I had a great year last year. I ran 5 ultras and won all 5, 3 in course record times. Very exciting for me. This year, I want to be even better! Currently, my BIG goal is a top 10 finish at Western States this June. But it’s still not time to train for Western. Being I’ve never RACED 100 miles, I thought I should try to race a 100 before WS. I picked Rocky Raccoon, this February.  I’ve been training well for this 100 and I’m super pumped to race it in less then 4 weeks. Yippy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I figure the worst case is I come away with a load of things learned to get me thru WS. In order to keep focused, my coach and I decided the best thing for me to do 4 weeks out from Rocky Raccoon was race a 50k…then cover a few more miles after. I really wanted to race the 100k at Bandera this year, but I see the wisdom in not. And I am so glad I followed my coach’s advice and raced the 50k, now that all is said and done. Truly, I super wanted to race the 50k and the 100k for diffrent reasons.

I woke up Saturday morning wishing I had drunk one less glass of wine the night before, (lesson learned for RR!) and feeling super tight in my gluts and hamstrings. My glut/ ham area has been tight for 3 months now. But I am not injured. I think once I cut my miles back for more then a few days, this area will feel good, like the rest of me did Saturday morning.

When the race started, it was nice and cool out. Perfect really- not cold enough for gloves or long sleeves but far from hot. There was a nice cool breeze, too. Honestly, I can’t imagine expecting better weather then that in Texas in January. I’ve started that race in 8* and ran it in the 80′s, so I know better then to complain about the weather being 42-70!!

I ran the first few miles with a group of guys. When we were running down Boyle’s, the lead guy slowed quite a bit and we all formed a nice tight line. Being I love running down technical trail, I teased the guys about running slow. Honestly, I like teasing guys when I race. I’m not sure why, because I’d NEVER tease a girl like I do the guys, but I do enjoy how most guys respond by trying harder to kick my butt. Nothing like a little friendly competition to get us all running closer to our best. The guys let me by and we put in a few fast down and flat miles. When we got to the big nasty, they all passed me again.

I played back and forth with a few of those guys off and on thru most of the race. But I never saw the line leader for the downs again, until the finish line.

Unfortunately, on my way to Ice Cream Hill, I began feeling super duper nauseous. I slowed down and took a physical inventory. All of me felt good, except my hams/gluts and the blah tummy. When I got to Ice Cream, I tried to do my little granny jog that I always do up the hills in Bandera, but I couldn’t. The nausea and the backs of my legs were connected, so I backed off. Lucky for me, I could still run the downs and flats as fast as I felt like!

Because of my stomach, I had to stop taking Gu’s. This is the first time I can remember not being able to keep gu’s in, but being they weren’t staying down, I switched to Coke and Mountain Dew by the 2end aid station. Lifesavers!!

The rest of the race passed with me feeling better. Yippy!! Fizz, electrolytes and water, along with sodas had me feeling good again, though I still had to hike the ups (not normal for me!) I finished in 4:24:46 about 27 mins faster then last year, even though Joe added over a half mile to the course. Happy me. And I am feeling sure that the tight legs can be taken care off. Massage, foam roller and then a big taper for Rocky Raccoon. I can hardly wait!!

Happy running all!

As Joe likes to do, this year’s course was different then it had been in year’s past. The guy who won the 50k ran last year and he said this year this course is longer and has more hills. I LOVED this course. Super twisty thru the trees, a few nice hills, a lot of  “bump” hills (to make mountain bike’s fly), a little bit of technical, a couple “run” spots…all fun!

Saturday morning I woke up with tight legs. I think maybe I took Thursday’s fartlek run too hard. But that’s ok, really. I put on my race things and waited for the 7am start. When the race started, it was about 67 degrees out and 94% humidity. I really dislike humid, but weather is what it is.

The 50k started with a 1 mile loop, followed by 4  7.5mile loops to make 50k. I ran the first 8.5 miles in 1:06:?? and felt ok. By 8miles, I knew I wasn’t going to be running a fast 50k like I had hoped (my legs were already cramping), but the course was WAY fun, and I was happy to be out there running. I finished 16miles in 2:05:?? and felt 100% positive that trying to ever run a fast time in humidity, for me, was plain stupid. I spent lap 3 trying to just relax and enjoy the run. I had wanted to run fast, but I suck at running in humidity. Honesty, I run faster in dry heat then 70′s and humid. Not sure why, but my legs just don’t go well in humid!

