Living Color

It's been a colorful week.

The raspberries are still going crazy in the garden, it's been probably 6 weeks of having a cup or two of raspberries to harvest every day, they are starting to slow down at ripening just now.

The Buffaloes are keeping us busy in and out of the house, between playing outside in the cooler weather, and shedding a ton of hair every day.

And it's October, so the pink is everywhere. Today I went shopping to buy supplies for my upcoming run at 24 hours of Boulder and it was in the grocery store. Even the local paper is pink on Sundays this month. A bit much...

But the highlight of my week was my trip to Estes Park earlier when I hiked around Lily Lake and took pictures. It was low key, I didn't even run 30 miles this week, but I had a nice walk around the lake and took pictures of everything, the ground cover, tree bark, the rocks, trees, mountains, water, everything I could see that was colorful.

Here is a link to the photo album, there are 90+pictures.

I'm looking forward to Boulder, even though the weather could be anything. I ran almost 11 miles today and felt strong. I have so much left, it would be nice if I had a good running day at Boulder. But I want to have fun and enjoy it too, so I'm not going to stress about performance. It's mostly on dirt and there are some short trail sections so I will be doing well to keep my ankles intact.

All I can think of when I look at these pictures is how lucky I am to live here.

I have a busy week ahead of me with a lot of work-related activities. I'm hoping to take a nice 24 hour mental vacation in Boulder next weekend. I promise I won't be so anal that I don't take pictures if the scenery is nice there around the reservoir.

I really, truly, am going to rest after Boulder. I want to recharge my batteries and have a great year next year. I don't have any plans yet and I haven't even thought about any goals or races I want to do. They will come to me over the next few months, I'm sure. After Halloween I'll be hitting the pool and bike and yoga mat pretty hard, along with the weights, through the end of the year.

I intend to have fun at Boulder and I hope I feel good. My friend Eddie is running his first 24 hour race and I hope to see him succeed at his goals. Maybe we'll convince Wheaties Boy to meet us down there and do a bit of cheering from the sidelines. I stocked up on PBJ supplies, yogurt, and vitamin water zero today. I'm ready. Bring it on!!!!

When In Doubt...Dive In!

The old legs are still tired. I ran a tempo run with Wheaties Boy on Wednesday that turned out to be more of a steady state, pushing the legs as hard as they would go without breathing hard. We averaged just about 9 minute pace and I don't know what else to do. The hips were aching and the legs felt like someone was holding me down by the ankles.

Wheaties Boy suggested I get into the pool. And get some massage done. In Fort Collins it's hard to get in to the best massage therapists as they are all booked. Usually Dennis can take care of the minor issues but he's been so busy, he doesn't have time or energy.

Today I got in the pool and swam 500 meters, then ran in the deep water for a while. Only about a 30 minute workout, but afterwards I felt FANTASTIC. I always forget about the water, how good I feel when I swim. So I am going to start hitting the pool several times a week and get this body moving better. There is nothing I can do at this point without making myself more tired. I am running a half marathon on Monday and really, if I can average under 9 minute pace, that's fine. It's another workout.

It's all about rest and getting my body moving smoothly again before race day.

It's Labor Day weekend. Labor Day, for those who actually do the work, and will be working this weekend, too. Don't get me going on a rant right now. I'm going to relax this weekend. I do have some work to do, that never ends, but I had a productive week. When I think about where I was a year ago, I am thankful every day for the decisions I made, the support I have, and where I am now.

Smelling the flowers.

Black Raspberry Margaritas First

I know you want to hear about Badwater and I'm keeping you in suspense. I had a busy day today between unpacking, restocking the kitchen with groceries, and a business seminar, plus it took me a couple of hours just to go through the 800 or so photos I took last week. I will be working on the blogpost over the weekend though.

Tomorrow I am running the Human Race 10K. I went for a 5 mile run this morning, my first since last Sunday in Las Vegas. All the fatigue I had before my trip should be gone by now, I was a complete slug almost the entire trip, with the exception of a 7 miler in west Las Vegas with an accurate 3.2 mile at the end in 22:45. Yes, that's correct. It's an accurate course- a 5K, plus a tenth. I triple checked it. I ran the 7 miles in 54 minutes and change, the first half was uphill.

I admit the fast part was downhill. But I did mile splits of 7:27, 7:00, and 6:47 on my way down and I was nowhere near an all-out pace. I started out comfortable and picked it up gradually. It was at 3000 feet elevation, but it was also 88 degrees when I started. What I'm trying to say is that if it had been a 5K, I would have run it in the low 22s and that would be a fast time for me right now. So tomorrow, running the Human Race 10K, will give me another check on my fitness, at 5000 feet. And it's downhill only from 2.5 to 5.5 miles, the rest is a slight uphill grade, on a loop course.

We have a killer crop of raspberries and black raspberries. I picked about two pints of berries between last night and today. I threw some black raspberries in the blender and made a margarita. A little seedy, but awesome flavor.

I haven't slept well with the hot flashing and it will be another ice pack night. The margarita is cold, and maybe it will make me run faster tomorrow. After the race I meet with a client, and after that I will be blogging away so I can share the stories and photographs from this year's unique race.

Heat Wave and Drama in the Hood

It was a good call to take a few days off, things already feel better but I'm not going to push it, I will take at least this full week off from running. Not that I won't sneak in a few things on my feet...I'm leaving in a week for Badwater and it's been hot here, 99 degrees the other day felt great outside. In the house is different, we don't have air conditioning except in the bedroom and out in the woman cave, so the basement is the only comfortable spot and that's where the girls hang out.

