Hips Don't Lie

That's right, I just quoted Shakira.

My hips aren't lying to me - they are whimpering...I think the past five months have taken their toll and I need take it easy. The past five months have been fun - I had some really great race experiences including many good trail races and my first road marathon, but my hips are tired.

I took a full week off from exercising with the exception of taking Toddy on a few walks. This week I have run a slow 13.1 miles so far with the longest run being 4 miles and I've biked around 20. I'll keep plodding along slowly and give my body a chance to recover while keeping some fitness. I'm supposed to run a trail marathon in two weeks, but I'm strongly considering dropping down to the half marathon and just enjoy a day in the woods. Maybe take my camera and just have a good time while Drew, Michael, and Patrick run the full.

I need to do a better job with the blog - I feel like I'm just posting about race stuff lately. The spring race season is almost over for me plus school is winding down (only three full days!!), so I'll have more time on my hands soon. I can't believe summer is almost here - I am ready for it for sure!

I wish I had pictures to post from the marathon, but I did not bring a camera. Claire took a picture of Michael and me at the end of the race, but Michael threw his hands up and blocked me!

The pictures that you have to buy from the marathon are funny...I'm considering buying just one. There is one picture of us at mile 17 and we were walking when we spotted the camera, so we pretended like we were running. It's pretty funny. Here is Ella Kate in her marathon outfit...

Isn't she just precious! I don't think she enjoyed her first marathon very much - I think the crowd noise was a bit much for her. Speaking of EK, I got to babysit her for the first time this morning for over four hours!

Happy running!

Nashville Marathon report...finally!!

Holy moly, what a week this has been!! I haven't really stopped since the marathon - I've had track meets and school events to attend to all week. I would have posted at school, but our server has had a lot of problems this week...so here is the race report from my first road marathon!

This was a big family and friends weekend. My mom, dad, sister, and niece were all coming to watch me and my brother-in-law plus my friends Mo and Laura. Mo came and spent the night Thursday night then Friday morning Laura came over and we all went to pick up Michael. My family and the baby were coming up separately and we were going straight to the expo. We stopped at a subway that was located in a gas station and I ordered my usual sandwich and there was something wrong with it - it tasted extremely funky, so needless to say, I was worried about what it would do to my stomach!

The expo was uneventful - we wandered around for a bit and I got to see a former student/soccer player who was running the half. We were all a little nervous about the race - very uncertain about how it would go. Mo ran the half and she had never done anything over six. Laura's hamstring had been bothering her, and I just didn't know what to expect. We ate a pretty relaxing dinner at Olive Garden then headed back to the hotel to get ready for the race. I did have stomach issues that night - but I'm not sure if it was the sandwich, the nerves, or both!

We woke up at 4:45 to the sound of pouring rain! We checked the weather and it looked like it would clear up by the time the race started. The shuttle to the race left from our hotel, so we were downstairs by 5:30 to catch it. The shuttle dropped us off right at the start line, and we immediately went and stood in the porta potty line...and I was prepared this year! I brought a whole roll of toilet paper and I'm glad I did because there was no toilet paper in any of them!

The race started at 7am and we were all in corral 9. I had three goals going into this. My pie in the sky goal was 4:00, my more doable goal was 4:15, and my bottom goal was 4:30. So anything between 4:15 and 4:30 would be great. I didn't wear my ipod because Michael (broinlaw) said he was going to stick with me the whole way. Our corral finally made it to the start at about 7:20 and we took off. Laura, Michael, and myself stayed together for about the first 9 miles and our pace never went above 9:20, which we perfect for us. Nashville is a fun race to run - especially the first half of the race. There are some 20,000 people who run the half, so the first part of the race is filled with all kinds of spectators and you feel like you are running in a parade that is just for you!

My hips were creaking a little bit because of the rain. I was trying to make sure I was drinking enough water and eating. I had a gel at mile six and I refilled my bottle at about that point and dropped a nuun in for some electrolytes. But at about mile 8 my stomach started acting up and I told Michael I was going to have to stop soon. We stopped somewhere during mile 9 and he waited on me, but Laura kept going.

Soon we were at the split for the full and the half and suddenly the road got a bit quieter. My stomach still wasn't feeling the best...Michael gave me a rolaid and it helped some but I knew I would have to stop again. We crossed the mat at the half marathon point at 2:04 and that made me feel somewhat good. I thought surely I can finish by my goal time.

I was still running fairly decently, although our splits were now going around 9:30-9:40. But then I had to stop again at about mile 15. After that stop I did feel better, but the sun was now really starting to come out. The back side of the marathon is very, very hilly and I started to cramp up at mile 17. Mile 17 had a long, steady hill and I was running fine up it...until I was almost to the top and my calves started to ball up - apparently I was not drinking as much as I should have been! So from mile 17 on, anytime I pushed the pace my calves started to cramp...and my mile 24, so were my hamstrings.

But Michael kept me company, stopped when I had to stop, offered to massage the cramps, and just kept me sane in general. Never once did I get frustrated or mad - I just kept going and tried to enjoy the experience as much as possible. Our splits from mile 17 on were in the 10:00s and some in the 11:00s. Mo saw us as we finished and so did our family. I was so happy to see that finish line!

Our final time was 4:31 - one stinking minute over my last goal. Which is disappointing, but I'm just glad I finished. My first road marathon was definitely a fun, interesting experience. I need to figure the bathroom stuff out and I need to drink more as I run so I won't cramp up!

