Can You Still Call Yourself a Runner, If You Walk During Your Runs??
By the end of this video, you’ll be totally fine walking during your runs AND still fine calling yourself a runner!
Walking Has a Bad Reputation… and I’m Here to Change That!
Are you considered ‘a real runner’ if you walk during your runs? For some reason, walking has a bad reputation for those who want to be ‘runners’. I’ve known people who actually stop their Garmin watches when they take walk breaks. I’ve also known people who say they label people who walk, ‘not real runners.’ But, you know what??? Excuse my french, but that’s bull%&*!!
First of all, I’m not going to win the race, okay? So, for me, personally, it really doesn’t matter when I get to the finish line, if I have no goals to have a personal record at a race. I’m not going to win the race or get a special medal for not walking, so honestly it’s just an easy decision for me. Now, unless I’m trying to have a personal record at an event, or I am running a race for speed, which is a whole different situation.
But honestly, who cares if I walk or if I’m running? It doesn’t matter! It doesn’t matter, so just get that out of your head right now and know that it’s totally okay to walk sometimes. Sure, I might get there a little faster if I run (lol or maybe not!), but it really doesn’t matter in the long run. Actually, there’s a method called ‘The Galloway Method’ that is called ‘a run/walk system’ and I absolutely love that system! I do things a little bit differently, but they’re actually planned interval walks in the middle of your run, and you’ll see different types of times that you would do this. So maybe you run for 30 seconds and then you walk for 30 seconds, but they’re basically timed intervals and it’s actually a great way to do a run. I don’t personally use The Galloway Method, because I’m a Chi Runner and a Chi Walker. The way that I go about doing it is I do it strictly by body-sensing. For example, I’ll be in the middle of my run and, if I start thinking that I might want to walk, then what I might do is to go through a couple of form focuses to see if I really need to walk. Maybe I’ll slow my run down just a little bit more, but IF I decide I need to take a walk, then I’ll take a little walk break. I always say you know I stop running when I’m tired or whenever I feel like I need to stop. And then when I feel guilty from walking too long or too far, then I just start running again. In this way, I try to keep those walk breaks short, for sure, but basically, that’s how I do it. As soon as my heart rate comes back to normal, or as soon as I maybe see the pole that I said I was going to start running again – I’ll do that sometimes… I’ll look ahead and I’ll say, “Okay. I’m going to start running again at that pole,” and so I gave myself a quick break between here and there.
Another reason why I love putting walk breaks in the middle of my run is just because it feels good! It just feels easier on my body. Running does have a high injury rate (of course, if you’re a Chi Runner or a Chi Walker, your chances of getting injured are going to be way less 😉😁 ), so I just like to include the walking in there.
I love walking! It feels good to walk, so why would I NOT just choose to walk a little bit in the middle of my runs??
Another reason why you might decide to walk (and maybe even walk MORE than running in your runs) is maybe you’re coming back from an injury. Maybe you’re starting back running again. Maybe you’re a beginner runner and it takes a while to get used to that aerobic capacity? So just go ahead and just say that you’re going to walk during your runs. It’s OK! It really is, I swear! Sometimes, planning ahead to walk for a bit really helps me look forward to that little walk that I’m gonna take, so it’s just something that’s gonna make me feel good. I might be in the middle of my run doing intervals or whatever, and I decide to take little walk breaks. I really just gives me something to look forward to.
Walking also changes things up a little bit, right? I’m an ultra runner, so honestly, there’s no way that I would run an entire ultra WITHOUT walking part of it! I very rarely even run 5Ks without some walking. It just depends on what works for you, but, for me, taking quick walking breaks breaks up the monotony a bit for me.
I’m on the trail a lot, so there are definitely times during during my run where, maybe I’m going up a hill, so if I decide that it’s easier for me to Chi Hike really fast up the hill (which might even be literally faster than me running up the hill! lol), I’ll choose to do that instead. It’s definitely necessary to add walk breaks the longer you go! I find that it’s a great way for me to better manage my energy. I don’t want to get to the finish line puking and uncomfortable. I want to get to the finish line feeling super good and still having some energy left, so maybe now I can have that beer at the beer garden. 🍻🍺🍻
Another great reason is because, when you’re walking, you’re actually building your aerobic capacity! There’s a lot of evidence that shows when you’re in that Zone 2 or Zone 1 in your aerobic capacity, you’ll actually lose more weight, since you burn more body fat that way. Now there are a lot of other things that play into that, so I’m just listing that as one potential reason. Another thing for me is that I do also just like to bring my heart rate down once in a while and walking during a run is a great way for me to do that.