When I started on my last lap (3:10 into the race), part of me was mad that I hadn’t pushed lap 3 harder and part of me was happy that I was able to really enjoy this race despite not having weather that I could run well in. I made a goal to run lap 4 faster then I had run lap 3 in.

I finished in 4:13:50, first female and 2end finisher. Thanks to the push I got from the guy right behind me, I ran lap 4 about 2 mins faster then lap 3. The best thing about this race for me is how great my legs are feeling. Surprising, because I had leg cramps from mile 8 to mile 31 (though they never got as bad as they do sometimes, thank God!) A perfect way to start my Rocky Raccoon 100 mile training.   

I got into Boston, MA at 5pm last night- the night before the race. After picking my rental car up and getting lost a bit, I realized I would likely miss packet pick up.  Being there is no race day pick up, I phoned my friend Diona (who is from the Boston area) to see where she was. Lucky for me, Diona was at packet pick up and able to pick my packet up for me. Good thing too, because by the time I got into Brownsville it was after 8pm.

Oh! My rental car. A super cute yellow Fiat 500. Drives like crap, but I like it. Getting to drive that cute little car *almost* made all the getting lost I did ok with me. Finding Carol’s Hilltop Bed & Breakfast in the dark wasn’t too hard (finding Brownsville, harder). I’d say it wouldn’t have been hard at all if my car lights were high enough to reach the street sighs. But nope. I had to hop out of my car and walk around looking for the right angle to read the signs. Took awhile to find the turns.

When I got to my room, Diona was already there. Yay! Nothing like a fun friend to help lower the stresses of a hard week and long trip. Thank you D.

At 4:40 the next morning, I got out of bed, showered, ate a Greek yogurt and 1.5 English muffins, got dressed (in my blue C9 skirt, matching sports bra and bright yellow Champion running tank. I picked the outfit based on the mud.I wanted to look muddy!) grabbed my Java Monster from the fridge and my bottles and Diona drove me to the start.

At 6:35, the race began. I ran to the first aid station with Vermont’s Aliza Laprie. Aliza is an amazing runner and super sweet gal. I was looking forward to running/ racing with her today.Unfortunately, Aliza ended up dropping the race. She had been sick earlier in the week and decide to call it a day before 50 miles. I don’t know Aliza super well, but from all I do know, she must have felt pretty bad to have dropped. What a bummer. Feel better soon Aliza!

When we got to the 1st aid station, I stopped to get my hand helds refilled but Aliza kept on going (wearing her Salomon pack). Somewhere around mile 13, I ran with Aliza again. She looked strong and I enjoyed getting to chat with her a bit more before she dropped back.

I began playing back and forth with lots of mountain bikers right after leaving the 1st aid station. At first, I was thinking this wouldn’t work well. Muddy ups and downs with runners and bikers. I thought it would suck. But I was wrong! All the bikers were so nice and encouraging. Not once was there any meanness AT ALL. In fact, it was kinda fun not ever running alone, due to the high number of bikers around. My favorite were the tandem guys. Number 2 favorite goes to the biker who said, “There she goes. Dancing up the trail. She dances, not runs. Light and graceful.” He would get first, but I’m not sure it was truth. Still felt nice to have had him say it!

Boy was there mud! And giant puddles and monster hills. LOTS of climbs- over 9,000 feet of climbs this year. At first, I was loving it! Who doesn’t love running hills in the mud? The first time I had a shoe sucked off, I walked back into the mud in one shoe and one sock, retrieved my shoe and did my darnedest to get it back on. Hard with all the mud on my sock. I got an abdominal charlie horse from trying to balance on one foot on a hill in the mud while shoving my foot back into my tied shoe. But I did it. 1oish miles later when I lost the other shoe in the mud, I laughed so hard my abs were cramping before I could yank my shoe out of the mud and repeate the shoe back on process from the 1st time.