Laura ended up finishing in 4:25 and Mo finished her first half in 2:29 (her goal was 2:30!!), so congrats to all the runners!!

This week I have been practicing a lesson learned from the Stumpjump - I have not run once since the marathon. I took Toddy on a couple of walks, but no running. I plan on running a couple today and tomorrow, then slowly trying to get back into the swing of things. Michael, Patrick, Drew, and I are headed to Chattanooga for a trail marathon at the end of May!

Happy running!

Nashville!

Well, the Nashville marathon is tomorrow morning. This time tomorrow I could be having a great time running the miles....or suffering!! I'm nervous!!! I'll update as soon as I am able!

Happy running!

G'town Half Mary RR

I think a more appropriate title for this post should be something like, "A bad week = a PR?" That basically sums up what happened.

It all started on Sunday when I woke up at 4:15 (really 3:15 b/c of DST) to meet Laura in Germantown for a 20 miler on the road. I only made it 10.66...it was just not a good day! My hips and my right knee and foot were hurting me, so I called it a day...plus I was needed to get home to get ready for Ella Kate's christening.

This past week was my spring break, so I thought I would have plenty of time to run - Drew's is this week, so I was on my own all week. Monday I went to the dentist and had two cavities filled, so no running. Tuesday...just didn't feel like running. Wednesday...didn't feel like running but I ran 5 miles in the morning and 5 that night. Thursday...I had a ten miler planned, but I made it .8 miles away from home and said I really don't want to do this so I went back home. (What was up with me this week?!?! I was completely unmotivated!!!) Friday...I actually had a decent workout - 8 miles bike then 4 run. And I did nothing but drink lots of water yesterday and eat some pasta. I went to bed last night with a bad feeling about today - I just was not in the mood for this race!! I don't know if it's the fact that it was a road race or what, but I was worried. So I made it my goal just to beat my last half mary time - 2:04 in Nashville.

The race ended up being awesome!! Michael and I were all decked out in St. Patrick's Day attire - I'll post a pic later when my sister uploads them. But as a preview I had on a green tank that said check out my shamrocks and green boxers with beer mugs!!

The race started at 7:30 and I have to admit I was a bit cold in my outfit, but I quickly warmed up. My plan was just to go out and see how I feel and try to beat 2:04. I started the race with Laura and we ran the first part of the race together...including the first mile in 8:19!! She looked at me and said, "Do you realize how fast we are going?" I had no idea and it didn't feel too bad, but I slowed a little because I knew I could not hold it for 12.1 more miles. I ran with a handheld and I'm glad I did because those aid stations get crowded plus I can't run and drink out of a cup! I took one gel at mile six. I never had any serious stomach issues (like Nashville) although if I had kept going, I probably would have had to stop for one bathroom break. Anyways, my final time was 1:55:18!! Here are my splits:
8:19
8:46
8:34
8:44
8:52
8:49
8:51
8:53
8:48
8:47
8:38
9:00
8:44
1:31 (Garmin said I ran 13.22 miles...so .22 miles here)

So I totally kicked the poo out of my Nashville time!! When I finished I thought about the marathon and if I could have held that pace...I think for a few more miles then the times would have creeped above 9:00 for sure. Plus I know I would have had to use the bathroom. Hmmm...the full mary scares me!

After the race we headed over to Patrick's parents house for post-race festivities and that was fun to hang out over there with everyone. Now I'm just relaxing at home watching NCAA basketball...and trying to get ready for school to start back tomorrow!! I haven't been to school in 17 days!!!!

Happy running!!!

PS - Don't forget to sign up for our 6-hour endurance run!!!

MS50 race report!!

I just checked downstairs at the desk and they assured me I was not getting charged for internet access...so here goes the race report!!

Michael, Patrick, and I arrived in Laurel, MS around 3:00 and we went straight to the start/finish line at Desoto State Park where we set up our tents (I have pictures, but no cord to hook my camera up with, so I'll post pics when I get home). Then we went back into town for the packet pickup and pasta dinner. There were all kinds of people there walking around and it was somewhat intimidating. We saw a member of Team Invo8, people wearing Western States t-shirts and numerous Boston marathon qualifiers. I felt honored to be around people who have run some of the races that I would eventually like to do. We hung around after the dinner for a bit, then headed back to our campsite and we were asleep by about 9:15.

Our wakeup call came at 4am in the form of the race director and volunteers showing up to get ready for the race. The 50M and 50K started at 6am and the 20K started at 8am. So Michael and Patrick and another guy John got ready and were off at exactly 6am and then I started taking down camp and getting ready for my start at 8...after a few instructions we were off. Going into this race I thought a doable goal for me was under 2:00, so set off rather quickly. Here is a pic of me from the website of the start:

The course is a 12.5 mile loop run on some single-track, gravel road, and fire roads. When they say fire roads, they literally mean fire roads. The park rangers had been doing some controlled burning the last two weeks, so until about 10am we could smell smoke and for part of the race we ran through an area that had been burned the week before!!