Honestly, walking just makes you a better runner. It really does! I don’t know why it has such a bad reputation and common misconception that walking is not for runners, but, hey, take it from me……
I’m an ultra runner… I’m a coach… Walking… is totally… OK.
Having a good pair of shoes is definitely a great way to make sure that your run is more comfortable and more fun, so there are definitely things that I look for in a shoe. (PLEASE NOTE: I’m going to be a little bit biased 😉 since I am an ambassador for Altra running shoes.)
One of the best things you can do is to have more than one pair of running shoes. I know that can get expensive but if you think about it, it’s an up front cost. You can wear out one pair of shoes alone quicker than alternating between four pair. In the long run (pun intended), it will save your feet to have more options. I actually always have FOUR pairs of running shoes that I’m running in at any given time: two road shoes and two trail shoes. I also like to have a shoe that’s a little more minimal (I’ll explain that in a little bit) and those are usually for my shorter distances, whether that’s trail or road.
So those are two different shoes. If I’m going on a longer run, then I want to have a little bit more cushion, so I will tend to have a different shoe for a longer run on road or trail again.
Why Altra Running Shoes?
The major reasons I love Altra running shoes:
They allow me to move my body as naturally as possible.
They have a wider toe box that we call Altra FootShape™ technology. What happens is if you look at some at some running shoes they come to a point like a pizza box, right? A triangle! And our feet are not triangles! Unfortunately, the shoe industry has really really caused a lot more running injury issues for people, because they’ve used the shoe to help mask all the problems, which is why people don’t learn technique. So they use shoes to help them, but in the long run that’s not the best thing to do.
Altra shoes are also specially designed so that your heel and your toe are basically at the same level. (If you watch the video, you can see that the heel and the toe are same distance from the ground.) This is called a Zero Drop. There’s no heel lift, because what happens is when you have a heel lift in your shoe (usually measured in millimeters) it’ll say, you know, “five millimeter heel lift.” Now you’re putting your foot in this position that is not natural, and when you put your foot in this position it’s changing your entire body alignment.
Altra Running shoes are also very flexible! Your foot should be able to move naturally and, even with Altra models that have a little bit more cushion, you can still see (in the video) that my foot still actually moves with the shoe. They’re not very stiff. If you grab your shoe and it’s very stiff, then they can’t move and you can’t expect your foot to move naturally.
My Shoe Rotation – My Altra Models
Escalante
These are my road shoes for short distance because they do have less cushion.
Torin
These have that same wide toe box as other Altra running shoes. Even though here you can see here (in the video) the cushion difference, my heel and my toe are still at the same level. There’s no heel lift in this shoe, so these are my preferred longer distance road shoes. The Torins are one of my favorite road shoes and they also allow my foot to move.
SUPERIOR
So I’ll start with my most minimal trail shoes. (lol, these are a little dirty! They’ve obviously hit the trail quite a few times!) One of the principles with ChiRunning™ is that we don’t push from our toes to move us forward. All we’re doing is lifting our foot, so we don’t have to push off. I never feel like I’m pushing myself out with my shoes. Everything just stays nice and in place. I use these as my shorter distance trail shoes and you can see here (in the video) that they’ve got these great grips! This is one of the other things I love about the Altra shoes. The grips don’t have so much to do with the mobility of the shoe, but from a trail perspective, these really help out with that.
lONE PEAK
This is my second of two pairs of trail shoes. Mine are purple – my favorite color. You can see the nice grip on here, so you know when you’re out on the trail, these grips help and there is also a little bit more cushion on these, so these would kind of be a medium cushion shoe for me.
tIMP
Last, but not least, this is other shoe that I like to wear for longer distances. These are newer to me – I usually wore the Lone Peaks – but I tried these and now I love them! Every time I try a new model, I can’t help it, but these have the most amount of cushion and all have the same qualities that I talked about at the beginning of why I really like these in a shoe.
