With school starting in two weeks for the Peanut, in a last minute decision (more or less) Vans and I decided we wanted to take one more family getaway. We originally had planned that Sunriver, Oregon would be our only family vacation this year, but we managed to squeeze in one more weekend (truly a weekend) getaway and it wasn’t easy.
One random day while driving around to one of our various swim team events, Vans mentioned Santa Cruz. I did a quick google on my phone and found a trail race the very same weekend he was considering! His response, “Well, we have to go now. You can run and I will ride.”
So, a few more days of finding hotels that fit our needs and dates … we were set. Another Run-cation (as Vans likes to call them) was in the books!
We left on Saturday (not as early as we would have liked which would have been a better idea) and sat in the massive amount of traffic that is the bay area. I was “scolded” (in a humorous way) by a friend for the fact that my girls have never seen or been in the ocean (Peanut has seen the ocean but probably doesn’t remember it).
What can I say? We are Tahoe people through and through. Our girls have been in Lake Tahoe more times than I can count and built many a sand castle on the golden beaches of Lake Tahoe but the bay area? Ugh, sorry, I just cannot stand the drive that way as it is NEVER free from traffic.
So we left Saturday morning and was hit immediately with bumper to bumper traffic getting into Santa Cruz. What should have been a 3 hour drive was slowly turning into 4+ hours. We made some diversions along some local streets but in the end we arrived way later than we had anticipated.
The Beach!
But, we made it and hit Davenport Beach which is a nice quiet, semi secluded beach up Highway 1. Although we were all fully dressed and not in swim suits, the kids were free to do what they liked. The Peanut, albeit a little bit naive about the ocean, loved every minute of it. Squeaker? Not so much. She hated the cold and the noise. The ironic part is that the Peanut (a notoriously terrible sleeper as an infant) was put to bed with wave sounds whereas Squeaker who was always a great sleeper, was not… guess who was afraid of waves!? 🙂
Still, it was so amazing to see their excitement even if they complained about the seaweed. Tahoe doesn’t have seaweed. 🙂
We checked into our hotel and then departed looking for a place to eat for dinner. I had done a little Trailmomma #plantstrong research before we left home finding a few places that we could visit. The first was the Saturn Cafe which came about because it was closest and we saw it while driving around.
Basically picture a real diner but made entirely vegan and almost 100% gluten free. That was this place. While not 100% healthy (anything fried, is not healthy) it was pretty incredible.
The Peanut and her camera skills
Unfortunately, with a race looming early the next morning, I couldn’t go too crazy with all the plant based foods (I have a sensitive tummy) so I kept it low(er) key by sampling a lot.
Sunday morning came faster than I anticipated and so I woke up and snuck away to the lobby with my gluten free oatmeal in search of some hot water. I managed to make a good breakfast. Soon we were on our way to the starting area.
An important item to note here is that Vans’s phone died and I wasn’t about to leave him with the girls and no phone while I was off running in a race for a few hours. I gave him my phone which is why this race report has limited photos. HOWEVER, I want to return to this race because the photos would have been amazing. 🙂
This would be the second Inside Trail Race that I have done. The first was the Mt. Tam 50K last November. In typical Inside Trail fashion, the course markings were definitely something you can’t ignore. Once again, I printed the course map and threw it in my pack. I know better with these guys. 🙂
There was a 10k option, half marathon option and 30k option. I signed up to do the 30k. The first few miles of this race were up hill in sand. Not just sand, but deep beach sand where you sink about 3 inches and slide back a few as well. By mid race, my calves were screaming at me but I was loving every minute of it.
Within the first 4 miles you are also crossing the San Lorenzo River which was about knee high for me. The race director had said in years past, the river was well over his waist!
I started out with a fairly fast pack and was not thinking too much about pacing or anything. I was just happy to be running on new to me trails. Some people may think I am nuts for finding these races and running them solo, but I love it. It really just sets your mind up for something and it is up to you to conquer it. You also really take in your surroundings this way. I kind of love it. 🙂
At mile 2.5 I happened to run past a porta potty that wasn’t intended for the race (I think it was for some workers actually) but I took advantage of it and then lost my spot. When I emerged from the porta potty, I was stuck in a conga line. Oh well. I passed when I could and eventually found myself spaced out from other runners.
Along the way I had helped two men find their way. They didn’t have a map on them and I guess did not listen to the pre-race talk as they had no idea which ribbons to follow at one point. I told the Half Marathoner that he had to follow the pink ribbons only and if he sees orange ribbons, he has gone the wrong way. The other guy was running the 30k like me. I helped him a few other times along the way when the paths were some what confusing. Ironically, this will come back to me later in the race.
A 30K is just a smidgen over 18 miles and so they only had 3 aid-stations on the course, one of which you passed twice. They are very efficient with the way they set up these races and have the course. I relied a little too heavily on the idea that the aid-stations would have something for me to eat and therefore I didn’t bring too much in the way of my own fuel. That was not a well planned out idea as the aid-stations didn’t have any gluten free options for me. They had sugary items but no gluten free salty items and the items that I brought with me, were sugary in nature as well. Oh well. I made due and continued on my way never staying long at any of the aid-stations.
Vans and the girls were wandering around the grounds
At the second aid-station I caught up to the woman who had been in front of me. She seemed extra paranoid that I had caught her. We talked briefly and then I started out on the trail before her. She was very quick to follow and then she started up a conversation with me up a hill.
As she was talking we noticed a group of mountain bikers. Between the mountain bikers and her talking, we missed our turn and realized it about a mile later, that we were going backwards around the loop that we needed to run. The girl panicked big time and started running away. I kept telling her that I had a map and we could figure it out. Then we ran into another girl who was also going the wrong way … she too was kind of freaking out. I was calm as can be and was intent on figuring out how to get back to where we needed to be in order to do the correct loops.
Both of these girls would not listen to me and took off back towards the finish. In the end, they skipped a whole loop of the course (about 4 to 5 miles worth) and I betcha anything, are the two girls listed on the finish list in my age group as 3rd and 4th place. Karma was not good to me there. I had been helping other runners all day and then got myself lost! ha! Oh well. I was smiling the entire time.
I did the right loop and tried to make up time. I did as I eventually caught up to the guy who had been running behind me the entire day. He laughed that I got lost (he was the guy I had helped earlier).
The way back was fun. It was SO humid outside that I even contemplated taking off my shirt and I NEVER do that. The river felt amazing when I had to go through it a second time.
Eventually I realized that I must have been close to the finish. Luckily, we avoided the sandy section on our return. Soon enough, I saw Vans and heard the girls! They were on the trail cheering me on.
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I finished in just over 3.5 hours which I was okay with considering I ran an extra mile or so when I got lost and spent all that time trying to figure out the course (and porta potty stop). It was fun and I would totally do this race again.
My Medal was stolen by Squeaker
Vans and the girls had a blast exploring Henry Cowell State Park while I was off running. They have some amazing red woods here and the girls were just in awe over them.
Big Tree!
Post race we wandered the grounds as a family which was good and bad. Good as I enjoyed seeing everything, bad as I didn’t take enough time to stretch post race but the walking felt great.
The rest of the weekend we spent doing all kinds of fun things. We hit the Santa Cruz Boardwalk which was a blast. The Peanut is like me and likes rides a lot, especially somewhat scary ones. 🙂
Our view from the Ferris Wheel – amazing
Squeaker was able to ride her first ever ferris wheel AND she went on a (small) roller coaster – not sure how she feels about that now (she was a little freaked during).
On the roller coaster!Strange creatures roam the Santa Cruz Boardwalk
On Monday, before leaving town, we had a few other things that we needed to get done. One of them was for Vans to visit the Derby Skate Park in Santa Cruz.
Found it!
This park was odd (to me) and full of local kids who were chatting it up with Vans. It was funny. Post skate park, we had to find the Santa Cruz bike shop hub …
Found it!The girls liked it
Then it was time for more strange plant-based eateries for lunch … the girls and Vans were not a fan of Dharmas. It definitely takes some getting used to.
The Peanut is drinking a mint chocolate coconut vegan smoothie that she actually liked
After lunch, we headed to Capitola Beach for one more jaunt into the ocean. This time we all put on swim suits and went in. Well, everyone except Squeaker. She was content to play in the sand the entire time.
