WTC Archives ~ TRAILMOMMA

February 3, 2015April 21, 2015

WAY TOO COOL TRAINING RUN

This past weekend was the annual Way Too Cool training run put on by James Barstad. Every year he does this and every year I am amazed at how successful and awesome it is.

While I am not running Way Too Cool 50k this year, Stonegate is. She has some redemption with that 50k distance and I knew that she needed some time on trails in Cool.

Pigeon was down for it so we decided we would all head out to Cool on Saturday and start before the masses arrived. We opted for the longest distance (23 miles) but there is a 12 and 20 mile option to do as well.

When we pulled into the parking lot ofÂ the fire station it was still dark out but people were already arriving. We all hid within the warm confines of the car before nature called and we all had to hit the porta potty (separately, not together).

All of a sudden the sun was peeking out and we were ready to hit the trails. We ran with some new people on Saturday. It was myself, Stonegate, Pigeon, Stonegate’s friend Tri-Girl and MarCK. Everyone has had their share of time on these trails and/or has done some ultra running so we were a pretty solid bunch.

It was cold so the pace was pretty quick to start. I think we all wanted to warm up as much as possible. We followed the orange ribbons all the way to Â highway 49 where Stonegate would be entering new-to-her territory.

The Quarry road isn’t anything too exciting and is actually probably the least pretty part of the whole Way Too Cool course but it is a good chance to get your head in the game, fuel your body and just relax from the quick down hill you just came from.

On this section we all ran in various pairs talking as we ran. At one point Coach Nikon and friends came running by giving us a hard time. 🙂 I always enjoy running into him out on the trails.

Soon we were off Quarry Road and descending up onto some of the single track. For quite a while MarCK was leading our pack which was great. He was fun to run with too! So easy going and he set a good pace. I know the girls were probably worried we were slowing him down but he never let on or showed any signs of being frustrated with us (or our frequent stops).

The entire first portion of the run I couldn’t shake the sour stomach that I had no matter what I did or ate. It just kept hanging on keeping me on my toes and on the verge of worry that things may go south soon. I just kept up my nutrition the way I have been even if I didn’t feel like eating anything.

Soon we came to an aid-station and I ducked off to the side to handle some business. Not long after, Stonegate and Tri-Girl also had to take care of things. This made for a nice long(er) stop. There was nothing at the aid-station that I could eat so I just stuck to the cookies, plantains and water that I had with me.

When we started off again, Pigeon took the lead. At some point on the trail, she became lead runner, followed by me and then MarCK while Stonegate and Tri-Girl were chatting it up on the caboose.

Pigeon took off and I followed. MarCK was easily keeping pace behind me. This section of the trail is very runnable and it is super gorgeous. My camera duties have slacked since I cannot find a decent spot to put my phone that is easily reachable. I am still working on this and I need to figure it out soon as it is really beginning to hinder the quality of my blog! 🙂 I love taking photos – although I AM getting faster on the trails – so maybe there IS a correlation between the two? 🙂

The Crew from L to R: MarCK, Stonegate, Pigeon and Tri-Girl

MarCK and I had some good conversations about work and past jobs and our kids. Pigeon was feeling good I could tell because she picked up her pace considerably. She had started out slow (intentionally – that’s her style) and slowly built herself up. I was happy to see her confidence. She’s been struggling the last few runs trying to get her fitness back to where she knows she can kill it. She is almost there.

I just felt, great. My tummy was still not completely settled, but for the most part, I really started feeling well. Then we hit Goat Hill. Goat Hill is a pretty steep climb. It is just shy of a mile in distance but it consists of some solid switch backs. Some how I ended up taking the helm and I remember saying, “Oh man, I don’t want the lead!” and Pigeon just said, “You got this girl. One step at a time.” So, I started climbing. And talking. And climbing and talking. I was talking to MarCK, he was right behind me and I thought Pigeon and everyone else was right there as well but apparently, I had climbed pretty well. I had heard Tri-Girl say earlier that I looked like a Mountain-Goat when I was climbing … baaaaa! 🙂

I reached the top and I felt, well, amazing. In all the years I have climbed Goat Hill, that by far was my best attempt. I guess I am doing something right in my training these days.

At the top was an aid-station which was nice. Pigeon was hoping for some Coke but they only had water and gels. We knew there were only about 5 miles to the finish so we started running again.

Soon we heard Highway 49 which always gives me goosebumps because I know the end is near and I know that last mile is what lies ahead. The last mile of Way Too Cool is a bit of a grind. It is up hill, but the hill is this rock infested gully. Very hard to find proper footing at times and kind of hard to actually run IF you had the energy and leg strength TO run.

We crossed the highway and told Stonegate that this is where her last aid-station would be and to take advantage of it with SOMETHING before the climb. Then, MarCK took off like a bat out of hell! I swear, one second he was standing next to me and the next I saw his back side scaling up the rocky gulch! Bye bye MarCK! 🙂

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I climbed and power hiked as best I could. Then, something hit me inside. I did a scan and thought, “Hmmm, I feel good. Could I actually, for once in my life run this section?” Last year when I ran WTC (race report here) I wanted to punch Pigeon in the face on this section. She kept trying to motivate my butt up this hill and I kept resisting. Not today. I took a couple of steps … running and just kept going. I ran the entire way back at a pretty fast pace. I had energy to burn and power in my legs. I just went with it and I am glad that I did. It gave me some peace of mind that I CAN handle that hill to the finish.

When I reached the lot, MarCK had already cracked open a beer. That boy was thirsty for some beer I guess! 🙂 Way to go MarCK you crushed that final stretch too.

Soon all the girls came in and we high-fived and celebrated being done for the day. The parking lot started to fill up with hundreds of trail runners. I saw old friends, new friends and even met a few friends. It was glorious and the perfect end to a perfect day.

