T.M.I. 18 Miler

After last weekends' deuce of long run fails I felt some pressure to get 18 miles logged. The mileage actually didn't phase me too much. I wasn't nervous about whether or not I could complete it, especially when I thought of it as two loops around the Sandrat trail. But, unfortunately, even though I tried hard to eat clean this week I ran into some unknown trigger ingredients towards the end of the week. I suspect decaf coffee uses corn as a preservative on the beans and also in the de-caffeination process. Companies will swear up and down they don't use any chemicals, blah-blah in their process but corn avoiders pretty much have a hard time finding a safe coffee -especially decaf. Anyway that and a couple other ingredients led to some more days where I just felt sluggish and had bodily function problems.
Never-the-less, I got out to the trail a 1/2 hour earlier than the usual meet-up time to run 2 miles. Shaving those off left me with two 8 mile loops.
Gary was waiting in his car as I came out of the woods. After waiting around a bit we decided no one else was coming and set off into the forest. I like running with Gary because he lets me fly at my own pace and has lots of conversation for keeping your mind occupied. We talked about jobs, family, endurance running and the Hawk 50. We saw mulberries and snake berries (pictured to the right). We ran into our fellow Trail Hawk, Christine, who was a Hawk Marathon finisher last weekend. And then Gary taught me a big trail lesson I'd been wanting to know about: Poison Ivy. Because the trail is a popular biking trail for weekend warriors (the ones that don't know the rules of the trail and that the runner actually has the right of way), we have to quickly step aside off the trail as they come swishing by at top speed. They almost never slow down. They barely say thanks. Mostly they just breeze by as we are teetering on the edge of the singletrack and the brush just glad to have seen them in time to hop out of the way. Well, I had be worrying that every time I'd jump to the side, I was standing in poison ivy. It turns out I was right, it's everywhere. Gary had me point it out along the way (I think I got pretty good!). The trail is maintained super well but still, there's so much poison ivy that it seems a matter of time before I'm going to come in contact with it.
While chatting we were trying to come up with a Trail Hawk name. It's customary for each new member (I finally paid up in dues) to be named out on their next trail run. Laurie had already came up with a hilarious name about a month or so ago but then Gary suggested 'Bama Hawk.' It's hard to sum up who you are in one little name, but as soon as he said that I thought, yeah, I got a soft spot in me for the deep south. And it stuck.

Southern Girl, Erykah Badu (Link to Play or Lyrics)

After about 8 miles, where I'd felt pretty good, the cramping came back. Gary thought it was salt/water intake. It was warm but I'd ran farther distances in lots of warm weather and I knew from experience and from the days before that it was my food issues. I was still paying for mess ups the day before. Heck I still had eczema and issues from a week ago when I ate wheat.
I slowed down a lot and started walking off and on. ARGH. Makes me want to pull my hair out that my body overreacts to food that isn't truly a poison.
I thought about taking a break and going to a bathroom where I could deal with part of the issue. But, I was so thrown by my previous failed attempts that I couldn't let myself stop, even if it was just a break. I was worried I'd go home and log another too-short attempt.
So after saying goodbye to Gary I headed back into the cooler woods and plugged my ear buds into my ears. Surely the scenery, the music and the cooler forest would help move me forward the last 8 miles. Relentless forward motion as they say.
I did move for a few miles but then as a lovely biker came hurling towards me around a corner. I stepped out of the way in time but he chose to stay in the middle of the path instead of hugging the opposite side of the trail (as I was) and totally clipped me.
*#@*% BIKERS!!!!!
It hurt but wasn't lasting. More frustrating than anything else. And sometime soon after that the cramps and nausea came back and the last 6 miles were a battle. The closer I got to finishing the worse I felt. I just needed to get the h-e-double hockey sticks off the trail.
But I wasn't going home early that's for sure. I was sticking it out if my body had to blow up and all I had left was legs.
I was finishing.
And I did.

18 miles DOWN!

Food that worked: Coconut Water, Whole Foods Electrolyte Water, Reed's Ginger Chews (2), Chocolate #9 Agave Gel @ 6mi., Banana @ 10 mi.

Next up: Storm the Dam Trail Half Marathon, El Dorado, Kansas

16 and Build'n

If it was a snake, it would've bit me!

I thought this was a sleek, black, shiny, long snake as I was running up to it. Luckily it was just a trick stick.

