….and My Story Runs On….
I have a love/hate relationship with this race! It’s my 3rd year in a row and for some reason, that evil hills keeps calling me back. Last year, Aravaipa Running had a Women’s Ultra Training Program for the race and I was lucky enough to be the coach…unfortunately I never wrote a blog for last year but I did write one for my first time in 2016. Continue Reading →
….and My Story Runs On….
I think I found another favorite 50K! Well actually a 52K 😉
On Saturday, I completed my 10th 50K?? (I seriously can’t keep track…technically my 10th 50/52K not including the 60K/64K?).
Anyways, it doesn’t really matter. I picked Aravaipa Running’s Coldwater Rumble because I’ve done the 20 Mile event 3x and I wanted to get more mileage so I figured why not? This race is in the Estrella Mountains which are my old stomping grounds when I lived in Avondale.
The highlight of the entire run was being able to get a picture with Courtney while she was in the middle of her 52 miler (she still won the race in 7:10:22 , broke the course record and was 2 hours and 12 minutes ahead of the 2nd place runner!). She is truly an amazing athlete (she did the Moab 240 miler last year, placed first and the 2nd runner was like 10 hours behind her!). She had an amazing stride and my friend Nancy just yelled out and asked her to take this picture with us and she stopped and did! How cool is that?!
The amazing Courtney Daulwalter stopped to take a quick pic with us and she still placed first!
A few of my favorite things about this race:
Thanks to Surprise Running Club for being at the key aid station where we crossed several times on the course with the other distances.
Great views and cholla forests!
Mounds of quartz! I love this spot! As you approach it, especially when it’s sunny, you can see it sparkle and it looks like 2 big mounds of snow in the middle of the desert.
I don’t really have anything negative to say about this race. It might be a bit of a drive out to the west side for some people, I’m not big on loops but the 52K was the 20 mile loop and a smaller one that was reversed so it looked like another trail in my opinion, I loved the diversity of the trail but I heard some people didn’t.
This was a true training run for me. I was so excited to see how many friends I had that were doing the 52K!
Kisha did her first official ultra trail race! Like a true ChiRunner, before the race she said she was oddly nervous because she felt so prepared for it. I stayed to watch her cross the finish line and she finished in exactly the time she expected to! Great planning and congrats!
ChiRunners Emily and Tricia at the start. Both are training for their first 50 miler (Antelope Canyon like mine!)
Always fun to see old friends and make new ones!
Sometimes I may get in “race” mode because I want to PR that event…since it was my first time doing this event, I wasn’t concerned about PRing but wanted to have a solid run.I am always prepared with podcasts, audio books, ChiSchool audios for these long runs. I did the first 9ish miles by myself and in silence. Sometimes there is nothing like being one with nature on the trail which is one of the many reasons I prefer trails over road.
I ran into my friend Tricia, Ragnar Ambassador and ChiRunner and gave her some tips as we ran in sand (see below). We picked up Nancy and one of my newest running friends, Aaron at the aid station at 11 miles. Unfortunately Tricia was having some cramping issues so she stayed at the next aid station to work through it. The three of us ran from mile 11 to the finish together. If it works out that I’m with people who can stay at whatever pace I am doing, I am happy to run with others. This running season I’ve done more long runs than normal on my own so I was happy to have some company. We had many conversations over those 22 miles while hiking and running that really helped the time go by! Before you know it, we finished our race in about 9 hours. Here is a video of our finish.
Lessons Learned/Technique Tips
With all of this said, this was truly one of my favorite races…not just the course, but the entire experience! Thanks to the volunteers, Aravaipa, and running friends for an awesome time!
Connie was ahead of us on the 52K but the great thing about this course is that she had to come back towards us on her 2nd loop so we got to take a picture. It was fun seeing people going in both directions completing various distances!
Gorgeous sunset after our finish! Apparently I didn’t take any pics with beer or Fireball after the finish but it happened 😉
From My Running Story to Yours….
(if you feel inspired to share your comments, do so below…I want to hear your story too!)
….and My Story Runs On….
This is the 3rd year in a row that I do this 50K. It’s one of my favorites and perfect timing in my 100K Training Schedule to have a nice long training run. This has been my 2nd, 5th and 9th 50K! Still unbelievable to me that I swore I would never run more than a 5K when I started running!
McDowell Mountain Regional Park has some of my favorite trails and Aravaipa Running always puts on a great event. This was meant to be a training run but since I was doing the same race for the 3rd year in a row, I did have it in the back of my mind that PRing (personal record) would be an added bonus. I went into the race with that idea but was also detached from it since technically this was supposed to be a training run. I normally don’t have a race pace but I definitely get into a different mindset if I’m wanting to PR or “race” an event. I also had to consider that I had run 20 miles the Sunday before so I didn’t taper for this race and I did a tough marathon downhill marathon 3 weeks before. I was so close to PRing and made a “fatal” mistake which cost me the PR…but all good and that story is down below….