By mile 30, my legs were 100% trashed. Maybe it was the high humidity. Maybe it was under hill training, as I have focused more on fast road stuff for the last year. Maybe it was under fueling. I did carry 2 12ozs bottles. I know I was drinking well and taking in electrolytes as I planed. But I had only put 3 gels on me. I had planed to grab gel at the aid stations to take between aid stations. Only the gel was in Dixie cups. So carrying gel from aid stations on the run was a no go. I TRIED to eat more at each station to make up for it. But bottom line is I felt like I was short on calories by 24 miles. Next time, I will plan calories different, just in case!

Being I got into Vermont so late, I was unable to have a drop bag at any of the aid stations. Big huge bummer!! When I came into mile 31, I would have payed handsomely for a dry, mud-free pair of NB 101′s in my size. And 3 Advil. I tried to “act as if” my feet felt ok and my shoes didn’t feel like 2 pounds of mud were IN them. But man almighty it sucked seeing all those bags on the side and feeling my feet like they were.

Pacers were allowed from 40 miles to the finish, so at 40 miles Diona joined me. Let me just say. That lady has some energy! She pep-talked me into ignoring my legs and running w my arms. I tried to tell her, my legs were trash and my arms useless, but she would have none of that. We whooped some together and she even sang me a song! Thanks again D!!

I finished in 7:43:45, 1st female. Western States 2012 training begins in 2 weeks, I’d say. Yes!!!!  I don’t know how many guys were ahead of me. I do know that a few of the guys around me came out to run faster this year then they did last year and ran slower. I think they have Irene to thank for that.

This race was a blast! Fun course and great folks. Aside from the Western States slot, I won a cool light and big jar of maple syrup that says Vermont 50 on it. On my way back to my room with my syrup, I dropped and broke my jar. But the Race Director in his amazing awesome niceness gave me a replacement. Giant thank you to Mike Silverman for that!! I was so bummed and then so happy. Nice people rock. Fun races rock. Playing in the mud rocks. Running, rocks. Now, sleeping will rock.

Only! I forgot!! After the race, I walked over to this pretty table covered with cupcakes and was ohhing at them, wishing I had money in my bra, and this nice guy BOUGHT me a cupcake! Then Diona comes over and starts bragging on me and the Cupcake Queens GAVE me another! Oh yum. And then, I got yummy Harpoon IPA. I asked for a sample, due to the no money in the bra thing. I got a 16ozs sample. Nice guys!!

All told, I had a blast. This was my first run on any technical terrain in months and I LOVED it. I LOVED it! I would call Deer Creek Canyon mildly technical. Parts are super easy, nontechnical. Parts are a little hard and a little technical. A nice mix for me right now. I did keep the effort easy the WHOLE time, but the trails are not easy enough for me to feel like that was a truly easy run! Even though it wasn’t a hard effort. As far as smart training goes, I shouldn’t have run my easy 7 there today. I should have turned around after .6 miles, when I could tell this trail was harder then I wanted for today’s run. But I just had to finish the run up once I started. Darn! What is in me that just hates to back down from a challenge? And this challenge was against no one…on my easy run. I guess I will see how this effects my long tempos tomorrow. Silly runner me!

I put on my favorite running gear (all the things Champion sent me early this past summer) and headed over for the continental breakfast in the hotel. Waffles!! YAY!

By 5:15, I was at the civic center in Hot Springs, South Dakota, feeling ready for the bus ride to the start. Right about 5:20, the RD said the buses must not be coming and asked us to all carpool to the start. This race started and ended in a different spot. Then, just after all but 2 cars of runners left for the start, the bus showed up. Wouldn’t you know it? The last two cars unloaded and rode a bus.

At the start line, there was only one potty for all 200 runners. Lots of us chose the field over the line!! I am going to go off story a bit here. I do not know what has been up with my tummy the last few months. But for some reason, I have had to make potty stops 2 or more times on 30 mile runs. Very uncool of my body, I say. Today was no exception! By mile 5 I REALLY had to go. Only this race is exposed. No trees…luckily, I made it to the port-o-potty at mile 8.9. But by mile 15 I had to go again! BOOOO to my tummy for that. Lucky for me, after my mile 26 potty stop, my tummy stopped the meanness!!