Over all, it was a great short trip. The traffic in both directions was incredibly terrible reminding us why we never head to the bay area. We are mountain people at heart and luckily, the traffic to Tahoe is usually manageable. Still, our last vacation before school starts was a success. The girls had fun and were happy to get home to our two new fur babies.
Jersey & Reagan
TiggerT was a great auntie cat sitter for us. The kittens were in great hands the entire time.
Not sure when my next blog post will happen. I have to figure out this blog transfer stuff and fast. I am also doing some traveling to the east coast next week for something I am crazy excited for. I was hoping to do a whole blog post related to it so I better figure out this blog transfer thing and fast!
Have you ever said something along the lines of, “If I say I want to do this next time, remind me that I said I would never do it again.” Those were the thoughts that were going through my head the first few miles of the Pacific Crest Marathon last Saturday.
I ran this same marathon in 2012. You can read that race report here. I even re-read my race report before we left on vacation and recalled that it was a tough race mentally because it is two loops of a half-marathon course. You basically run right past the finish line and back out for another 13.1 miles. Also, because this race is in Oregon, specifically Sunriver, Oregon, one has no idea what the weather will be like. In 2012 when I ran the full marathon, it was 40 degrees at the start and it hailed. In 2010 when I ran the half, it was warm but not miserable.
This year the weather would be a force to be reckoned with and the nemesis in every runner’s side. I knew this when we left California as the temps were slowly rising towards 100 degrees. The weather in Sunriver was predicted to be in the high 90s or low 100s.
Mt. Shasta
We stopped in Ashland, Oregon on Thursday. I have always wanted to visit Ashland as I hear it is an ultra runner’s dream. We stopped at Hal Koerner’s store, Rogue Valley Runners and did a little shopping and photo op’ing.
RVR Store!
We also stopped and had dinner at Standing Stone Brewing Company, a recommendation from Hal himself (thank you social media) and I saw Jenn Shelton sitting at the bar having a beer.
Pre-race hydrating
We spent the night in Medford (interesting) and then drove to Sunriver on Friday morning. In the past, I felt that if I didn’t have enough time to acclimate to the elevation, then it was better to get there and just run the race right away. Sunriver is at 4200 ft above sea level. That’s a significant difference compared to my usual 768 ft.
We were vacationing with Be-Well-Run and her family again. In years past, we all participated in some kind of event since Sunriver hosts the Pacific Crest Sports Weekend Festival. This year however, only Vans and I had signed up for events (the marathon for myself and the 10k for Vans). Be-Well-Run signed up for the 10k at packet pick-up which was a nice surprise.
Expo Shopping
Walking around the expo I wasn’t really nervous. I kept telling Vans that I was more disappointed because I really wanted to do well and try and break my previous time at this race, but based on the way I was feeling … I just knew it wasn’t in the cards. I was tired, my legs were toast and I had a bunch of internal things going on that proved to be just really bad timing on my body’s part. Finishing became my goal. Or perhaps, this is just a “training run” for my pacing duties at Tahoe Rim Trail in two weeks? That is what I kept telling myself anyway.
Race morning I woke up and got myself dressed. It was warm already. Luckily, in preparation I made sure to bring a bandanna with me. This bandanna has saved me at many an ultra so I figured I would carry it with me (more on this later).
I had a Picky Bar breakfast and then sat with my legs up a wall trying to move the circulation around a bit. My legs just felt stiff and tired and sluggish. Riding in a car for hours on end will do that I suppose. I tried to just relax. I tried foam rolling too. My right hamstring has been bugging me for a while. I can’t quite pinpoint what triggers it or what caused it, but I know when I think about it, it tightens up.
Soon it was time to head to the start. The thing about this marathon is that even though it is a Boston qualifying race, there is never that many people running it (in fact, I just looked, there were 73 people who ran). I think I finally understand why now.
The race started on time and we were off and running. It goes up hill at first and we were to expect aid-stations and porta potties every mile (not necessarily at each mile marker). I decided not to carry any water with me based on there being water so frequently.
Within the first few miles I just knew my legs were not working. They didn’t seem connected to my body at all. My pace was hovering around 8:50 which was surprising to me since I felt like I was a slug on the sidewalk.
After I passed mile 2 I saw some friendly faces. I put on my best smile and waved.
The kid posse
I just assumed that I would slowly begin to bounce back to normal and eventually get into a groove. Somewhere around mile 6 or 7 though, my paced started slowing and the heat started coming on strong. My 8:50s started hovering around 9 and then 9:10 … and then 9:15.
The last time I ran this, I only allowed myself walking breaks on the second loop and only when I was going through an aid-station. This year, the walking started early. “Oh, is that an aid-station I see way up there? Okay, that means I can walk now.”
That’s kinda how it went for a while. Part of the course goes past the Sunriver Airport where there is absolutely positively zero shade cover. Not that there was a ton on the other parts of the course but at least there we had some cloud cover … the airport seemed to make the clouds disappear.
The aid-stations were great. They had water and I was enjoying the mental break of knowing they were coming every mile. There was a bit of a mind game for a while as they were not at the mile markers but in-between.
Somewhere around mile 9 or so I started thinking, “There is no way in hell I am going to finish this race. Forget this. If the family is at the half-way point, I am stopping. Who cares if my first ever DNF is on a road marathon!? This is insane!”
Mile 10: “You can’t quit. You can’t! You’ve run 8 other marathons before this. You’ve run ultras for goodness sake! How can you possibly quit!?”
Mile 11: “Yup, you can quit. This is the pits. Can you feel this heat? It has to be 100 degrees outside!” (it was 97).
Mile 12: “Ugh, more rolling hills? What the hell? Why? This is ridiculous. Look! Those people are walking. You can walk too. Almost to the half way point. Almost to the point where you are going to quit!”
Mile 13: “Why the heck do they have to add a .1 to a freaking half marathon?! Why can’t it just stop at 13?! Okay, there is the finish shoot, where is my family?”
Course marshal: “Half marathoner’s go right, marathoner’s go left for your second loop!”
Me (in my head): “But, but …. I don’t WANT to do a second loop! Where are they? Where is my family? They have to be here. Sure they didn’t say they would be here but they have to know I am dying right?”
Off I go … on my second loop. They had no water at the finish area. The last water station was at mile 12. The next one wouldn’t be until almost mile 15 or 16 … in 97 degrees and in my completely fragile emotional state, that seemed like 115 miles to me. I think I started hallucinating. As far as low price levitra the race is concerned, that is ultimately our call. Hence it is strictly next rx generic viagra recommended to get a physician’s prescription. Moreover, their volatility enhances the chance of an active digestive system viagra 20mg for slowing down its absorption in the body. Never combine these medicines with smoking, levitra 10mg alcohol, caffeinated drinks, grapefruit or grape as it may hamper their effectiveness. Save me!
I had been running with a salt tab in my hand since mile 13. All I wanted was a cup of water so that I could take my salt tab. I saw my family ahead of me. I started walking and blabbering about “no water, where is the water?” and “if you were at the half way point, I’d be done. I can’t do this. This is so hard.” I stole my 7 year old’s water bottle and I took my salt tab.
Be-Well-Run rode her bike up ahead to the aid-station and I think informed them that I was coming and desperately needed water. A nice volunteer ran up to me, “Are you Pam?” Me: “Yes, I am.” Nice volunteer: “Okay, you can do this, you can make this. Here is some water. Is this your first marathon?” Me (oh dear lord, it looks like I am dying doing my first marathon): “Um, no, more like my 9th.”
Vans told me how hot it was (gee, I hadn’t noticed) and informed me that I was moving pretty slow (ya think?). He said, “See you at the finish?” and I think I said, “Sure, but we’re looking at a 5 hour marathon here. I see a lot of walking in my future.” He assured me that I only had about 6 miles to go. I don’t know if he was trying to mess with my math challenged dehydrated brain or what, but I kind of believed him until I got a little further and realized I had like 10 more miles, not 6. Thanks honey. 🙂
I am not sure when, but they had run out of ICE on the course so all the water we had to drink was WARM. Ugh. Around mile 10 however, they had buckets of cold water (guess that is where all the ice went) and I started using my bandanna. I’d soak it in a nice ice-cold bucket and then wipe my face and wrap it around my neck. My saving grace. That bandanna makes the world a better place.