Miles 0-12.5
Rachel’s 2nd 50K and Joan’s first one! Waiting for the start….
The energy before a race is always exciting, especially when you realize how many friends you have out there! Several of them were doing their first 50K. It was great to start out the race after getting so many hugs from friends! I love the Escondido trail as it’s rolly polly . I knew I could easily get started too fast here so I tried to keep a nice pace, walking the uphills and running flats and downhills. The last third of the race is the hardest and I’ve struggled on this part the last few years. My goal was to not let that happen again. I immediately started focusing on my ChiRunning form. At about Mile 5, I decided to listen to some ChiSchool lessons so I could continue focusing on my form. I put this on shuffle and even though I listen to some of the same lessons, there are always some great aha moments. This time it was with the lesson “The World’s Largest Treadmill” and some cueing from Danny (the founder of ChiRunning) about feeling your leg get swept back by the trail every time it hit the ground. I’ve heard this lesson many times and it’s one of my favorites but something different clicked with me this time. I skipped the first aid station strategically so I didn’t “waste” anytime as I had plenty of water and fuel. The 2nd aid station was at mile 12.5 and I knew there would be a 10 mile gap until the 3rd one and it would be during “the hill”. Refueled and filled up water and was off again. I knew I had to keep under a 14:58 min mile to PR and I was doing great! At this point I was averaging a 13:23 min mile and I knew I would be hiking that hill. My goal during the first third of the race was to run as much as I could without using up too much energy because I had that last third of the race always in the back of my head.
Miles 12.5-22.5
I had forgotten about the part of the course before “the hill”. Pretty runnable and great scenery. I was still feeling pretty good here. Ran into my friends Jennifer and Rachel and took this quick selfie.
The hardest part of wanting to PR is that you need to stay focused as any extra minute can add up. I felt leaving them so quickly but I was on a mission. It’s also hard for me to do this as a coach as I always like to give words of encouragement and hang with people but sometimes I have to run my race and I was determined since I was on track. I had stopped listening to ChiSchool from the aid station and at mile 18 decided to listen to a few motivational TED talks I had downloaded. Sometimes I like to listen to stuff on long runs but I only listened to a few as I was truly enjoying being out there and present on the trail. The weather up to mile 15 was perfect. There was cloud coverage and we even had a few sprinkles. After my last Black Canyon experience (my character builder run) I was no longer worried about running in the rain but it didn’t happen. At about mile 15, the clouds were gone and the sun came out…I immediately stripped off my sleeves and the weather got hot really fast. I think many of us were impacted by that change during this race. I hiked the entire hill and ran the downhill more than last year…I remember it was rocky so I was careful but was still tracking to PR. Even though I completely filled my hydration pack, I went through my water and couldn’t wait to get to the aid station. I was out of the water for the last 1.5 miles and it kept getting warmer.
Bottom of the hill…it’s not steep but a long hill…you can see runners on the other side of the trail
Beautiful chollas and Rockknob in the background
I think this is Rocknob..its the name of the trail but beautiful rock formations!
Another angle of Rocknob
Miles 22.5 to 31
I knew I had to stay focused on the aid station. A friend of mine, Suzanne was there and she hooked me up right away. Helped fill my pack, put some ice in my buff and hat, I grabbed some munchies and I was off again. At this point, due to the hiking, I was averaging a 13:58 mile so I knew the PR was closing in on me. I did something I don’t advise people to do but decided to take two ibuprofen. I figured even though my legs weren’t too bad, they were a bit achy and I knew this would help me run more. Unfortunately my TomTom died at mile 24 so now I had no idea how I was doing. There is an uphill after the aid station but then a nice steady downhill, although a bit rocky. My goal at this point was to keep running as much I could. I was doing a lot of body sensing since I didn’t have a watch to tell me how I was doing (this is truly a better way as the GPS watch can be a distraction and play into the ego more than listening to your body) I listened to music for a bit but my MP3 player died. I just keep running as much as I could until I reached the last aid station. My first question was how much longer do I have to go. They said 3.4 miles, I looked at my phone and it was 3pm. I had to be done by 3:44 to PR and this was cutting it pretty close but doable. I usually don’t do much sugar until the last aid station (thanks to my nutritionist) I drank some Coke, had a piece of potato with salt, and handful of peanut M + M’s. I left and took my phone out to text a few friends that were waiting at the finish line for me. Here is where I made my mistake. I wasn’t paying attention as I was texting and walking…Before you know it, a guy yelled out “What distance are you doing?” I said the 50K and he said, “You’re on the wrong trail”. So grateful for this guy as I would’ve kept on that wrong trail for who knows how long! I was 4-5 min in so I turned around right away but I knew this set me back and I would’ve been cutting it even closer. Even though I ran as much as I could towards the end, I knew it wasn’t happening. I could start hearing the finish line (they have a DJ!) and knew I was almost there.
