Okay, for weeks now I have been “ho-hum” about running. We’ve just been in super busy mode with the Peanut’s new swim team practice schedule and work has been busy lately. The weather is turning nice outside and the last thing I want to do is be inside in an office all.day.long but, it pays the bills, particularly swim team bills.
BUT tomorrow, tomorrow is another legendary day for me! Tomorrow is Day 1 of the Western States Memorial Day Training Run. 32 miles on some pretty spectacular trails!
Now I would be completely lying if I didn’t say that I was totally dreading this weekend up until a few hours ago. I’ve been tired, exhausted and running around like a chicken with my head caught off mode for quite a while now. I even skipped my morning session at Breakout Fitness today because I wanted to have a few extra hours of sleep. It helped but I love my TRX.
I’ve also had some aches and pains and some pretty pathetic runs this week that all lead up to me just feeling pretty down and unenthused about Saturday’s run. Yet, it is a 3 day weekend and while I still work at the store on Sunday, I will have Monday off to be with my girls.
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As I was walking outside on my lunch hour (in this 96 degree heat), I realized I needed to change my attitude around. So I read my old post from 2010, and that was it. Now I am excited to run. While the heat is going to be pretty intense (they are calling for 100 degrees), it SHOULD be a great day.
I will be running with Pigeon again and this year we are doing things a little bit different (more on that AFTER the run). She’s in super training mode but she knows how much I like to have fun on the trails so I am sure there will be some laughter along the way.
It will be a long day for Vans and the girls too but I am sure they will keep him busy laughing too….
I must apologize. It used to be that I would go for  a run on a Saturday and then be super excited to come home and blog about it. Lately, either I have been running from one event to the next or I just haven’t had the time (or energy/motivation) to blog.
This past Saturday was the Coloma River Run (5k, 10k or 10 mile option). I signed up for the 10 mile option and was super excited as this was a big deal for Gold Country Run and Sport.
GCRS Booth
GCRSÂ Girl and I arrived at the race at 7 am to set up the tent, booth and to pick up our race packets. This was a pretty small race in terms of set up. They didn’t have a specific place for us to put our tent so it was up to GCRS girl to pick a spot.
Once we were up and running, we picked up our race packets and started talking to those who came to the booth or were friends doing the race.
TiggerT was doing the race too and I knew she would be arriving soon. Sure enough she showed up with her smile although she did admit that something about this race was making her nervous. She couldn’t put her finger on it but she had not been running much trail (at least with these types of hills) in a few weeks.
I tried to assure her that she would be fine and I figured that the three of us (GCRSÂ Girl, TiggerT and myself) would be running together most of the race. Everyone else that was associated with the store was doing the 10K option or had their heart set on a PR.
TiggerT, Me, GCRS Girl
The race is really low-key and all 3 events started at the same time. There wasn’t much fanfare about it all, it was more or less “ready set go!” I’ve run this loop before with TiggerT quite a few years ago so this was the first time in a while that I had been out on these hills. The elevation is nothing compared to where I have been running lately but the hills go up forever and ever.
I have never run with GCRS Girl before so it was kind of fun to run with someone new. She’s a very strong runner and she was tackling the hills right off the bat. Me? I was content to stay with her but I wondered how long we’d continue at that pace with these hills.
At one point, the course divides and the 10k runners go in one direction and the 10 mile runners in another. When this happened, it definitely felt like we were the only 3 doing the 10 mile option as there were not many people around us.
Right on cue, we came to another long hill. GCRSÂ Girl and I just powered up and we lost TiggerT. I knew she wouldn’t be far behind us.
Pigeon and TiggerT would probably say that I am a “talkative” runner. I can run in silence if that’s needed but I always just find something to chat about … as long as I know the person. I don’t go chatting it up with random people. 🙂 However, Pigeon and TiggerT are not overly chatty. GCRS Girl is just about as talkative on a run as I am! I’ve met my match. We pretty much talked nonstop for 10 miles straight!
So pretty!
At one point we were hiking up a climb and we hear the pitter patter of running feet behind us … TigerT!!! The first words out her mouth were, “Please don’t start running!” We all laughed and continued hiking up the hill … except when I said it was time to take a photo.
You run with me, you have to take photos.
TiggerTÂ would stay behind us and GCRSÂ Girl and I would just run and hike and talk the remainder of the race. I learned a lot about her on this run! TiggerT told us that our chatting was keeping her going and she was content to just listen since GCRSÂ Girl and I were huffing and puffing from trying to talk and run at the same time. Sneaky TiggerT! 🙂
I wore my Garmin but it was a deceptive course. I kept thinking we were much farther along mileage wise but when I would glance down at my watch, I would see that we were only at mile 5 or something!
