tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49440390894641129082024-03-19T02:39:25.593-07:00Running With AmbyrRunning with Ambyrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04779689998286866785noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944039089464112908.post-77079495508345832122018-04-05T18:08:00.000-07:002018-04-05T18:08:23.621-07:00Not Letting Running Run My LIfe<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Not Letting Running Run My Life</span></b></div>
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70 mile run weeks and climbing. <span style="color: red;">Feels great!, tackling epic new routes, heading for that big PR</span>. Then tragedy strikes in the form of a piece of wood from my hardwoods piercing the ball of my foot. A damaged tendon and problem after problem followed, and now here I am 10 weeks later, not running.<br />
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The first five weeks of this injury I went through a debilitating depression, having my stress relief and social time taken from me by a piece of wood. I couldn't walk without pain and had no one to talk to, all my friends were running. It was hard and I wasn't sure how to escape it without the one thing that has always provided me relief, running.<br />
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Then my eyes started to open.... <span style="color: purple;"><u>Not running is not the end of the world</u></span>. I started going to the gym more often, swimming and doing the elliptical. I started strength training at home on a regular basis. I found TV shows that I enjoyed and started reading all the books on my reading list. I took my dog to the dog park, created new recipes, and most importantly, I started saying yes when people wanted to do things.<br />
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As time went on I began to realize that I had letting running take over my life for the past 7 years. <b><span style="color: blue;">How many times have I uttered the phrase "Sorry, I can't, I have to run." </span></b>I don't remember those runs, and the race(s) I was training for have faded from memory. You know what else I don't remember???, the experience I would have had had I said "Yes" to whatever it was I turned down.<br />
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I had let running become the entirety of my social time, and on the occasions I did things outside of running, all we talked about was running; what the weather meant for a race, what training runs a person had coming up, what paces people were running. Texting each other about running, snapchatting about running, instagramming about running, etc. So when I couldn't run anymore, many friendships became awkward because all we knew was running. <b> It was a time for a change. </b><br />
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I began to make it a point to talk to people and steer conversations away from running, instead finding other common ground to connect on. I began to say "Yes" when people invited me to do things. I began to make plans for myself that had nothing to do with a race or a run I wanted to do. I slept in, started going to the symphony, and started going out with friends. These are memories I will keep and relationships that will last.<br />
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So even if my foot does heal and I can run again, <b><u><span style="color: red;">I do solemnly swear I will never again utter the words "Sorry, I can't, I have to run"</span></u></b>. Running is great and an important part of my life (hopefully I can get back soon) but I can not let it control my life again. I will not put running ahead of my friendships, having experiences, or making plans for the future.<br />
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So my words of wisdom to take or leave as you will: don't let that training run, that training plan, that race, become your whole life. Lest you find yourself with no-one to do things with or nothing to talk about when it is gone. Running with Ambyrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04779689998286866785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944039089464112908.post-91630278747146263232017-04-23T15:31:00.001-07:002017-04-23T15:31:34.886-07:00Boston 2017<b>I dreaded the Boston Marathon</b>, there I've said it! I spent the two weeks before the marathon getting more and more anxious about the whole thing. Not the distance itself, I know I can run a marathon...but the hugeness of the race, the crowdedness of the expo, and the juggling of working out different peoples plans. I also know people are going to be tracking me, which always makes me self-conscious when I run. Plus, truth be told I just don´t love big races, I am more of a 100 people running 30+ miles on single track trails type of girl. So, I am really really dreading this race!<br />
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Well, turns out I need not have dread it, <b>t<u>he whole weekend was a blast </u></b>and here is how it went...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Time to Fly! </td></tr>
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Saturday morning I get to the Pittsburgh airport, and as I get parked in extended parking and get on the shuttle I find out that I am on the same flight as my training partner. Kate and I are traveling together! <b><span style="color: blue;">Ya!!!</span></b> This was also after finding out that Joe and I are also on the same flight. This trip is starting off pretty darn well! Kate and I are very excited and we may have made snapchat video's on the moving sidewalks to send to our 3rd training partner who isn't along for the ride this time, we really do have fun no matter where we go. I am sure people were like WTF are those girls doing. hahaha. Well, we finally get all settled on the plane, and of course there is a mechanical error. AHHHH, we may miss our connecting flight. Then as we get off the flight to wait, the woman says "Who all is going to Boston?" About 8 of us raise our hands and she continues on "We are putting you on a direct flight that is one gate over and departing in 10 minutes." <b><span style="color: blue;">Double YAAA!</span></b> Now we are getting there early. And as we get on the plane it is me, Kate, Adam, Joe, and a few other Pgh folk. The plane is only half full, so we get to sit all together and get double seats! <b><span style="color: blue;">Triple Yaa! Good JuJu for the weekend!</span></b><br />
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After a short and easy flight we get to Boston where I figure out the train system (thanks to a VERY detailed set of instruction from my friend Kim who lives there, Thanks Girl!) and I meet up with Nat at our air BnB where I enjoy a few glasses of wine. I am on vacation! Then it's off to meet everyone for dinner. Nat and I thought we had it all figured out, however due to a little uncertainty with the silver line, we ended up walking a few miles and may have been 45 minutes late too, OOPS, sorry guys! However we were quickly forgiven by our friends as we chowed down on seriously delicious Italian fare. Mmmm, ravioli made with butternut squash and figs in a Gorgonzola sauce... friggin amazing! The food was exceptional, the company even better!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is marathon #4 together! </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ready to go! </td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Sunday...It's EXPO time!</span></b> But first the Runner's World Shake out run. Nat and I meet up with Joe and we listen to some words of wisdom from the great Bart Yasso, then do a nice and easy 3 mile run. While out we see Shalane Flannigan out running, I thought Nat was going to chase her down. hahahaha. When we get back to the Runner's World shop, we get bagels and water, as well as a really cool bag with all sorts of goodies from KT tape! I LOVE KT tape, so I am super pumped about this. And now it is time to expo. <span style="color: purple;"><u>I really like a good expo</u>,</span> I love to walk up and down the aisles, looking at all the of different shops and vendors. Joe is buying a Boston shirt from every shop, or close too, and I am looking for the one I will actually wear. I also pick up a cute headband, you can never have enough headbands. Now its time to hit up the Pasta Dinner and get race day ready. By the end of the day I have walked 11 miles, oops.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The whole Boston crew post pasta dinner</td></tr>
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**Side Note** If going to the Pasta Dinner, prepare to stand in line for a good 45 minutes.... but the pasta is good and plentiful!<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Now onto the race itself:</span></b> <b><span style="color: purple;">First and foremost, I knew from watching the weather that it was going to be H.O.T</span></b>, so I knew I wasn't go to PR. I just wanted to run a nice chill race and have fun. So I got together with Joe and we discussed that that was his idea too. Go there, and if the weather gods shined down on us and gave us cool weather we would try to push pace, but if it was hot we would have fun and enjoy the process. An lo and behold, we leave the house at 6:35 am and it is almost 70*, easy goes it it is.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw0elwaLCJslhITayGpsk2T46uOduyy8IyYTaCHwxM4kxr0gFLnYkDnbQXACZEKqAFv_LVhgz5-RNPBeWr6Nf40YBALbcESwRHeCmsrVfwWBpz54p385bxUDFwUJAJ4IWcDTqthivTfU2B/s1600/20170417_081118.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw0elwaLCJslhITayGpsk2T46uOduyy8IyYTaCHwxM4kxr0gFLnYkDnbQXACZEKqAFv_LVhgz5-RNPBeWr6Nf40YBALbcESwRHeCmsrVfwWBpz54p385bxUDFwUJAJ4IWcDTqthivTfU2B/s200/20170417_081118.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bus ride down! </td></tr>
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I had been very anxious about the whole morning process of Boston: so many runners, plus trying to connect with everyone, etc...well I need not have been. The BAA knows what it is doing! Gear check was a breeze, as was finding a spot to all meet. The bus loading was painless and so with just the right amount of time to get everything done we head down south to Hopkinton. We get there and head towards athlete village where we immediately jump into a bathroom line. <u><span style="color: red;">This was smart decision making,</span></u> because by time we got through it (and we picked a ¨short¨ line) it was time to line up. It is a wee little walk to the start, but not awful and we quickly get corralled.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMnUmYdSPLDIgHbSMiDFB7nTHFPJcLh_q0d0MmTgqmenfMF2mWgQIjaXeNfWbAry4s-ONC3UYp7dKQiaaQMBIqOapnXPQiskOBRh5wM4lFeg2RaUE0vLCQgI4AGsVQCjXXbQK2v3aTqljT/s1600/Screenshot_2017-04-23-16-39-22-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMnUmYdSPLDIgHbSMiDFB7nTHFPJcLh_q0d0MmTgqmenfMF2mWgQIjaXeNfWbAry4s-ONC3UYp7dKQiaaQMBIqOapnXPQiskOBRh5wM4lFeg2RaUE0vLCQgI4AGsVQCjXXbQK2v3aTqljT/s320/Screenshot_2017-04-23-16-39-22-1.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Athletes Village</td></tr>
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As Joe and I get line up in our corral, I immediately start giggling, <b>Joe and I are lined up next to a caveman,</b> (<a href="http://www.runnersworld.com/boston-marathon/nearly-naked-caveman-crushes-boston-marathon">Caveman Article</a>) <b>wearing a long black wig and nothing but a loin cloth.</b> <span style="color: blue;">I see ass cheeks and bare feet</span>. And I am not going to lie, I was 100% sneaking a peak to see how well covered the front was. *shrugs*, it couldn't have been comfortable. lol Time counts down and we are off, down a very big hill. Hold back baby, no point in going out too fast.<br />
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There are aid stations every mile starting at mile 2, and since I know I have a history of heat exhaustion during races, I plan on using every single one. I also am going to take a salt tab every 5 miles with my gel. And that is exactly what I do, drink a Gatorade, two-three waters to pour down myself starting with aid station one and keep it up until the end. (Well, I quit drinking Gatorade around 20, my stomach was less than thrilled). We quickly found that everyone was cramming into the fluid stations on the right hand side of the road, so we stayed on the left and used the one .1 miles down on the left... a lot less crowded ,so much easier to navigate.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We did it! </td></tr>
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As we ran I was constantly awed by the sheer number of people running. You would look ahead (and with barely any turns you could always see a ways ahead) and there would be just a huge crowd of runners, <span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b>a sea of bright colors and bobbing heads.</b></span> It was almost overwhelming. And then you would look right and left and there would be spectator on spectator lined up on the roads, yelling, cheering, offering water/oranges/popsicles or beers to any runner who wanted it.<br />
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There were signs on signs, some funny, some motivating, and all appreciated. There were dogs and children, waiting for pets and high fives. There were open fire hydrants to run through, and several people who had out their garden hoses spraying down the runners. And of course you cannot blog about the Boston Marathon without mentioning the Wellesly girls scream tunnel, those girls are serious about their cheering! I saw a man stop and kiss at least 7 of them, me personally I am not kissing some chick on the side of the road (eww...I don´t know where those mouths have been), but it was entertaining and I very much enjoyed running through.<br />
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Around mile 16 Joe decided to scale back a little, the heat has gotten rough. So we say our goodbyes and I trudge ahead without him, but not alone as <u>you can´t run alone at the Boston marathon. </u><br />
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Now the other thing that has to be mentioned is the Newton Hills. I would like to start by saying, I am glad I train in Pittsburgh, those hills were totally tolerable thanks to a lot of miles on brutal hills here at home. I would also like to say that Heartbreak hill is not the hardest hill in the Boston Marathon....actually I barely noticed it after doing the ones before. That all being said, I was glad when they were over!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coming into the finishers chute</td></tr>
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<b>The hills are over and now it is time to head towards the finish!</b> As I come down towards the city I see my friend Kim, I was so excited and I truly saw her at the exact moment I needed to. It was mile 24 and I was getting tired, she gave me the boost I needed! So I get my shit together and head towards the finish. As I come through the city in the last mile I see 3 runners being treated by medics on the course, all laying on the ground. The sight brings tears to my eyes and I understand their struggle, especially being so close. As I come upon the finish through the crowds, I am again overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of support. I see a runner being helped across the finish (which ps: for anyone with nasty comments about how those people should be dq´d because they had help, go stuff a sock in it!) which again brings tears. <span style="color: purple;"><b>Then I am across that infamous finish line! I have completed my first Boston Marathon. </b></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Across the line! </td></tr>
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The finish line is set up amazingly well, I wish other marathons would take note! You walk 20 or so feet and get a water, then another 10ft and get a Mylar blanket, then another 20ft for your medal and then all of the food and protein shakes. Everything moves smoothly and there are no jam ups along the way. I grab my gear check bag, change in the ladies changing tent and start to look for my friends. I find Joe first, then Anna, then Kate and Adam. Then we end up finding Nat, Alicia, and Marshall and we all head off towards the trains. Get home, get showered, pop the champagne, and now I am ready to go out and celebrate. As for the rest of the trip, well lets just leave it at I had a lot of fun!<br />
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Will I run the Boston Marathon again, I don´t know. I re-qualified for Boston in Boston, so if I want to go back next year I can. However, it is a very expensive trip and as much as I enjoyed the weekend, I don´t know that it can be a yearly thing. However, who knows....maybe I will win the lottery :-)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Wingwoman and Training Partner</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting Ready to Celebrate! </td></tr>
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Boston was a great experience, one that I had the joy of experiencing with amazing friends who made the whole weekend memorable! And now that I have been there I understand the drive to go! So if you are working towards it, keep it up because it is 100% worth the work! As for me, I am going to take it easy for a little while. Get back in the gym, have a social life, you know...the things that go out the window while training :-)<br />
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<br />Running with Ambyrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04779689998286866785noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944039089464112908.post-64669671652155442702017-03-26T16:38:00.001-07:002017-03-26T17:00:24.700-07:00North Park Loops, UGHMost people from Pittsburgh know about running loops around North Park, and quite a few of those most would agree that <b><span style="font-size: large;">UGH</span></b> is the best word to use to describe it. See, North Park has a wonderful lake that has a 5 mile on the dot loop around it. It has running and biking lanes, and *mostly* enforced low speed limits. It is used by a massive variety of people; walkers, runners, bikers, Rollerbladers, and everything in-between. Local races like to say it is a "flat course", which of course in relation to the rest of Pittsburgh may be true, however it is also a<span style="color: blue;"> big fat lie.</span> It is five miles of rolling hills, some with bigger rolls than others. It also has this <i><span style="color: orange;">wonderful camber</span></i> that has you running on an angle for all 5 miles. And whereas it does have some pretty scenery, you have seen it all after one 5 mile loop... so longer courses are often described by runners as quite boring. HOWEVER, it is very popular among race directors because they don't have to pay to close down roads and there is no course to mark.<br />
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So knowing that running loops at North Park is <b>UGH </b>at best, why in god's good name did I decide to sign up for not one, but two races out there...two weekends in a row....<br />
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<span style="background-color: lime;"><u>Race One</u>:</span> JC Stone 50k- <b><span style="color: red;">6, I repeat 6,</span></b> loops around that damn lake. <span style="background-color: #ea9999;"><u>Race Two</u>:</span> Just a Short Run Half Marathon (the next weekend), a 3 mile loop around the ice rink and then 2 loops around that damn lake.<br />
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So after doing these races here is how it rolled( pun intended for the rolling hills), broken down by each race.<br />
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<b><u>Race One</u></b>: JC Stone 50k put on by Lou D'angelo. Like most ultra marathons, it is friggin awesome when it comes to the the organization and the community of people. There are aid stations at mile 2.5 and 5 each loop, so you have an appropriate spacing between stations and a great way to mentally break up the race. The stations are manned by enthusiastic volunteers who are ready to meet your every need. The finish line has pizza, beer, and a catered meal made by the fantastic Audrey (strawberry stuffed french toast and home potatoes). It comes with a sweet medal and if you make top three, a fantastic trophy (more on this later!).<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Now lets talk about these 6 damn loops.</span></b><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Loop one: </span>I am running with my buddy Dan. This is his first 50k, because in true Dan fashion, since he was running 15 miles with me, he went ahead and signed up for the whole thing. I caution him that going out to fast will be a MAJOR error, so we start at a nice and chill 8:30 pace. It is 20 degrees and foggy. <span style="color: purple;">Perfect 😀.</span> The camber of the road is okay so far and Dan and I watch as all the lead dudes and a bunch of ladies come roaring past us. I hold Dan back....<u>trust me Dude, going out too fast is a big mistake</u>. And, truth be told, my legs are heavvvvvvvy. I am already starting rethink my decision to run this. Oh well, too late. I am here and going. I don't have a DNF yet... and today is not the day. We spend the 43 minutes or so of this loop chatting about random stuff, catching up on our training and races...we haven't seen each other in a few weeks. Aid station 1 comes and goes and then we are back at the parking lot. One great thing about his race is you run right by your car so you can grab anything you need. I have my stuff there, but don't need anything yet. Dan's girlfriend Cacie is there and cheering, always a nice boost!<br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Loop two:</span> Dan starts asking how I keep the runners fog out of my mind. He is also now talking about how tight his legs are (he has been killing it lately with races and such). I told him to "suck it up buttercup and lets go", and by lets go I mean keep it nice and easy with another loop at 8:30 ish (although truth be told it may have been more like 8:20 ish....but oh well). Legs are getting less heavy, so that is good. Camber is okay so far. I am telling Dan about the art of "plinking" during races... When you "plink" someone is when you have picked them as a person to pass and then you pass them. Then when you do, you quietly *hopefully* say plink! Just don't get plunked! He just laughs at me, and we start playing the plinking game. Once we hit the aid station at the half, Dan admits he is having some "issues". I mention Kate (our other running partner who is coming out) said she might be able to get there for the start of the third loop, Dan begins praying for Kate. However, once we get to the parking lot, sorry...No Kate. I tell Dan I can manage a loop just fine on my own, but he isn't hearing it. I believe the exact words were "No, I said I would get you to Kate and I will!" At this moment I realize what awesome running partners I have. Off to loop 3<br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Loop three:</span> The fog is still hanging around which makes for a really pretty setting. Dan, however is not a fan. and he is not feeling real well. So of course this means I get to spend the whole 5 miles telling ridiculous stories about the shit I see at work and the the funny story of W and his trip to the vet (my 85 lb Labrador LOVES the vet and turns into a friggin maniac when he goes). Every time we come upon someone running from the opposite direction or standing at the side of the road, Dan chimes in with a "Is that Kate?" "No Dan, that is not Kate". "No Dan, that is a dude tying his shoes". This loop I have picked us up to 8 min miles and we are trucking along just fine. I am talking about my plan for the rest of the race. Dan's new mandate becomes "That is Kate's job". Literally, everything is Kate's job. Mile 4 of 5, <b>Hallelujah, there is Kate</b>. I think Dan might cry. She joins in and gives an update on where some of the lead ladies are. Not to far ahead.... hmmmm. As we hit the parking lot at the end of the loop I quick stop at my car to restock my gels. Good to go. Half way done. <br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Loop 4:</span> The fog is starting to lift, and I am feeling okay, however the camber of the road is starting to impact me. Especially since I made the grave error of wearing my Saucony Freedoms. They do not have the support for this race. Truth be told, by the end of this loop my feet are hurting pretty bad, especially my left foot. But oh well, <span style="color: purple;">it's running... it hurts. That is just a basic running truth</span>. Kate and I have gabbed the whole loop and it flies by. Oh, and PS: We totes have passed the third place lady. I now have my eye on the prize! As we roll into the parking lot I stop to take salt tabs... my fingers are now the size of not so small sausages and with some recent low blood pressure issues, I know I really need to be cognizant of my sodium intake. 2 tabs down and off we go.<br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Loop 5:</span> <span style="color: purple;"><u>Well this is starting to suck.</u></span> But we have picked up the pace and we have passed the 2nd place lady. One to go! We are rocking out some nice 7:50's and are now singing songs. Now, when I say singing songs I mean the ones special education teacher's sing.... <span style="color: cyan;">the preposition song, the presidents song, the polyhedron song and a few more</span>. I am quite sure that everyone around was either highly entertained or just thought we were nuts! Half way through the loop we come upon a guy who is struggling. He runs with us for about a half mile before he falls back, it may or may not have been because he probably wanted us to shut up. Two chirpy females when tired and sore may be a bit much. hahaha However, the time and miles are flying by. The bottom of my feet feel like I have been running barefoot and are extremely painful, but it is only one more loop. So I turn my own "motivational quote" on myself, <span style="font-size: large;">Suck it Up Buttercup. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Loop 6:</span> LAST ONE!!!! Thank the lord, because my feet are killing me and my legs are sooooooo tired. As we cross over to start the guys tell us that the 1st lady is only 30 seconds ahead of us. Oh yeah baby! As we run past Cacie I hand her my hair tie that I forgot was on my wrist and with it being a little swollen from the need for sodium, it is cutting off circulation. No biggie, hand it off and away we go. Now at this point, I really would like that first place spot... so I tell Kate since she isn't too far ahead of us I want to slowly catch her. The goal is by the half way aid station. So we slowly start picking up the pace and sure as shit, we catch her exactly at the aid station. I tell Kate we are blowing through it, we have 2.5 miles to go. <b><span style="color: red;">It is time to dig deep and get it done.</span></b> So I tune into my race day focus, where literally I get this tunnel vision in front of me, I see or hear nothing around me, and I GO! I finish out the last 2.5 miles with 7:45 average miles. Cross that finish and THANK YOU GOD, I am done and not dying! My feet hurt and I am tired, but I am okay!<br />
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I get my trophy from Lou which is this incredible solid bronze sculpted plate that is GORGEOUS and we wait for Dan. Then comes the drinking of beer (I had bought good beers to celebrate Dan's first 50K) and then the food. Overall, it was a fantastic race and one I was very proud of! Not a terrible first race for the 2017 season. Now off to rest and recover. I have another one next weekend.<br />
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<b>Race 2:</b> Just a Short Run 1/2 marathon...<u><span style="color: red;"> IE: The Shit Show</span></u><br />
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Well, in case you didn't figure out from the title of this race, this DID NOT go as well as last weeks! My poor left foot is KT-taped for both my ankle and the not-feeling so great tendons on the top of my foot. Fingers crossed it helps! I really want to do well.<br />
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So this race has a 5k, a 8.1 mile, a 1/2 marathon and a 30k. I am signed up for the 1/2 marathon and I have a time goal. I get there early (ish) and manage to nab one of the few parking spots left by the start, go me! I get my bib, shorts, and socks and get ready to go. The temperature is the exact opposite of last week, it is 60* and climbing. This is going to be tough! I hang out, chat with friends, and eventually go out to warm up.<br />
