Category Archives: Races

Blissing Out at the Finish Line!

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

“When you cross the finish line, your life will change forever.” -Unknown

Crossing a finish line is one of the most amazing feelings!  It’s one of the reasons I love being a running coach as there is nothing more rewarding than watching someone work their butt off for any event and cross that finish line!

I’ve had some incredible finish line experiences but I have to admit, yesterday was one of the most amazing finish lines I experienced for a few reasons:

  1. I signed up for the Inaugural Phoenix Women’s Half Marathon awhile back with Startline Racing (very well run event!). I first heard about it via Team RWB (more below!).  We used to have the Women’s Half here and I used to be an Ambassador.  I love women races as there is so much comraderie and different energy.  I believe last week was my longest training week ever as far as running. My 50 Mile Training calendar called for 60 miles this week.  I started the half marathon with tired legs.  I had logged 48 miles at this point for the week and did 14 miles of sand training the day before.  My original plan was to relax and just make this race a training run. I don’t listen to music often so I decided I was going to jam out while focusing on some new form focuses from ChiRunning. (In November, at the Instructor Weekend, Danny Dreyer, the founder, taught us an entire new series on Performance: learning how to get faster without increasing your perceived rate of exertion and without using your leg muscles to make it happen.  Due to my distance training, I’ve been holding off feeling some of the new form focuses in my body so yesterday I decided to “play” around with a few of them).  I was feeling great so was just chilling and enjoying it….when I reached mile 10, I realized there could be a slight chance that I would PR (personal record) this race.  I continued to focus on some key areas and lo and behold, even though the results are still unofficial on their website, I beat my half marathon time by 20 seconds!
  2. I have many friends that are part of Team RWB and I kept saying I would join them but I have so much on my plate and never really understood what they were all about.  These friends kept encouraging me to join (IT’S FREE!) but I never got around to it until a few weeks ago.  I love building my running community and I do this with my ChiRunners/ChiWalkers and Running for Brews.  OMG, this community of people is AMAZING!  I’ve never felt so part of something bigger than myself. The icing on the cake, and the main reason yesterday was one of my favorite finishes, was because someone came up to me close to the finish line and handed me the American Flag.  GOOSE BUMPS!  Mind you I was trying to get my PR and I knew I was close but there was no way I was going to turn down that experience!  I got to run through the finish line carrying the American Flag! I’ve “only’ been running for about 8 years but I love this sport! This is why I am on a mission to turn people into runners. So many amazing experiences and people I have met via this awesome sport.  Team RWB is a huge supportive community and they were out there until their very last walker came in to the finish line and we all got roses too!  I am really looking forward to more amazing experiences with them!

    Goose bumps carrying the flag through the finish line!

    Goose bumps carrying the flag through the finish line!

Unfortunately I missed getting in the photo but looks at this awesome group of supportive people!

Unfortunately I missed getting in the photo but looks at this awesome group of supportive people!

Reflecting on this incredible day, here is what I believe contributed to my success (in no particular order):

  • My running conditioning.  I’ve been running quite a bit lately (more than ever) for my first 50 miler.  Here is a link to my plan and actual miles if you are interested.
  • ChiRunning/ChiWalking.  Good running form has been crucial to my success.  We can always learn to get better and more efficient at anything we do. I’ve been teaching this for 6 years now and I’m still amazed at how much I can keep working on it and seeing improvements. It’s one of my favorite parts of the form.  I say Practice Makes Progress and I’ve seen some great improvements not just from my performance while running but more importantly with how great my body has been feeling with all these miles!
  • My Chiropractor.  I’ve been working with Al for over a year on my forward head posture and alignment.  Xrays have confirmed a significant improvement and I can feel it.  Alignment is crucial to running and by working on my posture, I have felt an improvement in my form and more specifically my breathing. I also did a Fascial Stretch Therapy last week with him and will do these weekly until my race.

    One of the reasons they say sitting is the new smoking. The position of your head effects your ENTIRE body!

    One of the reasons they say sitting is the new smoking. The position of your head effects your ENTIRE body!

  • My Nutritionist. As a trainer, I can help my clients with nutrition and weight loss but I’ve never really learned how to fuel my body for endurance and performance. I’ve been working with Brooke since November and learned a ton about my body and how it fuels properly.   I did not have any Gus or Gels at all yesterday.  I also haven’t been using those on my 20+ mile runs either. I’ve taught my body to use fat rather than sugar as I train longer.  This will be a separate blog after my 50 miler.
  • Recovery and Rest. I’m grateful that I have a flexible schedule so I rarely set my alarm in the morning.  I allow my body to get as much rest as it needs as I’m putting it under more stress than usual.  I also foam roll, do leg drains and stretch every night before going to bed. Many people ignore this piece but your body needs it!

One of my biggest fears about the 50 mile training (aside from getting my plantar fascitiis back) was that I would burn out with all this running….the opposite is happening…I’m more energized and excited at all the new possibilities that running will bring to me for years to come!

What was your favorite finish line? Why do you remember it?