We had to cross the same stream twice on this run and I had completely forgotten about that before the race. I christened my new trail shoes by running through a shin high stream and red clay mud. Awesome.
At least on the last mile we had to go through that same stream again so our shoes were washed clean. The three of us finished and for some odd reason, it felt like we were in last place! hahaha There was no one else behind us and it just felt like everyone else was already at the finish enjoying the raffle!
GCRS Girl and I crossed the finish line, posed for a photo …
Gold Country Run and Sport
… then we took off in the car as we both had to race back home to catch our kids mock swim meet.
Bye bye Coloma
The Peanut has been swimming since she was 2, almost 3 years old. When we moved into our home that has a pool, I was quite adamant that she learn to swim. We enrolled her in Steve Wallen Swim school where she took lessons for twice a week for over a year before moving her down to once a week.
This past winter, instead of lessons we did Steve’s Swim Clinic which is a 45 minute session where essentially all she did was swim lap after lap after lap. She handled that pretty well and Steve asked us if we were going to put her on a swim team. Vans and I had thought about it but didn’t know how the Peanut would fare. She’s very shy and she does not like being the center of attention ESPECIALLY when there is physical activity involved. However, she KNOWS how great a swimmer she is and she has confidence in herself when it comes to swimming so we decided to go for it.
swim clinic
We first signed her up for a swim team summer clinic so she could get to know the coaches and the pool (outside vs inside). It was hit or miss every practice with crying or not crying, participating or not participating. The product involves recruiting of major sensual stimulation which ensures one to have a good understanding of what the medication really is and what its cialis 5 mg purpose is. Most importantly, they deliver the same great female viagra for sale benefits of the medicine are also obtainable for men with affected psychological health. This active ingredient, in the type of a powder, can easily promote blood circulation in the levitra online sales human body, suffuse the spongy tissue of the male genitals with blood within a few minutes of its consumption. This takes place due to high levels of the sugar glucose in cost viagra the blood.
Fast forward now to swim team, she’s familiar enough with the pool, the coaches and even some of the kids. Practices have been going well (minus a few days here and there).
Mock meet
When it was time for the mock swim meet, Vans and I thought for sure this would be the test of all tests for the Peanut. She had a team suit compliments of GCRS Girl (thank you!) so she looked the part compared to some other kids wearing just their every day suit. I think that made her feel more “on the team” if you know what I mean.
Her first heat was a 25 yard freestyle. When I told her it was only 25 yards, 1 lap of the pool she looked at me like I was bonkers! “That’s it?!” she said!
When her group was called she got on the starting block (I didn’t think 6 year olds started on the blocks). Swim meet starts are a bit different compared to anything else the Peanut is used to … first they blow a whistle, then someone counts down from 3 and then there is a buzzer and then the swimmers dive in.
Um, yea….neither Vans nor myself knew any of that and none of the coaches explained the starting process, let alone practiced it at any of the practices leading up the mock meet.
So when the whistle blew the Peanut jumped into the pool and with all her might started swimming down the lane. Someone had to jump in after her and of course it is terrifying having your leg grabbed when you think you are alone in the pool! It totally scared the Peanut and she started to cry. Vans was video taping. When the whole crowd saw that she had started sobbing there was a collective “awe!” throughout the crowd which caused the Peanut to cry even HARDER. She was mortified and could not be talked into swimming her lap. Needless to say, she was disqualified for that heat. 🙁
Watching and learning (now)
Vans and I both apologized to her and explained that we had no idea. I even told her that I would have jumped too! That seemed to make her happy. Vans practiced the starting sequence with her over and over as we had some time before she was supposed to swim again (a 25 yard backstroke). She was quiet most of the afternoon so I was worried.
Finding her courage
When they called her group over to the ready bench to line up and head to their lanes, she followed. When she got to her lane I saw her standing and staring at the pool. Luckily in this heat, there were others who went first. I saw her watching. For backstroke, you start in the pool holding onto this board. She’d never done that before either.
waiting at the ready bench
The smart girl that she is, she watched every heat before her closely. When it was her turn, she got into the pool and grabbed the board. Whistle, 3, 2, 1 buzzer! She was off! The Peanut’s favorite stroke is the back stroke and she was swimming straight down the middle of the pool! She was moving at a pretty good pace and she looked beautiful doing it.
lane 6 backstroke
Towards the end, she veered off course just a bit and then saw the flags above and over estimated the distance between the flags and the wall. She stopped using her arms and just started kicking as fast as she could. She turned and touched the timing mat just as we had told her to do. She had done it! She swam her first swim meet lap! She hopped out of the pool with a huge smile on her face. High fives were given and I could see the energy racing through her veins. The Peanut may not be athletic but she can swim and is only getting better. I am so proud of my girl.
