ANKLES, KNEES AND FEET OH MY

Today was Fleet Feet Saturday long run day. Unlike last weekend we got a little break in both weather and driving distance. Instead of driving up to Cool or Auburn for our run, Captain Kirk and Coach Nikon decided that a long semi-flat run over by Lake Natoma was in order. After today, I can understand why.

Coach Nikon made the point today that the first half of the American River 50 Miler is on the bike path and that even though we ran three and a half hours last weekend in Auburn, three and half hours on the bike trail is an entirely different beast. He may not have used those exact words but I do believe I got the message he was trying to deliver. Even though the terrain changes and you're running a nice flat surface, a nice flat surface for THREE HOURS or more can definitely take its toll on you let alone when you realize that those three hours are only a small portion of the American River 50 Miler. You have to learn to tone it down and run conservatively on these flatter sections and bike trail portions in order to have enough steam to make it on the trails up to Auburn. At least that is how I understood it.

You always hear the advice "never experiment with anything new in a race" and today, since I wasn't racing, I tried a lot of new things. Most of what I tried was in an effort to tone down my stomach issues that I have been having lately. I changed my breakfast from oatmeal to a can of Ensure (vanilla if you were wondering). I have never had Ensure before and lord knows I have never consumed that much fat or calories in a DRINK but I do believe it truly helped. Liquid digestion seemed much easier on my stomach than food. I also never took any form of Advil or Aleve before or during the run (minus one Motrin pill about 10 minutes from the finish). Finally, after researching online for other tips and tricks from ultra runners who experience tummy issues, I took one Imodium pill an hour before my run. Now it may have been a combination of all of the above or just one or two things but I had zero stomach issues on this run. None what so ever. Which is good as I had other things to focus on.

I did bring my camera but the sights were not nearly as exciting as last weekend. Sorry.

There may have been clouds at the start but the day was gorgeous otherwise.

We ran as a group around Lake Natoma, across Hazel and up to the bluffs. The trails were still quite muddy from our week long rain but runnable and fun.

Climbing up the bluffs

Today I ran conservatively and found myself in the company of Coach Nikon, Captain Kirk and Billy Idol (not the real Billy mind you). It was a great pace and since I found my heart rate was a bit higher than last weekend I figured it was a good thing I was running nice and easy.

 

     The top of the bluffs

Things were going well for me most of the day. My tummy was in check and my legs felt okay. Last night I had decided to try a little "real" food on the trails and boiled some small potatoes and doused them with salt to consume while running. They may have looked completely unappealing but damn they tasted good.

Eventually we came back onto the bike trail after having spent about an hour and forty minutes on the trails. Our goal for the day was to run three hours and forty-five minutes. When we regrouped at a water stop I realized we still had quite a bit of running to do. I tossed aside any negative thoughts and just started running. You gotta do what you gotta do and the group was running.

Quite some time was spent running on pavement or the side of the bike path and this is when things started to ache. First my problem ankle really started barking at me followed quickly by my opposite knee. I was happy to hear I wasn't the only one who was experiencing some aches and pains. You know they say misery loves company right?

We were able to dip onto some trails on our way up to Beal's Point. We even passed the famous Folsom Prison (for all you Johnny Cash fans out there).

     trailmomma with Folsom Prison in the background

We arrived at Beal's and regrouped again and then the group split up. Some of us had enough and were starting to get achy and some were gunning to run more miles. I knew I would not make the three hour forty-five minute goal but I was okay with that. I could feel my ankle swelling in my shoe but not enough to make me stop.

On the way back I found myself running with Garmin and Hawaii Mark (formerly known as Hawaii Mike). It was nice having company and it was also nice knowing I was not alone in feeling aches and pains which at points reduced me to a runner shuffle. Hawaii Mark even had a stash of drugs (all legal) in his pack and he offered me a Motrin. I accepted despite my inner warning to stay away. My knee and ankle thanked him immensely.

We made it back to our cars and I was greeted by a wonderful surprise . . . the Peant and Vans had driven down to meet me!!! It was so nice to see their smiling faces. I was honestly quite surprised because the Peanut had a very rough night (as did Vans and myself) but she was thrilled to see me and meet my runner friends.