The race started at 6am, in the light. The course was mostly bike trails and jeep road (no cement, but really really easy footing). I worked my way up to the front of the pack just in time for the count down to go. About .1 miles into the race, I asked if any of the runners where from Littleton, CO. It was so cool to me to see the entrants list on Ultra SignUp, along with races the other entrants had run. I noticed when I signed up that a guy named Michael who lived not far from me was running Lean Horse 50. I also noticed that he had beat me by a few minutes in a 50k earlier this year. I hoped we could run together for a lot of the race and save our brains a little mental energy. Mental energy is valuable in ultra running! Michael turned out to be great company for 21 miles. I love all the amazing people there are in this sport of ultra running.   And Micheal’s crew helped me out at mile 26, when I needed Advil I had not put in my drop bag. Thank you to Rachael!!

The first 21 miles are mostly a gradual up. My plan was to run comfortably until comfortable got hard. When comfortable got hard, I planned on pushing. Based on my training, I figured I’d be running low eight minute miles for most of the race. My nutrition plan was to take in about 24ozs of water an hour, 2 electrolytes and 3oo calories an hour. For the most part, all of my plans unfolded as expected. Early on, I felt bad (tummy!), and was disappointed with not feeling like I could go any faster than I did those first 20miles. But by mile 30, I was wishing I had run the first 20 a tad faster! When I doubled my time for 25 miles, I got 6:52:00. At 4 hours, I had run exactly 29 miles.  And I ended up running the second 25miles 28 seconds faster overall than my first 25 miles.  I followed my nutrition perfectly, except from mile 33.4-39.4 and 39.4-45.9, where I had planned poorly and didn’t have enough water on me. I carried 1 12oz bottle for the whole race. From miles 16.3-26, I also wore a waist pack w/ a 20oz bottle in it. When I finished just before 1pm, I was told it was already 95 degrees. That sounds about right for how it felt!! Hot.

As far as the racing goes, the race was easy. No pressure and lots of fun. During the last 12 miles, I kept thinking, “If I was racing, this would really hurt. Oh wait! I am racing! Faster, Anie, faster!” When the lead guy came into sight about mile 40, pushing got easier. I did push hard, running the only hills in the race which were all in the last 16 miles. This was the first ultra I didn’t walk any hills on. Ha! My reward was a new course record for females and an outright win. I gotta say, chicking the field was fun. But the truth is, I didn’t push into that AHHHHHHH zone I would have pushed into if I had another gal there with me. I just can’t do that on my own! Which leads me to…..

Vermont 50 mile race September 25th!! I am SOOO EXCITED! I know it will hurt, but it will be a pain I earn. My goal is to get top 2 so I can train for and race Western States 100 next year. If I don’t come in top 2, it won’t be for lack of trying. I feel ready to really race a 50 now. This one is sure to do.   Can Not Wait!!!!!!

I woke up race morning feeling pretty good. After 3 weeks of training I could tell I was in good shape and super pumped to try to race an ultra again. My taper week went well and I could hardly hold back the excitement of RACING!

Also adding to my excitement was getting to run my first race as a sponsored athlete. The last month or so I have been talking to Champion about how much I love their gear. Now Champion is sending me gear and covering most of my running expenses. I get to give them feed back on products and help Champion improve it’s gear for ultra runners. But I can tell you quite honestly that I already LOVE Champion gear. Go back and look at pictures from Bandera and Nueces. I already race in Champion bottoms (A great fit and NO chaffing) and train in tops, tanks, capri’s…skirts. The best part of this deal for me is getting to support a line of gear that I already love! For Greenlands, I wore my favorite Champion skirt (PINK!) and top (PINK!). But they aren’t my favorite just for the looks (maybe that helps…). Those cloths are my favorite because they keep me chafe free and comfy for 50k plus!

And I loved all the gals on the course that voiced wanting to run in a pink skirt. Yeah, I’m girlie. Even though I like playing in the mud and running on trails and getting covered in dirt, I wanna  feel girlie while I do it.

The 50k started at 8am. Right away my shins hurt from the cinder and sand under foot. Boo, I thought, but that’s what I had to run on so I pushed the negative thoughts away and ran. The wind was cruddy right off too. But again, I focused on how 15mph wind is nothing compared to what I’d been running in (So glad I toughed out those 35mph wind fartleck runs!)  and just ran.

