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2019 CANYONS 100k (Race Report)

You know that race when everything just falls perfectly into place? Yea well, this wasn’t that race. As near perfect as my 2017 Canyons race was, 2019 was the total opposite.

The uncertainty with this race started early. We received emails from the Race Director that there was too much snow out there and that the Snow Course would be the route for 2019. That eliminated Devil’s Thumb and added Gorman Ranch Road which I had never been on before .

Add to that, the fact that in 2017 I trained almost every single weekend on this course but in 2019, I hadn’t stepped foot anywhere near Foresthill or its canyons. Throw in a clavicle surgery for Vans, soccer coaching conflicts and well, just life in general and my life’s been a little nutty this training season.

Finally, the topper were the emails we received the week of the race that drop bags would not be allowed at Rucky Chucky which was mile 47.8. This is kind of a big deal, at least for me, as someone who cannot typically eat the food provided at aid-stations. The race only allows for two drop bag locations total and they had just eliminated (due to State Parks and Rec decisions), the second drop bag. Luckily, I have the bestest friend in the world who loves to crew and does a pretty bang up job at it! Stonegate came through for me in more ways than I can count for this race. Pretty much eliminating the fact that in 2017 she overslept when she was supposed to drive me to the start. 🙂

Race morning Stonegate arrived at my house at 3:40 ready to roll. We picked up Not Chris and were on our way. She was going to park and stay until we started the race. We grabbed our bibs, used the facilities and then just waited for the race to start. We ran into Pigeon and it was nice to see her face because it had been forever. We text every other day or so but we haven’t seen each other in months.

Pretty soon it was time to line up. Not Chris had decided beforehand that we were going to run together. I assured him that he could pull ahead any time and run his own race. He didn’t need me. This was his first 100k after having only ever run one 50 miler last year, so he was understandably nervous and told me that no matter what we were sticking together.

The course starts off semi flat and then makes a right hand turn onto Bath Road where you run down…down…down. Not Chris and I were keeping a decent pace the whole way. I had no idea what to expect with the new Gorman Ranch Snow Course. In my mixed up head I was thinking we ran up to the aid-station and then down when in reality, it was the opposite. As we were descending down, my stomach was starting to turn. This happens to me in races where a downhill is right off the bat. MUC started on an uphill so I didn’t have that problem.

We did have to cross Volcano Creek which was roaring pretty strong. As I was crossing however, I thought my foot was secure on the bottom of the creek bed but instead it must have been on a rock as I slipped. I slipped big time and my whole lower half was submerged in the ice cold water and my left shin nailed a rock. If I wasn’t awake yet, I was now!

Mile 8 Gorman Ranch

We arrived at the aid-station and neither one of us needed anything. The guys from The Auburn Aid-Station were running this pit-stop and were a sight for sore eyes. They directed me toward an area would I could take care of business.

I found Not Chris hiking back up Gorman Ranch Road and together we power hiked and ran. I was feeling tons better.

Mile 12.5 Michigan Bluff

Not Chris’s wife was at this aid-station which was great. He also had pointed out that the porta potties had no line. I decided to go since I had the opening. I am glad that I did because at that moment, Mother Nature decided to bless me with my period (sorry guy readers). What the!? Now?! Luckily I was prepared. Training partners share a lot and I shared with Not Chris the new lovely situation that I’d have to deal with all day.

We said goodbye to Not Chris’s wife and left Michigan Bluff on our way to El Dorado Creek. We downed the next 3 miles at a pretty good pace, passing quite a few runners.

Mile 15. 5 El Dorado Creek

When we got to the aid-station we didn’t really stop, we walked right through and started the four mile climb up to Deadwood Cemetery.

It was then, that my energy died. I was leading a pack of guys up the climb and just lost all my steam. I went from feeling pretty good to feeling like I could not take another step. I let the guys go, including Not Chris as I needed to hike. Not Chris took off like a rocket and I did a death march almost the whole four miles to Deadwood Cemetery.

I was going through every scenario in my head. Was I eating enough? Was I dehydrated? Why on earth was I THIS tired only 16 miles into a 63 mile race? I never stopped but I felt like I was walking in quicksand and then add to that, the fact that every 2 minutes I would have to jump to the side (into a bush of poison oak) to let the lead runners who were coming back from Deadwood pass! I knew going into this that would happen but I didn’t factor in the toll it would take on my body. All the stopping, starting, jumping out of the way … it added way more physicality and mental toughness to the race.

