Speedgoat 50K

Well, this was my year to run the infamous Speedgoat.  I first volunteered for this race in 2010 when I first started getting into the IDEA of running ultras and thought it looked hard.  In 2012 I was ready to race, but was plagued by a healing stress fracture that would surely get worse running the ups and downs of this course.  By this time I had a good idea of what type of pain was being handed out by this race and it's director, Karl Meltzer.  This year it was my turn and while my friends thought I was crazy and constantly reminded me of the brutality, it was decidedly one of the races I would dedicate myself to.  I could handle the pain...at least it wasn't Softrock, right?

The morning of the race I wasn't nervous.  I knew it would hurt and just wanted to give it a solid effort, so off we went!
The first ascent up to Hidden Peak went really well.  I ran and hiked, keeping up with some familiar faces.  I frequently saw Nick in switchback above me, but had no idea where my other friends were.  I ended up topping out at Hidden Peak (~mile 8.5) in a little over 2 hours.  I felt strong and was informed that I was the second HUMR up the hill.  Cool!  That felt good.  I saw Jo, Karen, Jim, Alyssa, Aric, Zach, and many other beloved faces.  I was charged and, as such, I charged down the hill to the pretty part!  I was very much looking forward to racing through the flowers.

BJ and Lori were in the flowers snapping photos.  I remember commenting on BJ's epic mustache being my favorite in the whole wide world and ran off without listening to his response.  I know, I can sometimes be awkward.

Running down into Larry's Hole went fine, as did down into American Fork, oh, except for the boulder filler rock bed.  It was during this tragic and terrible technical descent that Ryan flew past me like a bowling ball going at least a million miles an hour.  Perfect.  That knocked my confidence down, but Ryan is cool...he's allowed to pass me.

Roch Horton was down in Mary Ellen and this is when it started to drizzle.  Roch proclaimed over his kingdom of volunteers to "treat me like royalty" and I got the worst Popsicle flavor (orange) and ran off.  The ascent out of American Fork was slow and full of deceit.  I would feel like we had to be at the top and then we would have another climb.  It was during this time that I felt others were gaining momentum and I was stagnant.  One or two girls that I had been running with had left the aid station before me and a new girl I hadn't seen before left me in the duct.  Perfect.  Girls were not allowed to pass me, but I guess they didn't get the memo.  At any rate, Larry's hole the second time through was fine.  I was informed that I was running around 9th or 10th woman, but know I didn't have enough in my legs to put up a fight to the finish.

At this point I realized that I have probably been under eating and drinking.  I think the fact that aid stations were close together, but up mountain (and therefore took a long time to get to) really messed up any eating/drinking "strategy" I might have contemplated.  I realized this when my legs didn't necessarily hurt, but felt empty and devoid of energy.

Two miles to the tunnel brought be up Baldy and Amie Blackham passed me.  She obviously didn't get the memo, but she is awesome and duly forgiven ;-)  The "run" up baldy was about a step per 2 seconds.  There was no trail to speak of and I almost fell backward a couple times.  Amie (and others that passed me) hiked SO strong!  Note to self: More climbing is needed in my weekly routine!

This was my darkest hour.  I thought about quitting.  I wanted to place higher in the women's field.  I contemplated the advice my good friend, Breein, gave me the night before the race... to remember why I race; to have fun.  Was I having fun?

As I approached the summit I hear Lori and Lindsay cheering for me and was so truly happy to see them.  After the HUMR photo shoot I confided in Lindsay my devious plans and physical distress.  I forgot who said it, but one of these beautiful people said, "You can't quit, you're our girl!"  And that was that.  Good point.  So, I pulled up my big girl panties and headed down the trail.  I love this part of the course.  See epic picture with awesome weather and Aric the Sasquatch below.

At the tunnel I ran into Renee, Katherine, and Shane Martin.  Shane said something profound and inspirational (or maybe I was just thinking about him finishing Hardrock 100 not too long ago) and off I went with a Popsicle in hand.

The decent down two miles was forgettable, except for one instance that proved Scott Jaime right...re: women peeing on the trail.  The ascent up Ridge trail was difficult, but pretty awesome.  I passed a few guys and felt confident as I have hiked this trail a few times...I knew what was coming next.  100 yards (or so) before the summit I ran into beautiful Breein and "Dud to stud" Jared and they kept me company to the top where they informed me that they were waiting for someone else to run in.  Typical.

At this point I knew I could beat my goal of sub 8 hours, but I'd have to run it in.  It was too cold up at Hidden Peak and no one (Larry Adams) wanted to give this sweaty, stinky girl a hug (I was elated to see everyone).  Thanks Jim and Karen!  Off I went down the mountain.  I saw Lori one last time on the way down, but basically ran strong.  I few crazy guys passed me a crazy descents going way too fast for their own good, but I also caught another.  This is cake.  I've practically forgotten my sorrows and am dead set on a finisher's medal, cold PBR, and pizza, OH and a chair.

