Race Report

Race Report: Black Canyon 100K & My First Buckle

Posted on February 23, 2018 by Lisa Pozzoni by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

I DID IT!!! And it was the amazing experience I absolutely expected it to be! Where to even begin?! It’s been 3 days and I am still flying high from completing this race! My longest distance ever and one of the most amazing experiences of my life! (WARNING: there may be a lot of exclamation points in this blog and maybe some swear words too)

I’ve been wanting to cross this finish line for the last two years and I finally did it. You may recall that last year I attempted it and had to drop to the 60K due to the awful weather. I was disappointed but it was the right call and I don’t have any regrets. I will share some learning lessons and then a race report with pictures sprinkled in between 😉

My favorite picture of all! This at about 3am with my pace/crew team that helped make it all possible! I love that we are still laughing at the end!

Learning Lessons….

Be prepared: Leading up to the race, I had logged about 900 miles, completed two marathons, two 50Ks and one 40 miler as part of my training. The longest I had been on my feet was a little over 11 hours for the 40 miler at Across The Years in December. Needless to say, I felt ready going into it. This is a great feeling to have and something I try to impart with my runners. When you follow a training plan, and do all the work, there is nothing else to worry about but do the race! The week before was strange as I never got nervous…I had never really felt this prepared for a race. I also ran on the entire course on 3 different occasions so this helped. However, running each leg on 3 separate occasions (a month apart each time) was definitely not the same as running it all back to back (and at night time). This was more challenging than I expected and caused me to finish 2 hours longer than I expected. I also prepared a detailed spreadsheet with my expected arrival times to each aid station and finish and met with my crew/pace team. There is no better feeling for me than going into a race feeling prepared.

Get technique down: No way I would ever be doing ultra marathons if it weren’t for ChiRunning. This course had a negative elevation profile but still had some good amount of uphills too (while I was running, it did feel like there were more uphills than downhills though). I focused on my technique on many of my training runs (I purposely did some races that had more hills). I am a geek about running technique. I love being present and focused on what my body is doing and how can I tackle the environment coming at me as efficiently as possible. One of the things I love most about ChiRunning is I get to constantly get better the more I practice. This keeps me more process oriented vs goal oriented. Even though I had a finish goal, I was not attached to it. So long as I finished and got my buckle!

Have fun: I can’t stress this enough! The week before I was visualizing and I kept telling myself that I GET TO go run around our gorgeous desert for a “few” hours. I was not attached to any expectations and truly just wanted to enjoy every minute of my event. I know that if I get too focused on time, it starts sucking the fun out of a race for me and why bother? I am never going to win the race…and personally I run because I truly enjoy it and have fun so I wouldn’t want to have it any other way. If it starts feeling not fun, I won’t do it, bottom line. Fun factor is a huge necessity for me during a race, especially one this long!

Race Report:

Even though I had paid for the shuttle to take me to the start line (the race was a point to point which means we were dropped off at Mayer High School and then ran 62 miles south), I decided not to take it. I would’ve had to wake up an hour earlier (3am vs 4am) and I wasn’t sure that I wanted to be in a bus with a bunch of excited runners. I know I need some quiet time before an event this big so I can get centered and relax. The 1 hour and 20 minute drive was a perfect way to do this.

Jubilee, the race director, giving the pre race briefing before the start

I arrived with 30 minutes to go, did a facebook live in my car and then headed to get my bib. I saw several friends who were running as well. After the race briefing, we headed to the track to start.

Startline selfie!

I knew the first part of the course had more downhills and I wanted to take advantage of that but also need to make sure to conserve energy for later in the day. I started at the back of the pack (as usual). I had projected finishing around 12:30 in the morning. I had my spreadsheet in my pocket so I could check it at each aid station and text my team to keep them posted. At this point, I was loving this trail.

So much fun running down switch backs. I also welcomed the uphills as that’s where I tend to rest more with ChiWalking/Hiking. One of the things I don’t like about this trail is that it’s a single track. The 60K runners started an hour after us but the faster runners quickly caught up to me. I had to move over to the side of the trail many times to let them pass by me so that was a bit annoying. I’d get some momentum down hill and then would hear footsteps behind me and have to stop and let them pass. I wouldn’t want to get in the way of their race but it got old after awhile.

I was so focused on the trail that it took a few moos from the cows to get my attention and notice them!

Part of the jeep road trail…then we would go down the canyon on some fun switchbacks and up again…and repeat…

Ran into one of the Aravaipa race directors, Noah, who was running the 60K with his brother. Love the night Insomniac Series that are part of his races!

One of my favorite parts of the trail is seeing the windmill that is pictured on the belt buckle

I was tracking 30 minutes ahead of schedule at each aid station (my estimates were conservative so I knew this would happen at the beginning). During this time I kept myself entertained several ways:

I love being in nature so I started and spent quite a bit of time just being present, focusing on my technique and enjoying the scenery.
I listened to a few motivating podcasts: Trail Runner Nation’s Intuitive Training with Courtney Dauwalter and Final Surge’s with Camille Herron. I was hoping to see Courtney at the start as I was lucky enough to get a picture with her in the middle of her course record on the Coldwater 50 mile course. Huge amount of respect for both of these ladies and love that they both mentioned beer as part of their nutrition (more on this later!) I couldn’t get beer out of my head after these podcasts!
I went back to nothing and then decided to listen to some ChiSchool to keep me focused on technique again. I have about 105 lessons on shuffle on my phone and ironicallly, the first one that came on was the lesson called, Dealing with Fatigue. Perfect timing to get refocused.

In between this, I got to the Bumble Bee Aid station ( Mile 19) and it was great to see some familiar faces there. The key at aid stations is not to spend too much time there.

So great to see my friend Nancy at Bumble Aid station with her husband Bill. Also some Surprise Running Club peeps!

This was an awesome aid station (I think Bumble Ranch..maybe a dude ranch?) At any rate, they had a bar that was open! So tempted but too early in the game!

Had to get a photo opp with the “man eating cows” for my Run Heifer Run friends!

My next aid station was 4.5 miles away and my new friend Denise was there with Will and Mike. I switched my socks out here because they were rubbing (they were a new brand and I know better than not to try new stuff on race day but I brought a back up pair in case. Glad I switched when I did because I did end up getting some hot spots that impacted me later in the day). Another couple volunteering at this aid station were asking me about Girls On The Run (I had my hat and shirt on) and I started getting into it when Denise said to me “This is about you today, you need to keep moving.” As much as I love talking about GOTR, she was right and I need to stay focused (one of the hardest things for me to do at aid stations LOL). By the way, icing on the cake, thanks to all of you that donated in one way or another to Girls On The Run! I raised about $2,600 for our local council!

Getting into the aid station to change out my socks that were rubbing and bugging me. Glad I planned ahead and brought an extra pair with me!

I look at my pictures and love that I truly was smiling and having a good time pretty much the entire time! Taking a break at the aid station for sock exchange 😉

At the next aid station (last one before picking up my pacer at the 60K exchange), I was still 30 minutes ahead of schedule so I decided to take my time here. My Garmin was running out of juice and I had brought a charger for it. I put it on the charger and put it in my pocket. I also choose to do another facebook live here.