Soon, I saw Not Chris coming down the hill. I told him to “Go get it!” and he yelled back, “I’ll wait for you at Michigan Bluff.” Ugh, not what I wanted. I wanted him to just go and run as I wasn’t sure what was going on with me and my lack of energy.

At Deadwood I grabbed my bracelet and turned around to run back down what I just had run up forcing all the uphill runners to jump out of the way as well. I noticed I was able to run down fairly well. Okay, if I didn’t have my uphill game, at least I had my downhill.

Mile 21.5 El Dorado Creek

I came into this aid-station pretty darn tired. I saw Dasie and Kuni behind the table and that gave me a boost. I grabbed a cup of coke because I was at my end. I couldn’t eat what I had on me and I knew I needed calories to climb the 3 hard miles back out of this canyon and it was getting hot.

Mile 24.5 Michigan Bluff

I arrived at the Michigan Bluff aid-station and didn’t see Not Chris. YES! He kept going without me, good boy! I didn’t want to slow him down and I knew what was ahead. I was in and out of this aid-station pretty quickly, eager to keep moving.

When I finally reached Bath Road, I was able to text Stonegate and let her know that Not Chris and I had separated and hopefully she had my stuff that I’d need at Foresthill.

Mile 31.0 Foresthill (the half way point)

I needed the excitement that was happening here. I had been having a conversation in my head the whole way up Bath Road, on what the heck I could do to get my energy back and finish this thing.

I spotted Stonegate quickly and saw that Not Chris was still here! He was almost ready to leave but it was nice to catch up briefly and hear that he’d had a good first half. He took off and I removed my pack eager for some ice cold water.

Stonegate was a machine. She filled my pack with ice water, she filled my bottles, she took my trash and she offered me ice to shove down my sports bra! YES please! My coach had reminded me to do this but I had completely forgotten until Stonegate asked. Not Chris’s wife also had an ice cold rag and that felt like heaven.

I removed the food that wasn’t working and pulled out some items that I thought I’d try in the second half of this beast of a race. I must have got distracted with something else or thought I had put them in my pack but didn’t and Stonegate assumed I wasn’t using them and put them away. I was that out of it that I had no idea until much later in the race when I realized I didn’t have any of the fuel I needed.

I left Foresthill and continued on. There was no point at which I thought I might quit but I wasn’t sure how the rest of the day would go.

Mile 35.5 Cal 1

Luckily I still had my downhill legs and the section out of Foresthill leading to the Cal 1 aid-station is a good chunk of downhill running. I motored on this section as best I could, passing quite a few runners.

When I reached Cal 1 I still had not realized that I did not have my fuel on me. I was drinking calories still and not quite eating them at this point but I was looking forward to what I thought I had in my pack.

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Somewhere between Cal 1 and Cal 2 aid-stations, I realized my error. I started to conserve my liquid calories a little bit and hoped for the best at the aid-station.

Mile 40.5 Cal 2

When I entered the Cal 2 aid-station I saw Not Chris! “I am SO happy to see you!” he said. I was little shocked to see him still there. He admitted that he’d started to hit a bit of a wall and that downhills were not his friend. I grabbed some fruit and some other odds and ends and then the best volunteer ever said, “Do you want me to refill the ice in your neck bandanna?” “Oh my gosh, yes please!” I said. She was great and another offered me a pickle which just sounded SO amazing the minute the words came out of her mouth. “Yes, can I take one with me?” and so she chopped it up and put it in the baggy that I had on me. Woah, I was starting to feel better!

The trails out of Cal 2 are awesome and so fun to run down. I went ahead of Not Chris as I knew that even though he didn’t want to run downhill, he would if I did. So we had some nice long “fast” stretches here. Every so often he’d ask if we could walk or I had to walk myself because my quads were on fire and had been for quite some time.

I told him the next aid-station was pretty far away (7.5 miles) but that we’d see everyone there AND after that, we were running towards HOME which made him feel much better.