I finished right at 8 hours.  My watch says sub and official says 30 seconds over.  That's 8 hours in my world.  Thank you to all that supported me with cheers and love on Saturday.  You make the race and bring such job to my heart!

P.S.  I did have fun!

Pagosa Springs: Act I & II

Let me set the scene:

When my good friend Kenzie informed me that her wedding was going to be in Pagosa Springs, CO, I swiftly began to Google to see if any races were going on the same weekend.  I knew it was a long shot, but lo and behold there was a trail marathon that morning.  The Turkey Track Trail Marathon. http://www.joingecko.org/info.asp?uid=313  After confirming that the wedding would be in the evening, I registered Nick and I for the race...we're making the most of this vacation.  (Aside:  I know I'm not the only person that does this, but I do believe that this is a problem... Oh well, we all have our issues.)

We drove to Moab, UT Thursday night, set up a tent, woke up with the sun and set off to Durango, CO.  After a bit of cowboy shirt and trail shoe shopping, we continued on to Pagosa.  It was a beautiful drive!!!

ACT I

YEA!  The race starts at 8AM...we'll come back to this later...

The plan was for Nick to run with Sage so that I didn't have to worry about poop scooping, etc... and I could race it.  The race was all single-track through pines, meadows, and aspen trees, but with no scenery climax (...like a mountain overlook..).  This was fine, though.  Single track within the first 6 miles of a race can be challenging, but we all settled in eventually.  I was following a female without any water or handhelds, so I thought for sure she would be done after one lap, but when we hit mile 13 and flipped around I could see she was heading back out, too.  This was a cool way to see where the field was and how spread out everyone was.  I was in fourth place (female) about 0.5 miles behind 3rd female with 5th and 6th within 0.7 of me.  But as most marathons go, mile 13 re energized me and the count down began!  

Mile 13-19 was strong and fun!  I didn't pass anyone, but there was no way anyone was going to catch me, either.  Mile 19 brought an AS with the most adorable older adults with cold, wet towels.  After the milking that towel for all it was worth, I was ready to finish strong (...so I thought).  I did just fine until mile 22.  At this point I was closing in on noon and it was HOT!  These trees offered spotty shade, as in no real shade. I did my best to drink as much as possible, but I feel like I probably could have used much more COLD water and more salt.  The last four miles were pitiful and I am not proud, but I ended up finishing strong and placing 3rd overall female, 1st in age group (one of the top girls got lost).  Basically until mile 22 I was on point to finish in a 3:50, but ended up at 4:07.  Oh well.  

Nick finished within 20 minutes with one tired pup and we gorged ourselves on popsicles and ice water... There was beer and burgers, but it was a little difficult to eat in that heat!  PLUS, we had to get to a wedding!

ACT II

Wash dog in hotel tub.  Filthy!!!  Wash self in shower.  Filthy!!! But, clean up nicely, huh?

The wedding ceremony was lovely.  It was on Kenzie's Family's property with a river and lake, complete with EPIC rope swing for drunk wedding goers and bonfire pit.  We last until 10PM...basically right after we ate dinner and hopped on the shuttle to head back to the hotel.  CRASH.

The End.

Pacing (literally) Bryce 100

As it usually does, pacing this past weekend went great.  Harrison did, in fact, run me into the ground, but I was able to keep up and literally paced his race from mile 66 on. I saw Harrison at mile 25.5 (Blubber Creek AS) and he and Jon were looking strong.  By the next time I saw them (Mile 50) both boys looked a little worked and I had the sense that Harrison had a rough patch sometime between 25.5 and 50, as often happens during these distances.  

Around 9PM (plus or minus), Harrison's mom received a text from Kathleen in Pennsylvania relaying the message that Harrison was feeling good, was 2 miles out, and not to go easy on him.  "OK!"  I readied my hydration pack and started mentally preparing for a long night (AKA downed 16oz of coffee/hot cocoa).  The boys did look good and headed out.  We were to see Harrison's parents at mile 90.

Harrison and Jon were a pleasure (ish) to pace.  They are like Tom and Jerry chit chatting back and forth (not as much as usual).  I felt a little left out (mostly because I was listening to music in one ear...a tactic to lessen the blow of the sound of vomiting), but realized I probably didn't want to know what they were talking about anyway.  Harrison did exactly as he said he would; latch right on to my pace and Jon did the same to Harrison.  I fell in the dust once (the boys did not) and I got us lost once (the boys found us).  GREAT job, right?  To be fair, we didn't get too far off course and it WAS marked poorly at a sharp left turn.

