TRAIL RUNNING Archives ~ Page 25 of 29 ~ TRAILMOMMA

February 15, 2014April 21, 2015

WESTERN STATES TRAINING RUN 2014

The last time I did the Western States Training in February was in 2010. You can read about that run here. Four years and another kid later, I found myself driving to Placer High ready to load the little yellow school bus once again.

The night started off rough because I woke up and felt Squeaker kicking me in the back. Apparently she came into our bed in the middle of the night and I vaguely remember pulling her in next to me instead of taking her back to her bed like I normally do. I did that probably because I usually end up on her floor which is not comfortable.

My alarm went off and I got up and left the house. I knew I would be getting there early but I wanted a parking space in the lot and I kind of wanted to sit and think and sort of prepare myself for the run. You see, 20 years ago to the day, my mom passed away from a totally unexpected massive heart attack. I was sitting there pondering how odd it was that I am currently only 10 years younger than she was the day she passed, and I was about to run 20 something miles on the 20th anniversary of her passing. My heart filled with love and strength in that moment and I wanted to run this run today for her because her heart was not strong enough to carry her but mine is strong enough to carry us both.

I eventually got out of the nice warm car and ventured over to the check in. I ran into some old running pals that I have not seen in a long time. Then I ran into Coach Nikon and a few of the people I have been running with more recently. It is like one giant reunion when you go to this thing. I kind of felt like I was in high school again, migrating from group to group. When it came time for the course briefing, I found myself near Gold Country Girl.

We talked for a bit and then it was time to load the bus. She told me that the Folsom Lake Trail Runners were supposed to be on bus 4. When I ran this the last time, I think I was on bus one and I recall there was a reason but I couldn’t remember what it was and I was having a nice time talking to Boo and Gold Country Girl so I figured why not get on bus 4.

I sat with Gold Country Girl for the hour long bus ride and discovered she tends to get car sick. Great. Luckily she was okay on the ride and we had a nice time talking about kids, running and running shoes. 🙂

When we got to the drop off spot and unloaded the bus, everyone was gone. Everyone except bus 4. Now I recall why getting on the first bus was ideal. It was okay though. I wanted to make sure that I started out nice and easy so that I wouldn’t blow up like I did during the Way Too Cool Training Run a few weeks ago.

Down the rocky road we went just warming ourselves up and waiting for the “free to pee” spot. The first mile or so is down hill and then you start the conga line.

I just sort of stayed back of the pack. Then we all stopped to spread out and pee. It was sort of unnerving while running because we kept hearing gun fire off in the distance. As long as it sounded far enough away, it was okay.

When we stopped to pee we all took off a couple of layers as it was really starting to warm up. The sky was constantly overcast, never did the sun peak through but the temps were definitely warming albeit a little muggy too at times.

I normally change into a tank from long sleeves and today I didn’t – most of the time I wish I had but those last 5 miles I was kind of glad I had t-shirt.

I am not quite sure what the mileage was when we came to our first hill. I had moved from the back of the pack to behind Boo. When we arrived at the hill everyone stopped to hike. I hiked for a bit and then I just felt like running. I love hills so I started up and Boo jumped on my heels to follow but I think at some point she gave up. I heard a “Go Trailmomma!” from Boss (who is #173 in this photo)Â … I love hearing that while running. Boss was running with Lily and when I got to the top I heard “there’s my hill climber!” from a guy I will call Folsom Prison Roger since that is where I first met him (at a trail race on the Folsom Prison property, NOT the actual prison). However, a side note here is that I really wanted to nickname him Tommy Lee Jones because not only does he resemble him a little bit, he totally SOUNDS like him! It made me smile every time he said something.

Anyway, from that moment on, I tagged on the back of Folsom Prison Roger’s group which consisted of another guy and Crazy Helen. We ran that way for quite a while until we came to our very first stream crossing that was quite large in size. The whole group stopped to try and figure out how to navigate around it. When I reached them, I paused to see what they were doing and instead just ran right through the stream. I heard Folsom Prison Roger say in his Tommy Lee Jones voice “Now that is what I am talking about!” and he quickly followed me. It was just the two of us and a few strangers for quite a while on the single track sections.