Our swimmer
With the confidence of her swim meet still coursing through her veins, Vans decided to throw a bike race into the mix! Sunday he took the girls to Folsom where they raced their little bikes. Some struggles were had (a broken chain for the Peanut and a wipe out by Squeaker) but they both finished and received their ribbons.
Biking in tutus
I am beyond proud of my girls. In my last post, I talked about fear and both of my girls conquered their fears this past weekend. They both tried something new (to them) for the first time and they succeeded.
With Miners Revenge behind me, it is time to get back into building miles again so that I can be ready to pace Pigeon at the Tahoe Rim Trail 100 Miler in July. Last week was a hard week for me. I took a couple of classes at Diane’s that made me so incredibly sore, running last week was a struggle. I did manage some hill repeats one night although it wasn’t a pretty sight.
When Pigeon reached out to me to plan our Saturday run, I was a little nervous. She gave me some options but she really wanted to get some time on her feet in the canyons which involves a lot of climbing (both up and down). My shaky tired legs were a bit nervous.
The drive to Michigan Bluff takes about an hour. Pigeon was pretty good at getting us there without too much trouble. After we parked and started to get ready, we noticed that it was pretty darn cold outside. Her temperature gauge in the car had said 40 degrees! We knew it would warm up but boy it was a chilly start to our run.
Right near the parking area (really just in front of some people’s houses) is a monument dedicated to the Western States Trail and Michigan Bluff’s role as a big aid-station in that race.
Pigeon is looking for the belt buckle that was built into the monument.There it is!
We weren’t alone when we arrived. There was a group of about 15 boys (teenagers?) who were also unloading their cars. They didn’t look like runners to us at all and so we assumed they were hiking. We never fully figured how who they were or what they were doing but they were pretty funny to run past on our way down into the canyon as they were cheering for us and wishing us a great day.
However, not one mile into our run I had a little malfunction with my Ultimate Direction Jenny Vesta pack. I love this vest/hydration pack more than anything but this is the second or third time I have had this same malfunction. My hair is on the longer side and when I braid it down my back, the braid inevitably gets caught in the pack zipper! So we are starting our run and all of a sudden I can’t lift my head! It is tilted back and totally caught in the zipper. I yell out to Pigeon that I need her help. She stops.
Me: “My hair is caught, can you get it out please?”
Pigeon, “We are not even 1 mile into our run and you are having wardrobe issues? Wait. It’s stuck in that thingy! How did you did you do this? I can’t get it out! It’s stuck in the loopy-d-loop thing!”
Me: “Don’t mess up my hair! Don’t undo my braid!”
Pigeon: “I have to! I can’t get it out!”
We were laughing so hard. I never take myself seriously and clearly our runs always have some element of fun to them.
Such a beautiful day
However, things would change a bit a little further into our run. The first 2.5 miles are a pretty deep descent and Pigeon is loving long descents lately. Me? I like them but I can honestly say they are not my strong suit. I’d rather run up a climb than run down a hill. I know, odd.
Pigeon took off down the descent and soon I lost her yellow jersey from my line of vision. Normally this is how we roll. She goes on ahead and I just take up the rear doing my thing, taking photos, whatever. However there is something about Michigan Bluff and the canyons that had me a bit spooked on this run.
Granted, not more than two months ago Robert “Bob” Root was lost for two days and then ultimately found on this same trail!!! Also, Facebook has been inundated lately with bear and mountain lion sightings all throughout Auburn and other areas. I am petrified of seeing either on the trail (more so the mountain lion).
So of course it was absolutely natural for my mind to go to dark dark places when I was running solo down these long descents where the trail was narrow, foggy and totally in the middle of no where. Sure Pigeon would be waiting at various turns or cross sections, but within moments she’d take off again and I would be mentally picturing in my head some gruesome scene played out around every corner. I know, I know, not smart but that is the way my brain works. I had my cell phone in my pack but of course I had it turned off and all I could think about was “if I get eaten, my phone isn’t ‘on’ so they can’t track my phone!” I need to stop reading scary books the night before I go on these trail runs. Clearly.
A blurry Pigeon waiting for me at the bridge.