I knew all I had to do was get to the 60K aid station and that’s where I would pick up my first pacer, Elaine. I took my Garmin out of my pocket and realized it had paused. Ugh, not sure how long it was paused but now I couldn’t update my crew on where I was. This leg was harder than I remember so that ended up taking me 15 minutes later than I expected. Good news is that I was able to text them when I was a mile away due to a course sign. I have to admit, the markings on the course were great! One of my biggest fears in ultras is getting lost. I’m not even sure how at one point in my life, I was actually an Underwater Navigation instructor! (yes I used to teach scuba diving!). Navigation is definitely not my strong point.

Part of the single track uphill trail…this was one was clean with rocks on the side but a lot of it, especially towards the end, had lots of rocks filling the trail.

River crossing before the 60K aid station. The cold water felt good on my feet…I didn’t even try to keep them dry…I knew I would be at the next aid station soon to change shoes and socks again.

I was excited about seeing my team at the aid station…and what an amazing surprise when I got there! In addition to my crew, there were several other friends that came out to cheer me on! At first I saw my friend Heather and her daughter who were waiting a big ahead and ran in with me…As soon as I crossed the mat, I noticed the bigger group. I was so excited that I stopped and took this picture of them!

A picture of my crew/pace team and friends waiting to cheer me on! Wasn’t expecting this (and there are more friends not pictured like Heather and her daughter)…Elaine is already yelling at me to hurry! LOL

Got a little chaotic here because of all the excitement but I needed to stay focused. I changed my shoes, socks and got some warmer clothes. One of the things that I had been thinking about for awhile was a cold beer! Both Courtney and Camille had mentioned beers in their podcasts and I figured a little beer would keep me relaxed. My friends had one in the car but further away…and this is what I love about trail runners…all of the sudden, this girl I’ve never met before walked up to me and brought me two Lagunitas! I only drank half of one but it was the best beer ever! I stayed a little longer than I projected but it was so re-energizing to see my friends. And I have to admit, I still felt pretty darn good!

That was one of the best beers I tasted! Only had half of one but was perfect! Cheers to Courtney and Camille!

They finally kicked me out with Elaine.

Not before I could try to get another selfie with my friends!

OK Elaine and I are finally really leaving!

I’ve blogged about Elaine before here as she did my first 50 miler with me. We were 30 minutes behind my projected time but at this point, I didn’t care at all. We started running but this is when the trail started getting rockier than I remember. It was single track with lots of loose rocks so it was hard to get any momentum going. Plus those hot spots on my feet seemed worse when I was walking but I just couldn’t get any momentum and run on those rocks. Even though we were hiking mostly at this point, we were still keeping a good pace. Any time the trail got smooth with no rocks, we’d start running (which felt so much better) but we would literally go for 20 feet and then ….the Mother Effin’ rocks again!! This happened a lot on this last 25 mile stretch! OMG, it was getting frustrating but Elaine kept telling me not to focus on them. As much as I love running alone, having Elaine to talk to really helped time go by! At one point she said, we’ve been out for 4 hours! I couldn’t believe that much time had gone by because it only felt like one. We hit one of the aid stations and I had the best tortilla filled with peanut butter, some coke and M + Ms. It was night and getting cold and there were several people at the aid station that looked like death warmed over. I was grateful that I was feeling pretty darn good still at this point! Elaine did about 13 miles with me which included a few river crossings but they were not bad at all. At one point we stopped and turned our headlamps off to enjoy the night sky! What a trip to be out in the middle of the desert running a 100K! We reached the next aid station and she switched out with Lori.

This aid station had sausages and Somoas! So crazy how you never know what your body is craving under these conditions!. It was great to see my honey again and my friend Vicki who kept me on track and filled my water pack at the aid stations so I could focus on food and clothing. Lori paced me for the last 12 miles. How can I be at mile 50ish of a 100K and talking about upcoming races? I think I had this conversation with Elaine too. Weird thing about ultra running is that it can get addicting. The terrain was the same…..we’d get a little momentum running and the Mother Effin’ rocks again!

My crew/pace team did it again with an awesome cake the next day with my Mother Effin’ Rocks on it! They added candy rocks and love the purple sneakers to match my favorite color and business logos!

Of course I was using the real word and our joke is how much I swear. Lori was trying to count them but she must be used to hearing me swear because at one point she said I was at 4 and I know I had to have least swore 10 times. I was really surprised at how good I felt considering I had been on my feet for 15 hours (this is how long my 50 miler took me). My original goal was to finish by about 12:30 am but that last 25 miles was so rocky that it slowed us down considerably. At one point I realized my food alarms were not going off.

I set food alarms to remind me to eat 150-200 calories every 90 minutes. I’ve posted about this before and thanks to Fuel To The Finish (Brooke Schohl) who changed my nutrition world when it comes to ultra running and my regular diet. http://www.therunninguniversity.com/2016/02/25/50-miles-of-gratitude-2-nutrition/

I had set them to go off every 90 minutes as a reminder to get 150-200 calories in me. I looked at the time and I realized it was 1am and I had only set them through 11 with the assumption I was coming in at 12:30. This is when I started to panic. I looked at my spreadsheet and we were cutting it close. We could barely see the the last aid station…a light far away…a mirage and depending on how we were winding on the road, it would disappear and reappear. It seemed like it was not getting closer. I was worrying because the last leg was showing to be 4.8 miles and we were really cutting it close. There was no way I was going to be able to run 5 miles in the last hour…not with those rocks! I am sure I could’ve done it on smooth trail because running felt pretty good still. Thankfully when we reached that aid station, they told us it was only 3.5 miles and we finally got more relief with less rocks so we could run more. This last section was surreal…I couldn’t believe I was doing it and almost done! In a weird way I didn’t want it to end….but a the same time I was ready for it to end too. I kept looking at my watch and was saying “I really don’t want to have the same dramatic finish from my 50 miler”! (I came in with 12 seconds to spare on the clock!). We could see the lights where the finish line was and I was starting to get excited. We could hear Elaine calling out to us and I knew we were going to make it in time. And before you know it, there was the finish line! Before getting there, I was trying to figure out how I would feel when I crossed…would I cry, get emotional? I was surprised at how excited I was to cross it….as a matter of fact, when I crossed the finish line, the official picture didn’t come out so my friend Kisha (who volunteered at the finish line just to see me finish!) had me run back through it for the picture. She also gave the buckle to my honey so he could give it to me. I did a Facebook live in my car on the way back home!

Still smiling big at the finish with my first belt buckle! I finished in 19:46:01 with 14 minutes to spare on the cutoff! I was out there from 7am Saturday to 2:26am on Sunday. And I loved every minute of it! (mostly, except for the mother effin’ rocks!) There was a 20% DNF (Did Not Finish) rate so pretty proud that I finished!

with Jubilee, the race director! What an amazing, well organized race!

This blog took me several days to write. It’s 5 days after the race and I am still on cloud nine! I describe it as one of the most epic experiences of my life…part of it is because I affirmed that and wanted it to be that way! I know they can’t always be this way but one of the pieces of advice I received from fellow ultra runner and Chirunning Instructor from WI was “You’ll have highs and you’ll have lows, just ride the waves.” Greatest thing about this event is that I never really had a low. Don’t get me wrong, those Mother Effin’ rocks were getting on my last nerve but I kept a positive attitude all day and felt great the whole time! Of course I was sore for a few days afterwards and I know it will take me a few weeks to truly recover but today I feel great! And no injuries during my 900+ miles of training or at the race! Thank you ChiRunning!