We ran into the same problem on this section as we had on El Dorado. The trail heading into Rucky Chucky is SO narrow that we were stopping and starting and jumping up on rocks or trees to let runners heading back pass. It was hard. My quads would get into a nice rhythm and then I’d have to slam on the brakes. Not Chris was not loving it.

Mile 47.8 Rucky Chucky

Getting into Rucky Chucky was awesome. I had a huge smile on my face when I saw our crew with the best shady spot and our stuff ready to go. I had decided to change my socks. This was a last minute call when packing my drop bag too. My feet were wet and I had rocks in them or so I thought. Turns out, it was the start of a blister! I never get blisters except for this race. The sock change felt amazing though and I refilled up on ice water and removed some items from my back and made SURE that I had the food I wanted. Stonegate again poured ice down my sports bra and I was ready to go! Not Chris was not quite as ready. 🙂 He did give me a mini use-and-toss travel toothbrush and that felt great to clean out my mouth and refresh my taste buds.

I was ready to get this thing done. We left Rucky Chucky hiking out. It was 7.5 miles back to Cal 2. We probably hiked 5 of those miles we were pretty tired. My quads and energy was starting to dip again just slightly.

Mile 55.1 Cal 2

When we were hiking the switch backs up towards Cal 2, I was getting excited. It was this and Cal 1 and then we were DONE! I wish I had more fire in my legs but my heart and head were definitely in it. We thanked the volunteers and left. I had told Not Chris that there were some VERY runnable sections from here to the Cal 1 aid-station and that we should really take advantage when we could.

We had to pull our headlamps out not far before Cal 1 which also cooled things off and changed the dynamic a little. It doesn’t seem as hard when you can only see a small portion of the trail in front of you.

Mile 60.1 Cal 1

We had agreed not to stop at the aid-station. I threw away whatever trash I had on me and started out. Not Chris grabbed a tortilla and was right behind me. I was leading us at this point, I could sense his tiredness and just kept moving.

There is one stream crossing before you reach the pavement and head into Foresthill. I had managed to avoid getting my feet wet at all the other crossings on the way back because my dry socks felt amazing. I could not see a way around this one and went through only to watch Not Chris find a way to get around and keep his shoes dry! That punk! haha I wish I had dry feet for the finish!

When we reached the pavement, I texted everyone and said that we had less than a mile left to go. Not Chris realized at this moment that this “100k” was actually more than 62.1 miles and was in fact, 63.3! Ooops!

We made our right turn onto Foresthill road and ran. All of a sudden I felt like I was stepping on shards of glass! We both had to stop and walk just a couple of steps and then we started running again. I think we had one more brief two step walk and then said forget it, and just ran into the finish!

We did it! We had finished this thing and we had finished together. Our time was 16:03! I was a little bummed as I was thinking that we could possibly have had sub 16 but considering the day I had, I was happy with my time and SUPER happy to be done!

Stonegate was there and so was Vans! After her crewing us at Rucky Chucky she drove home (showered) and picked up Vans! That’s how long we had been running. hahaha

I could not have survived without this girl. She saved me by getting to Rucky Chucky and having my drop bag. She kept me laughing and moving all day. So grateful for our friendship through the years and the passion we share for racing and being there for each other.

Vans was happy to see me and even brought me some gluten free vegan soup to sip on at the finish. Always my number one fan. He had left me good luck notes which always makes my day and he sent me funny texts when I was near the finish.

I am also SUPER proud of Not Chris for conquering his first 100k! It wasn’t easy either. He battled his way out of the pain cave to finish this beast. He’s been a great training partner these last few months. We push each other which I think is a good thing but we’re always supportive and have a similar mind set. Big things are in store for him, I have no doubt. I am sure he’s excited to get his first Western States Qualifier too.

I will say, the race swag for 2019 rocked but you definitely earn it at this race. There are no short cuts. You sweat, you bleed and you have to give 100% to conquer the Canyons.

Now is the time for rest. I am looking forward to the recovery ahead and running with my friends and my kids. I am also looking forward to a little cross training and having some mini adventures with my crew.

I love to run, I love to challenge myself, I love to problem solve and this race definitely forced me to problem solve to get out of my energy dip. Time to reward myself with rest, sleep and good food.