Did I share any of these thoughts with Pigeon? Did I tell her how petrified I was? Did I tell her that my heart rate was spiking not because of the physical activity but because I was totally imagining some vampire meets the hunger games scenario in my head? Nah. Instead I would just run my little heart out so that I could get as close to her as possible.
Soon we were climbing which is a good thing because then I was close to her! We were hiking our way up the trail when I heard something off in the distance. Pigeon turns and looks at me and I am smiling.
Pigeon: “What? Why are you smiling?”
Me: “Nothing. Nothing at all. I didn’t hear that gun shot did you?”
Pigeon: “Nope. I didn’t hear those gun shots either.”
Granted, they sounded miles away and it sounded very much like target practice. Â Whatever, some sick twisted part of me was thankful for the gun shots as I was hoping it would scare away any four legged creatures that might come eat me.
She has no idea of the thoughts going through my head…
We continued climbing, up and up we would go, switch back after switch back. There was no one on the trail. It was quiet except for a few birds and the lizards darting through the leaves.
The sun would come and go all day long
Eventually we made it to Deadwood Canyon. I remembered this section of the trail from 2010 although it looked a lot different.
Deadwood Cemetery
So of course the curious side of me gets going: “Why is it called Deadwood Cemetery? Is it a real cemetery? What does it mean?” Pigeon has no clue but luckily there are some state park educational billboard things out there to ease inquiring minds (like mine).
Gold Rush!
These little bits of history were kind of neat. They also calmed me down a bit because if there are state park info boards like this out there, that means we were closer to possible civilization!
The Pump!
The water pump in the above photo was our destination but we had not quite achieved the mileage we wanted so we decided to keep going. As we were running away from the water pump I saw 3 girls running in our direction.
I MAY have been a bit overly excited to see people on the trail that I MAY have squealed “PEOPLE!! PEOPLE!! HI PEOPLE!” Pigeon was pretty mortified but then again, she had no idea WHY I was so overly excited to see these three strangers.
We chatted briefly with them but the time had come for me to come clean with Pigeon and I shared with her how terrified I was earlier on our run. She was shocked and had no clue and couldn’t understand why I would be so frightened. I have a very over active imagination and sometimes it gets the best of me. 🙂
Soon however we had reached our destination, Devil’s Thumb. I have been out at “the thumb” a few times. Once as a volunteer for Western States and then again in 2010 when Pigeon and I ran up and through it. I have to say, I was shocked by what is now left of Devil’s Thumb.
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Charred.There is the thumb though!
Pigeon and I took a few moments to wander around and look at all the damage. It truly was heart breaking to see this area just burned almost beyond recognition!
We gathered ourselves together and decided to turn around. Neither one of us wanted to go down to the bottom of Devil’s Thumb only to go back up (the climb is brutal and we’ll be doing it in about 2 weeks anyway).
Our run back was good. Pigeon stayed with me for most of it. We ran into those teenagers again who said hi. The first section of the trail however, involved a large descent and would end with a large climb (the reverse of what we ran out).
Pigeon stayed a little closer to me on some of the downhills. Maybe she didn’t want me to be afraid or maybe she just was taking it easy but at one point, she stopped dead in her tracks which scared the living day lights out of me. Now normally my brain would just think “did she see a mountain lion?” but instead, I had heard what she heard … a motorcycle!
What?! We are on some random single track trail in the middle of no where and it sounded as if there was a highway near by! Nope, barreling around the corner was a guy on a dirt bike.
Blurry but you get the idea
Luckily, there just happened to be a big rock off to the side that could fit the both of us while the motorcycle dude passed. He also shared with us that there was another guy behind him so we stayed put on our rock. Thank goodness for that rock! It totally saved us from either getting run over by the bikes or worse, getting poison oak by jumping into the bush.
our loving rock
We continued pounding the downhills with Pigeon moving quite a bit faster than myself. We did see a lot of people though on our return trip which was more reassuring. However, my IT band started to yell again a bit at about mile 13.
With the sun peaking out behind various clouds, our return trip was gorgeous. I had to stop to take a few photos (or maybe it was to rest my IT … maybe both?).
So pretty!The last bridge!
Once we got to that bridge, we helped a couple of hikers find their way and then it was a LONG 2.5 mile climb out of that canyon to the car. Pigeon managed to get ahead of me on a few of the switch backs and tried to be “funny” by dropping a rock down from above so that I would freak out. It ALMOST worked but I was onto her. 🙂
We paused a few times to say hi to a few runners along the way and then it was just climb climb climb. Once again, Pigeon stopped, only this time she screamed like a girl (and I say that in the nicest way possible). I grabbed my vital organs (my heart and chest area) and yelled “what!? what!?”
