Tag Archives: ChiRunning

Race Report

Race Report: Xterra White Tanks: Did I PR?

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

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

This is one of my favorites for a few reasons:

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

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

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

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

Pics don’t do the views justice!

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

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

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

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

Some specific things I focused on from a technique perspective:

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

Some specific things I focused on from a mental perspective:

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

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

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

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

Race Report

Race Report: Xterra White Tanks: Did I PR?

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

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

This is one of my favorites for a few reasons:

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

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

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

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

Pics don’t do the views justice!

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

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

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

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

Some specific things I focused on from a technique perspective:

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

Some specific things I focused on from a mental perspective:

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

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

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

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

Race Report

Race Report: Across The Years-Miles are Miles!

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

Yesterday I had the opportunity to run in the 24-hr Across The Years race. This is my 2nd year in a row and I get a free entry by filing up a 24 hour shift of volunteers from 12/31-1/1.

Before I started, I read the race report I did last year.

I was pretty excited as I knew what I was getting into.  One of the days I will use the full 24 hours but my goal was to stick to my training plan and get my 40 miles in. This would be 2nd longest distance to date with the 50 miler being my first.

As a quick reminder, this is a 1-mile course and you go around it as many times as you can for the amount of time that you have. Basically it’s truly your race to do whatever you want.  There are people our there setting aggressive mileage goals and trying to break records but bottom line, you do what you want. You can take as many breaks as you want, I know people that leave and come back….and the longest event here is 6 days!  Not sure how people do that but there are plenty that do! Some people seek these types of races out specifically.

How I passed the time:

I’m always working on my ChiRunning technique so focused on that of course. 40 miles went by talking to old friends and new friends, listening to a few podcasts and some music.  Was over before I knew it!  There were times that it did get harder but overall I stayed focused on my goal.

What I like about this event:

  • Such a fun social event if you are not on a mission with aggressive goals. I can’t tell you the amount of friends I saw that were either doing the event, volunteering or just hanging out to cheer their friends on.
  • No pressure!  (unless it’s self imposed!)  I knew I had plenty of time to reach my goal of 40 miles and I was in no rush. I ran, I walked, I stopped and talked to friends and just kept moving.  No need to prepare a ton because there is an aid station on the course (remember it’s a mile course…people have been know to gain weight because it’s too easy to stop every mile) and a water station at the other end. No need for hydration pack or anything because it’s all there.  I think this a perfect event for anyone wanting to do a longer distance (marathon and above) and is worried about cutoffs or getting lost on a trail.  You have plenty of time and pretty impossible to get lost on a mile course 😉

What I don’t like:

  • The course is pretty but it’s a bit monotonous. I much rather be on a trail. They do change the direction every 4 hours so it’s look a bit different.  I am actually considering Aravaipa’s Silverton event in 2018.  The website is not updated yet but it’s the same concept: 1 mile course but you are on a trail in Silverton CO with 250ft of gain every mile.  Dates are changing to 7/6-7/12 2018.  So a bit more challenging but I am sure it’s gorgeous!  This may even end up being a Group Training program I am considering to offer.
  • People attend this event to get mileage but are not necessarily trained for that mileage. I’m all for pushing your body and mind to the limit but I’ve seen people take this to a level that can be dangerous as far as injuries go.  As much as I wanted to do more miles because I had the time, I stuck to my training plan and didn’t want to push it.

Biggest takeaway:

It doesn’t matter if you run a 50K or 50 miler on trail or this event.  Miles are miles!  It’s so easy to “downplay” the mileage at this event.  Maybe because trails are “harder” or because it’s a one mile course but it doesn’t matter!!  This is a whole different kind of hard!   I’m planning on getting more people to check this out (and/or Silverton!)

Some highlights from my run yesterday:

Thank you to everyone who has been donating to my Girls On The Run fundraiser for my first 100K!  Means so much to me!  I almost doubled where I was in the last few days!

I did 4 short Facebook Lives from the event and you can see them here:

Right before the start and already hanging with some friends!

More friends! Tommy is one of the most positive people I know in our running community!

More friends!

Minion on the course!

Minion and Pikachu on the course!

Cheryl Miller from Miller Coaching out on the course with this awesome shirt!

My friend Lori at this point had surpassed her longest run ever which was a marathon!

Motivation!

New friend! Frederick Davis III He will be 70 on January 2nd and does many of these timed events. He was telling me about 15 day events and he recently completed one in South Africa: 1,000 km (620 miles) in 15 days!