That’s why I just love the the Altra running shoes! They help me with my ChiRunning™ and they help me move as naturally as possible.
Even though I’ve been teaching ChiRunning/ChiWalking since 2010, reviewing my technique regularly helps me get better. This is my 1st Q 2022 review.
Walking is a great way to get your fitness on. I walk as cross-training and also walk quite a bit during my runs. ChiWalking was a gamechanger for me! Since there is still impact on your joints, walkers are also susceptible to common injuries like plantar fasciitis, knee problems, back pain, etc. In this video, I share a video analysis of me walking “normally” and ChiWalking.
Whether you are a fitness walker already, want to manage or release weight, are rehabilitating after illness or injury, or have signed up for a walking event and want support, Chi Walking will help you reach your personal goals, including looking and feeling better than ever.
The Chi Walking technique emphasizes the proper biomechanics of walking including: good posture, loose joints, engaging one’s core muscles, and relaxing the peripheral muscles of the arms and legs. This approach makes walking easier on the body and helps improve and eliminate the aches, pains and discomfort of walking incorrectly.
The Five Mindful Steps are used throughout the book and program to reinforce the body-mind component inherent in each step.
The Chi Walking program offers 12 different types of walks to create a balanced and exciting health program. The “menu” of walks includes: a Cardio Walk, an Aerobic Walk, a Flexibility Walk, a Loosening Walk, a Focusing Walk, an Energizing Walk, a Walking Meditation and more. The walks are presented in the Chi Walking book in a detailed and understandable way, then summarized in an easy to read matrix which shows the key benefits of each walk.
Since walking is such a basic, every day movement, when your walking form is improved, the benefits are far reaching.
Depending on your running goals, you may find yourself doing speed and hill workouts. Just about every training plan will have these types of workouts. There are definitely many ways to do these. Just google hill or speed workout and you’ll get ideas. Although I don’t recommend that. I always recommend working with a coach who can you help you become the best runner you can be because they have the knowledge and experience to help you. Any of the free plans you find online are generic and may not fit you, your lifestyle or goals. If you’re not sure if you need a running coach, read this!
This is one of my favorite speed and hill workouts, especially when done with a group. I stole the idea from Danny Dreyer, the founder of ChiRunning. He played it with us one year at an Instructor weekend and I added my own twist:
Please make sure to follow the directions!
Don’t do speed work if you don’t have a base.
Don’t do speedwork if you are not warmed up.
Make sure to cool down as well.
A few extra tips:
After your first set, make sure to drop your 2nd Emoji (hopefully not too far from the first one) and then pick up your first one. Every set you will repeat dropping the one in your hand and picking up the one you left on the last set.
You can change the timeframes. I usually like to double the recovery time.
Depending on your current level, be realistic about how long the intervals are. This one takes a few sets to start feeling your heart rate creep up so make sure to listen to your body and pace yourself!
This is my biggest message to my runners! Running is such a great sport but gets a bad rap because many people hurt themselves when they try it (I help you fix that by learning proper technique). Add insult to injury (pun intended) one of the first things people ask you about when you tell them you are a runner, always has something to do with speed. By nature, you start comparing yourself to everyone else….and down the rabbit hole you go. One of the things I preach in my TRU TRIBE is to not compare themselves to any other runner because everyone has their own story….just like they have theirs.
Learning to get over this as a runner, gives you more confidence in your ability to do this in other areas of your life!
Since yesterday was National Write Your Story Day, I thought I’d share mine!
1st 5K in Italy in 6th grade? My parents were both runners. My Mommy placed in the top 3 women a lot
Young me running!