Folsom Prison Roger kept telling people that I wanted to pass (I didn’t) but they’d move over and we’d be in front. Our pace wasn’t fast by any stretch, but we were just cruising along chatting the whole way. He was instructed to stop at the wooden bridge for a photo so when we reached that, we parted ways although I told him that I would no doubt see him again.

I was anxious for the aid-station at this point. I knew from 2010 that it was roughly at mile 13 but I couldn’t remember if there was a porta potty. Some how I didn’t recall there being one but I was hopeful. I had such a sloshy stomach towards the beginning of my run. I have had some tummy issues this past week and I could hear Pigeon in my head telling me to take a salt tab. So I did. It worked, the sloshy stomach passed but it only created another problem, hence my need to find a porta potty sooner rather than later.

When I reached the aid-station, I had to remove both my shoes as I had mountains of pebbles in them and I didn’t want to risk getting a blister like I had last weekend. Then I filled my flask bottle (I had one flask filled with water and one filled with coconut water) and was off hiking down the road. I ran into British Neal who is always nice to talk to and hiked with him for a while. Having never really talked in depth with him, we got off onto some rather funny topics, mainly the need to find bathrooms while trail running. Eventually, I had to say goodbye to Neal and instead climbed up an embankment to hike way back into the woods to take care of business. Sorry, but that is what happens when you trail run.

Back on the course, I was in business. I ran into Lily again and eventually caught up to Folsom Prison Roger and his crew. Once again, I tagged on the back of that group.

I was feeling great. I was fueling with my usual Picky Bar broken into pieces, water and some coconut water. My back, which has been quite sore lately was feeling pretty good. My feet, although a little achy, also felt well. I was happy and really felt like we were moving along.

The course through this stretch is absolutely beautiful. The views were also pretty spectacular but unfortunately, I didn’t get any photos of those. 🙂

The run just seemed to be flying by compared to how I felt on this same stretch a few weeks ago. Before I knew it, we were at the Highway 49 crossing.
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We crossed Highway 49 with Folsom Prison Roger leading the way. Up we climbed towards Cool. All of a sudden, Folsom Prison Roger starts running up the hill. His running person Veronica gave him a hard time about running and I started gunning up and told him I was on his tail.

What started out as a joke turned into a cat and mouse chase that was pretty hilarious. Folsom Prison Roger and I were jamming up the hill with Veronica quick on our tail. When we reached the flat section we just kept going and then we hit the down hill section.

Pigeon usually flies down this section and I know a lot of people do. Folsom Prison Roger just took off like a bat out of hell and I tried so hard to keep up. I probably ran down faster then I ever have before. Veronica was behind me and told me she loves this section and I let her pass. I didn’t run into them again until the aid-station at No Hand Bridge.

I did however, run into about six horses (all at separate times) and had to pull off to the side to let them pass. Some of those encounters were pretty quick, as in I just crested a hill and there I was face to face with a horse. Luckily running with Pigeon has taught me a lot when it comes to approaching a horse.

When I reached No Hands Folsom Prison Roger and Veronica were just finishing up and heading out again. I don’t really need anything since I carry my own fuel so I quickly filled up my water flask and hopped on their tail again. I was getting to that point where I wanted to be done. I felt okay but the back was slowly beginning to ache and I knew that we were only 3 miles or so to the finish.

So the three of us ran towards Robie Point. The water fall here was really strong and flowing. It was beautiful!

There were lots of people out hiking and taking photos so we decided to stop in the middle of the water fall stream for another photo session too.

Veronica & Folsom Prison Roger aka Tommy Lee Jones

Soon we came to the Robie Point hill. The hike up this hill felt like a million miles long. When I ran this in 2010 I somehow had the strength and power to just run up this hill like it was no big thing. Not today. We did a combination of running and hiking but we eventually made it to the top.

The weather was really starting to change at this point. It was getting windy and it almost looked like the skies would open up and it would start dumping rain on us. It was at this point, that I was happy that I had a t-shirt and not a tank top.