The rest of the course was a ghost town. There were one or two guys who I had been playing leap-frog with. I had to use a porta potty twice so they’d get ahead of me but I’d eventually catch up and pass. At about mile 18, I started feeling way better.
When I reached the airport (mile 20) there was a kid manning the aid-station. I asked where his water bucket went and he said it was gone but that he had ice. ICE? What?! I had him fill my bandanna (sorry other runners). I carried that bandanna full of ice the rest of the race cooling my neck and face.
Where is she? This is taking a really long time Dad.
I wasn’t running 100% of the time, but I was running more than I had before. I had passed those two guys for good and a girl (who didn’t enjoy that). When I saw the 21 mile marker, I knew I could finish. Walk run walk run. Run run run run. Walk. Run.
Here I come! Told ya it was a ghost town of a race.
When I saw the finish shoot, I tried so hard to gather up enough energy to just keep running. I saw and heard my family cheering my name. That gave me a nice boost.
Smile and it doesn’t hurt right?In my head I am thinking “oh thank goodness!”My girls joining me for the final few steps.
When I crossed that finish line I was filled with a bunch of emotions. There was a lot of “Oh thank goodness you are done,” but there was also the, “Holy crap, you did it!? You stuck it out!”
This is me telling Be-Well-Run “holy crap that was hot”This is, “NEVER LET ME DO THIS RACE AGAIN!”
I was stoked that I had finished, shocked at my terrible time (4 hrs 40 minutes) and desperately searching for one thing ….
Yes! This is so nice in so many ways.
Post race massage by this guy … he was blown away by my right hamstring. I was too to be honest. It didn’t feel great but after he dug his elbow in it a few million times, it felt a lot better.
Upon completion of your race (any races in Sunriver), you get a free Deschutes Beer. Of course, being gluten free, I cannot drink beer but Vans was not about to let this opportunity pass so he rushed me over to the Bier Garten.
Free Beer!
We hung around the race for a little bit but the kids were toast. My long marathon had taken up most of the day and everyone wanted to get moving on our vacation. So we left.
So bored that balancing rocks on her head was more exciting than waiting for me.
Overall, I wasn’t too sore from the race. My quads were pretty tight the following day but I didn’t stretch nor did I foam roll or anything (I know, I know, bad!).
In the end, I am proud of myself for sticking it out and not quitting. On the other hand, this is fueling me towards some serious marathon training for CIM in December. I am due. I want to get back to my sub 4 hour marathon time.
I say it all the time, but for me, road running is harder than trail running. They are both very different in so many ways. I am faster on the road but the endurance for running continuously isn’t there. I’ve been so mentally trained to be conservative on the trail because usually, you are out there for the long haul. You have fuel. You have aid-stations that are like a giant smorgasbord of everything you can imagine. When I passed my first aid-station in Sunriver my heart sank a little bit. Water?! Just water?? 🙂
I know that no matter what, I can manage the distance but I am getting tired of just “managing” … I want to do better. So, we shall see. I have some pacing duties to attend to in a few weeks and then, who knows, maybe I will start migrating to the pavement again. CIM training IS just right around the corner. 😉
Just because. 🙂
Stay tuned for another post. I have a million photos and a few more stories to share about our vacation that involve more running but since this post is already almost as long as my last marathon time (har har), I figure I should end it here. 🙂
I know my blogging has been sporadic at best. Life has been busy but the good news is that I have a few posts stewing around in my head that just need to come out. So forgive me if they are a bit wordy. 🙂
Mother’s Day weekend I decided to take the girls with me back east to visit my family in NJ. I choose this weekend in particular because there is a very special boy who is the man of honor at my childhood town’s 5k race. Dylan’s Dinosaur Stomp 5k held its 4th annual stomp this year. I attended two years ago and I just knew I had to make it back again.
Dylan’s Dinosaur Stomp benefits the Dylan Flinchum Rock On Foundation.  Dylan is the son and nephew of two very special people who grew up living next door to me and in my heart, are like brothers to me. Dylan is suffering from a rare, degenerative disease known as metachromatic leukodystrophy, often referred to as MLD and every year, for the past four years, my town (which is very hilly) pulls together and participates in a 5k walk/run. The event is planned and run by some very special people who love Dylan and his family and I am blown away at how amazing this event turns out. It takes my breath away.
As I said, I participated in the run two years ago when I brought the Peanut home with me before she started Kindergarten. This year, I got daring and I brought both girls.
Waiting for our plane!
The girls were crazy excited to get on a plane and fly to NJ. They were even more excited to see their Poppy and Gramie.
Future Little Pilots
As we boarded the first plane, the pilots called the girls into the cockpit. At first they were too nervous to go but I nudged them a little because, hello!? How cool is that! 🙂
The flights were typical. We landed in Arizona and had to race to our next gate to catch our second leg. The girls were super stars. They each had a backpack. We also had entertainment…
iPad Selfies on the plane!Many many iPad selfies on the plane
We landed in NJ at 5 am Friday morning and Poppy picked us up at the airport. Needless to say, that first day we were a bit like zombies between the time change and jet lag.
Saturday was the race. One of the best features about The Dylan Dinosaur Stomp is that the race doesn’t start until 10:00 am! It is a family focused event and I think that is a great idea. I know from personal experience how hard it is to get the whole family out the door early in the morning. I love the start time because it means I can adjust to the lack of sleep and grab some Dunkin Donuts before hand.
The second best feature of the race is that my childhood home is literally just a few blocks from the starting area AND the race passes by my house not once, but twice! That’s so awesome. Actually, the course is designed so that the race passes by both of Dylan’s grandparent’s houses. Kinda cool. My dad likes it because he can sit on the front steps with his cow bell and cheer on all the runners.
The third best feature is that the race starts and ends at a park. With a playground. Another smart move. My kids spent a lot of time at this park.
I walked to the race start with Gramie and just watched in awe as I saw lots of familiar faces. The morning was chilly but not too bad. The day prior had been very hot and humid.
They start the race on time and they start it, on a hill. Not just a tiny hill, but a pretty decent size hill. This year I positioned myself in the middle of the pack. I’d been running, just not a lot of hills and my hometown has hills.
The Course Profile – not much flat sections here
I wasn’t too sure how things were go but I was mainly just excited to be there and be a part of it. At 10 am they blew the horn and we were off running. The walkers started later. Up the hill I ran, my lungs slowly adjusting and then down the other side past my house. My dad was standing on the steps and I waved to him as I passed. He rang his giant cow bell and told me that both girls were still asleep! This happened the last time I ran this race. The Peanut was so exhausted she missed seeing me both times. Poppy was determined to not let that happen again. 🙂
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As we passed my house and started yet another climb, I saw Matt, directing runner traffic. Matt is Dylan’s uncle, my childhood best friend, my neighbor and one of my Bridegrooms at my wedding. I dodged a bunch of people and I ran over to give him a big hug. He pushed me away and told me to keep running! Matt is my oldest and dearest friend. Seeing him brought such a smile to my face.
I just kept running. Up and down. Up and down. We get to run past the high school and then up another hill. It was on one particular hill that I vividly remember from the last time I ran this course, that I decided I was not going to walk. No matter what. I just put my head down and started running up the hill. I passed a couple of people (sorry Pete!) and I also set my sites on a ponytail ahead of me. By nature, I am more competitive with myself then I am with other people but it is good to have a focus, a goal that you want to accomplish and unfortunately for that ponytail in front of me, she was it.
I passed her on a climb and I heard her sigh. I just kept running we were on our way back to my street. Matt was busy directing cars when I ran by so I just kept going. I saw my dad on my front steps and I saw Squeaker outside bouncing up and down. I heard my dad call to the Peanut who came running out the front door too. They both smiled and cheered for me. I only had to make it up two more hills, one of them pretty darn steep.
Once again, I put my head down and I just ran. The volunteers told me that I just had to round a corner and I would be done. I crossed the finish and grabbed a water. I had no idea what place I was in or what my official time was except for what was on my watch. I chatted with some old friends for a bit and then decided that I better run home and get the girls so they could enjoy the finish area too.
View from the top of the park. Look at that awesome American flag!
