I sit here preparing to write this in my fuzzy slippers, wondering if they will be my footwear for the next few days. This run would be several 1sts for me-longest distance, all night, all night/day, and birthday miles plus.
I started this run on Saturday, 7:30 am. I've spoken with several runners who have completed 100's and wasn't really sure how I would respond to staying up all night. I used to work night shift as an RN and always struggled from 3am-5am to keep warm so that was my primary concern.
The 1st lap was just trying to warm up. Some high school kids were out and for the 1st few miles, I found myself trying to stay ahead. Dork. I reined that pace in quickly and then just started taking it easy. Lap #2 was icky. Sluggish, slow, no synchrony, upset stomach. At this point, I remembered the adage I had heard several times-if you feel bad-wait as it will change in 15 minutes. It did and thankfully for the better. After lap #2, had a great talk with Ron Baughman at the "aide station". The timing was perfect and definitely elevated my spirits after this lap. Lap #3 was smooth and felt I was somewhat sailing. By this time, it had started to warm up. I came back to the aide station around noon and Jenny Stinson was there with refreshments. It was awesome. Normally I am not a big tea drinker but this spicy stuff was tasty. I headed out after a bit for 2 laps that would be really challenging. It was hot and the blisters started. I need to either learn to run with blisters-which I don't think I am that tough yet-or find a different sock. After lap #5, Katie Holda showed with ice, food, and drink. In the heat, she bravely paced along with me for a lap. It was great to talk with someone for a while. After our lap, she spent an hour doing "surgery" on the blisters to make them manageable. Tina Khara showed when we were finishing up and she also had food. Katie left and then my son and his friend showed up and went with me for another lap. The lap prior and thereafter were pretty much all walking with some downhill jogging. It was dark now and the going was slow. Cody, however told me I was making great time for having ran all day. What a great kid!! The next few rounds were pretty uneventful aside from passing numerous Boise trail runners and chatting at leisure. I couldn't stop for long though because not only did I want as many miles as I could but keeping moving is what kept the blisters kind of numb. At mile 48, instead of doing 2 of the 6 mile loops I opted instead for 3 of the 4 mile loops. I needed the change of trail and seemed to do better mentally with aide station at that distance. The 2nd of these loops, I saw white paper trees with Christmas decor all over; flashing red lights; a black cocker spaniel scooting sideways on the trail; a person in a white shirt and blue jeans standing at Christine Kollar's blue car; and many people and things moving across the hills. Oh, and the mountain lion. He was ghost like though and I struggled to track him but he disappeared. I knew these were a factor of fatigue and the flashlight shadows but I kept seeing them. I have always assumed that I could make hallucinations resolve if I knew they weren't there. Apparently not. They finally faded about 3 hours later, about as abruptly as they started.
Some things about this were harder then I thought and some easier. Being up all night and to just keep the relentless forward motion-easier. I only wanted to sleep when I went into the aide station. The heat, blisters, and driving home-worse than I thought. Also, being able to just gut out 60 miles with minimal to no training for 2 months-that was priceless. I was fearful, as Dennis Ahern had warned me about overuse injuries and to be wary. I made a few mistakes with fueling but hydration went really well. On the 2 hot laps, I drank a full bag of water each time. All in all, it was really a success. When I struggled, I found that if I focused on what my real reason for being out there was, I could press forward. I can't emphasize enough how rewarding this was.
Superstar
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
No turning back
Little did I know that my title would move from an emotion to a physical situation. Billie, Michael, and I headed for Manitou Springs, CO on Saturday, July 9, 2011. I had entered the Triple Crown of Running Series and had been unable to run the 1st race in August due to injury. I had hoped I would be able to run the Summer Roundup Trail Run and thought I might right up until race morning when I decided not to. My priority for this trip really was to get on Pikes Peak and summit. I DNF'd the race last year and this has been an incredible weight on my shoulders.
Billie and Michael raced Sunday morning and then we accomplished The Incline. This is about 2,000 feet vertical gain in 1 mile. We opted to go down on the trail, which was a hike for me due to overuse injury still complaining. It was a fabulous day but I was itching for Monday to come so I could set off to do what I had come for.