One of the several hills on the last 3.4 miles on the technical trail..
It’s a great feeling when people could say they recognized my running form from far away. As I finished through the last section on the technical trail, I was getting excited to be done. Always great to finish and see friends cheering you on at the finish line…even though it was my 9th 50K, finish lines never get old!
Biggest Learning Moment
So how do you define a successful race? Everyone has their own definition. I think it depends on the race too. Although I didn’t make my PR on this race, it was a great success for me. First of all, it was the first time doing this race that I felt strong on the last third even though I ran into some challenges. I crossed the finish line feeling really good! And considering I didn’t taper last weekend and have been building mileage, I was very happy with how I felt at the end! I attribute this to my race strategy and more importantly my ChiRunning technique. As I was by myself for this whole race so it was easier for me to focus on my form and adjusting it as needed to the environment coming at me. I may have conserved to much energy since I finished strong but I’ll take that over being miserable and injured any day! As mentioned, I follow my fueling plan that I learned from my nutritionist and that makes a big difference too!
The After Party
Much like the beginning of the race, at the end of the race there were so many friends around. There is always a beer garden for people to hang out and it’s right by the finish line so you get to watch people coming in. I for wanted to wait for Joan as I had been training her for the last 3 months for her first 50K. She finished strong as well and we shared a celebratory beer (ha, she drank the koolaid and is already talking about her next 50K! She done 20 marathons but moving on to the ultra/trail world 😉 )
This year, Aravaipa added night races and I love the fact that several women from my recent Ladies Training Program, had decided to either do the day or night race! I missed the morning ladies but had a chance to see those at night time as they got ready. Is it bad when your running coaching is encouraging you to do a Fireball shot before you go? Even worse that they listened to you?! Ultimately this is about enjoying the experience! I/we (my peeps) are never going to win the race because that’s not our goal…the goal is making friends and having fun, while staying in shape and doing some crazy things along the way! This is how we roll…….
Gorgeous sunset!
Joan finishes her first 50K! So proud of her!
Oh no….here comes the Fireball 😉 LOL
And encouraging others? Bad coach, bad coach!
It didn’t take them long to succumb to the peer pressure…although this was pre race!
One of my proudest coach moments?!
Part of the Ladies Training Program reunited! Thanks for volunteering Kisha! I better have good finish line pics 😉
From My Running Story to Yours….
(if you feel inspired to share your comments, do so below…I want to hear your story too!)
….and My Story Runs On….
Wow! Where to even begin? I know I have to keep this succinct but very hard to do, especially for those of you that want to get a detailed report about the race and what to expect if you plan on doing it. Continue Reading →
….and My Story Runs On….
Where do I even begin? First I have to try and explain how this type of event works. Across The Years is described on the Aravaipa website as:
“the original fixed-time multiday running event celebrating the New Year. Runners have 24, 48, 72 hours or 6 days to cover as much distance as possible. Each runner is free to walk, stop, eat, and sleep whenever they wish, but the clock is always running!”
What does this mean? It’s basically you against the clock. You can sign up for minimum of 24 hours to a maximum of 6 days and log as many miles as you want or your body/mind will allow you.
I’ll be honest, I have very mixed feelings about this event. In 2014, my boyfriend and I volunteered during the midnight shift at New Year’s Eve and we had a blast! We decided to do it again this year and The Running University sponsored two volunteer shifts on New Year’s Eve so I received a free entry for filling those spots.
I was excited to have the opportunity to try this type of event out. The course is a 1.04 mile loop at Camelback Ranch and you basically go around the loop as many times as you want or your body/mind will allow you. I’ve done an event before that was looped but it was a 4 mile course so this was a first experience for me. Every 4 hours they change the direction so you go around the opposite way.
I can’t wait to get my official bib number. It’s yours for the lifetime of the event. Apparently once you get to 1,000 miles you get a jacket! not sure I’ll ever shoot for this goal!