Sadly, one fellow runner did not have a stellar day out there. She fell and broke her foot/ankle and had to be airlifted out. I hope she recovers quickly (but it was kind of crazy watching that helicopter land right next to us!).

While I was out having a blast bombing the trails, Vans was home with the girls. He took them on a little walk/adventure to a nearby park by way of dirt trail.

My recovery after Saturday has been pretty great. I feel wonderful. Whatever issues I had with my tummy seemed to resolve itself during the last 3 miles but I am still working on the source of the problem. I tend to go through these waves and so far, I’ve been able to handle it and manage it with only a few stops. It is all part of training though.

I’ve also been cooking in the kitchen. Playing around with recipes and stuff. I am always trying to find new and interesting things for my kids to try. Peanut is pretty good at trying new things, Squeaker however, is a bit more stubborn.

Squeaker trying (and liking) my baked polenta fries.

As far as training goes, we have two more weeks of building mileage before I am in the home stretch of taper week. I am not looking forward to taper week as it always plays with your head that you should be doing more than you are. Yet, the body is smart and the body remembers. It actually needs this time to repair and refresh.

Happy February everyone! I know the east coast is getting bombed with snow while the west coast is drying out (ok, California is drying out). They are calling for a good amount of rain for this weekend so our run could become a massive mud fest. If it is, I’ll bring the old camera and be sure to take lots of photos! 🙂

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

March 5, 2014April 21, 2015

TAPER WEEK HAPPENINGS

It is the final week before the Way Too Cool 50kÂ and typically the time when most runners start getting antsy and germ-aphobic as they prepare for the race they have spent the last few months training for. I can’t say that I am entirely anxious about the race which I guess is a good thing. Honestly I just have a lot going on this week to be bothered worrying about it.

Last weekend the training schedule called for only 10 miles which was a welcomed relief after all the 20 milers Pigeon and I have been putting in lately. Â We had decided to meet at Cavitt School and run 5 miles out and back towards Twin Rocks. This is part of the American River 50 Mile course and consists of some nice easy rolling hills and some nice flat sections.

To change things up we had TiggerT and Diane from Folsom Breakout Fitness join us on our run. Â It was as if all my exercise words collided at once! It was fun. We ran, we laughed and we enjoyed a run without any rain.

The skies looked quite daunting but they never really opened up on us yet the trails were definitely muddy and slippery.

We ran all the way to what Pigeon and I call “The Overlook” which is really a nice spot that gives you a great view of Folsom Lake which is very slowly filling with water.

Yes, that is Folsom Lake in the background, not a river. The 5 miles back were pretty uneventful. I almost slipped a few times but was able to catch myself and not do any damage.

In the above photo you can just catch TiggerT trying to leap over the puddle!! She made it too!! When we finished we all stretched as quick as we could as the skies were starting to drizzle and we knew the rain was coming.

I felt really good after the run and immediately raced home to get the Peanut to a birthday party. Actually Vans took her and I stayed home while Squeaker napped and tried to get some homework done.

I have been taking some online classes from Cornell trying to get a Plant Based Nutrition Certificate. I am on my last course and the work is definitely ramping up. My next two classes involve quizzes and papers. I worked all Saturday afternoon on studying for my quiz.

Sunday I worked at Gold Country Run and Sport and then came home and tried to work on my paper while Vans took the Peanut to swim clinic in a rain storm.

It has definitely been the kind of week where I have had so much going on that I just haven’t had time to think about running a 50k this weekend. At my full-time job I have been spending the last three days in a classroom type training class which is just agony on my legs and back. I am not meant to be sitting for 8 hours straight.

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On top of that, I’ve been consumed by the sudden end of friendship that began almost 20 years ago. Honestly, it has left me more dazed, confused and a little broken hearted and I am trying to move past it. We weren’t super close, but I did cherish it.

In an effort to clear my head I decided to go for an easy run tonight. I had good intentions of running before work but Squeaker is back to her usual sleepless antics again and I know how important sleep is during taper week.

When I got home from work I changed into running clothes and grabbed my flashlights and reflective vest. I knew just what I needed … I ran 1.5 miles to the Ridge Hill and I ran one long slow ascent up the hill running the entire way. It was a physical and mental purge and it felt amazing. That is of course, until I fell on the way down.

Yup. I fell. Only Trailmomma would do a complete somersault FOUR DAYS before a major race. There I was under the glistening stars with just the last bit of the sun glimmering as it set thinking how beautiful it really was outside when my toe caught a rock and I flew.

I can’t even describe the way in which I fell. I scrapped my left hand, my right forearm and elbow and both knees. I know I rolled in a very dramatic Hollywood action film way.

Goose egg on the forearm — Goose egg on right forearm

However, while my scrapes and cuts are minor (they didn’t even burn in the shower) I do seem to have a couple of goose-egg bumps that are growing. The one on my forearm in the photo above is interesting but seems minor.

I do have one on my left knee and that is the one that has me the most concerned. You see when I fell, my left knee hit the ground hard but it wasn’t the dirt that it hit, it was another rock.

That is not my knee cap you see. — Those bumps are NOT my knee cap.

I was able to make it home where I showered and iced my knee and finished up my homework and put the girls to bed.

I guess it is a good thing Â that I am not stressing about this race otherwise tonight might have me in a tailspin huh? No time for stress when I have two smiling faces ready to give me a hug goodnight.

Good lord help if there was four of them! :) — Good lord help me if there was four of them! 🙂

Happy Trails! (Don’t Trip)

~Trailmomma

January 26, 2014April 21, 2015

WAY TOO COOL TRAINING RUN

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In 2010 this section was covered in water

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

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