I am attempting to record my running adventures while chasing my goal of running the Western States 100. I want to chronicle the joy of running with friends, the fun of running alone, and the excitement of running trails.

I run primarily in the Houston area, which suffers from a trail deficiency. I also spend some time in the Austin area. I love to race and I enjoy using races as training runs for other races. Occassionally, I will get over excited on my "training race/runs" and run too fast (go figure). Luckily, I have a trail-ultra running husband who understands this craziness and tries to keep me grounded (not to mention hydrated, rested, and paced properly.)

I want to share my ups and downs, my successes and failures and try to keep motivated to my ultimate goal. Plus, if I share all of my bone-headed mistakes with you-- you will not have to make them!



Sunday, January 16, 2011

Weymouth Woods 100K - Race Report

Friday after work, I headed down to Southern Pines, North Carolina to participate in the Weymouth Woods 100K.  I was pretty excited, because I have never done a 100K before and I was able to get in this one at the last minute. The only negative (other than a 6 hour drive to get there) was that the course was a 4.47 mile loop that you had to do 14 times-- Yikes! I decided that small loops has its advantages too. You would not need a crew (which was good, because my crew chief is in Texas) and you would not have to carry a lot of gear.  :-)

As I arrived at the park, I went inside the heated Visitor Center for packet pick up and trail briefing (a plus- as it was 24 degrees at start time.)  I met the race director, got my gym bag, Patagonia tech shirt, and timing chip.  At 8:00 am, we headed off into the woods.  I ran the first lap with a lady named Lynn from Tennessee.  We chatted about races that we have done in the past and generally just got a feel for the trail. Lynn decided that we ran the first loop faster than she needed to do, so we parted ways.  Along the way I met a lot of runners from all over the country.  Of course I became known as the "Texas runner"- I wore my Sunmart hat - just so no one forgot.  I wore a tech shirt that has "Don't worry, I am not in your age group" on the back.  That shirt definitely got a lot of laughs and comments on the trail.  What a great choice.

This course was almost a carbon copy of Hunstville State Park trails. It was unbelievable- the roots, the elevation, the wooden bridges and even sandy areas.  Needless to say, I felt right at home. :-)  My plan was to run the flats and downhills and walk significant hills.  This plan worked very well- I even managed to run up a few of the steep hills - thanks to great running songs on my ipod. The trail was pretty varied, from very rooty and hilly, to very runnable flat sections.  There was still a bit of snow on the trail at the start; but throughout the day the snow melted (it got up to almost 50 degrees.)  Large chunks of ice were also falling from the trees all day.  It was not unusual to have ice drop on your head as you pass by- talk about incentive to go faster.

I kept a pretty consistent pace throughout the race. I kept checking the results board on each loop and noticed that I was inching up with every loop.   I managed to do about 10.75 loops in the daylight- but the night loops were pretty hard.  It is really hard to judge those roots and I was pretty tired at this point. Just before dark I checked the board and I was 4th place female.  I kept plugging along the best I could- trying to avoid being passed (at least by women).  I managed to finish in 13:14- which was good enough for 3rd place female and first place masters women.  I was so happy- what a great surprise.  I got to choose from several beautiful homemade platters for my award.  What a great end to a wonderful race.

A few words about the race.  This was one of the best organized events that I have ever attended.  The RD (Marie Lewis) was incredible and she was there to greet every runner as he/she finished.  The food was awesome- pizza, grilled cheese, hamburgers, quesadillas- you name it.  The volunteers were also amazing.  I could not believe how helpful and friendly they were.  My biggest problem is that I wanted to linger and chat with them instead of getting back on the trail.  I would definitely recommend this race to others, you will have a hard time finding a race where you are treated better. 

Bonehead mistakes:  As in the Stone Mill 50, late in the race I was going up a hill and I felt my right calf  "pull and seize up" - I thought I tore something.  It was unbelievably painful- I was limping and could barely make it up hills.  I made it to the aid station, looked at it and on the advice on the volunteers, planned to go on, but at a slower rate. I was extremely worried that my training season was over- not to mention that WS would be in jeopardy.  About 1/4 mile from the aid station it dawned on me that I had not taken salt in a while.  I popped (2) Endurolites and within 1/2 mile I could run without limping.  I was just dehydrated!  I took another with my next GU and I was back in business.  You should have seen the surprised looks on the faces of the guys at the aid station when I ran in on the next loop- until I told them about my stupid lapse.  I have learned that I need more GU than I used to take ( I try to take at least 1 per hour) and I have started taking Enduralites.  I am not sure if my body has changes, or if I am pushing harder.  I never needed salt supplements before, but I definitely do now.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

18 Miles - Jan 8, 2011

This weekend there were 4 of us running the trails.  Everyone else either decided that they had something better to do, or were taking some recovery time.  We met at Overlook Dam at 0715 on Saturday.  Bob, Toni, Meg and I were starting out together, then we were going to drop Meg off at the car at 12 miles and head back out.  Bob needed to catch a flight later in the day, so he needed to be done at noon.  We decided that whatever mileage we were at by noon would be enough.

I had never run with Meg before; although I had heard a lot about her.  She is a very talented  fast runner, who generally runs road races and primarily runs marathons or less.  She is super sweet - but a little naieve, not to worry; Toni and I took care of that!   Between our discussions of what Plain Gu and Flan have in common and preferred underwear choices- it was an interesting run.