 

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

Getting High….and a Meltdown

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

Forget about writing every week for my first 50 Miler…there is no time for that! It seems I can barely get my weekly runs in and my work done these days! But I had to share about my weekend experience….because I was on a serious high on Saturday and a serious low on Sunday….and realized this is probably a normal thing that could happen while training for a 50 Miler or endurance event? Anyone else relate?

runnershigh

Getting High!  Saturday I did Aravaipa’s Coldwater Rumble 20 Mile race. My plan was to do this as a training run (always great to have aid stations and be around other runners for a change!).  I was oddly psyched up for this event.  20 milers don’t seem like a big deal anymore (yikes! did I just say that?!) and I love Estrella Regional Park (my old stomping grounds). My plan was to be as strategic as possible with my energy conservation on this run.  I got a good nights sleep and was excited to see some friends that morning, including Bob, one of my client’s who was doing his first trail race, the 20K.  Not too long ago, I wrote a blog post about my best run ever but I just had another one!  Here are some reasons I had a runner’s high all day on Saturday and why I yelled across the finish line “I feel f%$#king awesome!”:

  • Like Javelina Jangover (my best run to date), I planned.  I knew I had to strategize and manage my energy for the race.  It started out on a hill so I ChiWalked right away rather than wasting energy so soon in the race. I looked behind me and I was 5th to last…everyone was ahead but I didn’t care.
starthill

Hill at the start of the race!

  • I didn’t want to race the event but I did want to see how well I could do. I was alone most of the race which was perfectly fine with me.  I focused on my form, took in the breathtaking views, listened to music once in awhile and all around just focused on enjoying myself.  I’ve been listening to a lot of the audios from the ChiSchool on my canal runs so I kept focusing on my form and most importantly, trying to stay as energy efficient as possible.  My race performance is a clear example of how I am deepening my running practice.
  • 2nd Aid Station was at Mile 11 and since I was half way, I knew I could start tapping into that reserved energy I had been conserving all along.
  • I’ll be doing a separate blog post about my nutrition (after my 50 miler) but this has been huge for me.  I’ve been working with Brooke from Fuel to Finish.  Long story short, I’ve been feeling amazing during the week, during my runs and races.  I’ve never been this dialed in to fueling my body for performance and it feels amazing.
  • My last 9 miles were amazing. I still ChiWalked up the hills but I was very focused on changing my technique based on the environment that was coming at me.  I was paying attention to my pace and my goal was to be comparable to Javelina which was a 13:03 for 15 miles (although I was detached enough by listening to my body first)  It was hard to tell who I was passing since there were several distances going on.
  • The last few miles were downhill and used up all that free energy to my advantage.  I was truly feeling f%$#king awesome by the time I crossed the finish line.  I felt strong and was happy knowing that I could do more miles at that point if I had to (pretty soon I will be!)
  • When I checked my GPS, I found out that my fastest mile was my last one!  and when I checked my placement in the event (not normally a big deal for me but was curious), I was 56th out of 80 people.  By conserving my energy and being strategic, I was able to get in front of 24 people.  I posted this quote on my facebook the other day and the highlighted is definitely how I measured my success on this race!

“Some runners judge performance by whether they won or lost. Others define success or failure by how fast they ran, whether or not they matched their time expectations. Still others judge performance by how good they felt running, focusing on the experience. Only you can judge your performance. Avoid letting others sit in judgment of you.”
– Hal Higdon

And now for my Meltdown:

Note to self:  Don’t schedule 3 ChiRunning Alumni classes, a networking event, a 6 mile training run and dinner with your family the day after a big event (and add only getting 5.5 hours of sleep the night before).  I’ve told myself this before and for some reason I thought I could handle it…Well, I did handle it but at the cost of being a nervous wreck and having a complete crying meltdown at my parents house by the end of the day.  I love love teaching Alumni classes as I get to help my runners deepen their ChiRunning practice but they are always very draining for me as I cover a lot of material.  I started by day at 7am.  I haven’t attended Sisterhood of Superwomen in a while but I had a few friends that were going so I wanted to be there with them…then I had scheduled another training run but had to kill some time in between (when all I could think of is why did I schedule this rather than just doing my own thing so I could start/finish at my convenience)…then add on going to my parents house for dinner with the family.  I left the house at 6:30am and was on the go ALL day.  By the time dinner came, I just wanted to break down and cry as I was physically and mentally exhausted….and I DID!  It’s been a long time since I had one of those moments but I just had to let it out.

Once I got it together, I looked back at the scenario and some things were beyond my control while some where within….

Learning lesson:  Don’t underestimate the amount of rest my mind and body need while training for endurance events.  To go from a huge high on Saturday to a meltdown on Sunday seriously messed with me.  Not the first time I learn this lesson but apparently I need to remember this more often when planning my schedule….

So today is a rest day and I’m honoring getting done what I can and realizing that whatever doesn’t get done today, will get done tomorrow….or the next day…

groupprerace

always love seeing friends at a race!

finsihline

Finish line feeling amazing!

stats

pretty happy with these numbers but more importantly by how good I felt at the end! my pace was a 13:05 which is 2 sec slower than Javelina but 5 more miles sustained at it. I don’t pause my watch at aid stations as I like to see my true time.