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My 2 warm up miles should have been my<b><span style="color: red;"> BIG RED FLAG</span></b>! Man, my legs felt like they were made of lead, with blocks of concrete on the bottom. <b>But no, </b>I figure I just need to shake out the heaviness, I should be fine. I get lined and here we go!<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Loop 1:</span> This goes UP UP UP the big hill for a mile, then loops down around the ice rink and back to the start. A 3.1 mile loop. I go out with the lead pack... so far so good. I fall a little behind them on the uphill, NBD. I mean, I am a good negative pacer. I know not too push to hard up the hill, I can carry it on the down. Welp, it is true I ride behind the pack all the way through the 3.1 loop. We are rocking out in the 7:20's .... And this is also about the time I realize, yeah... legs are still made of lead and there is probably steel reinforcers in those concrete blocks. But I am pushing!<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Loop 2:</span> So begins the looping of the lake, the opposite direction from last weekend. Which means you go UP the "flat" course hills first. Yeah... 2 miles in... there is no way I can hold the pace today. Not only are the legs lead and concrete, it is also hot and humid. I am already down to short shorts and a sports bra and dumping water on myself because my body is heating up. <span style="font-size: large;"><b>My body is telling me NO, and I need to listen</b>.</span> So years of experience push their way through my stubborn competitive brain, and I listen. <span style="color: purple;">I slow down.</span> I am not doing 7:20's anymore. I scale it back to the 7:45 range. Now, this just happens to also be the moment that I meet my new friend Bob. I see this guy whose face I recognize from Fleet Feet, so I inquire of him if that is indeed him. It is. I have now met my running partner for the rest of the race. Bob and I power through the rest of loop 1, getting to know each other and sharing our life stories. ( I genuinely believe the best way to get to know someone is run with them, you have nothing to do but converse! I think I will start taking my first dates on runs... boom, perfect way to see if we click!). But anyways, back to the run. As we hit the back half of the first loop I am really feeling last weeks race and am thinking about slowing down a little bit more. Thankfully Bob had the same idea. Woohoo, I keep my new run friend.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Loop 3</span>: Bob and I joke about stopping and only doing 8.1, but my stubborn competitive brain won't let me. I signed up for the half, I am doing the half dammit. So we trudge along. We continue to chatter away about life, talking about the things we have done and want to do, and <b>we are both struggling.</b> I feel like death, but I am trying to stay positive. I want this thing done but there is not point to being miserable. As we get around to the first aid station, Bob and I agree we are going to walk it, take a gel, and get Gatorade and water. At this point in time Joe and Brit (my long time running partners and friends) come through. Brit yells at me to get moving and I tell her I just can't. She offers me a salt tab (which probably seriously saved me for the rest of the race) and they keep going. I dump a few cups of water on my head and shoulders, take some Gatorade and off we go. We pick it back up and even though we are dying, we are still managing 7:50 ish paces. Not too shabby. We continue to gab away and I continue to douse myself in water. I can feel my blood pressure dropping, I know I need to get cooled off and get done with this race. <u>Now, I know I have given up all hope of any sort of placing</u>, I tell Bob <span style="color: blue;">I am bound and determined to get him an Age group award</span>. We come upon the last aid station and he says he is going to walk. <b>I promptly tell him no he isn't because we have 1.5 miles left and lets go</b>. I then tell him he can tell Bob S (the owner of fleet feet, his boss, and my good friend) that he has officially been bullied by Ambyr! **Although, I prefer the term "assertive encouragement". hahaha. ***<br />
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So we finish it out and keep a nice pace. We finish with a respectable 1:43. I make a beeline for the Gatorade where luckily I come upon Joe and Brittany who immediately notice I don't feel well and get me hooked up with Gatorade and a banana while I stabilize myself. I take five minutes or so, then my buddy Jon helps me over to the curb to sit. Am I happy with my time? No, I'm not. Am I realistic that I didn't recovery properly from my 50k and therefore shouldn't be surprised. Yup. Lesson Learned! ✓ But I got to see so many people I know and that in itself made it a wonderful day!<br />
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This race didn't go well, but I am hoping this gets my bad race juju out of the way before my next set of races comes up!<br />
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Overall, not a terrible weekend of races. Now I finish out the last of my few weeks of training for Boston, Then comes Pittsburgh and my yearly trip to Cleveland to pace a few weeks after that. So, I am ready to keep moving, and hopefully continue to make progress!Running with Ambyrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04779689998286866785noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944039089464112908.post-28743617674676601982017-02-27T18:58:00.001-08:002017-02-28T06:10:46.690-08:00Making the Time...it isn't always easy<div style="text-align: center;">
Oh man, do I owe some people some apologies. Like, a lot of people! </div>
<br />
I have always tried to be understanding when people have said they are too busy to train, but there has always been a small part of me that didn't understand and therefore just thought "Whatever, you gotta make time"....Well, let me say now. <span style="font-size: large;"><u><span style="color: purple;">I Stand Corrected.</span></u> </span>Let me tell you why.<br />
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I have always been an "on the go" type of woman. I like to be active and involved in things, and therefore I have always considered myself to be a busy person. <span style="color: blue;">Until recently I didn't realize how busy I could be</span>. See, in the last few months my life has become a very delicately balanced juggling act. I spend my days as a full time Emotional Support Teacher, and this years case load has been epically challenging, with some of the roughest kids I have had as a group and with a series of tough situations one after another. It has seemed like the emotional weight of this year has been the worst of my career.<br />
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I also have the joy of being on the board for a non-profit,<b> <span style="color: red;">Pumped to Run</span> </b>(https://www.facebook.com/PumpedtoRun/) which works with the homeless shelters in Pittsburgh to help the homeless residents get walking and running, to help them build confidence and perseverance. I have been on the board for a year now, and in the last few months I had the honor of being voted onto the Executive Committee. So that gives me an extra set of responsibilities on top of the ones I already had as a committee chair. I love every aspect of it, but the time commitment is real.<br />
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Then, because the drain of my job has taken it's toll, I decided I needed a change. I want to stay in mental health, and specifically I want to work with kids from tough home environments that are often discarded as the "criminals" or "thugs". So, I decided I wanted to go back to school to get my doctorate in clinical psych so I could do research to find a way to help those kiddo's. That meant, taking the GRE! Of course, I haven't done this stuff in 15-17 years, so that means I have to study. And I have to study hard.<br />
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So while doing all of this, I am also training for the <span style="color: blue;">Boston Marathon </span>and <span style="color: blue;">Pittsburgh Half</span>. Now, I could run an easy plan, but you know me... <i><span style="font-size: large;">If I am in, I am in 100%</span></i>. That means I am running the Pfitzinger advanced marathon plan that has high mileage and intense workouts. That also means, since I want to eat all the food, I have to spend time prepping mass amounts of food to make sure my body is getting the nutrients it needs.<br />
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Now here is where I owe apologies.<b><u> Holy crap, finding the time to do all of these things with 100% effort has really become a HUGE juggle and it is hard!</u></b> To be 100% honest, occasionally a ball has dropped and things have also had to take the back burner. For example: I am an avid believer in cross-training, well that definitely took a back seat and it wasn't until the last few weeks that I have been able to find a way to work it back in. Often that means a daily 10 minute at home workout with my bosu and kettle bells. or with basic materials I can find in my house. I also use my pull-up bar at work during my prep periods. It isn't a lot but, it is something. Once a week I have started setting aside 1-1.5 hrs at the gym for a lift and swim. I am trying to up to it to 2 times....but it may not happen.<br />
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My social life has also taken a big back seat. <u><span style="color: purple;">I feel bad for all of the invites I have turned down and things I have missed from just the sheer exhaustion of making it all fit, and doing everything I am doing to the best of my ability.</span></u> Often my runs and my workouts are my social time. However, I have been trying to work in some fun outside of that on occasion too.<br />
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So how do I make it all work... it takes some creativity. I study GRE flashcards while I wait for my running partners or while I am sitting in traffic. I try to go from one activity straight to another so that I can just power through it all so I don't hit the chair/couch and then get stuck there. I draft e-mails in my head while I am walking W, so that I can send them as soon as I get home. I manage to cook dinner, shower, and make lesson plans simultaneously. I foam roll at work in the mornings, while meeting with my team to discuss the plan for the day (they are just used to it....hahaha). Multi-tasking is the name of the game!<br />
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I have always prided myself on excellent time management skills, a skill-set that fortunately aids me immensely in all of this. I am making it all work, and as always will keep pressing forward to do everything I need to do! But I want to stop and acknowledge all the hard workers out there who also make it all work! <b><span style="font-size: large;">PROPS to you! </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
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So the moral of this story, I get it a little more now. <b>So sorry to all the people I unknowingly judged</b>, it is hard to make it all work. I can't imagine doing this all and having kids too. So to all my Mama and Papas out there, you are amazing!<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">I also want to give encouragement. I know sometimes it is hard and overwhelming, push through... it can be done! </span></b></span></b><br />
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And hopefully here in the next 5-6 weeks I will have a little more time on my hands to do the things I want to do, like have a little bit more fun! </div>
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<br />Running with Ambyrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04779689998286866785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944039089464112908.post-40038329035082477472016-12-17T13:17:00.004-08:002016-12-17T13:17:54.527-08:00Enjoying running VS the joy of running<b><u>A conversation I find myself having at least a few times a year goes something like this:</u></b><br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Me:</span> Man that run was really fun!<br />
<span style="color: purple;">RP</span>: I agree, it was nice not to have a plan and to just do whatever<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Me:</span> This makes me remember the joy of running!<br />
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That conversation got me thinking. Hmmm, the joy of running vs enjoying running. It seems likes it is just semantics, but for me there is a real difference between them<br />
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So what is the difference?<br />
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Here is an example: The other day I did a run with a friend that went like this:<br />
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<span style="color: red;">"How many miles we doing"</span>...... "<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Idk, 10-11ish"</span>....<br />
"<span style="color: red;">Ok, I could go up to 10"</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">"Where we going"..</span>...<br />
<span style="color: red;">"Idk, why don't we go up that road and loop around".</span>..<span style="color: blue;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">"OK"</span><br />
<span style="color: red;">"Hey, lets cross the pedestrian bridge to cross 28" .</span>..<br />
<span style="color: blue;">"great, sounds good" "Oh hey, I didn't realize that is where the brewery was at, huh..."</span><br />
"<span style="color: red;">Wanna do that road that runs parallel to the highway"</span>,<br />
<span style="color: blue;">"Yeah, we haven't been there in awhile"</span><br />
<span style="color: red;">"Hey, look at those big stairs, where do they go?"</span> ....<br />
"<span style="color: blue;">Want to go up them?"</span><br />
<span style="color: red;">"YES!"</span><br />
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Well, you get the drift! Literally every intersection was a brand new decision to make. We saw beautiful old homes, went up 5 sets of stairs, climbed a couple monster hills, saw new (to me) views of the city and scored a Christmas party invite for an event at a local historical property. And it was a run full of joy. No plan, nothing but adventure! We stopped and talked to people, we would change direction just to go check out some cool architecture, and we talked of nothing serious the whole way. The feeling that I had upon finishing was akin to the sense of zen you get at the end of yoga mixed with the elation of a great accomplishment. And I can honestly say that that is not how I feel during or after my typical day to day runs.<br />
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See, like most people, I stick with what I know and go off of what my plan says. <b><span style="color: purple;">As running has become an integral part of my life, it has also become scripted.</span></b> I need to do 7 miles at a 8:40 pace with hills. Great, I know what route I comfortable with, where I know it is lit and I know what kind of people and traffic I will have to deal with. I know where every road goes and have no chance of being turned around or lost.<br />
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Following the script is comforting. I still enjoy my runs (even the crappy ones) and look forward to getting out there and reaping the benefits of running, but more often then not I do not feel the joy of running when I am done. I may feel like a badass after a hard pace run, or feel a great sense of pride after hitting a new distance, but it isn't that sense of joy. Routine has gotten rid of that. I still enjoy doing it and am happy afterwards, but it is not the same feeling. That feeling of being free, like I am a kid again running through the fields trying to catch horny toads.<br />
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Now, this summer I had a chance to run without the script, but I was travelling constantly for 6 weeks to unknown places, every run was an exploration. That is not real life most of the time. Until I win that big lottery, being a professional traveler who runs is just not an option. And quite frankly, <span style="color: blue;">I need scripted runs. I need routine,</span> I need a plan to help me push through to that PR. I need to know where I am going when I want to get lost in thought while I run, I need to feel comfortable that I will be safe when I am running alone as it gets dark, and that I will be minimally harassed during my runs. HOWEVER, I also want that sense of utter joy.<br />
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But here is the kicker, I don't know that you can plan a spontaneous for the joy of running run.<b><span style="color: red;"> Or can you? </span></b>The annual Fleet Feet holiday lights run just came and went. I know the route, and I even know most of the things it swings by. But, I also know we sang songs, stopped and to take silly photos at all the places and there was a sense of joy from everyone around. There was no seriousness. It was a joy of running run. So maybe they can be planned. <u><span style="color: blue;">Maybe once every other week or so one of those aerobic runs or recovery runs can be renamed as a Joy of Running run,</span></u> a run where I meet up with friends and we explore a new neighborhood, or we stop and take photo's of all the street art that is around here, or we make it a scavenger hunt of sorts. Or, if I can't find someone who can... I can do those things on my own. Maybe, just maybe I can have my cake and eat it too. I can have my script, my routine and still find joy in my sport. I think I will try it out. As I get into my next training plan, an aggressive 16 week plan for Boston, I will make sure that I keep some joy of running runs in there to break up script and keep my mind and spirit in a joyful place.<br />
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Happy Running! </div>
<br />Running with Ambyrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04779689998286866785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944039089464112908.post-69553475480970404152016-11-13T17:40:00.002-08:002016-11-14T16:03:17.025-08:00Running and Depression & AnxietyThis is not an easy thing to open up about, nor is it a subject I broach lightly. Please know that I do not write this in seeking pity or sympathy, but more to bring light to something that many deal with in hopes that my story can bring clarity to at least one.<br />
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As a person who works in mental health, I have an unique view of depression and anxiety. I understand what it is and how it affects a person's brain, affecting mood. This knowledge makes having a depression and anxiety disorder myself even more difficult. It is not something I discuss with people, I chose to manage it on my own, in my way. I have suffered from these disorders since childhood and it wasn't until I began running that I found a healthy way to cope. Without fail, running is the most successful way I have found to help me deal with the symptoms of these, and for more than one reason<br />
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Depression and anxiety are both major things that can have great impact on quality of life, and when combined can have very serious negative consequences. For me it is like sinking into a dark hole where the world around me is dark and grey and I have no energy, no drive, and no desire to do things or be around people. And with the rise of social media, it makes it more difficult as you get onto your sites and see either other people's fun lives as portrayed by social media, or the utter darkness of people as they attack each other over difference of opinions and views. I also have a harder time as I took a journey this summer in which I found true joy and happiness, in a way that I have never experienced before. So I know what it is and how it is supposed to feel.<br />
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I try very hard when I find myself sinking into that hole to find the positive and seek to be around people, but it doesn't always happen. This is where running comes in. In running I find the chance to disconnect from the extremes of social media, clear my mind of the situations and environments that are affecting me, get the chemical rise of hormones that I need, and provide me the chance to be around people in a positive encounter. It gives me a chance to remember that there are positive things in this world and that there are good people who genuinely care about each other and me.<br />
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Recently I have been in a dark place. It began when I decided to take a month off of running to heal from a high mileage couple of years. My body needed to heal properly. At the same time I started back to work and was presented with very difficult situations and kiddo's. I felt myself sliding and knew I needed to try to find something to help myself. Unfortunately, that meant sliding back into bad coping strategies which I in turn felt guilty about. It was a vicious cycle that I knew was no good. So, I started back into running. It was a hard start back as between my travels and time off I was kind of out of the loop and used to being alone. It was hard to push through and be with people. Of course this coincided with the worst election in my own personal history, so of course most talk centered around the awful things being presented to us. But I pushed through and tried to find light in all that was happening.<br />
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I felt like I was climbing out of that dark hole slowly but surely. Then shit hit the fan all at once. Work went from bad to worse and I went from having a job that I loved to absolutely despising what I did, and wanting nothing more than to quit. I loved my team, but the emotional strain of what I was doing day to day had finally taken it's toll. Then I found my dog locked into a hot bathroom, meaning someone from my property management company had entered my apartment without consent and locked up my dog. They of course denied all responsibility, even though this is the second time I have been able to prove they have done such a thing. On top of that my work community was rocked <span style="background-color: white;">to t</span>he core by a senseless murder of one of our policemen, which heavily affected us all. Then to finish this delight of awfulness, a man I thought could have great potential to be someone in my life didn't work out to be that way. I was in the bottom of the hole, the darkest I have been in a very long time. I was crying every day, sad to my very core and unable to make myself feel better using any of the strategies that I give to others or know how to use myself.<br />
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So I made it a point to meet up with friends to run. I found myself struggling to get through the miles and crying at the end of my run. But, I knew that it had helped just a little. So I went out and did it again . It didn't make everything better, but I was able to work through a few of the things. I had enough clarity to know that there were things in my list that I could control and I could quit let controlling me. And because of that clarity I have been able to start to look at my life and start finding the positives again and making plans to create more.<br />
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Is running the all out cure for these things? No, it is not. But, it does give the me ability to shift that chemical imbalance and create positive time and interactions for myself. So, I will continue to get out and run, doing it again tomorrow and the day after. Moving ahead and pulling myself out of this dark place. I know I will always have to work through this, but with the help of running, and the running community I know I will always be able to work through it.<br />
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So if you suffer from depression or anxiety, try going for some runs. Can't run, join a zumba class, a kickboxing club, or even a dance class. The exercise will help you not only get a rise in dopamine and serotonin, but will create positive situations and peer interactions.<br />
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When people ask me why I run so much, I often respond with "I like it" or "It is just what I do". Both of those things are true, I love running and it is a part of my life. But I also do it to manage my own depression and anxiety.Running with Ambyrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04779689998286866785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944039089464112908.post-54341817432431643712016-08-24T17:10:00.005-07:002016-08-24T17:29:44.976-07:00Twisted Branch 100k attempt #2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last year I tackled the Twisted Branch 100k. A challenging course that begins in Ontario County Park outside of Naples, NY and runs to Hammondsport, NY, I finished in 16 hrs 35 minutes. This was well before the 18 hour cut-off, but I knew I could do better. So I decided I wanted to do it again, and this time since I knew the course I could train much better!<br />
Those of you that follow my blog know the insane-ness of my summer training, well at the least half of the summer. Well, I kept up the intensity after returning home and prayed it would pay off.<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Friday: August 19th</span>. Catch up with my crew/pacers. We pack up the car and head to New York. We drive the 5 long hours and get to Naples around 7 pm. I am excited to get my race bag. Inside is my bib, a sweet Orange Mud truckers hat, a bag of coffee created for the race, and a few other things. I am super pumped about the hat and my race shirt! I love when races give a quality cotton shirt, especially women's cut. I wear the shit out of them!<br />
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Head to Naples for Pizza. If you are ever in the area make sure you check out Neapolitan Pizza right on the main street. It is brick oven pizza and it is delicious. As are their breadsticks! Then we moseyed down the road and hit up Lynnie Lou's ice cream which had fantastic homemade icream (and they are not afraid to make big scoops!). Back to camp and head to bed.<br />
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<span style="color: purple;"><b>Saturday: 4:00 am</b></span>, alarm goes off. I hit that snooze button (like I always do) but don't stay in bed long. I can hear the other runners up and moving. <span style="color: red;">Okay, I'm up, I'm up</span>. I walk the 20 feet to the gathering area, grab some coffee and part of a cinnamon roll (THANK YOU!), throw in the my contacts, change into my race outfit and now I am ready to go. As I start towards the start line I start to see some familiar faces from last year. I am getting excited! I run ultra's by aid stations. Today there are 11. So I will count up to 6 and then down to 5. Not worried about mileage or even time. I know how many miles to each aid station and I will take today's race one aid station at a time. I have secret time goals, not even my crew know them.<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;">5:00am</span></b>- Scott, the amazing RD, gives race directions. We are looking for <span style="color: blue;">blue and white</span> markings on the course. I pay very close attention to this. Last year I got lost 3 frigging times. I am bound and determined not to do it again. Actually that is my main race goal today... <b>Don't. Get. Lost</b>. I am standing with Rob and Chris, runners who I got to meet and run with last year, I am glad to see their faces as I know they will make the miles go by quick.<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Get ready, GO!</span></b> We all take off. I am starting towards the back. I am NOT going to make the same mistake I did last year and go out too fast. With so many headlamps going it is very bright on the trail and is easy to see as we go up and down. Oh, and Chris had his 600 lumens light that basically lit up a half mile radius. It was like having a car behind you lighting the way. Woohoo Thanks Chris!<br />
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We are chatting up a storm as we roll through Aid Station 1 and onto Aid Station 2. The volunteers are so excited when we come in and make you smile and look forward to moving on. There are no crews allowed at station 1, it's a quick stop. However, it has all the nutrition items we could need.<br />
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<b>Aid Station 2</b>:<span style="color: purple;"> YA! My crew</span>. They get me hooked up with fresh gum, top off my tailwind, and send me on my way. As I head out I of course start popping my gum. At some point I remember Chris saying 'Oh that's right, I remember. Ambyr is the gum popper". hahaha. So this is where I throw in a little about me... I always chew gum when I run. No other time, just when I run. It is always the same kind (5 gum, spearmint rain ...hint hint come Christmas). I chew gum because my mouth gets really dry when I run and it helps. Unfortunately for those who hate gum poppers, I don't just chew it, I also pop it. A lot. As the day goes on I get many comments about me and my gum popping habit. You always know when I an near. Pop Pop.<br />
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<u>I keep getting through the aid stations and traversing the ascents and descents. </u>This first section has some pretty awesome climbs and some pretty awesome downs too. The trail is stunning as we go through different types of terrain. The stops are great with a lot of food options, coolers of water and tailwind, and a fantastic slew of volunteers and crews. I get to aid station 5 around mile 26 or so ( I had the miles switched off on my watch, I just had the time of day showing) and immediately give a list of what I need. New gum (2 pieces please), change my socks, and pack my bladder full of ice then top off with tailwind. It is getting hot and I need to have the cooling effect of the ice. I also wipe down with a towel I pull out of the ice water bucket they have carried aid station to aid station since #4. I also offer the bucket to a few other runner throughout the day as I see people struggling with the heat. It is quickly approaching 90 degrees out, and we are all starting to feel it a little.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPeehRozzjgpibCxX06r5f0da6_-aHKx8iCLzbHGcKmvcCggvh4KPTD6lOlCoOKITeR-7v70Gj-2_Dmt9MkfW2cfFoNQTn9gCoHVIs5Jd6t2Op9MoXIJfidrk1ssguc-mTbh55K9grqiDc/s1600/received_1273785749299502.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPeehRozzjgpibCxX06r5f0da6_-aHKx8iCLzbHGcKmvcCggvh4KPTD6lOlCoOKITeR-7v70Gj-2_Dmt9MkfW2cfFoNQTn9gCoHVIs5Jd6t2Op9MoXIJfidrk1ssguc-mTbh55K9grqiDc/s320/received_1273785749299502.jpeg" width="240" /></a>Then I ask for my Ipod. Usually I would never listen to music during a race, and trail running I try not to listen to things and just enjoy nature. And when I do listen to things it is usually podcasts (because I can pretend I have company... hours and hours of solo running this summer got a little lonely). But I ask for my music. <u><span style="color: blue;">See I remember this section from last year. </span></u>You go through a corn field, then you come to a trail section that is not exactly well groomed and not always marked well, it is easy to get turned around. So mentally it is a tough section. I also remember last year hating this section because I was pretty damned sure they lied about there being an aid station. I mean, they didn't... but that isn't the point because in my head it wasn't there.<br />