I carried a water bottle and one gel so I wouldn't have to use many aid stations. For the most part the race was uneventful. I ran the first 4.5 miles with a few folks in sight either behind me or in front of me, but from that point to mile 8.5 I ran by myself...I saw absolutely no one and for a little bit I got freaked that I was lost, but luckily I wasn't. I just trucked along trying to go as fast as I could - I wasn't feeling all that great due to a cold I had been fighting all week. I made it to mile 8.5 which is not a fun part of the race. There is an aid station there, but you have to turn left and run an out and back on a gravel road. I think it is about 1.3ish miles and it was here that I finally starting seeing some folks. I stopped at the aid station briefly where the volunteer filled my water bottle up with what I thought was water, but it was Heed!! I drank a bit of it and it was nasty! It tasted like watered down cough medicine. So I did the out and back and I had to stop again and get water put into my bottle, so that cost me a bit of time. At this point I had about 2 miles left and the next couple of girls were not that far in front of me, so I took off after them. I ended up catching one of the girls and a couple of guys and I came in at 2:01 - 10th place female and 29th overall. It wasn't my best race, but I had fun!!

I sat down and took off my socks and shoes to let them dry out, changed my shirt, and got something to eat. I was now waiting on Michael and Patrick to come in because I was going to run another loop with them. The 50 milers had to run the 12.5 mile loop 4 times! They came after their 2nd loop not too long after me and I talked to Michael and decided to run his 4th loop with him because he would be alone that loop - Patrick was slowing up a bit due to an injury. So I took a brief nap in the car and then Michael came in and we were off for his last loop. He looked really strong, so I just let him set the pace and bugged him about eating and drinking. For the most part we were doing 12-13 minute miles. We would walk most of the hills and when Michael ran, he was running fast! I was sprinting at some points to keep up with him! He probably passed 14 people on that last loop!! I got ahead of him on the last couple of miles so I could get back and get the camera out so I could get a picture of him finishing. He came in looking really strong and his official time was 10:43:21!! I was so proud of him and amazed at this accomplishment! Then we started waiting on Patrick and he came in at 11:35:02!! We were all super pumped about the races!! It was a really good day all around for everyone.

Here are pictures of Michael, Patrick, and John coming into an aid station:


After the excitement died down a bit we packed everything up and start headed back to Memphis. We left around 6:30 and I was driving. Michael and Patrick slept part of the way back and we didn't get home until after midnight. I got home around 12:30 and I had laundry and packing to do for my trip to DC!! I didn't get to sleep until around 2:30 and then I woke up at 5am to get to the airport in time for my flight to DC. Needless to say I was exhausted and I crashed early last night and slept in today.

The weather here is beautiful, so I plan on getting in a few good runs here plus doing some sightseeing. It should be a good week...hopefully I'm fully recovered from the weekend. I'm trying to heal up a few blisters and get over this cold!!

Happy running!!

50 milers!!

This post will be brief...I'm in Washington DC with some students and I think I have to pay for internet access...but I wanted to officially congratulate Michael and Patrick - they finished their first 50 milers yesterday!!! Michael finished in the 10:30s and Patrick in the 11:40s. They were both awesome! I ran the 20K option in 2:01 (my goal was 2:00) for a 10th place female finish, then I ran Michael's last 20K with him.

I'll post more later - I might find a Starbucks or Barnes and Nobles with free wireless...until then...way to go Michael and Patrick!!!!

Happy running everyone!!

Gearing up...again!

I'm headed out in less than an hour to pick up Michael and Patrick to make our trek down to Laurel, MS. They are going to rock the 50 miler tomorrow and I'm looking to race the 20K hard then join them for about 13 more miles. I'm itching to run the 50K, but I'll have to see how I feel. The course is supposedly a fairly flat course - just rolling hills. They advertise it as a great course for 50K PRs and a good first 50 miler. I'll report back tomorrow and let you know if they live up to that!

Be thinking about Michael and Patrick tomorrow!

Happy running!

10K PR, baby!!

What a day!! I picked Michal up around 1pm today and we headed over to Shelby Farms to run the WCCS 10K plus a few extra miles. It was cold, but after we ran one mile as a warmup we realized we were overdressed. Michael took off his pullover and I took off my tights...good thing I had some shorts! I was not feeling all that fast, but I was going to give it my best shot. As we lined up at the start I spotted the girl I had to beat and pointed her out to Michael. He offered to "accidentally" club her knees, but I decided that was probably not a good idea!

We started the race and she was about 10 yards ahead of me and she stayed that way until about mile 1. We ran mile 1 in 8:11 and her lead increased the next half mile. 8:11 is fast for me on a trail, so I decided just to focus on myself and run my own race. So I just plugged along and none of my mile splits were under 9:00 and I felt pretty good as I was running. Michael asked me what my 10K PR was and I tried to remember...I knew it was around 57:00 (57:09 actually) and Michael said we are going to blow that out of the water.

And blow it out we did! I pushed hard the last couple of miles and ended up coming in at 53:24 which is around an 8:36 pace!! And on this exact course at this exact race last year I ran 57:50!! So needless to say, I was pretty pleased with my time. Nope, I never caught the girl, but that is okay with me. The official results aren't up yet, so we'll see how the final standings shake out.

After getting some water, Michael and I headed over to the WRT for another 8 miles. We were both tired, but we kept a pretty steady pace...until one of my blisters popped!! It seems that no matter what shoes or socks or terrain, I get blisters. On my toes, on the ball of my feet - wherever. I just suck it up and run, but when that sucker popped, it felt like someone was rubbing flint on my foot to start a fire! We had 2 miles left, so what did we do? We sat down and Michael took his moleskin off his heel and I put it on my foot. I know, very sanitary! But after a few minutes the fire on my foot started to subside. I really wish I could fix this blister situation.

