PCTR Big Basin Redwoods "Event"

I was more than ready to tackle this 25K course. For the first time ever, I set a time goal for myself. I wanted to finish in under four hours, in order to start preparing for finishing ultras in the normally allowed eight hours. I was super excited to run yesterday. I was also excited Christy was joining me again. This was her first PCTR run since she injured herself at Pacifica in January.

After getting lost a couple of times on our way to Big Basin and finally finding a place to park, I met up with Theresa and her friend Toni before the start of the race. Theresa (on the right) participated today but Toni was putting in her volunteer hours. ;)

The 15K, 25K and 50K runners all start on the 15K loop together. Christy and Theresa were signed up for the 15K so we were able to run together. I had already decided I wasn't going to take a TON of pictures because I wanted to make my time goal. (That changed as soon as I got hurt.) I was feeling very strong. I didn't start at the absolute rear like I usually do and I was willing to pass other runners when I could. At one point, I was in a group of about ten runners on a very nice downhill portion and was actually pissed because I was at the mercy of the front runner. I could tell the girl in front of me wanted to pass so I quietly told her I would follow if she wanted to go. She made a break for it and we cruised on by and picked up our pace down the trail for a while.

It was for a very short while, however. Because it was at this time, mile 1.69, I rolled my ankle and heard a snap. This is not the noise you want to hear when you are less than two miles into a 15.5 mile run. I stopped right there. I didn't even put my foot back on the ground. I was on a bridge so Christy told me I needed to move off of it. I sat down and took my shoe and sock off. Theresa reached into my hydration pack and handed me an Advil. Christy suggested I put my shoe back on before it really started to swell. I put my shoe and sock back on and started walking. At this point a decision needed to be made. Hike back out to the starting line or continue the eight miles to the finish. It didn't feel THAT bad, let's go forward. The scenery on this course is probably the prettiest I have ever seen. All covered single track trails. And just look at everything I would have missed out on. ;)

This one is my FAVORITE!

So forward we go. Christy and Theresa said at this point they were not worried about their time and wanted to stay with me. I was able to run some, mostly the downhill portions. But I wasn't really hobbling. If I landed my foot more on the front part, it actually wasn't that bad. But I did stop for many a picture opportunity (as you can tell).

Then, all of the sudden at about mile three, I go hurling forward and roll off the trail. I have no idea what happened! When I stopped rolling, Theresa was there with a hand to help me up. I asked her what the hell I tripped over. She humored me by dragging her foot across the extremely smooth trail surface and said, "um, I don't know." My left arm and rib cage took the worst part of that fall. WTF? Thank God they agreed to hang back with me. It made for good conversation and laughs at about mile seven! LOL

This was a very interesting portion. Moss covered, steep, wet concrete steps alongside a waterfall. You needed to hang onto the cable handrail to make your way up to the top. It was pretty cool though.

This is the first banana slug Theresa has ever seen. They're pretty cute and they are University of California Santa Cruz's mascot. I would try to get them off the trail when I'd see them so they weren't in danger of getting stepped on.

At mile 6.5 I was upset about my initial decision to not hike back out to the start. I did have to take another Advil before it was over. At one point I felt like my entire calf was swollen but I guess it wasn't. I pleaded with Christy to let me take my shoe off. She and Theresa simultaneously told me "NO!" If it weren't for them, I'd probably still be sitting on the side of the trail, trying to fit my shoe back on my foot. My sincere thanks to both of you!

The three of us eventually made our way through the 15K loop in three hours. Surprisingly, we weren't DFL. LOL I immediately took my damn shoe off, (now that I COULD) and asked Sarah, the RD for some ice.

I did go get checked out this morning. Just to be safe. Nothing broken, just badly sprained and bruised. No work for me this week. It was very difficult getting out of bed this morning. It's my right ankle and my left arm and rib cage. I feel like quite a wreck. It's not my first sprain but it was my first tumble. Will it stop me from doing what I love? Um, that would be a big fat NO!

Until later.............

How to turn a 25K into a 3-hour 15K

The end result looks like this:

I've been home for about five hours, continuously icing my ankle. I rolled it at mile 1.69. Yes, I went on to finish the 15K loop. In all honesty, it hurts like hell.