So I gear up and head out. I am on my own (as I was most of the last section). I tune into the music and immediately have some good ole Kid Rock, followed by Linkin Park, follow by Disturbed, then a little Doobie Brothers, then some Garth Brooks, and such on and so forth. My taste in music is eclectic to say the least. Well thank the good heavens I had it. Because this section still blows in my opinion. It is still super easy to get lost (but I didn't!) and once again I was damned sure they lied about the aid station, I mean they didn't but that isn't the point again. hahaha I finally get to the aid station, the volunteers get me some food and I head out. I want my crew!<br />
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<b><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">IT"S TIME! Aid Station 7 baby! I GET MY PACER!!!! </span></b>Mile 38, I am ready! I come into the station and there is Jeremy dancing around and I instantly start to laugh. I am so fucking happy to see him. I roll in and Stacey instantly starts helping me get my pack fixed up. I am changing my sports bra, and this year I actually managed to get out of the line of site while doing it, Go Me!. Stacey nags me into a bite of grilled cheese and some oranges so I have some food in my system. I get geared up, this is a quick stop because I want to get moving so we get loaded up and away we go. I am ready to finish this out! We set out and Jeremy keeps my mind engaged and going. We get to the next aid station where we see Stacey. God bless her she forces me to eat again. (This is where I usually start refusing food), she talks me into some oranges. We set off again. And then.... <b style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">THE WALL</span></b>. Oh yeah... that big ugly nasty wall. I hit it hard. I have slowed down and I am certain we have ran at least 6 miles (We had gone like 2.5). I start asking Jeremy where the aid station is. He isn't telling me miles (I specifically asked them not too) and he keeps encouraging me to keep running. Then we hit <u><span style="color: red;">The Hill,</span> </u>we are are almost at mile 50 and here it is.<span style="color: red;"> The Hill </span>gets capital letters and red lettering because last year I broke down and sobbed hysterically at the bottom. But don't worry, this year I didn't sob... I just leaned over and cried. Well actually I quietly cried while trying to hike up and about 1/3rd of the way up I stop and just cried. After a good cry I finished climbing that damn hill and started looking for the aid station. I needed it, badly. Jeremy tells me a stupid joke about a horse that perks my spirits long enough to get through the rest of the section. Ask him sometime.<br />
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There it is. Oh Thank God there it is. Drank a little soda, ate a little perogi, had a few orange slices and off we went. I feel 1,000% times better. Jeremy even mentions how that seems to have perked me up. My pace is back on track,and I have passed a lady. Hmmmm... I wonder how many ladies are ahead of me.<br />
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Another aid station. Oh there is Stacey. <u>By this point I could kiss her damn feet I am so happy to see her! </u>I can't wait to put on my high cushion Feetures. I have saved them for the end. They are my favorite ones! I know the next section is short so I have her take out my bladder, I am tired of the weight and just use my soft flasks up front. Me and my camelback one had a fight, but my UD one was cool so I stuck with using that one. This is only a few miles and it is soft ground and mostly flat.I make good time. I wonder how many ladies are ahead of me. Jeremy won't tell me... because I specifically asked them not too. Damn him for doing as I asked. hahaha<br />
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<b><u><i>Last Aid Station:</i></u></b> Stacey literally had just pulled in. The coordinates on the map were wrong so she had to backtrack a little. But she is here and she is running me in. And by running I mean hiking up the biggest hill of the course, encouraging me to run the flat spots even though everything is starting to hurt at this point, and laughing at me as I ow ow ow the downs. My quads are shot! This section is 5 miles, and takes people an average of 2 hours. It is a beast. But we stick it through and when my watch hits 62 miles I think, " I am almost done". By this point I have my list of things I want. I want my squishy flip flops, I want a beer (or a squirt- the kind in a glass bottle is my fave!), and I want a frickin cookie. 2 miles later I can see the finish line and it looks amazing. Stacey keeps chirping at me to finish strong as I hear Jeremy from up the road cheering. I cross under the twisted branch arches, raise my hands and say "Oh Thank God" to the laughter of the crowd. With the help of my crew/pacers, I have finished 2nd place overall female!<br />
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As I sit around and talk to other runners, some who finished and some who didn't ,I am, as always, amazed and appreciative of this community of people. There is great food, which of course my stomach is like "yeah right asshole, go ahead and try it" so I ooh and ah over how pretty it is and take a total of 3 bites as we talk about the course and the day. I had my flip flops, I had a small beer, Jeremy surprised me with a Squirt!!!, and another runner had cookies to share. I am happy and blessed. It is now that I am willing to share my goals. <span style="color: blue;">Goal 1.)</span> Finish before it gets dark- Got it <span style="color: blue;">Goal 2.)</span> Finish under 15 hours- missed it by 2 minutes <span style="color: blue;">Goal 3.)</span> Finish Top 3- Got it. I really didn't expect I could do do #3- that was my shot in the friggin dark goal. There were some strong ass ladies at that race. But I secretly really wanted it because that would end my running year with top 3 in every race I had done. So I am beyond happy I did it!<br />
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After a bit we collect our stuff and we head to our friend Corbin's parents place. They have acreage and have offered us a place to stay. Again, I am happy and blessed beyond belief. I got to sit with my crew and his parents around a fire, drink amazing homemade wine, eat s'mores, eat a grilled cheese (it was light enough to handle for me), veggies fresh out of the garden and relax into the evening. They put me up in the house so I had a bed and a bathroom, which I could not be more thankful for. Up the next morning to eggs and pancakes with fresh brewed coffee in beautiful New York and then back in the car to Pittsburgh.<br />
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Am I going back to Twisted Branch next year, I hope so. I don't know if will run it again, twice might be enough. But I want to crew someone or work an aid station. This race is challenging in elevation and technicality, but it is so well run it is worth it. It is absolutely stunning to run through upstate NewYork on these gorgeous trails, and the race itself it run well. So if you want a good 100k, check it out!<br />
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I will be enjoying some down time for awhile... </div>
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<br />Running with Ambyrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04779689998286866785noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944039089464112908.post-47184775134709628532016-07-11T22:49:00.002-07:002016-07-11T23:06:05.202-07:00Trail Running Through America Blog 8<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Utah and Colorado</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue;">Day 29: Lake Blanche- Salt Lake City</span></b><br />
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My last run day in SLC, I wanted something that would give me a solid hike with great views, and something that I could spend a few hours on with no rush. So I got to looking on the alltrails app and I found the Lake Blanche Trail. I read on the reviews that it was a 3,000 ft climb in the first 3 miles and that if you really wanted an extra special view to hike past the lake and you would find 2 more small lakes. <span style="color: #741b47;">Sounds good to me.</span><br />
When I started the hike I quickly found they weren't joking about the toughness of the original climb. There were areas with large rocks, areas with a lot of tall plant growth, and a whole section of some bouldering. But there were also beautiful waterfalls in the first mile. <u>It was a challenging climb</u> but a lot of fun to go up.<br />
When I got to the top I took the strangers reviews to heart and went past <span style="text-align: center;">the first lake and followed a "trail" over a hill and sure as shit, there were two small lakes and a really pretty water fall. <b>Worth EVERY single extra step~ </b></span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I wanted to explore</span> the area so I did some rock climbing, and some tree climbing and at one point tip toed over a broken up dam so that I could get around the lakes to the waterfall. I also got a fantastic views of the mountains and the surrounding areas from different vantage points. Once I got to the waterfall I realized my handheld was about empty, it was over 80* outside, so I figured since it was flowing fast it should be safe to drink and I refilled. In the refill process I almost fell down the waterfall. Yikes. </span><br />
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Once I got done exploring the area I headed back down the trail back to my car. I had hiked all the way up and around, and then ran the sections I could on the way down. It was a great way to end my stay in SLC.<br />
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If you are ever in Salt Lake I would highly recommend you hike this trail. It is worth every foot of climb!<br />
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Day 30: Travel Day-</span></b> I am headed to Denver where I am excited to meet up some of my buddies I met 2 years ago during the North Fork 50k. It will be fun to have a run reunion and see some more of the Northern Colorado mountains. I had every good intention of waking up early to run before I hit the road, and I did in fact wake up early... but I just couldn't do it. I really wanted to get on the road. So I finished up my last minute car packing, loaded up Waylon, said my goodbyes to Sara and family and hit the road. <u>Driving across Wyoming is BORING</u> and I hit 12 construction zones which always slows things down. So, I busted out the good "classic music", ie: Spice Girls, Savage Garden, etc and had a grand ole Karaoke session in the car. Waylon was not impressed but I sure enjoyed myself.<br />
Finally, after dying a slow death in the Denver traffic, I made it to my cousins's house. She is in Wyoming camping, so I have her place to myself for a few days. It is 98* when I pull in, so I decide I am not running, and instead enjoy just having a quiet evening. <br />
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<span style="color: purple;"><b>Day 31: Cherry Creek State Park- Colorado</b></span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Wake up, grab some breakfast and start looking at the surrounding areas for somewhere to run. I don't want anything to hard since I know tomorrow is going to be a tough run and I don't anything that I have to travel far for since I had a big travel day the day before. I end up finding Cherry Creek State Park. It is only 15 minutes away and has a 7 mile loop around the lake and a Wetland Area. I grab some water and salt and head over. </span><br />
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This loop has some shade in the Wetland area which is nice, but that only last for about 2 miles. <b>After that it is full on direct sunshine and of course Denver is in a heat wave.</b> So I take it easy and make sure to drink lots of water and take salt. It is fun to watch people out on the water paddle boarding,, boating, and just swimming. I love seeing people out enjoying the outdoors like this.<br />
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I get around the lake and decided to keep going. I go through the Wetlands again and take some off shoot trails that give me extra miles in the shade and end up with about 12 miles. Nice and flat, easy peasy.<br />
Once I get home I get on Yelp to find a pizza joint and find one with great reviews. I order a large vegetarian pizza and cheesy bread and set out to carbing up for tomorrow. My running partner has also told me to prepare for 12 hours on the trails. What have I gotten myself into?<br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">Day 32: The EPIC run- It is a long post....</span></b><br />
Get to bed at 10 pm, lay awake until 11:30 trying to remember if I packed everything and do my best not go to the car to make sure. Wake up every 45 minutes because I don't want to sleep through my alarm. 1:00 am the alarm goes off. <i>I hit snooze </i>and at 1:20 I wake up, sit up real fast with an "oh shit" and haul my butt out of bed. Let the dog outside, throw my oatmeal in the microwave, heat up some coffee, and I am on my way out the door by 1:34 am. Drive to the Park and Ride where I am meeting John, my running buddy I met a few years ago during a 50k. 2:00 am I park, and he quickly follows behind me. I transfer all my gear to his car, we both lament about how tired we are and we start heading North.<br />
We drive up the mountain until we get the trail head we are going to finish at. The other guys we were supposed to meet up slept through their alarms, so we are starting without them. It is cold, but we know it will warm up quickly once the sun comes out. Regardless I start the run with arm sleeves and a light jacket which I end up taking off after a mile. It is my first time using the bungies on my Nathan Pack, they work like a dream! <b>The view of the night sky without any light pollution is ridiculously amazing.</b> <span style="font-size: large;">It is hands down one of my favorite things. </span><br />
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We throw on our head lamps and start out. After a brief jaunt down the road to the starting trail head, we start climbing. Parts of the trail have baby pine trees growing and we are getting a little scratched up. I notice that the trail is very rocky, but don't think much of it. As the sun is coming up we get stunning sunrise views over the mountains with the lakes and the city of Boulder in the distance. Then we hit our first snow field. Because it is still dark, the snow is frozen solid. It is like stepping on a steep ice rink. John makes it across, however since I tend to be a little on the Bambi side of things when it comes to slick, I elect to hike above the snow field and down and around. I know for a fact I would end up sliding down the mountain.<br />
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As the sun continues to rise we get to go down for a few miles. In this time we hit 2 more snow fields that are pure ice. We both climb over the top of them and down and around. I have never really encountered snow fields like this, it is way cool. We eventually get to switch off our headlamps and cruise through the moutains. As we get lower it gets greener and a little less rocky.<br />
Then we start the first BIG CLIMB. We are at 9,800 feet at the base and we climb for a little over 3 miles. It is slow going in some spots as there gets to be grades of 35%. <span style="color: red;">And this is where I realize how rocky these Rocky Mountains are :-)</span> Once we get to the top we stop to take some photos as the views are breathtaking, as is the elevation. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqz3rMsdJWgpVF53EgWysgs7MVnwo6WxKiU2mU9dGMPdKA0j_yEncSJ6fV2walII0SPIxUXMGTCUbWpvnZsxf31wIKll6guh0ZZCRK7_qC3nl70cnarTqwk5Zea2NrHHcpbb0ku3IfMsaD/s1600/ER+snowy+mts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqz3rMsdJWgpVF53EgWysgs7MVnwo6WxKiU2mU9dGMPdKA0j_yEncSJ6fV2walII0SPIxUXMGTCUbWpvnZsxf31wIKll6guh0ZZCRK7_qC3nl70cnarTqwk5Zea2NrHHcpbb0ku3IfMsaD/s320/ER+snowy+mts.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stunning Mountain Views every turn</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8r7VtJRYn0Rotb1erZbj0E75jEwvYlppZQ3uzm6kZQuCCIRNhtpjUX-oETC1SFjsgpR2-q5ObXeXfRomf5hQk7fhZvXh4rb3nxFN46MNRLCuMRIlYvoMAWX2-AaJvkfcLY8RexD-xk5je/s1600/ER+all+the+rocks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8r7VtJRYn0Rotb1erZbj0E75jEwvYlppZQ3uzm6kZQuCCIRNhtpjUX-oETC1SFjsgpR2-q5ObXeXfRomf5hQk7fhZvXh4rb3nxFN46MNRLCuMRIlYvoMAWX2-AaJvkfcLY8RexD-xk5je/s200/ER+all+the+rocks.jpg" width="110" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The whole way was rocky</td></tr>
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We are at 11,843 feet. My highest climb yet. And then we get to go down down down. Woohoo. It is a 6 mile decline. As we are going down the mountain we start to run into other runners, including the runners we were supposed to meet up with. They are doing the loop the opposite direction we are. We stop and chat with the other runners, as well as a handful of backpackers we run into along the way, sometimes just chatting and a few times giving directions. Lucky for one pair of girls, John has brought his map.<br />
However, <span style="font-size: large;"><b>what you go down....you have to go up</b></span>.<span style="color: blue;"> I can see the elevation profile for this run in my head</span>, as John had sent it to me the day before. I know that we had 6 miles of down so I am watching the miles click by. I also know that we have a 6.5 mile climb.<br />
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As we are going through this downhill stretch we go through several stream and creek crossings. Some are easy to cross, some are not. Most of them either have rocks that are not slick or a log to balance on to get across. My two favorite stream crossing moments of the day happened in this stretch. The first had a rock you had to jump to near the opposite bank. John warns me it is slick. So, again, Bambi. This is not a good idea for me. So start walking up and down the bank weighing my option. I find a spot where it is a bit narrower, I eyeball it for a second, then make a decision. I step back a good 6 feet, get a running start and leap over the stream, landing just on the edge of the opposite bank. I land it with a hand raise and a "TA DA". John is duly impressed and laughing and we keep on going.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOVLwj_fI0Z09o6YR07F3oXy5oBRTpvUikMtlHRB0JvdlQ9C65fwrssJSs2wcUvNFPv-DKqOHXDo0PtNh5sv9B7us5i8V71qUZ7S8q8sbkxOH1h2s_lR5_EzBARElywoSjOK-kmwhVnHW0/s1600/ER+me+and+John+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOVLwj_fI0Z09o6YR07F3oXy5oBRTpvUikMtlHRB0JvdlQ9C65fwrssJSs2wcUvNFPv-DKqOHXDo0PtNh5sv9B7us5i8V71qUZ7S8q8sbkxOH1h2s_lR5_EzBARElywoSjOK-kmwhVnHW0/s320/ER+me+and+John+.jpg" width="176" /></a><br />
My second favorite stream crossing was a little trickier. It was much wider and it was mostly submerged rocks. I wasn't paying attention as John crossed until I heard "shit" and I look up and he is calf deep in water. hahahahahahaha. Then I try.... uhhu.. that is what I get for laughing. It doesn't take long until I am also calf deep in water. The cold feels good, but now we have sloshy feet. But it was fun.<br />
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During this time we have started around 6.5 ascent to the Pawnee Pass. During the beginning of this climb we see waterfall after waterfall. <span style="color: #674ea7;">I love waterfalls. They are my second favorite thing after unfiltered night skies. </span><br />
The first 3 miles of the climb are not too bad. It is still rocky though and the higher we climb the rockier we get.<br />
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Then it happens, the <b>HOLY SHIT </b>moment on this run. We are at mile 17, as we round the corner John says me "There she is". I stopped dead in my tracks, paused my watch, looked at him, looked at the pass, and then looked at him again... " We are climbing THAT?!?" I am going to die. Yup, death is imminent.<br />
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Mile 18 we reach the base of the mountain. Now, in all fairness John had warned me that you couldn't actually see the trail and that it really was climbing over rocks and refinding the trail every few feet. I thought he was exaggerating. <u>He. Was. Not</u>. For the next 3 miles I went through just about every emotion in the book. So to save you and me time, I will do the super fast version: "<span style="color: blue;">This is coo</span>l, <span style="color: red;">OMG I hate my life</span>, <span style="color: magenta;">My feet hurt</span>, <span style="color: orange;">You know not everyone can do this</span>, <span style="color: blue;">John is lying to me, We are not almost there</span>, <span style="color: purple;">I swear we are in friggin Disney land they way this wraps around and around</span>, <span style="color: red;">Oo that is a pretty view</span>, <span style="color: lime;">How are those people running so fast up this</span>, <span style="color: magenta;">How is John 2 switchbacks ahead of me</span>, <span style="color: blue;">Okay getting through this makes me BadAss, Yup I am a badass</span>, <span style="color: red;">OMG why aren't we done yet</span>, <span style="color: blue;">I am going to kill John</span>, <span style="color: purple;">Wow look at me go up this rock mountain...like a billy goat,</span> <span style="color: orange;">Fuck, Double Fuck, </span><span style="color: lime;">Wow it's windy.. I hope I don't get blown off the mountain</span>, <span style="color: blue;">Oh I am really almost there,</span> <span style="color: red;">oh no it wraps around more... ahhhhhhh</span>, <span style="color: magenta;">I think I am going to cry</span>, <span style="color: red;">no, there is no crying in trail running</span>, <span style="color: purple;">Wait this is really the top!</span> <span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b>YES, I am Queen of the Mountain!!</b></span>" Oh and if I hear "we are almost at the crux" or "we are almost at the top" in the near future...well I can't be held responsible for my behavior, ha. I am told I was radiating my emotions from down the mountains... probably why John got up it so fast. heehee<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you look close you can see John</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from the TOP</td></tr>
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We hit the top of Pawnee Pass, 12, 548 feet. We grab our breathe, do some congratulations. I am so ready for a nice downhill stretch. Which, it was downhill... and it was also more rocks. Nothing like coming up, but enough I can't get a good rhythm. And because I am tired and my feet hurt, I am starting to lose my footing. I have to go slow. But down I go. Then we get to our 2nd to last snow field. Luckily the sun has been out for quite awhile by this point so it is softer, however I still came very close to losing my footing and going down. For the next several miles we pick around rocks and snow as well as say hi to hikers and runners. By this time my feet hurt from all the rocks, actually truth be told, my whole body hurts. My arms, my abs, my glutes, everything. I feel like I just ran a 100k.<br />
Then we hit the bottom. We are right near the lake and a hiker tells us we are only 1.5-2 miles away from the trail head. Praise the Lord. John goes ahead and I take my time. <b>I am wiped</b> so I do a run/walk mix the last 2 miles. When I finally finish, John is at the car with the beer poured and we celebrate a <b>truly EPIC run. I am beyond happy we did this run and I got to experience this route. </b><br />
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As we drink our beers we chat with other runners coming in that we had seen on the loop and enjoy some time. We finally pack up and head down the mountain.<br />
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Now the story doesn't end there. Because on the way down we noticed a huge thing of smoke coming up from a ridge. It is a brand new forest fire. It has literally just started and we can see the flames within the smoke shooting up a good 50 feet in the sky. They are just now starting to close roads and call for evacuations. I shoot some photos and share up prayers for the firefighters and residents as we reroute through Boulder. I have kept on eye on the news of this fire and it is not good. It was started by some guys from Alabama and the fire is growing, it has already destroyed four homes and forced thousands to evacuate the area. I will be keeping at eye on it. It legit started 16 miles from where we were just 45 minutes before.<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;">Day 33: Recovery run around Quincy Reservoir- Colorado-</span></b><br />
Wake up, <u>do a quick systems check</u>. Quads, fine. Calves, fine. It-band, fine. Step out of bed... feet... still sore. Bleh. Okay, that means comfy cushy socks and some cushy road shoes. But first... I am starving. Eggs and Hashbrowns. That seems like a good idea. Okay, pull up the map my run and see where I wanna go while I am eating. Oh Hey, there is a reservoir with a path around it a few miles away. Perfect. Finish my food and head out.<br />
A. It is already 90* out when I start<br />
B. There is no shade in Denver (no joke)<br />
C. There is a small possibility that eating eggs and hash browns 20 minutes before a hot run may not be a good idea.<br />
I get to the reservoir, about 3 miles with a few accidental detours on the way, run into the area and.... UHHO. My stomach is doing that gurgly thing that it has only done once before. This is not good. Bathroom, where is the bathroom. Oooooo.. porta potty. Done! Sorry fisherman, this is currently out of use.<br />
Okay... got that handled. Do I dare try to run around the water or do I head home? mmmmm... going to try it. First mile goes okay. Second mile I feel much better, Third mile I am glad I decided to do it.<br />
I wanted to do 10 miles, and my legs would have easily done so. But now the temperature is near 95*. I have on my visor, I have my cooling rag draped across my shoulders (they got burned yesterday) and I have water ( although it is getting hot-the ice has long since melted). I think 7.5 is fine. I finish up, eat some lunch and head out to meet a buddy for ice cream. Basil-Blackberry and Lemon-Blueberry. Yum!!<br />
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My cousin is going to be back from camping, along with her 2.5 year old twins. It is going to be a fun evening. And I need to plan my run for Day 34 as well as the rest of the trip.<br />
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I hope you all are getting in great miles and finding your own running adventures. Happy Running!<br />
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<br />Running with Ambyrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04779689998286866785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944039089464112908.post-19223856194406760912016-07-05T13:47:00.002-07:002016-07-05T13:48:04.031-07:00Trail Running through America Blog 7<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>A lot has gone on in the last week. I have seen a lot of places and done a lot of things! </u></b></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><b>Day 22:</b></span> I am headed out of Washington, headed towards Oregon where I will spend a few days. I spent some time on the google and found a random Mountain (I think it was George's Peak) that promised great views of Mt Rainier and Mount St Helens. It is cloudy and grey as I head out and up the mountain. As I am driving up I am thinking to myself, there are so many clouds I am not going to be able to see anything. But, I am already half way up the mountain on a crappy dirt road, so might as well stick it out and keep going. I am glad I did, because about 80% the way up, I was above the clouds looking at blue skies and gorgeous views. Seeing Mount St Helens was incredible!</div>
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She is a beautiful mountain for sure. I couldn't find the trail I was looking for, so I ran on fire roads and around the peak of the mountain. At one point in time I wanted a better view, so I climbed up a huge rock formation (that was a little scary as it was high up and very narrow where I was standing). Waylon was not impressed and I had to get stern to make him stay at the bottom! But it was worth the view. Then I literally slid all the way back down on my feet and hands. Also, a little scary. </div>
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Then I was headed down the mountain I got a great view of Mt. Rainier. I love that mountain! I kept the run short as it is a down week, got back in the car and headed to Bend, OR. </div>
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<b><span style="color: blue;">Day 23:</span></b> Okay, I have to back up a little to the night before. I had been sent a list of campgrounds from a friend of a friend and had two I wanted to check out. Like a jackass, however I didn't fill my gas tank while I was in Bend....so I definitely was worrying about running out of fuel as I drove farther and farther up into the mountains. First time this trip my gas tank had been below 1/4th tank. OOPS. haha Then, when I picked a campground, the campground host took a shine to me. He showed up at my camp site with free firewood, beer and an offer to do laundry. I thanked him for his kindness, but was just a bit cautious. Having a 80 pound dog with me does help in feeling safe.</div>
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Now onto the actual run. A guy on facebook had given me a suggestion of a trail to run, the Tumalo Falls trail. I am glad I took his advice. It was a nice trail, well groomed and with great views along the way. Waylon loved being able to play in the creek and the water flow was very pretty. Bend has trails on trails on trails. I want to return here at some point in time and spend a week or two. Mt. Hood is stunning and there are lakes and waterfalls everywhere. This is on the top 5 to return to list for sure! </div>
