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!

Half Baked

This was my third year and final leg of the Baker Trail Ultrachallenge. In 2011 I ran the North section and in 2012 I completed the Central section. This year I would face the toughest section, the South. The challenges of the southern end of the Baker Trail are not single track trail, rocks, roots, or bush whacking but pounding pavement and country roads for 30+ miles while baking in the sun on relentless climbs.

Elevation Profile

 

This section also features some tough obstacles right in the first 10 miles to help wear you out long before you ever touch the long stretches of pavement. At mile 4.1 there is a rope climb up a 40 foot sheer cliff face covered in loose shale. And at 7.4 miles there is a steep descent and ascent out of a hollow. This was a slide down on your backside and crawl out on your hands and knees type of valley!

The rope climb

 

I knew I probably shouldn't even line up for a 50 mile race just four weeks after my first 100 miler but I really wanted the final piece of my medal. I have reserved every August for the last three years to complete a leg of the Baker so I was really looking forward to finishing it for good.

 

Shane was running the last leg of the relay so he didn't need to arrive until Saturday afternoon. The 50 miler began at 6:30am and buses to the start left at 5:15am so I drove up alone the night before. I checked in and ate and hung out at the farm house just like last year. And I once again slept in my Jeep. All in all it wasn't a bad way to spend an evening.

A blurry pic of me with my friends, Tom and Jeff

 

After a restless night I awoke before my 4:30am alarm and began to dress. I had chosen my INKnBURN cherry blossom camisole and denim shorts along with my Altra Torins. Other than that I carried only a 20 ounce Ultimate Direction handheld. I wandered into the farm house for some coffee and socializing until it was time to load the buses.

 

Kim and I in the farm house

 

The bus ride was about an hour since the Baker is point to point. I chatted a bit and dozed a bit but really I just wanted to get started and get done. I wasn't nervous and I wasn't really excited either. It just felt like something I had to complete. I arrived at the starting line and found my friends, Allison and Patrick, who had paced me at Burning River 100. I knew Patrick would take off quickly but Allison and I decided to stick together with our friend, Brian, for the first several miles.

 

The gun went off about 15 minutes late and we all headed up a country road. Before long we were traversing single track trail and Jeep roads. Then we reached the line for the rope climb. As I was climbing I heard branches cracking and a curse from Brian. I yelled up to ask if he was okay and it turned out that he had surprised a deer at the top which almost ran him over in its rush to get away. Thankfully no animals or runners were harmed and we all continued on, laughing about the different scenarios that could arise from a runner on deer collision.

 

Somewhere on the way through the steep valleys and peaks of the hollows we all got separated. My legs were not responding well on the climbs and I felt like I couldn't really pound the descents like I usually do. I knew I was going slow but I promised myself I wouldn't stop unless I got pulled for missing a cutoff. I had been hoping for 11 hours but it was obvious early on that I wouldn't make it so I tried to keep pace with my previous year's splits.

 

Coming into an aid station

 

Somewhere around mile 10 a huge group of us followed some blazes down a path and then they suddenly stopped. We finally found our way back to where we had gone astray and it turned out someone had purposely blacked out the real blazes and laid a false trail. That was a new experience for me and added a lot of time and about a mile to my day.

 

I hit 21 miles in 5:23 and looked forward to the beginning of the road section that would take me to the finish line. Around this point I was at an aid station stuffing my face when Allison and Brian popped up behind me. They had gotten lost as well and added about two miles which put them just behind me. Brian had also twisted his ankle and was having trouble keeping up with Allison. After a few miles of running together Brian and I let Allison go and continued on together. For her first 50 miler on a tough course, Alli was really killing it!

Bridge on the course

 

Brian and I ran together, running and walking, chatting away. We slowly began to overtake people who had gone out too fast or who were having issues with the heat. As we reached the exposed road that we would follow for the next 20 miles to the finish it was easy to see that many runners were not acclimated to the conditions. Thankfully Brian and I both love to run in the heat and sun!

