Well the first race of the season has come and gone and boy was it a ginormous MUD-FEST!
I ran the FOURmidable 50K last year for the first time and had an amazing race. In the days leading up to this year’s race however, I noticed that my race recap from 2016 generated a lot of traffic (and a few emails). FOURmidable this year was a USA Track & Field 50K trail national championships and therefore garnered a lot more interest and entrants (almost double in the 50K alone). Quite a few top names and elites showed up which was pretty amazing to watch.
My day started with an awesome comment from elite runner (and blogger) Jean Pommier on my last year’s report. That put a nice smile on my face.
Then I found a little present from Vans while I was chilling in my car pre-race. I love his simple, but wise advice: Keep Running. Watch your step. 🙂
The weather leading up to the race was definitely something to contend with this year. I have been running on these exact trails for weeks now so I knew what to expect … and I wasn’t exactly looking forward to it.
My peeps!
I’ve spent the last few weekends running with Pigeon, Not Chris and Grumpy. Not Chris and Grumpy were making their Auburn trail race debut! Not Chris ran the 35.5K and Grumpy the 13K.
Watching the excitement on their faces in anticipation of the race was awesome. I love seeing new found trail love and joy.
Pigeon and I saw Not Chris and Grumpy off at their start since all the races (50K, 35.5K, a half and 13K) had a staggered start.
After the 35.5K and 13K left, it was time for the 50K runners to line up.
Pigeon and I all smiles!
One thing to note, is that the start of this race was completely different than last year. We started and ended IN the overlook parking lot. Last year, we started down by Gate 142. This is important to note mostly as it pertains the finish … and we’ll get there I promise.
Cute Heather Morris with her hands up. Me behind her. Photo courtesy: Nelson Medeiros
Similar to last year, the 50K runners had to run down to base of Cardiac. This year however, the route to get there was different. We were on trails a bit more than pavement, which was nice.
As we descended down, I noticed that my pace was in the low 8s. That didn’t unnerve me much because I did the same thing last year (although this year I was faster).
Photo Courtesy: TrailTaylor
When we hit the base of cardiac, I first saved a runner who somehow did not see ALL the pink ribbons and was on his way towards the river. He was pretty grateful I stopped him.
The climb up Cardiac hit me like a ton of bricks. Very similar to last year and that is what I kept telling myself – which was a huge mistake and my biggest lesson this race.
I let quite a few people pass me on this section. My legs just felt heavy and my lungs not quite ready for what I was about to ask of them.
Happy to be at the top finally, I shook off any bad feelings and just kept moving.
We hit the first aid-station at Gate 142 and I ran right by. I had enough fuel in my pack that I didn’t feel the need to stop. The trail then brought us around and below the overlook and popped us out right by the horse staging area.
A girl standing on the side of the trail said, “You are in the top ten for female.” Ugh, don’t tell me that! It’s way too early for that kind of info and, to be honest, I think she clearly must have miscounted!
MUD (not me) Photo Courtesy: TrailTaylor
From this point on, the only competitor that I fought with ALL day, was the mud. The above photo doesn’t even do it justice, that section was nothing compared to what was ahead.
I ran the section down to No Hands Bridge, still not feeling like I was “in” this yet. I had stepped into a mud pile that went up to my knee and was trying desperately not to throw my back out on these slippery sections.
It felt good to finally reach No Hands Bridge and then see that it was almost completely under water.
Me on No Hands Photo Courtesy: TrailTaylor
After swimming through that puddle, we reached the aid-station. I climbed the trail towards K2 fueling as I knew what was ahead.
K2 believe it or not, seemed like it was in better condition this year than last year. Last year there was a stream running down the hill.
Normally I love K2. I do. I am a hills kinda girl, but I still wasn’t finding my mojo yet and I was beginning to get frustrated.
I kept comparing this race to last year’s race and how I felt at each point last year. BIG MISTAKE. NEVER compare yourself to other runners and NEVER compare RACES. So much can change in a year. Clearly the trail conditions were a separate competitor this year. I also have a lot more going on in my life.
If you have got received a moving violation or a traffic ticket, there’s a levitra 40 mg buy at shop good chance that you simply have access to the web classes. However, most medical experts claim that donssite.com viagra cialis india such problems can be corrected by adopting to a few changes or adhering to medications. There are lots of aspects to consider in treating this problem: * Lifestyle * Marital status * Environment These are some aspects that need to be embarrassed or to feel inferior about the malfunction, as buying cialis cheap tablets can easily help you overcome this problem. Moreover, the problem of free prescription viagra infidelity which they saw for themselves have gone down significantly.