I'll be okay though and will post beautiful pictures (of the course) and all the details (about the rolls AND spills) when I'm not in so much pain and I can think more clearly.

Until later.............

Tomorrow's 25K

I'm doing this 25K tomorrow at Big Basin Redwoods State Park in Boulder Creek: Course Map

3410' elevation gain. Should be a walk in the park considering that covers 15.5 miles.

But, there is this amazing forecast to consider: Boulder Creek - California Weather Forecast on Yahoo! Weather. It baffles me how heat waves always come along when I am signed up for a run.

I'm hoping for nicely shaded trails. I mean, it is a park well known for it's gigantic Redwoods.

My goal? I want to finish in four hours! There, I said it. Four hours.


Until later.............

Never give up!

For you out-of-towners that aren't familiar with the area:
Mission Peak Regional Preserve East Bay Regional Park District

I often ask Sara if she would like to hike up Mission Peak with me. Often! For four years now, I have been asking her. She gave it a shot once and gave up within 1/4 of a mile. You see, the top of Mission Peak is 2,517 feet. Total climb for you from the parking lot to the top is about 2,200 feet and it's STRAIGHT UP for 2.8 miles! Well, Tuesday night, she said she would give it a try on Wednesday morning. So, try we did. And, son of a gun, the girl made it!!!

I didn't wear my Garmin. Time or pace was not going to be a factor. I had nothing else to do all day. She carried one little bottle of water because "that is all I will need." I completely filled my hydration pack with 70 oz. AND carried a hand bottle full of water. You know, just in case "Mom knew best." Also, we had both dogs with us and there's no water available along the hike. I went at her pace, stopping whenever she felt like she wanted to, for whatever reason. When we got up a super steep part, or around a corner, I would assure her that THAT was the toughest one we'd have to do. ;) The hardest part was always behind us. When I could, I would tell her how many turns we would have to take until we were at the top. I remember telling her when we only had to turn five more times, without having to tell her how long or steep the stretches were.

Then came this part:
When the trail went from a gravel fire road to this, she decided there was "no way in hell I am going to go up that!" I asked if we could just go see what was up over the hill here. She was very discouraged because at this point, the peak completely disappears. I knew how close we were, but she didn't.

The trail didn't get a lot better. In fact, it got worse. I pointed out the beautiful California Poppies along the side of the trail. She didn't really care about the California Poppies at this point. AT ALL! (I enjoyed them anyway.)

When the peak came into view again and she saw it only got steeper, she only got more upset. She realized at this point, all those times I was telling her the worst was behind us? I guess I was wrong. Oops, my bad! She told me for the umpteenth time, "I'm done! I'm not climbing up those rocks." Blah, blah, blah! I told her I was going up and I would take a picture with the dogs. She said "Fine!" I went ahead and waited at the top. Soon she came into view. See her? You have to click on the picture.

What's this I see?! That's Sara's head! She's really going to do it!

And, as you know from the first picture, she was actually able to smile once she got there. I was SO proud of her. It's not an easy hike, by any means and she stuck it out. I was not going to give up on her either. I tried to point out different places you could see from the top. She couldn't care less. I was showing her Mt. Diablo, Sunol, San Francisco skyline, the different highways, a golf course. She still couldn't care less.

We slowly made our way back down to the car. Don't think walking down 2,200 feet is a ton easier than going up. She's proud of herself, that she really did make it to the top. A couple of times, I actually heard the words "next time" come out of her mouth. And I know, no matter what, when she drives around and can see that peak, she'll look at it in a whole different way. I know she will.

Heck, I still do!

WOW!

If I could give each of you a bouquet of these, I would. Thank you all so much for the overwhelming support for me to step up and start doing more ultras. You guys have such confidence in me, it's great. I have a couple 25K's to do between now and Angel Island but my plan is to sign up for the 50K then. I CAN DO IT!

I had a monumental day yesterday. Well, I assisted someone in having a monumental day yesterday. ;)

I'm off to work now but I will tell you about it later.

Until then.............

To ultra, or not to ultra?

This is me, thinking out loud.

I run as often as I can, as far as I can in the time I have. If someone invited me to join them on a trail run that was 15 or 20 miles, I know I could do it without any problem. I would show up and at least start with them and hope they'd hang around until I finished.