I've been using ice on my sore spots and I even took a little ibuprofen to get the inflammation down, and it all seems to have helped. I am very tempted to go up to Estes Park and hike the trails below Longs Peak soon, get my high altitude fix before I leave for the desert. I finally got on the bike this morning, it felt good, but it was already hot and I only rode for an hour, but it was on hilly terrain. I am being a slug other than walking the girls, but it feels good.

We've had neighborhood drama around here, there's only one rental in our neighborhood and it happened to just get occupied by some very strange new people last week. We've all been watching. There is something strange about people who just moved into a neighborhood, then shoot illegal fireworks off at 12:30 am the night they move in, and have lots of different cars and people coming and going at all hours, even after they've moved in.

They keep their curtains closed most of the time, parked an ugly trailer full of cardboard boxes outside the house, had a pit bull off the leash and wandering around the yard, and claimed it's a service dog when confronted by one of the neighbors, and they have things like big helium tanks or propane tanks that they moved into the garage, and a lot of other junk. Their garage looks like some hoarders have been living there for the past 40 years, but they've been in there less than a week.

The entire neighborhood is on edge since they moved in, and we're hoping they will get kicked out before they either blow something up or the SWAT Team arrives. So far we can't even tell who the actual residents are because we've seen so many different cars and people. Just really WEIRD.

I wanted to go up to Estes this morning but I woke up too early, set my alarm for 4 am and went back to sleep, but slept through the alarm, so I didn't go. If you don't get up there early enough, there are too many people on the trail, it's hard to find a parking spot, and you miss the best light for taking photographs. I'll try to make it up there next week before I go to Death Valley.

I've been having a productive day here, getting some work done and getting things done around the house. I got Iris out for a walk extra early this morning and we caught all the sprinklers going off on our route. She loves to bite the water in the sprinklers and tries to hit every single one in every yard along the way. It's a game- get the sprinklers- and she is totally drenched by the time she's done, and of course she shakes all the water off on me!

The garden and plants are bouncing back after the killer hailstorm. The raspberries are having a great year, and I replanted the beds with tomatoes, peppers, and beans. The flowers in front are starting to come back and the yellows, golds and oranges are starting to dominate as the early season blues and purples fade.

We're supposed to get hit hard with monsoons starting next week, but we'll see if that's an accurate weather prediction. I will be happy for rain, for several reasons, to water the yard so we don't have to do it, to keep the fires from starting up, and for me to run in. I want to be ready for any kind of weather in Cleveland, and September is the rainiest month. A good long run in the rain would be perfect after this nearly 100 degree heat we've been having.

I hope I get enough rain to be sick of it and ready for the heat again by the time I leave for Badwater!

Ain't Skeered...

It's Friday the 13th and a full moon, and Wheaties Boy and I had plans to do speedwork in the cemetery. If there was anything creepy waiting for us, we would just have to run faster!

As far as I was concerned, Friday the 13th already happened yesterday. The water pump on my car sprung a leak, so I had to get that replaced, and then the dishwasher died. Not exactly the kinds of things that you enjoy dealing with, especially when you're living on a limited budget. But...what can you do?

The dishes.

It was freezing again in the morning, this time it was 48 degrees, and I kept my long sleeved shirt on during the warmup. My legs have been toast all week. Actually this morning when I went downstairs to make coffee, it was the first day all week that it didn't hurt my quads to go down the stairs.

I woke up at 1:14 am, and couldn't go back to sleep. At 2 am I gave up, got up, made some coffee, and started reading my e-mail. I got to the cemetery early, I needed to get a good warmup in before Wheaties Boy arrived and I picked up the pace. When he showed up, he said his legs were toast and he didn't think speed was going to happen. I felt the same way and we decided to bag the mile repeats and just run laps around the cemetery. That was perfect. I got 10 miles in at a decent pace, even though it was slow, it was faster than I would have run alone. And Wheaties Boy and I finally had a chance to catch up, we usually only can do that on our recovery laps, warmups and cooldown.

As we ran I was describing my running plans to him and I realized how silly I was, thinking I'd do 100 miles this week. First, I have increased my mileage consistently over the past 4 weeks, so it would be time for an easy week anyway. And then, I don't need a lot of long runs yet. It's only early June. I just raced 5 weeks ago. It made more sense to back off this week, and since my legs have already been worthless all week and I was unable to do tempo or speed as a result, might as well back off the rest of the week and then make next week a reasonable week, but nothing extreme.

I don't know what I was thinking. I need speed more than endurance now. I can run forever but I need to make my legs turn over, and beating the crap out of them with long miles is not going to help that. Lucky that I got a chance to verbalize all this with Wheaties Boy. Sometimes you just need to say it out loud before it makes sense.

So the plan is changed. No long runs this month. I don't need them. In July I can start a few longer runs.

When I got home it was light out and I could see the flower garden when I pulled up in the driveway. It's not as spectacular as it's been in past years, I might have to re-seed for next year, but it looks nice anyway. I went in the house, said good morning to Dennis and the girls as they were waking up, made some breakfast, and went back to bed for a couple of hours.

Now I'm out in the woman cave, turned on the AC because it was like a sauna in here, and Iris is looking out the door, where it's even hotter outside. I gave the girls a bath with the hose earlier. It's supposed to hit 90 degrees.

I've been making some progress this week with getting marketing projects done, and I actually spent 6 solid hours one day doing client-related work. Progress. I have a radio show coming up and then I need to prepare for a presentation I'm giving at the local running store.