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Once I finished up my run I hit the road again. No specific destination in mind, just wanted to get a few hours closer to Utah. </div>
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I drove for 3 hours or so and found a campground in the middle of nowhere. It only had about 8 sites and basic services (a vault toilet, fire pit, and water) which is my favorite type of camp site. I got there early which was nice so I could set up camp, take Waylon to the creek right next to the site, and get a fire going with wood I collected nearby. It was a peaceful night reading a book and enjoying the campfire. </div>
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<b><span style="color: blue;">Day 24:</span></b> I would like to say I got up early, I did not. I slept in and tore down camp, grabbing Waylon and hitting the road. I knew I wanted to find somewhere to run along the way and eventually stopped at a random fire road in the mountains to grab a few miles. Well this fire road ended up connecting to a campground which then connected to a paved nature trail. Well, how about that... a random paved nature trail in the middle of nowhere connected to an even more rustic camp site than I had stayed at the night before. I got lucky! </div>
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<b><span style="color: blue;">Day 25:</span></b> I am in Salt Lake. My best friend moved here a little over a year ago and I haven't seen her at all in that time. So of course we had stayed up until 1 am... which means I slept in and it was 80* outside when I started my run and almost 90* when I finished. After input from some locals, I had gone up the the Big Cottonwood Canyon (which is 2 miles from Sara's house) and did a loop that went around 2 lakes, through some meadows, and through some woods. The first 3-4 miles were a climb, I mean, just 3.5 miles of up. </div>
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I started at 7,200 feet of elevation and went to 9,500 feet. That is the highest I have been yet on this trip. I was sucking wind for sure! I ran into a few runners, a few mountain bikers, and a gazillion hikers! Since this is a down week, I did 12 miles and was happy to do so. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and enjoying some down time! </div>
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<b><span style="color: blue;">Day 26:</span></b> Okay, I am doing 20 today. Meeting up with a local runner, Mike, in the Lower Cottonwood Canyon. We are going to start at ski resort at the top of the mountain and loop around. We started at 8,000 feet and topped out at 10,567 feet . OY VEY! I got dizzy at one point because the air was so thin, but was able to work through it and get through the run. </div>
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I finally saw MOOSE! I have had 3 bear encounters, a lot of deer, and a few snakes, but no moose. We were only .5 miles into the run when we ran into 3 not more than 50 feet off the trail. We also had a big ole deer standing 10 feet from us that didn't feel the need to move. Closest I have come to one in awhile. We ran through Catherine's pass, up Sentinel mountain, around the based of Devil's Castle, and to Mt Baldy. Mike is a great running partner, sharing the history of the area, the names of the different moutains and making sure that I am not dying from the elevation. We went around a little lake called Secret Lake, turns out this is a popular hiking destination... I can see why. It is a pretty little lake surrounded 360* by mountains. Mike had to cut out after that and offered to tell me more trails to take to get my 20. I said I was more than happy cutting my run in half. The truth is, I am tired. I have been climbing mountains for almost 4 weeks, and I am starting to get some mental burn out. Physically I am good, legs don't hurt, everything feels good...but I am getting burned out. </div>
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Then I got to spend the rest of the day with Sara, her husband Mark, their baby Wolfy, and Sara's niece and nephew at the pool. While the kids swam, Sara and I ran a few more miles, then joined them in the pool. I haven't been to a pool in years, and had a blast playing with the kids, even though my runners tan lines were wickedly made fun of.<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Then Sara and I made a batch of Coronaritas and spent the evening catching up, drinking, and singing country songs, very possibly at the top of our lungs. heehee </span></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Day 27:</span></b><span style="color: red;"> <span style="background-color: #6fa8dc;">HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!</span></span> I was supposed to meet up with a local runners to run a loop through the LCC, but I had messaged them the day before to back out. I need a break from the mountains. The kids wanted to go to the pool again, so Sara and I grabbed our running shoes to run while they swam. Sara is still coming back from having her baby, so today's run is her longest yet. We did 5 miles, running through the neighborhood and around the park. It is amazing that here in Salt Lake you just have to look around and you see gorgeous mountains. It is a trail runners paradise, if you don't mind living in SLC. Me, personally, could never live here. But I am enjoying visiting. </div>
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The rest of the day was spent playing in the pool with the kids, taking a nap, and then setting off fireworks with the kids and watching the shows. A friend of Sara and Mark's has a house that overlooks the entire valley that SLC is in, so we could see half a dozen firework shows from his balcony. It was kind of awesome. </div>
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<span style="color: purple;"><b>Day 28:</b></span> I need a rest day. Physically I am fine, not sore, not stiff. I just need a break for a day. A day to catch up on the blog, transfer my photo's and just chill. I will be back at it soon enough. </div>
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So whether you be on mountains or roads, Happy Running! </div>
Running with Ambyrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04779689998286866785noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944039089464112908.post-977160688811324082016-06-28T18:25:00.001-07:002016-06-28T18:25:53.009-07:00Running Across the Nation Blog 6: Western Washington <div style="text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So many mountains, not enough time!</span></b> I have had an amazing time with Julie and Jeremy. Running moutains, exploring the cities, and enjoying the time with great friends. </div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Day 16: Mt Ranier: </span></b><br />
<b><u>Mt Ranier is a beautiful vision </u></b>that I have had the joy of seeing evvery singleday that I have been here. I just can't get enough of her. Just stunning. So, of course I had to run her! Once Julie got off of work, me her and Jeremy headed up to the moutain. It is a little over hour drive, and we start at the Mowich trail head and run down the mountain first. This is a fun trail! There are spots on the trail that are very narrow with a drop off that you have to watch your footing, there are spots that are covered in roots and rocks, and we had to climb over a fare share of trees. At one point there is a huge tree that requires some mad climbing skills to get over. But over we go!<br />
We are doing an out and back and we end at the White River. We take a minute to enjoy the beauty of the area and then climb back up the mountain. It was such an awesome run!<br />
On the way driving down the moutain on an old dirt road that is like driving down a washboard, we spot 3 elk, a black bear and an exceptional view. Worth every second of the run!<br />
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<b><span style="color: magenta;">Day 17: Squak Mountain</span></b><br />
I know I have a 50k the next day so I head out for an easy 5 miles. Nothing major, just an easy run. I take Waylon with me, he hasn't had mileage in a few days. 1,000 feet of elevation gain, out and back. Squak mountain has well groomed and well posted trails and I saw quite a few hikers outside enjoying the day.<br />
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Then home to make homemade pizza and get ready for race day! 50K tomorrow!!! Wooohoooo!<br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">Day 18: Taylor Mountain 50k</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: magenta;">PR BABY!</span> </span>1 hour and 15 minute PR to be exact. <b>AND</b> broke the previous female course record by 17 minutes. So here how this went....<br />
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This race is 3 loops, 2 13 mile loops and a 5 mile loop. The first 3 miles are a climb on the 13 mile loops. We get our race instructions and then the race starts. It starts pretty easy and then at mile 0.8 there is a creek crossing. The water is approximately half way up shin and its refeshingly cold (well at least its refreshing later in the race at least). Then comes the muddy climb. In this first loop my thought process is to use this as an easy run, and I keep myself in check the first loop. I hike the climbs and just keep an easy pace. I am passed by a bunch of dudes who are either running faster than me, or even hiking faster than me. I make sure to step off trails to let them pass when on a single track and give them a "have a good race."<br />
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On loop one I meet and run with a man named Mike for awhile. He is from Philadelphia and is trying to run marathons in every state. He is running with one of his former students who is ahead of us. This is his very first trail run, like ever. So we chat a bit about race strategy for trails and after a few miles I pull ahead. I run with another female for a little while, her and her husband are both running and she is going to drop from the 50k to the marathon. I finish loop 1 in 2 hours and 15 minutes.<br />
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Loop 2: I feel great. So I pick it up a little. I half run, half hike the hills. Then I pick up the pace on the flats and hills. Starting at the aid station at the bottom of the loop I start counting how many people I pass. By the 1st aid station I have 6, including Mike's student. By the 2nd aid station I am 11. I am feeling great! Every time I come up on a guy, they briefly pick up their pace and then step off the trail to let me pass. Every single one give me encouragement as I go, usually along the lines of "GET IT!". I thank them and keep at it. I am starting to do the math in my head, I am set for a good PR. As I am calculating my paces, I start to realize I could hit or even maybe beat the course record. Time to pick it up! By time I hit the aid station on the bottom I am up to 13 guys. I leave 3 at the aid station and start in on the 5 mile loop. This starts with the creek crossing and climb. I run the whole thing, catching a few more guys as I go. I am spotting guys and then working up to them. By time I hit the final stretch I am up to 23 guys.<br />
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I finish in 5 hours and 17 minutes. <b>WOOP WOOP! 2nd overall female.</b> The top female finished in 4:17 and it a professional trail runner. She hasn't lost a race yet. I would like to meet this woman!<br />
After I drink some beer, eat some pizza and wait for my friends to finish. I spend some time chatting with the other racers. What a great day! :-)<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;">Day 19: Point Defiance</span></b><br />
This is a great urban trail system in Tacoma. Julie and Jeremy join me, this will be their first back to back. We head out on the outer loop and keep an easy pace. This is about time on feet. I think it was mile 5 when Julie threatened to throw me off the cliff. hahahaha. But, we all do an easy 8 miles. Then off to Seattle. I want to be a tourist! We go to Pike Place Market, watch cheese get made at Beechers, grabbed home made ice cream and walked down the pier to enjoy the view.<br />
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<b style="color: purple;">Day 20: Rest Day </b><br />
Physically I feel great, but mentally I need a break. 19 days of hard core running has worn me out. So I spend the day hanging out in the hammock, reading a book, and enjoying the beautiful weather. Glorious!<br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">Day 21: It's my Birthday!</span></b> So we head to Rattlesnake Moutain, where we meet John who we had met at the 50k. We run up the moutain, gaining a few thousand feet. We hit both of the overlooks, getting stunning views of Mount Si. </div>
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At mile 5 we get to a little blockage. By a little blockage I mean so many trees downed it is basically an obstacle course. After about quarter of a mile we decide we aren't getting any where fast, so we are going just climb up the hill. A steep hill covered in downed trees. When we get to the top, there is nothing but lumbered trees. It looks like the death of christmas. LOL We take some photos and decide to head back. It was a great run with old and new friends.<br />
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The rest of the day I spend relaxing, watching Straight out of Comptom out on the porch with my birthday mimosa's.<br />
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Cheers and Happy RunningRunning with Ambyrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04779689998286866785noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944039089464112908.post-38429588923721422472016-06-23T10:08:00.005-07:002016-06-23T10:08:49.531-07:00Trail Running Across America Blog 5<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">The Transition from MT to WA</span></div>
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So I <b>LOVED</b> Montana. I mean, I <b>LOVED</b> it! Get the seriousness of the love? The mountains, the people, the town. All of it was just amazing. However, my wanderlust had set in, and I was ready to see my friend in Washington, so it was time to go.<br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><b>Day 13:</b></span> This is my last run in Montana. So I wake up, pack up the tent (which I am getting seriously good at) and make my way back to Rattlesnake Recreation Area. Now, when I woke up I noticed that I was <b>way way way </b>stiff. You see, during my last marathon training season I got really good at stretching, but on this trip <u>I have been really bad at it.</u> So I wrote myself a little post it note to stretch every day and stuck in on my stereo in my car as a reminder. </div>
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Now, back to the run. There are a multitude of trails of here, and I would like to find an easy one to do with Waylon. I found one that was a gently incline, much different than the mountain climbing I had done the past two days, and set out. Just an easy 6 mile out and back. At one point I made myself a little arrow so that I could find my way back, and not take a random off shoot trail and add goodness knows how much mileage.<br />
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This run had 717 feet of gain... which at this point is like nothing. Waylon got to duck into the little creek, which he loved and we just easily jaunted along. No rush, just a recovery run.<br />
When I got back to the car, I read my note, got out my mat and my resistance band and dutifully stretched under a tree for ten minutes before I got into my car.<br />
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Now my goal was to get to Idaho and run there. I had put out the word to the local community in the Couer D'Alene area but hadn't heard back yet, so I got online and found a campground that was about 1.5 hours north of that area. It said it was right on Priest Lake (YA for W!) and had two trail heads just a stone throw away, plus another dozen or so within a few miles. Sounds good to me. So, we drive up there, find the campground... and it is everything promised and more.<span style="color: purple;"> It. Is. A. Stunning Rustic campground</span> that is surrounded by big beautiful trees and moss covered grounds. Beaver Creek Campground.<br />
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Now, admittedly the guy running the place is a little, shall we say, odd. But, I assume if you live your life in a camper running a rustic campground, that is bound to happen. I get camp set up and immediately take Waylon down to the lake where he gets to play fetch in the water. He loses the stick a few times, which means I had to wade my happy ass out into the lake, but it is warm enough that it isn't a issue. After playing fetch for quite a while, we head back to our camp site where I build a fire, make some dinner and enjoy drinking a nice summer shandy by the fire with my book and my dog. I could make that picture into a post card. For Real.<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;">Day 14: </span></b>I slept it, I think my body needed the extra sleep. Once I get up and I get Waylon loaded into the car, we head to one of the trail heads. We pick the Navigation trail. I am only going to run 4 miles. We will call it a rest day. :-) This is a nice little trail, heavily wooded.<br />
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I am cautious as my little odd campground manager made sure to tell me multiple times that they are on grizzly bear watch and there are signs posted about how to tell the difference between a Grizzly and a Black Bear. (luckily I know this already growing up in Wyoming). For those of you that don't know, grizzly bears have a hump and longer claws and are a whole lot fricking meaner. Like, they will destroy you! So avoid at all costs! (Actually, since there has been multiple instances in Yellowstone...Lets make a PSA here... <span style="color: red;">It is NEVER a good idea to approach or touch a wild animal.)</span><br />
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We do a few easy miles and then get in the car, we are headed to Washington. I put on season 2 of Serial and head across the state.<br />
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As I get into Washington I am just awed by the beauty of the mountains I am driving through. Then, as I come through Snoqualmie Pass I get my first glimpse of Mt. Ranier, I can't not adequately describe the sense of aw I felt looking at it for the first time. <span style="font-size: large;"><b>It is majestic.</b></span><br />
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I finally get to Julie's house is Pullyap where I am greeted with a wonderful welcome package for me and Waylon. She knows us well, a rope, a ball, a bottle of wine, coffee, chocolate and gum. My favorite things. Julie plops down a huge map and a book full of routes to run and I get to planning. We spend some time catching up and then I take my worn out ass to bed.<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;">Day 15</span></b>: Wake up, stretch, make some coffee, let's get this day started. One nice thing about being based at someones house for this part of the adventure is a.) a bed, and b.) breakfast. Like real breakfast. Jeramy has made peach pancakes. Delicious.<br />
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Today I am running Cougar Mountain. It is about an hour drive, which goes smoothly getting there. I get parked and start in. I climb for 1.5 miles. It is so very green. Now, I have been running in the mountains for 2 weeks, I should be used to lot of green. <span style="color: lime;"><b>Nope, this is a different type of green</b></span>. Everything is green. The trees are covered in bright green moss, the ground is covered in beautiful green foliage, everything is just green. It is stunning.<br />
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During the run I come upon a lot of hikers, who look at me like I have lost my damn mind for running up the hills and through the mountain. I cheerily state good morning and keep upon my merry way.<br />
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At one point in time I accidently turn right instead of left. Okay, honesty time, I maybe did the same thing in the same spot twice. haha So I ran a little loop twice until I figured it out. Just for fun I took a picutre of a slug, this isn't something you find on the East Coast, or even in the west really. Needless to say it got a lot of funny reaction on the social media sites.<br />
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Overall it was a great run. 10 miles with 2700 feet of gain. Not too shabby. I spend the rest of the night relaxing with my friends and playing with Waylon. He loves having a yard to play in! Tomorrow we are going north to Bellingham in the evening to run up there. So I will take W to the sound to go play in the water during the day. I am sure he will love it! <br />
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Hopefully you are enjoying your own adventure, whether it be roads or trails! Happy Running!<br />
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IG: pghrunchick<br />
Twitter: a_real_life_1<br />
Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/12656839<br />
<br />Running with Ambyrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04779689998286866785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944039089464112908.post-66080233377828077832016-06-19T12:04:00.001-07:002016-06-19T12:20:40.548-07:00Trail Running Across America, Blog # 4<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Welcome to Montana!</span></b></div>
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Friday morning I hit the road and headed to Missoula, MT. I had been in the area ten years ago and remember how beautiful it was, and how many mountains there are. My memory didn't have it right, it is way more beautiful than I remember.<br />
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Before I left, I had posted on the Trail and Ultra Community on Facebook to find runners in the area and I lucked out by connecting with a man named Darren. He was a god send and truly made the stay in Missoula amazing. He connected me with Jennifer who runs the Jim and Mary RV Park (if you ever come here and have an RV, camper, etc PLEASE stay here!). She hooked me up with a little spot to put my tent right by their greenhouse, which was just steps away from the bathrooms with showers and everything. Darren also connected me with runners who were going out for a long run Saturday, and his teenage boys watched Waylon for me while I was our running. Truly a God send!<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;">Day 10:</span></b> Pull into Missoula, get camp set up and head into downtown to get a pizza. I have been recommended a place, Biga, that gets its ingredients locally sourced and am told the pizza is delic. So I order the pizza and head back to the car to change into running clothes. Now, I have to say I was 110% impressed with myself because you see, I was in "normal clothes" at this point and I wanted to take W for a few miles through town while my pizza cooked. Yet, I was parked in the middle of downtown with people walking by. And, me being me, instead of finding a bathroom to change in, I totally changed my outfit, in my car, with no one the wiser! It took some doing, but I did it. hahaha<br />
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I headed down towards a local park that had a live band singing, people paddle board and kayaking in the rapids in the river, and families out enjoying a nice evening. We ran just a few miles, enjoying the sites and sounds of the city. Then we grabbed the pizza and headed to camp. <i>Side Note: the pizza was awesome!</i><br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;">Day 11: </span></b>Sheep Mountain: Get up early and head to Darren's to drop of Waylon. Darren had fresh coffee brewed and waiting and we spent a few minutes drinking some coffee and talking about the upcoming run. I am taking his pup, Daisy, with us on the run. So I load her into the car and head out. I head towards the trail to meet up with Chad, Noah, and Travis. We are doing a 20 miler. I don't really know what to expect having never run in this part of the country. The short version is: <b><span style="color: purple;">10 MILES STRAIGHT UP, and 10 MILES STRAIGHT DOWN!</span></b><br />
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<span style="color: purple;">The longer version goes like this</span>: Get to the trail head, introductions are made, dogs are happy to greet each other and we head up the mountain. Now, this really is 10 miles straight up the mountain. We do a mix of run and hike as we head up. We are chatting about races we have done, history of the area, and just about everything else under the sun. When we are about halfway up the mountain, Travis comes back from around the bend and says <b>"I just scared a black bear off the trail, call in the dogs"</b>. So we call in the dogs, make some noise to announce our presence, and keep running. Within 100 feet we find a fresh bear track. Very cool! We keep the dogs close for a few miles as we keep climbing. We stop a few times to let the dogs play in the pockets of snow and grab a drink from our packs. Both Daisy and Humphries (Chad's pup) will drink from a bottle or bladder.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlJaSmfCtEbkVDpooB-bUxqlcD4M5tarjJkYl9kyjR4CxIQ8tHBQSonV0Eia_jBow5iXbsZ6lpWWrDkQVH29BzjsMUHwynchdLwespkopqQxiGIJS68peRwKRXpnOrTbYsSUUF29n2Yyqv/s1600/13419227_10153555354800919_1713941749887508092_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlJaSmfCtEbkVDpooB-bUxqlcD4M5tarjJkYl9kyjR4CxIQ8tHBQSonV0Eia_jBow5iXbsZ6lpWWrDkQVH29BzjsMUHwynchdLwespkopqQxiGIJS68peRwKRXpnOrTbYsSUUF29n2Yyqv/s320/13419227_10153555354800919_1713941749887508092_n.jpg" width="176" /></a>We get to the top. At the top of the peak there is a big rock wall that we all add a rock too. We stop and grab some nutrition and look at the panoramic views. Mountains on Mountains on Mountains. <span style="color: red;">It. Is. GORGEOUS! </span>Then we head back down.<br />
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Now on the way up we had to crawl over and around several downed trees. So I decide I am going to count them on the way down. Now, I though there maybe was a dozen. So when I get to a dozen pretty quick, we are all surprised. Then, we hit 2 dozen. Oy Vey! Final count.... 31. 31 times we either had to crawl over and completely go off trail to get around a downed tree. That is 62 trees overall. We will call it cross training.<br />
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At one point we take a wrong turn, but we figure it out pretty quick. Luckily Chad had his map on him or else we would have ended up on a different mountain. Oops. We turn around and get back on the right track. Then we hit the trail head. 20.5 miles. We say our goodbyes, I take Daisy back to Darren's and grab Waylon and head back to camp. I get showered and lay down for a little bit. A storm rolls through and we wait it out in the tent, reading a book and chowing on some gummy bears and trail mix.<br />
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Once the storm rolls through, I take Waylon up to Rattlesnake Trails and we do an easy 3 miles. Mostly walking to be honest. He gets to play in the crick and sniff all of the things. He is a happy dog! Then I drop him back off at Darren's and head to a local brewery where I have a slice of pizza and a great wheat beer, learning more about the history of Missoula. Then back to camp, eat some food and head to bed.<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;">Day 12:</span></b> Sleep in until 7:30, it was awesome. Grab the pup and head to Darren's. Once there I get a cup and of coffee and we head out to meet up with Chad. We are doing a 10 mile loop. We are running Mt. Sentinal, which is right by the University. We ran, yuup you guessed it, UP the mountain. Now these guys are BEASTS on these hills. But I pushed and ran up most of the way. I really feel like I am getting stronger.<br />
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Now at one point we hit a section with a cross trail. Darren points left and says "if you look this way" well, I looked that way, and my toe hit a rock. Down I went! And not a dainty little fall, I did a full out slide into first base on my stomach fall. *Eye roll*. No blood, not really at least. Just a full body of trail burns and dirt. *Sigh*. Brush myself off and keep running. We run around the mountain, stop to take a photo at "The M" and head down.<br />
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Then some eggs Benedict (without the meat for me of course). I plan on taking W up to the mountains and a lake later today to get his some exercise. I will do one more run in the area before I head out to Washington. It has been a great place to run!<br />
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Happy Running!<br />
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Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/12656839<br />
IG: pghrunchick<br />
Twitter: a_real_life1Running with Ambyrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04779689998286866785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944039089464112908.post-46012840625242938712016-06-16T12:52:00.001-07:002016-06-19T10:50:46.420-07:00Trail Running Across America Blog 3<div dir="ltr">
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I am in Wyoming! </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue;">Day 7: </span></b>Wake up, grab some hot coffee, some quick breakfast, and head to the Big Horns. I am leaving Waylon with my uncle so I can do a longer run. I have looked at the Big Horn race site, and there are very clear directions to the start. So I drive up the mountain and get to the start. The course is really well marked with orange flags. <b>The course is exceptional.</b> There are sections on old 4-wheeler roads, single track trail, and meadows. And that is just the first 8 miles. ( I did out and back). <br />