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

2nd 50K: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

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….and My Story Runs On….

My 2nd 50K is in the books! I finished the McDowell Mountain Frenzy put on by Aravaipa Running. Not sure where to start but will try and make this as short and sweet as possible.  I’ll start in reverse with the Ugly and saved my biggest aha moments for the end…….

The Ugly
WARNING: this part contains some material that might gross you out.
The worst part about the whole race which impacted me more than I wanted or expected it to was being on my period (feel free to skip down if you aren’t interested in this 😉 ). Sorry, I know this might be TMI but seriously, this is a real issue for women.  I realized too late in the week that it was happening so had no way around it.  I don’t eat until I’m hungry when I run in the morning and I can’t take Motrin until I eat so I started out the first few hours dealing with cramping.  I hate taking Motrin anyways but knew it would help me.  I also couldn’t get control of my heart rate for those first few hours. In addition to dealing with the cramping until I could take some Motrin, I had to deal with no bathrooms.  Therefore I had to get off the course so no one would see me.  Only women will understand this but I didn’t bring enough products and was torn between not going to the bathroom and holding it OR going and not having a tampon to handle it..this impacted my ability to run so I had to walk more than I wanted to.
Lesson #1: Be more prepared.

The Bad

  • I wasn’t attached to any results for this race as it was a training run but I still wanted to do better than my last one. I finished at 8:19 and my last one was an 8:24. So it’s better but I was really hoping to do it in 7 hours.  Issue above impacted me and I’m over it.
  • I trained on part of this course but couldn’t do the whole thing. I wish I had.  Even though I’ve been doing quite a bit of trail running, the 3 mile climb at about mile 20 did me in.  I pretty much hiked most of this way and was hoping to catch up on the downhill…I did a bit but it was a rocky downhill and my knees were starting to bug me.
    Elevation profile

    Elevation profile

    Lesson #2:  Try to run the entire course or talk to more people that have completed it or just be better prepared.
    ChiRunning:      As my knees started bugging me, I realized that I was over striding which was causing the pain. As soon as I realized I was doing this, I immediately shortened my stride and the pain when away. (In ChiRunning you learn what causes pain and how to address it. You become your own detective).  Every time I felt myself getting tired uphill, I realized I wasn’t being efficient and I would start using my upper body.  This is one of my favorite techniques for ChiRunning hills.

The Good
So much to say here and trying to summarize:

  • Before I left for the race, I had a chance to see many of my good friends, my sister, niece and nephew.  I was creating the conditions for Chi to flow by relaxing and doing my body looseners but being surrounded by my family and friends was a great way to start! (They started counting down for the start and I had to rush to the start line…this frazzled me a bit but I tried to get back into my “mode”).
    Pre Race photo with some of my friends and sister!

    Pre Race photo with some of my friends and sister!

    ChiRunning:  Make sure you are relaxed before you start and get together mentally and physically. Nervous energy serves no purpose and doesn’t help with relaxing your body.

  • Shane!  He seriously helped me get through several rough spots during the race. He was doing his first 50K. We met earlier this year as his wife used to take boot camps from me at her work. We ran a bit before together in the Javelina Jangover race. We carry a very similar pace so we started together.  Unfortunately he had to deal with me griping about my “girlie” issues.  We made a deal though.  I told him not to wait for me when I had to get off the beaten path to take care of my business.  So we ran probably about half the race together in total.  We ran the first 6 miles together then we split up…then we found each other at an aid station at mile 12 and ran until I had to go again…then the hardest part of the race came (hilly part) This was the hardest part for me mentally and physically. I was sooo happy to see Shane at the next aid station at mile 22.  We fueled up and he carried a great pace downhill and we made up some good time.  At the end, my legs were tired and there were some steep up and downhills so he went ahead and finished a bit ahead of me.
    Lesson #3 Make a deal if you are running with someone on what you are doing.  I wouldn’t have wanted him to wait for me as this was his race too.  This could go either way..either stay together no matter what happens or decide it’s your own races and it’s OK to separate if necessary. But have no regrets…if you want to finish the race, do it, with or without your friend. These take a lot of training and time and you have take ownership for your race.

    Shane and I nice and fresh at the beginning of the race!

    Shane and I… nice and fresh at the beginning of the race!

  • The trail!  McDowell Mountains are one of my favorite spots to trail run.  I love our Arizona desert.  The trail had a lot of variety.
    ChiRunning:  One of the many things I love about ChiRunning is keeping my mind occupied with form focuses.  Not only is focusing on my form a good way to be as efficient as possible (and injury-free) but when you have a long way to go, being in the present moment helps time go by.  I also love doing a running meditation where I am focusing on each sense one a time for a few minutes.  So great to hear, smell, see and feel the desert.
  • My amazing friends!  I could hear people cheering as we approached the finish line. My legs were pretty tired and the last few miles were the technical part of the trail. I told Shane to go ahead! I could hear cheers for him and realized these were my friends!  Several of them had done the shorter distances and they waited for HOURS to see me finish!  My boyfriend also drove up to see me finish too.  The last few hills sucked and I was cursing at this point (well, I had cursed more than once before this point 😉 ).  As soon as I crawled over the hill, I could see my friends who were all cheering for me.  Elaine was leaning over the fence and handed me a beer….I ran through the finish line, cold beer in hand getting hugs from all my friends. Couldn’t think of a better way to end a race!
    Last hill to get to the finish line..really?!

