! No black toenails. No blisters. Total comfort. After just over 1,300 miles run this year my feet are still happy. I can never think the Altra crew enough for all they've done for me and always having my back!

Altra carried me for over 1,300 miles in 365 days

Okay, now onto the shameless bragging!

As of today I am at 1,322+ miles run for 2013. I ran 27 races totaling approximately 500 miles. These included 7 5k's, 2 5 milers, 1 10k, 1 10 miler, 3 30k's, 1 20 miler, 2 marathons, and 3 ultras (one 24 hour, my first 100M, and one 50 miler). There were also some odd distances like 4.3 miler, a 7 miler, and 24.5 miles during a relay. Overall I would say it was a very successful year!

Third woman, first in age group at the North Coast 24 Hour Endurance Run

 

 

My crew and I after my first 100 mile finish

On the personal side there were also lots of changes. My family dealt with stalkers and sabotage. My marriage ended. I found a job I loved and then was laid off almost immediately. But despite all the drama there was lots of good as well. I made a lot of new friends. I reconnected with old ones. I went to my 10 year high school reunion (what?!). I turned 29 and began to accept that I really am going grey (I blame the kids).

At my 10 year reunion

 

So here's to 2014 and even more adventures. Whatever the new year may bring I know it will be worth it because I have the best family and friends. We always work hard and play harder. We give blood, sweat, and tears. And we never, ever give up. Cheers!

On My Skin

I finally got my fifth tattoo today. I've been waiting... and waiting some more. Why? Because I hadn't finished a hundred miler. And when I did finish BR100 my life began to fall apart. Maybe you remember this post when I wrote about the compass rose necklace I bought myself when I first started running. I told myself I would mark it on my skin permanently when I ran my first one hundred. Little did I know how long that journey would be!

Today I walked into my favorite tattoo place on a whim thinking I would get it drawn up and make an appointment. The guy asked, "Want to do it now?" I began to hesitate and then thought to myself, "What's the point in waiting for anything? Just do it!" So I said yes and we began the process of laying it out and inscribing it on my body forever.

And here is what I walked out with an hour later:

 

It's a representation and a celebration all in one. It represents the path I've travelled and the path I'm on as my life changes direction again. It celebrates the end of my journey to travel 100 miles on foot. It represents my moral compass and my desire to stay my course when it seems the entire world is against me. It will hopefully be a good luck charm for finding my path out on the trails when running and racing.

Life is never what we expect but so long as we raise our sails and chart a course we can follow the stars to where we are meant to be. The journey begins today...

Kicking off the New Year

I spent my first day of 2013 on the trails, in the snow. It was cold and it was slow going but it was awesome nonetheless! The crunch of fresh powder under my Altras and my warmest jacket over my new INKnBURN gear were just what I needed to feel like I was starting out on the right foot (pun intended).

I think I've made my goals for 2013 pretty obvious but for the sake of having them listed and quantifiable I want to put them here:

1. PR at every distance from 5k - 50 miles
2. This is a sub-part of #1: PR at the Shamrock Marathon
3. Run 80+ miles at the North Coast 24 Hour
4. Finish Burning River 100 Mile
5. Run my third leg of the Baker 50 Mile and complete my medal
6. Return to Oil Creek for a distance I haven't done there (either 50k or 100M)
7. Run at least 2013 kilometers in 2013 (1,250 miles)

These are my 'bare minimum' goals. These are things that I believe I can accomplish with my current training and history. I will refine these goals throughout the year and for most races I will have 'A', 'B', and 'C' goals. For example: Just finish, finish in X:XX time (time I will be happy with), and finish in Y:YY time (time I will be over the moon about). I try to make all of my goals attainable and reasonable but there's always outside forces. It may be snow or extreme heat or an injury, whatever.... It's important that I remember that just putting in the training and getting to the starting line is an accomplishment in itself. The rest is the icing on the proverbial cake.

So there's my 2013 goals in writing for all the world to see. So what's your goals? Have you made them quantifiable and attainable? Let's see them!

Chasing a Dream

As I sit in my bed wide awake and kind of freaking out I can't help but think I'm insane. I'm insane because I'm running my fourth marathon in 36-ish hours. I'm insane because I woke up with a raging head cold but I still think I can PR in Baltimore. I'm insane because I'm already consoling myself with the knowledge that I have marathon #5 in another month if I crash and burn this weekend. I'm insane because, to distract myself, I'm checking out my possible race calendar for 2013.

So far I have committed to North Coast 24 Hour in April. I've been wanting to do a 24 hour race all year and I haven't had the opportunity. I want to set a distance PR as a way to finally lead to my first 100 mile finish. I always fall apart around the 100k mark in my 100 mile attempts. In a 24 hour race I'll have the opportunity to fall apart and put myself back together several times if necessary. I think it will help me learn to overcome my issues with the onset of darkness.