She particularly likes to carry around some Cliff Shot Blocks and of course snag a muffin and a cookie from Karen's  Bakery across the street.

The Peanut stealing Captain Kirk's Shot Blocks (cola flava)

Overall we ran about three and a half hours for a total of 19 miles. I felt good minus the aches and pains I mentioned earlier. I consumed 2 gels, a bag of potatoes and 2 SCaps on my run and never felt hungry or like my body dragging. Now if I could only carry around an extra ankle and knee in my pack I'd be in business!

 

See Coach Nikon, Garmin's not afraid of the mud anymore!

THE GLOWING STICK

Last night was our Wednesday night group workout and boy what a workout it was! The rain stayed away so we were dry albeit a little cold hanging around the car, but that soon changed once we started. The plan of action was 2 mile warm up and then 4 by a mile repeats with a half mile recovery and oh yeah, a ginormous hill thrown in for "fun" at the end of that mile sprint. Sweeeeetttt!!!! Followed of course by a 2 mile cool down.

According to my GPS data I believe each of my mile splits were around 7 to 7:20 minute miles depending on whether I was running up that hill or down that hill. Although I admit my friend Garmin's technological difficulties rubbed off on me and my lap counting so I may be off on my times a bit there. No matter, my legs, bum and heart rate all felt it so I call it a success.

Captain Kirk and Coach (Blurry) Nikon set up a nice course for us to run complete with a "glowing stick" (Hawaii Mike's term which had me laughing all night) as our turn-around mile marker. The group pretty much stayed together which I think resulted in a nice bonding experience for all. The view of Lake Natoma was awesome along with an almost full moon. Garmin stated it made him feel very "Forrest-Gumpy" to run along the lake like that. Run Garmin Run!

Today's workout is supposed to be a 35 to 45 minute recovery run. I had great intentions of waking up at 5 am and hitting the pavement but with the Peanut not going to bed until after 10 pm and my legs feeling all jello like when I got out of bed I changed my mind. I'll do the workout tonight along with the Peanut in the BOB jogger because I cannot stand being away from her a third night in a row. The "missing momma" syndrome is starting to take its toll on her resulting in a "momma momma" cry fest at daycare drop off today. Oh the mommy guilt can be so heavy sometimes. It is the worst pain in the world I tell ya.

Missing momma last night.

Enough to break your heart.

RANDOM MUSINGS

Nothing too exciting to report really. Just some random musings that have been going through my head lately. I mean, I have the time to muse because the Peanut is on a sleep strike. Sunday night I got a total of two hours of sleep. Yup, that's right. I slept from 4 am to 6 am considering the Peant was awake from 11:30 pm to 4 am. She made it through daycare though the next day and lucky girl, got to take a 3.5 hour nap.
Musing #1: naptime should continue into adulthood and be required at your place of employment.

While awake at such crazy hours (last night she didn't go to bed until 10 pm and I promptly followed because I was exhausted from my big 2 hour sleep the night prior), I have been contemplating my pre-run eating situation. I have decided to start watching what I eat two days prior to my long run instead of 24 hours. Perhaps my digestion is slow and therefore I need longer to process the stuff causing me issues. Perhaps I should try something caloric but light like Ensure prior to running?
Musing #2: Stop eating crap on Thursdays and drink more water to help flush the system.

Yesterday we were notified that we are now in Phase 2 of our training plan. Moving on up (to the East Side)! It began with a workout we were to do on our own: Run 40 minutes and incorporate 5 fifteen minute pick ups. Since Vans had a late soccer game I was able to squeeze out that run after work however I only managed 35 minutes because 1. it was a raining, hard, 2. I was under time constraints and 3. my ankle has been giving me a little trouble since Saturday's run. Five less minutes obviously doesn't make a whole lot of difference so obviously my reason for stopping was because of item 1. Nothing scheduled for tonight which is good because I have to work tonight at my fun second job.
Musing #3: While perusing Phase 2's plan I think my heart stopped when I saw we have a 26 mile training run coming up. Yikes.