A huge thank you to all the aid station volunteers, Aravaipa Running and race director Jubilee for making it a great event, and most importantly to my crew: my best friends Lori, Elaine and Vicki for crewing and pacing me and my boyfriend for crewing as well but also for supporting me throughout my crazy training schedule. I seriously don’t know that I would’ve made the cutoff without my pace/crew team keeping focused and moving!

I DID IT!!

I celebrated my finish and 47th birthday the next day. NO one escapes a cake in the face from Erica! And yes, I AM WEARING THAT BUCKLE!

Yep, I’ll show my buckle off! Hanging with fellow 100K finisher Chris Worden. He was the last one to come in to get the lottery entry for the Western States!

Wearing the buckle a few days later with my shirt at Running for Brews. I’m the Organizer so I picked the theme: Favorite Medal 😉 Hehehe (funny is that I don’t wear buckles so I had to buy a belt for one. I did it last minute and it arrived 30 minutes before my party….then I realized I got the wrong size so Greg had to make a new whole it in for me too)

From My Running Story to Yours….
(if you feel inspired to share your comments, do so below…I want to hear your story too!)

Did you hug someone today?

Image

….and My Story Runs On….

Today is National Hugging Day. Sometimes I think these “holidays” can get out of control but for someone who loves to hug, I’m happy to celebrate this day!

I love hugs so much that I did a speech on ChiHugs a few years ago in my Toasmaster club. Why do I love hugs? Just read the info in the photos below….why wouldn’t I love hugs?!

If you want to learn how to give a really good hug “you want to set up the conditions for energy to flow between you and the other person. It’s great to give warmth and love and also make the other person feel welcome and received by you. “

I based my speech on my most favorite article on the ChiRunning website, ChiHugs. This is about hugging with purpose. There are a lot more tips in this article so you can go read them there.

But please don’t underestimate the POWER of an awesome ChiHug!

Based on the quote in the above photo from Virginia Satir (author and psychotherapist), I DARE YOU TO TRY AND GET 8- 12 HUGS A DAY!

From My Running Story to Yours….
(if you feel inspired to share your comments, do so below…I want to hear your story too!)

She’s such a loser!

Posted on January 12, 2018 by Lisa Pozzoni by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

I wrote this original blog post on 9/9/2014. I am updating it because it’s 3 years later and Diane is still rocking it! I am sure she will agree when I say running is a great way to not only lose weight but keep it off.

“Nearly 65 percent of dieters return to their pre-dieting weight within three years, according to Gary Foster, Ph.D., clinical director of the Weight and Eating Disorders Program at the University of Pennsylvania. The statistics for dieters who lose weight rapidly, according to Wellsphere, a website sponsored by Stanford University, is worse. Only 5 percent of people who lose weight on a crash diet will keep the weight off. ” (Livestrong.com)

Since the interview on 9/9/2014, Diane completed 2 marathons, 15 half marathons and “lots of 5ks and 10ks”..

This weekend she is completing her 16th half marathon at the Arizona Rock N Roll and she’s been on TV inspiring a lot more people! Check out Part 1 (3 min 48 sec) where she talks about what propelled her to start running even though she felt like she was never athletic, Part 2 (4 min 17 sec) where she talks about what running has done for her and shares inspirational tips for weight loss. And another one here too!

As a ChiRunner, Diane has been able to keep running and stay injury free and not become one of the 65% of people to regain the weight back. It keeps her consistently active and it’s become part of her lifestyle now (only way to keep it off is to make it a lifestyle). And she’s met so many new friends since she started running it’s almost impossible not to keep running when you have fun friends to do it with.

Read the original blog below:

__________________________

9/9/2014

No, I’m not about ready to start bashing anyone but just wanted to get your attention. Honestly, this will be probably my favorite blog post yet…Why? Because this story is EXACTLY why I do what I do.

Meet Diane. I met her in March this year when she attended Danny Dreyer‘s ChiRunning workshop. I remember hearing her say at one point that she lost 100 lbs. As a fitness trainer, I always love to hear these stories. We became facebook friends and she joined my Running for Brews group a few times and met at other running events across the valley. This weekend, I had the honor of being with her on her longest run to date. Not only was it her longest run (15.5 miles) but she did it on a trail…and at night time! Let’s go back a bit though…

Here is a before/after picture of Diane:

Since my passion in life is to help more people get into walking and running because it’s one of the easiest things you can do for weight loss/maintenance (if done correctly), I asked Diane if she could answer a few questions for me. I was in tears reading her answers and I asked her permission to blog about it because I know she can inspire others!

How much weight did you lose?
“I lost 100 lbs in a year and 105 lbs to date.”

When did you realize you need to make a change in your life?
“I was lying in bed one night and I was concerned because my heart was beating really hard and fast. It had been doing that for a couple months and I was scared I was going to have a heart attack and have my daughters find me. So that was my defining moment of when I decided to make a lifestyle change.”

What did you do?
“I was very strict with my diet by cutting out fast food, junk food, and sweets–I basically detoxed. I allowed myself to have one splurge meal a week.” (if you calculate it, she lost about 8-10 lbs a month which is healthy amount to lose)

When did you start running? Why? When was your first 5K?
“I started running in September 2013. Even though I had lost a lot of weight, I felt like something was missing in my life. I decided to start walking. One night on a walk I started wondering if I could run. So I tried it–it was really tough and I could only do it for maybe 30 seconds at a time. Three weeks later I ran my first 5K.” (I love that running can provide people with so many first time experiences: distances, trail, night trail, triathlons, etc. I see people pushing their boundaries all the time!)

Why did you keep doing it if it was hard?
“I was hooked on the race experience and found that I could channel my stress and anxiety through running. I ran my first half in May 2014 and am currently training for my first full in January. I’m still pretty careful about what I eat, but running allows me to enjoy brownies every once in awhile!”

What else has running done for you?
“Running and losing weight have given me the confidence and inner peace that helps me to be successful in all areas of my life, personally and professionally. The best part is I have become a good role model for my daughters, and they’re very proud of me!”

Any advice for anyone who would say to you “I could never be a runner”
“My advice to those who feel they could never be a runner is to take it slowly in the beginning with both pace and distance. If you try to do too much too soon, you could injure yourself or get burned out. Running is a huge lesson in patience. Accept the days when running feels impossible, and embrace the days when running feels effortless. Progress is gradual so don’t give up!”

Any advice for anyone who would say to you “I’m too overweight to be a runner”
“As far as those who think they’re too overweight to run, not true! Runners come in all shapes and sizes. There are plenty of amazing runners who don’t fit the mold. Fear is a prison. Don’t let it hold you back from being successful and accomplishing your dreams! It’s also important to focus on good running form so you learn how to run with minimal impact to the joints. I haven’t had shin splints, foot pain, or muscle pain since I started ChiRunning in March.

And for all new runners–don’t get hung up on being fast. Just get out there and enjoy it!”