    Last hill to get to the finish line..really?!

    Post Race with my friends!

    Post Race with my friends!

    Grabbed and beer and ran through the finish line! I love how happy I am here! I did it!

    Grabbed and beer and ran through the finish line! I love how happy I am here! I did it!

    I did it!

    I did it!

Other AHA moments:

  • #NeverSayNever this is my new favorite hashtag. I remember saying I would never do a half marathon!  I have discovered the art form of running.  I love that I can run short or long distances, on road or trail, etc. There is so much to this sport that people don’t realize.  I want to enjoy it for the rest of my life and the possibilities are endless..but always remember, it’s your running story! You choose where you want to take your running journey (and coaxing from friends doesn’t hurt either sometimes!)
  • I had this thought SEVERAL times….and I signed up for a 50 miler?  How the hell am I going to do 20 more miles?  As I’ve been told, you just don’t think about this…this is true regardless of distance….I remember wandering this same thing after a half marathon while in preparation for  a full marathon…but somehow, and sometimes you just can’t even remember how you do it, you just do it.
  • Biggest AHA moment:  Don’t downplay your mileage!  Up until midweek, I kept thinking, “this is just a training run”.  I said that to myself and others several times. Maybe I kept saying it so I wouldn’t get nervous and waste energy…or didn’t want to make it a big deal…but dang it, I finished my 2nd 50K and that’s the 2nd longest distance I have ever ran in my life…so yes, it is a big freaking deal! So don’t downplay your mileage (whatever it is) and celebrate that heck out your finish line!

Thanks to Aravaipa for putting on an amazing event as always and all the volunteers!

Antelope Canyon 50 Miles, here I come!

(P.S. I am raising money for Girls On The Run for my 50 miler.  I’m on the Board of Directors of this amazing organization. The 50 mile run is the day after my 45th birthday. I wish I had this program when I was a kid as I would’ve started running much earlier in my life.  Running has changed my life and I want to help as many young girls as possible realize their full potential.  Any donation is greatly appreciated!)

One of my new favorites!

One of my new favorites!

Life is short! Do It!

Life is short! Do It!

 

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

My Biggest Struggle with 50 Mile Training

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

Just finished Week #12 and excited to be into a taper week! I usually dread taper weeks because I feel like I lose momentum but it’s very important for the body to get rest before a big event (next weekend is the 50K which I first signed up for and has become a “training run” for the 50 Miler.)

My Biggest Struggle:  this is a part time job!  I’m getting frustrated  because I need to get my training runs in and I have several projects that I’m trying to work on for my business.  I can’t seem to ever get ahead…as a matter of fact, I keep falling more behind.  I had a conversation with my business coach and he told what I already knew: I need to figure out what to give up so I can get my stuff done…not sure I have decided yet but I need my sleep (rest is crucial for my mind and body); I cherish spending time with my boyfriend, family and friends; and I need to get work done! Hoping during this taper week I can get caught up a bit!

Here is what Week #12 looked like:  schedule and actual

Week Of Week Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Miles
23-Nov 12 CD 0 4 10 6 0 10 8 38
0 5.5 10 3 10 0 6 34.5

Tuesday 11/24:  Did 5.5 miles on trail at South Mountain with my friend Vicki.  Saw a coyote and a road runner!  One of the many things I love about trail running is you get to be closer to nature.  Here are some of my pics.
Wednesday 11/25: Did 10 trail miles at Papago with my friend Lori. I am enjoying running with different friends! We had fun just exploring around.
Thursday 11/26:  Thanksgiving morning!  Love our annual tradition.  It was the Friends 4 Fitness Annual Turkey Trot. So great to see many of my friends that I don’t get to see often!
Friday 11/27:  Decided it’s time to get a bit more serious about sand training (Antelope Canyon 50 miler apparently has 30 miles of sand!)  Elaine, Vicki and I went out to McDowell Mountain and started some sand wash training.  Our goal was to do 10 miles in the sand until Elaine mentioned it might be smart to work our way up…AGREED!  So we did 4 miles in the sand.  I was ChiRunning as much as I could…tried not to use my calf muscles but the sand was pretty deep…happy to say I wasn’t sore the next day so I that’s a good sign!
Sunday 11/29:  Did a 6 mile trail run with a few other friends (so grateful for all my running friends so we can keep each other motivated!)  Today I also took an amazing Restorative Yoga class from my friend Lisa Hecke from Sacred Harts. She does this class on the Sunday after Thanksgiving and I’ve done it for the last 3 years. A great way to relax the mind, body and spirit!