She pauses, ” a lizard!!!”
She screamed because of a lizard. Okay, I may scream because someone’s random dog (off leash) creeps up behind me or because some venomous turkey is on the trail, but she screamed for a lizard!? Okay, maybe this lizard was larger than normal and she almost stepped on it.
Blurry photo compliments of Pigeon
We laughed our butts off for a bit on that one and then continued on our way. Soon enough, I was D-O-N-E with this 2.5 up hill climb. I wanted to move so I started running. I ran various stretches of the uphill with Pigeon kind of giggling behind me at my attempts.
She had run 15 miles on Thursday and had some tired legs under her so she was content to work herself up that climb with a solid power hike. Me? I am barely in the shape that she is and I wanted to run to add an extra workout to the day (um, I had mega sore quads this week which I attribute to all the downhill but still, a reminder of what we conquered).
Overall it was a great day. I struggled with some highs and lows. My motivation is on the low side since finishing some of my key races but I want to keep my fitness levels on the up and up because:
1. It feels amazing to be able to go out and run the canyons on a few days notice;
2. I have a Western States Training run in 2 weeks (that is 30 plus miles); and
3. I have to pace Pigeon anywhere between 20 and 30 miles for Tahoe Rim Trail in July and I want to be ready.
This run also gave me a chance to try some new fueling and experiment more with running with my heart rate strap but secured a little tighter.
My favorite part of the run was all the laughter. Pigeon and I generally have a fun time on the trails and I always know she’d never leave me or risk my safety. I was out of my element a bit but it was also a little invigorating! Not saying I’d go out and run that route solo like a few of the other runners we saw (no thank you) but it does make me feel good inside and out.
Once again my recovery was nonexistent. My body was quite sore come Monday and I didn’t really rest much at all. Stretching MUST become my new best friend otherwise, I think my running days may be numbered. I see Dr. Lau this week and I am sure he will tell me the same thing.
This coming weekend I have a 10 mile race that I am not so sure how to tackle. Part of me wants to run hard and gauge my fitness level, part of me wants to run it easy so my body can fully recover and part of me wants to run with TiggerT who is also doing the race and would be somewhere in between. I have never been on the course before so really I am going into it with no real expectations. I just want to run.
Just so long as the course elevation looks nothing like it did last Saturday!
Oh you know, just 6,000 feet of climbing and descendingElevation!
Recently our little Peanut turned six.  From the start, we wanted to do something different for her birthday, something a little more active … something outside. One day when I was watching the Peanut ride her bike, an idea hit me, Safetyville USA! I had never been myself but I have heard great things about Safetyville and Vans said that the place has been around since he was a little Vans. The Peanut has really progressed in riding her bike so this place was perfect!
The Peanut and some of her friends.
If you don’t know much about Safetyville, it is a mini replica of Sacramento complete with buildings, stop signs, railroad tracks and real working traffic lights!
You can see the size ratio of the lights compared to the adults.
We totally lucked out on the weather as it had rained the day before but that Saturday, it was gorgeous outside. Jersey Dad was still in town to help us set up and get things moving.
When I was organizing the party, I realized that the Peanut’s guest list has grown tremendously over the years. Between friends she has known since daycare, to close friends we have known forever ,to her new friends in kindergarten, the list went on and on. Luckily the place accommodated a large guest list and really, the more the merrier when it came to cruising around Safetyville.
Cruisin’
What I did not want (or need) was huge piles of presents. Â I know it is customary to bring presents to a party and I know that kids (especially six year olds) really look forward to all the presents but I knew that the Peanut would be happy with a few little things and so, Vans and I talked and decided to do something different this year.
Donations to EDHTrails.org
We used evite.com for our invitations instead of the usual paper invitations. I happen to like evite.com because I can insert the date and party information directly onto our phone and we also limit the amount of paper produced.
Through evite.com we were able to notify guests that we were offering an “in lieu” of presents idea. When I told the Peanut what I was doing she didn’t understand. She thought she would receive NO presents on her birthday but when I assured her that she will have plenty to open, she was okay with what we were asking her to do. It made her happy to help.
I reached out to Mike on Trails over at EDHTrails.org. You may remember when I posted about EDHTrails.org in this post here. Well he got the approvals he needed to begin this journey of brining a quality trail network and skills loop to EDH. Vans and I could not be more excited. But, there are personalities who are still unaware with overnight cialis delivery this medicine. Thousands of men around the globe have discount pharmacy viagra tested and trusted the effects of kamagra pills and they are easy to manage at home. This is crucial to helping you perfect good driving skills, so that you are most prepared and viagra sale mastercard safe when driving. Therefore, this process continues in the bile viagra pfizer prix ducts, liver, sphincter of Oddi causing the stones’ formation, blockages, and inflammation.