The Peanut is also working hard today. I am one of those moms who has spies. Today, my daycare spy texted me the following picture.

She's a smart cookie. She is starting to count. Yesterday on the drive home she was saying "two, two, fee!" She seems to forget the number one a lot but that's okay, her mother is mathmatically challenged too so I can't blame her.

MENTAL, MUDDY & MARVELOUS

That title pretty much sums up my run today. Before I begin, let me warn you I brought my camera and clicked away pretty much the entire run. So sit back, relax and enjoy the ride that is today's Fleet Feet's Way Too Cool 50K and American River 50 Miler Training Group's long run Saturday extravaganza. See why I chose the title I did? :-)

So this was the view from my car BEFORE we started running. I drove through a monsoon on my way to the Auburn Damn Overlook and I think it followed me. What's a little rain right? After Wednesday night's run, it wasn't anything this group couldn't handle.

Here is the group listening to Captain Kirk explain the day's run while Coach Nikon was out marking the trail. We were supposed to take off and eventually we'd connect with him. Sort of like hunting I suppose; he was the rabbit and we were hot on his tail trying to catch him. Sorry, I guess I've been watching way too many cartoons lately.

The agenda for today was to run the finish of American River 50 miler backwards and then turn around and run it forwards, as if we were finishing the race. So for those of you who don't know much about AR50, the last 3 miles are up hill and that is putting it mildly. Our goal for today was 3 to 3.5 hours of running.

The trails were definitely muddy, murky and wet. So muddy that when you put your foot down you have to becareful you don't lose a shoe in the process. You have to really give up the idea of trying to remain dry and clean on today's run. Whatever, there is no fun in staying clean anyways right?. Also, Mother Nature decided to throw a few "hurdles" at us to keep us on our toes.

Miss P climbing through one of many "road" blocks

The running out portion for me, was okay. Yes, my leg's were extremely sore despite having taken some Aleve before we started. Yes, Coach Nikon and Captain Kirk gave me grief for Thursday's workout. However, the muscles eventually relaxed and the legs felt okay. Maybe that was because my stomach decided to take a nose dive. I am still trying to dial in my pre-run eating situation. Obviously these last two long runs have been giving me some abdominal discomfort even though I am eating the same pre-run foods I ate while training for CIM. Captain Kirk made a good point of keeping a food journal. The only differences I can find right now is that I switched from Advil to Aleve. I also have to be careful my Celiac doesn't flare up which I think might be part of my problem. Perhaps something I ate recently had gluten and I didn't realize it. Either way, I need to dial that in quick before we ramp up any more mileage because running with Celiac that is not under control is not a possibility for me. It would be ugly.

Enough of that boring tummy talk. I will say, I forced down some Hammer Gels and some Luna Moons despite how I was feeling. The body needs fuel. Drinking water was hard though with the sloshy stomach. But every once in a while, I'd forget my "situation" and come across a view that was just begging for a photograph.

And sure enough I caught that pesky rabbit!

Coach Nikon (right) with Chuck (awesome Western States dude center) and Partner Jim (left, and no, he's not my partner). They were just shooting the breeze like it "ain't no thang" while I come huffing and puffing past. Coach N said that he flagged the trail to Avery's Pond. I stupidly ask "how will I know it is Avery's Pond? Is it obvious?" Silly blond girl.

DOH!

That, however, was not the ONLY sign I saw while on my "leisurely" Saturday run. Let me share with you a few others I spotted along the way.

 

If you read the small print it says they "like small children" good thing I run like and look like a haggard old woman!

Grrrrreeaaaatttttt!!!!

Eventually I hit the 1.5 hour mark on my watch which also brought me back in touch with some of the lead runners. My tummy and legs had me bringing up the caboose today.

 A blurry shot of one of my training people.

Another really pretty shot. Even with the rain today the views were gorgeous!