Started running as an adult in 2006, mid 30s. Learned Pose Method but my life was changed when I was introduced to @ChiRunning
1st half marathon: Rock N Roll Pf Changs on 1/14/07
1st 5K as an adult was Iron Girl on 3/25/2007
Certified ChiRunning/ChiWalking (CRCW) Instructor in 2010
Hanging with Danny, our founder
1st trail race was @AravaipaRunning 25K at Pass Mountain on 11/19/11
1st 10K (?) at Whiskey Row on 5/14/11
1st marathon was the Lost Dutchman on my 41st birthday 2/19/12
Upleveled to CRCW Senior Instructor on 12/1/12
Became the RFB Organizer in Tempe on 5/7/13
First out of state trail run was the Chippewa Creek Trail Challenge in OH 8/7/13
1st 50K at Elephant Mountain on 2/22/14
Finish line pic with my #1 supporter!
The Running University was founded on 2/27/14
1st night run at Adrenaline on 6/14/14
1st running injury: Plantar Fasciitis. An overuse injury that came from moving to Altra Running shoes and not giving my body enough time to get used to them.
1st timed event: 7/12/14 with Solemates CYA (Cool Your Ass) 6 hours
1st Ragnar Relay Race in 11/14
Upleveled to CRCW Master Instructor on 11/11/14
1st 50 Miler at Antelope Canyon on 2/20/16
1st 100K at Black Canyon on 2/17/18
CRCW Instructor of the Year in 11/18 (first one given by the company)
1st Double Down at Blackout/Big Pine on 6/8/19
Became one of the CRCW company owners along with 3 fellow Master Instructors in May of 2020
1st Night 50K/ultra at Javelina Jangover on 9/25/21
1st Stage Race at @transrockiesrunning in 8/21
1st 100 miler at Across The Years on 1/1/22
Second ever running injury now from the aftermath of not training enough for the 100 miler
Most miles logged in a year: 1904.10 miles in 2021
Thanks to Athlinks and Ultrasignup for making it easier to find most of this information!
While these are the major milestones of my running story, I’ve learned and grown so much because of this sport! I’m blessed that I get to coach others do the same!
Another distance checked off my bucket list!
Warning: this is a bit long so grab a coffee or beer and get comfy! It took me longer to write this blog than to do the race!
Seriously, WHO AM I? If you would’ve told me 10 years ago that I would be doing 100 miles, I would say you’re crazy! One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from running is “Never Say Never”
But why 100 miles?! 🙄🤣
Let’s tackle this question first. I have two major Why’s:
The longest distance I’ve done so far is a 100K (62 miles) at one time and 120 miles in 6 days at the TransRockies stage race. Every time I go up a distance, and feel good after finishing it, I wonder….can I do the next one? In most trail races, distances jump from 100K to 100 miles…..which is about 38 miles. That’s a lot more miles! But I got it in my head that I wanted to try it. My original goal was to do this race in 2020 going into 2021 as I entered my 50th birthday year. But this race was canceled last year due to COVID so I changed it to this New Year. I purchased the 48 hour option (more on this below). I decided I would do my longest distance on the first day, go take a shower and sleep a bit (Greg’s Mom lives 10 minutes away from the race venue!) and then come back and finish the rest on 12/31 so I could ring in the New Year doing something epic!
This might be the first time I put this in writing. I’ve started saying it out loud because this 100 miler was the first test for me. In 2020, Aravaipa announced a new race: Cocodona 250. That’s right…250 mile race! I remember reading all about it and watching the video….thinking what an amazing event to do in 2021 (the inaugural year) when I turn 50. Then, reality set in. I just became one of the new owners of the ChiRunning company and let’s face it, I was definitely not prepared to tackle this distance yet. I loved the idea of running through most of the state of Arizona.! I was lucky enough to get to volunteer and pace my friend Andre in May this year. The seed was planted but they have a requirement that you have at least one 100 mile race under your belt and their cutoffs were definitely out of my league. So, I figured, getting this 100 miler done would be the first step to deciding whether doing a longer distance was even something that I wanted to do. I’ll admit it, I think I’m addicted to longer distances! My next step will be to do another 100 miler or two but not until 2023. While I am excited at the possibility of Cocodona, I need to be realistic about my work load as well as my training and experience. I don’t want to rush into anything so right now it’s on the 2-4 year plan.
I remember when I first heard of it from one of my ChiRunners. Sounded ridiculous to me! It’s a 1.05 mile loop and you basically go around in circles for hours…or days! Wait…what?! You read that right!