The other 'must' on my list is the Laurel Highlands Ultra 70.5 miler. I figure it's got a lot going for it. A) It's close to home. B) It's not that much farther than 100k so it's a great stepping stone to 100 miles C.) It's absolutely gorgeous and insanely challenging.

The big question mark in front of me is whether or not to make another 100 mile attempt in 2013. After volunteering at Burning River 100 this year I am sorely tempted to make it my first finish. The course is daunting but beautiful and the aid stations and volunteers were amazing. I haven't quite forgotten how much the first two attempts hurt and just how big of a blow to my ego failure was. (I'm still not really over it.) But I can never succeed if I don't try so something tells me that I'll be there in July 2013. Plus I really want the medal too!

 

And if I can do that then I might just have to head back to Oil Creek for my second buckle! Afterall I need to fill up the new extension bars Shane added to our Allied Medal Hangers! ;)

Are you planning for 2013 yet? Are you afraid to tackle something you really want? What's holding you back?

Sometimes things just click...

I've been having the best couple months of my running life ever this summer. I don't want to jinx it but I don't want to pretend it's not happening either. Maybe it's the fact that I've been doing CrossFit and other cross training on a consistent basis now. Maybe it's the fact that I've met some other ultra runners in real life and they're encouragement is feeding my enthusiasm. Maybe it's the fact that it's been almost a year since our youngest was born (really?! How did THAT happen?!). Whatever it is, I am loving every minute of it.

Just 9 short days ago I was finishing my first 100k and first 100 mile attempt(read about it here: Secret Race Report ). I thought I would be wrecked for weeks. Probably barely able to get off the couch for ice cream and not able to put shoes on without help. Yet, only 2 days later I went for a 5 mile run. I was slow, I was sore, but I was victorious! It was amazing to me that I could do that and that I WANTED to do that still. If anything my thirst for running has only increased since the VTU. I jumped back into CrossFit a little too quickly. I went to the box 4 days after VTU and attempted a simply deadly ladder workout my trainer devised. My quads were a mess for two more days from that alone. I took those two days off and worried and fretted about the planned trail run I had with a fellow ultra runner over the weekend.



Saturday morning I got up at the crack of dawn and drove an hour and a half to meet my friend (and her hubby) that you may remember from the Hell Hath No Hurry 6 Hour Trail Race. She's seriously a rock star! See?!



We met up with two other runners and drove another hour and a half to the trail head of the Baker Trail in Cook's Forest where I'll be running my 50M next month. My friend's hubby is also running the full 50 and the rest of the group is running the relay. We had originally planned on doing a 12 mile out and back for a total of 24 miles. The guys decided that an 18-ish mile point-to-point was better so we parked one vehicle at a road crossing with the trail and the other a half mile from the trail head. If we had only know what would happen from there!

The guys went out faster than the ladies and it wasn't more than 100 yards onto the trail before they were gone for good! Our group of gals managed to get turned around twice, run out of water twice, spot a giant bird, climb a fire watch tower, and generally induce more mayhem than necessary into trail running! I loved every minute of it! When we finally found the end car, 22+ miles later, we were ever so grateful that the guys were faster. They had chairs and food and bevies (the new word for beverages apparently!) ready and waiting. It turned out to be an awesome way to spend a Sunday! Oh, and I found out that Newton was a Red Eft, or a juvenile salamander/newt. How cool is that?!



Fire Tower. Yeah, we climbed that!:


I probably should have been recovering Monday but I took advantage of my husband and I both being off and we headed for Kennywood, the local amusement park. It was really fun but my flip flops rubbed some gnarly blisters on the tops of my feet! I won't make that mistake again!

Today I checked my friend's Facebook page and saw that she was looking for someone to run with in the afternoon. I couldn't pass up another opportunity for hilarity and we met on a rails-to-trails trail for a quick run. It turns out that, while our trail pace is perfectly compatible, I have some work to do on the flat! She held me to just over a 9-minute mile for the first few and then let me slip a little on the way back. We ended up with 6 miles at just barely over a 10 minute-mile pace. For 1PM in almost 90* heat with high humidity I am super happy with that. If I keep running with her I should be setting PR's in no time! I'm going to try to drive up for one of her running group's runs in the near future. You can never have to many 'solemates' as I've come to call my trail BFF.



All in all, I don't know how long this good running can last. I don't know if going from 80 mile months to 100 mile months to 120 mile months is going to burn me out over such a short period of time. But I do know that I'm going to take in every minute it lasts and enjoy it thoroughly. All I can do is hope that running continues to be such a source of joy in my life for years to come and that I continue to meet such amazing people who push me to better myself in every way!