That's what happens when you're out running for two and a half hours! Ya start see'n things! Actually, it was a relatively easy run that I really enjoyed. My legs took a couple miles to warm up and then at six, I got distracted and my foot caught a root. BAM! I was eating dirt. Ugh. I get so pissed off at myself for doing that. My knee HURT too. Just ached for the next three to four miles. Then the pain disappeared for the rest of the run. Whew!
At mile eight I stopped off at the car to wipe up the dirt and scratches a bit, top off my Nathan and grab a little food. I had a Reed's Ginger Chew on the first loop and coconut water. Even though I wasn't exactly hungry, I wanted to start playing with eating more solid foods. The most I've done so far I think is to eat an all natural, organic fruit leather in mango, Justin's Almond Butter & Maple Syrup, and Chocolate #9 Agave Energy Gel. Which has all worked out great. This time I ate a RAW Organic Food Bar in Chocolate Chip (Ingredients: Organic Cashew Butter, Organic Dates, Organic Agave Nectar, Organic Brown Rice Protein, Organic Dark Chocolate Chips (Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Organic Chocolate Liquor, Organic Cocoa Butter, Non-GMO Soy Lecithin), Quinoa, Flax). I cut the bar up in tiny, bite sized pieces and stored them in a snack baggie. This worked out okay although the baggy was kinda hard to stuff into and pull out of my already-used chest pocket. I really need a smaller bag. But, the bite sized pieces were perfect for eating slowly. I'm finding so far that I can eat while running, but I have to do it slowly over a mile or more. I eat a little and drink a few sips, then as soon as I can, do it again. Maybe this is good anyways for a constant supply of energy while requesting my stomach to work a little at a time.
Otherwise, nothing new out there - just logged the miles, felt great and went home. :)

Current Inspiration: Amy Palmiero-Winters and Jan Brett

Today I went back out to the Sandrat trails for a mid-week run during perfect weather. 80 and breezy, in the shade almost the whole way.

I was facing the usual neighborhood running and realized I had the time today, I should freaking run where I'll be happy. A lot of people had the same idea as it got pretty busy on the return trail of my five miler.

Although it took me some time to warm up, my run felt good, the leg tweaks I had been having silenced, the trail felt smooth and I just rolled on. It's funny how you can feel so creaky and rusty beginning a run for it all to just start loosening up into a nice flow. I had been reading a profile on Jan Brett, author and Boston finisher, in Runner's World and she said, "The first mile of every run I always get this feeling that I'm not a runner and that this is all a joke." Ha-ha. That's me until later on in the week when I realize that running for 2 and 3 hours at a time probably means you are a runner. Even though I second guess all those hours out there wondering if it wasn't hard enough, fast enough, if I should have been on a different terrain, upset over a leg or knee ache, etc. Scared that my ultra marathon goal race will never happen. Maybe if I even get into the race, if I don't walk too much, if I'm not last, if I finish.... maybe I'll be a runner then. :)

I came out of the forest briefly where the trees part and a breeze came over me, the sun shone and the tall grass whipped back and forth. I just felt glad to be right in that spot at that very moment. Today running felt good. It got me thinking about Amy Palmiero-Winters and how she described her amputee as a challenge like any other. Running challenges can come in many forms, although I'd say hers is up there and her statement is very modest for what she has overcome! But I love it all the same, recognizing that not every run is a good run, not every day is a good day to run, not every body is up to running, and not every moment out there feels right.

But today, it felt right and everything showed up that needed to show up and lay down a weekday run.

Current Inspiration:
Amy Palmiero-Winters, U.S. Track Team
Link: USAToday article.

Jan Brett
Children's Book Author/Illustrator and Boston finisher (7 times)
Link: Website

Sandrat 8 Miler

I missed the Clinton Lake group run because had a lot to do on Saturday and wanted to jump my errands as soon as possible that morning. I probably could have gotten in my two hour run but driving home, showering, changing, unloading crap from my hydration pack and then getting ready for the day would have put me behind more than I wanted.













I never mind running alone anyway. In fact, it's my preference most of the time.


















It kept trying to storm but the mix of the cool air trying to overtake the warm made for a mix of breezes and sunny spots. It also made for dramatic scenery every time the trail peeked out from the forest.


















I lost my GPS signal (unlocked Garmin.. oops) very early on in the run. I'm unfamiliar with the trail enough to not know the mileage at the turn-around points. I guessed distance by how I felt and how far I had gone since I had restarted my watch. I'm pretty sure I got in all 8 miles and left the trails feeling great.



