I've had the itch to get back to my writing project, and I need to get some of these business projects done so that I can clear space in my mind for re-reading and making sense of all the stuff I have so far, getting back to the main idea I want to convey and what I want people to take away from reading it. That will make a lot more sense instead of what I have now, probably a couple hundred thousand words floating around in unorganized chapters, much of which is redundant. I need to pull it together in a more organized pile that is focused, and then it will be editable. Is that a word?

I need more sleep.

Word of Mouth: Fun Stuff

Let's move on to the fun stuff!

I've been working on a lot of fun stuff for my own business lately, doing the marketing and talking to people is something I really enjoy. My biggest frustration so far has been figuring out how to get in to talk to doctors. They are so busy, and getting past the secretary or office manager sometimes can take earthmoving equipment...might have to get out the tank.

But I'm not in a hurry and I will eventually speak with them, right now my focus is on the clients and word of mouth in the community.

This is the fun part and some of the creative part of what I do, other than developing individual programs and ideas for clients. Radio shows, talking to people, getting the word out, is what's fun, plus spreading what I feel is an important message about taking care of yourself and prioritizing your health.

But the best fun stuff is about running and play...

Wheaties Boy, Bard, Eddie and Chris went down the Grand Canyon and ran the rim to rim to rim a few weeks ago. They got some kickstarter money to make a documentary of their experience. Here is the preview. The scenery alone is enough to make me want to drop everything and get in the car and drive to the Grand Canyon and run off the edge.



Bard started this concept a few years back called "Feed Your Crazy".

I was playing around with a bumper sticker idea I've had for a while and decided to make one, and see if people like it. I only made a small number, they are not back from the printer yet, and they are a little expensive to produce in small numbers. But if there is interest I will print more.

I plan on doing a giveaway soon. More about that later.

Old and New

Halfway through the week and it's been a rough one. Just feeling sort of blah ever since the week began. I'm probably tired from last week's training but it's just been a weird week in general. Ever have those days where everything goes weird? That's what today was like.

I took two days off from running after the Horsetooth Half, and went for a short easy one today. I had plenty of energy but I just didn't feel motivated. I took a nap and spent some time with the Buffaloes, that always makes me feel better. It was cold outside today, there was a cold wind and not a lot of sunshine this afternoon. I've been freezing lately. I got in the hot tub for a while and that helped.

I've been hanging out close to home this week. I got this nasty cold sore on my lip that suddenly blossomed in the middle of last week and it's probably the worst one I've ever had. I think it was from a combination of my workouts- probably the sun exposure to some extent, but also stress. Not just physical stress of the workouts but the emotional stress of last week. Anyway it looks like a crater on my lip, like a meteor crashed there. I could probably charge admission and let people see the 8th wonder of the world.

I'm waiting until it heals before I go out and start talking to more people about my business, I'd hate for somebody to fall into the crater. I have liability insurance, but still...

But seriously, I didn't realize how much it would stick with me, my little encounter last week with one of the HMFICs from my old workplace. All the emotions of anger, frustration, and resentment that I was living with for the year before I quit came bubbling up after that day last week and I was pretty upset for several days afterward, and then some.

I feel better about it all now, and I'm really glad I got a chance to spew some of that to the appropriate individual, but I also realized how important it is to get away from it, and how much it still affects me.

It was funny, though, today I got this email newsletter talking about another impending nursing shortage. I rolled my eyes. Really, they ought to just replace them all with robots and be done with it. Robots don't talk back.

So that's the old.

Then the new: today I was contacted by this creeper on Facebook about my business, it was like he was trying to solicit sex. Totally inappropriate, weird, and creepy. First I went to find out who he was and his profile said he is married and has a kid, and lives in Colorado, but not here in Fort Collins. I blocked him and reported him to Facebook. Who knows if that does anything. But really? That's sick and pathetic. If I ever run into this creep in the ultra world I will warn other women about him, and will let them know what he did.

Yesterday I realized that the check I wrote for the Cornbelt entry has never come through the bank. I don't know if they wait until the end to deposit all the entry checks, or what, but I thought I'd better make sure they received it since the entry deadline was April 15th. I called and they did have my entry, whew!

I am very excited about Cornbelt. I was out in the garage wanting to start packing all my stuff, my table, coolers, chair, and other things I'll need for my 24 hours on the track. But it's still 2 1/2 weeks away. Too soon to pack.

I did get brave and planted some cold season veggies in the raised beds. I'm not sure if it's too soon but I planted some lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, beets, and carrots. We had to cover the new fruit trees the other night when it got cold, but the apricot and apple trees seem to have survived the winter and are looking good.

The weather is supposed to improve and hopefully the wind will blow all the weirdness out of here and things will get back to normal. I'm ready for spring.

Ex-LAX-ers

We spent the past week in Manhattan Beach, south of LA. Flying in and out of LAX makes us Ex-LAXers, right?

Actually LAX is sort of like WalMart but with big glass windows and you fly in and out of it.

It was a perfect week, even though I only ran a total of 5 hours the whole time I was there but probably did 10 to 15 miles of walking a day on top of that. Got some beach action, some swimming, boogie boarding, drank lots of margaritas, ate some great food, hung out with my dad, Ronna (my stepmom), Dennis, and our friend Tami from Arizona. Took tons of pictures, brainstormed with Ronna and Tami about my future plans, more on that soon...

It was completely refreshing and restorative. I didn't even realize how stressed out I was until that first day we got there, Dennis and I were walking along by the water and I burst into tears and blurted out my unhappiness and frustration with everything, it was like the salt air was drawing it out of me, sucking it out and blowing it all away with the wind.