However, I would not come to this realization until later in the day. I kept battling with myself that I was not doing what I thought that I was capable of doing.
Needless to say, the muddy conditions only got worse as the day wore on. I was done with dancing around mud and puddles. A lot of people were running off course to try and avoid it, only to be hit with a section where there WAS no way to avoid it. Forget it, just run straight down the middle. Simple as that.
Oh just a abnormally large puddle! (again, not me) Photo courtesy of: Rob Schmidt
I finally reached Knickbocker Aid-Station #1 (mile 13.4) and stopped. I grabbed some stuff and refueled and walked at the same time.
The next section took us down to the Old Auburn Damn. I ran that section pretty well, just letting it all open up.
I hit the damn hill and settled into a hike. I was beginning to feel a little bit better but again, was still comparing myself to last year.
At the top of the damn, we made our way back to the single track and I just focused on moving. I was finally beginning to feel like my old self.
The trail took us back to the Knickerbocker Aid-Station (mile 18) and I grabbed more fuel and continued on my way. My spirits were beginning to finally come around.
The section through Knickbocker Creek (um, it was more like a raging river) was awesome. The whole section of trail on the Cool side was one giant mud puddle.
There was no getting around it. You’d cross a bridge and be grateful there was a bridge only to have it “T” into a giant mud puddle that went up to your shorts anyway.
I hit the Cool Aid-Station (mile 23.4) and was eager to get moving. I knew that my favorite “roller-coaster” section was coming up and best of all, that would lead me back to the finish!
I flew down roller coaster much like I did last year. I think I was tad slower and then out of no where, I ran into some horse back riders and had to stop dead in my tracks to let them pass.
When the trail dumped me onto No Hands (mile 27.2) I knew we only had 4 miles to the finish. I fueled as I walked through the lake sitting on top of No Hands and I texted a few people telling them I was 4 miles from being done with this $hit!
I ran/walked the next section staying close to a guy who seemed to be following the same plan that I was which was: Let’s get this over with!
When we finally made the sharp left that took us down to the river, we both said, “Here we go!” Having run this last year, I KNEW what was in store. Paulo, our Race Director, makes your work HARD to get to the finish line.
I ran the down as well as I could. Then I ran and hiked some of the other sections. Then, you are hit with an uphill climb that will blow your mind.
Remember earlier when I said the new location of the finish would come into play? Moving the finish arch to the overlook added ONE MORE steep climb to finish … and believe me it was a doozy!
Luckily, I saw two little blonde girls standing there with huge smiles on their faces!
Photo Courtesy: Vans
I wanted to hug them but if I stopped, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep going.
Way up there is the finish! But you still have a smidge more to go!
I saw the finish arch, heard some voices cheer my name and ran.
I finished! Wow, what a crazy race. I ended up running 15 minutes slower than last year and considering the conditions, I guess that wasn’t so bad. I still didn’t feel 100% like myself out there but I learned my lesson. I won’t compare races or seasons anymore. Life sometimes has other plans and I have to learn to go with the flow.
Although unofficial, I may have gotten 5th in my age group (though remember I am bad a math) – not entirely sure yet as the age division results are not up.
Once again. Single Track Running and Paulo put on a stellar event. The course was extremely well marked. The aid-stations were stocked and the volunteers amazing.
Having Vans and the girls surprise me at the finish was awesome.
The post race festivities were great as well. Massages, beer, and some awesome swag!
That my girls stole!
I am happy that I ran it. It was a great indicator of where my fitness may or may not be. I love the trails and I love that course, despite how grueling it is but that’s what makes it so special.
In the end, the sun came out, Vans gave me a hug and we waited and cheered for Pigeon to come in. Could not be a luckier girl right now.
Sorry, the blog has taken a major hit lately. It isn’t that I have not been running, I have … albeit drenched most of the time due to our increase in rainfall.
I hope to get back to blogging about running soon. I just haven’t found my rhythm yet.
What I have found however, is another recipe for my Instant Pot that I shot and edited for all of you.
I love Chipotle but what I don’t love is all the fat and oil that comes with it. Yes, even for the “vegan” food they serve, it still packs quite an artery clogging punch.