So our total for the day was 15.2 in 2:34:00. Not too shabby for lil me. Plus I've never done two long runs back to back like that. Michael and I did 10 yesterday and 15.2 today! I'm for sure taking tomorrow off, then doing 2-3 on Tuesday and Thursday and 8 on Wednesday. Friday off, then race Saturday in MS!!

Here is an old picture of Michael and myself after the 15M Death Run last year...

Happy running!

Running down a dream...

I've had that Tom Petty song running through my head on my past couple of runs, but it's a good one, so I don't mind too much. This week has been a long one filled with more biking than running, but I feel good about it. I was a little sore after the 25K, but it was my knee that was bothering me from my fall. It was all bruised up, so I decided to bike more this week and so far I'm at 32 miles on the bike. I ran some short mileage with the track team, but they were fast miles and it felt good to go fast with them! I don't think I could ever keep up with them in a 1 mile or 2 mile race, but they could not ever keep up with me on a 17 mile run! I did get in one medium run of 7.5 miles and today Michael and I went to the Wolf River Trails for a 10 miler and that was fun. We went faster than I normally go and were talking the whole time.

Tomorrow is the last race of the WCCS series and it's the 10K at Shelby Farms. I'm going to try to run it as fast as I can so I can maybe take 3rd overall in the series. If not, that's okay with me - at least I'll get a good run out of it. Then I'll stay around and run about 10 more to get 16 for the day. This next week I could possibly break 50 miles, which is really exciting for me. The most I've ever done is 43 miles! I'll get the 16 tomorrow, do some small runs in the week with the exception of one 8 miler. Then Michael, Patrick, and I are headed to Laurel, MS for the MS50. I'm running the 20K and they are attempting their first 50 miler! I'm going to run the 20K, then wait on them and run the last 12-13 with them...so what is that...depending on how many small runs I do with the track team, about 52! Holy moly that is a lot of miles for me!

I'll drive Michael and Patrick back that night then the next day I fly to DC with some students for a week, so I'll use that week to recover from the 50+ miles. I'll run some while I'm there, but not too terribly much.

Alright, I'm outta there. I'm headed over to my sister's to hang out with my niece! I'll leave you with an AWESOME picture of her - she is starting to smile!!

How precious is that?!?!?!

Happy running!

Sylamore 25K!!

Despite the weather, the Memphis Ultra crew had a great weekend in Allison, AR for the Sylamore 50K/25K! Drew, Michael, and I left Memphis around 10:45 Friday morning and had a somewhat uneventful drive over to Allison. We did get turned around a couple of times, but the craziest thing we saw was the tornado damage in Mountain View, which is about ten minutes from Allison. There was a stretch of about 1/2 mile that was destroyed in the tornadoes last week and here are some pics:


There is damage like that in places all over the mid-south, so keep those folks in your prayers.

We made it to Allison just as check in started at this fishing resort called Anglers. We picked up our cool sweatshirts then headed down to our fishing resort, Jacks. The White River runs through this town, so it has all kinds of fishing resorts in it. And the word resort is completely misleading!! The first pic is of Anglers and the second is Jacks:


The rest of the crew made it in and we all had some pasta at Anglers, then we turned in pretty early to get some good rest for the next day. The 50K start was at 7:00 and the 25K was at 7:15. We watched the weather and were anxious to see what we would wake up to. They were calling for low temps and thunderstorms!!

We woke up at 5am and started to get ready and the weather wasn't all that bad. It was drizzling and in the high 30s. We all debated what to wear - it's so crazy trying to figure out what to wear for these races! We made it to Angler's and the guys got out and I sat in the warm car as along as possible! Here are the guys before their start:

I watched them go, then I was off shortly after them. The first 1/2 mile is on pavement, then the course veers off to the right and we start to work our way to the start of the trail. But the interesting thing is that right as the trail starts there is a creek crossing. In years past it has been as high as people's chest, but this year it was only up to my knees (I don't have these pics yet, but as soon as I do, they will be posted)!! We had all debated bringing extra socks, etc, but decided against it. That was a very good decision considering the rain!! My new Mizunos did excellent throughout the race. They drained quickly and were light and my hips felt better after this race than the last few in my Hardrocks.

I started right behind the lead pack and we were just trucking along and I felt great. We had to slow down here and there because of slick rocks, etc, but we were making good time...until we went the wrong way!! There was a spot where the trail had a couple of options to choose from and we chose the wrong way. I think it took us about 5 minutes off course and in that time about 25-30 people got ahead of us, so we had some time to make up and people to pass. I did the best I could and was still feeling pretty good. The first aid station was at about mile 5. I decided not to stop at any aid stations the entire time, so I carried my water bottle and one gel and that worked perfectly and saved me a lot of time and allowed me to pass quite a few people. The aid stations were not located right on the course - they were about 40 - 50 yards off course. I just hollered out my number and kept on going!