Proctor Canyon was mile 80 (ish) and by this time Harrison was feeling a little sick and didn't want to wait around the AS very long.  He was now running on broth, Mountain Dew, and Lifesaver mints.  We left Jon caring for his battered feet and off we went!  I will say that Harrison and I RAN all flats and downhills.  I can honestly say that.  We hiked some seriously sneaky uphills.

After a serious climb we descended into King's Campground where Sami woke from a nap by the fire and Harrison's dad met us.  A few quiet words were spoken between them and off we went.  This next section was HARD.  There was about 5 miles uphill, followed by what was supposed to be a 5 mile descent into the finish.  Poor Harrison...  I counted down the miles for him and when the finish line didn't come in any sort of timely fashion after my "1 mile left!" proclamation WE were ticked.  At this point we had no idea how much further we had to go, so Harrison tucked behind me and we ran.

All in all, Harrison was a rock star and I will give myself some credit for a job well done pacing.  We passed some serious people and they never passed us back!  Harrison ended up finishing in 9th place with a 24:34.  His goal was a sub-24, but, by my watch, the course was 4 miles long.  Matt Gunn claims 2, but I'm sticking with 4...maybe it was the little bit we were lost that put us over.  In my mind, Harrison accomplished greatness!

Other stuff:

• Dust was everywhere!  Sage was Pigpen from Charlie Brown and got a bath in the lake prior to leaving
• My shins hurt from sunburn
• I am still catching up on sleep
• That is all.

Thoughts of a Pacer

First and foremost, being a pacer is a privilege.  

• If you are CHOSEN to pace, that means that:
• You are either:
• motivating
• funny
• a good friend, or
• not too annoying to spend exorbitant amounts of time with in the middle of the night
• You are fast enough to either:
• keep up, or
• push the pace
• Expectations:
• Stay up all night long and still be enthusiastic
• Have tricks up your sleeve
• Bring yummy snacks

Above all, in this sport, pacing is a training run, group get-together, all-night party, and YET ANOTHER character building activity (...as if we haven't attained enough of those!!).  With Bryce 100 right around the corner, I am starting to pull together buckets of rubbing alcohol, sponges, glow-in-the-dark bracelets, cow bells, bear-shaped cookies, and camping gear.  I am worried that I won't have enough to talk about, won't be the best cheerleader I can be, and won't be able to keep up (...all of which I know are unfounded...).  

Does anyone else get as nervous about pacing as I do?  This is a lot of pressure!!  I hope Harrison likes mints.

(p.s. I will be pacing Harrison the last 33 miles late Friday night through Saturday morning and I am so excited!!!!  He will do great and I will try my best not to blow too many snot rockets.)

Timp Trail Marathon Weekend

Timp Trail Marathon was the weekend after Ogden Marathon last year.  Last year I P.R.ed at Ogden and ran a 3:11, was on the leader board, and then set a 45 minute course record at Timp the following weekend.  I was on one.  Then I was off!  Most of your know that those two races resulted in a stress fracture in my foot that put me on the sidelines and immortalized me as the best crew person in the world (or atleast I like to think so...).                       

Needless to say, I was a little gun shy entering Timp this year.  My plan was to take it easy and run with friends, but Nick sprinted off without me.  Left to my own devices I would have to deal with my competitiveness and run my own race.  

I should probably mention that it was 50 degrees and raining at the start (not super motivating) and I was too nervous to eat.  At any rate, off we went and I had a pretty solid 13 mile in 2 hours.  Around mile 11 I did think that I was going to freeze to death until I took off my soaked arm warmers and gloves.  My Pearl Izumi Elite Barrier Jacket dries much faster in between downpours than the "warmers" underneath it could.  At this point I thought that I was in 3rd place for females and I was okay with this (remember, my goal was to take it easy and not get a stress fracture).  I tried to stay solid through the canyon, which was absolutely beautiful, walking steep parts and jogging flats.  Last year 2-3 males caught me through the middle section, so I was a little paranoid.  

In my mind, it wasn't until mile 15(ish) or the waterfall crossing that the mud situation began...  And it was  MUD SITUATION!  If you weren't running through puddles, you were weighing your shoes down with 10 pounds of clay mud.  If your shoes weren't cakes in mud while running, they were caked in mud while you were attempting to climb hills and clawing at the brush to help you along.  If anyone asks, mud added at least 20 minutes to my race time and I'm sticking to it!!

Through the freezing rain and mud I actually felt pretty solid the last 6-10 miles!  The mud, though difficult, probably conserved some energy and I was brimming with it at the end.  I ended up finishing 10 minutes (ish) behind the first place woman, and Amie Blackham was 5 minutes (ish) behind me.  I know you are all wondering about my record: still stands!  The first place woman was about 15 minutes off and in the words of Seth Hales, my record is "stout".  I do love this race.  I think to do well you need leg speed for the first have and that you achieve your place before the big ascent at mile 12.  If you stay solid during the rest, you will maintain your place!