Then why, when I sign up for a race, do I always sign up for the one just below the 50k? Every time! For example, I'm doing this 25K Sunday: Big Basin (May 17)

50K's always have a time limit. Time limits scare me. Even when I set them for myself. Then I just call them "goals" though. I have done one 50k. That was in September, 2008. It had an eight hour time limit. I completed it in 8:00:30. I truly believe I went into it over trained and with a couple of injuries I wasn't willing to admit to myself.

I've done a few trail marathons and a large number of 20K's & 30K's. But, as I said before, only one 50k. I was more than willing to tackle the Mt. Diablo marathon, which was a HUGE challenge. Some people said this marathon was harder than a lot of 50K's. I knew I had all day to finish it though, if I needed. Well, not ALL day, but something like 16 hours. So, I wasn't afraid to sign up for it.

I want to do ultras now. I think the fact that I completed Diablo showed me that I do have it in me. I think physically I am able to do the 31.2 miles again. I've learned a lot since I started running trails over two years ago. I know what over training is. I know what being under trained is. I know what rest is about. I know how tough I can be when needed. I think I'm pretty good at keeping myself hydrated and fed out there. I know how to have fun and keep a positive attitude for hours (and hours and hours) on end!!

The only thing that worries me is the time limits. They have cut-off times too. No matter what RBR says, there are many people who will attest to the fact that I AM SLOW! But, one thing I also am is persistent. Maybe the first one I sign up for, I won't make a cut-off. Then you know what? I guess I'll have to try harder next time. My thought is if I want to run ultras, I have to start running ultras. It's really quite simple.

I think I'm tired of mickey-mousing around. It's time to step up and become a true ultra-runner.

So. June 20th. Angel Island. 50k.


Until later.............

New friends and feet

First off, Happy Mother's Day to all you moms of children, with or without fur!



My day started off very early this morning. The alarm went off at 5:00 a.m. because Boomer and I had a running date at 6:00. I made the date with Stacey (Run Bitch Run) so we could show her what Garin is all about, really. I tortured, I mean, showed her a good time, I think. The poor girl rode 84 miles yesterday! Yet, she hung in and we ran some of my favorite single track trails together, covering 10 miles. She told me she had 10 miles on her calendar so I gave it to her. It was a beautiful cool, clear morning. We chatted and laughed our way through all of the miles and complained about our sore boot-ays as we climbed some of the hills. If you think her blog is funny, she doesn't disappoint in person. And she is just as pretty too. ;) I truly hope she will make the drive up here again soon. Well, maybe after her Ironman in June.

I came home to flowers and this nice card from Boomer: (you must click on it to read it)

The inside says, "you are my best friend."


Then it was time to get pampered. Sara treated me to a pedicure at Pinkie's in The Livery shopping center in Danville. I hardly ever bother getting pedicures for myself because, well, why? My feet get beat up from all of the trail running I do. I'm constantly trimming my toenails so they don't affect my running. And those cute little sandals that show off your pretty painted toes? I don't wear them too much.

They offered us champagne but we declined and had water instead. Sara was nice enough to buy me some cookies which I brought in with us. We (I) ate those while getting my pedicure. The leg massage felt great after the run this morning, that's for sure.

Here are my gorgeous toes waiting to dry. It should take me about two days to get them thrashed. Yes, I've been told my bunions could walk away on their own if they wanted. One more reason I don't wear cute sandals very often. But, my toes sure look pretty for now.

After our pedicures we drove into Downtown Danville and walked around, mainly looking for a nice place for lunch that wasn't just serving brunch. Lots of people out and about, even with their dogs. After an hour or so, we ended up driving right back to back to The Livery and eating at Luna Loca. I had a vegetable burrito. It was very delicious! It actually had vegetables in it, not just rice, beans and grilled peppers. It had broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, peppers, onions, some cheese. I was so happy we ended up eating there.

I came home and took a much deserved nap. Keith just cooked me dinner. Now I will take Boomer for his after dinner walk. A great day indeed. ;) The only thing that could have made it better is if I could have seen my mommy but one of my brothers took her to see Wicked.

I'm finally back to working my usual three days a week. Thank GOD! I can get back to my normal running life. Woohoo!

Until later.............