The girls enjoyed the park and they wore their Stomp shirts with pride. Some day, I hope they will want to try and run it too. When I went back to get the girls, I also picked up my phone and I noticed that I had a text message from the race timing company that had my time and stats from the race! It told me that I was second female over all. How freaking cool is that!? Not that I was second female, but that within 30 minutes of having finished, I had race information sent to my phone!! That is pretty darn cool.
Of course I was excited to also get second place female. The first place female blew me away, it wasn’t even close. However, the highlight of the day was getting my photo with Dylan. This sweet boy was sound asleep when I snuck in and got a photo with him.
Dylan
Unfortunately, soon after the girls arrived, some clouds moved in and the rain started to come down. It rained for maybe 20 minutes or so but sadly, it was enough to scare away some of the families, including my girls. I stayed however. I couldn’t bring myself to leave. Seeing the volunteers and the families pulling together really touched my heart.
Me and Matt
I also got to spend some time with Matt. It has been two years since I’ve seen him and boy did I miss him. It was fun just hanging out with everyone and talking about things. I’ve missed a lot these people. They are good people.
Soon however, I did have to head back to Poppy’s as I knew the girls would be waiting. As it turns out, they were stolen away to visit Gramie for a bit so that meant I got a nice hot uninterrupted shower.
This race truly has my heart. I would have been there last year for the 3rd annual but unfortunately a lack of vacation time kept me away. I am definitely hoping to come back for the 5th annual Dylan Dinosaur Stomp. The girls had a blast in NJ too. They got to spend a lot of snuggle time with their Poppy.
Morning snuggles
They also got to spend time with their aunts and uncles too. We arrived on a Friday morning and we left on a Monday afternoon but we crammed in a lot of visits and hugs during our time.
I love my east coast family (friends included). 3,000 miles is a long way away but at the same time, I love how sometimes we can just pick up right where we left off … like the best of friends.
Matt and I like old times
Happy Trails!
~Trailmomma
PS: If you would like to support Dylan and you can’t make it to his Dinosaur Stomp, check out this donation link. No running necessary. 🙂
When I signed up for the American River 50 Mile race (AR50) back in February, I had just had a string of really strong and powerful training runs. I was on a high. I felt the strongest I have ever felt. And then, a series of unfortunate events started happening one after the other. I was bit by a dog on a training run that caused me to tweak my back. I ran a really super hard 50k that was primarily down hill, something my knees and back really did not like and basically, I just started losing quality sleep little by little. In my head, I was falling apart so how on earth did I think I could run 50 miles? What was I thinking!?
Yet, I kept plugging at it little by little. I pretty much took my taper more seriously than I ever have before. The week of AR50 I ran 3 miles on Monday afternoon (it sucked), I ran 4.5 miles on Tuesday morning (ugh, again it sucked) and I ran another 4 miles on Wednesday afternoon (oh boy, shoot me now). Then, I rested. Completely. No stairs at work. I tried for quality sleep each night. I ate really well. I even decided to work from home the Friday before the race.
Working from home = less stress and more relaxed. Plus I got a ton of work done.
When Friday arrived, I was still super nervous. I had to go and pick up my bib and race packet and I knew the minute that I did that, my energy would change. If you have ever been at a packet pick up for a big race like this, you can just FEEL the energy of everyone that is there. You look at people and think “Wow, they are going to crush it!” or “Wow, they are running too?!” You just get sucked into the awesomeness of an ultra’s race scene. It is infectious.
I brought the Peanut with me as I had to drop her off at a friend’s for a sleepover. She wasn’t as impressed with packet pick up as I was. 🙂 Still, it was neat showing her everything and introducing her to people.
When I got home, all I had to do was make myself dinner. I had pre-packed my hydration pack, my cooler, and everything else that I had needed earlier in the day. I made some yukon gold potatoes for dinner. Simple. Easy. Nothing that would upset my tummy and I made sure to eat early enough so as to digest it all before laying down for sleep.
Slowly but surely, I started to get a migraine. It started slow and low on my head but by 7:30 pm, I was struggling to keep my eyes open due to the pain. I kissed Squeaker and Vans goodnight and crawled into bed close to 8 pm.
I woke up a few times during the night. I had that “late for the airport” feeling that you get when you feel like your alarm might not go off. But, eventually at 3;45 am it went off and I immediately hopped out of bed. I felt, rested. For once.
I changed, grabbed all my gear, filled my bottles and hydration pack and I waited in the garage for Pigeon and Missouri to pick me up on their way to the starting area. Due to some unfortunate planning on my part, Vans would not be able to see me throughout the day. He promised that he would be at the finish. This meant that I had to build myself my own little personal aid-station again for Beal’s Point and make it easy enough that Missouri would be able to carry it from the car to somewhere close to the course.
At the starting area cars were lining up in the lot and the sky was dark. There was an eclipse of the moon so it was exceptionally dark at the start this year and I didn’t bring more than a dinky little light. Ooops
Trying to get the eclipse
The minute we arrived, Pigeon and I hopped out of the car and headed to the porta potties. The line was short (at the moment). When we were done, we loaded back into the car and for some reason, I buckled myself in. Missouri turns to me and says, “Are you afraid we’ll get into an accident just sitting here?” I looked at her for a minute not quite comprehending what she was saying and then I realized what I had done. HA! My mind was obviously occupied and not thinking clearly. 🙂
We had a good laugh about that for  while and that seemed to lighten the weight in my chest.
Soon however, it was time to head to the starting line. The race started at 6 am and it was still pretty dark outside.
Pigeon had a flashlight with her but I only had the little light on my visor. It would do but it wouldn’t be great. We only had to run about 3 or 4 miles in the dark, that was my guess anyway based on the sunrise. Luckily, a lot of other runners around me had lights.
Here we go!
Without much hype, the race started and wave 1 began running up the 1 mile marina drive towards the trail. Pigeon and I were able to chat with Miss P and Blisters for a bit which was nice. Everyone seemed to have a nice nervous energy.
Immediately I just felt like what I was doing was work and not fun. In the back of my head, I still had a lot of doubt. My knee was achy and I just dreaded any downhills that I would have to face.
Pigeon took the lead on this section which is funny since last year I took the lead. She also scolded me last year for going out too fast so maybe she thought if she took the lead, she could keep me settled down. I was content to follow her. My mind was still not in the game yet.
Finally we reached the levee and the sun was up (or mostly up) and our lights were no longer needed. We had to run to Folsom Point where the first aid-station would be (at mile 4.97). As we were running down and around Folsom Point, the door of the restroom opened up and I ran straight in. Pigeon followed as the door next to that one also opened. We were amazed that there were no lines! Last year they had really long lines. I was happy to get this out of the way now instead of later.
We said ‘hi’ to the Fleet Feet crew manning the aid-station and then dropped down onto the road making our way to the parkway bike path. Here, the sun was rising and you could tell it was going to be a beautiful day.
There is that sun!
When we dumped onto the bike trail, I had forgotten how much downhill there was on this little section. Paved down hill doesn’t bother my knees as much as trail downhill for some reason. Pigeon and I just kept running. We weren’t chatting too much. We did occasionally comment on the gear of some of the other runners. We saw some crazy things out there and it is always interesting to see how people prepare for runs like this. The announcer had said there were 350 people running their first AR50. That is awesome.
Pigeon and I just made our way down the path. She was being rather quiet, as was I. Last year I had my headphones in at this point so I started digging them out of my pocket only to realize they were in a complete knot. Pigeon decided she needed to duck off the trail to take care of some business somewhere around mile 11. I told her I would walk. I needed to keep moving. I had a feeling that if I stopped, I wouldn’t start again. My head and my heart were just not in this yet.
When Pigeon finally caught up to me, she was running with TiggerT!!!!!???? TiggerT just happened to be out running with the Java Joggers group when she just kind of ran into Pigeon emerging from some bushes! How funny?! TiggerT ran with us to the next aid-station at Willow Creek (mile 12.77).
I didn’t take any fuel here or get any water. This year I ran with one bottle on my pack and my hydration bladder filled with electrolyte water. I did eat some of my peanut butter banana cookies but they weren’t tasting so great so I stopped. Nothing seemed appealing to me which isn’t good 13 miles into a 50 mile race.