Thanks so much to Diane for sharing a very brief summary of how weight loss and running has changed her life!

Here is a picture of us from this weekend.

Both of these ladies broke records by surpassing their longest runs to date.
Both of these ladies never thought they would be running 15 miles on a trail at night (same goes for me!).
Both of these ladies never thought they’d be running a full marathon!
But both of these ladies had the courage to listen to their heart (don’t listen to your mind because it will tell you otherwise!) and just go for it.

So whether it’s weight loss or starting a walking/running program, remember this:

“Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.” ~Brian Tracy

“If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.” ~Thomas Edison

From My Running Story to Yours….

(if you feel inspired to share your comments, do so below…I want to hear your story too!)

Race Report

Race Report: Xterra White Tanks: Did I PR?

Posted on January 9, 2018 by Lisa Pozzoni by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

Apparently I wrote a blog post about this one last year too. I like to write race reports so if people want to find out more about an event, they can have someone else’s perspective. This is something I learned in ultra running which was one of the best pieces of advice I’ve received. Before picking an ultra (or after you’ve picked it) start googling “race reports ‘race name'” or “blogs ‘race name'” and you will get reports from runners that have done this race. Great way to get different perspectives and advice! (just have to remember it’s someone else perspective though!)

This is one of my favorites for a few reasons:

I love White Tank Regional Park! Always fun to be on trails I don’t get to see often.
This is a tough course. There is something about the challenge that I love about this race. I also get to use a lot of different ChiRunning skill because of the terrain changes.
Xterra supports Girls On The Run and I love to support them back!

This race is no joke from an elevation profile. Their website describes it as:

“For those who prefer a course with pain and punishment, the long course is 20k of grueling single track with over 1500 feet of climbing. Starting from the group campground, runners wind their way up Ironwood to the Waddell trail. Once you reach the first aid station be prepared to go up, the next three miles are all climbing….”
I won’t do much detail on the race course as you can read it in my previous race report.

Volunteers rock! The Hansons are always out there supporting Girls On The Run events. Ricci and Joshua are Running for Brews regulars and volunteer a lot too. Thank you!

Pics don’t do the views justice!

Girls On The Run Advisory Board Member, Julie, volunteering too! Missed another photo at registration with more board members. If we are not running we are volunteering!

Still smiling after all the uphills! Was just feeling it!

I decided I wanted to try and PR (set a Personal Record) my time from last year which was 2:57:37. Last year my goal was to get in under 3 hours. I also had to remember that this is a training run and that I did 40 miles just last Saturday at Across the Years. However, I was feeling great and ready to take on the PR challenge.

ChiRunning always plays a huge role in my runs and race. I’m always looking at ways on how to approach the environment coming at me as efficiently as possible. Sometimes it almost feels like a fun game I am playing with Mother Earth.

Some specific things I focused on from a technique perspective:

I focused a lot on uphill and downhill technique. I love hilly courses for this reason. Lots of upper body with uphills, some ChiHiking (it was steep and if I can walk it faster to save energy and not tire myself out, I will). Tried to relax as much as possible on the downhills. A little hard due to the rockiness but it was the best I felt running downhill. I also need to give credit to Greg Riverdieu from the High-Altitude Training Institute. Last year, I took a technical trail running class from him and learned quite a bit. But one of the things that stood out the most, and you probably had to be there, is he would say, you just go down like this…“boom, boom, boom” for 3 consecutive footsteps. So that was in my head as well as Danny talking about “dancing down the trail” and “be the water”. Using imagery and visualizations are fun when running!
Worked quite a bit on ankle lifting. Rocky courses are great for this. This course is known for taking some blood as people fall but I was determined to stay upright. Most common reason to fall on a rail is clipping your toe on a rock because you have a pendular stride instead of a circular stride (part of lifting the ankles). This was my nemesis when I started ChiRunning and love to practice it as much as I can.

Some specific things I focused on from a mental perspective:

I realize I make this part of my “pre race” ritual. I get mentally psyched up for a race. I am not going to win and my goal is to get a good training run in, enjoy it and have fun. I was so excited to get out on the trail today. Oddly, even with a hard course, “only” 12.4 miles wasn’t going to be too bad after 40 last week!
I set a goal to PR last year. I rarely get attached to those goals though. I think having a goal is part of race mentality but I also see too many people beat themselves up about it or setting unrealistic goals based on their experience and training. As mentioned a PR sounded reasonable but I had to consider other factors in my training like the 40 miles on the previous Saturday and my 50 mile weeks of training.
I rarely listen to music and XTERRA doesn’t allow headsets (which I really appreciate, especially on a technical, single track trail). For some reason, I had an old playlist I hadn’t listened to in awhile so put my iPod on speaker and jammed out all the way up the hill. As soon as I started going down though, I really wanted to focus on relaxing and not falling on this technical trail so that’s what I did.

I couldn’t believe how great I was feeling. Back to the PR story….I forgot to mention that I just got a new Garmin which I love, but I hadn’t really set up my display screens properly. I new what my average pace had to be to PR but didn’t create that option yet. So I just decided to body sense and do the absolute best I could. I was sure I was going to PR until I passed the last aid station and found out I had 1.8 miles….it was going to be really really close! I really started focusing on my form even more at this point because I was literally going to make it or not by seconds…..I crossed the finish line at 2:57 (same time as last year). At this point I forgot to check for my results because I had a sushi date with my boyfriend. As much as I stayed focused during that race to PR, I was still detached from the goal: I hoped I PRd but if I didn’t, all good. I even did this Facebook live and talked about goal detachment.

Well, 2 days after the race and after starting this blog, I finally know my results! I PRd by 8 seconds!! I finished at a 2:57:29!! What this means to me is that I am right in line with my training for my 100K in 5.5 weeks. Bring it on!!!

From My Running Story to Yours….
(if you feel inspired to share your comments, do so below…I want to hear your story too!)

Race Report

Race Report: Xterra White Tanks: Did I PR?

Posted on January 9, 2018 by Lisa Pozzoni by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

This is one of my favorites for a few reasons:

I love White Tank Regional Park! Always fun to be on trails I don’t get to see often.
This is a tough course. There is something about the challenge that I love about this race. I also get to use a lot of different ChiRunning skill because of the terrain changes.
Xterra supports Girls On The Run and I love to support them back!

This race is no joke from an elevation profile. Their website describes it as:

Volunteers rock! The Hansons are always out there supporting Girls On The Run events. Ricci and Joshua are Running for Brews regulars and volunteer a lot too. Thank you!

Pics don’t do the views justice!

Girls On The Run Advisory Board Member, Julie, volunteering too! Missed another photo at registration with more board members. If we are not running we are volunteering!

Still smiling after all the uphills! Was just feeling it!