Thanks for reading this monstrosity! Sorry for the lack of photos! I am also sorry that I have to turn the commenting feature “off” on here. My blog has been going through some issues and the commenting has become a haven for spamers. Feel free to comment on my Facebook page or Instagram page though any time.

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

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2019 MARIN ULTRA CHALLENGE 50 MILE – MUC – (RACE REPORT)

“I am sorry to report, that the clavicle wasn’t broken in just 3 places, it was broken in 7 and required 9 screws and a plate to put back together.” That’s what the surgeon told me and the kids, Monday night before race weekend. Oh boy, what a crazy few weeks it has been!

To recap quickly, Vans crashed on his mountain bike on President’s Day. He broke his clavicle (we thought) in 3 places and he broke 3 ribs both anterior and posterior. They highly recommended surgery. However, that recommended surgery was a moving target, changing from in a few days to almost 2 weeks out – all the way to him receiving a call 2:30 pm Monday saying, “Can you get to the hospital within the hour, we have a opening.”

I am happy to report that the surgery went well but Vans is in a lot of pain. In a way, as insane as it was to rush to the hospital with him and the kids, having it on Monday instead of the scheduled Wednesday was a blessing in disguise. Otherwise, my Marin Ultra Challenge 50 mile run might not have happened at all.

The week leading up this race has been stressful to say the least. I am blessed to have a very caring and understanding boss and employer and I’ve been able to successfully make this juggling act work the last few weeks. But leaving town for a day and half, had me nervous. Vans cannot drive and I have become an Uber mom and nurse and if I was out of town for more than 24 hours, who would pick up the kids from school? Take them to their soccer game? Make their meals?! The “What if’s” were piling up in my brain the closer and closer it got to race day.

The bottom line is that I reached out to friends for help. Mostly just picking up the kids and scheduling rides. I precooked all the meals they would need while I was gone and made sure they were easy enough that the kids or Vans could remove them from the fridge, and warm up in the microwave.

So when noon time hit on Friday, I left town with Stonegate. The rock in the pit of my stomach was small but it was definitely there.

Photo from www.insidetrail.com
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The best part about running MUC is that it is a great excuse to go Marin and visit with a very sweet dear friend. Visiting with her always relaxes me. She not only opens her home to us but her and her husband are the sweetest couple and are so gracious when we stay with them. They also have a very comfortable guest bed.

While I slept comfortably, I didn’t have a deep sleep. A few hours before I went to bed, the Race Director from Inside Trail Racing messaged out to all race participants that a crucial 1/3 section of the trail had been rendered unsafe due to washouts and erosion and that they were currently working on a reroute. I could hear the rain pounding on the roof while I was trying to sleep. I knew it would be a wet and muddy day, but I had no idea what to expect when I woke up.

Stonegate and I handled our morning routines like clockwork and got to the race start at the perfect time. After we parked, I decided that I wanted to back my car in so that post race, it would be easier to change out of my (soon to be) wet muddy clothes. This, unbeknownst to me, was also foreshadowing events to come (keep reading). As luck with have it, we were parked next to Miss P and Pearls who, seeing us back in, decided that was probably a wise decision. We both had some prime parking and while Miss P was attempting to back into her spot, other cars were fighting to take it from her.

No fear! Stonegate hops out of car and starts directing traffic so that Miss P could once again, be in her parking space. 🙂 I was cracking up. This was the levity I needed to release the stress that was still building.

Stonegate, Me, Not Chris

The race started a half an hour later than last year making it much brighter at the start. It was ALSO not raining yet! Yay! There were so many trail friends at this race! It was so much fun seeing people I haven’t seen in a while. Best of all, Stonegate and Not Chris were running the 50k so having them both there at the start was a huge boost.

Much like last year, the race started and we all ran straight up hill! Not Chris decided he was going to run with me for the first 15 miles. He’s never been on these trails before and I was content to have him with me to keep me moving.

I felt good on the first hill. Legs felt okay, breathing wasn’t labored and I was in a groove. I seemed to avoid a little of the conga line that had occurred last year. The one difference this year that I noticed, was the amount of runners using trekking poles! There were quite a few and sadly, not many of them knew how to handle the poles very well. I almost had my knee cap jabbed and/or was tripped multiple times by a trekking pole. It was a little frustrating so I tried to avoid them if I saw them.