Take me home country road

 

We enjoyed wonderful views such as some goats taking a dump, an old folks home painted pink like Barbie's Malibu mansion, and a wiener dog that chased us down the road a ways. There were also lots of Amish horses and buggies, lifted trucks, and very large dogs chained outside of very small trailers. It was very obvious that we were in the deep countryside.

 

Allison at Barbie's Dream House

 

 

 

 

If memory serves me I reached the marathon point in roughly 7 hours. I was feeling fairly certain that I would be racing cutoffs for the 14 hour finish. But as Brian and I counted down the miles we began to pick up the pace. A couple runners joined us on the push to the finish. I had met Dave the night before and Murray recognized me from this blog! It was really neat to run with two new friends for awhile! Brian's friend, Tom, joined us as a pacer for the last 10 or so miles and we really began to push. A mile from the finish I saw Shane waiting at the top of a hill. We took off together with Brian and Tom at our heels. And, just like last year, runners were directed up and over a furrowed hill to a tractor lane rather than running down the driveway to the farm.

 

 

As I ran down the tractor lane I pushed as hard as I could. My Garmin was long dead by this point so I have no idea what my pace was but I'm pretty sure I would be proud. I crossed the line in 12:44:52 and was awarded my medal and my rolling pin. This was also the first time I negative split an ultra. First half in roughly 7 hours, second half in approximately 5:44!

 

After that it was time to eat before Shane and I headed to the airport for my girls' trip to Disney. No rest for the wicked in this house!

 

Crossing the finish line

Swag

 

I had to wait four entire days to get home and see my medal and rolling pin again. But now I have finally assembled the final product of three years of toil in the hot August sun!

All three years' medals prior to disassembly

Now all three medal pieces rest together on a marble rolling pin seated atop a wooden base. In about six weeks an inscribed plaque with all three years and my finish times will arrive to be affixed to the base. I have to say it feels really good to have this one checked off the bucket list!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

I chose North Coast 24 Hour Endurance Run  (NC24) as a test of my ability to complete Burning River 100 in July. With a little over 3 months between the two races it seemed like a perfect test of my training and a confidence booster. Leading up to the race I was neglecting some of my training due to being overworked but I was still improving and training harder than ever before. I also managed to pull or pinch something in my back moving some heavy things around in our lab. I had no illusions that I would somehow do anything impressive. I just wanted to cover a minimum of 80 miles with an achievable goal of 90 miles. My stretch goal was to break 100. Being that this was a 24 hour race there's really no way to make this short so grab a coffee and pull up a chair.

Pre-race

I asked my boss for Friday off and he said I could only have it if I finished up all my work. I didn’t think that would happen so I asked for Monday off knowing I would probably be wrecked (this is important later). I ended up getting all my work done so I drove out to Cleveland Friday night after spending the day packing and frantically fighting with my bank over a hold on my direct deposit (who does that?!). I drove straight to the park and scoped out the course before heading to my hotel. One of the first things I noticed was the white caps and heavy winds along the breakwater. I really hoped it would calm down by morning. I arrived at my hotel just in time to watch the coverage of the second Boston suspect being pinned down in the boat and then taken into custody. I fell asleep quickly and slept pretty well.

 

Waves were crashing over the breakwater

 

Race Morning

I woke up before my 6am alarm. I checked the weather and saw cold temps predicted so I chose pants, a tank top, and a long sleeve over top. I also wore my trusty Altra Zero Drop Torins for the entire race. I was anxious and full of nervous energy so I headed out before the continental breakfast was laid out. I went over to the local Starbucks and got a decaf (I avoided caffeine for the week before the race). I sat and talked to some older gentleman until 7:30 and then headed to the park for packet pick up. I found my friend, Anne, almost immediately so I set up my little station next to hers. Most people had tents but I didn’t want the temptation. I had brought a sleeping bag and a camp chair, mostly so if I got hypothermic I could warm up or take a nap after the race before I drove home. I also had a duffel bag stuffed with running clothes, jackets, and gloves as well as a small cooler with two Red Bulls in it. That's it... no crew, no shelter, and no extras. Racing by the seat of my pants!

