ONCE BITTEN TWICE SHY – WS TRAINING RUN

Sorry, I had to throw that Great White song reference in the title as it has been stuck in my head since Saturday’s run. If you want to hear the song too click here.

Saturday was the first of the annual Western States Training Runs. While the ones in May are my absolute favorite, Saturday’s course is always an adventure and a good test of your legs and endurance.

 

Last year I drove up solo and hopped on the bus and ran with whomever I could find near me on the trail. It was a good but tough day mentally and physically.

 

This year Pigeon was able to join me. I know we were both pretty excited about this run!

Pre-Run Selfie!
Pre-Run Selfie!

The parking lot scene was really different this year. In years past it would get pretty crowded super fast and they had four school buses ready to bus us to the drop of point.

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This year it wasn’t too crowded and they only had 3 buses. I didn’t mind. It meant easier parking and fewer lines. Regardless the day was gorgeous and we were looking at temperatures rising near 75 degrees come the middle of the day.

Morning Sky!
Morning Sky!

Pigeon and I knew from experience that we needed to get on the middle bus. The first bus you sort of assume are for the “fast” people. The ones carrying just one little bottle, no fuel and who plan to be done with their 20 something miles in no time at all. The last bus is usually reserved for the Folsom Lake Trail Running group. A great bunch of people but there is a lot of them and Pigeon and I like to position ourselves ahead of the crowd.

So this is where it gets funny. After Craig Thornley, the RD for Western States does his pre-race talks, it is sort of a mad dash for the bus. Pigeon and I were close so we hop onto the second/middle bus.

The bus fills up. They do their little talk about safety and what to do if you drop etc. The bus starts and then our bus waves the bus behind to go in front … so we are now on the last bus! Pigeon turned to me and goes, “What just happened?” I replied, “Um, it looks like we’re the last bus now.” 🙂 It was pretty funny and as it turns out, it was no big deal what so ever.

Pigeon and I got off the bus and just started running. I should mention that I did fall asleep briefly while on the hour-long bus ride. I can’t help it. You put me in a car when I have had little sleep and I will fall asleep almost instantly. Sorry Pigeon! 🙂

So we get off the bus and we take off down the gravel road following the yellow montrail ribbons. The views were gorgeous but sadly, I have still not figured out the best way to store my phone/camera to make it easily accessible. If had one complaint about my Jenny Vesta it is this, the front pockets are too small. My old camera is terrible so I don’t even bother bringing it any more. Plus, Vans may have been right all those years, I think I AM a little bit faster when I am not stopping to take photos. 🙂

Sadly, that makes for boring blog material which Pigeon has reminded me of time and time again yet mind you, it is her job to put the phone/camera back into my pack when I am done taking photos. Needless to say, this never ends well. She has troubles, I start laughing and well, the next thing you know, we’ve wasted about 10 minutes on the trail.

So for the majority of this run, I took zero photos. Pigeon was motoring and looking really strong. I was happy for her, she’s been working herself back into shape steadily and it is paying off. I felt okay. I was battling some low iron and energy this past week so I did not go into this run with super-duper high enthusiasm like I have in the past. Also, my left knee was tweaked a bit recently in a non running incident and it has been nagging at me ever since.

Still, I was having fun chasing Pigeon through the single track and all around the trails of Cool and Auburn. Like I have said, it was a gorgeous day. It was also getting warm, quite warm as the day was moving on. I felt like I was fueling pretty well but nothing I ate would settle my tummy. I just resigned myself to believe it was going to be one of those days. I am used to them, so no biggie. I just set my mind somewhere and try not to focus on it too much. I know I was quieter than normal but I don’t think even Pigeon realized how much I was battling internally with that unhappy tummy.

When we got to No Hands Bridge I was doing a little dance inside. I know this section well. No Hands to Robie Point and then old road back to Placer High School. This is what I consider the home-stretch. Which was good as the sun was starting to beat down on us.

We crossed No-Hands, hit the aid-station and smiled for some photos (thanks Joe McCladdie!).

We noticed that the trails were pretty crowded, not with runners but with hikers, families and even horses. The little water fall area that we always run through had a ton of people sitting in or around it trying to cool off from the heat. It can get pretty warm in the canyons if you don’t come prepared with enough water. I could tell a lot of these families were not prepared.

Pigeon and I ran through the water fall which cooled us off. Down the fire-road we ran. Like I said, there were other runners, hikers, little kids and people walking their dogs all around us. I say that because what I am about to explain next really took me by surprise.

The fire-road is about 4 to 5 feet wide. I was on the far left of the trail running behind Pigeon and to the left of us was a couple with two dogs.  A woman was walking a little teenie tiny dog (on a leash) and her husband was walking a doberman pinscher (also on a leash).

As I passed the man and the doberman, the doberman lunged at me. I have pretty good reflexes and as I tried to turn my body from him, he growled and took a nice chomp at my hip/thigh area.
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I kind of faltered because it felt more like I was punched hard instead of bitten. Pigeon turned just as I was grabbing my side and falling over. “What the?! Did he just bite you!?” she said and all I could do was moan yes. I was just in shock trying to figure out what the heck had just happened.

The husband grabbed the dog while the wife ran over to me to verify that I had been bitten. I showed her the bite mark and blood. It wasn’t horrible, but it did break the skin and draw blood. Pigeon took over. She took my phone from me and immediately started gathering the information from these people. Names, phone numbers etc.

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My thigh.

 

As she was doing this and I was trying to clean the cut with a wet wipe that Pigeon just happened to have in her pack, ANOTHER runner was bit by the SAME dog but on her arm! What the heck!???

This poor woman did not fare as well as I had. Her bite mark was deep. A true puncture and she was gushing blood. I had to give her my bandana to tie off her arm so it would stop bleeding. She gave me her information so that I could pass on the dog owners information later.

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The dog getting “yelled at” – but you can see how populated the trail was right here.

 

I can’t say I was shaking. I wasn’t crying. I was just speechless for a while until we separated from them and then I was angry. Very angry. There were little children on this trail just feet away! The owners swore up and down that the dog has never done anything like this before but here he bit two people in a matter of minutes!

We still had about a mile and half to run to get out of the canyons and back to the finish area. My leg was throbbing and sore. The good news is that I stopped thinking about my stomach! We did a hike/run combo and caught up to the woman who was bitten in the arm. She seemed okay but was really hoping for a ride to the finish. She never got one. She ran/walked the whole way in with a small group making sure she was okay.

When we finished, Craig Thornley was right there and was concerned about the situation. He told me to make sure I had my shots and to double-check for sure that the dog had as well. All these years I have worried about running into bears and mountain lions and instead my first real incident is with a dog … on a leash.

Needless to say, I am super gun-shy about seeing any dogs on the trail right now. I called Vans as soon as I was done to explain why it was taking longer then I had expected.

While at the car changing out of our shoes the dog owner called me just to see how I was doing, to apologize again and to verify that their dog has had the proper shots.

Things could have been a lot worse. I was very lucky that the dog couldn’t get a good angle on me. I am happy that Pigeon was there to help me out and make sure that I had all the information that I needed. Be care out there when running, even if an animal is on a leash. Clearly this owner didn’t have a strong enough hold on his dog for him to bite two people.