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When you first start the course, you go up a nice hill, which puts you on top of the ridge of the mountain. You run up that ridge for several miles which gives spectacular panoramic views of the mountains that go for miles on miles. Finally you turn left and go through some wooded areas, where the smell of fresh pine just makes you say "ahhhh". Honestly, nothing smells as clean and fresh as a Wyoming mountain. Clean, thin air that smells of fresh pines trees, sagebrush, and wild flowers. Just, relaxing.<br />
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After going through the wooded area you come out to a 2 mile descent across a meadow. <br />
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Thankfully this was well flagged as there is no way I would have known where to go. It is not really a trail here, as much as its running around the sage brush to get to the trail. Eventually it reconnects and I continue down into the bottom of the valley. Once I hit the bottom, I am at my halfway point. So I turn my happy little butt around and start the climb back up. WOOF. And for a little over 2 miles, I climb and I climb. As I am going up, I am thinking to myself... "Half a bowl of cereal, half a box of wheat thins, 10 licorice strips, and a salad, maybe was not enough for this.". Dumb ass. However, I am prepared and have packed some granola bars which I reward myself with when I get to the top of the hill. On the way back I am just running, running, thankful for the chance to be here, doing this. </div>
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Like a <u>jackass</u> I however, did forget to put on Suncreen. ummmmm, yeah. I started at 7, 474 feet and climbed up to 8. 524 feet. That is really close to the sun, in really thin air. My fair skinned red headed ass (not literally) got burned. Well, shit! I also had a little bit of a hard time breathing, especially going up the hills. They were tough to climb! </div>
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But it was seriously worth it! The views are incredible! When I was done I drove down the mountain and spent the rest of the day hanging out with my Uncle, grabbing dinner, and checking out classic cars. It was a great day! </div>
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<b><span style="color: blue;">Day 8:</span></b> Woke up, strapped on my road shoes and headed out to run the small town of Sheridan. They have put walking paths in around the city and for about half the run, I stick to those. Then I go through the town. I forgot what small towns are like. Everyone is friendly. Literally every single person I saw, whether they were walking their dogs, walking by themselves, or sitting on a bench watching the world go bye, said Good Morning. Cars stopped when they didn't have a stop sign and signaled me to cross an intersection. And everybody greeted everybody, stopping to shoot the shit as they walked down the street. I love to VISIT small town America. It is a nice break from the city. </div>
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Once I got back I cleaned up, packed up and headed South to Casper to see my mom, brother, and sister-in-law. I haven't been here in 5 years, so there is a lot of catching up to do. I am up late bull shitting and talking about all the things you just don't talk about over the phone, so when the alarm goes off in the morning, its not easy to get up.<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;">Day 9: Casper Mountain.</span></b> When I was a teenager one of my favorite places to go was the waterfalls. There is a trail that runs up and above them that if you stay on the trail is about 3.5 miles. Of course, this is me we are talking about. So I end up climbing up series of rocks and over trees and around random rocky areas to get to the little water falls that are hidden everywhere up here. I LOVE waterfalls. If I could have a waterfall in my house, I would. Maybe... someday when public educators get paid millions I can do that. hahahaha<br />
Anyways, me legs are kind of tired, and my back unhappy after sleeping on a real bed, so I keep my run short and make it more of a run/hike to make it a quasi rest day. Plus, I have a brunch date with my Grandad.<br />
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Which brings me to now, I have to get my car dropped off to get an oil change and then we are headed out to Pathfinder to hang out before going to Grandad's for dinner.<br />
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Happy Running! </div>
Running with Ambyrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04779689998286866785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944039089464112908.post-33648703736653055082016-06-16T12:17:00.001-07:002016-06-19T10:51:01.323-07:00Trail Running Across America Blog 2<div dir="ltr">
<b>The last few days have been very interesting. </b>Some great runs, some tough runs and some executive decisions. </div>
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<b><span style="color: blue;">Day 4: </span></b>Duluth, MN. I had arranged to meet up with some of the local ultra runners. We were meeting at the Duluth Zoo and running 16 miles point to point on the Voyaguer 50k route. It is already hot outside when we started, in the 70's and it was in the 80's the finish. So I get parked, meet up with Adam, Chris and Eric and we head off. The route is a mix of dirt roads, paved roads and single track. They are all experienced ultra runners, and I enjoy hearing their stories about races and trails they have run. They talk about the different parks they have ran and hiked in across the nation, and I take copious mental notes of places I want to hit as I go. They talk about the local races and trails, and I realize that <u>I definitely need to come back up to Duluth to run some of these races. </u></div>
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At <span style="color: red;">mile 10</span> I look down and the hair on my arms is standing straight up. <i>Oh Fuck</i>! This is a sign that I know well. My core body temperature is rising and<b> I am headed for trouble.</b> I check my pack for my salt tabs, damn I only have one left. Note to self, check salt tabs before you go. I up my hydration and keep pushing through. By mile 12, I was dizzy. This is not good. I have stopped sweating and I know things are going down hill fast. We are doing a section of the course aptly called the power lines. It is climbing to the top where a power line is, and then down. During different conditions I would absolutely love this section. Now, this is rough and I am struggling. I say something to the guys I am running with. I have to slow down. They are wonderful, slow down with me and we keep going. By mile 13.5 I am a disaster. Eric falls back with me as I am having to walk as much as I am running. Any time we hit a creek, I am dunking my cooling towel and headband, nothing is lowering my body temp. Adam gives me pretzels for the salt content, I get down a few but my mouth is so dry it is hard. Mile 15 I am done. I am so hot, I am willing to bet my temp is well over a 100. I have ran out of water ( I started with 2 Liters). Eric gives me his remaining bottle and I drain it within a half a mile. Chris and Adam have gone ahead. I remove my pack to get rid of the hotness and run, walk the rest of the way. About mile 16, Chris and Adam are back with water. I down half a nalgene bottle. I am beyond thankful I was with these guys. I don't know how I would have done this if I had gotten that sick on my own. This is my first time during his trip that I am thinking <span style="color: purple;">"What the hell am I doing? I should turn around and go home"</span><br />
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We get to the end and we sit in a very cold creek. It feels amazing, and helps me start feeling better. Then we go get breakfast at the Sunshine Cafe'. <b>It is VERY important to note,</b> I got the best omelette I have ever had in my life here! It is HUGE and filled with vegetables, hashbrowns, and loads of cheese. Delicious! </div>
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The rest of the day I kept super easy. Went to lake, laid in the shade and sat by the fire. Unfortunately, the tree I chose to lay under had a gazillion ticks in, so I spent a decent amount of time pulling ticks off of Waylon. Lesson learned! By the time I get to bed, I know... I am continuing on. </div>
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<b><span style="color: blue;">Day 5:</span></b> I decided when I woke up I wanted to get on the road. I have decided to go North Dakota to go to Theodore Roosevelt National Park and the Painted Canyons. Along the way I crossed over the Mississippi River. As soon as I crossed I noticed there was a trail that ran beside it. So I stopped, grabbed Waylon and headed out for a few miles. At one point I was on a dirt road. A motorist stopped me and told me that a bear had just crossed the road and to watch my dog. I thanked them, although I forgot to ask which side he had gone to, and kept going. <u>Well sure as shit, about mile 3 I hear rustling in the bushes and I look over and see a large black figure.</u> Well, I wasn't going to stick around for a photo, actually I started hitting those sub 8 miles, yelling at Waylon to keep up. </div>
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On top of a bear, there were thunder storms and rain moving in. We got a little wet, but beat the torrential downpour. Go us!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiySCosxtT0Ad4pbk1R78ubW2V9E41w5lHAmhF_47p7npfha09strLsUJwCC44zwa47OoblFlzwUEU-xAIzBEe18sZoxYznf6M1QDGo7vPtn9pUul3uI5sgwYtltWn6h3Q91V4fa0oxk7r6/s1600/13445484_10153543465895919_1318507212358657461_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiySCosxtT0Ad4pbk1R78ubW2V9E41w5lHAmhF_47p7npfha09strLsUJwCC44zwa47OoblFlzwUEU-xAIzBEe18sZoxYznf6M1QDGo7vPtn9pUul3uI5sgwYtltWn6h3Q91V4fa0oxk7r6/s200/13445484_10153543465895919_1318507212358657461_n.jpg" width="112" /></a><span style="text-align: center;">We kept driving towards North Dakota, stopping to take a photo with the massive Paul Bunyan. Actually I had driven past it, did an illegal U-turn, and stopped to take a photo! hahaha </span><br />
Since North Dakota is absolutely boring as hell to drive through, and there are no radio stations to boot, I plugged in my phone and finally got around to listening to the first season of Serial. If you are into crime stuff, I recommend it. For the record, I don't think he did it.</div>
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Eventually I got to the Painted Canyons. I stopped to take some photo's, it was absolutely stunning! Then I drove through the Theodore Roosevelt Park. The campground was full, but it was a gorgeous view and we saw some wild horses and buffalo. Waylon could have cared less about them, luckily. </div>
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Since the grounds were full I drove across to the Sully Creek State Park. They had a rustic campground that had really great sites. I set up camp, made some grilled cheese and went to bed.<br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><b>Day 6</b></span>: We woke up early to go run. My campsite is .25 miles from the trail head, which was great. Since I knew there wasn't going to be a water source, I brought Waylon's collapsible bowl and extra water. We took off on the Maah Daah Hey Trail for a nice out back for ten miles. This was different than any other trail I have ever run. The scenery and style of trail was new to me, and absolutely fantastic. Waylon drank out of his bowl and mile 3 and we kept going. For the first few miles there was cloud coverage and an occasional drizzle.<br />
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At our turn around point there was a creek that was the color of copper. Waylon of course headed straight for it, but I made him stop. <b>It. Was. Nasty</b>! After that Waylon got stubborn and refused to drink out of his bowl because he was mad at me. I could tell he was hot as he was falling behind. At this point the clouds were spotty and the rain was gone, so we were pretty much running in direct sun. So, being the good dog mommy I am, I forced water down his throat via his water bottle. He didn't love it, but he got water damnit! lol </div>
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Once we finished I did my "running shower" using soap, a washcloth, and a water spout in the park. I am sure the people in the RV thought I was nuts! ha. I got in my car, stopped in Medora to grab some post cards and coffee and hit the road. <span style="color: red;">South Dakota here I come! </span></div>
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A couple hours into my drive <b>THE STORM</b> hit! Notice the all caps and bold letters. It was wicked! I couldn't see more than 50 feet in front of my car and there was constant thunder and lightning. This went on <u>for hours. </u>Finally I got to Rapid City, SD. I pulled off the side of the road in a truck stop area to think about what I wanted to do. Checking the weather app, these storms were supposed to go all night and into the next night. Right as I was weighing my options, my friend Stacey called me. I ran it by her, and she agreed, I couldn't stay there, it wasn't safe to camp in. So, I called my Mom. She agreed. I asked her to call my Aunt and Uncle in Sheridan, Wy. This is right by the Big Horn National Parks, which has a race over the weekend. I am betting the course is marked! Aunt and Uncle say "absolutely!" I duck into into the restaurant I parked by to grab something to eat, I haven't eaten since my half bowl of cereal before my run, look at the 6 page menu which has ZERO vegetarian options ( not even the friggin salads were meatless) which cues me into the fact that I am for sure back in the West. So, I work with the waiter to create a meatless salad, grab my dressing from the cooler, and head out. I headed back on the road. </div>
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As I drove into Wyoming, I am overcome by emotion. I grew up in Wyoming, but I haven't been back in 5 years for personal reasons. It is a 3 hour drive, so during this time I get to work through all my emotions about coming back. There were some tears, and some smiles as I drove. Eventually I get to Sheridan. My Uncle meets me and shows me the 5th wheel which is all set up next to the house, electricity is going and everything is ready for me and Waylon. We spend an hour catching up and then W and I head to bed. I am running the Big Horns in the morning. </div>
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It is going to be great. </div>
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So, until next time! Happy Running</div>
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Running with Ambyrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04779689998286866785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944039089464112908.post-75924239694297053102016-06-10T13:49:00.003-07:002016-06-19T10:51:21.367-07:00Trail Running Across America Blog 1<b>Wow. That is all I can say so far.</b><br />
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So, to back up a little, a few days before I left I was feeling a lot of anxiety about this trip. I mean, single female crossing the country with just her rickety car, old garmin, and labrador. I had borrowed most of the camping supplies I needed, so I had the material things I needed...but still. Then on top of that I had to be a stubborn ass and carry my ac up 3 flights of stairs by myself and then go cut trails, which led to a series of back spasms that had me in bad shape. Like couldn't stand up straight, bad shape. But, C'est la Vie. I was going. I saw my chiro who was able to help get me in decent shape, and who loaned me a tens unit which has been a life saver!<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;">Day 1:</span></b> I had driven to Indiana Dunes State Park, There I found the state campground, grabbed a spot right across from a trail head,set up camp and laid down to go to sleep. It had been a long day of a half day at work and 8 hours of driving. Then my neighbors showed up. They sat and yelled at their kid to not wake up the campground, yet they sat and yelled at had a great time. Needless to say around 11 pm, I very "kindly" asked them to shut-up. haha<br />
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I had ever intention of being up at 5 am to see the sunrise over the dunes. Alarm goes off, Nope ,Nuh-hu. My body needed rest. So I slept until 6:30. It was nice. I got up, didn't even bother with the coffee (a small miracle), got Waylon wired up to run and headed out. <b><span style="font-size: large;">It. Was. Beautiful.</span></b> They have a 3 dune challenge, where you take a trail that runs up and down 3 very large sand dunes. If you have never run up a sand dune, it's not easy! <br />
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First of all, you are talking a 38% grade, then add in running in nothing but sand. But it was fun!<br />
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Then we looped around to Lake Michigan where I let Waylon play in the lake. He has never dealt with waves before, so it was really funny when he was coming in to shore and a big wave over took him. I have never seen that look of bewilderment on his face before. It was great.<br />
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Then we packed up and started driving north. And we drove, and drove, and drove. I might have accidently missed an important turn at one point and ended up driving down back highways through farmlands that my GPS couldn't even name. It would say " Turn left in 2 miles on Road". Oy vey. However, I picked up a great radio station that had a survivor of the Holocaust talking which was neat to listen to and it was pretty country. <span style="color: red;">FINALLY</span> we got to Hinckley MN, where a woman had kindly given me access to her land. We had a huge field with a fire pit, and we set up. Waylon loved being able to run through the field and I finally got to set up a fire and put my campfire cooking skills to work. There is some sort of creature making noises in the fields, it was calming. To bed we go. Slept like a rock.<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;">Day 2</span></b>: Get up around 7, this whole sleeping thing is awesome. Pack up and head out. First stop, Jay Cooke State Park, I stopped into the visitor center and asked a ranger to give me some advice on a 10 mile loop that had water access for Waylon. He showed me a loop to do, and we set off. The first section wasn't overly technical (actually it was down right easy), but it had some pretty views.The 2nd section was much more technical, at one point I had to lift Waylon up a rock (82 pound dog, I was pretty proud of myself).<br />
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I fell twice on this run, but not badly. Luckily the first time I fell into a mud bog, which of course everyone knows how much I loooooove mud. :-/ Waylon thoroughly enjoyed swimming and was pretty tired by time we were done. I made both of us some lunch (he gets chicken on run days) and we set off again.<br />
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Then we start driving north. I need to find a campsite. I find one north of Duluth in a small (itty bitty tiny) town called Knife River. It is privately owned and the guy who owns it, Randy, has two dogs, instantly falls in love with Waylon and discounts my stay, making it cheaper than the full state park grounds. We set up in a tucked away corner by the river and head out to a trail that Randy had told me about. We do 4 miles, just hiking, through a pretty little forested area by Knife River. I also stop by this tiny chocolate shop that has some of the best chocolate caramels I have ever had! <br />
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When we get back I am pretty sure I am starving to death so I start dinner as I set up a campfire. Waylon passed out, not even bothering to get up as I went back and forth to the car.<br />
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There was a huge thunder and lightning storm that night. It woke me up a 5 am. I hurried out to get my trail shoes which I had left out to dry so they weren't soaked and went back to bed. I had an appointment to drop Waylon off as his dog sitter at 7:30.<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;">Day 3:</span></b> Get up, grab my gear and head south to Duluth. I drop Waylon off at his dog care house which he was happily exploring the home and playing with their dog when I left. I drive back north to Split Rock Loop and Gooseberry State Park. I get up there and find the trail head pretty easily. I gear up and head out. This trail is spectacular and very technical.<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">I am now going towards Gooseberry State Park. At one point in time on this foray <b><span style="color: purple;">I thought I was lost.</span></b> Because the trail was not real apparent. Like, at all. It was over huge rocks and occasionally what could possibly be a trail would show up. However, it had spectacular views of Lake Superior. I was starting to get a little concerned that I was making my own trail when it ducked back into the woods and I saw a blue blaze. Phew Ok. I cross a logging road and notice that the trail seems to be freshly cut. About a mile in I run into people working on the trails, and one guy says to me " Didn't you see the sign that this section is closed, we are re-routing and you will have no trail in about a tenth of a mile". </span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Well shit, no I didn't. I thank him, turn around go down the logging road, across the highway and onto the biking trail. Which, I am glad I did as I got to go right by the Lake Superior shore and it is Gorgeous! I get back to my car and still need 3 more miles, so I head back into the trail and do a little out and back. </span><br />
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On the way back to get showered and pick up Waylon, I find a little cafe' called Betty's Pies. It is in the middle of nowhere, but the parking lot is packed. The minute I show up a massive storm rolls through, thunder, lightning, torrential rain. Thank God I was done already. Supposedly they have the best pie around. I order some lunch and some strawberry rhubarb pie (one of the few I actually like). As I wait for my food I chat with a couple of couples waiting to be seated. One "couple" (they live in different places but vacation together... mmmhmmm) is probably in their 80's and have had some grand adventures themselves. The other couple is from ND and are traveling the coast of Lake Superior since they haven't been. My food is finally done, I wish safe travels to the couples and I eat as I drive. The food is "meh". But I am excited for the strawberry rhubarb pie, it's really the only kind of pie I really like. When I get back to the camnpground I get showered and chat with Randy, who informs me that Betty's USED to be the best pie, but I need to go to Rustic because they beat Betty's in every pie contest. lol<br />
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So now I need to go pick up Waylon and get some sleep. I am meeting some local runners tomorrow to do some miles from Duluth. Happy Running!Running with Ambyrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04779689998286866785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944039089464112908.post-18910641701808265482016-06-02T11:47:00.005-07:002016-06-19T10:51:37.862-07:00No Stress Running<b><u>First and foremost:</u></b> My running tip of the week: When it's hot out, freeze your hydration ahead of time. Whether you use a handheld, belt, or bladder; fill it about 80% of the way full and freeze it. The heat and friction from movement will melt the ice and you will have cold water and a nice built in ice pack.<br />
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So I am 100k training, and getting ready to do a 6 week trip across the nation, trail running my way to WA and back. So I feel comfortable saying that my training is pretty serious these days. Haha. <span style="color: blue;">THAT BEING SAID</span>, I want to enjoy my training, be flexible and enjoy my runs. And after a seriously craptastic Friday that had me internally at level 9 temper status by 4 pm... I needed miles and relaxation. So that, my friends, is exactly what I did!<br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">Saturday Morning</span></b>: Stacey picked me up and we drove out to Moraine State Park. I love running out there. It is a fairly technical trail with a few decent climbs, but nothing excessive. It has some great patches of rocks and roots that allow you to get some nice foot work in, and some very pretty views. It is about an hour drive from the city, so it is an easy trip to make.<br />
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Goal is 10 miles, just an easy out and back. She had done her Gate to 19 a few days before, and I had done 7 the day before on hills and had a big weekend ahead, so we wanted to keep it easy. So we loaded our packs and cooling towels and set off,<br />
***Now I would like to make a side note here... This year the Pittsburgh marathon and Dicks sporting goods sent out runner boxes to runners who earned enough points (it was like super easy to get the points) and one item inside was this cooling towel. OMG, this thing is the best thing since the creation of gelato... for real! You get it wet, snap it and it keeps you cool. When it warms up, you snap it again, and it gets cool again. LIFE SAVER in hot weather! *****<br />
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Being memorial day weekend we saw a lot of hikers, a few runners, and some dogs out on the trails. We said hi and chatted with all of them, enjoying the camaraderie of sharing the trails. My favorite was the troupe of kids coming through with their parents. Kids ranging from 5-10 out enjoying nature. <u>Props to you parents, Props to you!</u><br />
We did an easy out and back, stopping at the mid way point to grab some nutrition and the necessary selfie (feel free to judge, lol). Since we are in the same profession there was some shop talk, and then some race talk, and then just good ole fashioned girl gossip. No stress, no pace pushing, just enjoying each others company over 10 miles and 1300 feet of elevation gain- Done.<br />
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We finish our run, give ourselves a baby wipe bath in the bathroom so we don't stink too bad on the way home, head out and back to the city. Once I get home, I take Waylon out for his long walk and then get ready for Sunday. (I do believe I need to do a whole separate blog on getting ready for a long trail run. It's coming!)<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;">Sunday: 4:45 am</span></b>.. alarm goes off UGH! It is sooooo early! Okay Okay, I'm up. Coffee- check, Oatmeal-check, Walked dog- check. Have all running bags- check. Gps coordinates to the meeting spot- check. What am I forgetting? It has to be something.. I never get out the door on the first try.. .like ever. Welp, Oh well. Gotta go.<br />
<b><u>6:00-</u></b> in the car and out the door. 1.5 hour to Laurel Highland Hiking Trail. Today we are doing a point to point run, Gate (which is the starting point for the trail) to mile 19. We will leave a car at the top and the bottom.<br />
<b><u>7:30,</u></b> get there. Shortly after Jeramy shows up. He gets his pack together since we are leaving his truck and then we drive down the start. I get my pack together and all settled with sunscreen and bug spray (I got eaten alive during the week when I Forgot that... never again!) and off we go.<br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><u>Today is not about pace, it is about enjoying the miles.</u></span> It is 68* at the start with 95% humidity. Glad I brought my 2 Liter Nathan bladder. I am going to need it. We head out, stopping for photo's when we see something pretty, sometimes running together and chatting, and sometimes running apart and just enjoying the quiet. Like yesterday, we see a lot of hikers, runners, and dogs out on the trail and we greet everyone one of them.<br />
At one point we hit a muddy spot (please remember... blood, guts, snakes, roots, ... all those things, I have no issue with... I. Hate. Mud). Well, Jeramy has never witnessed the princess mud act before, and when he sees it, he reacts in a way I should have figured, he picks up a clump and throws it at me. Jerk.<br />
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My favorite part though was when we hit the steep downhill switch backs, we FLEW down them. Hands up and shifting for balance, watching the rocks and roots carefully, braids straight back with the force of movement. Laughing the whole way! Man was it was fun.<br />
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At about mile 9 we came upon a boulder pile. <span style="color: red;">I stopped and climbed it.</span> No hurry, no rush, just climbing some boulders. Take a photo and we are on our way. Shortly after we came upon a couple out hiking. And we scared the living shit out of them! hahahahahahah. <b>Real Talk- Pay attention people!</b> You are in the friggin mountains... there are bears and snakes and shit. Don't tune out! Mile 11 we came on a pretty water fall. I was out of water, so I rock hopped (very successfully...unlike other people I was running with...ahem.) to the base then to the top. I refilled my bladder in the falls, then enjoyed the peace and quite of the moment.<br />
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At this point, we continued on our run and fell into a quite companionship as we ran. You know the kind where it is just calm. We ran into a cool looking black snake out sunning himself on the trail. We very respectfully waited for him to cross over and then continued on our way. We crossed numerous bridges over creeks and falls. We wound through forest and a small meadow. We stopped and greeted every dog ( I can't help myself) and compared dog running strategies. We eventually finish up the last steep hill of the day and then out and back to get our full mileage. Grab some water and fruit we have in the cooler and we drive down to the start, shower, eat and head back to the city. I can't speak for Jeramy, but I know that run was exactly what I needed to decompress from the stress of the week. 19. 2 miles and 4500 of elevation gain- Done.<br />