At the blog title suggests, this is a story of the weekend...

Harrison had invited me to join him for his last long run before racing Bryce 100 in two weeks, so I drove up to Ogden the next morning, tired but feeling basically fine.  I had a great time chasing down Jon and Harrison with BJ pushing from behind!  We ended up with a pretty solid 16 miler from 22nd St. to Beus, up the canyon, and back.  Jon led the group up Beus where our muscles were strained (more uphill?!?!?!), leg were slashed (literally; bloody scratches today), and our skirts (ok, just mine) were frayed (LOTS of scrub oak!!).  

I went home, got in the hot tub, ate, and took a nap.  My legs were dead!

Lessons learned this weekend:

1. Mud bogs beat dust bowls.  Mud is fun!
2. Jim is a great friend to drive all the way down to Provo to see a finish in the rain!
3. A good friend is someone that runs you into the ground even if you don't deserve it.  Thanks to Harrison, Jon, and BJ.

Zion Crew Race Report: Team Bean Burrito

Team Bean Burrito (TBB) consisted of Jim Skaggs (Runner), Breein Clark (Crew Chief) and myself (Chief Pacer).  Event: Zion 100.  Why is this on my running blog?  Because I ran.  TBB drove down to Zion Thursday after work, hung out at packet pick-up, ate some soup, and dropped Jim off.  Breein and I were going to paint the town red.  However, fundamentalists and double bagged beer made us tired...we went to bed instead.  In the morning, we were practically besides ourselves with excitement at the prospect of giving Jim a dozen donuts for breakfast.  Despite his smile, he managed to let us know that his favorite was not in the box.  

No matter, after dropping Jim off at the start, we went back to bed for an hour or two, showered, found coffee, went 4-wheeling in Jim's Mercedes, got stuck, missed seeing him at mile 19, and barely caught him at mile 31.  BUT WE DID!

TBB-Jim, who was running, decided to chill at the Goodbump AS until Jim returned at mile 58.  He was looking great, was ahead of schedule, and we were afraid that we would be pushing out luck and would definitely have to call AAA.  

Based on previous times, we calculated precisely when Jim would be 3 miles out from mile 58 and I ran out to meet him.  I ended up 5 miles out at a turn in the course as a freezing cold cairn covered in gnats, but it was fun talking with all of the runners.  After waiting for approximately forever, Jim jogged up the hill proclaiming that he FELT GREAT, but had recently had a really rough patch.

Sure enough, we ran back to Goosebump (58) where Jim gave us our team name and ate two bean, rice and salsa burritos...apparently he had been consuming them all along.  I sure had something to look forward to when I was to start pacing at mile 81.

We kicked Jim out of the AS, CHECK YA LATER!, and headed down to Maverick for dinner.  After dinner, Breein and I drove to mile 81 set our alarm for a 2 hour nap and proceeding to get flashed by runners headlamps until the alarm went off at 1:30AM.  Jim ran in at 3:48AM.  He had a great attitude and FELT GREAT and proclaimed to be gas powered.  Perfect!  Let's run (walk)!

The next AS was 2 miles away and we start to catch wind of the BadA AS to come. WhiskeyTown.

These AS people were rad and wasted.  Jim took a tiny catnap by the fire white Breein and I drank all the whiskey.  JUST KIDDING.  Sadly we were not tough enough to drink whiskey on Maverick hotdogs at 5AM.  After WhiskeyTown, we climbed up the last mesa of the race that I am told is similar to Malins Peak in Ogden.  Dawn was fabulous and sunrise was welcome.  Jim was solid until mile 91 and then rocked it.  We basically jogged after 91 and basically ran the last 5 miles.  He looked great!  We all got a little sun, Jim ALSO got the coolest belt buckle ever, and fun was had by all.

Gearing up!

This weekend rocked!  Saturday's run ended up much shorter than originally anticipated because someone said "pizza" right when we got out of the car (at lunch time)...!  But, Ryan, Lindsay, Nick, and I persevered on Park City's Glen Wild trails and had a blast!  Not much mud to report, but we turned back after running into closed trail signs.  After 7.5 miles we were indeed ready for some Fat Boy pizza and the Bloody Bar at Maxwell's!

Sunday, Jim had requested a Salt Lake 20ish miler, so I got a big group of people together for a run starting at the City Creek trailhead.  We motored up to Black Mountain, back down Uncle F****** to Dry Creek to BOSHO, around Red Butte area and back on BOSHO for a fairly epic and lovely 22 miler.  I love Saturdays on BOSHO.  We basically ran into everyone we knew, even some of my old Hope College XC teammates taking a post-breakfast hike on their way through the area.  Rad!

In other news, Sage is sleeping from the weekend's adventures...