Following the pavement back towards Placer High was rough. Your feet are soaking wet and heavy and the road is really uneven which is painful on already tired joints.

But we rounded the corner and saw the ladies sitting there ready to cut off our arm bands and declare that we had finished!

Immediately I hear “Heeeeeyyyy!” from a nicely bundled Coach Nikon sitting with his crew off to the side. I saw free massages happening so I quickly got in line but that proved to be a waste of time as the dude I had was pretty awful. The Peanut gave me a better massage when I got home.

I had finished. I was cold and wet but so incredibly happy. When I loaded my Garmin info into the computer when I got home I noticed a few things. According to time, I was 30 minutes slower then I was in 2010 but I also seemed to run a mile longer. I also stopped more on this run then I did on the previous one but on the previous one, I did spend time at the aid-stations.

Overall, I would definitely say I felt way better on this run than I did in 2010 which definitely makes me happier.

Today was also great because I ran it for my mom. I truly felt she was with me today running along side of me and enjoying some of the views. We take our health for granted and she is my reminder that I need to be healthy and active if I want to be here for my girls in 10 years.

I was almost 6 years old in that photo. My mom was about 36. Ironically, I am now 37 so that means she would be leaving me and this world 11 years from when that photo was taken. In those 11 years her body greatly changed. She didn’t exercise and her diet was just the Standard American Diet which didn’t help her high blood pressure.

I wish I knew then what I know now about diet and exercise. Maybe that was her role in this life: to be an example so that I would change my future and the future of my family by following through with a healthy lifestyle and exercising. I wish that wasn’t the case as I miss her a lot.

But she was with me today for 21 miles just as she is with me every day.

Happy Trails

~Trailmomma

February 10, 2014April 21, 2015

EDH TRAILS – COMMUNITY HELP NEEDED

Â The internet is a funny thing. One day I was surfing the net, I canâ€™t even recall what I was searching for when I came across this websiteÂ www.edhtrails.orgÂ . I thought, â€œWhat is this?â€ One click leads to another click leads to another leads to me attending a board meeting at our local CSD (Community Services District) to speak up in support of Mike from EDHTrails.

You read that right, SPEAK UP as in talk in front of more than one or two people! One of the most dreaded and detested fears (in addition to birds and turkeys) in my life. Granted, I didnâ€™t talk for almost an hour like Mike did, but I did speak up and talk to the board casting our “vote” as to why we think what Mike and EDHTrails is doing, is a wonderful thing for our community.

Iâ€™ve posted about my running adventures in and around El Dorado Hills. From the â€œRidge Loop of Deathâ€ (my own made up name mind you) to New York Creek to Brownâ€™s Ravine. EDH has some awesome little trails for running and mountain biking.

When we moved here three years ago, I had no idea these trails existed. It was TiggerT that first showed me The Ridge (yes, blame her) and Vans told me about New York Creek when I first started running again after Squeaker was born.

The street on which we live in EDH even has some trails on it but they donâ€™t necessarily lead anywhere or they are not groomed well enough to use easily.

Mike and EDHTrails want to change all that. For starters, he wants to create a Village Connector Trail.

The Village Connector Trail will be one mile in length on an already existing piece of land that sits underneath some telephone wires. This trail would connect El Dorado Hills to Folsom. It would also contain a Cross Country Skills Loop for kids to ease into mountain biking and have fun. You can see more photos on Mikeâ€™s webpage atÂ www.edhtrails.org.

What happened at the board meeting on February 4^thÂ was exactly what Mike wanted to have happen; he wanted a seat at the big table. He presented his maps, photos and plan to some of the board members in an effort to get on their agenda for their big meeting on February 13^th. He succeeded.

Those members present listened to Mike and others talk about the need for such an amazing outlet for our already very active community. What many people do not realize is that El Dorado Hills is slowly becoming a hub for ultra-fitness and outdoor enthusiasts.