P.S. My shoulder is healed from last weeks' crash. :)

The Trails Are Calling and I Must Go

The title is a 'lil remix of John Muir's quote, "The mountains are calling and I must go." For being a trail runner, I haven't been doing a lot of trail running lately. Yesterday I ran a neighborhood (neigh-boring-hood) 4 miles. This has been a long winter and now a very wet spring. Which has made the trails muddy and I just haven't been feeling like making my knee's ache from the wet suction effect, nor straining muscle from trying to move through slippery earth or dealing with wet, muddy shoes. If I had shoes to rotate, it might make that a little less of a sticking point, but at this time I only have one pair of shoes that aren't over mileage.
But, tonight was the Gal Gallup run at the Sandrat trails. The ground had dried out so I went early to run with Laurie and Coleen. Coleen led at a brisk 10:30ish min/mile pace. I don't know if that was the real average but every time I looked at my watch we were doing 9 something... 10 something.... I quit looking. We past 2 miles, then 3miles.... I stopped talking. I tried to stop my brain from thinking because all that I came up with was something like:
I have to stop.
I can't keep this up.
etc.
Negativity I didn't need. So, like I said, I told myself to shut off the brain. It wasn't doing me any favors.
New rule: Don't shut off the brain.
Within no time at all of mindless brain wandering I hit a sunken rock HARD. And boom, I was down, sliding into an invisible home base. I got up and thought SAFE! But, as we resumed walking I realized my left shoulder and wrist hurt. Ugh, annoying. We resumed running and my left knee sorta clicked. UGH, very annoyed at myself.
Then, not a couple minutes later, BOOM, my foot hit another rock. Luckily I did a Superman, staying airborne until my foot was back under me. But now I was pissed at myself. I was just tired and I had probably stopped picking up my feet enough. Not used to running so fast took the juice outta me quickly.
However, I'm still really happy to have run with these girls tonight. Every Thursday is a nice little challenge for me, and I need that. It's either faster than I usually run or an exercise in not being able to take walking breaks (as much as usual) as we run single file on single track trail. Both really great for a tempo training run midweek.
At mile 2ish Laurie had just finished telling us how a tree we were climbing over had fallen during her last run. Then we heard this huge creeeeeeeeeak! Mile 4 brought back the creaking and groaning of the trees waving high in the wind so we pressed on the gas to finish up. My watch said 4.5 miles but the girls say it's a 5 mile loop.
Felt good to be back on trails and back in nature!

5+ Miles with the Girls

I met the women's trail hawk group for a 5 mile run tonight. It started out feeling pretty cool at 55 degrees but once we started running the temperature felt awesome. Last week I had a little knee complaint after running on very muddy trails the Sunday before. This week everything seemed back to normal!
I ran with some girls who are definitely faster than me but it's probably good for me to speed it up once a week. On Tuesdays I can run at my own pace and then Saturdays I can push the mileage. This way I'm getting a varied workout through the week.
I love running with these girls and getting to talk about girl stuff - running skirts, food, yoga, boys... Good times! :)

Meet: The Gal Gallup

On Tuesday I ran a quick 3 miles on some neighborhood roads but tried to stay in the grass as much as possible to simulate trail running. I think it helps to build my legs muscles. Although, when running uphill or when grass isn't available I've been not worrying as much about pavement running. I'm so much faster than I used to be (at least going short distances) and it's been fun to look down at my Garmin and see a 9:45 min pace or 10:30 pace here and there. I can't hold it for long, but more often, I'm seeing those faster paces flash across the watch. My legs are used to having to dig into the grass or mud or dirt for traction, so when I'm on the roads I'm fly'n! (relatively speaking to my usual snails pace)

Thursday I met another new trail running group! This is an all women's group that meets on the Kansas River Sandrat trails. The trails are on a loop but it's so narrow it's almost an out and back. They are also relatively flat - nice! There were a bunch of new runners (new to running and new to the group) so it was a great turn out and fun to meet everybody. There were two different paces going on. The first group I went out with ran faster than a 12 min/mile pace. I stayed with them until the turn around and then joined the 12 min-ish group to go back to the trail head. We finished right before it was getting dark and the air was still warm. Such a perfect evening!

Can't wait to see these girls next Thursday!