I’ll admit it, it’s definitely not my favorite type of race. I’m a trail girl at heart. However, there is something about this race that is truly special.
I remember the first time I went to just check it out. It was years ago. Some of my ChiRunners from Prescott were doing it and they invited me to come and visit and do some laps with them. Again, not my cup of tea but I totally could see how this type of race would work for a lot of people and a lot of reasons. After this experience, I decided to start volunteering. The Running University now fills the entire volunteer shift from 9am on New Year’s Eve to 9am on New Year’s Day. It’s my favorite way to spend this holiday!. Of course, every time I volunteered, I got more and more intrigued. I had the chance to run the race several times due to my volunteering but I never choose to do the full 24 hours. I would only do what my training plan called for. (One of the dangers about these types of events is that you get caught up in adding the mileage and it’s easy to get injured when you haven’t trained for the distance).
Some crazy distances are covered by athletes of all ages at this race! If you want to check out some of the results, click here. For example, the winner of the 10 day race, did 690.471 miles!
When I decided I was doing my first 100 miler, I had to pick which race. I knew it had to be an Aravaipa race. I did my first 50K and 100K with Aravaipa Running. They are one of our local trail racing companies and they put on amazing races. I basically “grew up” and became a trail runner and ultra runner through their races. I also considered the difficulty of a trail 100 miler and after lots of thought, I decided Across The Years would allow me to ease into it, do it over 48 hours, it would be a great social race as I always know a lot of people who are either running or volunteering, and my team would be there on my last day volunteering.
Training for races is important to me. LOL that’s one of the reasons I’m a running coach. Not conditioning yourself for a race, especially a long one, is an injury waiting to happen. Unfortunately I knew I wouldn’t be able to train the way I would’ve normally done for this type of race. At one point in early November, I almost considered canceling it. I circled back to my why and it was really important for me to reach this milestone during my 50th birthday year. At that point I decided to buckle down and I was able to increase my training mileage and get a few long runs in. One day I even did a 50K in loops around the Kiwanis park lake. I did that several times for some 10 and 20 milers. Although I still wasn’t sufficiently trained, I felt better about it. Of course, knowing ChiRunning/ChiWalking technique is a huge asset!
My plan was to take it easy. I had a few calculations in my head as far as my pace but I knew I would be doing lots of walk/run intervals and I wanted to be realistic. My goal was to do my longest mileage on Day 1 so I could get that PR under my belt and then finish up later on 12/31 when all my peeps were volunteering.
It’s weird to me that I wasn’t really nervous before the start. It wasn’t a trail race, there was an aid station on the 1 mile course and there was no risk of getting lost in the middle of nowhere (this is usually my biggest stressor on a trail race). The mileage was intimidating but I also knew I was in a very safe space. As usual, the weather was my biggest concern…I was refreshing my Weather app on my phone constantly the whole week leading up to it. It was supposed to rain on both days…and in typical fashion, it kept changing. It looked like Thursday was going to be the better day which was good since I decided I was going to do the most mileage this day.
I found Lori’s tent (one of my trail wives and BFFs). She was also doing 100 miles but as a different race. She had the AZ flag on her tent like we do for our TransRockies camping. Although I had my car as home base, Lori’s tent was right off the track so would take less time to get things when I needed them. She let me keep my stuff there. I headed to the start line…..race start was 9am on 12/30. The 1st 24 hours was 9am-9am.
There were several reasons for that. When I’m planning a big mileage event, especially out of my comfort zone, I always like to raise money. I used to be a Board Member for our local chapter. I love this charity because I wish I had this when I was growing up. I started running late in my life so I love to see how GOTR makes such a big impact on these girls. As a matter of fact, as a running coach, I do the same thing for women only at a later stage in their lives. Running is such a great sport and we can learn so much from it. I love helping transform peoples lives with running and walking. I wish I had it as a kid! I also decided I wanted to walk in memory of Ila Brandli and Bob Hanson.
From my fundraising page! https://www.gotrmc.org/fundraiser/Coach-Lisa-The-Running-University
They were both big Girls On The Run supporters and passed away in the last few years. I would see Bob and his wife Cindy volunteering at aid stations during XTerra trail races (they support GOTR!). He had one of the best smiles and was always so positive.