My shoulders were hard as rocks when we got there, now I am relaxed and my neck no longer hurts. I have to go back to work for the next two days and I have wrapped myself in imaginary tinfoil to keep my Zen inner surface where it is, so that I don't lose the benefit of vacation before I get to dive back into my life again on Wednesday.

So I promise to be back and blogging again on Wednesday and will share some of the amazing photographs I took out there, but for now I'll leave you with these few images of my week there.

Happy running,

Alene

Waves

Listening to the waves crash, smelling the salt water and sand, not having to do anything. 

All we've been doing is running an hour in the morning, walking everywhere, and being on the beach. Much needed. 

Hamstring is cooperating so far. It's been cool the past two days and I haven't been in the water, but today is sunny and warm. 

I could stay here forever.

Fresh Air

Yesterday was just about the most perfect weather that you could ever hope for. Sunny, just the right temperature, with just the right amount of breeze. I wish we could capture that sort of day and break it out whenever we're tired of snow, heat, or whatever extended surprises the Front Range weather pattern has in store for us. Today is cool and overcast, and it feels good.

Yesterday I met with a former coworker whom I regard as a mentor for lunch in Old Town, we sat outside in the beautiful fresh air. I pitched some of my disjointed ideas at her, and she had great suggestions for helping me release myself from the vortex I've been swirling in for the past several months. When you're sitting there thinking alone, you get stuck and it's hard to see a way out of the loop. I have various aspects of my plan that need to be pulled together, and a lot of people to talk to.

It feels good to be looking at a positive path instead of endlessly venting my frustration. That's still there, but it's being diverted in a productive way.

I do need to get past this week, though, because I'm limited on running time and still in desperate need of sleep. I'm getting my thyroid checked again tomorrow because I feel like I'm not quite right. Too exhausted in the afternoons, a little more weight gain than I'd expect, and difficulty focusing. We'll see where it is. It might just be stress, but I want to know. I only ran 5 miles yesterday, but my legs did feel a little better having more rest. I think I need to just take it easy the rest of this week and do short, easy miles each day. The body responds when it's ready.

I might not be getting a lot of running in, but the weather is perfect for working in the woman cave.

Keeping Me On My Toes

I went for a bike ride with Connie, one of my coworkers, on Monday, down to Boyd Lake and into Loveland and back. It was a warm morning, the day ended up being hot, in the 80s by afternoon. First thing in the morning I took Iris for a walk and found myself running, but it was already really warm and she couldn't go very far. Looks like I'll have to start taking the girls before the sun comes up. The sprinkler stops won't be as frequent given our watering restrictions. I might have to hose the girls down before we leave the house.

I wonder if not getting as many miles as my body was capable of in the race has made me less tired. It's hard to tell because sometimes you think you feel good soon after a race and then you can overdo it, and set yourself back. I've learned to be on the conservative side of this. Three weeks minimum. If I'm crawling out of my skin, that's okay. Speaking of rest, and patience, the universe sometimes delivers these messages in cruel ways.

I was supposed to get together this week with another Connie, my friend from the running club, to have coffee and just catch up. She's been recovering from knee surgery and hasn't really gotten back to running. I thought I'd hear from her during the day on Sunday and never did. Then Monday morning I was on Facebook and saw a message from her daughter, saying Connie had been in a bike accident and had surgery Sunday night for a hip fracture and other injuries.

Fortunately her daughter was able to get to the hospital and let them know before the surgery that Connie is an athlete, which changed the way the surgery was done, and was there to advocate for her afterwards, reminding the nurses and other staff that her mom is not an old lady, that she should be treated as the younger, stronger, healthier person she is compared to other people her age.

I got in touch with her daughter Monday morning and later in the day went over to the hospital to see her. Connie's husband was there, he'd been out of town when the accident happened, but flew back early in the morning. Connie was groggy from the pain medications and finally they had her pain under control so she was able to sleep. She is stable and recovering, but she's at the beginning of a long road. She wasn't hit by a car, she actually tipped over on her bike while trying to get a water bottle out of the cage, and fell hard on the asphalt.

These things can happen at any time, to any of us. It's important to remember every day that we are so lucky to have our health and fitness and be able to do the things we do, because it's not guaranteed. I'm so glad Connie wasn't hurt worse, I'm thankful for helmets, and that her injuries were things that can be fixed and rehabbed, so she will be able to resume doing the things she loves.

The other lesson that comes out of this is rest. She is going to have to take a long rest, she'll be working hard with physical therapy and getting her strength back, but it's going to have to be in moderation so she heals properly. It will take a lot of patience and mental discipline, which is hard for some runners to do. Disciplining yourself to hold back at times, and knowing when it's okay to work harder, is an art in itself.

It's a reminder that after a hard racing season, or any time when your body is telling you, "Enough!" to listen to the clues it gives you. Sometimes it's tempting to go do those extra miles or extra cross-training, but it takes self-discipline to know that at the most it won't make any difference, and might actually do more harm than good.


When I arrived home yesterday afternoon from visiting Connie, there was a package on my doorstep from Pearl Izumi. The M3s. They are road training shoes, with midfoot stability. My wide foot on the left always gives me problems, there are few shoes with toe boxes wide enough or without material that doesn't hit me in a way that compresses my surgically altered foot. They feel good, very comfortable and well-cushioned.