I should state that going into this race, I had no real goals. Last year I finished in 11 hours and 15 minutes and if I am being honest with myself, this year I wanted to finish sub 11 hours. However, that was before Vans had his accident and my last few training weeks turned upside down. This was also my first ultra post hamstring tear and rehab so I knew I wanted to be conservative. So I threw out the sub 11 goal and decided to just run and let whatever happens happen. That included any stormy weather thrown our way and boy was there stormy weather!

One of the best parts about running with Not Chris was that he was experiencing these trails for the first time. In the beginning he was running with his head down, so as not to trip and fall but I kept calling out from behind him, “Look up! Look how pretty!” He was in awe and it was so fun to see him experience these views. I didn’t have to yell, “Look up!” more than a few times before he was realizing how awesome it was around us.

We ran probably the first 5 miles or so with a little misty type rain, no big deal. We took off our rain jackets on the climb because they were too warm and not really needed. Soon however, the mist started to turn and by the time we reached the Tennessee Valley Aid-Station at mile 10.5 it was dumping buckets on us and we stopped to put our jackets back on.

We were in and out of the aid-station pretty quickly, eager to keep moving because if you stopped, you got cold fast. The trails leading you towards the Muir Beach Aid-Station has some nice rollers. Not Chris I think found his groove and he really motored on ahead. I always kept him in my eye sights but I was letting him have his day because I had way more miles to cover than he did.

At Muir Beach I stopped to use the restroom (a first for me so early in a race). Then Not Chris, my friend Kim (who appeared out of no where!) and I ran out together. Here is where the 50k runners and the 50 mile runners part ways. We hugged and I wished them both well on the rest of their 50k races. They both went on to have fantastic finishes. I went on however, to swim up stream for the next 3 miles.

Photos are sparse from here on out. The climb up cardiac was a torrential downpour. The trail was a river of water that flowed from top to bottom. The water even flowed around through the switch-backs! It was, to say the least, probably my darkest miles on the trail. I never stopped moving but I had three powerful ladies pass me on the climb and I felt the fire start to burn, “Let it go. That is not your purpose here today. Let.it.go.” I dug deep, I thought about the things that brought me joy or would pull me farther up the hill and just continued to push.

When I finally reached the top of Cardiac Hill (mile 19.8) I was freezing. The wind was relentless. I asked which way I had to go and motored on. One of the two toughest climbs in the race was behind me. Now it was time to go get the other one and then, I’d be on my way back home.

When I arrived on the trails leading to Stinson Beach, the craziest thing ever happened. It STOPPED raining and the SUN came out and not only did the sun come out, it came out full force heating up the path, my body and ultimately, my soul.

I could not get my drenched rain jacket off fast enough. Holy cow was it hot! I am a hot weathered runner, I love me some heat but to go from cold to heat so quickly, was quite a shock.

The climb up to Willow Camp was exactly how I remembered it. Gnarly. I was grateful the wind and rain had given us a break for once. I cursed a few times on this climb, kicking myself for forgetting just how brutal of a climb it really is. No way to go but up, so up is what I did.

The trails on this side however, were pretty damaged. I climbed over trees, under trees and at one point, I had to shimmy up the muddy hillside to get around a massive downed tree. My hand literally sank in the mud up to my wrist when I tried to steady myself. It was quite an adventure 25 miles into a 50 mile race to say the least.

When I finally made it back to Cardiac Hill (mile 29.3) my mind made a huge mental shift. I was on my way home. Plain and simple. Sure I had 20 miles to go, but I was headed home. I had a tiny drop bag at Cardiac that I grabbed quickly and I was off. The next few miles are a lovely down hill section that I thoroughly enjoyed.

My uphill game was weak but my downhill one was still strong so I took advantage the best that I could whenever I could.

From Deer Park Aid-Station (mile 35.9) back to Muir Beach (mile 40.8) was a lot of road. Narrow road without much of a shoulder to it. This stretch was another mini mental battle. I decided to view it as a tiny break from the mud and obstacles of the previous miles and appreciate the fact that it wasn’t raining anymore.