As we were making our way to the Hazel Bridge, we saw that quite a few runners had gone off course and were running around the aquatic center parking lot. They looked at us like we had cheated but we had clearly followed all the ribbons. They must have been kicking themselves for adding at least a half mile to their legs.
As we crossed Hazel Bridge, I had that familiar feeling of relief. You see, at this point in the race, you start running TOWARDS Auburn and the finish line, no longer away from it. There is something to be said about this. It just switches something in your head and you feel better as you start climbing those crazy beautiful bluffs.
Coming down the back side of the bluffs.
I just took my time going down the rockier sections not wanting to aggravate my knee. I had forgotten about the next aid-station, one of my favorites in this race, until we came upon it (Main Bar Aid-Station, Mile 16.98).
At this aid-station, they blast the best 80s music around and as we approached, super happy super sweet volunteers rushed to see what we needed just as Bonnie Tyler’s I Need a Hero started blaring from a radio near by. Awe yea!!!! I was starting to warm up and get a little excited …. I even started dancing like a fool calling to Pigeon to come on, hurry … WE NEED A HERO!!!!
Granted, she looked at me like I was crazy and laughed. I told her it was the music. It set me on fire a bit. We started running. Soon we came a cross a stray (oddly clean) porta potty. Pigeon needed to stop so I decided to stop as well. I didn’t have to but I tried and it worked out timing wise.
Next up was the Negro Bar (mile 20.18) aid-station where Diane Hanes and her FTR crew volunteer every year. Diane gave me a big hug when she saw me and asked how I was. I told her that honestly, today felt like ‘work’ to me, that I just didn’t feel like I was having a lot of fun yet. All she could say was “uh-oh.”
Pigeon and I took off. I did get a surge of energy as I knew that our next aid-station would be Beal’s Point which is mile 24.31 and where Missouri and hundreds of other people would be waiting to cheer on runners. Beal’s is a HUGE point in the race. Two years ago, it marked the half way point (sort of). Now it was mile 24.31.
I always run up the hill to Beal’s. I love the surge of energy you feel as you crest that hill and run down across the arches as they call your name. I spotted where Missouri had set up our camp. I refilled my hydration pack and ate a gluten free peanut butter and honey sandwich. I had to really force it down but I managed to eat the whole thing.
I also emptied the rocks and pebbles that had been gathering at the bottom of my shoes. This year, I didn’t change socks. I probably should have but I didn’t.
Off we were again. Pigeon needed to stop at the bathrooms before we left the aid-station. Once again, I decided to go too. Might as well. When she emerged, we made our way back onto the course and headed towards Granite Bay aid-station (mile 29.45).
Last year at Granite Bay we were surprised by Missouri, TiggerT and Vans. This year, no one would be there. As were approaching the aid-station, Pigeon mentioned that her foot was hurting her. She hadn’t said a peep the entire day so it took me by surprise that she was having some discomfort.
She even said, “Missouri will kill me if I have to call her to pick me up here.” Wait. What? She went from “my foot hurts” Â to considering dropping in a nano second. I couldn’t process it all just yet. We then spotted Dasie and Pigeon ran to talk to her while I made my way to the aid-station. I needed some food in my tummy as I was planning to take the Advil I had stuffed in my pocket. My knee was just starting to tweak a little bit and I didn’t want it to flare just yet. Not now.
When I found Pigeon, Dasie was rubbing her foot. I started to stretch  my legs and squat to keep myself limber and from totally stiffening up. Pigeon I could tell didn’t know what to do at first. Her goal race is in four weeks. This race, AR, was just a training run for her. She was torn.
We were at that aid-station about 8 to 10 minutes when Pigeon laced up and thought she would start running but instead, she told me that she had wasted too much of my time already and that I should just go on and if she could, she’d join me but she wasn’t sure just yet what she’d do.
I told her, “Okay, I’ll start out walking just in case. Just don’t fly by me like last year!” 🙂 But, she never did. I did walk for a bit and then the trail started to develop into a nice rolling course. Something that was runnable. So, I just ran.
This is a critical point in the race as the next aid-station at Horseshoe Bar (mile 38.14) is 8.69 miles from the last aid-station. That is the farthest stretch between aid-stations in the entire race and it was getting WARM, on second thought, it was getting HOT and fast. I had started dunking my bandana in any ice buckets that I could find and would wash my face and neck. It just cooled me down and kept me present.
Alone, and full of fuel, I just ran. I started passing people. I am not normally one to pass people. I usually just settle in behind and ride the conga line but something took over. I just started saying, “on your left” whenever I could and would, bit by bit, pass runner after runner.
This section of the course is full of mountain bikers and I ran into a couple. I felt bad as they had no idea a race was going on. I also ran into quite a few horses out on the trail, causing me to stop and move to the side. It was busy out there!
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Steady and strong. I just kept running. My Garmin was slowly starting to lose its battery strength. I kept watching the charge get lower and lower and wondered if it would make the whole race.
My legs felt light as air. I had no aches or pains. I honestly felt like I was out for a nice easy jog. I couldn’t believe it. I tried not thinking about it as I didn’t want to jinx myself or trip and fall as I am apt to do while trail running.
I knew I was getting close to Rattlesnake aid-station (mile 40.94). I knew that once I reached that, I was in the single digits to the finish line. Last year at Rattlesnake, I could barely make it down the hill the pain in my knee was so excruciating. Now, I just ran down it, passing another runner (what the heck is going on?!).
I as entered the aid-station I got a huge “HI PAM!” from Legs which made me smile and then I saw Pigeon. She had dropped after all. She wanted to know what I needed. I kind of laughed, because I went from having no crew to having Missouri, Dasie and Pigeon all attending to my needs. I didn’t know what the heck to do! I told Pigeon I wanted ice in my pack. I dropped my water bottle since I had never even touched it and I wanted to lighten my load.
I was off running again. Dasie had made me a nice neck scarf of ice out of my bandana which felt amazing. Back up that steep hill I went and when I got to the top, I passed four more runners. Watch out, I was on my way to the finish line.
Photo by Hassan
So it continued happening, I just passed runner after runner. When I got to Dowdin’s Post aid-station (mile 43,92) I just flew in, grabbed a few things and flew out.
Around mile 45, I came across Hassan who was pacing another runner in front of me. This runner let me pass and I said ‘hi’ to Hassan who immediately ran ahead and hid behind a corner and then started taking photos of me as I ran by! What a hoot!
Smiling the WHOLE time. Photo by Hassan
Hassan’s happy demeanor brought a new wave of energy for me and I just never stopped smiling. Well, I did stop smiling when I realized that I was running up behind Miss P. If I run into Miss P in a race, I know it isn’t good. She must be struggling. Sure enough, I didn’t get my usual smile and “Hey!” from her. She said it just wasn’t her day. She just wanted to be done and she let me pass. My heart broke for her. Miss P is an incredibly strong runner. It saddened me to see her not feeling well.
I motored on and almost yelled with joy when I was dumped off the trail and onto the final road that leads you to the finish line. I power hiked as much as I could up this gravel rocky road. Some parts I ran, just eager to get off the gravel. My power hiking has improved and it didn’t fail me now. One step in front of the other.
The Last Gasp aid-station ( mile 47.56) is hilarious. It is run by a bunch of young guys who wear spandex. It always brings a smile to my face.
Soon I reached the infamous 3 mile sign. I’ve taken a photo next to this sign every year.
Me and the sign in 2010 – photo by my pacerMe and the sign in 2014 – photo by my pacer
This year, I was all alone. No pacer. No one to take my photo. So, I took a photo of the sign anyway.
The sign – doing it on my own in 2015
I decided now was the time to find my easter candy. A handful of starburst jelly beans is what got me up the Damn Hill and those last 3 miles. I’d walk a few steps and run 10 times more. I ran into Annabella on the this section too. I said hi and just kept motoring on. I was determined. I knew that I could beat my old time. Part of me wondered if there was any way that I could get sub 10 hours (my dream) but my Garmin decided to die at mile 48.9!!!!! It almost made it!
My pace up this big hill was hovering around the 11 minute mile range. If you have been on this hill, that’s pretty good (in my book at least). Walk two steps then run 10 times more. Repeat repeat repeat.