When I got home from the run, I made sure to clean up well. We had lots to do the rest of the day! I couldn’t let a dog bite keep me down.

Vans took these cuties to get ice cream while I cleaned up
Vans took these cuties to get ice cream while I cleaned up
Then we went and saw TiggerT race her BMX bike!
Then we went and saw TiggerT race her BMX bike!
Squeaker thought about it but was a bit scared by the big kids I think.
Squeaker thought about it but was a bit scared by the big kids I think.
She does love her bike though!
She does love her bike though!

The weather has continued to be super nice lately. I feel terrible for all of you battling the snow and storms on the east coast. We are in a drought which is not good at all, but I can’t help but love the sunshine a little bit right now … it leads to some fun times.

Family adventures
Family adventures

Now it is taper time. This coming weekend I only need to run 10 to 12 and then next weekend it is race time! The inaugural Salmon Falls 50K will finally be here. I have a feeling it will be like one giant trail party because so many people are running it. Hopefully my bruise goes away by then (it is super tender). I consider myself super lucky. Lucky I didn’t have a more serious injury, lucky I have a great supportive running partner, lucky I live in a pretty awesome place with amazing trails and views. These are the things to remember.

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

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BACK ON THE TRAILS

As I mentioned in this post, the Peanut’s swim season is over. It seems, for the time being, I have my Saturday mornings back! Pigeon wasted no time and emailed me that we were meeting at 6 am and hitting the trails by 6:30 since the temperature was supposed to hit the low 100s.

She had emailed me that we were doing the Clementine and Stage Coach loops using our car as a make shift aid-station between loops. I remember this run. You can read about that adventure run here … I very clearly remember it being anywhere between 15 and 20 miles depending on how we finished the route. Ouch. 20 miles!? I haven’t been running more than 7 or 8 the last few weekends. My last run of 15 was about two weeks before Pigeon ran the Tahoe Rim Trail 100 mile race. Still, I was excited. I have missed my weekend trail runs and all the adventures that follow and yesterday’s run had its share of adventure.

Let’s start out with me waiting at my car at 6 am at our usual meet up place. I see Pigeon drive in and park a few spots behind me. I immediately jump out of my car and head to the back to gather all my things. I grab my bag and cooler and walk over to the back of Pigeon’s car. “What is that sticker? Did Pigeon put a sticker on her car?” I think as I am about to throw my bag into the back of this car. I stop and realize it IS NOT Pigeon’s car! The woman in the car just looks at me. I turn around and there is Pigeon, in her car, behind me “What are you doing?” she says. I just start laughing. Luckily, I kind of knew the woman whose car I almost climbed into but she looked a little confused. Just to clarify, they were the exact same car (make, color, everything) this girl had a few stickers on her car that Pigeon would never put on hers. I quickly climbed into Pigeon’s car and we took of laughing pretty much the first 20 minutes over my mistake.

I was excited for this run because three other girls were going to join us! Pigeon had thrown it out there that we were running early and luckily a few other ladies wanted to join us!

The crew
The crew

I have run with some or all of these ladies at various points over the last year. From left to right we have: Doc, Legs, Miss P, Pigeon and myself. These ladies are awesome runners. They are all super strong and a lot of fun. I was definitely the slow one in this group.

We started off with some climbing. Nothing like starting the lungs out on a high note up a big hill. Doc, Legs and Miss P took off running. Pigeon is still recovering from her 50 miles at Tahoe two weeks ago, so she was content to hang with me hiking and running our way up the hill.

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We were just running along when all of a sudden my head gets stuck and I realize that once again, my pony tail was caught in the zipper on the back of my jenny vesta hydration vest.  This has happened numerous times to me on various runs. Trust me, I have tried two side braids, a french braid and even pigtails but my hair is that long that it sort of just swings and gets caught in the zipper. This time however, it was bad. I stopped and yelled to Pigeon to help me.

“What!? Again? You and your wardrobe malfunctions.” She comes to take a look at my pack and situation and goes, “Oh man, that’s stuck. That’s really stuck. I don’t think I can get that one out. I think you are going to have to pull a chunk out of your hair.” I start laughing and then start pulling. I could tell it was pretty wrapped in there. I pull and pull and all of a sudden I hear RIP! Ouch.

Yup, that's my hair!
Yup, that’s my hair!

We eventually made it to the top of the hill and the others were waiting for us. We shared my little drama story, each of them agreed that it must have hurt.

Off we went down the trail. It was a nice run. We’d sort of separate at various points, each of us talking to a different person for a bit catching up on what is new in life or for me, finding out more about some people. It really makes the miles fly by when you have runs like this.

Eventually we got back to our car after a 6 mile or so loop. I hit the restroom and then when I got out, it seemed everyone was ready. I refilled one water bottle and dropped another thinking I wouldn’t need it since my pack was still quite full and had some ice. One thing that I forgot to do, was grab any additional fuel. I didn’t eat anything on the first loop as it wasn’t that long but I knew the second loop had some additional climbing and that we’d face some heat.This is no tadalafil 5mg tablets more than a new method of email spam only it’s permission based. Yelling and vardenafil india a spanking isn’t always the best solution. There might be uterine malformations, leiomyoma or uterine fibroids, and Asherman’s Syndrome. tadalafil canadian pharmacy Some of the more common treatments are :- Prescription Drugs – These medications are usually consumed orally about an line uk viagra hour prior to a sexual act and the sexual health issues that he generally suffers from are causes behind this.

Off we ran up the Stage Coach hill. When we got to the top, Legs called it a day and ran herself back down to her car. The four of us kept going towards the Auburn Damn Overlook with Miss P leading the way. She took a little different route to get to the overlook than Pigeon or I am used to but we were content to just follow her lead.

At the overlook we all tried to soak our bandanas  in water as it was starting to really heat up and fast. The water in the fountains however was luke warm at best. Not exactly refreshing.

Down the hill we went. Occasionally we’d stop and talk to some runners who were also out running. It seems everyone was trying to beat the heat with an earlier start.

Doc bombing down the hill in the hot sun
Doc bombing down the hill in the hot sun

Miss P was really feeling great on this run and was quite a bit ahead of us at all times. She’s in training for some nice races this year but both her and Doc ran the San Francisco marathon just the weekend before. Like I said, studs. 🙂

Pigeon on her way down
Pigeon on her way down

Pigeon was starting to slow just a bit. She was still in good spirits but the heat was rising fast. While the climbing slowed me down more than I would have liked, the rest of the run I felt pretty good. Occasionally I would pick up the pace and run a little harder or run up some tiny hill. Clearly I need to work on my climbing and hill repeats in the near future.

Soon we were coming to No Hands Bridge and the decision was made, we would head back to the car instead of heading up to K2 to try and make our run 20 miles instead of 16. I was fine with that.

When Pigeon and I reached the car and cooled down and said goodbye to the girls, the temperature gauge at 10:30 am read 97 degrees. That is hot at that hour!

I was home by 11 am and excited to spend the day with Vans, Squeaker and the girls. We had a little pool party planned and it was nice to just relax poolside (as much as you can with a million kids under the age of 6 in a pool) and enjoy the weekend.