No major aha moments (outside of my biggest struggle).  I have not been sore, even after the long weekend of running last week. I’m grateful for my ChiRunning form as I know this is THE major reason why I can even attempt 50 miles mentally and physically.

Next Saturday is my 2nd 50K! I’m oddly jazzed up about it mainly just to see how I will do.

Fundraising update:

Haven’t really done much with it this week.  Every little bit helps though!

Previous blogs posts in this series:

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

Week #9 Recap 50K/50Mile Training

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

These next few weeks are going to be tough as I have stuff going on that could interfere with my training.  Here was my plan for this week:

Week Of Week Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Miles
2-Nov 9 0 4 8 8 0 22 10 52

I had to alter my plan because Ragnar Trails Relay  was this weekend and I needed to try and get ahead of the training schedule earlier in the week.

Here is how it went:

Monday:  This is normally a rest day but I needed to get ahead of the schedule.  I ran on the road around my neighborhood. I did a 4.5 mile run first, had to run some errands, and then went back out an hour or so later to get another 5 miles in. These were some good tempo runs for me. I prefer trail all the way but road miles are easier to fit in some times and I can work a bit more on tempo.

Tuesday:  I have my regular trail run/hike scheduled with my friend Vicki. I get at least 2 miles of sand in which is not enough but will get there. We did 6.5 miles at South Mountain (saw a gorgeous coyote from afar).  Then I did 3 more miles at Running for Brews Tempe with my sister.

Wednesday:  I was not very motivated this morning to get out because it was colder than normal but I knew I had to get my run in.  As soon as I walked outside, I noticed there was no sun and a few big black clouds. It had rained the night before and I’ll admit to being a spoiled AZ runner because of the gorgeous weather we have. Not really crazy about running in any other conditions.  I started my run reluctantly and was immediately cheered up by a some beautiful rainbow sightings.  I love rainbows and they have a spiritual meaning to me and those pictures don’t do them justice.  Then it started drizzling….I though of cutting the run short and then figured I could stop by my parents house if it got any worst.  It didn’t so I ran with a light drizzle and got my 5 miles in.  When I got home I decided I wanted to hit the hot tub (never done this at 9am in the morning but it was a cool morning and it just sounded good).

Thursday:  I decided to be my rest day to prepare for Ragnar weekend (I knew I wouldn’t get much sleep either so wanted to be fully rested).  I still managed to get 21,421 steps in between some very light running at track and walking back and forth as we set up our camp at McDowell Mountain in preparation for the weekend.

Friday:  Our Ragnar Team, Dust Bunnies, started at 9:40 am.  I did my first 4 mile run and then did my 2nd run in the evening.  I love McDowell Mountain and enjoyed some gorgeous views on my first run.  My first night run was a bit of a bummer because the green loop was a fast, easy one but unfortunately both my headlamp and back up light were on low battery (lesson learned!).  I wanted to be careful so it slowed me down. I haven’t seen my results from the race yet and haven’t uploaded my Tom Tom data either.  I remember thinking trail running and night running was absolutely crazy and now it’s my favorite kind of running. Nothing like being in the middle of the desert at night time…it keeps you very present in the moment. I was happy that my next one would be at night as well.

Saturday:  As a matter of fact, one of my teammates got sick and I covered her 6.6 mile loop a few hours after finishing mine.  I was happy to do it even though I was on about 3 hours of sleep. I know I needed the miles anyway.  Two beautiful runs!  My Tom Tom battery died on the 2nd run but I was very lucky to watch the moon rise (along with the alignment of the planets and several shooting stars from the Taurid Meteor shower!) and I saw the sun rise on the 2nd run. Doesn’t get any better than that!

Sunday: Purely a rest day…literally was in bed all day…unfortunately once I finished with my Ragnar runs on Saturday, I decided to start drinking.  Between doing 4 runs totaling 22 miles in 20 hours on 3 hours of sleep, it caught up to me…needless to say, I’ll be making better decisions next time.  I planned it as a rest day but more rest than I was expecting.  Maybe my body needed it. Happy to say that I was not sore at all though!  I attribute this to my ChiRunning form as well as my conditioning.

My training for the week finished like this:

Week Of Week Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Miles
2-Nov 9 9.5 9.5 5 0 9 13.2 0 46.2

I was 6 miles short but feel OK with it because I know I got a lot more steps walking around at Ragnar for 2.5 days.  I know the time on my feet is part of it so I’m OK not getting the exact mileage in.

AHA moments:

  • Felt good about my planning this week by getting more miles in ahead of time.
  • I love practicing my ChiWalking, especially my hill technique. Did quite a bit of this at Ragnar as several of the loops had some hills.  Ultimately goal on every run is to be as energy efficient as possible and that helps me strategize my runs.
  • Loving the variety of runs I’m getting from road miles, to miles with friends and events like Ragnar.  My running is mainly social and glad I have a big group of crazy friends who join me on my crazy adventures 😉
  • Just realized this was the most miles yet so far in my training by 6 miles and grateful that I have no pain or soreness at all!

Fundraising update:

Haven’t really done much with it this week.  Every little bit helps though!