The weather is about to turn back toward winter, in time for May 1st. That should be expected by now. Eighty-three degrees yesterday, snow tonight. I can see green leaves on the lilac bushes out my window. Last year at this time they were already past full bloom and fading. The leaves have not popped out on the cottonwood trees, but they will any day.

Doing What's Right for You in the Rest Cycle

I'm making gradual progress toward recovery. I was super sore after North Coast, but in my upper body, not my legs. I'm guessing it was from fighting the wind. My shoulders, neck, and low back were sore. At some point in the race Andy Lovy told me I was leaning forward too much. I tried to pay attention but then in a video I saw of myself at a point late in the race, I was leaning forward, my butt sticking out too far. My butt and hips were sore, more on the left side than the right.

Now everything is slowly working itself out, I spent some time soaking in the hot tub Wednesday and yesterday, and stretched while I was in there. I've walked the girls each day, but nothing else. Today the weather looks more promising and I plan to get out on the bike, at least for an easy spin. I work the entire weekend so that will keep me out of trouble. Next week I'll get on the bike more than my feet.

My recovery plan includes at least 3 weeks of primarily NOT running. I'm looking at the Houska Houska 5K as my first "race" of the summer season, and breaking in my Pearl Izumi M3s. I never took any quality recovery time last fall after Oklahoma and I was feeling it by this spring. It's always worked well for me to take a break about every six months and do no running for a week or so before I slowly get back to it. Usually I take a whole month to avoid "training", which means I'll go for runs but nothing long or hard, just easy jogging. I'll ride the bike and sometimes rack up the miles there, but no intensity.

Some people like to get right back into running after they race their last race of the season, but I've always felt it's important to get completely rested, both mind and body. Taking the focus off of the grind of the daily workout is as important as giving your muscles and soft tissue a rest. I can find myself getting mentally burned out toward the end of training, and the rest period helps this. I can tell I'm in a good place mentally, because I already can't wait to get started again.

I'd love to run out the door and go over to the track to hammer out some miles or 400s as soon as the soreness goes away, but that will have to wait until June. The break will build up a hunger to work hard when the time comes. Letting go of the fear of losing fitness is an important lesson that runners need to learn. If you lose anything at all, which is doubtful, it will be quickly made up in the first few weeks of training again, and your body will respond better as a result of the rest cycle.

That's what works for me. Everyone finds what works for them, but I think there are a lot of people who push themselves too hard for too long and then get stale and have mediocre results. That's what I was experiencing myself this spring, but my goal has been to build up strength for later in the year. When I keep myself focused on the long term plan, what happens in the short term is all about strength, mental focus, learning, and experience. It requires patience and believing in one's training.

Last night I went over to Runners' Roost and Scott Jurek was there making an appearance because he was in town to speak on a vegan panel at CSU. He went for a short run with the Wednesday night running group and then signed copies of his book before he left. I took a lot of pictures on other people's cameras of them with Scott. I spoke with Scott's wife, Jenny, about races, while people were lined up getting his autograph. Scott seemed like a very personable guy, even though I didn't actually talk to him, there were too many people lined up waiting.

There was a good turnout and I wish there was that big of a turnout for the Wednesday night runs all the time. I haven't attended many myself, half the time I work Wednesdays and then many of the other Wednesdays I was running my tempo runs. I couldn't help taking the above picture of that t-shirt. I love it.

I saw Cat last night, she was lamenting the fact that all the trails are still full of snow. We were trying to figure out how long it might take for it to melt. It's supposed to be in the 70s this weekend, we'll have plenty of mud to dry up first. Judging from the dog poop in our backyard that was in the snow, the trails aren't dry yet. The poop is still too soft to pick up. The true test: When the dog poop gets solid enough to pick up without falling apart, the trails will be dry enough to run on. Or something to that effect...

Spring seems to be back. We still have a pile of snow in the front yard over the flower garden. All of the flowers that came up before the blizzard are trashed, but the wildflowers will probably do great in a few weeks. I saw in the paper that the snowstorm helped our snow pack so much that the city is considering partially lifting water restrictions. I think that's pretty dumb, City of Fort Collins, considering that we are still in a major drought. As soon as they lift the restrictions, we won't get any more rain and we'll dry up like last year. We should have been on watering restrictions for years.

The other night I officially signed up for 24 The Hard Way in October. I am totally psyched for that race. Plus I know a lot of people who will be there, it will be fun, intense, and there will be tons of competitive support among the runners.

I also started looking at tuneup races in August and September. I think I found one, the Badgerland Striders in Wisconsin have a 12 hour event at the end of Auugust, on Labor Day weekend. I looked at the map and costs, it looks like it would be a fairly reasonable trip to fly to Milwaukee or Chicago. I have to work Labor Day, so it will have to be a quick trip.

It's time for me to get off my ass and start moving this morning, I'm getting the Buffalo staredown. It's sunny and almost 50 degrees, and purple flowers are popping out in the wildflower garden. I'll need to find my sunglasses, in case I look down at my white legs. Happy running, walking, hot tubbing, or whatever you're doing to get off your own ass this weekend!

Peep of the Day

I'm taking the day off from running. The Surly is in the shop for a tune up, I'm getting some work done, and it's a gorgeous day. What better way to spend the afternoon than hanging out with the girls? Enjoy.

When The Best Laid Plans Hatch...

...sometimes there are rotten eggs.

Since I've been on the topic of spring, and peeps, the best laid plans can hatch something unexpected. I was definitely WAAAAAY too ambitious in my running plans this week.

I thought it would be a good idea to do an 8 hour run today. I planned on taking it easy and including my break times in the 8 elapsed hours to see what my mileage was.