As avid trail runners and mountain bikers, having a trail that connects to our own street seems pretty sweet not to mention that it will provide a place for our kids to ride and play.
EDHtrails.org
Vans and I support what Mike and EDHTrails.org are doing and since having moved to EDH a few years ago, I would say our love of “living local” has grown. From my work at Gold Country Run & Sport to Van’s support of Mraz Brewing Company (our local brewery) all the way to El Dorado Hills Natural Farms we are loving our local businesses and community.
Fresh berries from EDH Farms at the party.
When all was said and done, most of the kids (and parents) agreed that they had a fun time at Safetyville.
See, even the parents had fun!
Overall, the Peanut was able to raise $135 towards EDHtrails.org and have enough presents to open and play with for hours.
While the idea to donate to a charity or cause isn’t new, I Â have to say I really loved it and I look forward to doing it more in the future. Santa Claus knows we have more than enough toys in our house. Sometimes giving back or giving to those who need it more, is a win win situation.
Have you ever had a race on your calendar that you absolutely dreaded? I never have until Sunday, April 27th. I was signed up to do the Miners Revenge Trail Marathon and when I signed up I was super stoked to run this race mainly because the Race Director is my old coach and friend, Coach Nikon. But life seemed to hijack the month of April on me and I felt like I was driving a car that I had no control over on a busy highway. Going in the wrong direction.
It started with the American River 50 Mile race, quickly followed by a trip to Whistler Canada for six days to visit with Be-Well-Run and her family. When we arrived home from Canada I jumped into ‘hostess’ mode as Jersey Dad was in town for a visit to celebrate the Peanut’s 6th birthday and attend her party (along with the other 49 guests who had RSVP’d). You could say, I had my hands full … just a touch.
The birthday party was on Saturday and Miners Revenge was on Sunday. When I came home from the party on Saturday I was beat. I might have fallen asleep standing up at one point I can’t be sure. My legs felt like heavy weights and my whole body just sighed with exhaustion. The last thing I wanted to do was pack my race vest with fuel, gather my post race clothes and prepare my mind for 26.2 miles on the trails. Very hilly trails mind you.
So instead, the Trailmomma family went to Whole Foods for dinner and to listen to a friend’s husband play guitar and sing (he is awesome, so if you are local check him out here). Um, yea, probably not the wisest of choices to go to the Bier Garten but hey, I was a full of poor decisions leading up to the race, why stop now? I behaved myself though and ate and drank well.
When we arrived home from Whole Foods we had to get the kids to bed and I hopped into bed myself, after 8 pm. I couldn’t sleep. I tossed and turned a lot and got up a few times. I just had a lot on my mind, mostly the race and also the day’s events.
When my alarm went off I was already awake. I just didn’t have a great night of sleep and my whole body just felt tired. Great. If that doesn’t send the mind into a negative tail spin I don’t know what will.
Luckily my body cooperated most of the morning as I got things organized. Pigeon and Missouri were picking me up at 5:30 which was a lot later than they usually pick me up for races so I had no excuses for being late. They surprised me by arriving a bit early but soon we were on our way driving the long windy road to Cool.
They humor between these two will make anyone smile so it was nice to ride to the race with some laughter. When we arrived, Coach Nikon gave us a clue as to where to park so we were not stuck on the Haul Road (the only location of parking for the race).
We parked and chilled. We did our usual pre-race routine of eating what we normally eat, using the porta potties and just relaxing our bodies and minds in the car.  I also had to pick up my race packet. Instead of a t-shirt, the race schwag was a duffel bag! Sa-weet!!! I have a million race shirts that I don’t wear but a bag?! Awesome!
On one of our trips to the bathroom, Coach Nikon stopped us. He told us that the course was tough, as in REALLY tough. A few have mentioned that it may be TOO tough actually with some really gnarly climbs on both loops. I have to say, this didn’t ease my already less than stellar excitement for the race but I do appreciate his honesty. 🙂
Soon it was time to get dressed and head to the start line. It was chilly but not too bad. The forecast called for some clouds and rain but I knew that once I was running that I would get warm. Missouri was a true crew person and she took our warm up jackets from us just before we headed to the starting line.
The usual cheesy pre-start selfie!