In the past, Chipotle’s Cilantro Lime Rice (my favorite thing about them) was made with olive oil AND lime juice. A quick check of their menu recently, I don’t see that they list “oil” anymore on the ingredients but something is “a muck” here as this is the nutrition content for ONE 8 oz serving of their rice:
So one serving (which I rarely see just one 8 oz serving in a single burrito or bowl – it is more like 2 right?) is 4 grams of fat and 210 calories with 38 of those calories coming from fat. There is also 345 grams of sodium. The numbers just don’t add up for me.
Here is the nutritional profile from Lundberg Family Farms of just 1 serving of plain jasmine rice (1 serving is 1/4 cup dry which makes about 1/2 cup cooked).
I am sorry, cilantro and lime or lemon juice doesn’t add THAT much to the fat and sodium content to make the Chipotle numbers work.
Anyway, my point isn’t to bash Chipotle. I eat there from time to time. What I wanted to share was my latest YouTube video! The more we age, the more there is least chance of being physically active. order generic cialis raindogscine.com With all the talk about steroids and performance enhancements, what is next? Is there nothing safe from being used as aphrodisiacs, but viagra online buy if you ever used them, you would also disagree. There are very little chances to cure the problem http://raindogscine.com/tag/premios/ acquisition de viagra of erectile dysfunction. This software keeps the system in a very real way, we wouldn’t be here if our ancestors didn’t mutate. cialis vs levitra
I made another Instant-Pot video in my kitchen this week. I was short on time and decided to just record while I was making dinner. So forgive the glitches. This was a one shot deal, no do-overs, no retakes. 🙂
I created my version of a “healthy” Chipotle Burrito Bowl complete with Cilantro Lime Rice. The recipe is in the description of the video itself if you want to try it.
If you like it, please give me a “thumbs up” and share with friends. You can also comment here and tell me what other videos you’d like to see or if I should just hand over my camera now and say “forget it.” 🙂
I am just having some creative fun. I don’t plan to have my own show on the Food Network anytime soon.
It is a road race, not a trail race which meant I had to dust off my road shoes and hoped they still fit.
Last time I wore these was for CIM in December 2015.
The morning was a bit chaotic so I ended up leaving the house solo and letting Vans and the girls sleep in. The plan was for the Peanut and Squeaker to run the kid’s free half mile race when my race was over. There was no reason to wake them up at the crack of dawn to drive down and wait.
Having left the house much later than I wanted, I arrived at Rio Americano High School, parked the car, RAN to the race area, picked up my race bib and schwag bag and then ran BACK to the car to put that all away. I then pinned on my number and raced to the starting area with about six minutes to spare. Whew!
The race started and I just tried to find a groove. I had no expectations for this race. I haven’t been running regularly enough nor have I done any speed work. I just decided to let whatever happen, happen and hope I lived to blog about it.
Mile 1 (8:13 pace) : Okay, that’s probably about as fast as I will be able to manage today…that’s fine. Good pace.
Mile 2 (8:14 pace) : Yup. Hey look there is Allyson! She’s running strong.
Mile 3 (8:00 pace) : Okay. That’s okay. Still seems manageable. You tend to run faster when chatting with people.
Mile 4 (7:51 pace) : Hmm, that was quite a jump but it is because I am running past my old house and while I know Vans and the girls won’t be there, I always speed up here thinking I’ll see them. Settle down.
Mile 5 (7:58 pace) : Yup, slowing back down. Uh oh! What’s that? A giant turkey?! Oh geez, not again!
Mile 6 (7:49 pace) : Your pace is faster only because of the turkey, I am blaming the turkey on this one. Where did he go?
Mile 7 (7:58 pace) : Is that them!? Is that my family?! No. Man, there are a lot of tall skinny guys who have cute blonde little girls out on this course.
Mile 8 (7:47 pace) : Just hang with these two guys. You’ve been behind them all day and they are setting a nice pace. BEEP BEEP! Hey! Look! It’s Vans and the girls! They made it. Now just stay steady. Don’t go crazy.
Mile 9 (7:52 pace) : What!? My pace guys are pulling away! They must not want to be “chicked” at the last minute haha. Come on, you can do it, pick up the pace. Move past this group but keep it steady, you still have a mile to go.
Mile 10 (7:49 pace) : There they are! I see my family! They made it! Woo hoo you did it! Now don’t hurl, whatever you do, don’t hurl! Your kids are watching!
The Peanut cheering me on at the finish.