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Our little mermaid

Happy Trails! (it felt so good to be back on them)

~Trailmomma

PS: I have some very exciting news to announce in the coming week or so. Please stay tuned and be sure to “subscribe” to my blog (in the upper right hand corner) so you don’t miss out on this amazing once in a lifetime opportunity.

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LOOK AT THE WILD ANIMALS!

Today Pigeon and I got together for our last run before she takes on the Tahoe Rim Trail 100 mile race (aka TRT) in two weeks.

We agreed (me, begrudgingly) to meet at 6:45 somewhere in the middle and carpool ourselves to ADO (Auburn Damn Overlook). It was the day after the Fourth of July! Granted, we (meaning me), did most of our celebrating early in the day and on the evening of the 3rd of July, but I wanted a few more minutes of sleep. Luckily, Pigeon let me sleep a few extra minutes and pushed our run back (she originally wanted to be IN Auburn and running right at 6:45 am).

When we got to Auburn, we hopped out of the car and pretty much just took off. I wore my Ultimate Direction Jenny Vesta because the past few weekends I have been testing out how I want to use it when I am pacing Pigeon in two weeks. I think I have decided on a plan of attack. I’ll use the hydration bladder and one bottle (jug) to allow myself some extra storage room.

Deer!
Deer!

Almost immediately into our run we hear something off to the side and not 5 feet from us are a couple of beautiful deer having some breakfast. I just knew it was going to be one of those days on the trail. The kind of day where it is just gorgeous out and I find myself smiling from ear to ear no matter what.

The first couple of miles Pigeon and I talked, a lot. We talked about the recent happenings in our lives and also about TRT and what lies ahead for her.

The trail was dry and very dusty. When we approached the first “stream” crossing waterfall or watering hole, (however you want to describe it), Pigeon immediately got down and doused her bandana to wear around her neck. Even at 7 am, the temps were getting pretty warm. This SHOULD have been an indication or warning to us that the day would be a hot one, but we both sort of just shook it off and kept running.

We ran down towards No Hands Bridge, across and up towards K2. I knew where we were going without even having to say it. I didn’t mind. There is a porta potty at the end of No Hands so I decided that was the perfect time for a quick break.

The climb up K2 felt pretty effortless for both of us. We’d climb, talk and stop on occasion but for the most part we hiked pretty solidly all the way up.

The View from K2
The view from K2

I was pretty excited that I was feeling really well. I had some tummy troubles in the beginning but I always have tummy troubles. Once that subsides, I am generally a happy camper.

Pigeon always tests me out on the trails. She’ll ask me ‘which way’ at every turn or corner. She knows that I am generally looking down (trying not to fall) instead of watching where we are running. I think I can safely say, that I can park at ADO and run to No Hands, across and up K2 and possibly even the full loop without getting lost.

Which is kind of funny because if I park at the Cool fire station and you ask me to run to No Hands, I’d probably get us lost. 🙂

As we were coming to the point in our run where we could go back down towards No Hands or go straight and head to the Cool fire station we decided to hit the fire station. In my head I was thinking porta potty.

When we reached the parking lot though we both took some fuel and just stood there. We emptied our trash in the bin and pretty much just turned around and headed back out on the trail. We knew there was fresh water at the fire house but neither one of us thought to stop and fill up our packs. We thought we’d be fine with what we had (aaaah, hind sight IS 20/20).

When we reached No Hands Bridge again, Pigeon turned to me in the dead sun and said, “So I completely underestimated how hot it would be today. I have very little water left. This is going to be a long hike back.” I also felt like I didn’t have much water in my pack, but I also hardly use my hydration bladder, normally relying on my water bottles up front.

It was warming up pretty intensely on our way back and the trail was getting pretty crowded with hikers, runners and horseback riders.

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Our pace was slowing considerably as we hiked more than we ran. At times, it felt like we were running from shaded section to shaded section. Finally, Pigeon tells me that her pack is completely empty. So I take off mine and I pull out my hydration bladder and realize that it was still pretty fully and I happily poured half of my water into her pack. Another runner was passing us as we were doing this and asked if we were good on water.

HOT
HOT

Off we went. This time, I knew that when we approached that waterfall, that I too was going to dunk my bandana in and rinse myself off a bit. I was sweating a lot. As we ran down the hill approaching the waterfall, we noticed that it was pretty crowded. It was full of hikers who clearly looked like they had taken on an adventure without realizing how hot it was outside. Many of them were sitting IN the waterfall.

Pigeon and I ran up, not really noticing too much and just squatted down in the water and took off our bandanas. We rinsed our faces, necks and arms. I looked up and I realized that everyone in the waterfall was glaring at us like we were some wild animals in a zoo who had approached them and were going about our natural course of wild life business.

I wanted to pull out my camera SO bad and take a photo but I didn’t. As we climbed out of the water and back onto the trail, quite a few more hikers were splattered around the trail. I turned to Pigeon and said, “Did you feel like you were an animal in the zoo back there with everyone sort of just staring at us as we cooled off?” She looked at me and busted up laughing, “Yes!” she said.

For the life of us, we couldn’t stop laughing about what had just transpired which for me, made the remaining sweltering miles, fly by a little faster.

When we finally reached the horse staging area, we decided to head straight for the canal. We were pretty overheated at this point and our nice little 15 mile run that should have taken us 3 hours or less, had taken us over 3.5 hours.

The Canal
The Canal

I have talked about the canal before but I am not sure I have ever posted a photo of it. To many non runners, this probably seems pretty gross …

Pigeon
Pigeon

For trail runners however, the canal is the perfect place to cool off during the hot summer months and in the cold winter months, it provides an amazing full body ice bath for recovery.

You can also clean off your shoes
You can also clean off your shoes

I am incredibly excited for TRT in two weeks. For starters, Be-Well-Run is flying all the way from Whistler Canada to help myself, Missouri and a few others crew for Pigeon. I love when she comes to visit. Second, just being in Tahoe for TRT is probably one of the most exciting times for a runner. I have crewed for Pigeon a few times (you can read about them by clicking here (2010) and here (2012) and here (2013) ).  In 2011 I skipped but I had an excuse (Squeaker was only about a month old), but Pigeon ran the TRT 50K in 2011 as well, read about that here.

I truly believe Pigeon is ready. Not only is her training spot on, but her mind is in the game. Not that her mind wasn’t in the game before, but I think having experienced this race at the 100 mile distance once before, has put her in a whole new realm of readiness.

The support she has behind her as well, no matter the outcome, is beyond amazing. There is no denying the Pigeon that I met in 2010 is not the Pigeon I run and train with now just four years later. Some of that change comes from life experiences and some of it comes from her amazing and supportive wife Missouri. Most of it though, I think comes from Pigeon’s desire, drive, confidence and diligence in making sure she is 100% ready to conquer her goal. She is a goal driven runner. Someone I’d admire and feel lucky enough to call my running partner and friend.

TRT Redemption, my friend. Let’s go get it!

Happy Trails,

~Trailmomma

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2014 AMERICAN RIVER 50 MILE RACE REPORT

I don’t even know where to being with this race report. Much like my 2010 AR50 Race Report this will be lengthy and full of photos so grab a nice cup of tea and settle in.