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Get home, eat, walk the dog,set the alarm and to bed.<br />
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Monday morning. 5 am.</span></b> Alarm goes off UGH! 2 days in a row.... UGHHHHHHH. Okay, I'm up I'm up. Coffee- check, Oatmeal-check, Running bag- check, dog supplies-check. Grab Waylon and out the door.<br />
First Stop, Pumped to Run. This is a non-profit that is bringing running to the homeless community of Pittsburgh. I know our guys are going to be waiting on us. So we get to the shelter, grab our guys and get about 3 miles all together. Say my goodbye's, see you on Friday's and Waylon and I head to North Park.<br />
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Now it has been fairly dry here, so I know that Waylon won't have a lot of natural water sources. And I stupidly think my one 20 oz bottle will be enough for the both of us. Lets just say, Waylon got about 90% of my ice cold water. I love my dog! We did about 7 more miles. Waylon was dragging by the end, because it is 70* and humid. We went nice and slow at his pace, but by time we are done all he wants to to hang his head out the car window and eat treats! But he is a trooper and finishes strong, tail wagging, and tongue lolling.<br />
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I finished up my weekend with a little over 39 miles in 3 days and a little over 6000 feet of elevation gain. I can honestly say I wasn't sore, but was tired. Actually I was a worthless lump on my couch for the rest of the day on Monday... totally watched a full season of Top Chef. <b><span style="color: purple;">This weekend and these laid back runs were exactly what I needed to decompress from a stressful week. Time away, no pressure, no rush, just peace, quiet and nature.</span></b><br />
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So whether you are pushing for pace, or just running to relax, Happy Running! </div>
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Running with Ambyrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04779689998286866785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944039089464112908.post-41317432803293303002016-05-22T13:10:00.002-07:002016-06-19T10:51:51.707-07:00Week 1 of back to backsNow that I am officially done with my road season, I have got to concentrate on getting ready for the Twisted Branch 100k. Which means the great return to back to back long runs. I eventually plan on doing 3 long run's back to back, but for now I am starting with two. The purpose of the back to back long runs is to accustom the legs to being able to run when they are tired. I have found this method (which is the common way to ultra train) really helps me strengthen as a runner, not only physically but mentally. It is not easy to go out and run when you are tired and sore. So this was Week 1 of them.<br />
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<b>Saturday Am:</b> Heading out to Ohiopyle to run the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail, do the section dubbed "Gate to 8" by the locals. It is a well known section for it's beautiful views and brutal climbs. <br />
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I am headed out with two friends. Stacey is training for the LHHT 50k and has already been out to this section 3 time in her season. Jeramy has never trail ran before, so me being the good friend I am... I drag him to a tough course as his cherry popper. :-) We meet up at the bottom, packs on, shoes checked, introductions made, and off we go.<br />
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We head out. We have beautiful weather, it is upper 40's and raining lightly. Just enough to cool you off, and not so much it is drenching.<br />
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<b>We start in on the climbs.</b> We talk about the importance of changing your running gate on the ups and downs, and I thoroughly enjoy flying down the hills once we have finished a big climb. We chat about a myriad of topics as we go, you never know what subject will come up on the trails. Mile 6 and we start the big climb up <span style="color: blue;">THE BEAST</span>! This is a 2 mile climb that just never seems to stop. Jeramy runs about half of it, and Stacey and I happily hike most of it with an occasional run. I admit my goal by the end of summer is to be able to run most of it, but I am not there yet. We get to the top and have a small celebration then keep going. Stacey and Jeramy pull a bit ahead of me. Just as I suspected, Jeramy is a natural on the trails. So he takes off like a friggin billy goat, or maybe a kid who just found a cool new toy and he is ahead. Stacey and I stick together for awhile, talking about the stuff that girls talk about and we keep a decent pace as we go. Then we get to go back down the hill. I love the downhills, I can go down at a pretty decent pace, they are my strong suit on the trails for sure. So I pay attention and fly down the 2 mile stretch. My quads were <span style="color: red;">ON FIRE</span> ( I 100% just sang that.. think Alicia Keys). I get to the bottom where of course you start climbing again.<br />
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Turns out Stacey and Jeramy are both amazing on the uphills. <u>Whereas they are definitely my weak point</u>! They are my goal for improvement this summer. I end up about a half mile behind them from mile 11 to mile 15. During this 4 miles I go through a whole set of emotions. Ranging from happy to be out on the trails, to doubt about my trip this summer. I mean what kind of dumbass plans to spend 5 1/2 weeks crossing the country, running strange trails by herself this day in age. What if I am out on a trail and fall and get knocked unconscious or I break a leg or something. This is dumb. Why can't I keep up with them, fuck, this sucks. Another hill, Oyvey. Okay. Lets go. Aww, downhill. I like downhills, happy downhill. Why I am training for 100K again? Should I not do it? No, I am just feeling sorry for myself, knock it off. Then I see Jeramy and Stacy, we are close to the end and they have stopped to wait for me. We finish up the last mile together. I am definitely tired, I have some work to do! I am seriously out of trail shape. We did the whole run in about 3.5 hours. That is a pretty decent time for that section and my first trip out. We get 4200 feet of elevation gain for the day. Not too shabby. And now that we are done, I am out of my funk am very glad that we came up today to run the trail. These two are great running partners. I look forward to doing more runs with them. They will push me to be better on hills too, which will be great!<br />
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After we hit the shower house where we are pleasantly surprised that the pulley showers have hot water, which felt soooooo good, we grab a much deserved lunch at the pub. Black Bean and Tofu burrito, chips and salsa, and loaded french fries for me. Yummy! Say our goodbye's and head back to the city.<br />
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I am stiff and need to roll, and definitely am looking forward to a good nights sleep. <br />
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Sunday morning I wake up, enjoy some coffee and cereal, load up Waylon and drive to North Park. North Park is a nice easy trail system, minimal technical spots and only 1300 ft of elevation gain on the loop I am planning for the day. And this 10 mile is a great example of why I say back to back really increase your mental strength, because it went as follows:<br />
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Mile 1: "OMG this sucks, my legs are sooo heavy".<br />
Mile 1.5 "Well hell, its only mile 1.5".<br />
Mile 2: "Finally." Stop give W his 2 mile treat and off we go again.<br />
Mile 3: "I could have sworn I did 5 already. This is going to be a long run"<br />
Mile 4: Okay this is getting better, kind of. We pass a girl on the trail, so even though it is a slow run we aren't toooo slow.<br />
Mile 5: "This really is getting better. Picking it up a little bit, half way there. How's W? He's hanging in and still stepping on my feet occasionally so he's good."<br />
Mile 6: "It is the end of the red blue trail. Legs are finally loosening up. Okay, 4 miles left. Lets go."<br />
Mile 6.5, "Forgot about his hill. On a normal run I can run it, not today. Legs are still not feeling ready for that. Just get to the damn top, then it's mostly down."<br />
Mile 7, Yeah baby, only 3 miles left, but man I am HUNGRY!. "<br />
Mile 8: "HOLY MUD BATMAN!" <span style="color: red;">Okay: Confession time:</span> I. Hate. Mud. I have no issue with blood, guts, vomit, etc. I love running technical trails, no issues with rocks, roots, hills, creek crossings, etc, but when I hit a really muddy spot my princess hands come out, I get a disgusted look on my face and "ewewewew" comes out of mouth. <b>I can't help it.</b> And of course, the red trail is <u>always</u> sloppy when it's been raining. For the next 1.5 miles I am dealing with mud and trying hard to suppress princess tendencies. Waylon of course is LOVING it. He has purposefully ran through every single mud puddle and mud bog the entire 10 miles.<br />
I am a little short of the 10 miles I want so I run around the parking lot, down to the creek that connects to the dam where Waylon enjoys a nice swim while the fishermen 150 yds away give us dirty looks (get over it dude, we are near the falls, we aren't touching your damn fish), cross the creek and wrap back into the trails to finish the last half mile.<br />
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The last 3 miles my stomach was growling, I was sooo hungry so I was looking forward to the granola bar I had in my car. Until it wasn't there. I was very sad. So I jump in the car and head home to eat. Waylon is passed out cold after that run. And I am happily laying on my couch looking at my roller and resistance band knowing I need to put in a good 30 min stretch session before bed. It will help, my head knows this, but my lazy ass will put it off a bit longer.<br />
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I forgot the how hard the second run can be after a good first run. But I will continue to build, grow, and get stronger as the summer goes on.<br />
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And I got to introduce one of my favorite things to a friend which always makes me happy! A new trail runner is on the scene and I am willing to bet he will being killing 50k's in no time!<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipUad67YBEONvBRDFaypGSruiLZngvfLoofHCozr1J7SGaNL82Q4ZX1WcCqAdLNhK7yXqpeAb74jZZxNI1vFNG599SHFNWwLD8bvCPNOPOaQau1BMu42jXmDMNS5RzUeEbz6zQgGpGhacj/s1600/13254412_10153497764165919_80121112541860428_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipUad67YBEONvBRDFaypGSruiLZngvfLoofHCozr1J7SGaNL82Q4ZX1WcCqAdLNhK7yXqpeAb74jZZxNI1vFNG599SHFNWwLD8bvCPNOPOaQau1BMu42jXmDMNS5RzUeEbz6zQgGpGhacj/s320/13254412_10153497764165919_80121112541860428_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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I am still having some self doubt about training for another 100k and about my trip this summer. But I have a few weeks to work through it. We shall see.<br />
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Happy RunningRunning with Ambyrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04779689998286866785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944039089464112908.post-78183699460279880302016-05-16T18:36:00.001-07:002016-06-19T10:52:04.149-07:00Pacing the Cleveland Marathon<b><i><u><span style="color: blue;">I love pacing,</span></u></i></b> it is such a great way to give back to a community I love. Helping people make their goals and being their "person" for a race to get them there. I especially love pacing marathons, it is awesome watching people hit their 26.2<br />
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This is the second year I have paced the Cleveland marathon. Last year didn't go so great, it was hot and humid and long story short I ended up with heat stroke. And just a side note, if you ever have to have your temperature taken after a marathon, there is only one way to get an accurate temp, and lets just say it isn't the most pleasant experience.<br />
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So when the opportunity came up to do it again, I said HELL YES! But this time it's going to be better....<br />
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Saturday, I load up the car and drop off my keys to my friend watching Waylon and do the 2.5 hour drive to Cleveland. Get there, find *maybe illegal* parking and hit the expo. There I hang at the pacers booth for about an hour talking to runners about their goals and convince people that running with a pacer is worth it. I meet a few people planning to run in my group, <b><span style="color: red;">the 3:55 group</span></b>, and talk to them about what to expect. I grab some compression from Sure Sport who graciously gifts pacers with an awesome pair of compression sleeves, grab some new KT tape and a few gels and head to the hotel.<br />
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Once I get there I chat with Kim, another pacer who I have roomed with before and absolutely adore. We catch up and then head to the pasta dinner. On the way we run into a few more of the "Pittsburgh crew" who pace every year and we grab a table, We are sitting right next to the Elite Athletes, and another side note... man can those guys put away some food. We spend dinner all catching up, the Pittsburgh crew and a few other pacers, then head back to the hotel.<br />
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<u>Pre-race tradition is milk and cookies at 8 pm</u>. We also manage to bring beer so we munch on delicious cookies and drink beer while catching up and meeting the new people on the pace team.<br />
9:30, its time for bed.<br />
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<b><span style="color: purple;">5:00 am</span></b>, Time to get up, get coffee, and get going. The hotel kindly let me use the microwave in the closed off breakfast area to heat up my oatmeal, so now I am ready to go with my race day nutrition. I peek out the window and check the weather app <span style="font-size: large;"><b>*GASP*</b></span> Real feel of 30*, winds at 20mph and it is a heavy rain fall. <span style="color: blue;">Oh boy... this is going to be fun</span><br />
<span style="color: purple;"><b>6:00 am</b> </span>we head down to the start. Even though the weather is less than stellar we are all in a good mood and pumping each other up for what is to come. Hit the mostly empty porta potty lines, and I am slightly envious of those who have remembered a poncho.<br />
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<b><span style="color: purple;">6:30 am</span></b> we line up in the corrals. We have our pace signs at the ready, get spread out and start to collect our runners. I am co-pacing with Greg. We co-paced together last year too, so we spend a few moments reminiscing about the year before as we also chat with the runners around us.<br />
<b><span style="color: purple;">7:00 am:</span></b> Gun goes off and here we go. The rain had let up for a minute, maybe two, and now it is back. Not too bad at first. The wind is still nasty and cold but smiles on, watches being checked to make sure we get in our pace groove and away we go through the city of Cleveland.<br />
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<span style="color: red;">First 10k</span> we have a large amount of people near us. There is a 10k, a half marathon, and marathon all running together. We have some great guys and gals with us and we get to know them. There is Reed, the college kid who is trying to redeem himself from his last marathon that he admittedly didn't train for. There is the 15 year old from Canada who is running the full with her dad, and who's mom and brother are doing the 10k. We have a few returning runners with us, and a whole bunch of new ones too. It stays decent enough that I feel comfortable taking off my long sleeve, which since its under my short sleeve means a full outfit change while running. This of course getting turned into a "stripping pacer" joke which keeps the mood light. At mile 3 we come up on a group offering beer. At first they offer cold beer and then change it to "Warm beer here". haha<br />
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A little after the 10k mark we get a new weather surprise.<b><span style="background-color: yellow; color: blue;"> Hail or maybe sleet</span></b>. This becomes a discussion. One of our runners, a man who is easily over 6 ft and 180 pounds says sleet because it's not big enough to be hail. I tell him that "size is relative" which brings a chuckle to the group as we sludge through getting slapped with hail/sleet. I am glad I wore my visor.<br />
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The hail ( I am going with hail) turns to genuine sleet after a few miles and finally peters out. <u>However,</u> those winds are still whipping across us. Some areas are "calm" as in 10 mph winds, but there are many areas we are getting 20-30 mph. But, as we go we are talking to the runners, talking about other races they have run, talking about the city of Cleveland and giving advice on staying loose and relaxing. I have to put my long sleeve back on, I am freezing. My fingers hurt from the cold, I have my left hand tucked into my sleeve some so I can't read my pace band, but I am watching my watch and we are good.<br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">Half marathon mark</span></b>, we are right on pace and Greg and I are still pumped full of energy. We have a quick but much needed break from precipitation and are enjoying it immensely. Then we hit a straight away and with it comes back high wind and a nice mix of rain, hail and sleet all slamming into us.<b> IT IS BRUTAL!</b> The word of the day for the next 4 miles is<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"> "Woof"</span>. I keep my smile plastered on my face and remind everyone what a great race story they are going to have, and that they are earning their "Bad Ass" badges for the day. By now we aren't even avoiding puddles anymore, we are all soaked! In my head I am thinking "What the fuck is this shit?" I may have even muttered it at one point, but I know it is my job to keep my group positive, so I am yelling and chatting about things, I don't even know what. We have a hand bicyclist near us for several miles and we are trying to keep runners to the left to give him space as well as encourage him as we go.<br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">Turn Around,</span></b> OH THANK THE GOOD LORD! I sing the turn around song, you know the one "Turn around, every now and then I get a little bit tired of listening to the sound of my tears, every now and then I get a little bit nervous that the best of all the years have gone by, TURN AROUND" (Bonnie Tyler, Eclipse of the Heart) which brings a chuckle. And we have the wind at our backs. <span style="background-color: yellow; color: blue;">It is AWESOME!</span> We have kept the majority of our group and picked up a few. The water stops were kind of mess since the weather has kept a lot of volunteers home, however the the volunteers who came and braved the weather infallibly met us with smiles. I shared my water with runners a couple times when they couldn't get a cup and we kept at it. There are also some brave souls out on the course spectating. I say hi to every single one of them. God Bless them for being out in this weather! <br />
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Bathroom stop, damn 2 cups of coffee was a bad idea. This is my 2nd stop (First one was mile 3 and I sprinted to catch up). First time I have ever had to do that... like EVER! But I stop at 18. So did one of our runners. We came out together and I helped him catch up to the group is a wise way. Got back and this is when the run really began.<br />
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Reed, our buddy from the beginning, had gone ahead earlier and we catch back up. Our 15 year old has stuck my side like glue and looks awesome. She is talking about doing ultras when she is older. She gets excited when she sees another kid. We talk about how she gets tired of training with adults all the time and guys, so she is excited I am a female pacer. We see a man pushing his child with a disability on the other side of the course and I have our group give a big shout.<br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">Mile 20,</span></b> group is getting quite. Nope, not allowed. I yell back to see how everyone is feeling and get a few answers. Nope, nuh-uh. Try again. I tell them I need more than that and yell again. This time I get a big cheer. Alright. We are on the countdown. Every time we are coming up to a mile marker I yell out "see that big beautiful blue banner up there, we clicked off another one" and sing out "Another one bites the dust". We keep on trucking through, picking up every runner we can. Anytime I see someone walking I encourage them to join us. Our group is hanging steady. After awhile the rain/hail/snow has stopped and I am able to take my long sleeve back off. I attempt this without giving up my stick and manage to do it fairly gracefully, which I announce to my group gives me serious street cred. I get bonus points for tying it around my waist while holding the stick. This brings some smiles (especially as I make sure I loudly announce it give me a second bad ass badge of the day).<br />
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Mile 23 See a photographer, I start yelling "You have to smile, there is photographer." They tried. Although I am sure a few cussed me out in their heads.<br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">Then the bridge. Mile 25</span></b>. its up up up. I announce we are not going to let this hill get the best of us and we begin to climb. We keep them with us. When they start to drop back, I yell every encouraging thing I can think of and we climb. Ahhhh.. Blessed flat spot. Keep the pace scaled back a bit, we have about a minute in the bank so we can take it easy. We have more to climb. Most of the group catches up and we keep going.<br />
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We keep going up that bridge. I tell my group "We just ran through a friggin storm, no hill is going to kill us, LETS GO!" and that is what they did. MILE 26, we are almost home! We power through that finish line with a good group in tow. Some had fallen back on the final hill, but they came on-time regardless. <span style="font-size: large;"><b>T</b></span><b><span style="font-size: large;">HEY DID GREAT</span></b>! My girl and her dad thanked me, Reed gave me and Greg a hug, and another couple had huge thanks for getting them through. This is why I pace. Knowing I got to help someone accomplish a goal. I got to make sure they did what they needed to make the goal they wanted. And for some I got to help them get to that finish under 4 hours, even though they didn't hit their original goal.<br />
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I talk about the stupidest things when I pace, I make up songs, I comment on the houses and building, I yell at runners along the course, I swear, apologize for swearing, then swear again. Give advice on staying loose and enjoying the miles, tell funny stories about past running experiences, say good morning to every spectator and volunteer I see, and I yell ALOT! I joked (sort of) I am getting Greg ear plugs for next year.<br />
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Overall, the weather was crappy but we pushed through and had a lot of fun along the way. I hope to see some of my runners again next year, but hopefully as they start in front of me. There were a few first timers who I know are going to be fast runners once they figure out their training. And there are a few I know I will see in my group again next year, because they told me.<br />
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I enjoy pacing Cleveland. It is an interesting city and a good course. Like any race it has its hiccups, but as a pacer I enjoy doing it and can't wait to go back and do it again next year!<br />
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So no matter the weather, go out and have fun. Happy Running!Running with Ambyrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04779689998286866785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944039089464112908.post-54376558783553051942016-05-08T16:55:00.002-07:002016-05-08T17:07:08.959-07:00Switching from road to trail brain Welp, its officially ultra-marathon training season! Last August I ran the Twisted Branch 100k and I am getting ready to do it again! After running the course last year, I learned what I need to do different with my training to do better on the course, and so my training begins and this time with my awesome buddy Waylon by my side.<br />
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So what is my training plan? Run Trails, then run more Trails, and finally run even more trails!<br />
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Last year I did my big long runs on the trails, most of them at North Park, some at Moraine and some on Laurel Highland. I did my second long runs on the roads, and most of my weekday runs on the roads too. Now I did decent in the race, but I know I can do a lot better. And that means more trail time! So this time around, I will do both long runs on the trails, and as many as my weekday ones on them as I can.<br />
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So this weekend I went out, and even though I have been doing some trail work within my road racing, I haven't switched over from road running brain to trail running brain.. and it showed. And this is what happened.....<br />
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There is a different way you have to run when you hit technical trails. Your gait is different and your focus has to be different too. I was not even 3 miles into my run when I ate it, HARD! *Sigh*</div>
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So here is how this works... When you are trail running you have to pick up your feet more and run with a shorter stride so that you can adjust easily, which is easy to do on the more technical sections because your brain processes "Oh hey,there are a lot of rocks and roots and shit, I need to pick up the feet"... but then you hit a nice little patch that is non-technical and your brain goes "Oh this is nice, I can take a little break"...NO NO NO it can not. Because infallibly it will be the tiniest f'n root on the trail that you catch on and WHUMP, down you will go. And down I went. Both knees bleeding, and the right knee instantly the size of a baseball, making running down hills and over trees a bit harder. But since I was doing 10 miles and sure as shit wasn't turning around, I finished out strong (ish). I did chuckle when I ran into a couple out hiking with their pup at mile 7 who told me to "be careful our there"... yeah.. where were you 4 miles ago? hahaha</div>
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Waylon did his longest run to date, his first ten miler. He finished with energy to spare and even took a nice dip in the lake along the way. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waylon taking a nice swim</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the turn around point</td></tr>
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A very nice woman at a local corner store/grocery hooked me up with a ziplock full of ice and back home we went.<br />
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Sunday morning back to the trails. Both knees turning a pretty shade of purple, but taking on an easy, less-technical trail with our buddy Bruce that we often do Sunday trail runs with. And let me tell you I ALMOST ATE IT AGAIN! But before that happened, we had gotten through almost 6 miles, with one "oops I took the wrong trail" moment, and Waylon and I were happily running along. I got all complacent and was rounding a corner, not realizing there was a muddy spot around the turn. I hit that mud and as Bruce put it as he laughed his ass off, ended up at a 45* angle. Luckily I managed to get myself upright without going down, but it was my 2nd lesson of the weekend about getting my brain back into trail running mode.<br />
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The other thing that I had to remember to switch is nutrition and hydration. Road running I can go 15-18 miles 0-1 gel and can go without water for longer periods as well. I have to remember that trail running is slower and has more climbing involved, I have to take water and nutrition for both me and Waylon. Never leave home without it! </div>
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Now Waylon is beat and a little bit stiff/sore so he will enjoy a few rest days while I keep getting my miles in. I am pacing the Cleveland marathon next weekend, so I have one last weekend with roads, but it will be my last until August 20th. I am sure I will have many more WHUMP moments as I often get lost in my own head while running, but it is par for the course with trail running. Just have to stay focused and pick up those feet! And in the meantime, I will enjoy the beauty that comes with trail running, swollen and bruised knees included. </div>
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So whether you be on roads or trails, Happy Running! </div>