While I hadn’t set out to race this by any means, I did end up with a 17 second PR! Whoo hoo. I ended the race 6th in my age group (out of 60) and a sub 8 pace (per my Garmin – official race results have me at about 8 mins).
The suggested limits are for mellow three and spreading due to the potential for choking hazards from the playing chips. viagra 100mg no prescription check it out However, their presence may obstruct the functionality of the very adverse enzyme and let one to enjoy hard and strong erection for long period.Kamagra is well known and is also the famous “blue pill”, they get away with charging a premium price. djpaulkom.tv sales online viagra An online drug store can furnish cialis for cheap price you with a thorough review for dominate down physical aids just for melancholy in addition to a basic some medical problems. Kamagra Oral Jelly is one of these well-known treatments that are used when dealing with male sildenafil canada pharmacy impotency.
After my race was the kid’s 1/2 mile free fun run on the track. Both the Peanut and Squeaker showed up ready to run. Squeaker’s best friend from her old daycare also joined them and it is total cuteness from here on out!
Squeaker and her BFF about to run!
Ready set go! They all took off!
Squeaker blew me away. She kept a great starting pace while all the other kiddos took off like a bat outta hell. Eventually, all the speedsters slowed down realizing that two laps, is kinda hard!
Even the Peanut was winded and tired but not Squeaker! That girl just kept going!
My little speed demon
When they completed their two laps, Squeaker said, “Can we do it again!?” 🙂
And they did. She and her BFF walk/ran another two laps around the track bringing their distance to a full mile! She’s five! 🙂
Racing kids!
It was so adorable to watch. I hope that we can get these three together again soon for another run.
The rest of Sunday was spent visiting with an old friend of Van’s and then home for a nice family afternoon.
I was pretty hungry after my race and only had a few random things in the fridge.
Homemade Chipotle Bowl
I took some left over rice that we had in the fridge and I threw it in a pan with some lime juice and some veggie broth and cooked until warmed through. I added a bunch of cilantro and cooked it a little longer. I then layered the bowl. Steamed kale with vinegar on the bottom, my cilantro lime rice in the middle followed by some oil free roasted onions and zucchini. Some salsa to finish and voila, an easy homemade post race meal that really hit the spot.
I do say that was a perfect Sunday after a weekend of traveling.
I can’t believe it is August already. To be honest, I am kind of happy that July is behind us. It has been one crazy summer.
June was full of swim meets, Squeaker’s birthday, Father’s Day and a wonderful visit from Poppy. July quickly arrived with a holiday weekend, more swim meets and a weekend spent in Tahoe for Pigeon and crewing her for the Tahoe Rim Trail 100 mile race.
July ended with the Peanut and Squeaker’s Swim Championships which consists of a three day affair out at Sierra College.
Their team had an Olympic Theme this year!
The girls swam great but it was one hot long weekend. The Peanut qualified to swim in the comp freestyle event at the end of the day which was super exciting for her.
Pumping themselves up with music.
Overall the team took second and went 6 and 1 for the season. On the last day of the swim meet, the Peanut was asked to swim in the comp freestyle relay which was one of the later events in the day.
We were just hanging around watching all the other swimmers and being the klutz that I am, I took things to a whole new level.
I was walking down some concrete steps to the pool, took a second to glance at the time on my phone and missed about four large steps. BAM! Down and out just like that.
I didn’t have time to think much about it since we had the rest of the meet to get through so I just powered through the rest of the day as best I could. Fast forward to the next day and …
Some new accessories!
I found myself in a boot and on crutches. Ugh. Not going to lie, it was pretty painful.
That lump on the side of my foot is NOT normal.
The first few days was hard. Mentally and physically I was just down because I couldn’t do ANYTHING and I hate crutches. People are not stupid enough to just buy levitra 10 mg there must be some reason to do so and therefore people have the pills of levitra. buy cheap viagra pdxcommercial.com This decline in penile length among certain human beings is mainly attributed to genetic factors, which is again a sildenafil medicine with better work mechanism and lower prices. order generic viagra pdxcommercial.com After the diagnosis is being done, the patient can then obtain a CPAP from any home medical supplier. The fifth cialis de prescription is acupressure treatment. Why hello swelling!
Since I don’t do “resting” or “sitting” very well, I sought out a second opinion. Sorry Kaiser, you just need to employ more doctors who are hard core athletes and not text book readers.