We got a late start Monday morning and didn't reach the trailhead until about 1000. We all headed out together. My foot still will not allow a run so my intent was to walk this and still beat my times from last year. It was cool to watch my heart rate jump to 150 range on what I perceived as a little effort. I reached Barr Camp, which is the 1st cutoff, a full hour ahead of last years failure. Awesome! I stopped to use their Necessary Room and went off again. Billie and Michael periodically waited for me as they were having a great run. Next, I made it to the A-Frame, also well within the race cutoff time. Shortly before this, I passed Michael and Billie heading down. Thunder had become audible and they were rightfully intimidated by the weather and headed back. It was at this point that I fully realized how much completing this climb was going to mean to me. Honestly, I wanted to call them to come with me but it wouldn't have been right to put that pressure on them with the coming storm. But I also knew I was going to be alone in bad weather and was a bit wary. But, I continued anyway. I had not seen lightning yet and would later learn it was because the mountain was hiding it.
The next significant point was treeline. I can't begin to express how I felt being at that point on this great mountain that I had observed from town only hours earlier. It was overwhelming. It was also breathtaking-literally and figuratively. After about 1 1/2 miles, or more than an hour of travel time, the storm hit. I was exposed and trying to keep an eye on the goal and my safety. When the hail and rain started to fall, I put my shell jacket on and left my long sleeve shirt tied around my waist, a mistake I would later seriously regret. I am not always poorly planned but this time I was. I was wearing a skirt and did not bring pants. I also brought only one shirt that is good to about 40 degrees. No, I had no other emergency equipment.
The thunder got louder and lightning was incredible and close. I was ahead of another hiker when lightning struck towards the mountain. I later found out it hit a car. I turned to him and asked if he thought we were all right and he said he hoped so. Stupid question I know, but you can't even begin to know how my heart felt about this goal. Next, lightning struck the mountain about 100 yards ahead of us from what I was later told. This also shut down communication in the mountain gift shop. Reflexively, I turned and ran about 5 steps to him and asked if we should go to the tree line for cover. Dork. Not the greatest idea again but know how determined I was. We were 3/4 mile from the top by now. He said we should take shelter against a rock. I said I am not dressed for that and I was going to head for the rock cave that was just a short ways ahead. I got there and it was occupied by a couple who were thrilled to let me in. She was very savvy about these situations and he was very hypothermic. I was cold. I took my shirt and covered my legs and scooted as far back as I could. We huddled together for about 1/2 hour waiting for the storm to pass. We left with a less frightening cloud cover overhead and light rain. There were apparently 5 of us out on the mountain that had taken shelter and we moved to the summit as quickly as we could.
I made it to the top!! I was freezing, too cold for a picture. Long sleeve shirts were $30 and I only had $20. I asked someone what the temp was and they said with the wind chill factor, it was 15 degrees.
Yes, I was poorly prepared and it was a rough experience. Would I do it again with a storm threat? Absolutely. I am in that euphoric stage still. I will plan better next time, though and become more educated on emergency actions in negative scenarios.
When I reached the top, I felt I had a fragment of the resolve that ultrarunners have when they need to complete that 100 mile race knowing that the wheels are coming loose. It may have been reckless, but there really was no turning back. I could not go home again to face the demons of a DNF.
As the plane took off to Boise Tuesday morning, I looked out and could see Pikes Peak. It was a fabulous feeling to know I had been on top and had accomplished something I could not do 11 months ago. I made the final cutoff doing the entire climb at a walk so know with a healthy foot, it would have been even better. Besides the whole emergency learning experience, I learned I am powerful and strong. I am WOMAN, hear me roar!!
Billie and Michael raced Sunday morning and then we accomplished The Incline. This is about 2,000 feet vertical gain in 1 mile. We opted to go down on the trail, which was a hike for me due to overuse injury still complaining. It was a fabulous day but I was itching for Monday to come so I could set off to do what I had come for.
We got a late start Monday morning and didn't reach the trailhead until about 1000. We all headed out together. My foot still will not allow a run so my intent was to walk this and still beat my times from last year. It was cool to watch my heart rate jump to 150 range on what I perceived as a little effort. I reached Barr Camp, which is the 1st cutoff, a full hour ahead of last years failure. Awesome! I stopped to use their Necessary Room and went off again. Billie and Michael periodically waited for me as they were having a great run. Next, I made it to the A-Frame, also well within the race cutoff time. Shortly before this, I passed Michael and Billie heading down. Thunder had become audible and they were rightfully intimidated by the weather and headed back. It was at this point that I fully realized how much completing this climb was going to mean to me. Honestly, I wanted to call them to come with me but it wouldn't have been right to put that pressure on them with the coming storm. But I also knew I was going to be alone in bad weather and was a bit wary. But, I continued anyway. I had not seen lightning yet and would later learn it was because the mountain was hiding it.