Over all, I felt good. My left hip was tight but good. My left foot ached but not bad and it never got worse (and feels 100% great today).  I came through the 1st loop in 58mins. The second in 1:57 and the 3erd in 1:58. My plan was to run comfortably hard the 1st 2 loops, push the 3erd, and run as hard as I could for the 4th. Being I stayed on top of my nutrition (YES!), I was able to follow that plan and race well. My last loop was only 4mins slower then my 1st loop. With this course being shade free on a sunny day (about 70 degrees at noon) and having run the last few months in 34 degrees, I was nervous about hydration. But I did well!!

I finished in 4:03:33, 1st female and 5th finisher, knocking almost 20mins off the course record. WOO-HOO!!! It felt great. I love running. I love racing. Greenland Trail is beautiful and fun. The race director and volunteers all did an awesome job. A marvelous run and one I not only recommend but hope to do it again next year.

Here is a link to the official results.

Now I can’t wait to pick my next race. Maybe a marathon!

So when I received the first of many emails containing a link to a blog post laying into me as a competitive athlete, I was dumb founded.  After giving myself plenty of time to cool down and let things sit, I think I can now write a response with a clear head.

1. The poster has apologized directly (by phone) to me. She said she blew up the situation to make a point and offered to let me dictate an apology by her to me. I told her to please post as she wishes. I do not EVER want to tell anyone what to say or how to say it. If someone wants to say I cussed them out and punched them in the face, the words are theirs to say…even if I did no such thing. I do hope that all readers of my blog and all others realize nothing needs to be even close to fact to make its way online.

2. I DO yell at other runners during a run. If I pass (or have passed) you in a race and not yelled, “May I get by,” or something almost just like that, then be assured it was to keep from puking on you as I passed. It has been my experience that most folks will gladly let you by IF they know you’re coming. Being very light on my feet, others often jump out of their skin if I don’t yell before getting close. And regardless of top runner or back of the pack runner, I just as often say “good job” as I pass. Which I honestly mean…that will need to be another post.

3. There is a BIG BIG BIG difference between how I will approach a competitor and a slower runner on the trail. I EXPECT fellow top runners to be willing to play back and forth with me on narrow trails. When needing to pass a slower trail runner, I slow down much more to make sure they are ready to be passed then I do for faster top runners. Maybe this is a bit aggressive of me. But I do make sure that I am the one to step off the trail if the other runner doesn’t. NEVER EVER would I want to knock ANYONE over. But after talking with a fellow front runner friend who has been knocked over (and saw the accident of it) I see that it does happen. I will do my best to be more conscious of this in future races.

4. Having someone who doesn’t know you say mean things about you and LEAVE THEM ONLINE sucks.  I do not think the poster of the “mean girl” blog thought it would matter much that she said what she said about me. I do hope her all the best in her training and racing. She seems like a very nice person (on phone) and I have absolutely nothing bad to say about her. Which I am thankful for! But I also hope that all readers of her blog will realize I was not (am not) the picture she painted of me that day.

Well, I’ve been injured. For way too long. 9 months with no training and little running. When I decided to come down to Texas to run this race, it was because I wanted to do a race that was out of my comfort zone in a  lot of ways. And I am going to be honest. Not much about this 25k comforted me. In fact, only 3 things soothed my mind prerace. (1) This race is short. I have to focus hard and hurt, but it should be over before 150 minutes of my life pass. (2) Joe, Joyce and  many other Texas runners who support me more thoroughly than I can put words to will be there to catch me if I fall (in many senses of the word ‘fall’) and (3) the best thing I can do for myself as a competitive athlete right now is race short and out of my comfort zone.

When I woke up Saturday morning at 5am, many mistakes from the past week were running through my head. The biggest was the hard 9mile fartlek run I had done Thursday on an empty stomach. As any athlete less than 3 days out from a race will tell you, an empty stomach alone is a no no. Throw a very hard NINE mile run on top of that and you have stupid. But what is done is done. I ate my yummy muffin and drank a Java Monster while dressing for a race..and trying to let the mistakes go.

5mins before 7am I left my room (a stone’s-throw away from the staring line and shared with a few other runners) and went to the starting area. The photographer at the starting line recognized me and asked me to come up onto the line. I voiced a desire for a few guy friends to toe the line with me and complied. We were off.

My plan was to run easy for about 10mins and then start to pick it up. By the time I crossed the finish-line I wanted to be spent and running all out. After maybe 30seconds, 2 girls passed me. There were also a few guys in front of me (I thought 7ish).