 

Tent City (and me in my pink hoody in the background)

I picked up my bib and chip, slipped on my hoody over my clothes, and then crawled into my sleeping bag to wait for the pre-race brief. The wind was howling and shortly after it started to snow. Then it began to pelt us with hail. I pulled my bag over my head and seriously considered just getting back in my car and going home. The hail and snow stopped just before 9am and the pre-race briefing went on as planned. So I sucked it up and lined up with everyone else despite the biting wind. The high was 41 degrees with a low of 33 and winds around 30MPH.

 

snow in my lap

Race

Heidi, the RD, sent us off with a bullhorn at 9am on the dot. I was surprised at how many people took off like it was a shorter distance race. My plan was to run as evenly and consistently as possible for as long as I could maintain it. I didn’t wear a watch so I didn’t worry about pace or times. I just tried to keep my effort low and even. We were running the .90075 mile loop clockwise which meant a short incline along the edge of the lake and then running along the breakwater at the top before turning away from the lake and heading down to the line to start again. The wind was gusting diagonally across the park and the freezing spray from the waves crashing against the breakwater would mist us with every loop. The wind was from the side on the uphill, mostly behind us at the top of the loop, and directly in our faces as we returned along the sandy beach which meant the sand blew into our eyes, noses, mouths, and shoes relentlessly.

 

snow on the path

After the first few loops I could tell my back was going to be an issue. My right SI joint was sending shooting pains down my leg with every step. I told myself it was just nerve pain so there was no reason to pay any mind since there was nothing I could do about it. It did slow me down though. I decided to try to hold 5 loops per hour for as long as I could in order to get close to 100 miles. I began to walk the short incline from the start/finish up to the breakwater each lap so I could eat and drink and save my legs. Then I would run the remainder of the loop and do it again. I would walk an entire loop every 15^th or 16^th lap.

I was staying right on target and prettily easily keeping my 5 loops per hour average despite the wind and cold. After 25 or so miles I decided to change my socks to relieve the sand friction in my shoes. It helped immensely and I made a plan to change my socks every 25 miles thereafter. Around 30 miles my back pain suddenly disappeared which helped me stay on pace and even improve slightly. I whiled away the hours talking to other runners and watching in amazement as the men ran themselves into the ground trying to beat the wind. Johnny Cash (yes, his real name) was going for 135 miles and he was just blazing. Hearing him lap me again was better than a clock. He was ridiculously steady!

 

 

waiting to start

Around 40 miles in my coach stopped out to cheer me on for awhile and check in. I was so happy to see her. She got me some warm food and broth, walked with me for a minute and helped refine my plans. We felt confident 90 miles was in the bag. After a few laps she had to leave but it kept me going at a better rate for another hour or so. I began to notice that my right foot was getting tender along the ankle. I tried to shorten my stride and improve my form which helped a little so I kept chugging along, knowing a 50 mile PR was in the bag.

 

My coach and I

I should have hit 50 miles in 11:30 or less but the pain in my foot was becoming annoying. The balls of my feet were getting tender and I blamed sand so I stopped to change my socks again. I passed 50.5 miles in 11:4x. I set my focus on getting to the 100k mark but began to lose steam as the sun set and the temperatures plummeted.

 

Running some laps with Ronnie

 

I stopped around 55 miles to add layers. I had two pairs of tights, a tank top, a long sleeve tech tee, two jackets, a hoody, and gloves on and I was still shivering uncontrollably. The top 10 or 12 men were still plugging away and 3 or 4 women remained on the course but everyone else seemed to disappear as soon as the sun set. I renewed my focus on not leaving the course for anything short of a medical emergency and pressed on. I tried to run more to get my temperature up and it became a battle between the pain in my right ankle/foot and my need to stay moving and warm. Occasionally someone would be running at a pace I thought I could sustain so I would hang with them for a few laps until I either got too warm in all my layers or my foot began to protest. Pretty soon all of the women had disappeared and I gave in to the urge to check the leader board. I believe I was in 4^th place at that point and around 21-23 overall. I wasn’t too far from Anne in third place so I decided to put in as many laps as I could while she was off the course.