Once we cleared the aid station that is when the climbing really started. Since I was only doing the 25K I pushed it up the hills and tried to just zoom down the downhills. I caught up to Michael and most of the other 50K Memphis Ultra guys here. Right before the turnaround I was mowing down a downhill that had a lot of rocks on it. There was one big rock and I was going to jump on it with one foot and catapult myself off...that was the plan at least...I hit that rock and it was super slick and I slid down it on my right knee and shin. Oh it hurt...but the funny thing about it is that there was this guy right behind me and he saw it happen and he bent down and picked me up under my armpits and swung me like a ragdoll back onto the course!! I bet it looked pretty funny. As he was swinging me he said, shake it off, shake it off!! But I had to stop for a second to make sure I was okay. Nothing was broken except my tights (hole!). I eventually made it to the turn around, then I started trucking it on back. I played leapfrog with about 4 girls until the we reached the aid station when they all stopped and I kept moving. I never saw them again, but I did catch up with Vinny here. Vinny is another Memphis Ultra guy who signed up for the 50K but he got hurt, so he dropped down to the 25K. We ran most of the last 5 miles together so that was cool having someone to talk to. Up to that point I had just been listening to my ipod. He took some pictures with a disposable camera, so hopefully I can get a copy of those and post them here!

The creek crossing felt great on the way back - I probably could have stood in there for a while! We finally made it back and our time was right at 3:30. Here is Vinny and myself at the finish:


My time was good enough to be the 8th female overall, which is pretty cool. This 25K was 17 miles.

I had time to go back to the room and shower before those guys finished, so I headed back to do that. I did take a picture of myself in the room!

When I started back to Anglers it was raining even harder! I found a parking spot right at the finish line so I sat in the car and waited on all the guys to finish.

Drew finished first amoung our guys followed by Michael and Patrick then Patrick's dad:




We were all pumped to be finished and we were all pleased with our times. That night was grilled some steaks, listened to Michael and Patrick play the guitar and exchanged race stories!! It was a great weekend.


We woke up early to get back to Memphis and the whole way home I doubted that I could run the 8K race. My knee was swollen and I was limping. I tried to run down the street when we got back and I decided not to run that race. Running the 8K was not worth me hurting myself more - I have bigger races that are more important to me. I will still run the 10K next weekend and if I win my age group I will still place in the top 3 for the whole series! I'm going to bike today and give running a whirl tomorrow - until then I will continue to ice and stretch these sore muscles!!

Happy running!!

Gearing up

Well, it's been a good week of tapering so far. I've biked about 24 miles so far and ran a little over 5. I had planned on doing a bit more, but the weather has been bad, plus I started track practice this week and I am getting home later than normal. I have thrown in some speed and agility work with the track team, but I've been taking it easy for the most part. Track is good, but it's been mostly short stuff this week because we are all working out together. That will change next week when we split up, so I'll have just the distance girls and we can get some longer runs in.

I need to give a shout out to Fleet Feet for helping me find a new pair of trail shoes! I went last week and they introduced me to the Mizuno Wave Ascend 3 trail shoe. I ran in them at the store and wore them around the house and they felt fine. Yesterday I went on a small run that involved a couple of hills and my toes were jamming up against the front! So I took them back and they very graciously exchanged them for a half size bigger! I'm planning on wearing them this weekend, so I'm going to take them on a run this afternoon to make sure the are good to go. The folks are Fleet Feet are always very helpful with everything and I think it's important to support your local running stores.

Drew, Michael, and I are leaving town tomorrow around 11 or so. We need to pick up our packets and there is a prerace supper at 5 tomorrow night. We hear the weather is going to be bad (snow!) so we don't want to be late. I'm sure I'll have some good stories to post when we get back!

I'll leave you today with some pictures of my niece relaxing in a little beach chair - looks how her hands are grabbing the chair!!


Happy running!

WCCS 5K

Yesterday was an awesome day for running! After a week of days where the temperature hovered around 32, we had a high in the 50s, so we were able to run in shorts and pullovers. The race was at Stanky Creek at 2pm and I think I found a good meal to eat before a race like that. Around 11:45 I ate a turkey sandwich with a granola bar and a clementine and my stomach was fine all afternoon.

We got there a little after 1 and Drew and I decided to run the full course for a warmup - and I was thinking about how far I've come since last year. Never in my wildest dreams would I imagine coming to a 5K and running the course as a warmup! We ran it slow and it took us about 31 minutes. Then we just stretched and drank some water until the race started.

I tried to start close to the front so I would not get boxed in because the race starts on a sidewalk then darts into the forest across a narrow bridge into singletrack. Well, my plan was foiled by some little boys! The little kids always start near the front of the race and it is always a pain to try to pass them. But as soon as the gun sounded the little kids in front of me almost fell so I got trapped behind them and got passed by a lot of people. After the bottleneck at the bridge (I had to walk to get through!!) my plan became to not get passed once and to pass as many people as possible. And that is exactly what happened - I think I passed probably 18-20 people and no one ever passed me. I even passed a couple of people who always beat me, so that was nice. My finishing time was 27:08 and as I finished Drew yelled at me to smile, so hopefully my finishing photo will be better than my last two! So I improved on my time from last year and I got second in my age group. I think my time is a decent one because I normally finished 5Ks around 25:00 and Drew finishes around 20:00 and we were both about 2 minutes off our norms. Drew finished in 22 something. I'm currently first in points for the series for my age group, but I'm a little nervous about keeping that lead - the next race (8+K) is the day after the Sylamore 25K!! We'll see.

So the race ended and Drew and I got water, ate a gel, and took off again. My goal was to reach 18, but we were tired from the race and my left hamstring has been bothering me for about a week now. I started off okay but the as the miles went by I felt worse and worse - plus Stanky creek has so many ups and downs. I tried to bail out after 4, but Drew pushed me to do 4 more - he knew I would be kicking myself later if I stopped, so thank goodness my husband knows me like that! We finished the 8 mile loop and stopped after that to end with 14.2 for the day. And I don't feel that bad about it with a race thrown in there. We were sooooo tired once it was over. I just plopped down on the ground.