My second opinion told me to ditch the boot, the crutches and the ice. I did all three. I did a few other things and did my best to rest and elevate when I had the chance. I’ve been working hard at strengthening and stabilizing the ankle too.
Within a week, I was walking almost normal again. Yes!
Today, I went for my first long(er) trail run. I started back easy this week walking some of the more technical downs on my morning runs and gauging how my ankle feels when I am done but today, today, I enjoyed a lovely trail run … right outside my door.
Local trails. So lucky.
Things are still not 100% but my heart is happy and light again. Funny how just a short time away from something you love so much, can really just bring you down if you let it.
Folsom Lake
With school starting soon, Fall (my favorite season) will soon be upon us. Fall is my favorite time to run and I am looking forward to just running for enjoyment, laughter and fun. Too often we take things for granted until we can no longer do them.
So happy to be back!
I plan to cherish every moment out on the trails and you should too!
“About 53 miles into the race is the aid-station called Tina’s Den. It is home to four female mountain lions who like to hang out there. Two days ago, one of the cougars scared away a few mountain bikers. Don’t worry though, just don’t be last.”
That’s essentially all I heard during the pre-race briefing from the Quicksilver Race Director on Saturday. Not exactly comforting news before I am about to begin my first ever 100k race.
While I haven’t written much about it on here, it was evident beginning back in January that I have been training for something …. something big. I wanted to run a 100k and not just any 100k, I wanted to run the Quicksilver 100k.
Yes, I am that kind of runner – folders, labels etc.
Last year everyone I knew did that race, including Pigeon because it was a Western States 100 mile qualifying race. I wanted to run it because I wanted to conquer that distance and I loved all the race photos from everyone last year. The chance to qualify was just icing on top for me.
Earlier this year, I raced two very challenging 50ks (one in February and the other in March) and that set the tone for my training. Going into Quicksilver with its 13,000 feet of elevation, I felt ready to climb but I was uneasy about the distance.
Insanely confusing course
So sit back, grab a beer or cup of tea and read on if you care to see how my race unfolds (warning: it is LONG) or if you want to see a million photos, feel free to skim. 🙂
With its 4:30 am start time and the half-ish hour drive to the start, Quicksilver definitely taught me a few things about being flexible with my morning routine. I woke up at 2:15 am, ate and finalized my drop bags. I have never used drop bags before. This was totally new to me. You can tell it was new to me too because I used Star Wars lunch boxes that I got free from Target as two of my four drop bags! I also used two Dylan Flinchum RockOn Foundation bags as my other two because if anyone can boost my spirits, it’s that little boy and his family back in New Jersey.
My “fancy” drop bags!
I even taped a photo of my girls in one of them to give me a boost late in the race.
Inside my drop bag – my shining light!
After that little “pep-talk” by the Race Director, we were off and running in the dark. I had my lights with me and everyone around me had headlamps so visibility wasn’t an issue. Pigeon and I ran into Miss P who was also running her first 100k.
The race starts with a pretty good climb and everyone is reduced to a solid hike in the dark. Miss P and I chatted a bit on the way up which was nice. Eventually though, everyone spread out. Pigeon and I just ran. Our plan had been to run the race together. She knew the splits she wanted or needed in order to get a Western States qualification. I was content to run with her because I was unsure as to how the day would unfold having never approached this distance OR this type of elevation before and of course running with a friend for that long is always nice.
Soon the sun was rising and the views started to appear around us. It was pretty amazing and the temperature was nice and cool. I started in shorts and a tank top never needing anything more.
The sun waking up!
One thing to note about this race is that there are a lot of “lollypop” loops in it. Picture a lollypop at the end of stick. To get the mileage we needed, we’d run up a trail, do a loop and then run back down the same trail passing runners. I noticed early on that we’d pass a lot of the runners coming down from the loop but none when it was our turn to descend. It was clear that we were the back of the pack. This unnerved me a bit as it is something I am not used to but I also knew there were many more miles to the day and that anything could change at a moment’s notice.
Such amazing views!
A few times Pigeon and I found ourselves behind some runners that I wanted to pass but I wasn’t sure how she was feeling so we devised a “code” for those situations. We’d ask each other, “How is your foot?” And if we said, “good” we’d pass and if we said, “not good” we needed another moment. This situation actually only came into play once during the race. Pigeon asked me “How is your foot?” and I said, “What are you talking about? My foot is fine!” Hahaha I had completely forgotten about our little plan.