About 4miles in I noted that some of the runners closest to me were slowing down. Following my race plan, I picked it up and watched for the girls.

Here is where I will touch on the course. I had never seen Camp Eagle before this race. But many running friends of mine had. All of them told me that this course is harder than Bandera. More rocks, longer climbs and loose dirt. Along with less flat. But something deep down in me thought they were wrong. I figured it would be like Bandera…only I was off. This place is awesome. Brutal, beautiful and I’d say not like Bandera. Like Bandera, it is super technical and super fun. A super challenge. Not like Bandera there is loose dirt and a Colorado-like climb. Only with more rocks. I loved it wholeheartedly. Running on it hurt. Quite the challenge to try to run hard on that course.

But I still tried! It is easy to play “what if” during and after a race. But “what if” is stupid. NOW is what I had then. And I ran as best as I could in the NOW that I had. That feels good. I didn’t get my goal of sub 2hrs. But I DID try. I didn’t win. But I did amazing considering the training I haven’t had and the years of training I did have before I broke my foot. Basically. I gave what I had to give when Joe said “go”. As an athlete I am proud of that. So often my mind holds me back during a race. It is so easy to back off a little and no one but me ever knows. I can honestly say that the only way I *might* have run better on that day would have been knowing where the runners ahead where.

But boy did I have a push going with the 2 guys I ran the middle 11 miles with! I so love being a girl.

I crossed the finish in 2:02:11, 4th finisher and 2nd girl. 2mins and 59seconds after the 1st finisher. Not bad! The best part…I think I get to start training next week!!! I am scared to even type that before it happens. But I do think I am going to get to train again. Soon. (((((LOVE))))))

This weekend I came down to Texas to volunteer at my all time favorite ultra- Bandera 100k, 50k, 25k. When I booked my flight a few months back, I was heeling from a bone spot on my first metatarsal that I got as a result of several mistakes I made following ligament damage to the front of my left foot back in May. Basically, I have been unable to train since July and not running since August. I fully expected to be heeled much faster then I was. I thought I’d be able to train for at least 6weeks and run Bandera 100k, my VERY favorite race. But heeling didn’t happen!! By mid December I knew that running a 100k in January was out. The week after Christmas my sports doctor told me he felt very strongly that my foot was heeled, but I would need rehab before doing any long runs. My foot was still tender after running, and doing physical therapy, he said, would teach me to run in a way that took pressure of my first metatarsal. Keeping me from re-injuring my foot. When I asked about running the 50k at Bandera, he said, “Not a good idea.”

I had every intention of listening to my doctor. I wanted to run. SO BAD. I have missed running and racing more then I ever thought I would! But I didn’t want another injury to battle. Still, I had this deep down little voice telling me to just run. Just see how your foot does. So I ran 13miles Wednesday. My foot was ok. I didn’t get sore. I ran 7.5 Thursday then spent 30mins on a PreCore then lifted weights HARD. I thought if i showed up at Bandera a bit worn out, maybe it would curb my desire to race.

At the pre-race dinner, I sat with a few ultra running friends. The more we talked, the more I REALLY wanted to run! I ran my plan of running to the first aid-station and then dropping if my foot hurt by them. They said, “You won’t drop.” I said, “I will if my foot is hurting!!” When I ran my plan by Joe (my coach and the RD at Bandera), he said I should go ahead and sign up and decide in the morning. Then Joe brought over a 500k jacket. Any one familiar with Bandera knows what the 500k jacket is. Every year, your k’s accumulate and when you get to 500k you get a jacket. A soft fleece jacket that says Bandera 500k on it. Before Saturday, I had 350k. Meaning that if I ran 50k this year, I could get my jacket by completing the 100k next year. Not running this year meant no chance of a jacket next year.  I want that jacket! Joe showed us the new jacket, raved about how soft this new (brown!!) one is and rubbed it on my cheek. I signed up for the 50k.