I ran this mostly with my friend Heather and we decided that we were “just” going to follow our training plan for the weekend and our plan was to do a 50K (31.1 miles). I also had dinner plans that night so I was on a bit of time crunch. We started at 9am (the 24 hour clock is from 9am-9am). The first several loops felt great…actually most of it wasn’t bad at all..as a matter of fact at one point I was thinking, maybe I can do 48 hours next year and do my first 100 miles…break it up in four 25 miles segments over 48 hours…that sounds doable, right? Well…..by the time I was done, I was done with those loops. Heather and I spent most of the time chatting together and with other people on the course. At one point she needed to make a stop so I kept going knowing we find each other on that loop at some point. I started listening to one of my new favorite Running Deep playlists that I purchased awhile ago and had not had chance to get into (guided meditation for runners). It was perfect timing to be zoned out and zoned in at the same time. I was also hoping to PR my 50K time. Doesn’t really mean a whole lot as this type of event is much different than running a 50K on a trail with an actual elevation profile. But still, I was running a lot more than I would’ve on a trail so that had to count for something. I did set another PR and I found my results from my Tom Tom amusing. Mostly the elevation profile and the map of my run. 😉
It might be easiest to break this up to pros and cons (of course just my opinion!). Would love to hear comments from anyone who has done these events!
Pros:
Should’ve got a better picture but this is the main aid station…lots of goodies here!
Heather and I at the start line getting ready for the 9am start 😉
Had to get a selfie with the pretty “lake” behind us. There were some scenic spots on this loop!
Hanging with Ed The Jester. I found out today that he placed 1st with 451 miles completed in 6 days! Just google “ed the jester” and you’ll find out some amazing things about this guy!
Sharill! Her and her husband used to own Solemates which was a racing company that only did these type of timed events but shorter starting with 6 miles up to 24 hours.
Ron! I see this guy volunteering everywhere! And you can’t help but love that shirt!
Ila! Still waiting to hear on her finish as of right now. She is an inspiration and I blogged about her too: https://myownrunningstory.wordpress.com/2016/09/22/running-marathons-at-70/
We reached our goal of a 50K! 31.8 miles on my watch 😉
My strategy was to complete a 50K but my mantra is the same thing I have on the back of my The Running University shirts 😉
Cons
So, 4 days later, do I still want to do 100 miles in 48 hours next year?
Will I do the event again next year? Hell yes! My plan would be sign up for the same 24 hours with friends, hopefully convince some people to do their first marathon, and have a walking/running party and just have fun with it!
Have you ever done a timed event? What’s your experience? Would love to hear your opinion!
From My Running Story to Yours….
(if you feel inspired to share your comments, do so below…I want to hear your story too!)
….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!)
….and My Story Runs On….
On Saturday, I completed my hardest race to date…The choice words for the day were FUCKING BRUTAL (there are a few more swear words in this blog)…..it was also the most humbling race experience I had and one of the most gorgeous courses I’ve been on. It was Ultra Adventures’ Capitol Reef 50K. Now I get why they are called “Adventures”. You may remember that I did my first 50 miler with them at Antelope Canyon. This was the highest elevation I’ve ever ran in with the steepest uphills and downhills I’ve ever done in my life. Based on my standards, mostly an unrunnable course as you’ll read and see my pics below. Before I break this down, I found this photo online yesterday as I was googling “mental toughness” and dang it, it pretty much summarizes my event!
I was invited by a friend to do this race awhile back and I read some blogs and some info about it so I knew it was not going to be an easy one. Click here to see the map and elevation profile. Looked like a great opportunity to visit a new place I’ve never been to (one of the main reasons I love ultra/trail running is that it brings me to places I would not visit otherwise). I was ready for the day to finally be here as you may remember my last blog post on Burning Out.
Our road trip up to Capitol Reef included a quick stop at Monument Valley which I had never seen before. It was absolutely stunning and I am sure I’ll be doing that race at some point as well.
We went and grabbed our packets on Friday and had the honor of meeting Arnulfo Quimare, the famous Tarahumara Indian from the Born To Run book. I already had Caballo Blanco’s autograph in my book so I added his as well.
On race day, we arrived at the finish line where we would be bused up to the start line for this point to point race. This is the 2nd time that my friend/trail wife, Elaine and I ended up wearing the same shirt…which fit well with this race #RunSteepGetHigh. Matt Gunn, the race director, gave a briefing at the beginning and I tried not to worry about some of the words he was using like “bushwacking” and “boulder mountain”.
Run Steep Get High 😉
Obligatory selfie with Elaine and Lori (this was her idea in the first place)
Matt Gunn, race director giving the briefing.
The three of us agreed ahead of time that it was each woman for herself and if we ended up together that would be fine but we were “running” our own race. My goal was to finish and not got lost (this is their 2nd annual and blog reports from last year mentioned people getting lost. Matt does a great job in taking feedback from his post race surveys as the course was marked very well in my opinion. Actually looking for those pink flags helped keep me focus and made it “funner” by seeming like a bit of a scavenger hunt.) The 50K course had an 11 hour cutoff (my average has been a little over 8 hours) and Ultrasignup forecasted that I would end at 11:45 (not sure what their algorithms are based on) and I was determined to prove them wrong.