To begin this story, I have to go back to Tuesday evening when I saw Dr. Lau at Elite Spinal & Sports Care for my usual pre-race tune up. I felt great upon leaving and was finally getting excited about the race ahead. Fast forward to Wednesday morning when I woke up to screaming lower back pain. I could barely put weight on my right leg let alone bend over. I emailed Dr. Lau and he gave me some “homework” to do over the next two days with instructions to call him if I am not ‘tip top’ by Friday morning.

Friday morning I woke up to significantly less pain but still a mild soreness that seemed to inhibit certain movements. I emailed Dr. Lau and received a phone call almost instantly. He had arranged for me to come in early that afternoon.

When I left his office and headed to packet pick up, I felt quite a bit better and had a lot more mobility in my back and right leg. Packet pick up really got my energy up. The blood was flowing and I finally had my bib in hand … it was game on now.

My official race number
My official race number

The race schwag has GREATLY improved since 2010. Since then Patagonia has become a major sponsor of the race which means a much nicer race shirt.

Race Schwag
Race Schwag

When Squeaker and I arrived home from packet pickup, Vans and the Peanut were not home yet. I quickly got to work on boiling some red potatoes as I wanted to pack them into baggies with salt to have as some additional fuel along the course.

The minute Vans and Peanut arrived home I got busy cooking dinner as we had to race to a nearby soccer field for the Peanut’s first soccer practice. It was a beautiful (but chilly) evening.

A sweet soccer field huh?
A sweet soccer field huh?

I was on my feet a lot and the practice did not end until after 7 pm. By the time we got home and I was in bed it was well after 8 pm which is okay as I kind of tossed and turned a bit anyway. The race nerves were building.

When my alarm went off at 4 am I jumped out of bed.  I took a quick assessment of my body and I noticed my back pain was still lingering a bit but not unbearable. I dressed, threw my hair into ponytail and headed out to the kitchen.

My pre-race fueling has changed quite a bit. I no longer need 2 hours to consume a bowl of oatmeal before my race which is kind of nice as it allows for a little more sleeping time. I did take 2 tylenol because I remembered that I had done that in 2010 and with my lingering pain I figured it might not be a bad idea.

Since I had packed my bags the night before, I was ready to go in a short amount of time. Pigeon and Missouri were coming to pick me up at 4:40 am. I had to load their car with what I needed at Beals Point (mile 24.31) as that would be my own personal aid-station.

Um yup, that's my aid-station
Um yup, that’s my aid-station

This year I didn’t have a major crew like I had in 2010. I had more support than I thought I did though going into the race, which turned out to be a really nice surprise along the way as you will see. Before I left the house I had packed our car with my post-race bag, the lawn chairs we’d need and provided a list to Vans of what to bring in terms of my post-race fuel that I had sitting ready to go in the fridge. Pretty organized if I do say so myself.

Pigeon and Missouri arrived and we were off …. driving the whole one mile to the starting line. 🙂

The American River 50 Mile race decided to change its course this year. When I ran it in 2010 it started down in Sacramento by Sac State, which was one mile from my house. That year, Miss P and I ran the 1 mile to the start. One of the main reasons for me wanting to try the race again this year is the fact that they changed the starting location to El Dorado Hills, just one mile from my new home. I figured it was fate that this race keeps following me so I had to give it a shot. 🙂

We arrived about an hour before race start. Pigeon and I quickly made use of the portable bathrooms (a few times actually) and I also ate my pre-race fuel. Soon, it was time to line up at the starting line!

Ready to go ... in the dark.
Ready to go … in the dark.

The race was so large this year (over 1,000 runners) that the race directors had us start in two waves. Pigeon and I were in wave 1 which started at 6:00 am (wave 2 started at 6:15). It was pretty dark at the start and Pigeon had a handheld light and I had one of my knuckle lights.

Here we go!
Here we go!

As usual, there isn’t too much hoopla at the race start. They generally start on time and when the horn blows, we all sort of start off in a shuffle. Everyone had some kind of light so we really didn’t need our lights all that much but it was helpful in spots.

The start takes us up the long paved drive of Browns Marina, which was about a mile long I would guess until we hit the trail. I say “I guess” because this year, this race, I decided NOT to wear my Garmin. This felt extremely weird to me but also freeing at times. Instead, I wore just a regular stopwatch. My reason for not wearing a Garmin is that basically it would have died about half way through the race as the battery doesn’t last a long time. With a stopwatch I could at least gauge my time but not my distance. Definitely a different experience for me.

We hit the trails of Browns Ravine which Pigeon and I have run quite a few times throughout our training. This is my turf. My territory so I was just cruising along behind a bunch of runners. All of a sudden I feel as if I am leading a small train of people. I just kept running, hiking up some of the steeper climbs. Occasionally I would try and look behind me to see if Pigeon was still on my tail. Sometimes she was and sometimes she wasn’t and then I heard it…turkeys. Gobble gobble gobble off to my left. I called out for Pigeon but she wasn’t close enough to me yet to hear me. When she did get close I asked, “did you hear that?! Turkeys!” and she simply replied, “You’ll be fine. They are far away.”

Finally we popped out of the trail and onto the levee. The day was gorgeous, the views of Folsom Lake as the sun was rising behind us was just breath taking. Pigeon came up along side of me and tells me that I just blew through that last section pretty fast. “You do realize you are running 50 miles right?” Ha! I told her it’s my spot, I am used to running that section quickly but I am smart and we settled into a nice pace along the levee looking out at Folsom Lake.

We were both looking forward to getting to the first aid-station at mile 5 which was the Fleet Feet Aid-Station at Folsom Point. Here we could both hand off our lights and my arm warmers. I told Pigeon that I had to use the bathroom but that it wasn’t quite urgent yet. Folsom Point has real bathrooms but the lines were long so I opted to keep going knowing Pigeon doesn’t like to slow down.

We left Folsom Point and hit the pavement running over Folsom Lake Crossing.

Starting the pavement fun!
Starting the pavement fun!

Pigeon and I had run this same section a few weeks earlier. As annoying as it was running past all the cars on the crossing, the views to our right were pretty spectacular.

Good morning!
Good morning!

We followed the bike path down until it connected with the portion that takes you under the road and down towards Folsom. This stretch of the race we would see again when running back towards Beals Point except at that time, it will be UP hill and not down.

Pigeon and I just cruised along. I didn’t have my music in yet as I was just totally soaking up the race, the views and the moment. I noticed that my left knee was achy and my back was still a little sore, but I just decided to let it go.

We ran over the foot bridge in Folsom and then hopped onto a section of trails I had never been on before. Pigeon and I knew that our last aid-station was mile 5 and that our next one was not until Willow Creek at mile 12.77. That’s quite a distance between aid-stations. Not that we needed much but we noticed that there were plenty of convenient places where there could have been an aid-station.

Pigeon started getting quiet on me. She’s not a talker to begin with when running but generally she stays near my side and we’ll talk occasionally. We were barely two hours into the run and she was backing off which isn’t like her so I knew something was up. She mentioned something about her Perpeteum drink mix and that her gels were stuck together in her pack because her baggie of drink mix was open and had spilled.