 

Sunset

I picked up a 3 hour marathoner in a Boston jacket named Bruce and we put in a blistering 3 or 4 laps before I fell off his pace. Every few laps he would grab my hand and pull me along for another couple laps until I was gasping or limping and then I’d walk. I hit the 100k mark in around 15:30 and I felt pretty confident that 90 miles was very doable. I walked some very brisk laps with another runner named Jason and ran a few with another named Ronnie. They were both on pace for well over 100 miles so I’d enjoy their company while it lasted and then walk again.

 

Cleveland skyline at twilight

Sometime in the middle of the night I began taking caffeine: coffee, Mountain Dew, Coke, whatever. The week without any caffeine made the effects potent and I was wide awake despite the darkness. I ran without a light using the light of the moon and my familiarity with the course to guide me instead. It felt like hours before any other women rejoined me on the course but they later told me they only left the course for about an hour. I had taken over third place and I was now running scared that Anne would find her second wind. The winds calmed down and changed direction overnight which was a nice change and helped keep my spirits up. The appearance of a fox raiding the park garbage cans for our leftovers also gave me a boost. Of course, no one else saw him so maybe it was just a hallucination?

 

Plugging along

My coach wanted me to try to catch second place and I got fairly close when she left the course again for a short time. She came back out and finished a loop right behind me. She got a look at my numbers and let out a curse and took off like a bat out of Hell. By this point I was more than happy to let the chips fall where they may. I had hoped the sun coming up would rejuvenate me but instead I was becoming a walking zombie. My only goal was to keep putting one foot in front of the other until the end.

 

I liked this tree when it wasn't blowing pollen in my face

 

Thankfully my friend, Glenn, showed up at 6am and took over caring for me when I could no longer care for myself. He forced oatmeal and coffee into me and walked several loops, taking pictures and calling out encouragements. I just blindly followed behind him and the doc (who ran the med tent but also put in 34 miles) and tried to give convincing smiles when other runners talked to me or encouraged me.

 

That tiny speck in the water is a surfer. The waves were that big!

 

Around 8am I realized my position of third place woman was in no danger with a 9 lap lead over 4^th place Anne. I had moved up to 18^th overall and I couldn’t change that with both Karen and Allene directly ahead of my by about 10 laps in 16th and 17th place. Knowing that there was nothing to do but cause further damage I allowed Glenn to hustle me into the med tent to have my foot tended to by a group of podiatry students all the way from St. Louis, MO.

 

Bruising just below my ankle

 

All three students took turns palpating and digging and nothing really hurt. Finally their teacher came over and pushed in just below my ankle and also from the bottom up on the outside. The searing pain almost knocked me out of the chair. Diagnosis: dislocated Navicular bone. It seems my Navicular fell in and my cuboid pushed out causing a bruise along the side of my food and the inability to run due to the impact jarring the bones. Once my foot was reset and all taped up I hobbled outside to watch the last couple laps. Doc decided he wanted to get one more in so I accompanied him on a slow hobble around the loop carrying our popsicle sticks. (You are given a popsicle stick with your number on it to put down on the ground when the horn blows signaling the end of the race.) We were rounding the last bend when someone said we had less than 2 minutes to the horn. I wanted to finish with one more complete loop and maybe a few more steps beyond so I ignored the pain and ran but it wasn’t enough. The horn sounded and I stuck my popsicle stick in the sand about 20 feet shy of the mat. Doc was a few feet back and Allene, now in first place, was a few more feet behind him. We all limped back to the pavilion and I climbed into my sleeping bag to await awards.

 

Post Race

I huddled around with Anne, Glenn, Jason, and a few others as we collected our medals and the guys collected their 100 mile buckles. Shortly thereafter awards were announced with unofficial results (our extra incomplete lap was not measured or added yet). I was awarded a plaque for being first in the 0-39 age group, 3^rd overall woman netted me $100, and I was 18^th overall with an unofficial 84.7 miles. I officially ended up with 85.57 miles after my almost complete loop was added in.