I knew the first 8 miles were going to be an uphill climb so my plan was to hike this entire part to save energy so I could “run” later. These pictures don’t do it justice. I will say that I could feel the elevation change but it didn’t effect as much as I thought (giving some credit to some exercises I’ve been working on from The Oxygen Advantage book).
The scenery was breathtaking and such a different experience from running in the desert which is my usual trail running play ground. The first half of the course was a combination of beautiful meadows (mainly single track but fairly runnable although you couldn’t see the terrain under the grass sometimes so you had to be careful for rocks); rocky trails; and boulders: 
Cow bones?? Dead trail runners??
more nonrunnable terrain…for me anyways!
Caught Arnulfo with some amazing running form in his sandals!
Seriously??
Channeling my Spiderman skills again..
Boulder Mountain…this seemed like at least a mile of this type of terrain.
Lori and I “ran” together up to about Mile 14. We were bumming a bit as we had done some good training and really just wanted to run. We would find a good runnable trail but then 50 feet later it became unrunnable again (although clearly runnable for the many other experienced runners that are used to this type of terrain). She got ahead of me and at this point I was comfortable being alone as I knew the course was marked well and I was not worried about getting lost.
More beautiful water scenery on this course with lakes and creeks…I used to be “afraid” of crossing creeks and we had several of those. When it worked out, I would use rocks or logs to cross but I got over that fear after some of our Black Canyon trail runs so when it didn’t work out, I would just walk right through them. The cold water felt good on my feet and I knew I wouldn’t get blisters as I’ve done this several times in my shoes before.
I finally got to the Donkey Reservoir Mile 19 Aid Station. A lady said that my friend Lori was about 2 minutes ahead of me but I was ready to take a little break here. There was a 4pm time cutoff at this aid station and I got there around 2:30pm so all was good at this point. I had been following my nutrition plan and was feeling great (outside of being bummed that I wasn’t running as much as I wanted to). The volunteers were great. I ate some quesadillas and had a little Coke (I only drink Coke on trail aid stations and it always hits the spot!). Got my water pack filled up and off I went. The next aid station was going to be 10 miles away so I was prepared for that…or so I thought…
I noticed the battery in my Tom Tom was close to dying. I wasn’t too worried about it at this point as I was comfortable finding the course markers. It died at about mile 21 and I was fine for a bit. This is when my mind started playing tricks on me. It was really hard to gauge how long it would take me to get to the next aid station. I wasn’t doing my normal pace for sure and it’s so hard to do math at this point on the trail. I started doing one of my favorite ChiRunning meditations on the 5 senses to keep me present and distracted. I focused on all my senses:
Eyes: I had to keep my eyes on the trail a lot since it was pretty technical but I loved to see the pretty flowers, the views, the pink markers that were guiding my way…
Ears: I could hear the birds chirping, the wind in the trees, the water flowing through creeks..my heart rate going up on the uphills (at points it sounded like it would jump out of my chest!)..at one point I played music on my Iphone via the speaker so I could still be part of nature..I kept it low but needed some more distraction to get through it…I could hear footsteps behind me once in awhile as runners were passing me (this messed with my head a bit too as 50 mile people who started an hour before me and had completed more mileage were actually running this course…I knew they had more experience running in this terrain but still!!…)…I could hear my breath as I was focusing on my cadence and breathing together..
Smell: I could smell cow patties but never saw any cows which was weird (I heard some too) and my favorite was going through a few patches of pink flowers (which could be easily mistaken as the pink course markers) and the smell of them was overwhelming yet soothing.
Touch: sometimes the wind would pick up and I could feel it on my skin…the sun on my skin…being brushed by the bushes on the side (wait for the bushwhacking part in a few)
Not much to do with Taste outside of the ginger candy I picked up at the last aid station.
Even though this worked for periods of time, the non runnable parts seemed to never end…and the steep uphills and downhills continued…THEN we got into the bushwhacking part Matt had mentioned in the briefing…
Can you see the pink marker in the top left hand side of the photo? You can barely see the trail but we were literally going through shrubs..so hard to see the ground and run this part too..
Do you see the pink marker in the top left hand side of the photo again? Yes, I crawled over logs and this was not the only place..
I kept wandering when the heck I would get to the aid station at Mile 29. There were several times that I could feel a lump in my throat and I just wanted to cry. Mentally I can usually get through races by working on the meditation above or just enjoying nature and knowing that I am doing what I love to do most: run around in nature….but by this point, I was so freaking ready for it to be over…a few times I just wanted to sit down and have a helicopter come and get me..I’m not a religious person but I prayed to God, Jesus, and Mother Mary several times..and then there was Rikki (bottom line, my friend Lori M bought these for our adventure..there is more to that story but I’ll save that for another blog post)
A few times (and yes, I realized I was talking out loud) I said “I just want my Mommy”..or I would think about my boyfriend and how bad I just wanted to be in his arms…I’ve never felt like I wanted something to be over so bad before…Every time I turned a corner, I kept hoping for that dang aid station…I had to be close….