That night I didn’t sleep much…2end night in a row of little sleep. But I still got up Saturday morning feeling great. I rented a Traverse and was using it to sleep in. The Traverse is big and kept me dry when the rain hit (Saturday night). Really, I like sleeping in the car, but next time I will be sure to bring my sleeping bag mat. A little cushion would have done wonders! I ate half a left over Ruben and headed into the Lodge for coffee. THANK YOU to the coffee angel who told me I was welcome to come have some Saturday morning. I don’t do well without morning coffee. A few folks asked if I was running. “As long as my foot is feeling OK, I’ll run,” I told them. “I’m not going to pay much attention to how the rest of me feels. But listen to my my foot.”  When I said this, I was expecting a repeat of Worlds, were my foot was in tons of pain and the rest of me was feeling ready to race. I expected to run 10 or 15mies at the most. Not the whole 31.

At 7:30 the races began. The 100k start is right in front of the lodge, while the 50k and 25k are a short walk down a back trail. I started off at a very comfy pace. Being I had run about 6 times in the past 3months, the most I could hope for was a finish. No thoughts of running hard or winning were allowed. I chatted with some buds over the first 10miles. When I hit the 1st aid station, I drunk as much water as I could, took 2 electrolyte tabs, grabbed a hand full of M&M’s and decided to keep on. Being I had not planed on running, I hadn’t even brought a water bottle. I knew I would likely be dehydrated by 1/2way, but my foot felt fine. So I ran on.

By mile 12, my legs started to feel tight. Boo to no water bottle. But the rest of me was still good. When I came into the next aid station, I took Mt. Dew, water, Hammer gel and another electrolyte. Shortly after leaving this station, I started to feel super duper bad. Never ever have  I felt so sure I was going to fall over puking in my life. Maybe it was lack of training. Maybe dehydration. Maybe a combination of things.  But other then the cramping in my feet, my foot felt good. So I ran on, hoping to stay upright. Also during this stretch, a large number of runners read the back of my Team jersey, “Running for a Reason” and asked, “Whats your reason?” Feeling worse then ever during a run, I wanted to ignore the question and just focus on moving forward. Instead I called back, “The Home Foundation.” To which 99% asked back, “Whats that?” Being passionate about the need for people to recognize and fight human trafficking,  I called back, “They fight human trafficking and free enslaved people.” Buy the time I yelled that, I was out of ear shot for more questions. Still, a large part of me was thinking I want a different racing jersey…

The next aid station in the race is Cross-Roads. As crappy as I felt, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the part of the course that leaves and comes back to Cross-Roads (the 3 Sisters!) and decided (easily!) to stick w/ the “follow the foot” plan. I drank lots of water, took more electrolytes, grabbed a giant handful of Jelly Bellies (my favorite!) and ran on. It felt like hardly any time passed before I was back at Cross-Roads and less then 5miles from the finish. Basically, Lucky stood between me and 400k of 500k at Bandera.

When I got to Lucky, I realized I was going to run under 5hrs. A little more math showed me having a solid chance at running under 4:54(course record). With the nausea gone (I will give the Jelly Bellies credit for that, and the 3 Sisters), my foot feeling OK, and the thrill of running, I started to push the pace. Of course my Garmin chose to die shortly after that. But I felt sure I was going to run under 4:54.

And I did!!! I finished in 4:51:17, feeling amazing!!!! Never have I run out there and felt so good. Such a shock. I figured I’d pay by Sunday, but here it is Monday morning and I am still feeling great. Wow! Not expected!!

I truly can’t be anything other then thrilled with this run. First off, I got to RUN! And I got to RACE!! Winning in a descent time shocked me and feels amazing. My competitive side is a bit bummed that I didn’t run the whole thing faster, being I finished feeling good. But the reality is I was in no position to try to run any faster then I did! And there was a long 6miles that I really felt crappy for in there. So I am happy!! My foot feels better today then it did Friday…crazy. I am only 100k away from my jacket. I am one happy runner.

None race: I got to be part of search and rescue! That was exciting. With a storm about to hit, 2 non-runners were reported lost a few hours earlier. They had no lights, dressed in shorts. It was now dark and cold, giant rain coming. Ages 13 and 21, I believe. I didn’t find them, but they were found safely. Still, I felt honored to be sent up and down Boyle’s in the dark w/ a storm coming to help look.

This morning, I got up at 4:20am (after getting maybe 4hrs of sleep) and dressed for the race, putting my USATF Rain suit/ wind suit on over. After filling a bottle w/ water, I grabbed a pack of scones and headed for the lobby. About 4:50, the hotel had hot water and a small breakfast available for all the USA team. Coffee!!!!!!