I believe Coach Nikon said there were only about 144 people total for the event which consisted of a half marathon, a full marathon and a marathon relay. 44 of those runners were doing the full marathon and there was a chance that some, if not most, might drop to the half once they came through the 13.1 mile check point.
The race itself was basically a figure 8 with the “middle” being the parking lot  (aka the mile 13 aid-station).
Before the race start, Coach Nikon had us all line up as he gave us a little pep talk and some additional information about the course.
Pre-Race Talk
He told us about the massive amounts of poison oak, the fact that one of our aid-stations had moved to the bottom of a climb instead of the top (best thing ever!) and he wished us luck. When the horn (?) went off, we started running.
Pigeon has been steady in her training to date. Me? Not so much. The sky was an ominous gray color but luckily it wasn’t raining. On the first loop we had both the half marathoners and full marathoners all running together on some very tight single track trails. It definitely felt like a race.
Pigeon and I just ran. We had agreed prior to the race that this was a nice “training run” for her and a chance for me to pace her but as soon as we started, I knew this was going to be a challenge for me. My head and heart were just not in it.
Eventually the crowd thinned out a bit. Pigeon was bombing the down hills and I wasn’t too far behind. The ankle has improved tremendously since surgery so I feel better but the ground was muddy and tacky and the rocks slippery which always makes me a bit nervous.
Blurry photo but beautiful views
We were just running along the trails talking when we could, letting some of the half marathoner’s pass us when eventually Miss P and Poison Oak came up behind us and ran with us for a ways. It felt like a Saturday training run … almost. I couldn’t lose the feeling that I was running too slow for everyone behind me.
Soon we approached the first climb that seemed to go on for ever and ever! Pigeon took off, she was ahead of me to begin with so I just put one foot in front of the other and kept moving.
When you reach the top of this VERY long climb, you have a turn around. So as you are climbing this monstrosity, you have runners coming down cheering for you and telling you that it isn’t much further to the top. Some were even honest enough to share that coming down was much easier than going up. I am not kidding when I say, this climb felt like it went on forever.
Finally! The turn-around!
On the way down I lost Pigeon completely. She was on fire and I was battling the same IT band issues I had the second half of the American River 50 mile race. Of course this set my mood off even more since we were only on the first loop and I was battling knee pain on the downhills.
When we reached the aid-station, they knew that I was running with Pigeon and they told me that she had stopped to use the bathroom which was great because I needed to use it as well. It made me feel better to reconnect with her again. I was also happy to see that we really only had 3 more miles until we were back at the parking lot and were already half way done with the race.
I will not lie, I had entertained thoughts of dropping down to the half marathon a few times but I knew deep down that I could not leave Pigeon nor did I want to. She kept believing in me and I was trying to dig deep and find my mojo to turn my race around.
I was wearing my heart rate monitor for the first half of the race. I dropped it at the half way point because it was starting to fall off but it was really informative having it on for the first loop. Looking back, my heart rate was steady, never spiking too much, not even on the climbs. It wasn’t low either.  It just read my usual marathon pace heart rate which tells me that I was having a mental battle and not a physical one. If I was over trained or battling a cold, my heart rate would be super low or super high, not even and steady. It was clear, my issues were mental and I needed to overcome this and quick.
As we came through the half way point aid-station, Coach Nikon greeted us with his usual bellow and laugh. No matter how down you are, his smile and positivity are infectious. Missouri was there as well. Pigeon was in and out of this aid-station not wanting to stop. She knew that if I had a moment to sit, that I might not continue. So less than 5 minutes for a quick fuel up and we started our second loop.
The course elevation
If I can say anything about this race, it would be that it totally felt like two DIFFERENT races when we started the second loop. I have run one marathon wherein I have had to do two loops (two of the same loops at that). I used the same jedi-mind trick here wherein basically I “ended” the first race and just started a new race in my head. The Miners Revenge course is two different loops which helped me create that feeling of a “new race,” very easy. With the half marathoners finishing at the parking lot, we felt almost as if we were completely alone on the second loop. It felt like a true training run between Pigeon and myself.
We had crossed a few streams on the first loop but it was nothing compared to what we had to cross on the second loop. It was on the second loop that Pigeon and I had some fun.
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Before we really started diving into the stream crossings, someone thoughtfully placed this board across the trail so we wouldn’t get wet.
It was quite sketchy.
Pigeon and I approached the board like it was made of oil. We both cautiously crossed it and then stopped to laugh. Pigeon agreed to go back and recross so that I could get a photo.
hahahaha
I enjoyed this. We were running but we were no longer racing. We were having fun which is what running trails is all about for me. Occasionally Pigeon would pick out a runner ahead and tell me we need to get close to that person but for the most part, we ran and we laughed.