I saw the hill that crests up to the top near the parking lot. I couldn’t muster the energy to run up this whole hill but darn it I tried! I ran down onto the street and then up onto the curb and then I just started running as hard as I possibly could. People were clapping and cheering and I just ran as hard and as fast as my tired legs could manage.
The girls were waiting!Run Girl Run!I did it!! I finished!Someone was impressed with my medal!Pigeon was there waiting with a smile and a high five.
I had scored a 22 minute PR!!!! I finished in 10 hours and 11 minutes. Not too far from a sub 10 hour finish!!! There is hope ….
My girls
I felt pretty awesome. My body felt awesome. I mean, what the heck? I made it down to the canal and I rinsed off the poison oak and iced my tired legs and then changed into warm clothes and took advantage of the recovery boots at the finish line.
These things rock
I was just on a complete and total high. I can’t believe what had started out to be such a hard and grueling task had ended up being so much fun.
Everyone was having fun apparently.
My body had responded and came through when I asked it to. You see, I had had a nice talk with my body the night before the race. I promised that if it would get me through those 50 miles that I would honor it and rest completely for two weeks. Nothing but stretching, walking and sleeping. I plan to keep my word and not run a step, which will be hard but also somewhat enjoyable.
The day after the race was Easter Sunday. We went on a family hike around where we live. Nothing too grueling. Just some easy walking with Vans and our six year old and three year old and TiggerT.
My mini me
Now, two days later, I feel amazing. I am not sore at all. Nothing! My knee doesn’t feel “right” but my muscles feel great. I really focused on nutrition this time around too. I didn’t drink any alcohol for the month leading up to AR50. I watched my sugar intake and I ate really well race week too. During the race I tried to take a salt tab about every hour and monitored my water intake too.
Now, with this race behind me, I am looking forward to running for fun. Vans asked that I not run AR again for a bit as it always falls during the Easter holiday making it hard on our family and I can understand that. Some day though, I will return.
But for now, I am content to get back on the trails when the time is right and to run with Pigeon, Stonegate and Burning Girl all of whom are training for the Tahoe Rim Trail races (Pigeon is doing the 100 miler and the other two are doing the 55K). Their training plans and runs will be vastly different so I will get a mix of everything.
I have a few “paid for” training runs on the calendar and only one race in late June (a marathon while on vacation). All of these are low pressure runs. Even the marathon is purely an effort to keep my mileage up while on vacation so that I can pace Pigeon in Tahoe in July.
I look forward to just running for me. Running for fun. Running to help someone else. Having lost that love and spark in the early part of AR really unnerved me. I generally love the first half of that race. However, I am glad that I finally found it and that it carried me to the finish line with a smile.
Well the day finally came. I have been talking about running the Salmon Falls 50k over these last few blog posts and yesterday was the day.
I will warn you now, this post may be a bit long and I have TONS of photos but none of which were taken from me during the race. All of them are compliments of Vans and his awesomeness as being the best race husband and dad ever. This post is for him because without him yesterday, I may not have smiled half as much as I did. I needed him yesterday and he was there 110%.
You know how when you hear a lot of hype about something and you inadvertently build high expectations about it? That’s how my training has been. I felt ready. I felt trained. Yet come race day, not everything happened the way I had envisioned it. Isn’t that always the way?
For the first time, in a very long time, I had a great night of sleep. Squeaker didn’t wake me up throughout the night as she had these last few weeks. I went to bed at a decent time and I woke up a half hour before my alarm was set to go off. I was excited.
The weather was unpredictable. The entire week the forecasters had said it was going to rain on race day. It rained the night before which meant the trails were going to be muddy but it also didn’t rain for very long … so there was hope that things would be semi dry for race day. The temps were colder than they have been but I decided to go with what I have been wearing for almost all of my runs these last few months. My “uniform” so to speak.
Pigeon was set to arrive at my house where Stonegate would pick us up and take us to the race start. Stonegate is running Way Too Cool next weekend and we were lucky to have her chauffeur services to the start. Tri-Girl also met at my house as she had decided to sign up for the race.
The race is a point to point starting at Magnolia Ranch. There were strict parking or rather NO parking rules. Stonegate got us there in plenty of time. We were able to enter the main parking lot and hop out of the car to register with Coach Nikon, the Race Director. It is always great seeing his smiling sarcastic face first thing in the morning before a race. His races are always a class act and well put together. He has probably the best volunteers around too and you can’t have a good race without great volunteers.
After signing in, Pigeon and I hopped back into Stongate’s car while Tri-Girl decided to get into the mile long porta-potty line. This gave us a good reason to sit in the lot waiting for her. The park rangers were there and we were watching. Unfortunately, the line was not moving super fast and so Stonegate had to move the car to across the street. Long story short, we kept missing Tri-Girl as she was trying to get back to the car. Poor Stonegate probably drove back and forth about a million and two times trying to find her, drop us off and then drop her off. :)Â We saw so many awesome trail friends at the start. This race was full of smiling friendly faces. It was so nice to say hi, get hugs and catch up with everyone.
I was starting to get excited and a bit nervous. At some point during all of this pre-race waiting, I heard something that unfortunately I let get into my head. This person didn’t mean any harm or ill will at all. My head just operates in a certain way and my brain reacted (or maybe over-reacted?) and went into over drive. This would haunt me for most of the race and cause me to battle internally over and over with myself. I was trying to will myself out of the negative mental spiral I was putting myself into but combined with all the other little things that didn’t go as planned, it made for a long and interesting experience out there.
Finally, Coach Nikon had us gather at the start. I loved the low-keyness to the race. He gave us a pre-race briefing and pep talk in Coach Nikon fashion. He said, “We used over 9 rolls of tape to mark this course in addition to trail chalk. If you get lost, I want to know how you did it.” 🙂
He counted down and we were off. I would venture to guess there was close to 180 people in the race. While not large, it still made for an interesting start jockeying for position on the very wide trail. There were some puddles and mud and then all of a sudden, we were at our first shin high stream crossing. We were not even at one mile yet! That’s how you start a race!
It starts with a pretty good up hill climb with some switch backs along the way. Â Pigeon, Tri-Girl and I were close together. We saw some friends along the way like Miss P and we all sort of ran together trying to get out of the congestion a bit. For some reason, the congestion was bugging me. I like to have space and there was none at this point. I was also starting to feel my stomach sloshing around a bit. Uh-oh. That is not what I wanted right off the bat.
I climbed, ran and hiked hard. There were some good down sections too. Tri-Girl took off. Pigeon and I tried to conserve our legs and our energy knowing what was to come. This is where my brain started taking over again. I could not shake my thoughts so I ran, harder. Pigeon told me not to go chasing some girl down the hill. She knew I was itching to just open it up but it was too soon.
The trails are gorgeous through these sections. I truly wished I had my camera. At some point, we caught up to and passed Tri-Girl. Running the downs and trying to hike the ups. As Pigeon and I were running there was this guy next to us who started talking about “the hill.” He was worried, “It is the biggest hill in the race. You have to walk it. It is huge.” This got Pigeon in a bit of worrisome state as she had not been on these trails prior to the race. She’s only run a certain section of the course. She turns to me, “How big of a hill? Like a Diamond Peak hill?” I told her, no and that she’s already climbed it once before. He was talking about the hill that was at the first aid-station by Cronin Ranch. It was a hill but it was a long gradual hill and she has climbed far worse in her days. It was also at this point that I looked down at my garmin watch and realized it wasn’t working. At all. I had no time no mileage. Crap! I tend to use the time feature often when it comes to fueling. I had forgotten to power it down and then restart it before the race. Again, something I didn’t plan on happening.
However, I knew we were getting close to the aid-station (4.43 miles into the race). I turned to Pigeon and told her my tummy was not happy. She told me to sprint ahead and go use the bathroom that we remembered was at this particular aid-station. So I did. I sprinted like I was on fire. I ran so hard trying to get ahead and when I reached the aid-station and all the wonderful volunteers who were so ready to help me, I ran right past them. They looked confused but they must have figured out I was going to use the bathroom except the bathroom was SO FAR AWAY. I am not talking a couple of yards, I am talking VERY far away. I was sprinting my little heart out and then just started freaking out that it was too far. When I turned back to look at the aid-station, Pigeon was just getting there. Forget it. If I had continued on, I would have been so far behind. Instead, I turned around. I convinced myself that I would just make it to the next aid-station.