I woke up early, at 5 am, and decided to get going. I went to the lakes to start my run, driving by a fiery sunrise. It was cold near the water and I kept my warm clothes on for the first 3 hours. It always takes me forever to warm up, until it's 70 degrees.

I should have known better when I was sore through Wednesday and my legs were dead in Thursday's workout, and Friday's run was mediocre, that a long run Saturday was a bit premature. Well I figured that out the hard way this morning. I was moving well but it seemed like it was taking more effort with every loop to make my legs move. I thought maybe some food would help, so after the 5th loop I stopped and made a sandwich and ate it as I walked.

It didn't help. Two more loops and I was toast, again. This is the feeling I've had all week. I guess I needed more rest after the Walmart run. I didn't do a lot of miles, but my workouts have been pretty intense, with strides and fartlek and hills. So the total for this morning was 4 1/2 hours and 23 miles. Not what I wanted, but I haven't had too many bad workouts this spring.

I thought I might get 90 or more miles in this week. Sh-yah! And monkeys might fly out of my butt!



Right now I'm at 56 miles and tomorrow is my hill day. It's okay, and the lessons will be repeated until they are learned.

I came home, made an S-Cap smoothie, and hung out with the girls. And...Iris is obsessed with Peeps. I wonder where she got that from?

A Real Run

I did my longest run yet in the 2 weeks I've been running again, 40 minutes. I feel like I took 10 years off my body, or I'm running in someone else's body.

I have started to drop a little weight, just 4 pounds so far but I can feel it in my clothes and I have a little less to pinch around my waist.

Running feels a lot easier than it did before. I feel like a runner again, my legs turn over so much more easily, I feel like my posture is better, and my form is better. I didn't realize how tired I was before. My pace is faster without even trying.

This weekend we had our first taste of real fall weather and it was refreshing- it rained and was cold yesterday. I didn't even force myself out to go run in it. I did yoga instead.

Then I spent the rest of the day cleaning out my junk, I have two closets that were full of stuff, unorganized chaos that was expanding by the day. I pulled everything out- running gear, art supplies, books, dust, dog hairballs, and I vacuumed and dusted and got rid of stuff, I can walk in my bedroom closet again, and it felt so good!

I was thinking on my run today, that I am learning a lot from this break, more than I thought. First, I am enjoying having a life again. I don't feel like I have to get out there and put the miles in or run at a certain effort.

But what is more important is that I am realizing how much better my body feels with the cross training and different activities. I am so much more flexible- I feel it when I get out of bed in the morning. I used to hobble around like an old lady, my calves, achilles, hamstrings and glutes would be so tight in the morning that I'd walk around stiff until I took a hot shower. Now I take that first step out of bed in the morning and I don't have to shuffle around, my ankles bend the way they are supposed to.

The other thing I'm finding is that the stress of training so many miles and so slowly was not so good for my weight- I think a combination of being so tired all the time and working at such low intensity made it hard to burn calories and eat the right amount. Now I'm not hungry all the time and I'm able to get through the day without having to eat every couple of hours.

I love doing long runs and there are more adventures I'd like to do. When I'm ready.

Dusting

Forty-six degrees this morning! As much as I like hot weather, I'm ready for a break.

I am now at the end of 3 weeks of an 8 week layoff from running. I have to say I don't miss it yet. I have been cycling and painting. Going out to lunch or on bike rides with friends I haven't seen. Going for bike rides with Dennis. Going up to the cabin with Dennis and playing with the dogs. Dusting.

Dusting???!!!

You never realize it until you move things around how much dust accumulates over time. I had to take all the paintings off the walls when we had our roof done. I thought of my brother, cleaning up after the haboob in Phoenix.


Running and training all the time, to the exclusion of most everything else, creates haboobs in your life. It's only when you stop and shake things up that you see so much dust everywhere.

I've been telling people that I've been off running for three weeks and I haven't hurt anybody yet. But really I am okay with it.

I started physical therapy, and that is some work. It hurts after I do those exercises, standing on a pillow and balancing on my bad ankle. It will be worth it though, even if it takes months. I have to work hard at this, since it takes a lot of stress to make my ankle hurt. Most people would be happy that their ankle only hurts after 40 or 50 minutes of running. But for me, I'm not even warmed up!

Painting has been great. I haven't worked on anything serious, just warming up by playing with cactus and colors and seeing where that takes me. I have some paintings in the local Senior Center this fall.

I'm having fun on the bikes, exploring some new rides. I hope that once the weather changes and it gets cold on the bike I'll be able to run enough to keep me challenged. Riding a bike indoors for hours is something I don't particularly enjoy. There's always deep water running too, which isn't much more exciting than riding a bike on a trainer.

It is such a nice break, it helps me clear my mind and get re-centered. As important as running is to me, it's a good reminder to stay well-rounded. There is so much to enjoy in life besides just running!






Everyone asks me, when's your next race? I don't have anything on the horizon. I am not planning anything at all through the end of this year. I'm looking at doing some of my own adventures next year, planning them myself or with some friends, instead of doing a lot of races. As far as racing, I am looking at some sort of multiday fixed time event toward the end of 2012, probably Across the Years.

If I enter any shorter races, they will be close to home, inexpensive and easy to plan for, most likely some 100-ish mile runs or a 24 hour run. I might even jump in a 50 miler or 100K at some point, if I find something new and interesting. I just want to have fun, see some different places, and think about what's next. I'm looking ahead at 2013 and 2014 and preparing for that more than anything. I'd like to do something big to celebrate my 50th birthday.