I was still battling my demons but they were subsiding slowly and surely. I decided to let go of eating the bars I normally eat and I started consuming gels. I don’t really enjoy them but I was just tired of the solid food. I haven’t used gels in a long while. I don’t carry them so I was stuck with the variety of gels provided on the race course as well as the potato chips they had as well. This wasn’t an ultra so the aid-stations had minimal food (rightly so) but they had gels and potato chips and boy did those salty potato chips taste great.
All the food aside, it was time to start swimming. Our first stream crossing was upon us and it was probably the deepest of the day.
woah!
The second loop had a lot more fire road type trails compared to single track and it just seemed easier. The views were gorgeous too. My mood was clearly starting to come around.
Wild flowers!
There was one major climb on the second loop, it was about 2.25 miles long but before we reached that we had to descend quite bit and my knees were not loving this section. Pigeon was flying and I felt like I had a peg leg.
The bottom.
When we got to the bottom of the hill it got really warm and sticky. We felt like we were in the middle of no where. It was kind of creepy. We saw a few runners ahead of us so we just kept moving.
Where are we?!
Pigeon was great. She was doing everything she could to get me back to my happy Trailmomma self. I was coming around. The closer and closer we got to the finish, I felt better and better.
The last few miles of the race are gorgeous. The sky was darkening and it looked as if a  storm was coming. I think that made the trails even more beautiful.
When we passed our last aid-station at mile 24 (ish), I felt great. I am not sure why, maybe it was the adrenaline kicking in that we only had about 2 miles to go, but I really started running. Soon we connected with the fire road, the same fire road that Way Too Cool finishes on and I knew we were on the home stretch.
Vans, the girls and Jersey Dad were all supposed to be at the finish. Â I was a bit worried because the race took us a lot longer than I had anticipated due to all the intense climbing.
When we entered the fire road straight-away before the finish, I could see two little blonde heads ringing a cow bell up ahead with a big birthday balloon and my heart just filled with joy and my eyes teared up just a bit. My girls were cheering for me!
As Pigeon and I rounded the curve, I high-fived my girls! I started sprinting and turned to find Pigeon “where are you?” I yelled. She was quick to be by my side as we sprinted full force to through the finish!
We finished!
I could be wrong, but I would venture to guess that it was probably the best finish of the race. 🙂 We laughed, we hugged and we posed with our Race Director, Coach Nikon.
Pigeon won first in her age group. I took second. Coach Nikon wins for best trail marathon.
This was my 7th marathon and the first time Jersey Dad has ever seen me finish a super long tough race. I wish the weather had been a bit warmer for him but he gave me a tentative hug (poison oak) after the race. My little Squeaker hugged me and softly said, “Congratulations Mama.” 🙂
Everyone at the race loaded them up with candy and cookies. Lucky girls.
This was probably my toughest race to date. The course itself was tough but mentally, I have never felt so low in a race and I can definitely attribute my low energy to the busy schedule I had leading up to the race. Yet, it makes me kind of proud that I was able to power through to finish. I don’t think I would have done so if it had not been for Pigeon. She believed in me, more than I did in myself at times and that is what friends and runner partners are for really. Even Vans thought I would drop down and only do the half.
Nope. I rallied. Overall, I felt okay. My tummy didn’t have any issues. My fueling, although completely different than I have done in any other race, seemed okay and never really caused any problems. I do think the gray skies didn’t help my mood as I tend to like things a bit sunnier, but running this same race in warm weather would have been pretty harsh as there were many exposed sections of trail.
My knee pain is an issue. It would alternate between knees. The left would hurt on the down hills and the right would hurt on the uphills. I need to work on my IT bands I guess. I did take some Aleve during the second loop but honestly, I didn’t really touch the pain in my knees at all.
I plan to do a post about recovery soon. I have a lot to say about that actually but I also have a few other posts in the works so be on the look out.
I have another small race on my calendar and a few big training runs with Pigeon as she continues on her training schedule for TRT100. Miners Revenge was my last big “paid for” race of the season but I have a few training runs lined up that will make for some interesting posts.
What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger and I will say that this race proved that for me. I also think I under estimated this race quite a bit thinking that I had just ran 50 miles 3 weeks prior so running only 26.2 should have been easy… right? It might have been if I had treated my body properly with rest, proper nutrition and sleep. Live and learn and boy did I learn a lot. Thanks Pigeon for your support and thank you Coach Nikon for one helluva race!
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