Some specific things I focused on from a technique perspective:

I focused a lot on uphill and downhill technique. I love hilly courses for this reason. Lots of upper body with uphills, some ChiHiking (it was steep and if I can walk it faster to save energy and not tire myself out, I will). Tried to relax as much as possible on the downhills. A little hard due to the rockiness but it was the best I felt running downhill. I also need to give credit to Greg Riverdieu from the High-Altitude Training Institute. Last year, I took a technical trail running class from him and learned quite a bit. But one of the things that stood out the most, and you probably had to be there, is he would say, you just go down like this…“boom, boom, boom” for 3 consecutive footsteps. So that was in my head as well as Danny talking about “dancing down the trail” and “be the water”. Using imagery and visualizations are fun when running!
Worked quite a bit on ankle lifting. Rocky courses are great for this. This course is known for taking some blood as people fall but I was determined to stay upright. Most common reason to fall on a rail is clipping your toe on a rock because you have a pendular stride instead of a circular stride (part of lifting the ankles). This was my nemesis when I started ChiRunning and love to practice it as much as I can.

Some specific things I focused on from a mental perspective:

I realize I make this part of my “pre race” ritual. I get mentally psyched up for a race. I am not going to win and my goal is to get a good training run in, enjoy it and have fun. I was so excited to get out on the trail today. Oddly, even with a hard course, “only” 12.4 miles wasn’t going to be too bad after 40 last week!
I set a goal to PR last year. I rarely get attached to those goals though. I think having a goal is part of race mentality but I also see too many people beat themselves up about it or setting unrealistic goals based on their experience and training. As mentioned a PR sounded reasonable but I had to consider other factors in my training like the 40 miles on the previous Saturday and my 50 mile weeks of training.
I rarely listen to music and XTERRA doesn’t allow headsets (which I really appreciate, especially on a technical, single track trail). For some reason, I had an old playlist I hadn’t listened to in awhile so put my iPod on speaker and jammed out all the way up the hill. As soon as I started going down though, I really wanted to focus on relaxing and not falling on this technical trail so that’s what I did.

From My Running Story to Yours….
(if you feel inspired to share your comments, do so below…I want to hear your story too!)

Race Report

Race Report: McDowell Mountain Frenzy-5th 50K & a PR!

Posted on December 6, 2016 by Lisa Pozzoni by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

I still can’t believe this was my 5th 50K! Last year this was my 2nd one and I blogged about that one too.

This was a training run for my first 100K. My training plan called for 20 miles on Saturday and 10 on Sunday so I combined them in one day (although these were “Aravaipa” miles so it was actually 32.2 on my TomTom).

Since I had some trouble with this one last year (you can’t really try to PR (personal record) different trail races due to the variety in the terrain) and I was redoing the same one, I decided I really wanted to do better than last year. As I set this goal in my head, I was also detached from it. If I did PR, great but if I didn’t, I knew there would be lessons to learn (always!) so that took some of the pressure off.

One of the hardest things for me to do is run my own race. I tell people to do this all the time but as a coach and someone who knows a lot of runners, it’s hard not to get caught up in hanging with friends and helping them out. So I had to make a decision that this was going to be MY RACE.

This is what I have on the back of my The Running University shirts 😉

Leading up to the race, I did a lot of mental preparation. Since I knew the course, I reviewed it again, reread my blog from last year and started making a strategy. Thankfully I didn’t have the “girlie” issues from last year so that would shave some time off for sure. I also looked at the aid station locations and I remember running out of water on the toughest part of the course. I decided I wasn’t going to stop at the first aid station and I would run as much as possible on the easier part of the course so I could hike the big hill. I took the day off before the race and relaxed and got mentally psyched up (McDowell Mountains are one of my favorite places to trail run).

I started the race with my friends Katie and Mitzi (it was their first 50K!) and Will. We had nice pace going and it was fun to start out relaxed with friends! I told them that I had a plan though and that I wouldn’t be stopping at the first aid station. We split off at mile 7.

They finished their first 50K! They are now ultra runners!

I remember staying very focused on my ChiRunning form a lot (as always!) so I could be as efficient as possible. I made sure to refill my water so I wouldn’t make the same mistake as last year since there was an 11 mile gap between aid stations and it was the hardest part of the course.

The one thing I don’t like about trying to PR, is that I tend to be much more tied to my watch. I’ve had some of my best runs when I’m not paying attention to it as it can be mental stress added on that keeps you from relaxing. Knowing this, I tried not to be too focused on it but I had an average mile that I wanted to keep to reach my goal so I was more engaged with it than usual. I knew I had to stay ahead of the game because the hill was coming. The trail started getting rockier and I remember this from last year. Not my favorite terrain to be running on as it’s harder but I know I need to keep practicing this for my 100K race. I ChiWalked the entire hill with a few spurts of running when there was a little flat area or a little downhill. I used my arms so much to help me up the hill that my biceps were sore the next day! I’ve never had this from a race before but this is part of the ChiRunning strategy. Use the arms more and legs less. The downhill was rocky so I wasn’t able to go as fast as I normally like to.

Hills…

More hills…

I got to the aid station at mile 24 where I got so see my friends. I love our local running community and there are always so many familiar faces either running or volunteering! I was still pacing to PR but I was definitely getting tired at this point. More rocky uphill and then some good downhill that was rocky on and off. My pace was slowing down between the rocks and being tired. I always go back to my ChiRunning form as soon as I start feeling tired. Outside of always checking in on my postural alignment (first thing to go when you are doing long distance running is your posture), my cadence is what really helped me out. Every time I felt my legs get heavy, I would increase my cadence (strides per minute or foot turnover) and I immediately felt a relief. There is a magic number of 170-180 (not unique to ChiRunning but recommended by just about every running form) and harder to maintain on trail. Most people run at lower cadence and this wastes a lot of energy because you are holding your body weight on each leg for longer periods of time which is inefficient.

I finally texted my friends that were at the finish line and told them I had 3 miles to go and someone please make sure I had a beer at the finish line 😉 I get to the last aid station and the guy said I had 3.2 more to go! What?! That was one more mile than a 50K. I forgot to put this in my blog last year so I forgot about this…I was a bit irritated and it made that last few miles harder mentally. I don’t normally listen to music but I put my playlist on my phone on speaker so I would be a bit distracted. At about mile 30 you can hear the finish line and it’s a mind f%$k because you just want to be done at this point. This part of the trail was up and down and it finished with a nasty steep hill. My friend Bill was at the top yelling “hammer it” which really helped me push through it!

I could hear my friends cheering me on and I crossed the finish line (Chris, thanks for the Koffee Kolsch!) with a huge smile on my face. I didn’t have the official results but I knew I had PR’d. It was about a 34 minute PR which translates to a minute a mile for 32 miles of improvement! Pretty proud of that! I will say that I was hoping to do better but I will take it!

One of the coolest things is that my friend Jenni even made me a medal! She was making one for Katie and Mitzi. Some people run for bling and I normally don’t but I knew she was making a few for them and I wanted in on it too. At Aravaipa races you get a pint glass when you finish (I have a bunch of them) but getting a homemade medal from Jenni was the icing on the cake! (and she isn’t crafty either!)

Love my medal! The only one I’ve received for a 50K 😉

Running never ceases to amaze me! So much to keep learning about myself and the sport. Having a plan doesn’t always pay off but I feel the mental preparation ahead of time was crucial to my success. As always, ChiRunning and the advice my nutritionist gave me for my 50 miler were two key components to my success.

What is your strategy when you want to try and PR a race?

These are the results from my TomTom.

3rd aid station with more friends!

Terry and Raul at the 2nd aid station!

Ila! She is 70 years old and I’ve blogged about her before. After this 50K she was driving to Santa Monica to do a half marathon the next day!