 

The goodies

As soon as awards were over I hugged everyone goodbye and loaded up my car. I made the 3.5 hour drive back to Pittsburgh uneventfully despite being awake and moving for 30+ hours. Once home I showered and fell into bed for a fitful 3 or 4 hour nap. I kept being awakened by my sunburn and windburn as well as sinuses that felt like half the beach was stuffed in them. After some aloe gel, an Advil, and blowing about a pound of sand out of my nose I began to feel more human. Aside from being stiff and a little sore I don’t seem to have any damage besides the bruised foot. Of course, I expect I’ll feel more tomorrow since my boss revoked that Monday off deal! I’m going to be the most useless body in the plant for sure. (Side note: I actually was fairly productive for about 5 hours today!)

Thoughts

This was tough but for all the reasons I didn’t expect. I didn’t expect snow, hail, and gale force winds in April. I didn’t expect to be alone for long stretches of time overnight. I didn’t expect to be wet from freezing spray blowing off the lake. I expected to be tempted to go too fast but I wasn’t. I expected to be exposed to sun and heat but there was little sun and no high temps. I expected to be the one who fell apart overnight but I was one of the very few who held it together for the entire time.

I know that it was a ‘disappointing’ race to many of those tracking the event because not a single woman broke 100 miles and the winning male had ‘only’ 130 miles but, really, with the conditions and weather I’m absolutely amazed at what every single person at NC24 accomplished. Running a 10 or 11 minute mile pace for hours is one thing, running that for hours against a 30 MPH headwind is completely different. Every runner out there for the entire 24 hours absolutely put in a 100+ mile effort even without the results to show for it.

In the end, I didn’t get my 90 mile goal and I definitely missed 100 by a pretty good margin. But I’m thrilled with the results. I couldn’t have asked for better proof of my mental toughness than being the only woman that never stepped off the course for a nap or to hide from the weather. I wouldn’t have dreamed of placing in my age group let alone getting onto the podium in my first 24 hour race. And I have no doubt that I will collect my first hundred mile buckle at Burning River so long as I don’t suffer any serious setbacks. I guess it turned out to be a perfect day!

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!

Sorry If I Chicked You (Not!)

This was my second year doing the Baker Trail Ultrachallenge 50 miler. The Baker is a different race from most ultras in that you have to do the race three times in order to get the whole medal. The Baker Trail is almost 150 miles long so each year the race is held on a different 50 mile section. Last year I ran the North section and got my first piece of the medal. This year I got to experience the Central section.

The Baker medal once completed.

 

The week before the race I only ran two miles. I really wanted to run more but I couldn't seem to do anything but work. I ended up putting in 49 hours in the 4 days leading up to the race. Friday I ditched work and got a haircut instead and then came home to pack and head up to the packet pick up. This year the packets were being picked up at a private farm in Smicksburg, PA and was also where runners would finish the race. I decided to sleep in my Jeep at the farm to make race day morning easier.

 

 

New haircut to give me a mental boost for race day!

 

When I arrived at packet pick up I found that the family who owns the farm had made spaghetti and salad for everyone. To top it off they also had a refrigerator full of beer! I got my bib, chip, and shirt and took them to my Jeep. Once there I organized everything for race day and then headed back inside the farm house to eat and socialize. I sat on the deck with a cold brew and a full plate and talked to quite a few runners, both new and old friends. Soon enough it was getting dark and time to get some shut eye. I laid down the back seat of my Jeep and crammed a bag in the gap between the seat and the rear floor before rolling out my sleeping bag. I wasn't able to stretch out completely but I wasn't too uncomfortable either. I slept rather well for the conditions.

 

Representing Team Aquaphor!

 

In the morning my alarm went off at 4:30am. I quickly changed into my running gear and filled my handheld. I wore a camisole, shorts, gaiters and a pair of well worn road shoes. I carried nothing but water in a small handheld. I hoped travelling light would work in my favor on a hot day. I knew that this section is mostly rolling and winding country roads (gravel, dirt, and broken asphalt), as well as farm fields, Jeep roads, and about 8-10 miles of actual singletrack, technical trail. It would be relentless sun for the most part with no shade and hot asphalt under foot. A total 7, 318 feet of ascent and 7,056 feet of descent would add to the fun.