Friends know my Fireball history 😉 There was a Fireball station that I had been eyeing out before the race even started but waited until mile 38 to make sure I would complete my goal. Freddy joined me and told me he usually does a shot for breakfast on these events. Love this guy!

Every time you go through the start/finish line you can see where you are. Here is my last lap!

Just a few steps 😉

Lori completes her first 50K

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

McDowell Mountain Frenzy 50K Race Report: Success Redefined

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….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!)

Race Report

Race Report: Inaugural Revel Mt. Lemmon Marathon

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

I have learned that I have to write these within a few days of the event or I lose the event mojo 😉  Like my normal race reports, I’ll break this down into a few sections so you can skip through the parts you need to know about depending on why you are reading this. Continue Reading →


Race Report

Monument Valley 50K: Race Report

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….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 →


Race Report

Black Canyon Race Report: 2017 Mud Run

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

Where to even begin? One of the recent facebook posts about this event was something like “people will be talking about the 2017 Black Canyon Ultras for years to come.”  And the memories will probably not be pleasant for most of us.

First of all, I want to give a huge congratulations to everyone who participated. Whether you finished, dropped from the 100K to the 60K, or DNF’d (Did Not Finish).  The weather conditions were ridiculous and just being out there was an amazing feat!  Also a huge thank you to all the volunteers and Aravaipa staff who were out there taking care of all the runners!

This was supposed to be my first 100K race. I blogged last week about some of the changes that happened to the race course due to the upcoming weather conditions.  I was pretty bummed that everything was not going as planned with the weather but I finally got over it….

4:30 am: Alarm was set to go off but I woke up about an hour earlier and couldn’t fall back asleep.  I checked weather.com one more time hoping that a miracle might happen and the rain would not be in the forecast.  No such luck. (I had weather.com up on my computer all week and had been checking it at least 5x a day!)

6:20am: I arrived, picked up my packet, chit chatted with some friends and waited impatiently to just “get this party started!” (I say this almost every morning when I start my day).

bcaltra

Before race start. Had to go visit the Altra booth. Love my Altra shoes!

bcstart

Quick selfie before race start…it was raining at the start..see below for note on yellow colored glasses 😉

7:00am: We are off! I always stay towards the end as I’m never in a hurry, especially with that many miles to go.  We did one loop around the high school track, ran through part of the town of Mayer and on the road to get us to the trail.  And here is where the “fun” began…

bcshoesinmud

Jeep road portions of the trail were a muddy mess!

bcmud

This is what were dealing with on the jeep road portions of the race…Photo credit: Jennifer Berry

It might’ve been at mile 2 or 3 or so that we encountered this and my first thought was doing this again on the way back at mile 60 in the middle of the night with my pacer. Yikes!

Then we hit the Black Canyon trail (I really do love this trail). It was better on the single track and things were starting to look just a little brighter!  On a side note, I highly recommend wearing yellow colored lenses in this type of weather (I have them in the start photo above).  Knowing there would be wind, and it would be too dark for sunglasses, I brought them and was so happy I did.  All of the sudden I was seeing the world through yellow colored glasses and it was so much brighter! Every once in awhile I would remove them from my face and then the world was all dreary again (literally and figuratively). Highly recommend them for running when it’s not sunny out.

I had created a race day strategy with my crew/pacers.  My plan was to skip the first aid station (although had to stop to give a quick hug to my friend Dan Pena who was volunteering).  The rain had stopped and the trail was getting better.  The downhill portions were a blast to run down and there was no mud on this part of the trail. Hallelujah! I was having a blast and happy that things seem to be going better than I expected with the weather…..until….

I’m almost at the 3rd aid station and was tracking exactly as I planned. I see my friend Senovia, who was also doing the 100K and she was heading back towards the start. I asked her if she was injured and she told me that the at the next aid station, they were recommending that the 100K people turn around (which is where the 60K turn around was) due to upcoming bad weather. Whhhhaaaat??  Although you could see black clouds all around the area, the weather seemed to have backed off.  I had about a half a mile to get there and now was trying to figure out what do with this information. So many thoughts started rushing through my head…”I am not a quitter”, “I trained months for this race”, “this was supposed to be my first 100K”, etc, etc…