Previous blogs posts in this series:

I’m leaving for Asheville, NC on Wednesday. So excited as I’ll be attending a Performance Workshop to learn to be more efficient (learning how to get faster and more efficient with less effort!). I’ll also get to see my ChiFamily…being the only Instructor in AZ, this is one of my favorite weekends we have every 2 years so I get a chance to see my peers, run together and share ideas.

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

Week #5 Recap- 50K/50Mile Training

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

I swear I mentioned this in one of my videos on my You Tube channel but I can’t seem to find it right now…one of the things I wish I had done while preparing for my first marathon was journaling my experience. This just came to me the other day…I’ve also been wanting to blog at least weekly so I decided to write a quick blog about my previous week training.

I’m following a training plan I created here.  I created one for the 50K on 12/5 and then will change to the 50 mile training plan after that race is over.

My plan called for 40 miles last week and I did 39.6. Close enough for me:

  • Monday is an off day. I just signed up for 2 months with Flip N Fit since they had an awesome deal.  I tried a Yin Yoga class at Naam Yoga.
  • Tuesday:  4 trail miles at South Mountain with my friend Vicki
  • Wednesday:  I was in Tucson doing 2 free clinics (Davis-Monthan Air Force and Performance Footwear).  My boyfriend and I were told to go to Sabino Canyon. It was our first time and I logged 4 trail miles there.  I love first time experiences and it was a beautiful location!
  • Thursday:  I did 3.1 miles at track and 3.6 at the Ragnar Adventure Run.
  • Friday is an off day
  • Saturday:  I spent Friday night on the west side for girl’s night and because I was attending Yoga For Runners and doing a free ChiRunning clinic at Eleutheria Wellness. I know a good 4.7 mile loop at Estrella Park (not crazy about looping but it works for safety reasons, especially if I’m alone).  Was very excited to have my friend Karyl, join me for the first lap. We met at the Breast Cancer 3-day and is a Las Bombas.  She started getting into running last year and has completed her first half marathon and doing Ragnar with us! I did 4.7 with her and then 9.3 alone.
  • Sunday:  I did 11 miles at Warpaint trail at South Mountain. Invited several friends and people were doing their own distance and their own speed.  Five of us did the 11 miles.  I believe this is my longest back to back run? I can’t remember what I did with my first 50K so maybe not…if I would’ve only journaled…I’ve done it walking for sure with the 3-Day..

I’m really making sure I focus on recovery and taking care of my body as I have a big fear of Plantar again or having my heel spur give me trouble…the Yoga for Runner’s class on Saturday was great timing.  After my back to back weekend, I spent some time in the hot tub, did a lot of stretching and leg drains (my favorite!) last night. As I’m writing this now, my legs are heavy but feel much better than I expected. I suspect it’s because of my recovery practice and my ChiRunning focuses during my runs.

Next week will be a bit of a challenge as I’ll be in Tucson Fri/Sat for another clinic and workshop.  If I can’t get my daily mileage in, my goal is to shoot for the weekly mileage.

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

OMG! I just signed up for my first 50 miler!

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

Are these the words seriously coming out of my mouth and fingers now? Seriously?!  OMG, it’s still crazy to me that they are….

I remember when I used to be a distance walker and I wouldn’t have even considered being a runner.  Training miles to complete the Breast Cancer 3-Day with my Las Bombas team for 6 years.  I even walked 100 miles in the middle of summer in 2012 for Marriage Equality (had started running at this point).

I remember when I used to go hiking and I would see trail runners. I’d call them freaks in my head….who would want to go running on a trail? That just looked stupid and certainly a good way to hurt yourself. (Running Tips for Beginner Trail Runners)

I remember when I said I would never do more than a 5K. Why would anyone ever want to run any more than that anyway?

Well, as you write your own running story, my biggest piece of advice is: NEVER SAY NEVER.  As of today, according to Athlinks, I’ve run:

  • 22 5Ks
  • 6 10Ks
  • 16 Half Marathons
  • 5 Marathons
  • 1 50K (not on Athlinks)
  • and a bunch of various distances in between.

I’m not telling you this to brag!  I know people who have done way more than this!  We are all writing our own running story so by any means, please don’t compare yourself (this is my #1 rule for beginner runners and why my blog is called My Own Running Story).

Before I injured myself from overuse last year, my next goal after my 1st 50K was to do a 12 hour race.  I was hoping to do 50 miles in that time but I knew that would be aggressive.  I also injured myself so had to drop down from that event.

Once I healed, I took baby steps as I started getting back into my normal running routine.  I knew at some point, I would be making this crazy decision.  I started toying around with the idea of doing 2nd 50K (signing up for the McDowell Mountain Frenzy by Aravaipa in December)…..then I did it…I started googling 50 mile races since I would already be training for a 50K.

Can someone explain to me why pretty much most ultra races go from a 50K to a 50 miler?  That’s a 20 mile difference!  Nothing in between?  Well, OK then….I guess that’s the next distance to do then…

I started thinking about Aravaipa’s Coldwater Rumble race in January.  They have a 100 mile race which would give me 32 hours to complete 50.  No problem!  I could take a nap in between if I wanted to…..