From My Running Story to Yours….
(if you feel inspired to share your comments, do so below…I want to hear your story too!)

Running Marathons at 70?!

Posted on September 22, 2016 by Lisa Pozzoni by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

Why are you limiting yourself? These are the words that struck Ila Brandli one day and turned her into a marathon maniac. She heard these words at 62 years old and hasn’t looked back since. Today, at the amazing age of 70, she has completed 150 marathons/ultras (8 of them are Ultras)! This number keeps changing as I write this blog…I can’t even keep up with her! She’s completed a marathon in each state twice! In February of 2015 she completed 8 marathons on 7 continents in 11 days in a row! (was supposed to be 7 but Antartica was fogged in)

When we started the interview, I asked her about the number of marathons she completed. She said “Hold on, let me look at my spreadsheets. “ She pulls out her iPhone and has 3 different spreadsheets:

to track her half marathons in different states
to track her full marathons in different states
to track her upcoming events.

I love this lady!

I met Ila at a free ChiRunning clinic I had at REI in Tempe several years ago. Then she reappeared at Running For Brews Tempe (I’m the Organizer). I summarized the answers from the interview I had with her about a month ago.

Why did you start running?
First time she started running, she was challenged by her boss around the age of 42. She couldn’t walk a mile without a side ache. She never did any exercise through most of my adult life. Second time around, she did it to look and feel better.

When did you start running?
First time: she was challenged by her boss to do her first half marathon (13.1 miles) in November of 1998. She did two 5ks, a 10K and a 12K before that half so she knew what to expect. Her boss did the half marathon too but she beat him. Her knees starting hurting her and she quit running for awhile. In 2000, she completed multiple 5Ks, 10K and a 1 half marathon. By this time, she had found out about orthotics which helped her knee issue…so no more knee pain.
In 2007 she signed up for Team in Training and did first marathon in Anchorage, AK. She dedicated it to her dad and swore she would never do one again (because it hurt, she was sore, and had injuries including IT band issues).
A friend from Seattle called and wanted to do a marathon with her daughter before she got pregnant. She called Ila because she wanted an “experienced” marathoner. She survived that one at the age of 62.
2013 was turning the point to “craziness”. A lady had a jacket that said Titanium 100 miles and asked Ila: “Why are you limiting yourself?” She looked at her schedule and did 35 marathons that year! She completed several series including 5 in 5 days.
Her problem is that if there is a challenge out there, she’ll take it.

How did ChiRunning help you?
She took the ChiRunning workshop in 2013 with Mark Wallis (he was my mentor when I became an instructor!) and told her she was doing everything wrong. She’s been practicing ever since. ChiRunning keeps her from getting injured and allows her the additional stamina to do what she does.

What are some of your major accomplishments?
She’s completed 100 half marathons (4 more states and she will have completed 2 in every state. This may have changed since the interview..as I said, I can’t keep up!).
She’s completed 152 marathons (I have to keep checking her record on the Marathon Maniac page because this number is literally changing daily!). She completed a marathon in each state twice and 11 out of the country. Her 100th was in Antartica (was supposed to be the Phoenix Marathon). The one in Chili was 98 and Antartica was supposed to be 99. She did a 2nd one in Chili to make it 99 so Antartica was 100 and Phoenix was 101.
In February of 2015, she tackled 8 marathons, on 7 continents in 11 days. (knew she could do this already because she had in the US). But the stress is very different, you are flying overnight, then running, then flying overnight again fly at night, etc.
She completed 8 ultra marathons (an ultra is more than a 26.2 marathon). 212 miles in 4.5 days at Across The Years. ATY was training for the 7 marathons on 7 continents in 7 days. She had injured her toe in mid December 2 weeks before ATY. She didn’t go to the doctor because she knew they would put her in a boot (I don’t recommend this!) Her goal was 300 miles but she knew she couldn’t do 50 miles a day with the foot injury and didn’t want to jeopardize the 7 continents marathon tour! She “settled” for 212 miles which is her longest to date back to back. She was very proud of this because in 4.5 days she had accomplished 7 marathons within that time with less than desired sleep. She purposely went over 7 hours to prove you can do it and don’t have to be elite athlete to complete marathons and ultras.

What is your favorite race?
The most emotional was the Baton Memorial Death March because of WW Vets and the units running together.
Antartica has to have a special spot because of the trouble getting there and camping overnight….and it’s Antartica!

What are your obstacles?
She’s currently dealing with some shoulder issues due to a fall in May. She has issues with heat and doesn’t perspire. She has to be careful with her feet but doesn’t need the orthotics as much due to ChiRunning and her favorite shoes, Altras. (mine too!)

What’s your advice for anyone wanting to start running?
“Find enjoyment in it! It’s about the accomplishment. You do it because you enjoy it. You don’t need to love it because there is a love/hate relationship with running. There are things you can control and things you can’t and you work on what you can—

How do you plan out your races?
It depends on what her goal is—looks at different websites, will contact race directors to check cutoff times, looks at race results and to make sure there are slower people. She gets excited when she can do two back to back, she tries to double up when she can to save on travel expenses.

What do you think about when you’re running?
Majority of the time she is working on her form and relaxing. She finds a target: could be a time or a person that she wants to shoot for. She is constantly looking at the scenery. When she is doing loops like ATY she uses them as speed intervals. Sometimes she is with people. She loves meeting unique people who have different stories (met youngest gal who did all 7 continents in Antartica. )

What is your nutrition like?
She uses Tailwind but can’t take it full strength. A cold beer at the end is always a good thing! She uses Arnica when flying/driving for swelling.

What do you do in your spare time?
She volunteers for Aravaipa and different races, at the Mesa Art Center, and does taxes for AARP during the tax season. She has raised money for some of her events: she was a Solemate for Girls On The Run when she did ATY and 7 continents. She is heading to St. George and raising money for GOTR again.

What is your next big goal?
By January 2017, she is planning to have completed 40 marathons and 40 half marathons in 2016.

So are you really to old to run and achieve goals? Not according to Ila…or me! I mean I can’t even keep up with her, I just checked her Marathon Maniacs page and as of today (9/22/16) she is at #152!

Here are a few great quotes from AZcentral.com (2014):
She took up running marathons at 62 and recently ran seven full marathons in seven days. Why? “Because I can,” she said with a sly smile, adding, “Sometimes I win the age group because I’m the only one out there.” AZcentral.com

Ironically, this was her original plan when she was interviewed by AZCentral.com on 3/2/2015:
“I plan to run marathons in my 60s, and I won’t be 70 until December,” she said. “I’ll run half marathons in my 70s, 10Ks in my 80s, 5Ks in my 90s and after that, I’ll run in anything they’ll let me into with a walker.”

For some strange reason, I don’t think she’s giving up marathons at 70!

If you’d like to support her: you can make a donation to her fundraising page or come to Running for Brews on Tuesday, 9/27/16 as we host a 50/50 raffle for her.

Found this on her facebook page…”only” 50?? LOL

You will also find Ila dressed in various themes when running. I think Wonder Woman is very appropriate for her!

8 marathons on 7 continents in 11 days (Antartica got fogged in)

We got to hang out while volunteering at Javelina Jundred last year on the night shift!