But then I picked myself up because we were going to McDonalds where we feasted on fries, burgers, and nuggets! It was awesome. My hamstring is worrying me though so I have been putting icy hot or bengay patches on it. I'm not going to run or bike for two days to give it plenty of rest, so hopefully it'll start to feel better soon. Hopefully I'll have some good pics to post soon!

Happy running!

Swampstomper 2008!!

What a great day for a race and what an awesome race it was!!

To get ready for this race I tapered for two days and rode the bike quite a bit, plus I ate a lot of carbs on those two days. Saturday night I laid all of my gear out on the couch and tried to get some sleep. I've been fighting a cold so I was up most of the night, but when my alarm clock went off I was up quickly. I got dressed - tights, pants, two shirts, pullover, hat, thick socks, and gloves - and Michael picked me up at 6am. The temp outside was 28 and don't think it got much above that the whole day! It was freezing!!

The race was at Shelby Forest and it started at 7:30. We got there around 6:45 and met up with Laura, Patrick, and Vince and we tried to stay warm in our cars for as long as possible. We waited until 7:25 to finally get out of the car and then run over to the start. There were about 150 runners there and we were all jumping around waiting for the RD to say go! Finally we were off!

The first 1/2 mile took forever because the race starts on asphalt and then turns into the woods and there is about a 150 foot drop with stairs, so all the runners get backed up. Laura and I ran the entire race together, so once we got through that we settled in to a nice pace that hovered between a 9:45 mile and 10:15. The first section of the race is about 3.7 miles and it is fairly flat with a few small climbs and Laura and I were just trucking along. We got passed by quite a few people, but I knew we would be seeing some of them again later on!

The first aid station came up quick at the end of the first section and we grabbed water and some food. Since we were just running the 25K we decided not to bring water - plus aid stations were about every 3 miles - and I was glad we did this. The next section was beast. It was only a 2.9 mile loop but it was constant climbs and drops. Up 200 feet, then down, then repeat. Just when I thought we were done, there was another. It was freaking hard, but we power hiked up them then got down as fast as possible. Finally we were done and back at the aid station where we grabbed some more water and some pretzels.

At this point Laura and I were still feeling pretty good - we were talking and very upbeat and having a lot of fun! So we took off on the next section which was another 3 miles and it was similar to the first section - a few ups and downs plus some running through some bamboo and some creek crossings and we had a blast running through this part. This section leads to the turn around in the race so we were seeing the front runners come back and we enjoyed cheering them on - either by their place or their race number. I think a few of them thought we were crazy but I think we entertained many. This actually helped the time go by because we were at the turn around in no time. I ate a clif gel here and some MnM's and we were back running very quickly.

Basically the last part of the race is the exact same minus the beastly loop of hills. We made good time back to the last aid station where we had some frozen water that was hard to drink - it was freezing out there! Then we were off for the last 3.7 mile section and it was here that we started to catch people. I think maybe we caught about 8 people or so because there were some volunteers cheering people on and when I heard a lady say 2.5 left I took off and Laura was right behind me. We were flying through the last section and were pumped when we made it back to the stairs that held us up in the beginning of the race!

We crossed the finish line unofficially in 3:11:54 (the course was 16.4 miles) - which I believe is a great time for us. We enjoyed the post race chili and fire, picked up our medals (which are really cool by the way - I'll have to post a picture), and then cheered on the guys going back out. Drew didn't get in the race, but he showed up and ran with Michael on his 2nd 25K loop, so we sent them off. Michael had all kinds of icicles in his beard and Laura had ice in her hair! It was ridiculously cold! But it could have been much worse - the Swampstomper lived up to it's name last year when it rained and the course was very swampy. Luckily the course was dry this year.

All in all, it was a great day. I felt awesome running, had fun with Laura, great course conditions, awesome volunteers and RD - I'm glad I did it and I'll be back next year!!

**I don't have a lot of pics because my camera battery froze up in the cold. I do have a couple that I'll post tomorrow once my camera battery gets back to normal!

Happy running!

Swampstomper here I come

I've been on part of the Swampstomper race course before, but it was years ago and Drew and I just hiked part of it one Saturday. I've been a little nervous about the race, so I decided to visit our Memphis trail running association's forum to search for past race reports. Here are the descriptions I found:

wow...that was really hard. i'm not really sure what to say about the course. it was freaky...

i just gotta say that all the people that went out on a second loop knowing what was in there deserve some kind of reward, like free counselling or something because we all obviously need it.

the only thing that got me back out there is something dave horton said on his PCT run..."once you make a commitment, you must finish it"....seriously, that is what got me back out there and several times cursing him for saying it. then once i got back out there it was like....."what would Pre do...what would Pre do"......crazy mental gymnastics....

Last but not least, while not advertised as a technical course, I found myself on my Kiester enough times, not to mention crawling on all fours plenty of times including the final ascent to camp. If anyone heard cussing in the distance, it was me and please take no offense

I now must rest and try to forget, though the promise of physical distress will never let me forget.

This 25K was easily as difficult as any marathon I've completed. It was a strange experience to "bonk" after only 13-14 miles of running. Truly a mentally and physically exhausting run! Happy to report three slips and only 1 spill.