When I finally reached the aid-station Pigeon was talking to the volunteers. Pigeon said, “that’s Trailmomma!” A lovely woman smiled at me and said, “Hi Trailmomma! This is Dizzy!” pointing to another runner. I have to apologize to these two, I was so confused. I thought at first, she was telling me that this guy was dizzy. However, she was trying to tell me that both of them read my blog and follow me and that his name is listed as Dizzy in my followers list! Dizzy I am SO sorry! I must have looked totally confused. So I want to give a shout out to Dizzy and that super wonderful volunteer whose name I did not catch who follow me! Thank you SO much for being out there yesterday and thank you for following all my crazy running stories! 🙂
Next it was time to climb Pedro Hill, the big hill that other runner was worried about. I just put my head down and climbed. I’ve been working on my climbing over the last few months and it has been paying off. I finally feel strong when I climb (most of the time).
Battling the demons in my head and the alien in my stomach, I just climbed and climbed. We finally reached the top with its amazing views and started running the nice long down stretch. What goes up, must come down.
The next aid-station was at mile 7 (Norton Ravine) but there was no bathroom. The next aid-station after that where there WAS a bathroom was at Skunk Hollow but that was 5.8 miles and a lot of rolling hills away.
This is where my brain took over. There are some pretty good climbs and some technical sections during these 5.8 miles. I was not in the mood for chit chat. I pulled ahead of Pigeon and just hiked the up hills hard or even ran some of them. I ran the downs pretty hard too. It was almost as if I was trying to kill the negative thoughts through my head. My  tummy felt better when I was running compared to when I had to stop and hike. I just motored.
For a while, Pigeon was not behind me. I couldn’t even see her. My legs felt good and strong which bothered me because I felt I could have run even better if I wasn’t dealing with that alien in my tummy. At one point you get to a switch back area and I could see Pigeon. I looked down at her and she looked up at me and I mouthed the word, “bathroom” and she goes, “is that’s whats going on?” 🙂 That made me laugh. Pigeon and I know each other well out on the trail. She is training for a 100 mile race in July. Yesterday was a training run for her, not a race. She needed to get the miles in AND be able to run today on tired legs. For me, she knew I was excited about this race. Us separating in races doesn’t happen often but it goes without saying that both of us supports the other one no matter what. If one of us is running strong, the other lets it go and supports her 100%.
So I was gone. I wanted to get to Skunk Hollow (mile 12.8) and I wanted to get there fast. I blew down the Red Dragon faster than I ever have in a training run. Some guy got frustrated with me being behind him and stopped to let me pass. I apologized for being on his tail. 🙂
I could hear the aid-station ahead of me. I could hear the cheers. I also knew there were real bathrooms there! But first, I had the first of many surprises out on the trail!
My girls!
Vans surprised me by having the girls on the trail! They were a sight for sore eyes for sure!
I have to stop for hugs!Hug for the Squeaker!
Vans asked me where Pigeon was and I told him that she was behind me somewhere and that I had to use the bathroom fast. I left them on the trail and headed to the aid-station. I went straight to the bathroom and when I came out I saw Missouri and JCM there with smiles and a sign.
I saw Tri-Girl leave the aid-station and make her way up the hill. I saw quite a few friends here too and stopped to chat. They all asked me where Pigeon was. Finally Pigeon came in and made a bee-line to the bathrooms as well.
I see Pigeon coming in but apparently I needed more hugs.
I stayed at this aid-station talking to Vans and the girls and few other friends for quite a bit. Pigeon had to say hi to Missouri and JCM and fuel as well.
My girls!
We were told it was raining at the finish and that the storm was moving our way. It was getting colder and darker for sure and the rain was spitting at a us a little bit, but not too bad. Pigeon and I left the aid-station together. She told me that I had killed that first section and I told her I was fueled by the demon in my head and the alien in my stomach. While I felt better, my tummy was definitely not having a good day and continued to be a worry for me the rest of the race.
Pigeon and I crossed the Salmon Falls bridge over to Sweetwater and back onto the trail. I entered the trail first and again some how pulled ahead. The next aid-station was 4.1 miles away. The trails of Sweetwater are well, pretty darn sweet. VERY runnable with a lot of rolling hills. I just was cruising again. On auto pilot basically, feeling strong and full of emotion. I came up behind a guy wearing a yellow racing jersey. I was so far in my head at this point that I pulled one of the biggest rookie moves ever when it comes to trail running. I followed the jersey instead of the ribbons. What happens when you do that? You go off course. Yup, I got lost. I was zoning and running hard and followed this guy and had a guy behind me follow me. When I heard the road I knew we had made a mistake. Both of the guys were in doubt and swore up and down that there were no ribbons. A hiker told us that yes we did miss a turn and we had to run back. The guys were in doubt. I was angry and told them, yes we missed a turn and just bolted ahead of them running my heart out to find the course again. I was probably a good 10 minutes ahead of Pigeon and when I finally found the course and saw the stream I was supposed to cross earlier (and about 100 ribbons mind you) I called out to her. She turned and looked so perplexed. “What are you doing behind me?”
The moment I realized I had made a wrong turn and basically ran a mile or so out of my way, I deflated. Every ounce of energy that I had, just let out like one big giant sigh. I was done. I was tired of fighting the demon in my head which was not allowing me to enjoy my day. I was tired of my stomach not settling itself no matter what I tried. Now I had to come to terms with the fact that I had run off course and added a mile to my day. Mentally I was done. I let Pigeon get in front and I just followed her legs up the trail. I was tired. I was beat. This was not the day I wanted and truly, I had no one to blame but myself 100%.
Pigeon carried me for a bit. I just needed to check out. We laughed about the fact that I got lost after Coach Nikon’s pre-race speech and I laughed that there really were about 100 ribbons indicating the turn that I had somehow missed. I couldn’t dwell on stuff. I had to let go. I was finally starting to let go of that demon, that pressure that I had put on myself from the start.
The next aid was at mile 16.9, more than halfway through the race. We saw Captain Kirk and Wonder Woman at this aid-station. Always great to see their smiling faces. Captain Kirk laughed that I had gotten lost. He knew the guy who had led me astray. 🙂
After the aid-station, the next one would be 6.9 miles away. The largest stretch between aid-stations of the race. Finally feeling like I had freed myself a bit from the pressure I had put myself under and from trying to control the things I could not control, I let go and tried to enjoy what was left of my race.
I spy …
Little did I know, that Vans would be my superhero. He knows these trails very well from mountain biking and he knew just where to go to find me.
I was running behind Pigeon when I heard her yell, “Hey!” I looked up and saw two smiling faces that just melted my heart and gave me a boost.
More trail hugs!
My girls were having quite the adventure on the trails all day and were always happy to come give me a hug when they saw me.
Pigeon even said they were giving her a boost too. Post race, I heard from quite a few runners that my two smiling angels actually gave a lot of runners a boost. I love my trail cheerleaders!
Vans was awesome as well. I told him I was not feeling 100% but that I was doing okay. I told him it wasn’t the day I had planned but it was still a great day.
Time to take off again.
One thing to note, besides being beautiful single track trails they were also poison oak infested trails! It was everywhere. I used to not be able to pick out poison oak, but these leaves were SO red that it was impossible not to see it.
Pigeon and I continued on. We’d play leap frog with a couple of runners. I was still feeling deflated and content to take up the caboose. My left knee was starting to bug me. We still had a long way to go too.
At one point as I was running behind Pigeon I saw some movement on the trail in front of her. TURKEYS! Three of them to be precise. Pigeon started running, clapping and yelling “gobble gobble gobble” and she scared those turkeys right off the trail for me. Thank goodness I wasn’t in the lead at this point as I might have completely freaked out. Thanks Pigeon!!
Exploring the trails
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I was trying to fuel the best I could despite the alien in my tummy starting to wake up again. It was always there but it was starting to get antsy again and I was trying to ignore it.
Trail running littles!
For fuel I had brought a ton of options with me. I had two baggies with salted potatoes. I had my favorite Picky Bars broken in to pieces. I had salted plantain chips and I had ProBar Bolts just in case. I also had (somewhere in my pack) chocolate covered espresso beans which I never even touched.