Miles and smiles for Bob ❤ I wore this for both days
Ila used to raise money for GOTR too and used to do Across The years as well. As a matter of fact, she was one of the record breakers there! I wrote a blog about her in 2016 because she was such an amazing lady! I kept the cape on most of the first day. It ended up serving as a great conversation piece too! One girl ran by me and said she used to be a participant of the GOTR program and that’s how she became a runner! This made my day! Several people commented saying their daughter was in the program. Then, I made a new friend from Germany, Simi. I am bummed that we didn’t get a picture together because we had some great conversations! She’s doing some great things with women runners where she lives and it was fun to swap stories about how we motivate our athletes.
My goal for the first day was to do the highest distance I’d ever done. This happens to be the Black Canyon 100K (62 miles) but according to my Garmin, it was actually 63.06 so I had to get at least 63.5 done before going to shower and rest. I didn’t really have a strategy other than trying to keep between a 12-18 minute mile between running and walking intervals. They weren’t set intervals and I just body sensed when I felt like walking or running. I tried to run a bit more up front knowing that I would get more tired later. I knew quite a bit of people that were either participating or volunteering so it was a fun way to catch up with friends. (2 min Instagram Live at my start)
At one point, my friend Joshua handed me Ila’s In Memoriam race bib which I wore this for several miles. If you ever do this race, once you get a bib number, it’s yours for life! Many people come back year after year and you get swag for hitting milestones too. If you pass away, an In Memoriam bib is made and participants are able to wear them during the race. (3:46 min Instagram Live at mile 25)
Ila’s bib ❤
I got a visit from Melissa and Miggie and they even came back with a Cafe Americano for me because I knew it was going to be a long night!
Melissa did a lap with me!
Outside of the weather, the other mindfuck was the actual distance covered on each lap. While I had my Garmin on, the official race lap count did not match it. This is because the course is 1.05 miles and of course I wasn’t on the exact trajectory of when the course was measured. The path was pretty wide in some parts and there were bathroom breaks slightly off course, etc. I tried not to look at it but as I was getting closer to my daily goal, I was off by 2-3 miles. The hardest part of the entire race for me was the night of Day 1. I wanted to be done but was too tired to run so it was taking longer to do laps. I never ever thought of quitting but there was a lot of self talk and pumping sunshine 🤪there were fewer people on the course as people going for days would take longer breaks at night in their tents or RVs.
Gritting it out at night with Lisa Lee!
It all became a blur. The highlight of that early morning, was some food at the aid station. You pass it on every lap and you definitely don’t need to stop at every mile. At that point I was getting hungry and was about to grab a bag of potato chips, when Jon, the aid station captain, said, “we have tater tots!” Wait, what?! Keep in mind they make some great meals for us like hamburgers, pancakes, etc. I wasn’t expecting tater tots but they were the best thing EVER at 3am!
Finally I was getting closer….at first I wanted to reach the 64 miles on the race lap count…but when I was at mile 63 on my Garmin and still at 61 on the race count, I was over it! I did my last lap and hit the 64 miles on my Garmin and called it a night. I knew I had to get the official time for the total 100 miles but I would deal with that the next day. I think I left the race about 330ish. I went to my boyfriends’ Mom’s house which is about 6 minutes away, took a hot shower and went to sleep.
Ringing the PR Bell and feeling bad because it was 3am and people were sleeping in tents nearby.
I slept for about 4.5 hours and then starting getting ready for Day 2, New Year’s Eve. I was jazzed up because I “only” had 37 more miles to go. My plan was to end within an hour of midnight and 1am on New Year’s Day. Many of my TRU TRIBE members were volunteering on this day, including Greg, my boyfriend. I knew this was going to be an easier day.
Started Day 2 with Kisha!
TRU TRIBE after their volunteer shift doing a lap with me!