But then, while at the AZ Distance Camp a month ago, I started talking to my friend Elaine.  She’s an Ironman and already completed the Old Pueblo 50 miler last year. She’s a great athlete and one of the nicest people I know…as a matter of fact, I met her while training for the 3-Day and she joined our team.  She started talking about Antelope Canyon….

First question: when is it?  It’s on 2/20/16….WHAT?  The day after my 45th birthday?  I love doing things over my birthday weekend!  I ran my first marathon on my 41st birthday.
Second question:  what’s the cutoff?  15 hours…that’s an average of an 18 minute mile…sounds doable but average that for 50 miles…starting to get a bit freaked out…
Third question:  how is the route?  Does it loop?  What’s the scenery like?  Well, first of all, you are in Antelope Canyon. The only way to see this canyon is if you go with a tour or you do this race.  I started googling race reports and looking at pictures and videos from previous participants. The scenery looks AMAZING!  But wait…. there’s 30 miles of sand?  I have to go down a 30 foot rickety ladder into the canyon?  There are points that may not be suitable for someone who is afraid of heights?  Yikes……

After weighing out the pros and cons for quite some time….AND Elaine texting me with something like this “They serve birthday cake at one of the aid stations for February birthdays..”…AND remembering what I tell everyone all the time:

“Always do what you are afraid to do.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

I went to sign up…….AND it was SOLD OUT! What? After taking all that time to make the decision and it’s sold out?

WonderWoman

I emailed the race director, gave him my sob story about my birthday AND how this was my first 50 miler AND I’m on the Board of Directors for Girls On The Run AND this was going to be my fundraiser event….He told me we could get on the waiting list and chances were pretty good (we were the first two on the list!).

Long story short, we got on the waiting list (I think I was the first one!) and we are now both in….$180 later, Happy Birthday to Me?!?!

I’m pretty freaked out about it but I know I have a lot of people in my life that have done these and can help me. One thing to remember is that it doesn’t matter if it’s your first 5K or 50K…Fear is fear and it can hold us back from doing new things….so regardless of where you are in Your Running Story, the choice is yours:

Forget Everything And Run

OR

Forget Everything And Rise

I’m rising…still doesn’t mean I’m not scared!  BTW, I’ll be writing another post about my Girls On The Run fundraiser but here is my link.

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

We placed last at Ragnar!!

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

Yep!  I didn’t just use this catchy blog title just for the heck of it, both of our teams were 2 of the last 3 teams to cross the finish line at the Ragnar Trail Relay Race held at McDowell Mountain last weekend. Continue Reading →


A 70 year old, 73 yo and 91 yo go into a bar….

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

Just kidding….well, maybe they do go into a bar but only after going for a run!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:

YOU ARE NEVER TOO OLD TO START RUNNING!

I sit here and think, I’ve only been running for about 5-6 years and knowing what I know now, I wish I would’ve started before!  But I’m very glad to know that assuming nothing happens to me, I have another 40+ years in me!  Yeah, freaking yeah!  (Knowing this always makes me feel better especially since I’ve had to taper my running down in the last few months to heal my foot).

First of all, have you heard about this new study that says Running 5 Minutes a Day Has Long Lasting Benefits? That’s right, running doesn’t have to be something that you do for 2 hours a day or anything. It’s one of the easiest things you can do and requires very little equipment and expense (I always say a good pair of shoes and a class to learn proper form, like ChiRunning, and you are good to go anywhere, anytime!).

I’m very blessed to do what I love to do and nothings makes me happier than hearing about “older” people that are running.  Just in the last month:

  • I had the honor to have a private session with a 73 year old woman who wanted to learn to run!  Her son contacted me and we worked out a plan and I couldn’t have been more excited to do this!  I’m just waiting for her to decide when she is ready for her first 5K.  She started out with 10 minutes and is working her way up.  She’s an avid golfer, walker and yogi…and now wanted to change things up a bit with some running!  Love to surround myself with people who want to keep growing no matter their age.
  • Do you remember one of my blog posts about Doc Gooding: You’re doing what at 69 years old?  He took my ChiRunning workshop a few years ago and apparently hasn’t been the same since 😉 ! He sent me another email on 8/24/14:

“Hope you are doing well…Just wanted to give you an update.  I competed in the USA Triathlon National Sprint Championships a few weeks ago in Milwaukee.  There were 32 participants in my age group 70-74. I came in 14th in the age group with a time of 1:30 which qualified me for Team USA. That was my main goal…to get on Team USA!  So, I will be representing the USA in the World Championships September 2015 in the Chicago. My time for the race was 10 minutes faster than my previous time for the same distance. A good part of that was improved run time…I have been focusing on getting my cadence up. My pace on the run was 10:03….my previous best race pace was 11:09. I focused on getting and keeping my pace up the whole race.”

  • Last but not least, I was scrolling through facebook and read about the 91 year old who started running marathons at 76. Her name is Harriette Thompson and she broke two records: fastest course time for her age group by 2 hours AND 2nd oldest marathon finisher in world history at the 2014 San Diego Rock N Roll Marathon.  She’s completed 15 marathons  AND she’s battling skin cancer AND had 9 radiation treatments a month before the race AND she raised $90K for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society!