It has been a while since I have completed that distance anywhere. That course on that day was easily the hardest run I have ever attempted and finished. I have run further and run faster, but never have I put so much effort into something so difficult and it just became more so as the miles rolled along. I'm glad I stopped at the 25K.

Those are only a few descriptions - there are many more! I emailed this to Laura and we both were really scared/nervous. I decided to comment a fellow Memphis runner/blogger who had gone to some of the training runs out there and he made us feel much better. This is what he had to say:

White 1 is about 3.7 miles. Very steep downhill from start, then fairly flat.
--aid station--
red loop is about 3 miles. A lot of elevation changes with some flats. T
--aid station--
white 2 is about 3 miles. There is a lot of elevation changes and a creek (should be dry) to cross. Also includes some blacktop and a bathroom. This is the turnaround.
--aid station--
Reverse white 2 & 1, skipping the red loop and you be finished!

Seeing that made us feel much better...plus add in the fact that the weather is not going to be near as bad as it has been the past couple of years. Apparently what made it so crazy was massive amounts of mud and numerous creek crossings with water up past your waist. This year the course is much drier, so hotty toddy for us!

I've been drinking tons of water and eating lots of carbs plus resting. Swampstomper is my first "long" race of the season so I'm excited to see how I'll do. My A goal is to get as close to 3 hours as possible...but you know how goals go. I might get out there and just be lucky to finish or I might blow it out of the water. I found out tonight that another member of the Memphis Ultra crew got in the race - Patrick put his name on the waiting list and he found out last night that he got in! So we will have at least three members running. Michael is still waiting, but is he doesn't get in he'll be out there cheering us on with Drew!

Hopefully I'll have some good stuff to report on Sunday...I'll leave you today with a picture from last week's 3K. They just posted the pictures on the race website today.

I'm always amazed at what crazy faces I make!

Happy running - hopefully I'll have some good stuff to report on Sunday!

WCCS 3K - 1st race of the season!

Sunday was my first official race of 2008 and it was a pretty good one. A 3K is 1.86 miles and I ran it in 15:07 for an 8:07 pace, which is not too bad for me on a trail. I ran this race last year in 15:27 and one of my goals was to improve from last year and I think 20 seconds in such a short race is great. Perfectly fine with me!

I forgot how fast this race is. It takes place at Overton Park and the start is in a field. So everyone basically sprints the first 200 yds then the course takes a sharp right and starts to eventually head into a single track trail. So if you want a good position in the single track, you literally better sprint as fast as you can. Last year I got caught behind some kids and it sucked. But I had a decent start - I got behind this girl I know who is fast and tried to stay with her for the first part and I did an okay job, but then I had to let her go. Then I just focused on my race and finishing as strong as possible. My official time is 15:07 but when I crossed the line in the chute finish the clock said 15:04, so I'm not sure how that works. An improvement is an improvement!

Next up is the Swampstomper 25K on Sunday, so this week I'm just going to run about 20-25 miles then see what I can do at the race. It should be interesting because today I googled the race and found some interesting descriptions of it. I'll talk about those another day.

Happy running!

A Different Look at 2007

**Race today was good...I'll post tomorrow with a race recap once I find out my official stats!

I was tagged by Dave for a 2007 race questionnaire. So here we go!

1. Most memorable moment on the trails in 2007.
There are so many, but one thing I truly loved was getting to know my brother-in-law and my friend Laura better on many long trail runs. It's amazing how much you talk about on these runs! One specific moment was finishing the Stumpjump 50K. I trained long and hard for it and to actually finish it under extremely hot conditions was awesome...even thought I paid for it for about a month!

2. Best new trail discovered in 2007.
Since I started trail running in 2007, so all of them in Memphis (there are only about 5-6)! I had never heard much about trail running before this year and I will do it for years to come. But my favorite trail here in Memphis would have to be the Wolf River trails blue trail.

3. My best performance of 2007.
In terms of speed and how I felt afterwards, I would have to say the 5 mile race I ran as part of the Memphis Runner road race series. My pace was 8:35 and I felt awesome afterwards because I never thought I could do something like that. But after the 50K I felt pretty dern proud of myself, but it was not my best performance.

4. I don't know how I previously survived without...
Well, something material I've grown to love/need this year is my ultimate direction hand held water bottle. But one I I learned about survival and running is having a good base built! I didn't know I didn't have one until the Stumpjump, so that is what I've been concentrating on, so we'll see how it benefits me this spring!

5. The person I would most like to meet on the trails in 2008.
Similar to Dave's response, anyone who loves to run trails and especially people who blog and run around the Memphis area!

6. The race I am most excited about for 2008.
The trail race I'm most excited about is the Sylmore 25K. Most of members of the Memphis Ultra are going over there together and running. It'll be a new trail, good competition, and good company. The road race I'm most excited about is the Nashville Marathon - my first marathon ever and I'll be running it with my good friend and training partner Laura. Plus so far I've recruited three friends to come run the half marathon option. So that race weekend will be fun all around!

I tag Michael, Patrick, and Chris! Happy running!

2008 races

**I believe I started this post on Wednesday and I'm just now finishing it up on Saturday! Sorry for the delay, but I had a major research paper (yes, a huge paper is a part of my history class) assignment turned in, so I've been grading, running, and visiting with my niece, who at this very minute is laying in my lap. Anyways, on to 2008!