AND I had a few ChiRunning Instructors joining me on this day! Master Instructor Vince Vaccaro, one of the four co-owners of ChiRunning with me and Laurel Flax, a Certified Instructor in NH. These timed events are right up her ally and this was going to be her longest. Vince was going 24 hours and she was doing 72 hours. I didn’t get there until 12:30ish and I tried to find them first right away. I tried keeping up with Vince for a bit but he was fresh (well jet lagged from the late flight the night before) but fresher than me!
Some of my ChiRunning family! Vince and Laurel 😁
Long story short, this day started out better than I expected physically and mentally. I had to stay focused though because I’d get caught up at the aid station talking to friends. I had plenty of time as far as the cutoff of 9am the next day but I really wanted to finish right after midnight. I had more company this time around but I was also mostly walking at this point. I am pretty sure that I walked most of the 2nd day. My sister and my friend RJ came out to do a few laps with me. Alina, one of my TRU TRIBE members from Tucson, drove in a crazy storm to come out and walk with me too.
At one point, I started having lower shin pain. I knew there would be a possibility that something like this could happen because I didn’t really train as much as I wanted to. I told myself that I would stop if it was bad enough that it may take me out of commission for awhile but it never got that bad (so I thought). Of course I was even more hyper-focused on my technique but the overuse injury was starting to set in. I never take ibuprofen but did this time. I would normally drink alcohol but believe it or not, I drank none at all while I was on the course! First of all it was too cold! Second of all, I didn’t want to mess with how good I was feeling. Outside of the shin pain, I was in great spirits and people commented on that quite often.
This is actually a huge part of my mental strategy. I say this over and over again but due to my daily meditation practice, I am able to be self aware and mindful of attitudes and emotions as they are happening to me. I purposely pump myself up mentally before any big race with as many positive things that I can. I got myself so excited to finally get started on this bucket list race! I knew it would “only” be 2 tough days and I can do hard things! I can also tell when my mind wants to take me down the rabbit hole in a bad place. I usually catch this early enough so I can change it. The first thing that I do to get out of my head is a Technique Body Scan (start at the bottom with my foot placement and then go through each area to see if I’m in good form). I can’t be in my head judging myself if I’m doing this! I usually follow that with a 5 Senses Meditation (learned from Danny and you can find it here!). Same concept though…if I’m focusing on my senses, I’m not in my head going down the rabbit hole.
The thing bumming me out the most was that I was slowing down and had to take more breaks than I expected. This meant that I wouldn’t be finishing close to midnight anymore (which is when the volunteer shift ends and several of my friends (and boyfriend) would be done volunteering. I had to get over this and not let it bother me. My other ways to get distracted were to listen to music or podcasts. Between that and the company, it went better than I expected.
It was finally midnight and we got to ring in the New Year together! The whole race stops, everyone gets together at the start line, we have a champagne toast and everyone does a loop together. Most of the people I knew left after the celebration. I can’t remember how many miles I had to go at this point but I think it was a few more hours. (2:47 Instagram Live at mile 91)
I got to spend several more miles with Simi. Vince decided to stay with me and keep me company. The weather had held out most of the day and go figure, at 1am, it started down pouring. I was pissed! So freaking close to being finished…and my Garmin was 3 miles ahead of the official timer….but I kept pushing through with Vince. Then all of the sudden, I saw Elaine coming towards us! I can’t remember if it was my last lap or 2nd to last lap but it was so good to see her face! Elaine was one of the first people to get me into trail running, helped me train for my first night race and ultra, is one of my trusted pacers, and one of my besties!
With Elaine! Photo taken after the finish. Alina brought me those balloons. She risked her life coming up from Tucson in a crazy storm with these balloons in the back of her car! All I could think about after my race is “don’t let me forget my balloons”. Elaine made sure I didn’t. (as of 1/25/22 they are still floating around in my living room!)
It was finally over! I turned right for the final stretch, I started running because you just have to cross a finish line running! I went through the aid station, rang the PR bell (and didn’t care about waking people up this time!), crossed that finish line and got my buckle! Thanks to Jan for getting this video of me!
As of today 1/28/22, I am taking a little break from running as I heal. I am going to see Jody from Longevity Wellness Clinic of AZ for my 3rd acupuncture appointment in 2 weeks.
As of today 1/28/22, I still can’t believe I did it! If you made it this far, thank you so much! It seriously took me longer to put this together than it did to run it!