R-E-S-T

There was a thread this week on Woofie's ultra list about taking time off. I'm re-posting my post there on this blog. I think it applies to everyone! So here it is:

Speaking of my favorite four letter word...

I love R-E-S-T!!! I always look forward to my time off after I've been training for a while for an event. It gives me a chance not only to rest my body, but my mind too. I feel it helps preserve my enthusiasm about running ultras, which can take so much time out of my life. I've been running ultras for 20 years and if I didn't take periods of time off from running, I wonder if I would have lasted this long.

When I started running 27 years ago, I started like many "born again" runners- with 10Ks, progressing to road marathons. I was quite competitive back then and beat the crap out of my body, didn't eat enough, didn't rest enough, and was injured more of the time than I was healthy. Being in my 20s it was easy to bounce back. If I was trying to do that now, it would likely do a lot more damage. Fortunately I met some ultrarunners 7 years into my running "career" and that changed everything.

As I've gotten "older" (I'm 47, started running ultras as an infant of 27) I have changed my approach and philosophy about running ultras, and my training has evolved with my interest in doing longer events. I've weathered the usual assortment of injuries, mostly occurring BEFORE I started doing ultras, an autoimmune health condition that causes severe fatigue if I overdo it, a couple of career changes including going back to school, and periods of pure mental burnout, where I've said "I'm retiring from ultras after this". Of course that only lasts a few weeks, until the next interesting event I hear about...

I find that what pushes me to burnout seems to be the final 8 or 10 weeks of training leading to my goal event for the year- so I only have one of these big "goal races" per year, everything else is a training run. Seeing my other races as training runs helps me avoid burnout, I can relax my approach and I don't run myself into the ground.

The other factor I see contributing to burnout in many runners is their dependence on running for their social lives. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, I love runners and most of my best friends are runners. However it's important to diversify your social circles because it's important to expand your horizons...every so often we need to pull our heads out of our, well, you know... and remember there is a big world out there that doesn't know running, and we live in it, too. It is so refreshing to have a conversation about something other than running, isn't it? I *SOOOO* appreciate my running buddies who can talk about things besides running.

I look forward to staying in this sport as long as I can keep moving forward. The fact that I am moving forward AND looking forward after 20 years in this sport is due to periodic rest.

Rant: Running for the Long Haul

I feel a rant coming on.

Maybe it's lack of sleep but at this point I only owe the sleep bank three hours, so that's probably not it. It's not PMS either. I feel this need to say something, because I am concerned about some of the runners in my life (at least three at this moment) whom I care about and I want to see them continue being able to run. But this applies to almost any woman runner, and a lot of men too.

So consider this a rant coming from a place of kindness, and caring, and concern. Here it goes:

Ultras are a gift to the body, not a punishment. I totally disagree with the "that's crazy, let's do it" mentality. I don't do ultras because I'm daring myself. I don't do them to beat the crap out of my body. I do them for the enjoyment and what I get from them, which are unique experiences shared with other unique human beings that I hope I'll be able to continue to have for a long time.

I've been running for nearly 27 years, ultras for 20 years. As long as I'm physically able, I intend to continue this.

I could care less about where I place in the pack. I have no interest in being competitive anymore. Interestingly, I still place pretty high at times, when I have a good race, without trying. I certainly don't plan on it, but I seem to hit those good races more often than a noncompetitive runner would expect to.

People say to me all the time,"I don't know how you find the time to train for ultras."

"I could never put in that kind of mileage."

"Marathon training is so painful, I could never imagine training for ultras."

"How does your body hold up?"

Hmmmmm. How does that work? Let's think about this together.

I averaged 48 miles a week prior to the Keys 100 for 4 months. I finished in 26 hours and change.
I averaged 47 miles a week prior to the Lean Horse 100 for 3 1/2 months. I finished in 28 hours and change.
Wanna see my weekly mileage trend from the Keys to Lean Horse?

Here it is, in chronological order, starting with the week after the Keys 100 race.
week 1: 6 miles of running, 14 miles of walking
week 2: ran 33 miles
week 3: ran 36 miles
week 4: ran 38 miles
week 5: ran 50 miles
week 6: ran 75 miles (including a 30 mile training run)
week 7: ran 70 miles (including a slow Leadville Marathon in 7 1/2 hours)
week 8: ran 19 miles (worked, then on vacation in Phoenix, traveled to Death Valley)
week 9: ran 10 miles (in Death Valley for Badwater, caught up on sleep afterwards)
week 10: ran 85 miles (including a 50 mile training run)
week 11: ran 70 miles (including 5 x Rock Repeats for 22 miles)
week 12: ran 70 miles (including a 33 mile training run)
week 13: ran 41 miles (including 3x rock repeats for 13 miles)
week 14: ran 21 miles (week before Lean Horse)
week 15: Lean Horse week. Ran 106 miles total including the 100 mile race.

Only five of those 15 weeks were somewhat high mileage, and only because I did long runs those weeks. In the middle I took two weeks easy, since I was traveling and busy doing other things. Hardly obsessive.

There is so much more to life than training all the time. People think what I do is obsessive but really, I am about the least obsessive runner I know out of all my friends. I know how to get down to business when it's time to focus on a goal I've set, but I also know how to let go of the need to constantly pound out the miles.

This fall I plan to take September mostly off, with cycling as my cross training. If the weather doesn't cooperate, well too bad. I'll ride in the rain or I'll just take the day off.