When she is not out of state running a half or full marathon on Tuesday nights, she is at Running for Brews!

From My Running Story to Yours….
(if you feel inspired to share your comments, do so below…I want to hear your story too!)

50 Miles of Gratitude: (10) Burning Out

Posted on June 16, 2016 by Lisa Pozzoni by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

Confessions of a Running Coach….
Well, as I expected, it finally happened…it took awhile and I didn’t want it to happen but I knew it would rear it’s ugly head sooner or later..I can’t believe I’m saying it but part of the reason for this blog is sharing my running story so I can help you with yours…

Which one of these will help me?? 😉

I’ve felt it coming in the last few weeks but ignored it…finally on my training run yesterday, it happened…I just started walking because I was done with running…I couldn’t muster up any physical or mental strength to run..I was trying to cram in a bunch of miles before I take a weekend vacation and miss those training miles that are scheduled on my calendar for the next 50K. This morning was the same, I taught track and was supposed to run 8 miles but I walked 3 instead.

YES, I think it’s official, I AM BURNED OUT.

I was afraid this would happen during my 50 Mile training and I’m glad that it did not. However, here I am, 4 months after the 50 miler and I’m training for another 50K….come to think of it, I’ve been training for ultra races since September of 2015 (today is 6/16/16).

I wonder how I could allow this to happen but as I reflect, I know exactly how it happened:

I was afraid to lose all that conditioning
A few friends were running Crown King a few months later, so why not?
Then that race was over and another friend said, let’s do Capitol Reef 50K on 7/9/16….so why not?

Well, now I know why not…because here I am, 3 weeks before the race, trying to follow a training plan to get in my miles done as outlined in my training plan…and I am no longer having fun. Am I still doing the 50K? Of course, I am! But here is what I am learning in the process.

Signs of Running Burnout

Running has become a chore. I am just putting my runs on my calendar trying to get my mileage in because I “have” to. Running is nowhere near as fun as it has been for me.
Tired physically and mentally which tells me I am overdoing it. I just got back from an awesome working vacation in MA that involved running and I was re-energized…until I came back home and “had” to start running again to get back on my training plan.
Moody and irritated. This is not like me as I am usually a happy person. Everything seems to annoy me lately.

I am not backing out of my race at this point as I paid for it and I am looking forward to running an ultra in another state with my friends. But here is how I will handle my next 3 weeks…

Dealing with this Running Burnout

Mini vacation that involves no running. I am going to the beach for 2 days and taking a break from all things running.
Listen to my body. I am grateful that I have learned this throughout my running story. I was kind to myself yesterday when I decided to cut my run short by 4 miles and walk several miles instead of running. I will be short 15 miles this week in my training plan and I am totally OK with that. I know I am trained well, I have my ChiRunning form behind me, and I am going to enjoy the rest of this journey. If my body is tired, I am going to rest and try to get more sleep as well. I will not be a slave to my training plan anymore.
Changing it up. I have already been doing this but will continue to do it over the next few weeks. I am going to run in different areas and do more fun/social runs.
Focus on different aspects of the race. I will read more blog reports, look at more pictures/videos from past years and get excited about the new scenery I will be enjoying in a few weeks.
Focus on other things about running that don’t involve actually running. I love learning new things about running. So much to learn! I will finish reading The Oxygen Advantage book on the beach. This book has a lot of great insight about breathing and I’ve really been enjoying it.

What will I do after the 50K? Taking a break from training for ultras for a bit. This is easier said than done as I’ve defined myself as an ultra runner now and it’s been part of my being (personally and professionally) since last September. A friend of mine laughed when I said this as she said, “you said that after your 50 miler”. Yes, I admit that I did…but I wasn’t clearly in the same place as I am right now. I am ready for a break. I don’t know how long of a break I am taking but I know I don’t like this feeling. I want to completely refresh my view on running. I am going to focus on shorter distances and run for fun, not because I have any races coming up. I love to focus on my ChiRunning form and will work on other aspects of this, maybe speed and performance.

What I do know is that I am grateful for the things I am learning in my running story as most everything applies to life as well (and I can share with you in hopes that you don’t get to this point!). I also know that next time a friend asks me to do an ultra race, I need to really think about the WHY rather than just agreeing to do something for F.O.M.O. (Fear of Missing Out)…this is an entire other blog post but very easy to get wrapped up in when most of your friends are runners and you want to do what they are all doing! 😉

Now, off to pack my beach bag…no running attire…no running equipment…no running shoes…but a bathing suit, some flip flops and a big smile on my face 😉

Yes!

Click here: 50 Miles of Gratitude: 50 Posts about my first 50 Miler

From My Running Story to Yours….
(if you feel inspired to share your comments, do so below…I want to hear your story too!)

Race report: MASS Gathering Memorial Day Marathon

Image

….and My Story Runs On….

I guess I’m more likely to blog while I’m on “vacation” since this is my 2nd blog in a week!
About a month ago, I realized I needed to get in 20 miles on Sat and 10 on Sun during Memorial weekend for my next 50K race (Capitol Reef, UT on 7/9/16). I knew it would be hard to get this is in MA by myself. My trip consisted of: being in my friend’s wedding in Boston last weekend, 5 days at Kripalu assisting Danny Dreyer, the founder of ChiRunning for 5 days and then a weekend in Pittsfield MA to visit family (my home town). I knew I wouldn’t get any long runs in the weekend of the wedding so I started googling races…lo and behold I found this marathon: MASS Gathering Memorial Day Marathon.
I started looking into it and figured: it’s 30 min from Pittsfield, 26 miles in one day is close enough to 30 in 2 days, it would be my first marathon out of state (7th one), first marathon in my home state and the icing on the cake was that it was benefiting Team RWB (I’m a member of the Phoenix Chapter) and Soldier On. I thought about it for a few days and then decided to go for it.
This past week I tried to follow my training plan but also was on my feet a lot due to teaching and coaching. Even though I took Thu and Sat “off” of running, I went into the race with some mileage on my legs (61.2 according to my Jawbone but that’s including all my steps so a bit exaggerated…still a lot though).

I was on tired legs already!

The eve of the marathon, my head starting messing with me a bit. It was my first marathon where I didn’t have any friends or people that I knew. I couldn’t find any information about the course and elevation (I used to not care about this but as my running story evolves, I realize knowing this information really helps me prepare for the race and strategize). I knew it would be a hilly course so that made me feel better since I love hills due to the unique way we go up and down them with ChiRunning technique. I was also worried about the weather as it was supposed to rain (I’m too used to perfect weather conditions in AZ) and it was going to be humid (I’m used to a dry heat.) I even started googling ‘running in dry heat vs humidity’! Then I started thinking, do I want to “race” this? Could I possibly PR (have a personal record) on this course with the hills (my best time for a full is in Sedona with a 4:58 and it was because of my hill strategy). Then I realized, I was wasting too much valuable energy so I decided to go run it as the training run it was meant to be. I knew the cutoff was 7 hours (race director said they wouldn’t leave anyone on the course anyways) so I had plenty of time.

My aunt drove me the morning of the race and I was there in plenty of time which is rare for me. I had 50 minutes to kill so I did my ChiRunning body looseners and found a seat to relax in.