Finally I reached it….it was 6pm and I had been on my feet for 10 hours. The volunteer said that there was only 3.8 more miles to go…yeah! but were they runnable miles? He said yes but again, I couldn’t rely on his idea of runnable as clearly my definition is a bit different. I had Coke and M+Ms and took off. If it were truly runnable, no matter how tired I was, I could do this! I know I can run 4 miles in an hour! And thankfully it was mostly runnable! Heck, all of the sudden there was sand and I was so happy to run in it!
These were some of the views from the last part of the race:
Since my Tom Tom died, I was using my phone for time…I kept pulling it out to check and see how I was doing..I am sure if I had the info, my last 4 miles were the fastest in this race…I still had to walk a few times and at this point, my goal was to finish within the 11 hour cutoff…that’s all I kept thinking about…I finally saw the road that we would be crossing before the finish line..my phone time was 7pm so I’m thinking it’s too late…I wasn’t going to have the same epic finish as my 50 miler…but I kept running as fast as my legs could take me as I was SOOOOOO ready for this to be done! I couldn’t wait to see my friends at the end…I finally see the finish line and the clock…the clock is at 10:59:55 and I’m running as fast as I could…the seconds were counting down…I crossed the finish line at 11:00:01 (unofficial time)…and then there I was standing there, finally done with this darn race and no one was there to greet me! Where the heck were my friends? Lori M came up right after and was so bummed she missed my finish..apparently Lori C had told them I was about an hour behind her so they figured they had time (it was a long day for all of us so I think we were all confused by this point!)…..it didn’t matter…I WAS FINALLY DONE WITH IT!
I realize this is a long blog post but here are my Thorns, Roses and Learning Lessons (in addition to what was already mentioned)
Thorns:
Roses:
Learning lessons:
Would I ever do this one again? HELL NO! As a matter of fact, if someone told me I had to redo the Antelope Canyon 50 miler in sand or Capitol Reef 50K, hands down I would be doing Antelope! But this race had a huge impact on my character..sounds cheesy but I’ve been feeling like my soul was shaken up a bit …I know that during those 11 hours, my mind/body/spirit grew a little bit more…isn’t that why we do these things? To reach out of our comfort zone and stretch ourselves? To see how far we can push our body, mind and spirit and conquer things we never thought possible?
I absolutely love the Grand Circle Trail series. Matt and his crew do an amazing job. My goal is to do all of them at some point since they are all strategically placed in amazing locations…who knows which one will be next?
I tweaked this quote: “A mind, body and spirit that are stretched by new experiences, can never go back to their old dimensions.”
Finishers! 3 of us did the 50K and the other 2 did the half marathon (which was brutal too!)
seriously gorgeous views!
Yes! Not only did I inspire myself but love to hear that I can inspire other people to do epic shit 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!)
….and My Story Runs On….
WOW…I am really slow at blogging! My goal is to write 50 blog posts about my first 50 miler and I’m only on #9!
Getting ready for a 50 miler is no joke. If you want to train properly, you have to invest the time into training. I used the Ultraladies training plan which was easy to follow.
The hardest part about training for me is getting the long weekend runs. Ultra running training is about doing long back to back runs on the weekend so your body and mind know what it’s like to run on tired legs. Even though we have plenty of long trails, the hard part about training runs is that you either need to have all your food/drink with you for those 20+ miles (downside is that you have to carry more stuff), or you need to do loops and keep your refueling in the car (downside it that it’s easy to stop after a loop when you are back to your car) or you can run races as training runs!
This is where Aravaipa Running comes in the pictures. The 2 major trail running companies here are Aravaipa and XTERRA (more on them in another blog post).
I love running races because you get a shirt, a pint glass, a nice trail and aid stations so it’s probably my favorite way to get a training run in. In can get expensive but the great thing is that they offer volunteer opportunities so you can get race credits. It’s a great way to give back to the community and then pay for upcoming races! The other thing is that depending on how I am feeling on that day, I might choose to push myself a bit harder since I’m in a “race” atmosphere.
I did my first 50K with Aravaipa and two others (Elephant Mountain (1st), Frenzy (2nd) and Crown King (3rd) ). McDowell Mountain Frenzy was a training run for my 50 mile race. So was the Coldwater Rumble (20 miles). One of the advantages of doing their races is that you have plenty of time to finish them. They usually have at least a 50K or 50 miler or 100 miler so as long as you finish within that time, you have no problem. Just always check to see what the course cut off is and you are good to go.