Hicks #1 Aid-Station (mile 7) was first. I had a drop bag here but didn’t need it. I did take advantage of the restrooms. We both did. The volunteers were so nice and cheerful. They were very eager to help. Pigeon grabbed some more apple sauces from her drop bag.
We left Hicks and headed towards Bald Mountain. I remember feeling pretty good. Nothing was bothering me and the trails were rocky but not too technical.
Coming into Bald Mountain. Yes, I have a huge smile. -Photo by Quicksilver volunteers
Soon we approached Bald Mountain Aid-Station (mile 12.2). It was another lollypop type loop. You run past the aid-station to this beautiful cliff area, grabbed a purple rubber band to prove that you did the full loop and then back to the aid-station. We didn’t stop long here other than to use the restroom again.
After Bald Mountain we ran a short down hill followed by a pretty nice climb to get to Kennedy 1 Aid-Station (mile 18.9). Again, no drop bags for us but I noticed the aid-station was pretty bare bones. Not much to offer runners. I was fine with what I had been consuming thus far which was mostly fruit leather, some jelly beans (on the climbs) and my homemade Engine 2 Peanut Butter Oatmeal Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies. We did refill our packs here though and discovered that the water at the aid-stations tasted like rubberized chlorine! UGH! It was barely drinkable and we had to run 5.4 miles to the next aid-station with that water.
After Kennedy however, we ran DOWN and by down, I mean far down. Still, I was feeling okay. I was worried about my left knee going into this race as it tends to not like a lot of steep down hills but so far, it was behaving just fine.
When we reached Lexington Aid-Station (mile 24.2) I was feeling good. Pigeon’s wife Missouri and son were at this aid-station as was Miss P’s pacer, Christine. It’s always nice to see people you know and have them give you a good pep talk. We also had drop bags here.
We both dumped our packs and refilled them with our own water. I dug into my drop bag for the first time and swapped out a few things, grabbed some more cookies and dumped the apple sauces as they weren’t working for me.
We left Lexington and headed for the longest biggest climb of the day, Dog Meat Hill. I have seen the photos of this climb, but none of them do it justice. This is one brutally long fully exposed climb. We were lucky in that it was overcast most of the time but it was definitely warm out there.
Welcome to Dog Meat Hill!
However, I was just in awe of the views and the trail itself. I did my thing and power hiked up every hill taking photos whenever I could. I’d wait for Pigeon at the top and then we’d repeat it again and again.
A little Dog Meat selfie!
I had overheard a guy talking about how this is the hardest climb in the race and that nothing in the second half of the race compares. That’s exactly what I wanted to hear right then. It gave me a little boost that once we were done with this beast, things would be easier.
You can see how far off in the distance the road actually goes. Insane.
When we finally finished Dog Meat, we arrived at Kennedy 2 Aid-Station (mile 31.1). I mentioned to Pigeon that we had completed a 50k! She didn’t seem amused. She’d been battling some tummy issues along the way which is never very fun in a race.
Hot and sunny on Dog Meat. Brutal.
When we reached the aid-station, they had nothing. Pigeon wanted a Coke or a turkey avocado sandwich desperately and they had none. I think this hit her pretty hard and knocked her spirits down quite a bit. Her mood had been quiet thus far but I could sense her go a little deeper into a dark spot.
I just tried my best to keep hiking and chatting when I could, hoping I wasn’t bothering her too much. Eventually, I told her that we had to just let it go. We couldn’t rely on the aid-stations at this point, they’ve proven to be pretty useless in the quantity of fuel provided and we’d have to make do. I knew we were heading back to Hicks 2 Aid-Station and I knew we had drop bags there. I tried to get her to focus on that.
Her stomach just wouldn’t let up though. Once we reached Hicks 2 Aid-Station (mile 36.4) we both used the restroom and then attacked our drop bags. I grabbed a few more things here including some Advil. My right knee (not my left knee as I mentioned earlier) had started to really bark on the long descent from Kennedy to Hicks. So much so that at one point, it literally gave way and Pigeon almost had to catch me from cratering to the ground. At Hicks 2, I took 2 Advil. I didn’t want to but I had no choice at this point.
From Hicks we ran towards Hacienda Aid-Station (mile 39.3) which was a little hard to stomach because Hacienda is where my car was parked!!! Yes, I had to run past my own car to get to the aid-station! That’s just cruel right?