Otherwise, not much to report on the 1.5 hours back to the overlook other than I was last. I was hurting (tummy) and yet, I was still smiling or at least I think I was. I really did have a great time today. What can be better than mud? Coach Nikon was out there with his camera so you'll have to keep an eye on his blog for better photography of today's run.

While I was struggling running back to the overlook however, it dawned on me that today's run was extremely mental. With my own stupidity of running on tired legs and having my stomach (excuse the phrase) crap out on me, I honestly believe this run gave me some insight into what running the last few miles of the American River 50 miler will really be like. I mean c'mon, 50 miles is a long way and I know I am not going to feel all giddy and glorious throughout (although I'll try). The fact that I made it back to my car and STILL feel like I had a great time out there, only gives me more strength that I can do AR50 in April.

When I arrived home the Peanut and Vans were just sitting down to lunch. Apparently the sight of a soaking wet muddy momma does not compare to a yummy burrito. My girl has priorities obviously.

 

       Mmmmmm bean and cheese burritos!!

**Please excuse the random placement of my photographs. I apparently do not know how to properly use blogger so therefore you get what you get.

CROSS TRAINING HELL

Yesterday was a scheduled cross training day. Normally I wuss out and do the ellipitcal even though some might consider it similar to running because it uses the same muscles and therefore NOT considered cross training. Whatever. I consider it a break from running because it is low impact on my joints which is what really bothers me when I run too much.
However, yesterday I branched out and by branching out I have left myself completely and totally in pain. Let me just say I can barely WALK today.

 Let me recap for you my "cross training" session yesterday . . .

Because I am full time working mom and wife with a dear dear husband who also likes to stay fit and workout, I need to find creative ways and times to fit my workouts in when they fall on my "non scheduled" running days. Yes, Vans and I have pre-set days during the week where we evenly iron out fitness times for us to get workouts in. Granted, HE is not running a 50 miler in April yet that still does not mean I get any more "me time" than he does. SO with that, I woke up at 5 am on Thursday morning and dragged myself into the garage and onto the ellipitical. I chose an easy 30 minute program without incline because I was honoring my body and the fact that these legs did some hill repeats the night prior.

Elliptical done. I was feeling good and I had some time to spare so what do I do? I whip out the old jump rope and pretended I was back in the 5th grade having a jump rope contest in my garage. I don't remember the jump rope hurting so much when it hit you though. Do you? I did however, manage to forget how great a cardio workout jumping rope can be! This of couse only jazzed me up more . . . on to my next moves . . . and consequently the moves that I think have now made it impossible for me to sit, stand and walk.

Plyometrics. Yup. For some reason, I thought those would be a good idea. So began a round of jumping squats, jumping lunges and mountain climbers. Hello? Did I not just run hills with these quads and hammies? What on EARTH was I thinking!? In the words of Homer . . . DOH! (yes I mean Simpson and not the Greek poet).

Which leads me to today, yes it is Friday, you know the typical day after the day you workout soreness or delayed onset muscle soreness if you want to get all fancy on me. Today I am shuffling. Today I am using the handicap stall. I haven't been this sore since I was a freshman in college and decided that doing the Buns of Steel VHS was a good idea before class. Holy mother . . . .

Well, tomorrow's run should definitely be interesting if I can't really climb over rocks let alone get out of my car without groaning like an old haggard woman (no offense to old women or haggard people intended).

Lucky me too . . . tonight is my night with the Peanut. I am hoping and praying she doesn't want to play hide and seek otherwise I may be hiding for a long, long time.

Sometimes I miss the days when

all she did was just lay there. (TWSS)