For example, true-storyÂ Â â€“ A few months ago, while the Peanut, Vans and I were at our annual optometry check-up we discovered that our optometrist is a huge ultra-runner and cyclist running 50 mile races and riding in death rides. We thought that was not only interesting but absolutely awesome that she and her husband were so active. The whole rest of our eye appointment was spent comparing races and trails. Then, we discover that the father of my daughterâ€™s classmate is one of the partners opening El Dorado Hillâ€™s newest running store Gold Country Run and Sport where I now work on Sundays. The Folsom Lake Trail Runners, one of the largest organized running groups have many members (myself included) that live in El Dorado Hills or just around the corner in Folsom. If you go to Mraz Brewing on a Thursday evening, you will be greeted by quite few mountain bikers having just finished their night ride (Vans include) enjoying a beer at a local family run brewery. Even our local high school has a mountain bike team.Â

The community is active. The community wants to support local business. The community needs to pull together.

The next order of business will be on February 13^th. Mike and EDHTrails needs community support. The CSD Board will be there with all of its members present, ready to listen to Mikeâ€™s proposal (a condensed version mind you) and will put to vote whether or not a CSD team can be assembled to begin the initial process of vetting out costs and necessities to make this plan a reality.

If you are local, please share this and come. If you are active, please share this and come. Please share this post as much as possible. If you want kids to be active instead of at home playing video games and watching TV, please share this and come. If you canâ€™t make it, find a friend who can. If you have kids, bring them! The Peanut was with me on the 4^thÂ watching her mommy stand up for something she believes in that will ultimately benefit her health as well.

I will post the details below and be sure to like Mikeâ€™s Facebook page as well so you will constantly be up to date on the progress of his plan and where all the meetings may be held.

Even if you do not live in the immediate area, please donâ€™t be afraid to share this. All it takes is one community to be an example of an active healthy lifestyle for others to follow.Â Â Who knows, maybe our small little community could be the catalyst for change. You never know!

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

CSD Board Meeting: Wednesday, February 13^th

Time: 7:00 pm

Address: CSD Pavillion 1021 Harvard Way, El Dorado Hills

(see Facebook page HERE or contact Mike atÂ mikeontrails@gmail.comÂ for specific time and place)

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February 8, 2014April 21, 2015

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 groupÂ 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.

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.

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 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 …

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

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!

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!

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!

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!

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.

What a great start to the weekend!

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

February 3, 2014April 29, 2019

AT LEAST IT DOESN’T JIGGLE*

This weekend was another long mileage weekend for Pigeon and myself. As I posted last weekend, I suffered quite a bit during the Way Too Cool 23 Mile Training RunÂ and I was really nervous about tackling that mileage again.

In typical Pigeon fashion, she had a plan of attack. Our plan was somewhere between 21 and 22 miles in the form of two different loops. She had us doing two major climbs. However, we used her car as our own personal aid-station in between the two loops which really broke up the run quite nicely.

As we carpooled to the base of Stagecoach we talked about my run last weekend. The mental ups and downs that I had, the things that hurt or went wrong and how I loved my new Jenny Vesta (except for the bladder issues). As we parked, unloaded and was putting on our packs, Â I was telling Pigeon that I loved the two bottles on the front of my pack and I grabbed them with both hands and said “at least it doesn’t jiggle!” I would venture to guess that this was the start of our day of giggles, laughter and sarcastic comments. As Vans has told me many times, I am very oblivious and naive about a lot of things. Pigeon, who only saw what I was doing out of the corner of her eye just busted out laughing … “Woah, what are you doing!? What’s going on over there!?” Â she said. *Maybe this doesn’t translate well to typed words, but it was quite hilarious in the moment.

It was a chilly start to our run. We did what is called the Clementine Loop. My legs felt a little stiff at first, still tired from the effort I put forth in last weekend’s run combined with the little to no recovery that I had after the run.

We stopped shortly into our run so that Pigeon could use the restroom. The best part about our run was that there were numerous bathroom options along the trail, which I will say I took advantage of at almost every stop.

Pigeon knew her way around and did not tell me what was ahead of us most of the time. In my typical fashion, I just followed.

What was really neat was seeing that there IS water despite our massive drought here in California. I had to take a photo-op in front of the water fall/damn thing that we passed. That’s what flowing water is supposed to look like!

Just continuing along the trail it was fun to catch up with Pigeon and see some new trails.