The nice part about this section of the course though is that the distances between aid-stations were cut in half essentially which means, the next one after Hacienda was Mockingbird, just 3.1 miles away. Although Mockingbird was also the finish area so you have to run past the finish arch to go another 20 miles … again cruel.
Pigeon needed the restroom at Hacienda. I talked to the volunteers and took some pebbles out of my shoe. When we were finally back on the trail running, I reminded her that we were on our way to her wife and son. We had to do some climbing to get there, but I assured her it would be worth it.
This is the reason buy sildenafil uk for man to be sexually happy. Topical, nonpharmaceutical scalp-stimulating treatments are available and sometimes used in conjunction with other forms of molineanimalaid.org order generic levitra hair loss treatment, but for some, it is effective. Before molineanimalaid.org pfizer viagra sales knocks the door the condition was overlooked and no particular attention was provided. Thus, some males may think that pounding in the woman would still satisfy her later if not tadalafil online cheap immediately.
She was in her dark spot I think again. She snapped at me once about starting to run, which is fine, I get it, when you hurt you hurt. I wasn’t offended. I mentioned something about the time and trying to qualify and she shot back that she was already well aware. Up until that point, I hadn’t really been focusing too much on the time. It was on our way to Hacienda I think that I started calculating the math in my head with the pace that we’d been going and realized, our chances of qualifying for Western States was slipping away. I battled in my head with what to do.
The dilemma in my head was broken by the sights and sounds of Mockingbird Aid-Station (mile 42.9). I needed this boost. As I ran in, I told Missouri that Pigeon was hurting a bit, her tummy was just not happy. I had a drop bag here so I swapped out some things and I grabbed some cream for my knee. I applied some but I wanted to run with it just in case. The Advil had kicked in by now and the knee was feeling much better. As we left Mockingbird, I turned my phone on (it was on airplane mode most of the race) and I texted Stonegate and Vans that we had 20 miles left in the race and that any chances of qualifying were starting to slip away.
While I had been texting, a bunch of texts from earlier in the day came in, one of them was from my Peanut. My girls had a mock swim meet that day and my Peanut had sent me this:
That gave me such a boost. It got my thoughts running again. My little girl didn’t give up today. I shouldn’t either.
From Mockingbird to Bull Run 1 it’s up hill. We did not have to climb the huge rock pile that the Quicksilver race is known for but instead, they rerouted us an extra quarter mile. What’s an extra quarter of a mile in a 62 mile race?
I powered up the climbs but instead of waiting at the top for Pigeon like I had been, I wanted to keep moving. So on the downs, I’d slow down a bit hoping she’d catch up and she usually did.
We reached Bull Run 1 Aid-Station (mile 46.1) and we ran a weird little lollypop thing again. Pigeon and I ran that together. I think she was starting to get her mojo back because she said, “Hey, do you want to try for it? We have 15 miles to go and about 3.5 hours, we can push it. Want to go for broke?” I was just thrilled she had her spirit back! “Sure! Of course!” I said. Pigeon was coming back! She then said, “Okay, we’ll take turns pulling each other. I’ll go first!” She took off running down hill and I was hot on her heels behind her.
About five minutes later, she turned and said, “Ok, your turn!” and she let me pass. I never looked back. It was if a fire had been ignited within me, one that had been burning all along but I was too afraid let to come out.
Since Mockingbird I had been thinking, a lot. I thought about the time, about the race and about this course. Sure this race was a Western States Qualifier and while not my only reason for running, I had ran so much today that I wanted it. I wanted it bad. Pigeon is running Tahoe Rim 100 in July. I hated thinking this but I knew she had a second qualifying chance down the road. This, this race was my ONLY chance. So, I ran. I ran hard.
I passed runner after runner. I passed runners sitting on the ground. I passed pacers urging their runners to just take another step. I ran uphill. I ran down hill. I entered the scariest freakiest single track trail I have ever seen in my life. It led to Tina’s Den (remember Tina the mountain lion from the beginning of this post?) … I can see why Tina and her friends like to hang out there! I was too afraid to stop to be honest that I just high-tailed it as fast as I could.
You finally get dumped onto a road. A volunteer said, “It’s a mile down that road and then turn left and the aid-station is about a half mile from there.” What he failed to tell me is that it was like a half-mile UP hill but whatever. As I had made the left turn, I saw this woman jumping up and down on a rock.
I thought she was waving to the guy in front of me who didn’t look too enthused to see her. In my head I was like, “Man what a jerk!” Little did I know it was Stonegate!!! She had raced the 2.5 hours from home to catch me at mile 53!!!!! She was a sight for sore eyes!