 

Elevation profile for the Cental section

 

 

A bus arrived at 6:00am to take us to the starting line. I hit the port-o-potty and then climbed aboard. The ride took twice as long as it was supposed to and I dozed on and off while the bus navigated the dusty country roads. By the time we reached the starting line it was almost 7am (start time was supposed to be 6:30am) and runners were nervously speculating about the toll the late start would take later as temperatures rose. I was just happy I wouldn't need a headlamp since I hadn't packed one.

 

The race director reminded us about following the yellow blazes and being safe on the roads. Then we were off! I purposely went out at the back of the pack. I wanted to go slowly enough to feel good and finish strong but still PR. I set a goal of running 13-14 minute mile average pace for the first half. A group of four runners, including me, settled in for the slow pace. The rest of the runners (roughly 100 this year - results aren't up yet) took off like it was a marathon or sprint instead of an ultra. I predicted that we'd see a high drop rate this year with the high number of new runners plus the heat. I learned that I was running with Steve, Michael, and Mad Dog. We continued as a group through the first three aid stations (mile 15) and added three more runners along the way.

 

After aid station 3 I took off a little and left the group. I knew I was almost 1/3 done and I thought it was time to start picking off more runners. Over the next few sections I picked off probably 5-10 runners, usually in groups of 2 or 3. I told myself I could start listening to music at the halfway point (mile 25.1) to motivate myself to get there. As I headed up the last large hill to the mid-way aid station I caught sight of a butterfly. I took my eyes off the trail just long enough to catch my toe on a rock and land hard on my left side. I looked down to find my knee bleeding profusely. I almost panicked but then I thought of all the stories I've heard of runners finishing despite much worse. I took a deep breath and pulled my eyes away from the gore. Then I got to my feet, dusted off and set off for the aid station.

 

 

My knee, looking better after being cleaned up.

 

At the halfway aid station the volunteers offered to let me use the sponge to clean up my knee. Knowing that there were people behind me who might want to use that sponge, I declined. I found a paper towel and wet it and used it to wipe away the worst of the blood and dirt. After that I went through the routine I used at every aid station in this race. I filled my water bottle, drank one cup of Gatorade or soda, and then ate a quarter PB&J or handful of trail mix. I never took a single GU or S!cap or anything except 'real' food. I also made sure to thank every volunteer at every single aid station. I checked my Garmin and saw that I was at exactly 6 hours. I made up my mind right then to aim for a negative split and a sub-12 finish.

 

After I left that aid station I pulled out my headphones and started rolling along to the music. It carried me pretty well and I started passing more runners. At one point I passed 7 or 8 within a mile or so. I was still feeling strong and happy and the miles were ticking off easily. I was having a blast moo-ing back at the cows along the way, waving to the Amish folks and just enjoying the sun and the breeze. Around mile 35 or so I caught a man named James who recognized me from this blog! (Hi James!) We leap frogged for awhile until I was finally able to pass for good. I think my awful singing probably kept him from catching me again!

 

By mile 40 I was starting to feel a little bit worn. A rock had made its way into my shoe and was digging into the side of my big toe. I kept wiggling my toe in hopes it would move somewhere less annoying but it never did. I was afraid I would lose too much time if I stopped to remove it plus I wasn't sure my shoe would go back on my swollen foot. I chose to ignore the pain and run with the sole purpose of getting sub-12 hours. I continued to play my game of choosing a 'victim' and passing them and then putting a large gap between that runner and myself before slowing again. It helped keep me going and kept me mentally strong. I never passed a runner that I didn't keep behind me for the rest of the way!

 

Miles 40-45 or so I ran with a friend of mine named Mick. He kept me in good spirits and kept pushing me. He took off after a bit and ran ahead. I tried to hold on to him but I know he's a stronger runner than I am still so I let him go when I got to the last aid station, approximately 4 miles from the finish. I went through my routine of refilling my water bottle, drinking some Gatorade and then eating a handful of chips. I took off down the road in the hopes of still finishing in 11 hours and 50-some minutes.