I put in my headphones and started listening to the music. I can listen to music and run when I am on a paved section like a bike trail (which is kind of boring). I had a great string of songs come through my shuffle that really had me getting excited and even singing (sorry other runners).

How can I not be happy!?
How can I not be happy!?

Finally I knew that we were quickly approaching Willow Creek (almost 2 hours into our run). I turned to Pigeon and told her that I was planning to use the bathroom at the aid-station and knowing that she doesn’t like to slow down or wait much in races, I told her that I was going to sprint ahead so she would not have to wait but I did say “wait for me!” It was too early for me be running solo.

So I sprinted. Yup, I just started booking it towards the aid-station over the bridge down the trail. The Willow Creek aid-station was the Bufffalo Chips aid-station (my old running group) but I was too focused on getting to the bathrooms so Pigeon wouldn’t have to wait that I just bypassed everything. The bathrooms were far from the aid-station.

When I came out I saw Pigeon standing by the trail. I am not sure how long she waited but as soon as she saw me, we started running again. I didn’t get any water at that aid-station or fuel. Luckily in addition to the two 10 ounces bottles on the front of my pack, I have a hydration bladder in the back that had about a liter of water in it which was great because after Willow Creek, the next aid-station (Main Bar) was not until mile 16.98 which was still about 4.21 miles away and it was getting warm and my bottles were empty.

Sunny and smiling!
Sunny and smiling!

We finally reached the CSUS Acquatic Center and crossed over Hazel Bridge. I was feeling great at this point. I couldn’t wait to get to the bluffs at Hazel and see the views. However, in 2010 there used to be an aid-station at this spot but apparently they moved it a few years ago to Main Bar. I was really looking forward to getting some water here and taking off my shoes as they had boulders pebbles in them while Pigeon used a bathroom.

But nope, no aid, no water. I did take off my shoe though. Pigeon told me she wasn’t feeling well. She needed to find a spot to go to the bathroom. She was also dry heaving at this point as well.

We had just crossed that bridge!
We had just crossed that bridge!

I felt bad for her but I was loving the day so far. The weather was perfect, the views were gorgeous and we were FINALLY on our way headed back towards Beals Point on our way toward Auburn.

Climbing up the bluffs!
Climbing up the bluffs!

There is just something that turns on mentally in your head when you know you are running towards the direction that will take you home instead of away.

Head down the other side of the bluffs!
Headed down the other side of the bluffs!

Pigeon told me she needed to stop and I told her that I’d walk a bit and wait. She ducked off onto a side trail (got a surprise from a mountain biker too) while I waited. When she came out she looked better. Not great, but better.

We continued running the bike trail until it was time to duck off onto the trails again after the Main Bar Aid-Station where I filled up my bottles. The volunteers were rocking out to some 80s music which got me excited.

Then it was back up to the bluffs again. Once again, Pigeon was not looking great. She was dry heaving occasionally and told me that she wanted to dump her Perpetuem mix and start drinking coke. We were only 17 or so miles into the race. I tried to offer her the idea of dumping her mix and drinking water and having real food first before resorting to cola. My only concern is that it was getting quite warm and cola will dehydrate you. She wanted easy liquid calories and I wanted to preserve whatever hydration she had left. With all the dry heaving and pit-stops she was quickly losing electrolytes. Cola would only hurt that, not help.

Pigeon was not feeling the love yet.
Pigeon was not feeling the love yet.

As we got off the dirt trails and back onto the pavement, Pigeon told me she had to make another stop. I walked a bit then ran as I heard the Negro Bar aid-station up ahead (mile 20.18). I knew that Diane from Breakout Fitness would be there and I was really itching to see a familiar face and smile.

Yup, a smiling face!
Yup, a smiling face!

It was great to talk with her and chat a bit. I told her that the last two miles I had a side stitch and it was slowing me down but just stopping there for a bit, the pain went away. Diane asked me where Pigeon was and I told her she was having a tough time and was behind me. I told her that I would wait there until she came into the aid-station. I chatted with a few other of the Folsom Lake Trail Runners until I saw Pigeon making her way in. I ran to her and grabbed her bottle from her. I told her that I was going to dump it, rinse it and fill it with cola like she wanted.

This is a big aid-station and it was very busy so I just hopped behind the table and started filling her bottle up with a 2 liter of coke that I had found sitting there. The guy behind the table kind of looked at me funny as no one is supposed to have pacers this early and I clearly looked like a pacer or crew person helping their runner.

Soon we were off and headed to Beals Point (mile 24.31). In previous races, Beals is typically the half way point but with the new course, it was only 24 miles or so. I didn’t care. I knew that Missouri would be there as well as TiggerT!!!! I needed some familiar faces and smiles and the energy at Beals is pretty exciting too.

Pigeon was doing okay. She was running but she still wasn’t feeling great. She told me to run ahead as we both knew we were approaching Beals. I love to run up the hill to Beals. Most of the runners walk it but I like to run it as the adrenaline of just coming into that aid-station is enough to propel me.

I crested the hill at Beals saw the balloon arches and heard my name being called over the PA system. I saw a group of friends including Miss P cheering me on. Then I saw Missouri waving me over to where she had set up some chairs and my little aid-station.

I told her that Pigeon was having some issues and would need some help when she came in. I quickly sat and changed my socks, refilled my bottles and got to town eating my potatoes. I also took off my shuffle and music. Soon TiggerT arrived and I handed her my camera. 🙂

Chugging some water
Chugging some water

Pigeon had arranged to have Killer Kuni be her pacer from Beals Point to the finish. Kuni is an ultra running phenom and is actually running the Hard Rock 100 miler in a two weeks. Kuni was on my original ultra team back in 2010. He is just the nicest guy and his wife Dasie is one of the nicest people in the ultra running community. They know how to crew a runner especially one that needs some help.

Pigeon and her crew!
Pigeon and her crew!
Getting myself ready to head back out.
Getting myself ready to head back out.

When Pigeon was ready to go, the three of us (Pigeon, Kuni and myself) headed off towards the trail. At the last minute, Pigeon said she needed to use the bathroom again. I looked at Kuni and told him that I’d go on ahead and would see them when they caught up.

This section of the trail is a little different than it was in 2010. We ran on the levee towards Cavitt and then dipped onto the trails. I was still solo at this point. I had walked a little on the levee looking back behind me waiting for Pigeon and Kuni to reach me but they never came.

I did have some thoughts that perhaps something had happened to Pigeon when she was in the bathroom. What if she dropped? I was worried about her and her current state but I knew she was tough. I also knew with me being ahead of her that it would fuel her desire to not give up.

I ran Cavitt like I always do. Running the downs and running some of the up hills. Normally I can run these up hills with no problems but the legs were feeling a little bit tired but I had passed the half way point.

Mr. Tutu Man on Cavitt
Mr. Tutu Man on Cavitt

While I was leisurely running along waiting for Pigeon to catch up, I took some photos and sort of assessed how I was feeling.

My aches and pains were mostly in my feet and knees but nothing too terrible. My stomach felt fine which surprised me as I am usually the one with tummy troubles. I kept using my watch as my guide and taking a salt tab almost every hour depending on how I was hydrating and feeling at the time.