The final numbers!!
Race Director Julie 😊
Race Director Jubilee 💜
OF course I wore my buckle the first chance I had at the Aravaipa Group Trail Run the following Wednesday!
Noooooo! It was Day 6! I wasn’t ready for it to be over!
The most exciting thing that happened that morning is that I got a free bag of Stoked Oats. This is seriously the best oatmeal I’ve had in my life. They are one of the race sponsors and I had it for breakfast there every single day. I asked about them midweek and was told that they are from Canada and that the only way to get them in the US was at a Costco in L.A.
I was told that if there were leftovers at the end of the week I’d be able to get a bag….and I did! I am finishing it up now but I just ordered a new one on Amazon because they are available there now! These are worth every penny in my opinion and I’ve only tried the Stoned Oats flavor.
I honestly have to say, I was bummed that it was the last day. I tried to stay as present as possible the entire week so I could keep as many memories as possible in my mind. Today would be another long day of 22 miles with 5300 ft of elevation gain. Because the sunrise was later, the early start was only about 30ish minutes before the regular start. I started on my own and even though I was bummed, I was looking forward to my last day on trails that I had never been on before. This was one of my Why’s for this race and it propelled me every day. It’s almost as if I couldn’t get enough of seeing new trails this week!
Where had the time gone? Were we really already on Day 5 of 6?
I wasn’t sure whether to be happy or sad….that’s really not true though…honestly I was sad.
Sure it had been a tough week but I wasn’t really ready for it to be over yet! I had to remind myself to stay as present as possible.
Stage 5 was sponsored by Mammoth Creameries. We had the option to have this tasty, keto friendly ice cream every single day! Check them out!
This was the longest stage with 24 miles and the 2nd most elevation gain (see the elevation profile at the bottom of the picture below).
I was amazed at how good I felt! Between ChiRunning/ChiWalking, my training, the poles, using the Elevated Legs the 2 days prior, I felt great!
“The creek was redirected so there won’t be anywhere near as much water as there normally is”…..they said the night before during the race briefing. I never found out if they said this on the purpose (I think they did!) but several people boood this comment that night. I was actually bummed too because there was supposed to be a long water crossing that I (and many others) were looking forward to.
Stage 4: Sponsored by Kahtoola 15 miles/23 kilometres with 3600 ft/1100 m gain
This was another “short” day (only 2 days under 20 miles!) but there was a good amount of steep climbing even though our highest point was “only” 11,700. But our finish line was at Mango’s Bar and Grill in Red Cliff. 😁
We started in Nova Guides where we spent the previous night. It was nice to stay in one location for two nights so we didn’t have to pack. We also didn’t have any service during these two days which was a blessing in disguise. I kept my phone turned off during this stage as they told use when we got a bit higher we may have connection…..I really didn’t want to get bombarded with notifications or be back in the “real” world again.
Several people have asked me what my favorite stage was….It’s so hard to say because they all have their own unique character about them. However, I do believe that Stage 3 may have been my favorite.
We had spent the night in Leadville, in a WET baseball field. It had rained and they kept apologizing for the conditions like it was their fault it had rained. You just roll with the punches! I hadn’t been sleeping well the past few nights so this time I opted to do the regular start even if it was the longest stage. I checked the elevation profile and knew I could finish in time. Joan left early. I knew I would be by myself most of the day which was absolutely fine with me. My goal for this week was to enjoy this vacation and recharge…although I am mostly an extrovert, I have introvert tendencies and really love alone time in nature.
This was the longest stage at 25 miles. As I’ve said before, my Why for this race was so strong that I started every day like a giddy little kid on Christmas morning. I couldn’t wait to see what the trails had in store for me. Since I had volunteered, I was also excited about getting to Nova Guides as it’s one of the most beautiful locations I’ve been to. I also knew we wouldn’t have service for a few days but that was a blessing. I was happy to be as disconnected from the outside world as possible while I was reconnecting with nature and myself.
BTW I forgot to mention in my Hope Pass blog that I forgot to wear my Garmin! I ended up downloading Joan’s profile since we were together 95% of the time.