I love my pint glass selection and a few are missing..probably the only thing I would like to be different as you can really only fit so many of these in your cupboard 😉
As I write this post, they also have a night trail running series (Insomniac Series) during the summer which are a blast! I remember when I thought trail running was crazy, let alone running at night time on a trail. But that is now my favorite type of running! I just finished the Adrenaline 26K last weekend (haven’t blogged as I didn’t have time but this is my mini paragraph about it right now.). This is my favorite! First of all, McDowell mountains have some of my favorite trails. I also ran this race a few years ago (it was my first night trail run!) and I was hoping to beat my time…which I did! It was another epic race for me as I shaved 21 minutes off my time from 2014! Click here for some pics of that run 😉 (I’m training for my 4th 50K in Capitol Reef on 7/9/2016) I’m at 22 seconds in this video they made!
I considered doing an Aravaipa race as my first 50 miler because I love supporting local businesses, especially those that support the running community so well. The main reason I didn’t is because I wanted to see a new place so that’s why I chose Antelope Canyon (and Elaine practically twisted my arm 😉 and it was over my 45th birthday weekend )
Aravaipa Running also offer a variety of group runs weekly rotating around the Phoenix area. They are a blast with a lot of fun people! Check them out!
From My Running Story to Yours….
(if you feel inspired to share your comments, do so below…I want to hear your story too!)
….and My Story Runs On….
“Come on, you’re already trained” she said. These words coming from my friend Suzi who years ago swore she would never trail run yet ran me in my last mile of my 1st 50K, just did her first ultra in February (Black Canyon 60K) and now decided to do her 2nd one. My boyfriend Greg kidded around and said, “Serves you right. Now you know what it feels like when you’re trying to get people to drink the Kool Aid.” Soooooo….I signed up for Aravaipa’s Crown King Scramble 50K.
This race is no joke…The Crown King Scramble is a point to point uphill 50 kilometer foot race which starts at 1700 feet elevation and tops out at mile 28.7 at 6520 feet elevation before a final 600 foot descent into the finish. This is the elevation profile:
Elevation profile!
We had an option for the early start at 5am and I’m glad we took it. Not only did it get us out of the heat for the one hour but more importantly, it took the edge off for getting to the first cutoff (disqualification point) at mile 15.3 in 3.5 hours. (After the cutoff experience at Antelope Canyon, I knew I didn’t want that extra stress again.)
I considered going for a personal record (my best time for a 50k is 8:19 but I knew this race may not be the right one). And of course, I was “lucky” again and had the same issue as my last 50K (yes, it was that time of the month again!). I decided I was just going to enjoy the race and our beautiful Arizona landscape. One of the things I love most about trail running is being outdoors and enjoying nature.
We barely got there in time and got in the start line about 2 minutes before starting. This was the first ultra for Deb and Kerri, Suzi and Krista’s 2nd, and my 4th. Unfortunately Elaine had the flu and wasn’t able to join us (she’s done two 50 milers but hadn’t done a 50K yet).
I normally like to do my body looseners but didn’t have time for that. My plan was to run the first 15 miles as much as possible as I knew I would be hiking a lot of the 2nd half. The weather was perfect. It was still dark so we had headlamps but we got to see an amazing sunrise! I love that I know quite a few people that are trail/ultra runners. I ran into several friends along the way and got to catch up with them a bit. I met Deborah and Mark a long time ago when I co-taught a ChiRunning workshop for the Mountain Milers group in Prescott. As much as I wanted to run this part, I was in no rush and wanted to conserve energy for later. This first half had some rolly polly hills but nothing crazy yet. The night before, I had reviewed a few of my ChiSchool videos on breathing and steep hills so I started focusing on my form and matching my breathing with my footsteps.
From miles 15-19 we started getting the harder hills. I was by myself on and off and totally OK with that. I love to run with people just as much as I love being alone on a trail. I saw Chris, Amanda and Mechaela. I couldn’t wait to get to the Mile 19 aid station as I know several of my friends were volunteering there. It’s always great to see your friends at aid stations (it’s always a hard choice to pick in between running a race and volunteering at one!). I normally stick to my nutrition plan (thanks to Brooke who helped with my 50 miler!) but the theme of their aid station was Fiesta and they had some Tecate so I had to have a small shot glass of beer ;). Surprise: Baby G Growler was there as well! He is the mascot of Running for Brews Tempe (a social running club that I’m in charge of) Right before this I saw my friend Krista and she wasn’t feeling too well. We got up the aid station and I told her to cool off (it was getting warm) and get some food down. There is also an elevation change to consider for this race and it’s easy to feel nauseated (I felt it several times). She felt better and we moved on. My TomTom died at some point because the storage was full. This never happened for me and was a good learning lesson.I hadn’t downloaded quite a few of my training runs apparently so it didn’t have enough storage for my run. I was a bit annoyed at first but it was a blessing in disguise. When you don’t know what mile you are at, it’s quite liberating. We just kept setting our next goal to get to the next aid station.