SLIPPING AND SLIDING AND WHAT NOT

Yesteday, in Northern California it was down pouring torrential rains all day long. It was raining so hard, it was raining SIDEWAYS!! That's when you know it is really storming out there. Does that mean my usual Wednesday night Fleet Feet training group would call it quits and cancel the run? Hells no! Instead, we move the location and decide to run on trails instead of the usual bike path. Hard.Core! Some may call it "stupid" or "dangerous" but I laugh at danger (bwhahaha). All kidding aside, last night's scheduled workout was 1 minute hill repeats x 6 to 8 times.
Captain Kirk had emailed us throughout the day informing us that YES the run was still moving forward despite the rain and to be prepared with some extra warm weather gear for after the run. 6 pm rolls around and we pull into the scheduled meet up spot aka dirt parking only to find out from the park ranger that if we do in fact park there, we'll be gated in. Hmmm, I love a challenge but that was an obvious one. We all loaded back into our cars and drove to another spot to park. The rain at this point had all but stopped. Just the occasional mist flying in your face. However, as soon as we started, Coach Nikon (if you're reading Coach do you like the name?) declared "at least it's not raining!" and just like in a movie we stepped into a 30 second (literally, it lasted like 30 seconds) of a hard large rain drop down pour and then wham, it stopped. Nice!
We ran back to the parking lot we were ejected from earlier and then up and over the Hazel bridge to the other side of the river where there was a single track trail, basically a hill trail, that leads you to some bluffs. There were quite a few of us who ventured out to this run last night so navigating us all on the single track for 1 minute hill repeats was um, challenging? Garmin was a no show last night but boy would he have been excited trying to figure out how to set his Garmin for 1 minute hill repeats. He would have been beeping all over the place! You were missed Garmin!!!
So after approximately 3 repeats on this muddly, slippery slope of a trail, where we had a few casualties, it was decided that perhaps it would be best to move this workout to a safer less slippery location. The group then hauled ourselves back up to the Hazel bridge and continued to do our 1 minute hill repeats up and down the bridge. I managed 4 more and could probably have gone a few more but I was slowly getting cold. The work out was solid though. Although my timing might have been a smidge over a minute, my heart rate was jumping up on the sprints and I was letting it cool down a smidge before heading out for another hill sprint. I love workouts that let your heart rate jump up and down like that.
For you heart rate training buffs out there, this is an awesome way to gauge your fitness level when doing workouts like we last night. It is called a Recovery Test. Basically, what I SHOULD have done (but didn't last night) is on one of my sprints, push myself for that full minute as hard as I could up that hill getting my heart rate as high as it can go and the stopping and seeing how fast it falls within in a minute. I usually do this kind of test on a spin bike but you can do it running too. Sprint hard for as far and as long as you can or if you're doing a workout like last night, 1 minute up a hill works well too. Look at your heart rate and then stop completely. Wait one minute and notice what your heart rate is after that minute. The faster it drops is an indication of how fit you are. For example, I did do this test last week on my own and my heart rate dropped 40 heart beats in a minute. Anything over 20 is considered "good" and I have to admit, my heart rate has never dropped so much so fast in one minute which indicates I am probably in the best shape of my life right now. That makes me feel so much better as I realized that Way Too Cool 50K is less than a month and a half away.
This Saturday's long run will be in Auburn. Yeah!!!!!!! I love running up there so much and cannot wait to pack up Hydie and hit those trails. I wonder what they look like in January? Here are some pictures of what they looked like last August! I will also be sure to bring my camera along this Saturday for some new pics!

And because I cannot disappoint my Peanut fans (and Vans just realized that I am using his photos), here is a picture of the Peanut on a trip to Costco . . . don'tcha just love Costco Yogurt? :-)

TWIN ROCKS

Great news first. The Peanut is doing MUCH MUCH better. Thank you to everyone who has shown some concern. She is up and active and moving and I think a little bit BORED having been home all week. I guess momma and dadda are not that entertaining anymore.

After a long week of minimal running if any at all most days, I met my Fleet Feet running group at Twin Rocks for what was supposed to be a 3+ hour run. I carpooled to the trail head with Garmin, a running friend (Hi! Garmin, thanks for the Peet's today. Next coffee is on me!). I didn't subject him to my personalized Bon Jovi mix CD that I had listened to all the way up hwy 80. Maybe next time. :-)

More good news . . . I am now, once again, the proud owner of another Nathan Hydration Vest. Thanks to Jersey Dad's generosity this Christmas, and Coach Kirk for picking it up for me from the store, I was able to use my new vest during today's run. I think I am going to nickname my vest Hydie. Oh Hydie, how I have missed thee. Before hitting the trails I packed Hydie with the essentials: Gu, Luna Moons, electrolyte water, SCaps, tissue, Tums and Aleve. I was so thankful to have Hydie because the Gu's, SCaps AND the Tums were all consumed on today's run. Apparently whatever new thing I tried for breakfast this morning did not sit well and my stomach made sure to make itself known at about mile 4.