Pigeon was feeling great. It was obvious. She had a great spring to her step, a great attitude and should I even say she was singing on the trail at various spots! I have never in my day heard her sing while running. If she keeps that up, she’ll be easy to pace at Tahoe Rim Trail this year!

Some of my favorite parts of this loop was the signage we saw. I just kind of thought the signs had funny names to them and it made me stop to take photos.

Time for fuel? Don't mind if I do! — Time for fuel? Don’t mind if I do!

We finished the Clementine Loop which was shy of 10 miles I think and stopped at our aid-station to refill our bottles, have some fuel and once again use the restrooms.

The next part of our loop would take us up Stagecoach which is a pretty significant climb. The temps were warming just a bit and Pigeon insisted I take off my long sleeve. I told her that I only had a tank-top on underneath and she assured me that what we were about to run was in fully exposed sun and that I would get hot.

Taking her “experienced advice” I took off my long sleeve and left it in the car. Mind you, the air temps by the car were so cold you could SEE your breath! We set off on our climb. As were running we passed some hikers wearing wool caps, gloves and down jackets. Hmm, I am thinking to myself, they are pretty covered up but well, they are not running.

A little further up the hill we passed some runners coming down … wearing long sleeves, gloves and a neck scarf. Interesting. Where is this sun?
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Pigeon kept insisting it was just around that corner, or just around this corner. Sure we’d hit pockets of sunlight but I wouldn’t go as far to say it was “fully exposed” by any means. As we’re running she tells me how hot it gets here because back when she ran this, IN THE SUMMER TIME it was so hot. Um, Â yeah, it is January and the sun is in a different spot. Maybe by 2 pm this section would be FULLY exposed but not at 9:30 in the morning!

The sarcastic comments were flying as we ran. We were just laughing and having a good time. When we made to the top of Stagecoach we ran through the town of Auburn which has some of the cutest homes around. Each has personality and I love it.

Soon we made a turn and found ourselves back on the trail. I saw a familiar sight too!

This canal leads to the Auburn Damn Overlook and I have “iced” my aching ankles and knees in this canal many times after a long run. I knew where we were headed when I saw this but first we had to conquer some new rocky terrain.

Pigeon was really testing my new ankle strength on this run from the various technical trails to the rocks that ran along this railroad track. I am happy to report that the old ankle felt great.

We did make it to ADO, ran past some horses and then descended down some very familiar trails towards No Hands Bridge.

Once we got to No Hands we had to make some decisionsÂ in order toÂ figure out how we were going to get in some extra miles to reach out goal of 21. We decided to go run up K2 and do another mini loop that would lead us back to the car.

K2 is not an easy climb. It’s almost a mile straight up with a lot of false finishes. As grueling as it is, I do love it. You don’t run it all but it will give you quite an endurance challenge. Believe it or not, back in 2012, Be-Well-Run came out and we took her up K2 one hot Saturday afternoonÂ because it is just one of those places that can give a person a real glimpse of what running in Auburn and Cool is all about.

While the climb up K2 was okay, it was the long long (long) down hill that followed that started to make my body feel like it was running 21 miles. The nagging back issues I had from last weekend started to tighten up my lower back and quads and the bottoms of my feet were starting to really ache. I’ve been working onÂ trying to figureÂ out the problem behind these issues but needless to say, I was not at a 100% the way Pigeon seemed to be when we finished but MENTALLY I felt 100% which compared to how I felt last weekend, was a huge difference.

We did another little round about loop to the car and called it a day. 21 miles, starting at 7 am to complete our high week.

Next weekend Pigeon works and I am solo. We are also cycling down mileage wise so I am going to keep it local and run with TiggerT in my hood probably venturing out on the Ridge Loop of Death combined with some Browns Ravine. Some where in there I will have to make up some mileage to equal my necessary distance.

One thing is for certain, laughter will follow. I am one very lucky girl in that I have the opportunity to run with two very awesome people who keep me laughing and keep me moving on all of my trail adventures.

Nothing feels better than laughing on the trails.