When I reached Muir Beach Aid-Station I used the restroom for the third time that day! That’s a new record for me. My stomach was absolutely stellar the whole race I just was apparently quite hydrated! 🙂

Muir Beach to Tennessee Valley (mile 45.8) was a mission for me. I remembered the energy at Tennessee Valley and I needed that to push me through to the finish. I power hiked a lot through here trying to find strength in my legs to run some of the uphills but no matter what, I had the power to run the downhills so I did, pushing aside what my quads might feel like the next day.

Just as I suspected, the Tennessee Valley Aid-Station brought a smile to my face. They cheered when I came in and when I left, they stood in the road and yelled, “You.are.awesome! You got this! You are a badass!” Making me laugh all the way up my first hill. I just love this aid-station. It gave me a boost.

I also knew that Stonegate would be waiting at the top of the mountain for me. Knowing she was there and propelled me a little bit faster.

When I finally reached the top of the mountain and could see the ocean and hear the finish line, I smiled. My legs felt like tree trunks at times descending the stairs but I didn’t stop.

Photo by Stonegate

Then I saw her! She was whooping and hollering! A sight for sore eyes and just what I needed (along with the downhill) to get me to and through the finish line.

Photo by Stonegate

The miles leading to the finish line look like this photo. Absolutely gorgeous. You have to watch your footing or you will trip, but it was breathtaking and I again was so happy it was not raining.

Photo by Stonegate

Before I had reached Stonegate, I glanced at my watch. I had forbid myself to look at it most of the day because I didn’t want to ruin my positive mood. When I saw that my time was well below what I hoped for, I smiled. I tried so hard to run even faster downhill to the finish but my chewed up quads were doing only what they could.

I crossed the finish line and the volunteers that were there cheered and congratulated me. What an incredibly long, wet, muddy and eventually sunny day it was!

Unlike last year, this year I remembered to take a photo of Stonegate and I post race. Without this girl’s support both on and off the trails, I don’t know where I would be. She took my kids when I had to drive Vans to the ER that first night and she drove my sore butt home last year and this year post race.

Right after this photo was taken, we hopped in the car to head home only to realize that my car battery had died! Remember when I said I had backed in at the start? Foreshadowing. 😉 Actually, it did not matter all that much, the Race Director had a starter and they helped give my car a jump start to get us on our way. Inside Trail Racing is a great organization and we absolutely love their races. I highly recommend them. It was a top notch day despite horrid conditions. Their volunteers are some of the best, always positive, always helpful and always smiling. A simple smile when you are dog tired at mile 35 is sometimes all you need to get you through the next mile.

Happy to report that I had a course PR this year! I finished 50 minutes earlier than last year despite the trail conditions. Last year I had shoe problems, this year, since I have found Topoathletics, all my feet problems are nonexistent. I could not be happier.

The training season so far has been nothing but wet, mud and wind. It has been frustrating to say the least. Constantly running in a windy downpour plays with your mind. Add to that, some family health drama and you can have a recipe for negativity. I won’t lie and say I was all Mary Poppins this whole time, I had my moments of doubt but I trusted myself, my training and my ability to stay positive despite what was thrown at me. I faltered at times (ahem Cardiac) but I never gave up. I continued to push forward. I never looked back.

Many thanks go out to Vans for his continued support. Despite the past few weeks, he encouraged me to go and run and supported me throughout. Also, thank you to my coach, Sandi for her constant motivation, advice and being a great sounding board for everything I’ve battled so far. Also thank you to Stonegate, Not Chris and Pigeon for being the best trail friends a Trailmomma could ask for. Here is to many more miles ahead my friends!

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

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SNOWMAGEDDON 2019

“Do you think we should turn around and run somewhere else? This is crazy,” I said as my death trap of a car made its way fairly nicely (for once) down the snowy curvy road. “Nah, let’s go back and get my car!” Stonegate offers … done!

Weekend long runs are always an adventure but throw in some snowy conditions in an area that doesn’t typically get snow, paired with just my friend Stonegate and well, anything can happen.

Before we turned around to get Stonegate’s car, we pulled off the side of the road to discuss our options. We just happened to stop at the gates to the “Safari Estates,” a place we’ve passed a million times. The Rhino just looked so lonely and cold in the snow. We gave him some love.

We were only about a half hour off our intended schedule but we had no plans or obligations tying us anywhere today so we wanted to be safe rather than stuck. The snow wasn’t letting up either.