I noticed a guy from afar doing the body looseners and I knew he was a ChiRunner as we are the only ones who do this sequence (later I talked to him and he had been in the Kripalu class I assisted with last year!) He was doing the half though. The race started 10 minutes late and I felt good right away going down the gentle downhill. The race started with 80% humidity which I was not used to.

My biggest goal in a long race is pacing myself. I had to slow myself down as I knew I was going faster than I should, especially knowing there would be some uphills and I had several miles to go. The course was beautiful! I was bummed that I couldn’t find a trail race as I prefer that over the road but this race was hilly and nice enough scenery where I felt I could’ve been on a trail.

Roses:

Mentioned already in paragraph 3 above 😉
Loved the hilly course! I know this is not normal but I was fresh from teaching ChiRunning. I worked on my form quite so I could be as efficient as possible and maintain my energy throughout the miles. I practiced active and passive pelvic rotation on the uphills and downhills; had some great aha moments when my legs felt heavy by allowing my ankles to lift behind me and could feel my legs be more relaxed; I used my arm swing to help me on the hills and headwind we had on the last 3 miles of the race; focused on nose breathing as much as I could.
The scenery was beautiful! I love all the green and it’s one of the things I miss from MA that we don’t have in Phoenix. Here are some photos:

Added to the humidity I’m sure!

Lots of pretty flowers along the course!

Honoring Memorial Day

Love New England scenery!

Hills….

More hills…

Settled in 1750!

They said there would be aid stations at every 2-3 miles and there were! This was necessary for me as the day got hotter and hotter and more humid. I poured more water over my head than down my throat! I also kept imagining the scenery with lots of snow on the ground just to keep cool thoughts.
RAIN at mile 21 was AMAZING! I will say I was ready for the race to be over due to the heat and humidity and that rain definitely helped out.

Thank God for the rain!

The Mom/boyfriend team cheering squad! These guys kept moving along and cheering us on. Past the half way point, she had a cooler with wet cloths and ice that really helped. I even stuck some ice down my bra to stay cool for a while. I found out later that she was cheering on her 2 daughters (we were leap frogging) who were doing their first marathon together! I love this! I was able to get a photo of them at the end of the race.

Great running stalkers!

There were several home owners along the course that came out with water, oranges, etc which was great (although I think there could’ve been more)
My aunts at the end of the race cheering me in!
My dog tag medal and local craft beer which is a must at the end of any race for me 😉

Finisher showing off the dog tag and my Team RWB shirt!

Great craft beer from Big Elm Brewing. Had the stout…yummy!

Souvenirs from my training run 😉

Thorns:

I could deal with the heat but the humidity sucked! I wish the race would’ve started earlier but I chatted with a guy before the race who said he did it a few years ago and it was snowing. The frequent aid stations really helped though!
Not too crazy about the cant in the road. I had to move from left to the right side of the road frequently as I could tell my legs were not even with the pavement. I could feel this in my hips the next day.
I was disappointed in the lack of representation from Team RWB folks. Although I think in Phoenix we have an abnormally active chapter so I am used to seeing at least 20 other RWB shirts and running through the finish line with an American flag. I think I saw one other person with a shirt. (Although still happy to know that proceeds benefited this awesome charity!)

At the beginning of the race, my pace was good and I started thinking I could PR until the humidity got to me. I am still happy with my results. It’s my 4th best time out of 7 marathons and considering the amount of running I had done the week before, the humidity, etc. I was happy.

Placed 56th out of 98 total and 18th out of 38 women.

Dark blue is the elevation change

I normally judge my “success” on how I feel when I am done and how I feel the next day or two after a big race. I finished strong, I was a bit sore the day after and felt great 2 days after. My abs and obliques were sorer than my legs which is always a good sign that my ChiRunning form is good 😉

Overall, I would recommend this race! Not sure I would take a special trip for it as I like to experience new scenery and prefer trails… but if I happen to be up there and I’m trained, I would do it again.

What is your favorite race that you’ve done out of state?

From My Running Story to Yours….
(if you feel inspired to share your comments, do so below…I want to hear your story too!)

50 Miles of Gratitude: (8) Altras & Meeting the Co-Founder

Image

….and My Story Runs On….

I love meeting people while running. Sometimes people run past you and just say hi or good job and sometimes they will chat with you. I have personally found that trail and ultra runners tend to be a bit more laid back and more open to a quick chat while in the middle of a race.

So while Elaine and I were in Waterhole Canyon after the 28.5 Aid Station, we found ourselves in a bit of an obstacle course. There were several ladders that we had to climb to get up and over some of the cliffs. At one point, we were right behind this guy….and after he got over the ladder, Elaine went right after him…well, it wasn’t the easiest ladder to get up and over so while he was still there, she asked him to help her up. He was very nice and helped her…and I needed help too. I remember hearing him say something about “your hat” and “your shoes” but I was concentrating on not falling off the ladder.

One of the ladders we had to go over. (picture courtesy of http://www.runningwithoutlimits.com/antelope-canyon-50k-not-always-what-you-expect/)

We ran a bit together and Elaine asked him, “Why did you mention the hat and shoes? Are you an Altra Ambassador?” (Elaine had her Altra hat and I had my favorite Altra Lone Peaks shoes). He was pretty humble about it and said…well, I’m actually the co-founder, Jeremy Howlett. Whoa! How cool was this? As a running coach, I’m not one to be tied to a particular brand of shoes but if there is one brand that I tend to use the most, it’s Altras. I was so excited to have a chance to meet him! I told him I was a ChiRunning Instructor (we tend to like Altras because they a natural shoe for your foot: Zero Drop™, wide toe box) and how much I love the shoes. He said he knew Danny Dreyer (the founder of ChiRunning) and mentioned what a great guy he was and how supportive he is of the shoes as well.

Met Jeremy Howlett, the co-founder of Altra shoes 😉

We chit chatted with him for awhile and then started running again. We leap frogged with him a few times and then we lost each other.

I met a few other cool people that I’ll be blogging about. I’m very grateful for my Altra shoes and so glad I had the chance to run and chat with Jeremy!

My current Altras: 1 pair of trail shoes, 1 hybrid and 1 road shoe

My friends love their Altras too!

For any of my local peeps that like to support our local shoe stores, you can find them at I-Run and Sole Sports!

(I am not an Ambassador for Altras….yet…might have to look into it though!)

50 Miles of Gratitude: 50 Posts about my first 50 Miler

From My Running Story to Yours….
(if you feel inspired to share your comments, do so below…I want to hear your story too!)

The Running University

Walk.Run.Play

Category Archives: Confessions of ChiRunners

Race Report: Black Canyon 100K & My First Buckle

Did you hug someone today?

Image

She’s such a loser!

Race Report: Xterra White Tanks: Did I PR?

Race Report: Xterra White Tanks: Did I PR?

Race Report: McDowell Mountain Frenzy-5th 50K & a PR!

Running Marathons at 70?!

50 Miles of Gratitude: (10) Burning Out

Click here: 50 Miles of Gratitude: 50 Posts about my first 50 Miler

Race report: MASS Gathering Memorial Day Marathon

Image

50 Miles of Gratitude: (8) Altras & Meeting the Co-Founder

Image