I arrive to the aid station and check in.  Sure enough, they said that the race directors were recommending that 100K people turn around as the storm would be getting worse after 4pm.  They also said they would allow us to drop down so we could get credit for the 60K.  Dang it! I was feeling really good at this point (mile 20) and was not ready to make this split second decision!  I called my very supportive boyfriend first...poor guy, why I am calling him and adding this pressure on him? He doesn’t know what to say other than “I’ll support you in whatever you decide.”  I know several of my friends decided to keep going and I kept thinking, if they can do it, so can I….something in my gut was not feeling right though…I called my pacer/friend/trail wife Elaine because she is my rock when it comes to this stuff. She’s a great athlete, mentor, friend and I knew she would give me objective advice.  Sure enough, she knew all the right questions to ask me.  Within a few minutes, I knew what I had to do. This was one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make in that short of time.  Elaine gave me my sanity check and I know I needed to respond logically to this situation rather than react emotionally.  As much as I really wanted to do the race I had trained for, I needed to trust the race directors advice.  I also had to take into consideration that there was a chance that my pacers could not get to me for the last 20ish miles due to the weather conditions.  I could be on that trail, in cold, wet, dark, muddy conditions all alone. One of the things she said to me was:  “you can have a good 60K race or a bad 100K”.  All of the sudden, everything was in perspective and I knew that I had to make the decision for my safety more than anything.  Do I think I could’ve finished the 100K? At that point I believed I could but after being in the horrible weather after 4pm, I believe I would’ve DNFd this race had I continued on.  So I did a quick facebook live video on my business page, told them I was choosing to drop to the 60K and back to Mayer High School I went.

One other important thing I took into consideration is that even though this was MY race (not coaching anyone else for it but me), as a running coach, I am setting an example for others.  My client and friend, Sharon, said it best in a text I received while still at the aid station “I know it must’ve been hard for you, but your decision gives other permission to make good decisions.” This really stuck with me and helped me feel better about the decision.

I ran into a few of my friends doing the 60K on the way back and shared the news. It was so weird because the weather seemed to be cooperating…as a matter of fact there were a few moments where a few sun rays came out. But you could clearly see the black clouds surrounding us. I was second guessing and feeling disappointed in myself. Did I make the right decision? I knew I had to let those thoughts go as I couldn’t go back now. So I got refocused and reminded myself that a 60K is still an amazing distance!  and this was still my 2nd longest distance ever…and it was my first 60K (I still have to keep reminding myself of these things as my ego can’t help but get in the way).

I knew I would be power hiking quite a bit as now we are going up all those hills. I met a new friend, Pancho, from AK at about mile 28 or so.  We ended up staying together the rest of the way to keep ourselves motivated. We also ran into Lara who was from Canada and leap frogged with her a bit.  As if the uphills weren’t bad enough, the weather took the turn they were expecting it to.  It started raining harder (almost felt like hail at one point), the wind started blowing and it started getting colder. I am glad I switched my shirt out and the second to the last aid station as it helped keep me warm, although I was freezing a few miles after that.  We know what was coming…we had to get back through all that mud on the jeep road portion of the race.  Pancho helped me find the best paths to take on the mud so it wouldn’t be so bad.  At one point I realized that running where the water had pooled, was the easiest place as the mud had been compacted down. Unfortunately I couldn’t feel my feet already because they were so cold.  It was either struggle through the mud slower or get through this faster by running in the cold water puddles.

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More mud…(photo credit Jennifer Berry)

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And more mud…photo credit Melissa Ruse from Sweet M Images http://www.sweetmimages.com/

The last 5 miles were just ridiculously brutal between the rain, cold and mud. I was so ready for it be over at this point.  I don’t like road running but I remember telling Pancho I couldn’t wait to get to the road.  I kept thinking about how awful it would’ve been to be doing this segment after 20 more miles and way later at night with worse weather and reassured myself that dropping to the 60K was the right decision.  We finally got to the road and knew we only had a few more miles to go…felt like forever!  We turned at the high school and all of the sudden I could hear my name being yelled out. I could barely see and realized, there was my crew: Elaine, Lori and my honey!  So happy to see them and know that we were finally done with this! Best cheering section ever!

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Elaine & Greg hanging while waiting for us!

We crossed the finish line, high fived each other and I needed to get warmed up.  I was so cold that my teeth were chattering. So grateful that Mayer High school opened up their gym to us so we were able to get into the locker rooms. My clothes were soaked and stuck on me already but I barely recall getting into the hot shower with Lori and Elaine helping take my cold, wet clothes off while I heated up my body…warm broth and hot chocolate helped too! My first  thing when I cross most finish lines is having a beer..but I was too cold for one!

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This was a blur of a moment!

We waited for our other friends to come to repeat the hot shower process for everyone.  Everyone was hanging in the warm cafeteria.  Mayer Fire Department and the race EMTs were working like crazy…so many people with hypothermia.