We changed our plans slightly and parked at the Cool Fire Station rather than trying to navigate the windy roads down to the confluence. We were also trying to avoid the Fourmidable races that were happening today as well but did not succeed there.

Our first few steps were met with mud. The kind of mud that’s about to rip off your shoe and makes that slurping noise as you try so hard to keep from losing it. The crazy part is that it was a mix of snow and mud so half the time we were stepping in what we thought was just snow and was actually a covered up quagmire.

Oddly, it was not THAT cold outside. Sure there was snow on the ground, but I was in shorts and I wasn’t cold. My toes however, were soaked but even that eventually subsided the more we tried to run.

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It was so beautiful though. We don’t get snow like this often here in Northern California, maybe every 7 or 8 years it seems and definitely not this much.

We were also the only two crazy people out there for a while. We just ran, jumped over what we could and laughed. We took a million photos between us. Eventually we reached No Hands Bridge and saw the aid-station volunteers set up for the Fourmidable Half Marathon and 35k that was happening.

We made our way over to the Confluence and started running. The snow was still falling but quickly changing to rain. Here we ran into quite few people out just experiencing the crazy weather, taking photos, going for a walk etc.

We were like two kids in a candy store with the snow. I was trying super hard not to slip in it (been there, done that and was out from running for a while) but it was everywhere!

The rest of the afternoon was spent bombing downhills, avoiding puddles and crossing waterfalls. It slowly got warmer too. I had ditched my hood pretty early on and packed away my gloves as well.

We had a set mileage in our head but realized the trail conditions were not exactly stellar and decided we’d take it a few miles at a time. Once the snow and rain stopped, the sun came out!

That view above stopped me dead in my tracks. “Oh wow, that looks like Ireland!” I said to Stonegate. Have I been to Ireland? Um, nope! I just assume that’s what it looks like. 🙂 With the sun making its way out, the snow had melted adding even more mud and water to the trails.

We decided to make our way back to Cool and it was then that we realized we would be running into the traffic of the Fourmidable racers as they made their way back to No Hands Bridge.

In a way, this was kind of nice. We’d pull off to the side, letting them pass as safely as they could in the muddy conditions. Some still had smiles on their faces, some looked like they were pretty done for the day. Stonegate and I just clapped and cheered. We told them they were total bada$$ runners for being out there.

The route back to Cool is uphill. We avoided K2 because that was the course the runners had to take and well, we were certain it was probably a wet dangerous mess. Instead we opted to go up rollercoaster, continued to cheer on runners and stop in the waterfalls.

Pretty certain that was the last image of my shoes being clean because after rollercoaster we headed straight into the muddy gully trails that lead you back to the fire station.

The snow as you can see, had cleared from the trails but was still covering the grass making everything look so pretty.

See what I mean about my shoes? 🙂 The trails leading back to the fire station were even worse. It was hilarious, slurp slurp “I almost lost my shoe!”

Overall, it was a perfect day. Even though the intended route and plan did not happen, we still ran some crazy miles and more importantly, had a great time out there.

At some point that morning, I had texted Vans to let him know that I had brought the car back home but was heading back out there to run. I told him about the snow and so he took the girls when they woke up to find some.

When Stonegate dropped me off, this was sitting in my driveway ….

Not bad for a Sunday fun-day. 🙂 Snowmageddon 2019.

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

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BEAUTIFUL BEET MUFFINS

If you follow me on Instagram, then you may have seen my teaser for these muffins.

I wanted to test the recipe out again, a few different ways to give you options and because I had one child love them and another not so much (story of my life). Vans and I however, inhaled them.

This time around, I only changed a few ingredients but the end result was that both kids loved them (fresh out of the oven) and now I have twice as many muffins in my fridge. Winning!

So here is my recipe for Beautiful Beet Muffins with some variations and notes added below. I’ve made them using the ingredients listed so if you vary something, let me know. These are pretty flexible and I may continue to play around with the recipe.

Also, if you are interested in trying Beet Boost (great for this recipe and for a ton of others like hummus, pre-workout smoothies and beet pancakes etc), then use the code TRAILMOMMA to receive 15% off your purchase at check out. However, I also made these muffins using real beets, see below.