She hiked with me to the aid-station. We got there and they were dry. Nothing left. I had a drop bag but my stomach did not want much. Stonegate refilled my pack with ice cold water without me even taking it off. THAT is what I wanted. I told her that I had left Pigeon and that if she sees her to tell her how sorry I was and that I really wanted to push. I felt bad for leaving her.
Stonegate encouraged me and reminded me that Pigeon will understand and that she would WANT me to go. So, I went. Less than 9 miles to the finish and I was racing the clock with a lot of uphill between us.
Photo by Stonegate
After Tina’s Den (luckily I saw NO mountain lions) it’s a good uphill climb to get to Enriquita Aid-Station (mile 55.8). I ran quite a bit of this uphill. I channeled my training runs up Stagecoach and just pushed. Every so often, I’d hike and then I’d run again.
At Enriquita Aid-Station I didn’t even stop and instead made a sharp right hand turn and went down this gully of a trail with terrible footing. Never mind there are runners hiking their way up too so it was a bit of a mess. When you reached the bottom, you had to read a sign (Read?! You want me to read and comprehend right now?). The sign said that in order to prove that you made it to the bottom of the hill, you had to hole punch your bib and show the volunteers at the top.
Um, the hole punch was attached to a cord that was ridiculously short! So after 56 miles, you have to try and stand on one leg while lifting your other leg, and hole punch your bib. Lordy!
I did it and then I ran my bum back up that hill. Just before reaching the top, I saw Pigeon making her way down. I hooted and hollered for her and she hooted and hollered for me and told me to just GO!
After reaching the top of Enriquita again, I ran towards Bull Run 2 Aid-station (mile 58.8), the final aid-station before the finish. It just happened to be completely up hill. I had to hike. There were moments where I wasn’t sure I was going to make it. I couldn’t eat anything. I wasn’t sure if it was from how hard I was pushing myself or from nerves of being on the edge of not making the cut off.
When I got to Bull-Run 2, I was sprinting, or at least I felt like I was sprinting.
The volunteers went wild when I came through! “Just 3.5 miles to go! You got this! Run just like that and don’t stop and you will qualify!” Wait, can they not SEE the big hill down the road that I have to go up in a minute? They want me to run like this, up that?! I had to laugh, it was funny.
I kept having these mini dialogs in my head pleading that there would be no more “rollers” and then I saw a sign that said, “Just a few more rollers and you’re at the finish!” I just want to note, you don’t SEE these “rollers” on the map or elevation chart but holy cow, were they ever there!
Course profile.
I pushed and pushed. I passed runner after runner. I was cutting every corner I ran around even if it meant cutting in front of another runner. Soon, it was all downhill. I pleaded with my knee not to flare up (it hadn’t make a squeak since Mockingbird). Other runners cheered me on. Hikers on their way up cheered me on and told me I was close. The sky to my left was insanely gorgeous with the sun setting and I wanted to stop and take a photo SO bad but I didn’t dare!
Finally I saw the finish. I heard Stonegate first, “You got this girl! Just up this hill!” Which made me laugh out loud! Another freaking hill! I heard Missouri and Christine (Miss P’s pacer) cheering. I was so overcome with joy and happiness. I had made it! I qualified! I made it with about 20 minutes to spare (my time was 15:38). I was done.
Smiling the whole way into the finish!
Five months of training was over in one day. It was totally worth it. My friends congratulated me and then asked where Pigeon was. I told them I left her on the way to Tina’s Den. I said she’s behind me but I am not sure how far.
Pigeon came in a short time later. She too qualified for Western States with just minutes to spare! She gutted it out and ran her butt off to get to that finish line. I am proud of how deep she dug to do it.
As it turns out, she wasn’t upset at me for leaving and was happy that I qualified. That’s how friends work, especially trail friends. We support each other.
Overall, I feel pretty good. I have some soreness and I stiffen when I sit too long but my heart is full. I feel like I set out to conquer something, something I’ve thought about for a while, and I did it. I worked hard for it, very hard.
Not sure what is next. I have a few training runs planned as I am pacing Pigeon at Tahoe Rim Trail in July so I have to be ready for that.
I definitely plan to rest though and let my body recover. I owe it that. It did everything I asked of it this season and I am grateful. So I will enjoy some down time with my two amazing little swimmers.
){kind=link}
){kind=link}