 

It didn't take long for me to realize there was very little chance of that happening. The last section is rolling ups and downs along gravel roads and some country highway. I was shuffle-jogging up the hills and then running full tilt on the downs but the runnable sections were getting fewer and farther between. The downs didn't seem to match the ups and the pace on the ups kept getting slower and slower. I pushed and pushed but when I realized I would need to do better than 10 minutes per mile for the last 2 miles I knew it was over. I had a vague hope that maybe the time on my Garmin was off from the timing clock and I would still barely make it but I knew in my heart it was futile. I set a new goal of finishing in 12:0x. I figured it would still be a huge PR and something to be very proud of.

 

The last mile is a long stretch of rolling highway and it seemed like it would never end. Runners who had finished long before me were driving out and waving and cheering which helped but I wanted to be done more than anything at that point. I finally saw the farm as I crested a hill. All I had to do was turn down the driveway and sprint it in! Right?! To my intense dismay I saw yellow arrows pointing not to the driveway but up a steep hill of furrowed farmland. I wasn't sure my ankles and knees would take a trip over a gopher hole so it was slow going. I finally crested the hill and saw I had to run down to a tractor lane, make a sharp left and then follow it to the finish. I picked my way through the old furrows and down to the tractor lane. I hit the tractor lane at 12:04 by my Garmin. I set out at the fastest run I could manage and crossed the line!

 

The race director told me my official time was 12:05:59! I made my B goal! Sub-12 will have to wait for next year I guess but it's still a huge improvement over Umstead in March and an even bigger PR over my time on the North section last year. I collected my medal, got a high five from one of the little boys running around the farm, and then headed for the food. As I enjoyed my pulled pork sandwich, cheeseburger and potato salad I relished knowing that I have trained really hard the last 6 months and it shows. I talked with a lot of runners who finished much faster than me but instead of feeling discouraged, I felt like I could get there someday! After I ate one of the volunteers patched up my knee (they had no peroxide so we used hand sanitizer - OUCH!) and I headed home. Now I just wait for official results so I can see how many runners I actually passed and where I placed. :)

 

 

 

I can't wait to see what next year holds!

Switching Teams

No this post isn't about anything to do with my personal life!

Now that I've got that out of the way I can get on with my report of the Run for Hunger 4 Mile Trail Race. My Team reGen teammate, Tom, is the director for this race and he sure knows how to put on a great event. My husband decided to participate in his first trail race which made the day even better.

We barely made it to the start on time (2PM). My husband underestimated the drive time but thankfully I'm a lead-foot. We pulled into Birdsfoot Golf Club and parked on a steep hillside (thank you Jeep!). Shane ran over to the tent to register while I gathered our gear and donations. I made it to the table to sign my waiver right as Tom was leading the group of runners to the starting line. We did a quick introduction and left it at that for now.

At the starting line I missed the instructions in my rush to use the Port-o-john. Shane filled me in right as Tom blew the airhorn and we were off! We started up a golf cart road that was curving and first up then down. About a quarter mile in the grade increased sharply and I decided to slow down a bit. A young girl and a woman passed me so I was now third overall woman and it didn't seem like there was anyone close behind as we made a turn into the woods. The trail was very technical single track and I was concentrating hard on not twisting my ankle when I heard heavy breathing behind me. I looked back and it was a woman who appeared to be in her 30's. I almost let her pass because she wasn't in my age group but since I was in third place overall I decided to try to outpace her. Less than a mile into a race that probably wasn't the best idea.


At the 1 mile mark we came into a field and at this point the woman overtook me. We made a left turn back into the woods and I tried to stick to her but the voices in my head were telling me I was asking for an injury that would prevent me from running the Baker 50 mile next weekend. I started to let her pull away and hoped she would slow more than I would in the next 3 miles.