Ribbon stealers?
These next few miles were rollers again and Pigeon was pushing the pace a bit. I didn’t mind. It felt good to mentally check out and let someone else dictate what I had to do. Again, I heard her yell “Hey there!”
My people!
More hugs, hellos and another boost of energy for my heart and brain. These smiling faces brought so much happiness to me it made me realize that I needed to let go of what I had battled so much on the first half the race.
Bye Bye Mommy!
I knew that Pigeon and I were approaching Spanish House which is a section that I have run many times. I wasn’t quite sure where the next aid-station was, and without my garmin I had no idea where we were mileage wise.
Future trail runner?
I was starting to feel the burn though. The eagerness to be done. To be at the finish line and not out on the trails. I don’t have that feeling often, but I had it a few times during this last stretch.
Finally we were approaching Fitch Ct. aid-station (mile 24). I heard “Hey Pam!!!” and I looked up and saw Seth from The Ranch Athletics waiting for me with a smile and a hug. Another stellar aid-station. I saw Patrick who I used to workout with all the time. Everyone was eager to help me and asked me what I needed. I admit, I was some what out of it here though. I was trying to ascertain what I wanted to do. Up until this point, I had not touched one item at any aid-station. I ate what I brought with me. Here, I looked at the table. I was done with my food. Then, I saw them. Off on the corner of the table, in a bowl were PayDay bars. PayDay bars is what I used to fuel during my first ever 50 miler. I am not a candy bar person but there is something about those PayDay bars that just spoke to me and so I grabbed a couple.
Pigeon and I left eating and hiking at the same time. There was not a lot of space at that aid-station and it seemed a lot of runners had stopped there. Feeling a bit claustrophobic, I told Pigeon I needed to move. She was fine with that.
I turned to her and said, “So we only have one more aid-station to go right?” And she said, “No we have two more.” My head said no way. I told her I wasn’t too sure about that but she was adamant that we had two more aid-stations. Hmmm, okay.
My left knee was screaming at me so somewhere in here I took two advil. It seems I end up having to do this more and more near the end of races to ward off the knee pain from getting worse. Except this time, it made my left knee pain completely disappear but caused some screaming intense pain in my right knee and lower back. I guess for 24 miles I had been compensating for my left knee which only aggravated my right? Who knows, but it was a slow pain that just kept getting worse and worse as the miles wore on.
Finally, we approached the marina and Browns Ravine. I knew that there had to be an aid-station here. Some how, I had a spark of energy and was ahead of Pigeon again only I didn’t realize it. As I entered the aid-station, I heard “Good job runner!” Runner? Singular? It made me turn around to see where the heck Pigeon was. I really thought she was right behind me.
I arrived at the aid-station and Annabella was there with a HUGE smile on her face! I asked her, “Is this the last aid-station?” She said, “Yup! Only 3.47 to the finish and you are done!” WHAT??!! Seriously!?
At this point, Pigeon came running in and was grabbing some coke and some pretzels. I said, “Hey this is it!” and she goes, “Yeah only 3.47 to the next aid-station,” and I said, “NO! 3.47 to the FINISH!” Again, she didn’t believe me, it took the volunteers AND the fact that there was a sign taped to the table that said, “3.47 to FINISH” for her to finally get it. Boy, did we laugh about that one. Pigeon laughed hard and apologized profusely. It was funny.
We were now on the section that is basically the start of the American River 50 Mile race. This section I know like the back of my hand but funny enough, I have never ever been on this section with tired legs. This is only a few miles from my house so when I run it, I haven’t run far. Running on this section with 28 miles already on your legs makes it feel like a completely different trail. Tiny little rollers that I normally run up seemed like mountains to me. Yet we knew the finish was near. We could smell it.
Finally we could see the levee that we’d have to run over and we could HEAR the finish line. We could hear Coach Nikon’s voice over the loud speaker. We were almost there.
As we were coming down off the trail and onto the levee, Pigeon yells from behind me, “Is that TiggerT?” And sure enough, sitting perched on the levee like a shining light was TiggerT! What a sight for sore eyes. She smiled and congratulated us. Pigeon and I guilted her into walking the mile to the finish to come hang out with us. 🙂
Hanging out at the finish line waiting….
The levee we had to run was probably the longest mile of my life. You could see the finish. You could see runners before you finishing but yet the distance on the levee didn’t seem to change. No matter how many steps we took, it didn’t seem to get any closer!
Just waiting ….
Finally, I was off the levee. We had to climb a couple of rollers but I saw that finish line. I saw my girls waiting and all of a sudden I was over come with joy, exhaustion and a desire to just get it done. Pigeon wasn’t far behind me.
I started to run harder. Pigeon and I have a history of sprint finishes at all of our races that we finish together. It is all in good fun. I was slightly concerned my girls were going to jump out onto the trail and run with me, which is fine (sometimes) but I really just wanted to run and be done.
Coach Nikon was on the microphone. I could hear him laughing and announcing that I was coming in and that my running partner wasn’t too far behind me. Would there be a race to the finish?
I knew Pigeon was behind me but I also knew I had a few steps ahead of her. Still, I wasn’t sure if she’d try and pull a sneak attack on me.
One of my favorite race pics!
I crossed the first mat not realizing there was a second mat that I had to cross. Coach Nikon started yelling something and I had a feeling that Pigeon was trying to catch up and pass. 🙂
I finished one full second ahead of her. She was trying to pull a finish shoot sneak attack but when you have Coach Nikon calling the play by play over the loud speaker, that’s a little hard to do. 🙂
We did it! We were done!! What a long day full of so many lessons for me. I was happy to be done and happy to have so many awesome faces at the finish.
Coach Nikon telling us about the day from his end.Me very animatedly telling Coach Nikon how I got lost and how it totally was my fault.Post race chat with Tri-Girl and Pigeon
The minute I finished my lower back pretty much seized up. Whatever had been going on with it held off until I had crossed the finish line (thankfully).
Now that we were done, it was time to try and remove the poison oak that was covering our bodies, change and relax.
TiggerT came after all and enjoyed in some awesome post race views and laughsMy monkeys just climbed trees and had a blast playing around
So many good things happened during this race too. The volunteers were spectacular. The course was amazing. It is such a runnable course that it is deceiving because you spend very little time hiking the way you would do if you were running in Auburn. Here, you can run so you find yourself running a lot more miles than you hike which in the end, really adds a lot to your tired legs.
Missouri made an awesome sign for Pigeon and I. She had it at Skunk Hollow but we didn’t get a photo of it until after the race.
Vans was the best. His support and efforts to get himself and the girls all over the course was truly the lift I needed to get out of my head and back into the fact that I run to have fun. I run to enjoy the day, the trails and my friends. Thank you Vans for being the best trail husband ever. I love you.
Pigeon was pillar of support out there. She constantly was telling me how strong I looked and how smart I was running despite the fact that I didn’t feel smart or strong some of the time. She ran a great race herself. She executed it exactly the way I think she wanted. She ran steady the whole time. She struggled I think with the fact that her legs ran more miles than she is really used to running (compared to hiking massive climbs in Auburn and Tahoe) but she handled it well and had juice in the tank when she needed it. Her spirits were up too. If she had down moments, I hardly knew about them (unless she had them when I was off having my crazy moments ahead haha).
Many thanks to all my awesome trail friends and to Missouri, TiggerT and Coach Nikon. It was a great inaugural race and I know that many other runners were super happy with the course, the race and the volunteers. Like I said, Coach Nikon’s events are well organized and always a blast.
We did it Pigeon!
Now I rest. I plan to take a couple of days to figure out what is going with my back. I am not sore other than the low back pain today. I feel well. My quads are not sore, my legs feel like they could go for a run but my back is stiff and tight. I plan to take a couple of days off maybe to rest and stretch. Next weekend is the Way Too Cool 50k race and I plan to be out there supporting Stonegate through her first 50k finish.
And of course, in typical Trailmomma fashion, I have other things up my sleeve so stay tuned for more. Oh and if you made it through this entire blog post, you need a medal! Wow, talk about a long winded report! 🙂 I also have not proof read this (duh, it’s way too long haha) so please excuse the typos .. eventually I will fix them.
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