The four of us are getting ready at the car and it starts to snow.  I told Bob that according to the Weather Channel it was supposed to snow 90% all morning long.  He did not exactly believe me.  As we headed down the trail it REALLY started snowing.  Snowing to the point it is sticking to your eyelashes and you can't see clearly.  We stopped at .75 miles to discuss our options.  We decided if the snow did not stop or lessen soon, we would head back.  Almost immediately, the snow shower lessened and it was bearable again.  The woods had a nice dusting and it was so beautiful. Seeing the unspoiled beauty like that really makes you appreciate trail running.

We dropped Meg off and headed back out for the rest of our run.  There were a surprising number of people on the trails.  There was a Viszla (gorgeous-dog breed) club out with their dogs.  We stopped for a few minutes to be smothered in attention.  I have to admit- this is the first medium size dog that I have really taken to- they are supposed to be one of the best breeds for trail running too.  There were also several groups of people who appeared to be with some sort of search and rescue group out practicing.  At least I hope that they were only practicing- because they were less than hurried in their manner.  They always had a smile and a friendly encouraging word.  We meandered through the woods talking about everything including upcoming races.  Toni is attempting to get me to run Holiday Lake 50K- as she and her friend Heather are doing it.  She is very persuasive..... we will see.

I will be away from the group for the next few weeks- what a bummer.  I have a 100K in NC that I managed to sneak into.  I have never done a 100K, so we will see how that goes.  I figured I could use the extra mileage, as the next two weekends are going to be tough to keep any reasonable mileage.  I have a lot of travel- and a cruise- coming up.  :)  I signed up for a 50K on February 26 in Maryland- so expect some updates!

Monday, January 3, 2011

New Year- New Trails 1-2-11

I flew back into DC on Saturday, January 1, 2011- so I missed a great 50K race that was held in Prince William Forest. Most of the people that I met on the trails were running that race.  Luckily for me, Bob is an animal and will run back to back; Casey is a party animal and needed to rest Saturday morning, and Jenny (Casey's sister-in-law) needed a long run on Sunday (17 miles), so I had some company on the trails.

Bob arranged for us to meet at Fountainhead Regional park and we ended up with a little over 17 miles. We ran on some trails that I had run before and a new one.  To be honest, it all looked new to me.  Bob told us that he was not going to do the whole run, as he had run 22 miles the day before- but we managed to convince him to stay with us.  Thankfully he did- I do not know those trails at all- I would have wondered around lost for hours.  We had a really great run. The weather was warmer than it has been (in the 50s at the start) but it lightly sprinkled on our run and got a little colder as the day went on.  Still, a very nice run- the trails were clear of snow this time and we ran along chatting about lots of stuff.

Jenny talked with Bob about "army stuff"- Casey and I talked food / restaurants, as usual.  Jenny and Bob determined that Casey and I watch entirely too much TV.    Bob told some stories of previous ultras sprinkled with his colorful commentary. Typical trail run- you learn a lot about people on a trail. Not to generalize, but "you people" know what I am talking about.

Ok, so Jenny is this 23 year old Army 1st Lieutenant who is training for her first marathon in February.
1. She did not even break a sweat on this run.  - I don't know that she was even breathing hard at any point.  2. She would not have eaten anything if Bob had not insisted that she eat at mile 11.5.
3. She wants to do a 4:30 marathon- I do not think that will not be a problem at all.
Ahhhhhh to be 23......  Youth is wasted on the young!   LOL     :-)
    

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Holiday Derail

Like everyone else, I got a little derailed in my training program over the holidays. I went home to Houston and it was pretty warm most of the time and raining quite a bit (typical Houston December).  On the Thursday before Christmas, I went to my old stomping grounds to do an "old standby" run, incorporating Memorial park and Allen Parkway. I decided that I would also use my "Virginia technique" of only walking the uphills and running continuously on the flats and downhills.

Remember a while back when I was saying that "hilly" was a relative term and that people here talk about courses being "relatively" flat and I think "did we run the same route??? That was hilly as hell!"  I learned that maybe they are converting me.  I used to love Allen Parkway because it was so "hilly."  I was looking and looking and looking for the hills.  I walked a few seconds here and there but would feel a little embarrassed because the hills were so small.  However, I had a wonderful run.  I ended up with 14.5 and I was happy with that.

Christmas was a fun filled family affair with no running (as expected)- Bruce and I headed to Austin for a few days.  I felt like I had not been there in forever.  We arrived on Sunday and went out to Barton Creek to hike for a few miles.  That turned into 4 miles, but at least we did something.   We decided to run on Monday (late morning) and treat ourselves to a couple of Matt's margaritas on Sunday.  Monday we headed to Barton Creek to run the trail.  We started (and ended) at the "hill of life."  This is one tough hill.  We ran 10 miles on the trail and did 2 miles of constant up and down the hill of life.  It was a tough run- we both took a tumble, but kept going.  It was a really good workout and we felt good at the end.  We headed back to Houston on Tuesday, so the rest of our runs were just weekly mileage in the neighborhood. 

Bruce got me 2 Western States videos for Christmas.  We watched them with fascinated stares.  We are hooked- excited and terrified.  I decided that I need to get to work! See you on the trails!