Post race reflections

  • Outside of the crazy weather, I was ready for this race and have no doubts I would’ve finished it.  I have no regrets about making the decision to drop to the 60K as I don’t know I would’ve been able to finish it under the circumstances. And yes, I’m human so of course I’m disappointed that I didn’t do the 100K…after all the training and anticipation up to that day, it’s a bummer that I couldn’t get my first buckle.  However it was the right decision for me and I’m glad that I did.
  • Not going to lie, I am disappointed.  Three days have past and it feels very weird…like it’s all behind me and it’s over. I remember the amazing high I had after my first 50K and 50 miler for days!  Even though this was my first 60K, I don’t have the same feelings.  I had such high expectations for this race and the day didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to.  Was this race an amazing character builder?  Hell, yes!  Do I run to build character? Sure, one of the reasons I love ultra running is because it allows me to push a little bit further out of my comfort zone. This race made me a stronger runner and person for sure….but the reason I love ultra and trail running is because I love being out in nature for hours, taking pictures and soaking in the beautiful weather (this is why I live in AZ for crying out loud! 😉 ).  This race did not provide most of this for me this time. I could hardly take pictures because my phone was wrapped up so it wouldn’t get wet. I will admit the desert was still beautiful but once the weather turned, I was ready to be done.
  • Always thankful for Brooke, my nutritionist from Fuel To The Finish, because I never have issues and always feel great all day!
  • So grateful for ChiRunning and all that it has taught me. From a technique perspective, I stayed focused on what my body was doing and how I could move my body to meet what nature and elements were presenting to me moment by moment. Not surprised that very different body parts were sore the next day.  Hip flexors and ankles from peeling my shoes out of the mud and wiggling around trying not to fall in the slippery mud.  My neck was sorer than normal because I normally keep my head neutral on my body so my eyes are looking at the horizon and the trail. Due to the amount of mud, I had to keep my gaze down to my shoes which added pressure on my neck and upper back muscles.  My core is always sore which is great because I know I’m using it!

Sooooo no buckle for me this time.  People have asked me: what now?  I am trained for a 100K so why not find one and do it?  Well, I have the Monument Valley 50K on 3/25 and on the following weekend, Crown King 50K (I am one of the coaches for this race via Aravaipa’s Women’s Ultra Training Program and can’t wait to see them cross the finish line!  For several of them, it will be their first one!).  I have not made any decisions at this point but my gut feeling is that I’ll want to take revenge on this course next year. It’s around my birthday and I love this trail.

I’ll leave you with this quote…never knew this about the lotus flower!

“Whenever you should doubt your self-worth, remember the lotus flower. Even though it plunges to life from beneath the mud, it does not allow the dirt that surrounds it to affect its growth or beauty.” Suzy Kassem

lotus

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Pancho, Lara and I after finally warming up after our finish.

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Only took one photo of the views…just love this course..better with sunshine though! 😉

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Thanks to AZ Traileggers Aid station where I stopped for awhile on my way out and back! Great motivational signs!

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More good signs!

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

Cloudy with a Chance of Mudballs

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

Well, I was planning on writing a blog about my week of tapering before my 100K in 2 days…..but since there has been a major change in the weather forecast, and I hate running in the rain, I decided to share the learning lessons I’ve already had in the last few days about this situation. Continue Reading →


50 Miles of Gratitude: (12) Training & XTERRA Events

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

Yesterday, I did the XTERRA White Tank 20K “race”. I put race in parenthesis as you know I normally use races as training runs for my bigger races (first 100K in 6 weeks!). I already blogged about Aravaipa races awhile back.

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

“For those who prefer a course with pain and punishment, the long course is 20k of grueling single track with over 1500 feet of climbing. Starting from the group campground, runners wind their way up Ironwood to the Waddell trail. Once you reach the first aid station be prepared to go up, the next three miles are all climbing….”  You can see my Tom Tom results here.

Cheryl Miller from Miller Endurance Coaching is one of their sponsors and she hosted a preview run a few weeks ago that I was able to attend. I actually did this race back in 2012 when I was training for my first marathon but I can’t find my results anywhere. At any rate, I knew what I was getting myself into…

Which is why I wanted to do it!  Hills are part of most trail races and I love to train on them to keep improving my ChiRunning technique.  White Tanks are also a great change of scenery for me so I was excited to do this one.

First I want to thank XTERRA because a portion of their race proceeds go to my favorite local charity Girls On The Run Maricopa County (GOTR-I’m currently on their board of directors serving as Secretary). If I’m not racing their events, I’m volunteering because I really appreciate their support!

Now on to my learning lessons from this race!