The trail met an access road and the race course turned to follow it. The access road then met a dirt road and we turned onto that. This was the one and only water stop and I was glad that I had chosen to carry a handheld on such a hot day. I thanked the volunteers and then turned left to follow the blazes into the woods again. The trail became even more technical and we were travelling uphill once again. It was at this point that I lost the woman who had passed me, just before the two mile mark. I was by myself now and was cautiously trying to follow the switchbacks up the hill without slowing too much.



At the top of the ridgeline we made a turn down the other side. Instead of switchbacks the downhill was a straight-on attack and it was covered with loose rocks and larger, immobile rocks and roots. I started to really worry about getting hurt here but I pushed on. I could hear people on the switchbacks behind me and it wasn't long before two men and a woman overtook me.

There were 4 stream crossings at the bottom of the hill. We criss-crossed Buffalo Creek and at first I tried to stay dry. While I was tiptoeing through the first crossing another woman caught me. I realized I would have to throw caution to the wind if I was going to maintain my position. I splashed through the next 3 crossings and kept a slight lead on the other woman. Somewhere in this patch my Garmin beeped out the 3 mile mark.



After the water crossings we started up the biggest climb of the race. I walked most of it and started chatting up the woman behind me, partially to entertain us both and partially to keep her from passing me. I learned it was her first trail race and she was wearing Vibram Fivefingers. Can you say ouch?! I could feel the rocks and roots through the rock plate in my trail shoes! Thankfully it leveled out at the top and I got back up to a jog and kept my lead. There were many, many downed trees and logs in this area and they slowed me down quite a bit. I scraped my thigh up quite a bit trying to cross over one of the ones that didn't have the bark removed. It slowed me enough that I heard footsteps again and I looked back to see two women moving swiftly up. I tried to stay ahead of them but I knew it was futile. Just as my watch beeped 4 miles I heard, "excuse me" from behind and stepped aside. I couldn't believe how well they were moving and it wasn't until after I finished that I realized they were half marathoners from the 1PM start and this was their finishing push. Then I didn't feel so bad about them passing me anymore.



I started to wonder if I had missed a turn as my Garmin read 4.1 then 4.2 and then 4.3. Finally I came out of the woods at the top of the golf cart road. I was about to run down it when I realized there were more pink flags leading runners back into the woods. I sighed deeply and then pushed on. Another quarter mile of switchbacks brought us back out of the woods and onto the golf course. I gave it all I had down the hill and then it began to rise again. I could see the finish line at the top and the clock read 59:50. I didn't think I could make it in under an hour but I gave my all and managed to get an official time of 59:57 and a Garmin distance of 4.8 miles.

I located my husband and enjoyed just sitting in the perfectly manicured grass for awhile. We chatted with some others and cheered in the next few runners. Tom came over and asked what we thought of his race and we agreed that it was much more technical than we had expected but enjoyable nonetheless. He told us food, a raffle, and awards would be happening in half an hour back at the tent so we headed down to get some fluids while we waited.

The event was catered by Fivestar Catering and the spaghetti and salad were excellent! Each runner was given 5 tickets to put in the bags for the chinese auction which included CEP arm coolers, technical socks, gift certificates to the local running store, handheld water bottles, a Brooks hat, and vegetable baskets from a local farm. Shane and I didn't win anything but it was still fun to hope!

When the results print out went up I couldn't find my name and I started to worry that I'd gotten missed. However, it turned out I was looking too far down! I'm used to being in the bottom 50% and this time I was 18th overall! I was beyond thrilled when I realized I'd taken 1st place in my age group. I was 6th woman overall. My husband finished in 52:28, 7th overall, and 2nd in his age group. It was a very good day for Team Brunazzi!





After all was said and done we thanked Tom for his hospitality and I slipped into my reGen shirt to snap some pics with him. (This is where the switching teams comes into play!) His daughter ran the 4 mile race as well and got 3rd in the 1-14 age group. She's going to give my daughter some stiff competition when we finally get them into a race together! We promised to catch eachother at another race soon and then my husband and I headed home.



Overall, I am very pleased with this race, our performances, and meeting a fellow teammate. I hope that next year we'll be able to do it again and hopefully place even better!