The next significant point was treeline. I can't begin to express how I felt being at that point on this great mountain that I had observed from town only hours earlier. It was overwhelming. It was also breathtaking-literally and figuratively. After about 1 1/2 miles, or more than an hour of travel time, the storm hit. I was exposed and trying to keep an eye on the goal and my safety. When the hail and rain started to fall, I put my shell jacket on and left my long sleeve shirt tied around my waist, a mistake I would later seriously regret. I am not always poorly planned but this time I was. I was wearing a skirt and did not bring pants. I also brought only one shirt that is good to about 40 degrees. No, I had no other emergency equipment.
The thunder got louder and lightning was incredible and close. I was ahead of another hiker when lightning struck towards the mountain. I later found out it hit a car. I turned to him and asked if he thought we were all right and he said he hoped so. Stupid question I know, but you can't even begin to know how my heart felt about this goal. Next, lightning struck the mountain about 100 yards ahead of us from what I was later told. This also shut down communication in the mountain gift shop. Reflexively, I turned and ran about 5 steps to him and asked if we should go to the tree line for cover. Dork. Not the greatest idea again but know how determined I was. We were 3/4 mile from the top by now. He said we should take shelter against a rock. I said I am not dressed for that and I was going to head for the rock cave that was just a short ways ahead. I got there and it was occupied by a couple who were thrilled to let me in. She was very savvy about these situations and he was very hypothermic. I was cold. I took my shirt and covered my legs and scooted as far back as I could. We huddled together for about 1/2 hour waiting for the storm to pass. We left with a less frightening cloud cover overhead and light rain. There were apparently 5 of us out on the mountain that had taken shelter and we moved to the summit as quickly as we could.
I made it to the top!! I was freezing, too cold for a picture. Long sleeve shirts were $30 and I only had $20. I asked someone what the temp was and they said with the wind chill factor, it was 15 degrees.
Yes, I was poorly prepared and it was a rough experience. Would I do it again with a storm threat? Absolutely. I am in that euphoric stage still. I will plan better next time, though and become more educated on emergency actions in negative scenarios.
When I reached the top, I felt I had a fragment of the resolve that ultrarunners have when they need to complete that 100 mile race knowing that the wheels are coming loose. It may have been reckless, but there really was no turning back. I could not go home again to face the demons of a DNF.
As the plane took off to Boise Tuesday morning, I looked out and could see Pikes Peak. It was a fabulous feeling to know I had been on top and had accomplished something I could not do 11 months ago. I made the final cutoff doing the entire climb at a walk so know with a healthy foot, it would have been even better. Besides the whole emergency learning experience, I learned I am powerful and strong. I am WOMAN, hear me roar!!
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Excerpt from my experimental thoughts
I am almost 2 weeks into my "experiment" that I am hoping will show some dramatic improvements in my climbing abilities. On Friday, I took 2 minutes off Polecat time, which was pretty awesome. Pace and incline are just getting easier and I believe I will reach my goal of 3.2 mph which is a 1 mph improvement in just 30 days.
My method for this madness is to spend 30 minutes each day on incline trainer at 20% incline with the best pace I can muster. My initial pace was just a pokey 2.2 mph. I started low so that I could build a solid foundation. I stayed here for 4 days then up to 2.3. On a run with Amber, I quickly realized I needed to ramp up harder as the hills we were running on could be easily done at that pace. So, I was at 2.8 mph within 4 evenings.
My method for this madness is to spend 30 minutes each day on incline trainer at 20% incline with the best pace I can muster. My initial pace was just a pokey 2.2 mph. I started low so that I could build a solid foundation. I stayed here for 4 days then up to 2.3. On a run with Amber, I quickly realized I needed to ramp up harder as the hills we were running on could be easily done at that pace. So, I was at 2.8 mph within 4 evenings.
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