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

January 26, 2014April 21, 2015

WAY TOO COOL TRAINING RUN

This weekend was the Way Too Cool 50K training run. The distances offered were 8, 12, 20 and 23 miles. Unfortunately this was one of Pigeon’s working weekends so I was left to do the run myself. I wasn’t too worried as I knew that at least 500 people had signed up to do the event. My concern was however, that I had to do the miles and then get home in time to get to work at Gold Country Run & Sport for their grand opening and ribbon cutting event.

Luckily a group of runners that I know were starting the run before the organized run was scheduled to start which was a good thing because it meant avoiding 400 other runners starting at the same time.

I had to wake up early in order to get to Cool so that I could score a parking space in their very limited lot. When I got out of the car it was chilly enough that my teeth started chattering. I found some of my runners and promptly at 7:30 we set out following the orange ribbons along the trail.

My training schedule tells me that I should be doing roughly 20 miles and since my highest mileage to date has been only 16, doing 20 would probably have been a smarter choice. The group I was with however, was doing 23. In my head I figured “what’s 3 extra miles?! I could walk that if have to.” Well later on in the day, those 3 miles would prove to be the most challenging moments of my day.

The group I was with is a very strong group and super nice. I just fell in pace with some of the runners and chatted up and down the hills with them. Eventually we all sort of spaced out especially when we finally got to Quarry Road. While running someone told me that the run we were currently doing would be in effect, the last 23 miles of Way Too Cool. We missed the first 8 miles of the course which is different from when I did the course in 2010. The way they described those first 8 miles has me a little bit nervous. They sound super tough.

Quarry Road is just a large gravel fire road that has some rolling hills but is mostly flat. It runs alongside the river and for the most part is the most boring, tedious part of the course. Luckily during this stretch I was running side by side with some girls and we talked the whole way about family, kids and trying to find time to run.

A few of the girls stopped to walk but I was feeling good. I was using my new hydration pack, the Ultimate Direction Jenny Vesta. This was my second time using the vest and I think running with something for 20+ miles gives you a good idea of how the product holds up.

Prior to the Jenny Vesta I ran with Nathan Intensity Hydration Pack which is probably the most popular vest you will see out on the trails. The Nathan vest is a great vest for storage but I consider it bulky. It is a great inexpensive starting vest for those just getting into trail running. I still have my Nathan and will use it from time to time I am sure.

The Jenny Vesta however contains two small 10 ounce bottles that sit on your front side. There is one small zipper pocket on the front and another velcro one on the other side. In terms of storage, my least favorite part of the Jenny Vesta is that most of the storage is in the back. For anything major, you’d have to take the vest off to access it. However, so far I have been able to stuff those front pockets with lots of fuel and have not had a problem. I really like using bottles because in races refilling a hydration pack is really a pain in the butt. I also like that it has two separate bottles so if necessary, I could put my coconut water in one bottle and water in another while also having a bladder on my back.

For the training run I filled both front bottles (20 ounces total) and then I used my old Nathan bladder (Ultimate Direction does not provide a bladder with the vest) on the back but only filled it with about a liter of water so that I wouldn’t have something too heavy on my back. The vest fits snug and is really comfortable. I have to say I love the way it fits, I almost forget it is on me most of the time. However, my bladder and tube is super old and it leaks and lately gives me difficulty when I try to suck the water out. Basically I have to use a lot of energy just to get a few drops of water to come out. I need to look into a replacement bladder.

Back to the run. It was a glorious day. I started out in my Athleta Swagger Skort with a tank top underneath a jacket. I knew that I would get hot eventually but I also knew that it would get really cold at various spots on the course, mostly by the river.

At mile 10 a group of us came down this hill where in years past it would have been a stream crossing but the bed was dry. The rocks and roots however were a little slick. I either tripped or slipped (not sure which) and in an effort to right myself I “twerked” my body and in doing that, I felt something go ‘pop’ in my back on the lower right hand side. Everyone asked me if I was okay because it was pretty clear I was about to go down hard if I had not tried to regain my balance. In the moment, I felt okay. The back felt a little weird but okay to keep running. I knew in my head that this would hurt later, I just assumed it would be the next day.