The more running story develops year after year, I have found that I prefer to preview runs if I have a chance. This gives me a chance to get familiar with the course and know what to expect vs the element of surprise that I used to like more before. Even though I did part of the course backwards on the preview run, I knew what I was getting into!

Even though this was a “training” run, I wanted to race it…my version of racing it 😉 My race strategy was:

  • Bring my hydration pack so I wouldn’t need to stop at any of the aid stations.
  • Power hike the uphills and run as much of the runnable part as possible
  • Focus/improve upon on my ChiRunning hill technique (runnable/non runnable hills, uphill and downhill. I just taught a ChiHills class yesterday so it was all fresh)
  • Continue to get more out of my comfort zone on rockier trails and improve my technique there
  • Get myself mentally psyched up and excited for this race no matter what (this has become a regular strategy for me. Why got all worked up and nervous?  I start thinking about the friends I will see, that I’m getting to spend a “few” hours in nature, getting some ME time, burning some calories, etc.  Literally think of as many positive things as I can to get pumped up for the race to get positive energy flowing)
  • Last but not least, as much as I don’t like always setting time goals for races, since I did the preview run in 3:17 and I wasn’t as racing, I was shooting for a 3 hour finish.

It was a beautiful day! I got there in plenty of time to pick up my packet and run into many friends including GOTR volunteers/board members.

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Holly is our Vice President and was racing as well!

I started running right away knowing that the grueling part would be around Mile 2. I had to stop momentarily at the first aid station to get this selfie with Bob and Cindy Hansen who are huge supporters of GOTR and I love seeing their smiling faces!

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Bob & Cindy Hansen, GOTR volunteer superstars! Love the rays of sun shining on us!

Then it was all uphill so I started power hiking and using my arms, core and obliques more (which are all sorer than my legs are today!) I knew I was at the back of the pack already but OK with that. Every time there was a wee bit of level terrain or not too many rocks, I ran a bit…however if I know I can power hike it faster and use less energy, that is my strategy. (one of the many things I love about trail running as it’s more “acceptable” to walk due to the hills.) I had several more friends at aid stations that called my name out as I ran by which is always motivating!

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We are pretty high up there! Pictures don’t do it justice for sure!

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If you look closely, you can see the trail on the other mountain going down hill…

It was finally time to come downhill!  Was cruising in several locations but the trail was rocky so this slowed me down more than I wanted.  I was really trying to focus on relaxing as much as possible as I know any tension mentally or physically slows me down (which is why I get pumped up before a race too…to keep from having mental stress!). I almost tripped a few times but never fell.

I hate looking at my watch to reach a time goal (again more mental tension) but at this point I could tell that I was close to my time goal. I had conserved my energy so I knew the last 2 miles should be pretty easy. I didn’t realize mile 11 was a wee bit of an uphill and I started walking a bit.  I knew I was cutting it close on the time goal so I decided to put my playlist on speaker just to change up my energy and get some motivation.  Funniest thing was that I turned it off in less than 2 minutes!  The music was too distracting. I was in a really good zone (had been for the entire race between my ChiRunning/ChiWalking form focusing, being present and truly enjoying the beauty of the trail.) On a side note, I find it interesting that as my running story continues to develop, I used to only be a social runner. I couldn’t run unless I had company and someone to talk to.  Now, my solo runs hold a special place. I can’t describe it but there is something to be said about being alone with yourself for hours in nature, running on a trail.  Time flies by somehow…Mile 11 was my hardest mile of the entire race and I started thinking I wanted it to be over with.  With 1.5 miles to go, I got it together and started really focusing more on my form and breathing. Before I knew it, I could see the finish line and was getting excited. I was at 2:52 and knew I would make it on time if I kept my pace…..and I did! My official time was a 2:57:37! (and my fastest mile was my last one!)

I felt amazing and was so dang proud of myself when I finished!….

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Thanks to my friend Diane for taking this awesome photo of me finishing! It truly describes how I felt!

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The GOTR Executive Team..2 of us running and 2 volunteering!

…..Until I started comparing myself to other runner friends….that is another blog post…for now, you can watch my 5 minute facebook live video from yesterday here.

All in all, this was one of my best races from strategy to how amazing I felt at the end.

Do you use races as training runs? Share your comments below!

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My badass friend Diane who is an Ironman and did her first 8K trail race!

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Selfie with Terry who is an amazing athlete who will be 60 this year and placed first in her age group and 13th woman overall!

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You know it’s going to be a great day with this sunrise!

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

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

Race Report

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

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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...

Hills…

More 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 ;)

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!

3rd aid station with more friends!

Terry and Raul at the 2nd aid station!

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!

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!)