Cooling off and getting food at the aid station with Krista
Beer shot with a random stranger names Patrick at the aid station
My good friend Lori at the aid station volunteering 😉
I ran into a few more friends. Marina and Jamie were doing their first ultra. Marina’s been having some calf issues so I gave her a few tips on how to limit using it. I also met Becki and ran into Lynsey (both of their first ultras too!). We did quite a bit of leap frogging for the remainder of the race. At some point, I tripped over a rock and had a little tumble. Not a big deal…it’s actually been a long time since I fell trail running so I was due for a fall. I normally am able to catch my balance before falling but my hydration pack was full and I couldn’t counter balance the fall. I barely got a few scrapes on my hand and we kept moving. I heard my friend Tommy coming up behind us and he’s a great runner and positive guy. He ran with us for a bit, shared his big smile and positive energy and then moved on.
Selfie with Tommy and Krista
The Fort Misery Aid station was at mile 22.3. Apparently they win Best Aid Station contest every year and it was evident by the amount of alcohol they had available. Again, not something I would normally do but I was feeling good so I had a small Bloody Mary and was proud of myself for resisting the Fireball shot.
Open Bar coming up!
Why not have a Blood Mary?
This was the hardest part of the run. You can see how far we climbed. We passed creeks which were great for dunking our hats and buffs. I walked through them purposely as the cold water felt really good on my feet. I had an extra pair of socks for back up but never used them. We also had to deal with ATVs and cars four wheel driving. We knew this would be possible as they can’t close the forest road down. It was a bit annoying although most people were very nice.The smell of diesel from their vehicles was worst than the dust they were creating.
Creeks! We were looking forward to these!
We came a long way up that hill!
It’s really weird because sometimes you look back and think, wow, what was I thinking/saying for all that time? Somehow the time goes by chatting with friends and enjoying the scenery. I have lived in AZ for over half of my life and have never seen this part of our state.
One of my favorite parts was when we started getting into the pines. The tag line for the race is “spines to pines” because we leave the desert landscape at Lake Pleasant and get to Crown King which is at 6700 feet of elevation. I love the smell of pine trees and hearing the wind blow through the needles. The slight breeze felt good too. The last aid station was 2 miles away from the top of the hill and we knew we had 2 miles of downhill after that. We were close! We kidded around about our heavy legs and whether they would remember how to run downhill (free energy!) after doing so much hiking.
Running downhill was no problem and before we knew it, we were in “town” and people were directing us to the finish line.
My official time was 8:45:22. Considering I had no expectations for this race other than enjoy it and finish it, I’m happy with it! As a matter of fact, this is a 50K I would consider doing again. I love a challenge and I love hills. If I do it next year, I may try and PR the course but for now, I’m just happy to have my 4th Ultra under my belt. I will say finishing a 50 miler 6 weeks prior to this definitely boosted my confidence. I also love to finish a race feeling strong rather than feeling like a truck ran over me. I finished strong and even though I was a bit sore the next day, I felt great!
I personally would recommend this race. It’s no joke so make sure to train for the hills and elevation (physically, nutritionally and mentally). Read other blog posts to get the scoop but make sure to have a buff to cover your mouth and nose when there is dust being kicked up. If you are worried about time, do the early start. It was well worth not worrying about the cutoffs and having an hour in the cooler weather.
I would also recommend spending the night. We stayed at one of these cabins (highly recommend them!) and enjoyed Crown King. We had dinner at the Saloon and breakfast at Prospector Mall (both were yummy). And last but not least, you cannot leave Crown King without visiting the Cleator Bar and Yacht Club on the way back to I-17.
Not only was this another great race, but another great weekend with good friends! Love my running friends and the fact that I have more of them getting into trail running but more importantly into ultra running! Thanks to Aravaipa Running for putting on another amazing event!
At the Cleator Bar and Yacht club and “ran” into Jamil, the Aravaipa Running Race Director
Hanging with my friends and the Cleator Bar and Yacht Club 😉
Mascots! Baby G Growler and Baby E-vil from Running for Brews and Vaip Daddi from Araviapa Running chilling at Cleator Bar and Yacht Club 😉
Sunrise!
My first finisher jacket! Well deserved I might add!
From My Running Story to Yours….
(if you feel inspired to share your comments, do so below…I want to hear your story too!)
….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
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:
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 and I… nice and fresh at the beginning of the race!
Last hill to get to the finish line..really?!
Post Race with my friends!
Grabbed and beer and ran through the finish line! I love how happy I am here! I did it!
I did it!
Other AHA moments:
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!
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!)