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Running with Ambyrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04779689998286866785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944039089464112908.post-60730626221343975562016-05-04T17:03:00.004-07:002016-05-04T17:16:01.170-07:00Pittsburgh Marathon Weekend<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Living in Pittsburgh,<b><u><span style="color: red;"> I LOVE marathon weekend</span></u></b>. Really starting the week going into it as well. I haven't ran the full since 2011, and have never done the half, but am actively involved in the marathon in a different way, a way that I think gives me a fun and unique way of experiencing it.<br />
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<b><u>The Week Before</u></b><br />
So many Facebook posts, really I probably could just leave it at that and it would be self-explanatory for anyone that is on Facebook and living in Pittsburgh. But in case you aren't, or are one of the few people who isn't on there... let me tell you how exciting Facebook gets pre-marathon weekend.<br />
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If I had to make a list of the things most posted about it would probably be something like this</div>
1.<u>) <span style="color: blue;">The weather</span></u><span style="color: blue;">.</span>.. OMG the weather posts. Lightening, Rain, Wind, Did I say Lightening? Are they going to delay? Are they going to cancel? How do I deal with running in the rain? Wait the forecast changed five minutes ago- here's the update. Weather on Weather on Weather posts. Slightly controlled panic.<br />
2.) <u><span style="color: blue;">Bib being sold/people looking for bibs</span></u>. Lots of both of these! People getting last minute injuries, people deciding last minute they want to run. Fortunately Pittsburgh is one of the few marathons that allows transfers up to the day before as long as you pay the fee. (Good For Them!!!). So there is a lot of bib transferring.<br />
3.)<u><span style="color: blue;"> Inspirational Quotes and Funny Memes</span></u>. Lets get inspired and have a chuckle to decrease the anxiety of race week. I have been known to post a few (I even came up with my own Pre-race poem---*Posted at the bottom*). Takes the edge off and keeps everyone talking.<br />
4.) <u><span style="color: blue;">Outfits,</span></u> What is everyone wearing? Shorts vs capris? Tank vs sleeves? Poncho vs throw-away? Hat vs visor? "Flat" so and so.<br />
5.) <u><span style="color: blue;">Race preparation:</span></u> One of the best things about the Pgh marathon is that ALL The neighborhoods come out in full strength and there are a ton of posts by the groups getting ready. The best known neighborhood is Homewood. This year they actually had posters out on the course telling you how many miles until you got to them. They posted many times about the clean up and preparation they were doing. <br />
6.)<u><span style="color: blue;"> Bitching</span></u>. This is usually done by the non-runners, the people who will be inconvenienced by all of the road closures. This is tough as a runner to see. Especially since I know how hard people have trained for this one day, and people are angry that for one day they can't get around with ease *chuckle chuckle* (no such thing in this city). I can't tell you how many people posted things like "Can't they just run around the park?" or "Why do they have to run in the city". I wisely kept my opinions to myself so not to ruin perfectly good friendships, but......<br />
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<b><i><u><span style="color: red;">Race Weekend</span></u></i></b></div>
<b>Saturday- The 5k</b>. I have never personally experienced this, but it is highly posted about so I feel confident talking about it. A lot of the racers use this as their shakeout run. It is part of a series where you can get an extra medal for doing both races. Decent crowd support shows for it and it is a great kick-off to the weekend. It is a nice course and a good amount of people run it.<br />
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<b>The Kids Marathon-</b> This is I do every year. 5,600 children were signed up this year, most of whom belong to the Kids of Steel. Through Kids of Steel they train all winter/spring, running 25 miles throughout that time. Then Saturday they get their last 1.2 miles. They start by PNC park and get to cross the bridge, go through downtown and finish on the same finish line as the marathoners. The kids LOVE it. And for many parents it is their big athletic event of the year too. There is a huge mix of everthing from 3 years old to 12 years.<br />
Every year me and my co-coaches run a KoS program and this year we had 54 6th graders who participated and about 30 5th graders. About 30 came to the the city, and we were able to witness them running their mile, utilizing the running advice we have taught them and using the running etiquette of saying "excuse me", " on the left" and "great job" to people as they passed. Then they get to have the finish line experience as they listen to a band, hit the food trucks, and wander around Point State Park.<br />
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<b>The Expo-</b> Pittsburgh puts on a helluva an expo! Seriously! I spent two hours there, and probably could have been there longer if I didn't have other stuff to do. If you can imagine a store that has running stuff, it is at the expo. And once you have your running stuff, and have checked out local races, then you can also get some food, order some windows, and get new gutters (no joke!) I am always amazed at how many runners I DON"T know! Seriously! I feel like when I am out running I know a lot of the people I see, then I show up at the expo and I am like "and who are you?"<br />
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<b><u><i><span style="color: blue;">Race Day</span></i></u></b></div>
It is so exciting! Up early, out the door at 5am! Pittsburgh has a Full Marathon, Half Marathon, and Marathon Relay. I have created a relay team, and I am leg 1. Head to the North Shore to meet a friend who is doing the full, his gf who is doing the half and we all head over. Now it just so happens that my running group, Steel City Road Runners, has this nifty race day perk that we have our own huge conference room with tables set up, a continental breakfast, and private bathrooms. (Worth every penny of the $40 yearly fee). So we head in and see so many people! I eat my oatmeal (that I had brought) and catch up with my friends. We drop our bags in our specially marked spot, since we also have VIP services for bag drop too! It is time to head to the Start line.<br />
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<b>Race Time:</b> 5 Corrals, for the first time ever I am starting in A with the super fast folk. I wander around and say hi to the people I know, I look for a friend from out of town (but don't see him) and get ready to go. Ready, Set ,Go. Runners are off. Man, whose bright idea was it to try to run a fast relay leg the week after a PR marathon? (see previous post)... not bright. But I push through seeing friends along the way. Hit my relay exchange, hand off to leg 2, grab a porta pottie <u>(which this race has a TON of everywhere!)</u>, a glass of water and I jump back onto the course to run the second leg. Here I run into my first person, my friend Jessica who I ran with this winter while she was Boston Training. We run together for a few miles and get caught up about running Boston. How was her experience, any advice on doing it the next year, etc. We run through the NorthSide where Urban Impact is out in force even with the rain and enjoy interacting with them. After a few miles I decide to scale back the pace and say goodbye. Then I run into the 3:30 pacers. One of which is a friend. So I run with them for a little while. Chat about the race, and about how his 50k had gone the weekend before. After awhile I decide to scale back just a bit again, I know how many miles I have ahead of me for the day. I want to take it easy. I run through the West End where they have out a dance group doing the dab as we run by, I cheer, because well you have to really. Then I pass by the rapper who is free styling about running the marathon. I hear the runner next to me make a snarky comment and I snicker, I can't help it. We head to station square where I have to stop and say Hi to Bob, the owner of Fleet Feet. That is my go-to running store and I have to stop! Then I hit station square where the 2nd relay exchange is, of course my relay runner has already long come and gone but I am able to run into a friend waiting on her second person. We sit and B.S and I shout and cheer for the runners as they pass. She heads out and I start the treck to the finishing line so I can change.<br />
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By time I get to the tent I am mile 10 for the day. I change into dry clothes, grab a water and a banana, check my text updates on the gazillion runners I am tracking, and I head out. I run the back roads to avoid the crowds that are several people deep cheering for the half marathoners as they come in. I eventually end back up on the course and I start running it backwards (uphill of course). I get to see the elites coming down and give a shout and then as I run up to mile 22 I am yelling and cheering for every runner coming down. I pass a big group who have a whole cheer set up including blow up Alpacas. Ummm okay, but they are enthusiastic and I end up seeing them many times that day (and appreciating their enthusiasm).<br />
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<u>Bloomfield (mile 22)</u> I am standing watching carefully for people, specifically for my buddy Jeremy. He should be the first I see. Then I see Tim, my friend from out of town, I snap a few photos, give him a shout of encouragement, and then return to my vigil waiting for Jeremy. Here he comes, he looks like he is tired. So I jump on the course and off we go. I chatter at him about who knows what for the next few miles ( I have mad talk about random shit skills). I give him stern words about making it to the end without walking and I leave him at mile 24. I start the treck back up to Bloomfield. Hector is next. I find him within a mile, not quite at the top of the hill. I turn around and back down I go with him. He is having some cramping. So I chatter at him for a few miles as well. He is holding a pretty good pace and I pick it up a bit because I know he can handle a little push. We get to almost 25 and I leave him with words of encouragement, and I turn around and head back up to Bloomfield. Ali is next.<br />
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<span style="color: cyan;">Up, UP, and Up I run.</span> As I a climbing I am yelling at every single runner, words of encouragement "You can do it" "You are doing great, keep up the good work" "I know it hurts and sucks, but you made it this far you can make it the rest of the way". As I go I see a lot of people I know and am able to give them a special shout-out.<br />
Here comes Ali, and down I go again. I run with her about 1.5 miles, giving her some "Ambyrisms" alongside with Brittany. When she tells me her legs are going to fall off I tell her "Yes, they are, now lets run". hahaha. And she does, she KILLS it! She is in great hands with Brit, so I turn around and you guess it.. head back up,<br />
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Phew. I am now at almost 20 miles for the day and I am super tired of climbing stupid E. Liberty. But up I go again, hollering the whole way. I see more people I know, some who see me (or probably hear me) before I see them. As I am heading back up I see Lesley running with Joe. She isn't feeling great, so I jump in and run a little while with them. She is good with Joe, so I turn around and head all the way back to the top. By this point the spectators and EMT in this area are laughing because they have seen me so many times. I get to the top (after stopping for a beer sample at the Church Brew cheering station (I got a cookie from there earlier), and I talk to a couple out waiting for their kid for a bit. I am waiting for Karen, she is my last person I want to run with. I continue to yell and encourage every runner I can, I know how much the last leg of a marathon feels, hopefully I am helping someone out. We are now in the 4 1/2 + hour of runners, and people are tired. I try to give them the best words I can, anything to help them out as they have 4 more miles to get through. Those four miles are tough!<br />
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Then I see my friend Alyssa. Her hip is screwed up. So I jump in, and back down Liberty I go. We chatter away, doing a run walk-method, whatever she needs to do. I am still yelling and encouraging others, but Alyssa has become my person. We joke about how many race photos I am going to be in that day and we make our way down to Downtown. We see another friend who is headed back up (he is doing the same thing as me that day) and I ask him to look for Karen. I am worried about her and want to make sure I can get to her. I stick with Alyssa for a couple miles, getting through the rough stretch. Then I do my final turn around to find Karen.<br />
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I get to Karen and we finish out the race together. As we head into downtown I am yelling at the crowds to get louder, give us some love. The absolute joy and emotion of hearing those hundreds upon hundreds of people raising their voices. in support of complete strangers chokes me up just a little. Karen crosses that finish line like a champion and we celebrate her amazing accomplishment. I have gone a total of 28 miles for the day, and I am surprised I still have a voice.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGxJ7QLaJfLLbRnyp-PNuprKLcUIwekQHDNyAaWW4BAyyAFjPxWLMp8besPQnLPzKyYynobHYZBJHeVHTaLV3kXvi7A6yQB7JTBna10QTfz3q3yvksNG4idG9TSALNb0mJ8tkFzz_kkdRY/s1600/13164450_10153459354720919_9059008683227445279_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGxJ7QLaJfLLbRnyp-PNuprKLcUIwekQHDNyAaWW4BAyyAFjPxWLMp8besPQnLPzKyYynobHYZBJHeVHTaLV3kXvi7A6yQB7JTBna10QTfz3q3yvksNG4idG9TSALNb0mJ8tkFzz_kkdRY/s320/13164450_10153459354720919_9059008683227445279_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Now onto the post-race tent. Another perk of my running group, access to the VIP tent with amazing food, changing rooms, and massages if you want one. I meet up with Brittany, get a sandwich and some chips, catch up with runners I saw on the course, and a few that I missed. Then we go grab a beer and head home. Race weekend is coming to a close.<br />
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<b><u>The Aftermath: </u></b><br />
The Facebook posts, the screenshotted photo's from the official race photography sight, the messages checking in and race conversations go for days. Fall marathons are being discussed and plan, the marathon juices are still flowing. Eventually the excitement decreases and the post marathon blues will set in. Actually as I sit here writing this, I am thinking about the nap I took instead of running today because I am just plain tired from all of the excitement. I am pretty certain my relay team has taken 3rd place in the Co-ed field of 938 teams, so that is exciting! We are already talking about next year :-)<br />
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Now onto my next adventure, getting ready for my road tip across America, trail running through as many areas as possible! 33 Days to go!<br />
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Happy Running!<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A RACE NIGHT POEM</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">T’was the night before race day</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And all through the city</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The runners were prepping</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And pretending not to be giddy</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-dc6ff090-7e31-538d-2495-d0f56682f218" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With carbs in their tummies</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And water by their sides</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They were packing and repacking</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All of their supplies</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5 gu’s, make it six</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Spibelt with phone</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Should I grab the miniature lube?</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I know I’m forgetting something,” said with a moan</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Outfit is laid flat</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bib pinned with care</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Don’t forget the photo</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">No runner would dare</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Race shoes are checked and set by the door</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dry clothes put in a clear bag</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The pre-race jitters are starting to come</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And feet are starting to drag</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But worry not dear runners</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Your training is solid</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Trust in yourself</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And don’t do anything stupid</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Check facebook one more time</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Send out that last text</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">See you in the morning</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Because RACE DAY IS HERE! </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">~Ambyr Hinton~ </span></div>
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<br />Running with Ambyrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04779689998286866785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944039089464112908.post-24156683183092101682016-04-25T09:42:00.003-07:002016-04-25T10:01:41.685-07:00Winning a "Secret Marathon"<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Holy Shit, I won!</b> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJQgyDzNOcw3Zto7aOSq4NJisanqI1hBw0CWPOW8BXdRXrOBRHSTSh4VyLFdK2aEhxWwZuSOC8E5XWKAG-V6WXrUwJU7h0y2yWbQpixl_BkoAY2SPz6GXzihpzObToAwfMjoRWTfGHzpan/s1600/finisher+with+trophy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJQgyDzNOcw3Zto7aOSq4NJisanqI1hBw0CWPOW8BXdRXrOBRHSTSh4VyLFdK2aEhxWwZuSOC8E5XWKAG-V6WXrUwJU7h0y2yWbQpixl_BkoAY2SPz6GXzihpzObToAwfMjoRWTfGHzpan/s640/finisher+with+trophy.jpg" width="352" /></a></div>
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3 weeks ago I ran the Charlottesville marathon (see previous blog post) and even though I had a strong finish (3rd overall female), I knew that I had a better time in me. I had trained for a sub 3:30 and I was going to get it!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf9FU60erBESmHgF70VfFp7mn3_DjFpTF_wjrilAsUNPg0lRzMem1woKporCY_Lf2-f0Px0IgpeFBWiBdvQhX9qh-bD9MmbsD6GYw-7NjCnvWFHQZfjpWGeBtBP9Bh-_0-2XFwDuLmoZ6F/s1600/shhhh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf9FU60erBESmHgF70VfFp7mn3_DjFpTF_wjrilAsUNPg0lRzMem1woKporCY_Lf2-f0Px0IgpeFBWiBdvQhX9qh-bD9MmbsD6GYw-7NjCnvWFHQZfjpWGeBtBP9Bh-_0-2XFwDuLmoZ6F/s320/shhhh.jpg" width="176" /></a>So, what did I do?? I secretly signed up for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Marathon in Canton, Ohio. The year before I had been one of the pacers for it, so I was familiar with the course and knew that it was an easier course with rolling inclines and great organization. My two partners in crime, Joe and Brit, signed up as well and we didn't tell a soul. The only people who knew outside our little trio was my coach and Joe's wife.<br />
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Saturday we took the 2 hour drive to Canton, checked into our hotel (which we got a cheap one... and it was AWFUL! ... our neighbors kept us up until 3 am screaming, yelling, and partying, and the hotel was really nasty about us being even 10 minutes past check-out time so we could shower post-race). We went to the expo to pick up our packets, did a little shopping and then headed to dinner. We found some AMAZING pizza at this little pizza joint with a total of 5 tables run by a guy named Tony (Barbaro's Pizza).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgonT_k5HA7aPY0V1fU0BKYhmiT_gymaCOQotcqXzKzAH2gvARM2ePVQCj95X54L_qiEcidVTer8exF9yJPZHroVH8YqW6AFg-x4ieJ1TsIHxRwad35sQkEz2KWspvgJSHWN9cGVWXH0cwY/s1600/messages.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgonT_k5HA7aPY0V1fU0BKYhmiT_gymaCOQotcqXzKzAH2gvARM2ePVQCj95X54L_qiEcidVTer8exF9yJPZHroVH8YqW6AFg-x4ieJ1TsIHxRwad35sQkEz2KWspvgJSHWN9cGVWXH0cwY/s320/messages.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: blue;">Morning of:</span> Wake up, get coffee, make oatmeal, race outfit on, gels doubled checked, S-caps packed, paces and motivational message written onto my arms and we are ready to go. We drove the mile to the shuttles. There was ample parking and the shuttle service was quick and easy. Get there, drop bags, grab a porta-potty (Which there was a ton of...so there's a WIN already!), get to the start. While waiting for the start a couple got married right at the start line, so they had hundreds of runners as witness to their vows... it was a beautiful moment and I am pretty sure just good Karma for the race! Congrats to them!<br />
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<b>Runners GET READY, GET SET, GO!</b> </div>
Out nice and easy for the first 3. It is soooo easy to get carried away the first couple miles. It is exciting! So many runners and you feel all happy and fresh, but I checked my messages to myself and kept myself in check. Kept my first 3 miles just a little under 8 min per mile.<br />
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Once I hit that third mile, I picked it up a bit,<u> but not too much</u>. Anytime I caught myself creeping into the "too fast too early zone" I would check myself, back it back down and just enjoy the run. First half of the course we went through a pretty park, past a monument, and through some local neighborhoods. There were well run water stops every two miles at this point, and there were groups of people cheering the whole way!<br />
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Once we dropped off the runners doing the half marathon, it became a smaller field. There were 362 marathon runners that day, a smaller race but enough that you were never really alone. At this point Joe and I were still running together. A quiet companionship as we went. Interacting with the spectators and encouraging other runners as we came up on them. Now there are <span style="color: #45818e;">water stops every mile, this is great!</span> As we ran through residential areas there were spectators along the course the whole way. People on their porches, a group of young girls with an impromptu water stop, two or three groups traveling the course so we see them at least 3 times, a guy in his driveway banging a spoon on a medal bucket, and a few dogs. Oh and we saw a WOLF! Not playing, a pet wolf. He was gorgeous!<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Mile 15</span>: One of the wonderful spectators tells me: You are the 2nd female. <span style="color: purple;"><b><u>WAIT, WHAT?!?</u></b></span> I hadn't even considered that. I am here to get a PR, to get a time I know I am capable of, no thoughts to placing. I turn to Joe: "Um, you know what that means right". Joe gives me that look, he knows me well. I just switched from I am just here to PR to I am here to PR and place mentality. This has given me extra motivation to run a smart but fast race.<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Mile 16:</span> We see her. It was hard to spot at first because there is also a relay, so the faster relay teams had ladies out on the course. But it's her. She is being led by the pacing bike. hmmmmm..... Now the competitiveness kicks up a bit more. Joe tells me if I want to race her to go ahead. "No, I am going to just sit behind her for awhile, let it happen naturally".<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Mile 17:</span> I have caught up, and I am past her! The lead is mine. I have left Joe, so now I am on my own. I am feeling great from my slow start so I pick it up. Lets get it. I tell myself "Don't be stupid. You don't want to pick it up too much and then have a lady pass you in the last 3 miles. Keep yourself in check!" <br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Mile 18:</span> Look back, I have put some distance between us. Let's go!!! I see my buddy Elijah who is pacing after he has brought his group around the turn-around. He sees me and gives me some encouragement. There are people lined up to the turnaround point. The cheering and support gives a little pep to the step.<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Mile 19:</span> Turnaround point. This is great, now I can see where my competition is. I get around the cone and head back. I get down about 2 tenths of a mile before I see #2. I have a couple minute lead! YES! Lets keep it kicked into gear.<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Mile 20</span>: Just a 10k to go. I still feel good. I am getting warm but since there are water stops every mile I am able to drink a Gatorade, a water, and take a water to douse.<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Mile 21-22</span>,: Still rocking a good pace. I come upon that AMAZING spectator crew. They are screaming and yelling and it makes me feel awesome, so I pick it up a little more. As I am going people are congratulating me and letting me know I am still in first. This brings me such a massive feeling of joy. I can't stop smiling and every time I hear a congrats or "you go girl", it helps me! Every once in awhile I look back to look for another girl, I can't see one. I have a decent lead. The encouragement from the other runners, especially the women on the course, is keeping me motivated to keep it up!<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Mile 23</span>- ONLY a 5K to go! I am starting to hurt. I have taken my gels and my salt, and I am dousing with water every water stop to cool down. I had been semi-listening to my music. Through one earbud most of the race, through both for a few miles, and now I pull them out so that I can concentrate on the race. I start playing the pick off game. I pick a guy in front of me, work to catch up and pass. I also have my woman on the bike, who even though she is 20 feet ahead of me and we are not interacting, is a huge help. When I start to get tired and look at her, I say to myself "I don't want her to look back and wonder why I am slowing down".<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Mile 24:</span> I am behind a guy holding my pace. I am using him to keep me going. He has unknowingly become my pacer. I tell myself "2 miles to f'n go... don't give up, get it done!". Then he stops and walks... ahhhhhhhh. As I pass him I tell him I am sad he is stopping. He gives me a shout of encouragement and I keep on. My LEGS are tired and I am HOT! But there are only 2 miles left damnit!<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Mile 25</span>: ONE MILE LEFT! And of course, its a friggin Hill! As I come to the bottom to head up, I give myself a stern talking to and put one foot in front of the other. It will be a cold day in hell before I walk up that. (Side note, in the grand scheme of hills... it really isn't that big, but when your tired it basically looks like Mt. Everest). This is my slowest mile, but I get up the stupid hill. I am still on my own other than my wonderful bike lead.<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Mile 26:</span> I am almost done. I want that tape! The race finishes in a stadium, so you run around the track. As I come into the finish line there are half marathoners finishing. My lovely bike lead tells them I am coming and they scooch over. The crowd is way too quiet so I yell for them to give me some love and they do. As I come up to the finish they are hurrying to put up the winners tape. <u><span style="color: purple;"> It was the BEST feeling ever going through that. Pure joy is the only way I can even begin to describe it.</span></u> Never in my wildest dream had I ever thought I would win a marathon.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFd2rnc8Z_10T6YTOjZqRsR96DIAtq4sZ4dIaa8Zed1myzsSER6R__f-3y_q9In4Fv4xotNiawgy7064kRjGEM5fZXmhV0Rsu7vQBgVy8vIL0JNkas7Y8HcsnXIRax9Ds76_p3JWk_pU90/s1600/with+elijah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFd2rnc8Z_10T6YTOjZqRsR96DIAtq4sZ4dIaa8Zed1myzsSER6R__f-3y_q9In4Fv4xotNiawgy7064kRjGEM5fZXmhV0Rsu7vQBgVy8vIL0JNkas7Y8HcsnXIRax9Ds76_p3JWk_pU90/s320/with+elijah.jpg" width="180" /></a><span style="color: blue;">Finish line</span>: I get my photo taken, I talk to a reporter (which that was fun!), and am just overwhelmed by the outpouring of congratulations. I feel like a friggin rock star! I had started the day with a plan to just PR, a redemption race. And I ended up winning. Within a few minutes my running partners cross and we all get to celebrate together. The finish is great with food, chocolate milk, massages, chiropractors, and a ton of support people. I can't stop smiling. Finishing a marathon always brings a sense of accomplishment and happiness, but this is a whole other level!<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Post-Race</span>, Grab a quick shower and head for some food. We celebrate with a drink! Brit and I had been talking about margaritas for weeks, so we each got a margarita and Brit also grabs us a shot of patron. Best shot ever! We finish our food and the head back to the Burgh. Quick drive and then home.<br />