Folsom Lake
Folsom Lake

The temps were definitely rising especially on Cavitt which is a mostly exposed fire road. This concerned me as Pigeon and the heat don’t mix and if she wasn’t feeling well already …. I was worried the heat would get to her.

I just kept running passing a few people here and there. There was also a triathlon going on at the same time which really made things interesting as you were trying to navigate the trail with mountain bikers and other runners coming at you at various times.

I started to feel a little low on fuel here. I had just eaten at Beals but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was slowly getting a little more tired than I should be at this point. I just kept going though. I hopped on the tail of a couple of girls, one of whom was the pacer. She was yelling at her runner to drink and to eat. I was kind of laughing and even told the runner she had a kick butt pacer for taking care of her.

All of a sudden I hear, “Hey Hey Hey!” Low and behold it was Pigeon and Kuni and they were running like they stole something! She had come back to life!!! I quickly hopped on their tail passing the girls in front of us.

We continued passing runner after runner. I called out to Kuni “What did you do to her? And can you do it to me?!” Pigeon was back and she was on fire.

We were approaching Granite Bay Aid-Station (29.45) and we saw Missouri and TiggerT. They asked us if we needed anything and we said no. I really wanted the real aid-station table to fill up and see what they had but out of the corner of my eye I spotted Vans!!! He surprised me by being at the aid station!

Look at my wing span!
Look at my wing span!

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I was so happy to see him. Squeaker was asleep in the car near by and the Peanut was at a birthday party for the time being. It really made my day to see his face and I think he was surprised as to how good I looked and felt.

Checking out the aid-station
Checking out the aid-station

We chatted for a bit and then he goes, “What is in your ear?” I touched my ear and sure enough, I had removed my headphones at Beals but my Yurbud was still stuck in my ear! I had been running the entire time with this big blue rubber thing sticking out of my ear. You can see it in the above photo. Trailmomma dork!

Nice GCRS shirt!
Nice GCRS shirt!

But soon it was time to say goodbye to Vans. He was going to try and make it to the Rattlesnake aid-station. I was worried he wouldn’t get any parking there. Yes, these are the things I worry about when running.

Bye Bye Granite Bay Aid-Station
Bye Bye Granite Bay Aid-Station

So off we went, with Pigeon leading our train followed by Kuni and myself taking up the caboose. Their pace was pretty fast and I told Kuni that. He agreed that she was really running fast at this point. I knew I would not be able to keep up for another 20 miles but I hung on as best I could.

Pigeon was still drinking the coke she had in her bottle and seemed to be fueling on gels. Kuni would help out from time to time and was pretty aware of what she needed. At one point, about 6 hours and 20 minutes into our run we passed a few runners and one girl called out as I passed “I read your blog! Thank you!” That TOTALLY made my day. Thank you to that runner who reads my blog! I wish I had gotten your name!!

This section through Granite Bay was new to the course this year. It involved some gnarly trails that went up and down and once again, we dodged a few mountain bikers coming along the trail head on. There were also lots of conga lines through this section. Pigeon would find an opening and jet through it with the two of us hot on her tail.

I was feeling okay but I was worried it was too fast too soon, at least for me. I was having a hard time keeping up with them as I kept getting stuck behind a line of runners and then would have to sprint to keep up. I scolded myself for playing such a game. What did it matter? I didn’t need to kill myself trying to keep up with them but I wanted to. I was afraid that if Pigeon got too far ahead that when she got to Rattlesnake, Missouri would have her in and out and then TiggerT would be left there waiting for me but my personal little aid-station would be with Missouri which really didn’t matter since it was a full aid-station anyway. I think mentally I was starting to break just a little at this point. Which I quickly realized since most of the day I had been pretty happy. I checked myself and called in my secret weapon.

You see, on my right wrist I wore my RockOn Dylan Flinchum Foundation green bracelet. I wore it for specifically for moments like this. Dylan and his family are close to my heart. I grew up with Dylan’s dad and his brother is one of my very best friends. Dylan can’t run and will never run 50 miles but he is one strong amazingly tough little 5 year old. I looked at my wrist and I instantly had more strength. Just thinking about Dylan lifted my spirits and kept me moving. I never touched that dark place again. One foot in front of the other was all I needed, nothing else mattered.

Buzzards Cove aid-station (34.67) is an express aid-station meaning they only have water, soda and ice cream. Yes, ice cream. I had finally caught up to Pigeon and Kuni at this point and Kuni was enjoying some of the ice cream. Around the 7 hour mark I finally took 2 Advil. I was hoping it would help minimize some of the aches I was feeling and give me more power to keep up.

It was at this point that I started missing my Garmin. The signs at each aid-station told you what the mileage was to the next aid-station but I’d always forget. I knew that if I could get to the Rattlesnake aid-station and pick up TiggerT my pacer for the last 10 miles, I’d feel better, less pressure.

However, somewhere around mile 37 I am guessing, in an effort to stick with Kuni and Pigeon yet again as they passed a sea of runners, I tripped and somersaulted down the trail. The runner in front of me must have heard the thud as he ran back in a panic and tried to help me up (since I was upside down). I thanked him and then basically laughed at myself. If that wasn’t a sign that my legs were pretty tired, I don’t know what was!

I decided to let Pigeon and Kuni go. I hoped that I would catch them at the Horseshoe Bar aid-station (38.14) and catch them I did! The two of them looked like two kids in a candy store playing with a bucket of water and some sponges! When I crested the hill into the aid-station, Pigeon called out “Trailmomma come cool off!” I yelled back, “I fell!” and then they saw the blood streaks running down my leg. Pigeoned tried to rinse off my cut while Kuni squeezed a nice ice cold sponge over my neck and back. Wow, that will wake you up!

Off we went again. I didn’t really have time to grab much at the aid-station and I think these too brief stops are what killed me later on. As we left the aid-station and ran down the hill, my right knee (the one I had cut) gave out a little and proceeded to ache. Great. Hopefully that Advil I took will kick in soon.

Once again I lost Pigeon and Kuni and was running by myself. No other runners were near me. I would occasionally see one or two through the trees or I would catch glimpses of Pigeon and Kuni’s yellow shirts but I let them go. I was on my way to the Rattlesnake aid-station and I knew I would see Vans and TiggerT.

Entering Rattlesnake
Entering Rattlesnake

Rattlesnake Bar aid-station (40.94) had also changed since I last remember and even from last year because I had paced Pigeon from here to the finish. The race directors had us running down this hill with oncoming runners leaving the aid-station going up. It was rather annoying actually because the trail was not easy to descend (especially with a bum knee) and the runners coming up were just as tired. It was also sort of a bummer to realize that I would have to climb up that hill in a few minutes too.

Pigeon and Kuni were just finishing up at the aid-station when I arrived. They were off and running again. I chatted with Vans a bit and Squeaker was awake finally!

Waiting for mommy to come through!
Waiting for mommy to come through!

She was a little upset because I wouldn’t let her hug me. The poison oak along the trail was out in full force. We were running through bushes of it at times trying to side step branches that reached all the way across the trail.