I think I have my 2008 spring race schedule figured out. Notice I said spring. I'm just planning my training/races up to April, then I'm going to reevaluate and see what I might like to do in the summer and fall. I think I have a good mix of trail and road races and a good mix of long and short races. My shortest race will be a 3K and the longest will be my first marathon in April.

I think I attempted the 50K before I was really ready, so this spring I am focusing on building my mileage and getting stronger. My season starts with the 3K on Sunday and culminates with the marathon in April. Here are the races:

Winter Cross Country Series
I did this series last year and they were my first trail races ever. There are four races to the series: 3K, 5K, 8+K, and 10K. I'm doing these for a couple of reasons. First, there are not many trail races in Memphis, so I want to not only take advantage of them, but also support them. Second, I want to see how I have improved from last year.

Swampstomper 25K
This race is on the outskirts of Memphis and I am running it with Laura and it will be her first trail race ever. There are three races I'm running this spring that have longer options, so my friends in the Memphis Ultra will be running the longer options and I'll do the shorter, then cheer them on. The course, from what I've heard is usually pretty muddy and it is very technical with a lot of quick elevation changes.

Sylamore 25K
This race is in Arkansas and we are driving over there with Michael, Patrick, and Patrick's dad and we are all staying in this hotel/cabin almost 100 yds from the start. They are all running the 50K option, so I'll be finished way before them. Check out the link to the race to the right so you can see some of the pictures. It has a creek crossing 2 miles into the race and the last 2 miles of the race and sometimes the creek is up to people's chests! I've heard stories of people stripping down in the freezing cold, carrying their clothes above their head, then getting dressed again! I really don't think I'll do that, but I'll have to figure something out!

Mississippi 50 - 20K
This race is supposed to be one of the flattest trail races in the south, so it is great for a 50K PR and for a runner's first 50 miler. I'm going down to Laurel, MS with Patrick and Michael where they will be attempting their first 50 miler. I'm going to run the 20K option, crew/pace them. I have to hurry back, though, because I fly out for DC the next day!

Germantown Half Marathon
This will be my first half since the crazy Nashville half last year and I'm looking to smoke it! Laura, Michael, Patrick, and a few others are going to run this. As a sidenote, I originally had planned to run a 50K in AR this weekend, but I decided to hold off.

Death Run
Michael and I ran this race last year and it was our first "long" race ever. There are two options -the death run (15M) or the double death run (30M). I will be doing the death run and a few others will be doing the double death. This race starts on one side of Memphis and follows the Wolf River to the other side. There is little support, so you have to carry a lot of water, etc. yourself. Last year Patrick did the double and he peed blood afterwards!!!

Nashville Marathon
This will be my last race of the spring and my first marathon ever. Laura and I are going to run the full and I'm trying to convince some old soccer friends to train and run the half. Nashville is one of the rock and roll marathons so there are bands everywhere. It is just a fun race to run!

After Nashville I'm going to see where I am with running and see where I want to go from there. I think I have a nice season planned out and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens!

This post has taken me over 30 minutes to type because I'm holding my precious niece in one arm and typing with the other!! I'll be posting plenty of her pics this year!!

Happy running in 2008!!

Preview of 2008 preview...

What? What does that title mean? It means I've been super busy (new niece, back to school, getting sick) and haven't had time to blog...and I'm making plans for 2008, so this is a preview of my preview....what? Maybe it's the cough medicine I'm on speaking....I'll get to the point.

My running has been going fairly well. Remember after the Stumpjump 50K I was just beat up so I ran very little and biked a lot in November. Then in December I decided to run a lot of slow miles, continue to bike, plus do some strengthening. Well, I added up my mileage for December the other day and I ended up with 119 miles! I know to some that might not be a lot, but it's actually my 3rd highest monthly total ever. I had no idea I ran that much! Probably because they were all so dern slow. So it's January and I'm still plugging along. Laura and I have been running quite a few 10-15 mile runs over the past couple of weeks. Yesterday we ran almost 15 on the WRT and TDW at Shelby Farms - that is the longest run since the Stumpjump in October. And I'm feeling better running wise, so hopefully this will all add up to a nice spring racing season, which I'll get to hopefully tomorrow.

So tune in in the next couple of days for a preview of my 2008 racing season/goals!

By the way, my niece is still as precious as ever!! We took another nap together on Saturday. Babies are great to nap with!

2007 in review

I've been meaning to put this post up for a while now, but we have been happily distracted by this precious little lamb:

This is my favorite picture of Ella Kate so far - I think she looks a lot like my mom and sister from this angle. Plus, look at all that hair!

Alright, now to 2007, the year I became a runner. I can say that because when I was younger I ran to stay in shape for soccer and in 2006, I ran a few miles here and there just to get me through a 5K in December. But it was those few miles in 2006 that got me hooked! One year ago yesterday I ran what I called in my log, my first "long" run of my life - 6 miles!! And I almost passed out from it! But I made it and here I am 1,124 miles later still going strong. This year I ran one 3K, four 5Ks, two 5Ms, two 10Ks, one 8M, one half marathon, one 15M, and one ultra marathon. I was injured twice - achilles tendon strain and ultra marathon beat down. I went through three pairs of trail shoes and two pairs of road shoes. I made many new friends and became closer to family and friends through running - it's amazing what you talk about on long runs!

I'm still contemplating my races and goals for 2008, so I'll save that for another post! Hopefully I'll get to that this weekend, but we'll see - we have that wonderful little baby to visit!!