BEAUTIFUL BEET MUFFINS

Ingredients

  • 2 cups oat flour (I used gluten free – I take 2 cups of oats and grind them in a blender to make oat flour)
  • 1/2 cup oats (whole, not ground)
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 cup nondairy milk (I used almond)
  • 1 Tablespoon Beet Boost Powder OR 2 small cooked, peeled beets* – see photo below
  • 1 ripe banana OR 1/2 cup apple sauce (I made the recipe both ways)*
  • Vegan Chocolate Chips (your preference – 1/2 cup seems good)*
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1. Preheat oven to 375 and line a muffin tin with these parchment paper muffin cups.

2. Add 2 cups of oat flour to a large bowl (I make oat flour by taking 2 cups of oats and blending them into a flour).

3. Add the 2 tsp of baking powder and whisk.

4. Add the 1/2 cup of whole oats, whisk again.

5. To a blender add 1 cup of the nondairy milk, the 1 tablespoon of Beet Boost Powder, the banana or 1/2 cup applesauce (whichever you choose). If you are NOT using the Beet Boost Powder, add the two small steamed (and cooled) beets to the blender. I used precooked beets that are sold at Trader Joe’s and Costco. See the photo below for sizing – the tablespoon shown is for size.

6. Turn the blender on and blend everything until completely combined.

7. Pour the blender mixture into the bowl filled with flour, baking powder and oats.

8. Mix until thoroughly combined.

9. Stir in chocolate chips and mix again.

10. Pour into lined muffin tin and bake for 15 minutes. Use a toothpick when done to see if they are done. I haven’t had to bake them more than 15 minutes ever.

On left: Beet Boost Muffins * On the right: Steamed Beet Muffins

As you can see, the Beet Boost Muffins create a darker colored, very pretty muffin. That’s also because Beet Boost has cherry in it as well. Flavor wise, they both were equally good. I did a blind taste test with my kids and they said the Beet Boost Muffins had a good flavor and texture and that Steamed Beet Muffins had a little less flavor (still good) and the texture was a tad more chewy. 🙂 They liked both so win win for me.

*Some notes and thoughts.

I first tried the recipe using a ripe banana. Seemed odd to do but it is all that I had. It tasted great. You did not taste the banana and my picky 10 year old who hates bananas, didn’t even KNOW there were bananas in it. My 7 year old, who likes bananas, oddly didn’t like that batch of muffins.

This round, I tried to applesauce. They made the muffins a tad softer and chewier than the bananas. Both kids liked them and I tend to always have applesauce in the pantry for baking whereas we go through bananas sometimes like water so this is a nice option to have.

Finally the chocolate chips. This usually is the “draw” to get my kids to even try my weird creations. “It has chocolate chips? Sure we’ll try it!” But if chocolate chips are not your thing, or you have allergies I would recommend either adding dried cherries or maybe even some chopped walnuts instead. I have not tried either so if you do, let me know.

Overall, a fun recipe to make that would be great for Valentine’s Day or any day. I am thrilled my kiddos like them and they can help me make them the recipe is that simple!

Enjoy and Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

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BACK FROM THE DEAD!

Fingers crossed everyone, this site has been saved! Thanks to those of you who reached out to me and notified me that my site had been hacked. 🙁 I had suspected as such as I had noticed some weird activity recently but I did not realize how bad or how deep it went.

Last week was a pretty stressful week for me. My main page had been hacked, and was redirecting my address to a Viagra site of all places!

After a lot of help support, stressed out crazy texts (sorry Ami and Corey!) and a lot of digging and reading on my part, I am hopeful that things are back to normal.

Thank you for your patience. This blog is a labor of love that I have had since 2009 (starting from a blogspot address that still exists). I do not make money off this site, I do it to share adventures, recipes and a lot of the time, to have something for my kiddos to look back on. I want them to see that mom was a crazy bada$$ ultra runner living on plants and living life to the fullest with all my crazy adventures. That’s the point of this site. I make mistakes, I share them and I move on. So thank you to all of you have stayed with me thus far. I truly appreciate your support for my tiny little old blog that means the world to me.

In the meantime, I ask that you please continue to be patient with me as I navigate through some different appearances for the blog. Still trying to find the best one that won’t cause the same problems as before. 🙂 Change is good right?

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Well, 2019 is the year for change for Trailmomma!

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

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