Daise and Missouri helping me out
Daise and Missouri helping me out

With Pigeon and Kuni already gone, I had Dasie and Missouri all to myself! 🙂 Missouri asked if she could do anything and I asked her to fill my water bottles (aka jugs) with the water that I had in my cooler (it was electrolyte water). She did and with my hands full of food, Missouri had to put my jugs back in my vest for me. 🙂 We have a running joke here about my “jugs” and so this just had us both laughing out loud. What I forgot to tell Missouri later on though is that she never CLOSED my jugs so when I started running they started squirting up into my face. I laughed so hard. Humor is such a great relief.

Checking my watch
Checking my watch

At this point I realized I was close on time if I wanted to try and break my 2010 time for this race. I looked at TiggerT and said “I no longer care about my time. I just want to get it done and stay happy.” I saw lots of other running friends at this aid-station too which was a real spirit lifter. I always knew that if I could make it to this aid-station, that I would finish but I also didn’t want to be out there too long either.

Time for my pacer!
Time for my pacer!

Having TiggerT with me was so nice. I had pretty much been running by myself after I had lost Kuni and Pigeon on the trail. Just having someone to talk to when running can take your mind off of things. I handed TiggerT my camera and told her to go to town and boy did she ever! The photos from here on out are courtesy of TiggerT!

The last 10 miles are pretty but tough.
The last 10 miles are very pretty but tough.

I jumped on the train of a runner and his pacer. The pacer was talking nonstop which kind of bugged me but I sort of just kept running. He asked if I wanted to pass and I said no. I wanted to but I didn’t know if I had the strength to keep going without having them pass me again later.

You can see my line of runners ahead.
You can see my line of runners ahead.

TiggerT asked how I felt and what was hurting. I told her my knee was really hurting me but mostly on the down hills and even then it wasn’t constant. It felt like a tired out old IT Band issue which I have dealt with before.

Finally, I did end up passing the boys and I just took off. I had some pent-up energy I guess so I started running. I wanted to be done. In hind sight, I should have passed them earlier on. Oh well.

So pretty!
So pretty!

Finally TiggerT and I reached Dowdin’s Post aid-station (43.93) which I had completely forgotten existed until TiggerT told me there was one aid before we reached Last Gasp (47.56).

At each of the aid-stations the volunteers place funny signs leading you to the aid-station. Usually I read them and most of them I have heard before like: “May the Course be with You” and “Blisters are Battle Scars” etc. But we passed one sign that literally had me laugh out loud! It read, “This seemed like a good idea … last month.” Oh boy was that so true! 🙂 I love these little pick me ups.

TiggerT made me pose
TiggerT made me pose

What was really neat was the fact that TiggerT had not been on some of these trails before so these sights were all new to her. She also has never paced someone at an ultra before. She has been to an aid-station and seen her crazy-ultra friends come through, but she’s never fully participated in one quite the way she did during AR50. I enjoyed seeing her face take in some of the sights and sounds.

From Dowdin’s aid-station to Last Gasp it was only 3.64 miles. The one thing I recall during those last 3.5 miles most were butterflies! I don’t know exactly what kind of butterflies they were but they were black and they were huge! They would just buzz right by your head or in front of your feet! Once again, I thought of Dylan. The rare disease that he has and the foundation looking for a cure, has a logo of a butterfly. Once again, Dylan’s strength propelled me.

Just me and the boys climbing out of the trail!
Just me and the boys climbing out of the trail!

Before you get to Last Gasp aid-station (47.56) you have to climb this steep gravel road (above photo). Just a few weeks ago, Pigeon and I ran this section but it had been wet from rain. Now it was loose and annoying.

Annoying and steep, did I mention steep?
Annoying and steep, did I mention steep?
The infamous sign! 3 miles to go 47 done!
The infamous sign! 3 miles to go 47 done!

I had to warn TiggerT about the Last Gasp aid-station. It is run by a bunch of boys … who are typically shirtless. I happen to enjoy this aid-station quite a bit but this year the boys were wearing tights! TiggerT LOVED this and of course had to take photos. 🙂

Check him out!
Check him out!

I had to laugh at her. She was out of water but was too busy taking photos to fill up first.

Okay so I stopped to get one more look at the tights.
Okay so I stopped to get one more look at the tights too.

I am glad she remembered to fill up her water bottles before we started off up the hill again.

Time to run, see Pigeon, I DID run some of it!
Time to run, see Pigeon, I DID run some of it!

TiggerT was great. She was taking photos and chatting with me. She never pushed. I would say “let’s run to that sign” and we would. My back was really starting to hurt with the incline of the hill but I kept going.

TiggerT realized on this section that my knee was still a little bloody from my fall and she made me stop so she could get a photo. Stop? Okay, fine by me!

Sexy knees
Sexy knees

Boy was I glad that I had TiggerT with me on this hill. One foot in front of the other I just kept hiking and running when I could.

Pretty views
Pretty views

Finally, we saw the last mile maker. One mile to go. One mile until I could see my family. I wanted to run so bad. I wanted to run hard but my legs were not connected to my brain at this point.

Only one mile to go!!!!
Only one mile to go!!!!

And then I saw the giant frog. Yes, frog. I don’t recall him being here in 2010 or even last year, but boy was I glad to see him!

Frog!!!
Frog!!!

Mr. Frog was pointing to the turn where I would reach the tiny hill of death. This little tiny hill just about killed me in 2010 and when I ran it a few weeks ago with Pigeon, I pushed hard to run the entire thing. This year I ran about 3/4 of the way up pushing hard.

When I crested the hill the fans were all cheering. I knew all I had to do was run one tiny little hill to the parking, NOT trip over the curb as I ran onto grass and then just run the perimeter of the overlook until I got to the finish line.

I told TiggerT she should run on the outside of the cones, through the parking lot and that I’d see her at the finish line! I knew that a PR was out of the question but still I sprinted my way around the side-walk running through the arch as they called out my name.

I did it! I finished!!!
I did it! I finished!!!

10 hours and 33 minutes was my time. In 2010, on a different course, I ran it in 10 hours and 26 minutes. As Pigeon pointed out to me later, it is technically a new PR since it was a new course. I’ll take that reasoning. 🙂 I also realized that I used up quite a bit of time in the first half of the race where as if I had not stopped, I may have been a bit closer. It doesn’t really matter. I am just happy I finished!

When I crossed the finish line Diane was right there smiling and soon after Vans, the girls and TiggerT were there too!

My family!
My family!

I felt pretty good. Of course I was sore and walking kind of funny but I was so happy. I have always wanted to run this race again just to prove to myself that I could. Not sure I’ll do it again any time soon, as I really enjoy the 50K distance but I guess I can never say never huh? Vans knows something else is always up my sleeve.

I want to thank TiggerT for getting me up the hill and through those last 10 miles. We’ve run a lot together over the years always making each other laugh.

TiggerT my pacer!
TiggerT my pacer!

I want to thank Missouri and Pigeon for their continued support both on and off the trails. I could not have done this race without your help.

Pigeon, Missouri, TiggerT and I retelling trail stories (wearing my Dylan shirt post race).
Pigeon, Missouri, TiggerT and I retelling trail stories (wearing my Dylan shirt post race).

Thank you to Kuni and Dasie as well for your support throughout the race. I always say, some of the nicest people in the world are trail runners.