I also realized that just like last summer, I need to bring my phone or camera on my runs again so I can share with all my lurkers readers the wonderful sites I am seeing on these runs. Today's run in particular was gorgeous and since I had never run these trails before, I was constantly stopping and looking around me "oohing" and "ahhing" at all the pretty sites. I was also on Poison Oak alert. Apparently last weekend when my group ran these same trails, half the group came back with Poison Oak. I am highly allergic and do not want Poison Oak so I pretty much ran like Muhammad Ali today . . . on my tippy toes dodging every leaf, branch or twig that was sticking out on the trail. I also washed with Tecnu as soon as I got back to my car. Like I said, I am allergic and will be miserable if I get it. Keeping my fingers crossed.

At the start of the run I felt like I was going to die. I literally felt like my heart was about to pop out of my chest and land in front of me. The stats from my Garmin405 says in the early portions my heart rate max at times was 173. I wasn't sure if was because I had not been on any trails in almost two weeks but someone had mentioned that these trails are really hard to get a rhythm on because there are so many ups and downs and areas where you are almost climbing. I am hoping that was it because I was sucking some serious wind at times.

Fleet Feet marked the course well with pink ribbons and no one was lost. I may have had to pause quite a few times at some trail intersections but overall, a really really great run. Time wise it wasn't quite 3 unless you count the point halfway in where the group stopped, refueled and regrouped. It was close enough. I really liked the trails we ran on today and boy were they crowded! American River 50 Miler and Way Too Cool training has definitely begun for a lot of people!

While I was out battling the trails, Vans and the Peanut were home doing other things. The Peanut likes to delegate and not follow. Good thing her "followers" are of the plastic and furry kind.

The Gang

 She makes them nap on the stairs. 

M.I.A

Hello blog world. I have been M.I.A lately. So M.I.A. that I have not even been blogstalking my favorite blogs lately! My trip to the east coast ended on a sour note leaving a bad taste in my mouth and when I arrived home late Sunday night I found a very sick Peanut.

I had taken 2 days off of work for my trip and then had to leave work again on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to spend it with my Peanut. I am really upset to say she has come down with Pneumonia. The poor thing is miserable and my heart just aches for her. Needless to say, this trailmomma has taken a break from running.

The Peanut has started a round of antibiotics but things are not getting better just yet. Please keep your fingers cross and prayers coming. When a 20 month old coughs so hard she says "owie momma" you will realize how precious health really is and how much you wish you could give your own lungs if only to make them feel better for a few hours.

Unfortunately, we don't have any new pictures of the Peanut because she has not been in a photogenic mood so I will share an early one (or two hundred), a flashback if you will, to when she truly was a little peanut.

First trip to Tahoe at 2 weeks old

First ever glamour shot

KEEP THAT CHIN UP

Yesterday I had a wonderful east coast day. It started with a morning workout on the hotel treadmill. I had the entire gym to myself. Although treadmill running is my least favorite activity, it was convenient.
Next I met this person for lunch:






Jersey Dad drove out from Jersey and met me for lunch (and a blurry picture). We had gluten free pizza!! It was so nice to see him. And then we went to one of my favorite east coast places:






That is right!!! Oh Dunkins how I miss thee!!! It even flurried big beautiful snow flakes for me yesterday while I sipped my coffee.
I miss the east coast so much sometimes. I love California with its awesome trails and great weather but there is something about the atmosphere of the east coast that is just so special. "fugetta bout it!!!" aahhhhh home sweet home.
I have been sending Vans and the Peanut play by play east coast pictures and in return Vans had been sending me Peanut pictures.
It seems that some "chin ups" were required after bath time last night:






She has great strength!!