By 5am we were all done with breakfast and gave final instructions to our crew people. Each runner had a “main” and “back up” person to crew them, who were all amazing! Then we squeezed 7 passengers into a 6 passenger mini-SUV for the round one drop off at the Athlete’s Village, which is a big cruise ship. Our team opted not to stay on the cruise ship because we all wanted to be able to stay in the same place as our support people.

At 6:30am (or a bit after) the race began. Carolyn, Megan and I all started together. Our guys team all started together as well, but in a different spot from us gals. Both the other ladies told me not to get caught up in racing from the line, as many of the ladies would do. For me, that was easy!

The course was laid out a bit oddly. We started next to the Ship and did an out-and-back for what should have been 5k before heading into a 5kish loop to be done 19 times. When I came to the end of the out-and-back for a second time, I was surprised to be directed back towards the ship. I also heard 2 IAU course marshals arguing over where the runners were going….uh-oh, I thought. When we came to what should have been the 10k, there were officials telling us that this is 11k. The chip board said 48:?? for me. Wow, I thought, that is faster then it felt. I decided to go ahead and slow down to closer to an 8min mile pace to be safe. And the board was really cool! When we stepped on the mats, our chip (should have) registered. Our name, country, gender, loop number, loop split and over all time showed on the board.

As I hit the course makings throughout the next loop, I saw that the distance sign had been moved to mark the new distances covered, b/c of the extra out and back we did. Later, they shortened one loop to fix the mess up. I think it all worked out.

As to my foot. It was hurting from the start. Not bad, but aching. I figured I’d run at least 30k, no matter what, to test it out. At the 30k, I felt a bit worse, but everyone was so encouraging I REALLY didn’t want to drop. By 40k my left hamstring felt like it was going to tear, so Dr. Lions put a spongy pad under my heel, but my Achilles then decided to tighten up bad. Apparently, I looked like I felt great. My stride was even and I was happily and comfortably (in some ways!) running a pretty stead 25min 5k.  But I felt pretty injured. If I would have kept going, I would be very injured and I don’t think I had a chance of finishing 100k. You just can’t trick your body when it comes to injures and longer Ultras. You need your body on your side. Not only was I having left leg issues (mainly that darn metatarsal!), but I made 3 potty stops in 46k. Never ever has that happened to me before! I want to figure out why so it never happens again!!

The people along the race course were so supportive it had me in tears. Literally. They cheered, “Go USA!”, and if I yelped, they yelped back. I never had so many people taking my picture as did today. The last thing I wanted to do was drop! But I knew I had to. I so badly want to get better and train again! I love running. My motivation to race again has never been higher, and I honestly never thought I’d want to race like I do now! Heal foot, heal!!

When I dropped, a lot of the volunteers humbled me farther by coming over and saying, “No! I was cheering extra for you!” And then, as we were leaving, a few of the supporters for France came and said they were sad when I stopped coming by. I don’t think I can explain how humbling this whole experience was. I was injured, unable to do what I wanted, and people cared. People who didn’t know me came looking for me. Why?? My team said they were proud of me for coming and doing what I did. And I think they meant that. When I got on this team, I earned it. But the amount of care I have been given was purely a gift. Really, I had nothing to give any one on this team injured. In fact, our ladies would have meddled if  I finished in anything close to 9hrs…a slow 100k is all they needed. Me not being able to give that is hard. But I can’t give what I don’t have, even if all of me desires to do so.

Our guys rocked today! We had 3 guys in under 7hrs, the 4th in 7:01 and the 5th finisher in 7:15ish. One guy was unable to finish the race due to feeling crappy. (Boy do I get that!) Mike Wardian took 3erd and our men’s team earned the Silver medal! So so exciting!! It was great because the guys race was close. The top 12 spots shifted through out the whole race, right to the finish line. Go Guys!

Megan placed 5th and Carolyn 9th.  Megan and Carolyn both ran under 8hrs. Woohoo!!

I found out yesterday that, most likely, my Mad City time from last year qualifies me for next years 100k team. That means that I get to come back next year unless someone beats my time from last year at Mad City. However, I plan on running an even faster 100k before next years team is picked. Heal you foot!