I just kept running. I was feeling really good. My pre run fueling has really been great lately. I don’t feel that I need to change that in any way so far. I did stay out too late the night before so I was feeling perhaps a little tired but I felt that I was keeping up a decent pace and running with some of the stronger runners.

Soon the sun started poking through the trees on what is a beautiful single track that meanders through the woods. The trail is a significant mix of down hill and flats. So much so that at certain points I was craving an uphill for the opportunity to walk!

In 2010 this section was covered in water

The event organizers even provided the runners with an aid-station and when I approached there was quite a group hanging out eating snacks. I really wanted to avoid the aid-station fare as I want to experiment with my own fuel. So I slowed to a bit of a walk and just walked right through the aid-station knowing full well that those fast people I saw would eventually fly by me on the trail.
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Again the trail consisted of easy-going down hills sections and I was flying right with it. Eventually I did come to an uphill, around mile 18 and boy the wheels start falling off the bus at this point.

I was already going through some highs and lows being by myself on the trail. Not that I don’t mind running solo and sometimes I often prefer it, my low back was starting to speak up a little and it was just playing on my mind as to when it would really start to scream.

Mile 18 and the uphill it screamed. I could feel it as I was hiking up the hills. Low and tight and definitely hindering my range of motion in my hip. I just sort of ignored the sensation and tried to tell myself that I could make the remaining miles back without any issues.

Then, for the first time ever on a trail run, I felt nauseous. I was fueling with my new favorite fuel, Picky Bars (broken into pieces) and chewing on ginger chews in between. I had taken some salt even as the temps were warming and I had sweat a lot early on from wearing my jacket for a bit too long. I had used up both 10 ounces bottles on my vest and was now using my hydration pack. Which like I mentioned earlier, does not come out easily.

At this point I kept focusing on the numbers on my Garmin. Every time it beeped I would mentally say “ok now I only have 5 miles left.” When your head is in that realm, it can make even the shortest run agonizing. Most of my runs have been with Pigeon and as her pacer-in-training, I am generally focused on reading her demeanor and cues out on the trail. I even do it subconsciously on some runs when we’re out just having a good time. This run it was all about me focusing on me. That is a rare thing when you are mother. When you have kids, a husband and job(s) you are always planning, predicting and worrying about some one or something else. I’ve never just stopped and had time to think about me for that long of a period in the middle of no where with no one else around me.

I pushed the nausea aside, popped a ginger chew (which helped) and just kept on trucking. When my Garmin beeped with mile 20 I did a little dance in my head. I had reached what SHOULD have been my training run distance and whatever else came after was purely bonus miles. 3 hellish bonus miles but still bonus.

Miles 20 to 21.5 were out right tough. I would alternate at this point from walking and running whether there were any hills or not. I came across Lily and her friends and that was a little bit of a boost. When I heard the cars on Highway 49 I about screamed for joy as that meant I would cross the highway and be on my way to the finish area … but I had to survive the grueling up hill section that leads back to the Cool fire-road.

By the time I reached the parking lot I was toast. Coach Nikon was the first to greet me and his booming voice and smiling face always makes any run better. I quickly changed, did a poor job of stretching, downed my recovery drink and hopped in the car just as everyone else was trickling in, drinking beers and taking advantage of the free massages (which I did not know about until later).

On the drive home I put my seat heater on even though the temps outside were rising. I thought the heat on my back and hamstrings might help loosen things up a bit. When I got home I immediately made a green smoothie that I could bring to work and hopped in the shower letting the warm water pound my lower back.

I threw on some compression socks and raced out the door to work. I had little time to think about how I was feeling or taking account of how my body was feeling. While at work they stationed me at the register which was kind of nice as I didn’t have to move too much. 🙂

Overall, I am proud of myself for finishing those 23 miles although I really didn’t have much of a choice as I had to get back to my car. It has been a while since I have struggled on a run like this and I think that you need to travel through these “lows” to get stronger. I won’t lie and say that I am not nervous now for what the race will bring in March. I do know that despite how I am feeling, just putting one foot in front of the other, even if it involves walking/hiking, will still get me to the finish.

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

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