Today's scheduled long run might have to be split up. I might have to do half on the road and half on the treadmill due to a scary snow covered trail I found that is forcing me to run the streets of Bethlehem. I am a chicken and this town is not very big so . . . . "fugetta bout it!"

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RUNNING SOLO

Trailmomma has left town. I am currently on the east coast (or my coast) for a friend's wedding. Vans and the Peanut are not with me. Yes. I am staying in a hotel and traveling SOLO!! I miss my family so so much but as I sit here sipping a glass of Pinot Noir from the hotel bar, I realize I should have a peaceful and uninterrupted slumber in my nice queen size hotel bed. I should be thrilled right!? Then why does my heart ache just a little? I think this seperation will be good for Vans and Peanut. Both are capable of doing things without "momma." Yet, I miss them.
Not much I can do now. I am here until Sunday and Jersey Dad is making a special trip to meet me for lunch tomorrow. I am very excited to see him. Maybe I will get a picture of the infamous JD!!
Wednesday before I flew out I met my trail group for our Wednesday run. We did almost 7.5 miles with some tempo in the middle. My partner and I got too caught up in his wonderful news that we missed our second tempo set. Whoops!!
I am hitting the hotel treadmill tomorrow as they are calling for three inches of snow but Saturday's long run has been scoped out. Bethlehem PA, where I am right now, has the Sand Island bike path. If I can find it, I hear it is gorgeous. I have not done any snow or cold weather running in quite some time. This should be interesting. Especially since my friend's rehearsal dinner is Friday night.
But I have my Garmin, a hotel map and my phone should I get into any trouble.
I know most of my lurkers "tune in" for the Peanut pictures so I cannot dissapoint.




Having a good time with dad while momma is away.


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WTF?!

I just received the following email confirmation:

"Thank you for supporting Ultra Running and Ultra Signup. Events: American River 50m - 4/10/2010"

Do I have a death wish? Am I crazy? Um, yup and yup. Apparently.
Vans is not entirely on board yet although he said he'd pace me for 3 miles.

This has been a long time dream of mine and yet, I am a bit nauseous at the thought of it. It literally took me two full days to find the courage to click "submit" on the confirmation sign up page. Even now, that it is officially "submitted" I am finding myself weak in the knees and a little dizzy.

Whatever. All I can do is give it my best right? I am training and I am training with a group. Most of my group is also doing this same race so why not? I might never be in the kind of shape I am in right now so I might as well just go for it. I am not looking to "win" and I am not looking to "place." I should take comfort in the fact that no matter what I will "PR" in this event. :-) No. Back to my first ever marathon "goal" my plan is just to finish. I know there will be lots of walking involved and mentally I am just moving aid station to aid station.

Boy oh boy . . . breathe, just breathe.

Like Mother Like Daughter

PEANUT'S FIRST RACE & VAN'S FIRST 5K 2010

What a day what a day!
Up bright and early and dressing an almost 2 year old not to mention getting a not so early rising 37 year old up outta bed really put this trailmomma to the test. We made it however with moments to spare. Not many moments mind you as I was racing with the Peanut to the kids 5 and under 1/4 mile fun run. The weather was moist and a bit chilly but not too bad. The Peanut was in awe of all around her the way she is at every race we take her to. This time however, she was a tad confused as to why she was standing where momma usually stands . . . not to mention there was a giant banana and broccoli right behind her that made her extremely nervous if not slightly confused.

But just like her momma the Peanut "focused" when she heard "ready set go" and surprisingly she took my hand and walked. No running. Walking. We were last behind another little girl who was also quite unsure. The banana turned to go back and watch the finishers but the broccoli walked with us the entire way cheering the Peanut on. Finally about half way into the race she turned to me and said "up momma!" So up she went onto my shoulders and away we went .  .  . picking off the kids in front of us. :-) All in all we were not last and the Peanut had a fantastic time!