Sure I plan to run Across the Years in late December and I'll get serious sometime in October, but I'm not going to worry about it. I'll do a couple of long training runs around Halloween and Thanksgiving, but other than that, regular mileage applies.

This week, after my race, I'll concentrate on letting my feet heal and not worry about fitness. I won't lose much in a week. Nothing noticeable anyway.

I can only run a lot of ultras for a couple of years before my mind and body tell me I need a break. Fortunately it's usually my mind first. I tend to get burned out on training all the time, I miss my other interests, I miss doing things with my family, and I feel like I need to back off so many hours of training and preparing to train and run races.

On the physical end of things, I have never had a stress fracture. Never missed a menstrual cycle due to low weight. Since starting ultras, any injury I've had is due to a mishap, like a sprained ankle, not due to overtraining.

And I eat. I carry a little extra weight, not so much because I eat, but because I do have thyroid issues, and to look at the body type of my ancestors, they were not fat, but short and solid, more of a muscular build as they got older.

Because I would rather have a few pounds extra for my bones as I get older, I don't worry obsessively about weight. Sure I'd love to feel light on my feet again and fit in my smaller running clothes, but that is less important to me than staying healthy. I am thankful that despite my increasing middle age vanity about things like hair color, I have never been one of those skinny at any cost people. Whenever I've been skinny, it's been because my thyroid is out of whack.

Sure I do think about weight and in the back of my mind I view my body image in the same way as nearly any woman brought up in this culture. I go back and forth in my own mind, thinking I'm too fat at times. Somehow I've managed to have some of my best running performances when I was at my heaviest weights. I've tried to re-train myself on those matters. And I've managed to avoid a lot of the pitfalls of being too skinny, not eating enough, and falling apart.

That's where the concern for my friends comes in. I see them making the common mistake of too many miles, not giving your body a break, thinking you feel good after a long race without allowing the healing that has to happen at a microscopic level in the soft tissues and bones to take place, the probable but unknown effects on your immune system, the risk for mental burnout, the cost to families and individual lives.

When you feel good now, it might be a function of your great fitness. But it can be tricky. Often runners say they felt great right before they got sick or injured. Feeling good now does not mean that all is good inside. The body has it's own wisdom and we can try to avoid it but eventually it will get us.

If runners are not able to cut back on miles or take necessary care of their bodies, they are running for something beyond the enjoyment of running, and it is most likely an addiction, and no, it's not a "good" addiction. It's just a different drug. And it's rooted in a fear, which is related to body image, fear of losing something youthful about appearance, fear of running a little slower, fear of having a little fat on the body or weighing a certain number of pounds, in the brainwashing so many women have endured.

Those fears lead to overtraining, fear of taking a break because they might gain weight. Fear of losing a little fitness, as if once it's gone, it will be gone forever.

Guess what, fitness is a renewable resource. It's like money. You can always find more of it, you just have to be motivated to get it.

I think about my health years from now, and I want to give myself the best chance possible to be one of those 80 year old ultrarunners. There are enough pitfalls of getting older, some of which we can't control. But I want to make damn sure my bones hold up in order to do it, and that is something I can control.

Less is more.

End of rant.

Fourth of July weekend

I spent this weekend mostly on the bike, when I wasn't catching up on sleep. I rode 52 miles Friday, went down to Flatiron Reservoir near Loveland. I did fall off the bike once in a spectacular but low speed crash, I was going through Boyd Lake and hit a bump over the road too fast, and my feet didn't come out of the cleats in time. I have a beautiful triangular bruise on my inner right thigh from the seat as a result, but all my skin is intact. I had a soft landing on the grass next to the bike path.

The ride to Flatiron was easy except on my butt. Saturday morning I ran the 5K at City Park and my legs were toast. My mind was even worse. I got through mile 1 fairly fast and it didn't feel too hard, but it felt like I'd already gone 3 miles. So I slowed down and jogged in. I guess my burnout is universal when it applies to running. I have no desire to push myself hard, or to train. I can get out and see nice scenery, like the picture above, on my bike ride near Richards Lake this morning.

Dennis ran great at the 5K, won the master's race. It was a good run for him, he hasn't been training either. Felix had a good run too. I told him about my plans to ride a century this summer, and he suggested that I go check out some different saddles for my bike. Felix inspires me to do longer bike rides with his double century streak. If I could do even half of what he does, I'd feel like superwoman!

Dennis and I spent the weekend playing with the girls, and Isabelle's 8th birthday was today, so they got doggie ice cream and we played at the park. And of course I made my trips to the sauna each day. It's been in the 120s in Death Valley, could be a hot year. Will it hit 130?

I am going to run the Mountain Avenue Mile in August here in town. And then I am thinking about going down to Arizona in September to run a 50K on the Hopi reservation, mostly for the scenery and the road trip. If I do that, I'll have to do at least a little running after I get back from Badwater. Maybe I'll feel like it by then. And if not, there's nothing wrong with a long hike in the desert.

On my run last weekend with Cat, we were talking about how hard it is to rest, and back off of training schedules. We runners are so driven, and so highly self-motivated and self-disciplined, that we lose sight of how important it is to rest.

We think it's important to work hard all the time so we feel guilty when we don't stick to our schedule and we're not putting in much effort. We aren't used to being slackers, we're not the type who go to work and sit on our butts and draw a paycheck. So when it comes time to rest and back off, we don't know how to do it.

I go back to work tomorrow. Just three days of work, then I go out to Death Valley on Friday. I'll be flying to Las Vegas, driving to Pahrump, and then into Furnace Creek Sunday before the pre-race briefings start. It will be so fun to see everyone!