All I can say is:

forgetyourage

Too many people use their age as a reason not to do things.  Life is too short to not explore your potential and see how far you can take your body and mind.  I’m looking forward to My Running Story to keep going and going….. What will you be doing when you’re 70? or 90?  I think it’s time to start working on that bucket list……

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-CYA 6/12/24: First Time & Last Place

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

Well, I wasn’t really in last place but I was second to last 😉  and you know what, I AM OK with that!

results

The reason I started this blog was to encourage runners to write their own running story. Everyone’s journey is different..more importantly, I like to encourage people to get out of their comfort zone and try new things when running.

This was my first time participating in this type of a timed event.  Basically you pick the time (I was going to do 12 hours but I had to drop down to 6 as explained in this blog post).  In this race, there was a 3 mile trail (Brownlow Trail in Prescott) and you get to go around as many times as you want, can, etc.  As a first timer, and I’ll speak for the other 3 friends that I convinced to do it with me, it was awesome!  People asked me if I was crazy and why would I do this? It’s hard to explain but I’ll give it a try…

You could be someone who doesn’t want to be pressured against the clock that most races impose (like being at the end of a marathon with a swag wagon on your ass because you have to finish by a specific time) OR you might like the security of being on a shorter trail where you have consistency/safety for the run OR you might just want to challenge yourself to see how many miles you can finish in X amount of hours OR you might just want to do your first ultra marathon (over 26.2 miles) and you can pick a time that you know you could do that in (for example if you can’t do it in 6 hours, you could pick the 12 hour event and you would have PLENTY of time to finish 26.2 miles)….not sure I’ve still explained this well enough but long story short, I loved the fact that I knew I had 6 hours on the course and I could do whatever I want!

Since I’ve been dealing with an injury, I decided I was not going to push my body and changed my mind frame from “getting as many miles as possible in” to “I’m just going to have a good time today”.

The race was put on my Solemates’ Ultra Running Events and Mark and Sharill did an amazing job! First, I’m soooo glad that they did a preview run of the course so we could know what it was like. The biggest thing we learned (even though the race was called CYA Cool Your Ass because it’s cooler in Prescott), it really wasn’t that much cooler 😉 Knowing this helped us prepare for the heat on race day.

The course was well marked, there was a major aid station at the start (which you run by every 3 miles…another plus of these types of events) with amazing stuff. There was the usual (electrolyte replacement and water) AND then there was the “other” stuff:  dates, potatoes, M + M’s, fruit, grilled cheese, etc. They really took care of the runners! There was also a mini aid station in the middle of the 3 mile course with water/electrolytes. So basically you were covered every 1.5 miles.

The 3 mile trail had a variety of terrain.  Some single track but it was mostly double track. Some of it was rockier and some of it was sandier.  Overall it was a good mix of trail.  Great thing about knowing the trail is you knew when Mount Orth was coming too.  This was the big hill at the end.  There was only one shady spot on the trail and we took several photos at our favorite bench. It never seemed repetitive to me which was odd.  I stayed as present as possible and focused on seeing different things every time. It was also great to “run into” other friends along the route.

view

Kicking it on the bench

Kicking it on the bench

This is one of my ChiRunners and Mountain Miler friends Steve Orth ;)

This is one of my ChiRunners and Mountain Miler friends Steve Orth 😉

Due to my injury, I knew I needed to really listen to my body and take it easy. This is another thing I loved about this event.  After 9 miles, I could feel my heel bugging me a bit so I decided to sit a loop out while my friends did one without me. It was a tough decision to make but I knew it was the right thing to do.  So I stretched, iced and did some facebook updates. I also decided to ChiWalk most of the race.  I wanted to run and I did on downhills and flats but knew I wasn’t in any hurry to get any mileage in so I just enjoyed the scenery and time with my friends.

My stuff!

My stuff!

When I signed up for this event, I’ll admit that I was intimidated by it.  I know my friends were too.  The great thing is that there were competitive people who were trying to beat the clock but there were also a lot of “regular” people who were just out there to see what they could do in 6 hours.

I think I’m hooked now to a new type of event!  Most of these races usually start with 12 hours which is not realistic for most “regular” runners. I appreciate that Solemates’ has a 6 hour option that is a more reasonable time frame for “regular” runners.

Thanks to Solemates’ for hosting an amazing event. Thanks to my friends who decided to get of their comfort zone to join me!

So who wants to join me for their next one:  Solemates’ Thanksgiving Tryptophun Rhuns the weekend of Thanksgiving at White Tanks?  I’ll probably be marathon training or something by then and it would be a perfect “training run”. Another benefit of these types of events:  you can make it a long training run and you don’t have to worry about bathrooms, food and water.  Plus you get a medal, shirt and other cool swag!

Swag!

Swag!

Me being goofy!

Me being goofy!

Not registered yet but pretty sure I’m in…who’s with me?

From My Running Story to Yours….

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