Next up was Vans. He was doing the 5K race despite having the manflu earlier in the week. My awesome racing family, I am so proud. They blew the horn and Vans took off. It was a double loop so we got to see him pass a few times and cheer him on. Next thing we knew, he was headed towards the finish! Who IS this person? He finished with a new 5K PR and 3rd in his age group! Woot Woot! Again, look at my awesome running family! The Peanut had a blast, Vans has been on a little high all afternoon after checking his results multiple times on the computer.

I think the race photographers got some great shots of the Peanut and I crossing the finish. I will have to post those when I get them. Until then . . . enjoy some fuzzy iphone pics!

Each finisher gets a foam finger.

My racing family!

TOO COOL

Muddy. Wet. Fun.
     That pretty much describes today's run. The group met at the fire station in Cool bright and early. It was chilly but not too bad. The coaches decided that we'd run the beginning loop of the Way Too Cool course. The first 2 miles of the course are on pavement. I forget how much pavement can hurt sometimes.
Once we got off the road however, we hit mud and lots of it. It rained all day yesterday and so the trails were muddy, slippery and in some cases blocked by fallen trees. I felt like a kid again playing Capture the Flag with my friends. Crawling under and over wet trees, kicking mud up my backside and sucking wind climbing up some pretty steep hills was pretty much all we did for over 2 hours today. We managed about 12.5 miles.
     The coaches had arranged for some veteran trail runners to join and lead us today since our group varies from super fast runners to moderately slow ones. Robert Evans, who was second in the Tahoe Rim Trail 100 was there as well as Mark Lantz who was top 10 in Western States in 2009. Some hard core runners but super nice and filled with a lot of knowledge. Both of them had started their Western States training yesterday. Mind you, Western States is at the end of June. Wow. They said they also ran 20 miles yesterday and were running tomorrow. Again, hard core.
     But they led us through some of the trails that I had run on this summer with the Summer 7 group. I can't describe how it felt to actually know and recognize the trails we ran on today. It actually made me feel like I am a "real" trail runner! :-) The Auburn/Cool area is filled with tons and tons of trails and to know one of them by heart now so that I could take a friend out there and do it on my own is really pretty darn "cool." No pun intended (is that even a pun?).
     Anyway, I thought I'd share some stats from my Garmin 405 since I have really been digging the Garmin Connect program lately. I wear my heart rate monitor when training. Always. It is just a comfort thing to know whether I am really working hard or whether I am just complaining for no reason. Today my Max Heart Rate high hit 177 at mile 5. This is probably where I was thinking "what on Earth am I doing to myself!?" But then we hit a downhill section and that childlike feeling took over. Aaah I love trails.
     Cool is up in some high elevation to begin with but to give you an example of what we climbed today . . . at about mile 9 on my Garmin it says we started at 669 feet. We climbed to 1,631 feet just before mile 12. My bum is definitely saying "hello" right now but in a good way. The best part about running trails vs running on the road is that tomorrow, I will not be sore. Not one bit. I may be tired but the muscle and joint soreness I get from running on the road never seems to come when I run on trails.
     When we finished the run and I got to my car to remove the mud caked shoes I was wearing, I got a text/picture message from home. What a morning!

"Hi Mom. Miss U"

TRAINING RUN

Happy New Year to everyone. Hope you had a wonderful day today. I know I did. I spent the entire day with my family (oh and the Christmas decorations are down and put away, double score).
Tomorrow is my long run in Cool with the training group. I can hardly wait. I love running up there and I don't even mind having to wake up extra early and driving a whole hour just to get there. It also rained all day today so I predict some muddy conditions tomorrow.
This whole weekend is revolving around running for my family. Vans is running a 5K on Sunday and the Peanut is doing her very first race. It is a 1/4 mile fun run where all participants receive a foam finger when they finish! How cool is that. I think they should give adults foam fingers instead of swanky race medals!
Sunday will mean that I will most likely be "cross training" which will really involve me carrying my Peanut for a 1/4 mile because she'll be too scared to run with all the other kidlets. Whatever. Still fun for all.
Today she had a little training run though. She's just like her momma! Enjoy video link below. I am a blog newbie and have no idea how I can post a video . . . any suggestions expert bloggers?

THE PEANUT'S TRAINING RUN