Thank you to my two beautiful girls who I love more than anything in this world. I know you don’t understand now, but I hope some day you will and maybe you’ll be proud of your crazy Trailmomma. Thanks to Vans, my love for always allowing me to do these crazy things and for being my rock.

My loves
My loves

My girls and Vans make me laugh and they support me through these crazy things. I am very lucky.

Someone else fell too.
Someone else fell too.

Now two days later, I am happy to say I feel pretty good. The sore muscles are almost gone and the only problem that remains is my lower back pain. I am planning to rest up a bit more, stretch and do what I can to minimize the pain because there are more trail adventures ahead for the Trailmomma family! So stay tuned!

Cheers!
Cheers!

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

 

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MUDSLIDE

Well, California asked for rain … and we got it. I know we need quite a bit more to make a dent in Folsom Lake, but today’s monsoon made for a great wet muddy run which always leads to some adventure.

Pigeon was working today so I reached out to TiggerT to see if she would be interested in doing 16 miles with me somewhere around El Dorado Hills. She agreed and told me that her friend Dirty David would be joining us. I’ve run with DD before, a few times actually. Along with TiggerT, he’s part of the Java Jogger group and is also known as TiggerT’s running husband.

After some random texting with TiggerT this morning on what we should wear, I decided on shorts thinking any additional clothing would be silly as it would only get wet and therefore make me cold on the run.

Dressed for the rain!
Dressed for the rain!

TiggerT showed up at my house and together we ran the half mile to meet Dirty David who was parked at the CSD.

TiggerT and I had decided in advance, what trails we were going to run to try and get our 16 miles. We started off down New York Creek which runs right near CSD and then headed up the climb to The Ridge Loop of Death.

The Ridge Hill
The Ridge Hill

I ran the whole hill. I was feeling great, my legs were feeling strong and I just was happy to be running! You can see TiggerT and Dirty David down the hill. The wind was pretty gusty on the hill. It was so windy that we had to stop and make a decision, do we run our normal counter-clockwise loop or do we go clockwise for some additional shelter from the crazy wind?

We normally go right here.
We normally go right here.

We opted for clockwise which was kind of fun since I have never run the loop in this direction before. However, when we made it to the streets of Serrano we were hit with major gusts of wind. I was almost sent chasing my hat and so we decided to turn around and run the direction we had just came back towards New York Creek.

Back down the Ridge, across the street and to New York Creek we ran just chatting and laughing away. Soon we came to a new obstacle …

Tree down!
Tree down!

New York Creek was completely blocked so we had to go around the tree.

Hiking around it.
Hiking around it.

When we came to end of New York Creek, TiggerT took us on Wild Oaks Trail. I knew about this trail but I had never been on it before because it is usually infested with turkeys and everyone knows how I feel about birds. I also wasn’t entirely sure which way to go. Now I know and I cannot wait to take Pigeon on these trails!

Soooo Pretty!!!!
Soooo Pretty!!!!

These trails are mostly downhill which is even more fun. We saw a huge deer dart off the trail too. Lots of rocks, which were slippery, I cannot wait to get back out there!

Cute little bridge!
Cute little bridge!

I kept stopping to take photos. Luckily TiggerT and Dirty David didn’t mind. TiggerT has done these trails many times. Vans actually mountain bikes through here at night sometimes.

They just keep going!
They just keep going!

Eventually these trails spit you out near Browns Marina where I have run many times before. We stopped to use the porta potty and tried to take shelter while each of us took a turn. It was definitely very windy out there.

However, we were not alone alone on the trails. We saw quite a few other runners and a mountain biker. Looks like the rain didn’t scare away too many people.

Folsom Lake shot - with a little more water at least!
Folsom Lake shot – with a little more water at least!

Up and down we ran, just chatting away some times and running in silence in others. It was somewhere along this trail that I noticed what felt like a tiny little pebble in my shoe. I even took off my shoe and tried to get it out. I thought I saw it fall but when I put my shoe back on, I still felt it. I assumed that it was stuck in my sock. I just kept going hoping that it would go away.

The trails were pretty slick and muddy out at Browns Ravine. Our original plan was to make it to the levee area and then run the levee to Folsom Point to add more mileage. However, when we stopped at the end of the trail I once again almost lost my hat!

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TiggerT suggested that we just turn around and go back the way we came. That was fine with me as I have always wanted to do that to see what the mileage was and also, I really detest running the pavement hills back to my house.

Dirty David was leading the way. When we came to the down hill (that incidentally we all slipped on when climbing UP earlier) he made the decision that he was going run down it, not walk. I quickly stopped and grabbed my camera. I just knew this would turn out interesting.

He ALMOST made it!
He ALMOST made it!
You can see his skid mark!
You can see his skid mark!

You can see how Dirty David has since earned his nickname on my blog. The whole rest of the run we were trying to come up different names for him … Skidmark was one of my favorites but he vetoed that one.

What we all ran down (and up)
What we all ran down (and up)

Definitely a muddy day for sure but so much fun!!!! We were all pretty caked in mud but somehow my legs ended up being the cleanest of us all when all was said and done.

Once again, I stopped to take off my shoe and this time I even took off my sock! I couldn’t find that darn pebble so I just put everything back on and continued running back up Wild Oaks Trail.

We finally reached EDH Blvd. and collectively decided to take New York Creek again back towards the CSD to keep adding to our mileage.

When we came to the obstacle tree we’d passed earlier, TiggerT insisted that there was a “hole” in the tree for us to get through … Dirty David and I opted to go around but not before I grabbed my camera!

The hole was clearly TiggerT size
The hole was clearly TiggerT size

I think Dirty David and I made the wise decision here to go around otherwise I might still be stuck out there. I had quite a problem with being stuck today. Apparently the braid in my hair attached itself to a clip on my Jenny Vesta pack and I couldn’t lift my head … TiggerT had to come to my rescue but not without laughing hysterically at me first. Ahh, running with friends is so much fun!

Stream crossing!
Stream crossing!

I totally thought Dirty David would biff it into that stream. He was getting all fancy on us trying to figure out the best way to get around it … he made it across without any more falls though.

Soon we were back at Dirty David’s car where we thanked him for the run and the laughs. TiggerT and I continued running the half mile road to my house. The rain was really starting to come down hard at this point. I mentioned to TiggerT that the drops were getting larger by the minute. We.were.drenched!

Photo by the Peanut (age 5)
Photo by the Peanut (age 5)

When all was said and done, my Garmin read 15 miles. I am okay with that as I was soaked to the core and I really wanted to see what was going on with my foot. As it turns out, I now have the start of a huge blister on the ball of my foot. This is odd to me as I have never in my life had feet or blister problems before and now I seem ridden with them. Maybe it is time for new socks? Maybe it was just the really wet conditions (although I have run in worse). Who knows but I am glad it happened on a 15 mile training run and not next week’s Western States Training Run which is 21 miles (and I am SO stoked about it).

While I was out getting soaked, Vans and the girls were snuggled nice and warm in the house getting spoiled by watching Clifford and eating breakfast at the same time.

Saturday morning cartoons!
Saturday morning cartoons!

What a great start to the weekend!

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

 

 

 

 

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