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<u>Will that ever happen again? I don't know. I am okay if it doesn't.</u> <span style="color: red;"><b>This amazing feeling will stick with me for along time.</b></span> And I can say for certain, running a secret marathon is the way to go! There was no pressure, I wasn't worried what my friends and running community was thinking, I just had me and my partners and was able to just run my race. It turned out pretty well!<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Now</span>: onto recovery as I prepare for the Pittsburgh marathon relay and spectating! I can't wait to see thousands of runners hit the road in my town in 6 days so I can support them the way the wonderful people in Canton did for me!<br />
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Happy Running!Running with Ambyrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04779689998286866785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944039089464112908.post-78430802812828118942016-04-16T18:15:00.003-07:002016-04-16T18:15:52.825-07:007 Running "No-No's"<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Guilty as Charged...</b></div>
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There are just some things you shouldn't do as a runner, things we have ALL done at some point. I know quiet a few are things I have done, and the ones I haven't... well there is still time. That being said, there are things we should be conscious of, some Real things that are rude, and some Superstitious things that runners just "know". So here is my list...<br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><b>1.) Food Hogging...</b></span>. Okay, so this morning as I finished up a 5k/10k and was walking to grab a bottle of water, I noticed groups of people all holding 3-5 bags of chips, 2 bananas, and 2 waters. Ummmmm.... a 5k burns approximately 300 calories, and a 10k 600 calories. One bag of chips is 250 calories (ish), so 4 bags is 1000 calories. This is at least 400 more than you just burned. And quiet frankly it's rude. <u>Race Directors order food based on the number or runners signed up, plus some extra. They DO NOT order enough for everyone to have 3 and 4 helpings.</u> If you are THAT hungry, go buy a big bag and eat it. Seriously though! As someone who does a lot of the long distances; marathons and ultra marathons, I truly understand wanting to eat ALL the food at the end of the race, however the food at the end of a race is a nice privilege the race has. <i>It is there to get you quick calories and hold you over until you go get a meal somewhere.</i> It is not supposed to be your 5 course meal for the day<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;">2.) Running 3-5 people across</span>.</b>.. This is one I am guilty of when I run with my people and have been trying hard to fix! I know its nice to run side by side with your crew. And it's nice to talk, but you are blocking the entire friggin sidewalk/path/trail. So okay, you are going to run with your crew and block the entire path, okay, that's fine... <u>but when you hear someone say "Excuse Me", "On the left", or "Coming up behind you" and you continue to be 3-5 people across</u>...well quite frankly... You Sir or Madam deserve to have an accidental elbow. (I would never actually physically accost someone, but I would think about it with glee). That is just rude. You would be super pissed if you weren't able to freely run because someone did that in front of you... so don't do it to others. And if we all continue to work on this together, there will be a lot less people gleefully elbowing people in their heads.<br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><b>3.) Walking across the middle of a race.</b></span>.. Ooooo I saw this happen today. People were coming into the finish from the 10k loop and another runner decided to cross the road when he Clearly DID NOT have time to get across. The runner pushing hard at the finish was not amused when his stride and pace got screwed. Although, he was much nicer about it then I would have been had I been racing it and someone stepped in front of me. <b>WAIT </b>until there aren't any runners. I mean, again... how pissed would you be if someone did that to you? AND then I saw another runner just standing on the course bs'ing with his buddy... I said something to him and he smirked. <i>He also deserved a well placed elbow. Jerk</i><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><b>4.) Not following basic sides of the path/track rules.</b></span>.. It is just like driving, <i><span style="color: red;">slower on the right, faster on the left.</span></i> I am not going to lie, this is one of my biggest pet peeves, and one I try to be very conscious of when I am running. Okay, so here's the deal, when you drive you pass on the left, so goes for running. That means if you know you are slower, then stay right. I am not the fastest runner, so I try to keep to the right of the trail/path/sidewalk, especially when I know there are going to be others out. That way faster runners can run past me with ease. And when I pass another runner, I announce I am coming on the left, I pass and then get back over. This also makes two way traffic on the pathways flow easier for runners, walkers, and bikers alike. If I am running in the middle, then I make sure I am listening for people behind me. ***Now on the track, faster runners in the 1st lane, slower runners in the 2nd/3rd lane, and walkers on the outside.<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;">5.) Music so loud you can't hear the environment around you</span></b>.... <i><u><span style="color: red;">DANGER WILL ROBINSON!</span></u></i> For Real People, if you can't hear me (I am not quiet) announcing that I am coming up because your music is so loud, you also are not going to hear: <u>the mugger, the person who lost control of their dog and its headed toward you, the person warning you of something ahead, the car about to hit you, the bikers behind you, the axe murderer about to chop off your head, etc</u>. If the person running by you can hear your music and sing along, It. Is. Too. Loud! Don't get me wrong, I love running with music and have no issue with people who run with it, but be smart. Rule of thumb, only use one ear bud. That way you can hear your tunes, audio book, podcast, whatever and still hear the environment around you. Don't want to do that... Okay, that's cool, then keep it low enough you can hear. This one is less about annoyance and more about Running Safety 101.<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;">6.) Slow and Fast Shaming...</span></b> Some people run slow, some people run fast, and <i>ALL people run their pace and work hard for what they do</i>. Nobody has a right to make judgy, snarky comments about it. And it goes both ways. As someone who is a moderate pace I see both sides of this issue. The people who are slower than you are working on their journey. Maybe they are new, maybe they are at their speed that they are content with, maybe they are working hard to get faster but either way, they deserve respect and support for the work they do. Faster runners work just as hard. They are also on their journey and working to better themselves and deserve support. I have gotten comments from people "I am going to just slow down and run with you, it will be nice to take a break"...well la-ti-da aren't you special, asshole. I have also gotten "You are way to fast for me, my pace would be like your walking pace"... ummm, I am not better than you and quite frankly it's kinda shitty that you assume I wouldn't run with you because we have different paces. My favorite phrase is "Fast is Subjective". Everyone has someone faster and slower than them. <u>Be Kind and respect each other. </u>I love my fast friends, and appreciate that they do slow down their pace to run with me, because they help me get faster. I love my same pace friends because it's even. And I love my slower friends, I love running their pace and helping them the way my fast friends help me. <u><span style="color: red;">And MOST important,</span></u> if I am running with you, that means <b>I LIKE YOU</b> and <b>WANT TO SPEND TIME WITH YOU!</b> <i>And that is more important than some number on a watch.</i> I don't ask to or offer to run with people I don't like and I would be willing to bet that is true of most people.<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;">7.) Last One- Starting at the front of the race when you damn well know you don't run a 6 min mile</span></b>. I once had a runner who typically runs with the 10-11 min Galloway group come up to me at a 10k and tell me " I am starting with the 7 minute pacer because I don't want to have to elbow past people slower than me"...? ARE YOU FRICKIN KIDDING ME! Listen, I know <span style="color: magenta;">it sucks to have to weave through people</span>, but when you start further in front than your pace is, then you are causing the congestion. If all runners would start in the area of the corrals/start area that their pace called for, there would be less weaving and congestion because everyone would be running at their pace from the beginning ( ie within the first .25-.5 mile). If there are not pacers, then kinda figure 20 feet or so per minute pace. 6 min, 20 feet back 7 min, 20 feet back 8 minutes, etc etc etc. It is also a respect thing for other runners. If you know you don't run 6 min miles, then please don't cause congestion for those who do. I don't run 6 min miles, so I don't start at the front. It is that easy. And Please Please Please, everyone has that time in a race that they need to walk... Goodness knows how many races I have had that happen in!, Please move to the right of the course to walk. And look behind you, don't abruptly stop and walk when there are people right behind you. Run over to the side where there is a clear area and then walk.<br />
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These are just some basic "runner no-no's" that if everyone would just stop doing, then it would improve what is already a great thing, the running community! I am not innocent of these things by any stretch of the imagination, but awareness is the first step to change. I am aware that I have to continue to work on some of these myself, especially #2 and occasionally #6. So, lets work on them together :-)<br />
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Happy Running!Running with Ambyrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04779689998286866785noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944039089464112908.post-56600961680168937962016-04-13T18:18:00.001-07:002016-04-13T18:18:02.507-07:00Cross country trail run trip<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>In 54 days I will be packing up Waylon and heading across the Nation! </u></b></div>
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Today I finalized my first 2 weeks of my 40 day trip!<span style="background-color: yellow;"> <b>The GOAL</b></span>:<u><b> Run Trails as Much As Possible! </b></u><br />
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I started planning this two months ago. One of my good friends, Julie, moved to Everson WA, and after she sent me a text that said <span style="color: blue;">"You need to pack up W and come to Washington to see me this summer. There are so many epic trails to run". </span><br />
So the wheels started turning. I had the ability to take 5 1/2 weeks off and I <b><u><span style="color: red;">NEEDED</span></u></b> to get in some great training miles as I am training for a challenging 100k that requires training on technical and hilly trails. So I started playing around with the idea of a trip to hit some <span style="color: purple;">EPIC</span><span style="color: lime;"> </span>trails. I posted a tentative, think I am going to do this map on Trail and Ultra Running and got overwhelming responses of trails I should run, and places I should go. I LOVE the trail running community, not a single person said I was crazy. Instead there was instant support and ideas. So I read through them all, did some research and now have the first 2 weeks ready to go.<br />
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<b><u style="background-color: cyan;">THE PLAN: </u></b><br />
Camping! I will be camping my way across the country. <span style="color: blue;">Starry Nights, Campfire, and S'mores</span>! I am hoping to meet some nice people who will occasionally let me use their shower so I get a non-camping shower once in a while, and let me use their wi-fi to update everyone on my trip.<br />
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<b>Day 1</b>: Leaving mid day early June. Driving to Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. It will be a quick stop, but a great place to camp and grab a quick 6 or 7 miles in the morning, or maybe a night run.<br />
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<b>Day 2:</b> Driving up to Superior National Forest. It is a 10 hour drive that I will just get through quickly. Once I am up there I can find a camp spot and get set up. Throw in a few miles to shake off the run, then enjoy some clean air and a fire.<br />
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<b>Day 3-5</b>: All of the running in Superior National Forest. This will be long mileage and many hours spent running and hiking. Across the 3 days I will plan on getting 40+ total miles. I will find doggie care for one of the days as I will be doing a 20+ mile run and W can't do that type of mileage. But I will make it up to him with a hike and swim after I am done :-)<br />
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<b>Day 6-</b> Find a grocery store to restock food then onto the 13 hour drive to the Black Hills. There is a lot of great stuff I will be driving by, but this trip is about getting to WA, so sacrifices have to be made.<br />
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<b>Day 7-8</b> Black Hills Running. After my rest/drive day the day before I will be looking to get in some moderate miles on some technical trails. I am looking forward to camping here and getting into the Black Hills. Maybe I will grab some black hills gold while I am here!<br />
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<b>Day 9-10:</b> Heading down to Casper Wyoming to visit my Mom, brother, sister-in law and Grandad. I haven't been home in 5 years, so it will be nice to see everyone. This also will be a great time to restock some groceries and supplies. Waylon will be able to visit with all the dogs he was raised with. I can do some trails up in my home mountains, which will be nice!<br />
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<b>Day 11-</b> Big Drive to Lola National Park in Montana/ Idaho. I am a little fuzzy on the exact location actually. There are SO MANY trails and mountains to run in Northern/Western Montana and in Idaho. So many to pick from, more research needs to happen.<br />
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<b>Day 12-14-</b> This is all trail running days in whatever part of the mountains I end up in. This is another high mileage chunk of days that will require finding a doggie sitter so I can do a 20+ run one of the days, or maybe 2 of them.<br />
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Then I am <span style="color: blue;">heading to Washington</span> where I will spend a week with Julie! This is right around my birthday, and my birthday tradition is to run a 50k so I will be finding a 50k to run while I am there!<br />
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I am starting to put together supplies, borrowing a sleeping bag and hopefully a propane camp stove to do some cooking on. I am definitely going to try to make this trip as inexpensive as possible. I am taking food and grabbing the stuff I need at grocery stores. As a vegetarian that means I will be also preparing high protein foods ahead of time and buying vegetables and such as I go.<b><u><span style="color: blue;"> It is going to be EPIC and I am sooo ready to go already! </span></u></b><br />
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I can't wait to take beautiful photo's of America's untouched lands, see the beauty of this nation you can only get to on foot. And stoked to share this grand adventure with Waylon, my faithful companion.<br />
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Happy Running!Running with Ambyrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04779689998286866785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944039089464112908.post-52318619523562247772016-04-08T14:58:00.002-07:002016-04-08T14:58:10.064-07:00Running with Waylon<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: blue;">Meet Waylon</span></b></div>
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Waylon is my main man and faithful sidekick. He has moved with me 3 times, once being across the nation. He is also a fantastic running partner! However, with life being the way it is, he hasn't been getting the amount of runs in he used to. SO, since he is an integral part of my 40 days trail running road trip across the nation, where we will be trail running in at least 10 different states, we are working on getting his fitness level back up! The last few weeks we have been doing 5-6 mile trail runs and 2-4 mile road runs. He actually just finished a run and is passed out on the carpet, feet twitching as he dreams whatever doggie dreams he has. </div>
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Waylon makes a fantastic running partner! On-leash he is great about staying either on my right or left (depending on which side of the road we are running on), not pulling on the leash, and keeping the bathroom breaks minimal. Although, in all fairness, my little angel isn't always an angel. A couple weeks ago he tried to steal taco's off the taco truck. The lady thought he was "adorable". Ya, real friggin adorable... taco thief. </div>
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Waylon is especially a great trail running buddy. He is trained to stay within 2-6 feet from me and to follow basic sound commands. I can run him off leash as he had been trained to not approach other dogs or people. That being said, Waylon is a big black furry bit of "Everyone loves me" and occasionally "forgets" his training and says hi to people. especially when he hears the "Awwww, he's so cute!". Ya, he knows he's cute! lol And he LOVES the attention! Just to be safe I keep an electronic collar on him so that if he gets really "forgetful" and tries to approach another dog or someone who hasn't invited him over, I can give him a "reminder" which always does the trick! </div>
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He also love trail running. It's a slower speed where he can stop and pee on every bush ( he only gets a certain number of stops road running), he gets to play in the creeks and waterfalls, and gets munch on grass and other vegetation as he goes. Turns out he also really likes icicles as one of my buddies recently found out! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2pM481z3V6yn3BYm93vcz_Mzk494rZXIZo69EXQ8p8GuepqpERvBv_oCDHKLhmtXVcE3d0kBKmoPwrhtNFRGmOWgX4F9egBeBl6Edi0dTp9Cp7jntnFrufrCIykC3DYqOHrfoaZwAbT9Z/s1600/Waylonincreek.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2pM481z3V6yn3BYm93vcz_Mzk494rZXIZo69EXQ8p8GuepqpERvBv_oCDHKLhmtXVcE3d0kBKmoPwrhtNFRGmOWgX4F9egBeBl6Edi0dTp9Cp7jntnFrufrCIykC3DYqOHrfoaZwAbT9Z/s320/Waylonincreek.jpg" width="179" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxlbxhbPabb1xRnvf6rNX4Ui8XTcv61fOcal7FyCjhy4TRfC0tfuMBRSY4EFtkAuzbe1KUiCtM0_1hQxfieln82JNJbUjSLQLBPG_GYhTg1uXfB99DIDkybE5ICtQwAE85Jb520bLZJEV-/s1600/BandWice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxlbxhbPabb1xRnvf6rNX4Ui8XTcv61fOcal7FyCjhy4TRfC0tfuMBRSY4EFtkAuzbe1KUiCtM0_1hQxfieln82JNJbUjSLQLBPG_GYhTg1uXfB99DIDkybE5ICtQwAE85Jb520bLZJEV-/s320/BandWice.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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My goal is to get him up to 10-12 miles. He is almost 10 years old, so I don't want to put a lot of strain on him, but he is still a highly energetic dog who doesn't look or act 10. He will get high protein foods and treats to help him keep up on his nutrition as he builds up his running muscles again, so that he can do runs with me this summer! </div>
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I do worry about him some as we are on our trip as he also has epilepsy. Idiopathic Epilepsy to be specific. He's had it since he was 4. I have worked closely with his vet over the years about his best treatment, and we have decided to not medicate him as he doesn't have them too often, and it seems like the more exercise he gets the less frequent they become. The medications would seriously cost him quality of life and I don't want to do that to him. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and my Baby at a Baby Waterall</td></tr>
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The best thing about running with Waylon... no pressure! There is no pressure to be fast. He doesn't care, he is so content to just be out running with me its No Big Deal! And as someone who often pressures myself when it comes to paces, it is very relaxing to me out just hitting some single tracks with my pup who really doesn't give a shit about anything but getting some miles in. Another thing is watching him love the mud! I. Hate. Being. Muddy. It's true, I adore everything about trail running. I don't mind the snakes and spiders, the climbs, the rocks, or even the occasional bleeding from falls or scratches. But I Hate Mud! Waylon however loves it enough for the both of us. It is with absolute glee that he frolics through it, which then it turn creates a mudfest in the car. I don't think he cares! <div>
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Waylon is my best bud and I love taking him running with me. I can't wait for our adventure this summer. I am looking into his own pack he can carry with water and treats that won't cause him to overheat so he can go on some epic runs and hikes with me. And the ones he can't, hopefully he will make new friends at a doggy day care in whichever city we end up at. So as I move in ultra-training and into my grand summer adventure, you will see a lot of Waylon. He will be my sidekick through this next adventure as he has been for all the ones before :-)<br />
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Waylon says "Happy Running!"<br />
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Running with Ambyrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04779689998286866785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944039089464112908.post-85296312423024125202016-04-06T15:46:00.001-07:002016-04-06T15:46:49.019-07:00Rest, Recovery, and Cross TrainingAs I recover from Marathon #10 (see previous blog) and prepare for another high mileage ultra-season, I have a chance to reflect on the things I have learned over the years of running marathons and ultra-marathons. No matter what training program you use; high or low mileage, fast or slow, 3 days or 7, there remains things that are essential to a strong runner. It took me years of learning of the hard way to figure them out, but now that I know.. They are basically the main chapters in my running bible.<br />
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<b><u><span style="color: blue;">REST</span></u></b><br />
The dreaded "R word". Rest, time off, not running, UGH, who has time for all that? I mean we have a race train for! URCH! Pump your breaks. You have time for it, and actually you need it. Now, I will be the first to admit that historically I have been really awful at this, and from time to time still am. I really really like running. I like the social aspect, I like the alone time aspect, I like that it helps me work through a tough day, I like roads, I like trails. I. Like. Running.<br />
<span style="color: red;">But I also really like Rest,</span> now that I understand it. See what happens when you don't take that important rest day or two, is that you overuse your muscles, causing fatigue, and when you constantly run on fatigued muscles... well you can guess... you end up injured or burned out.<br />
Let me talk about what Rest is and is not.<br />
<u>Rest is</u>- not running<br />
<u>Rest is</u>- enjoying some down time<br />
<u>Rest is not-</u> running slow<br />
<u>Rest is not</u>- cross-training.<br />
<u>Rest IS</u>- Taking a day off to heal<br />
I take one rest day per week. This training cycle it was Sunday's the majority of the cycle. The day after my long run. I would use my day to prep my food for the week, spend QT with Waylon (my adorable labrador who is my partner in crime), catch up my with social circle, and catch up on life outside of running. When I started back to doing back-to-back long runs, and as I enter into this Ultra Training cycle, I will move my rest day to Monday. <b>It is scheduled and non-negotiable</b>.<br />
Post-race I REST multiple days. My last marathon was Saturday. I rested Sunday, I rested Monday, and then I rested on Wednesday too.<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">RECOVERY</span><br />
Okay, so what is the difference between rest and recovery? Recovery is active. Recovery is just what it sounds like,it is helping the muscles recover.<br />
So what do you do to recover? Some of my favorites are: a good foam rolling session, quality time with my Addaday ( which I fondly call my torture device), a 20 minute stretch routine using a recovery band and timing one minute per stretch, yoga, and slow recovery runs (60-90 seconds slower than race pace).<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;">Foam Rolling</span>: foam rollers come in many shapes and sizes. My current one is pink (because I am girly). and when I roll I make sure to isolate each muscle group and slowly use my body weight to apply pressure as I roll. I really like my foam roller for my IT band and quads. It is also great for some hamstrings and calves, although I usually use my addaday for those (more on that later). I know some people who use the roller on their back. My next investment will be a foam roller that has knobs on it for more of an intense foam rolling experience. **And it also make a great pillow for when your laying on the floor** heehee<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;">Addaday:</span> Satan's own creation of a torture device ;-) . And it has saved my legs during a 100k race, and kept me healthy through high intensity training cycles. In case you have never used one, here is what it is. It is a stick with notched balls on it. It is different than the typical stick in that you use shorter, smaller movements to work into tight and knotted muscles to break them up. There are you-tube videos or good ole trial and error in using it. I prefer it for my hamstrings, quads, and It-band. I love love love it and it travels with me at almost all times. (Please note I am not at all connected to Addaday).<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;">Resistance Band:</span> I use a resistance band as part of my stretches. Especially with my hamstring and hip stretches. This allows me to pull my legs up further into a stretch and allow me maneuver into good hip stretches.<br />
<span style="color: #990000;">Stretching:</span><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span>DO IT! Any advice I could give to my former self, stretch! It is hands down the piece I have the biggest issue with. And I know runners who swear that they never need to stretch. I can talk to both sides of the argument if needed, but ultimately I have found that I feel better and healthier when I make a post run stretch something I do as well as add in 2-3 20 minute stretch routines each week.<br />
Recovery Run: It is okay to have a recovery run. And if you are going to do them, they should be short and 60-90 seconds slower than pace.<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">CROSS-TRAINING</span><br />
If you would have told me a year ago I would be promoting regular cross training as part of running I would have probably looked at you like you had lost your damn mind and laughed. Man, my thinking of years past was wrong. I know that now. Case in point is this last marathon. I added in cross-training 2-3 days a week and it is the absolute strongest training season I have ever had, as well as being injury free. On top of that, even though it wasn't my fastest marathon, I can say with 100% surety that it was my strongest. If that had been a flat course instead of the monster hill hell, I would smashed my PR. Even then, I was only 3 minutes behind my pr on a course that would make a hair raising roller coaster<br />
<b><u>So what is cross-training? </u></b>That depends on you. Everyone does something different. I have been polling other runners as well as looking what I have done and here are what I have found.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;">Me:</span> Twice a week I am at the gym. One day is more a full body lift where I do some upper body, some lower body. When I do lower body I do: weighted squats (front squats and back squats), weighted lunges, sled press, and a glute press. The days I do legs I only do a small amount of upper body, mainly doing pull-ups and dips. This day was really helps strengthen my leg muscles in a different way than I usually use them, which helps them stay strong when fatigued going up and down hills. I really noticed a difference in the speed in which I would get tired during training runs. Ya, I was sore, and running on sore legs. But it paid off!<br />
The other day is purely upper body where I focus on back, shoulders, and arms. This I found really helped my posture as I get tired during training runs and during the race. When you get tired you a.) lose your posture which affects your gait and b.) get tense which causes muscles to tighten up. But by spending time working those muscles I am able to keep them engaged when I get tired.<br />
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Both of those days I would swim after I lifted. The first day would be my long swim day.<br />
**Now, let me clarify something here, I. Am. Not. A. Strong. Swimmer. I mean, my Mom took me for swim lessons as a kid and I refused to get in the water because I was scared. And the ONLY reason I finally learned how to swim is my brother and our friends all could pass the swim test to get into the deep end of the pool and I was tired of being left out. So I taught myself the basics. Swimming is not easy for me, I sink, I have more than once kicked either the bottom of the pool or the lane divider, and I don't want to think about how much chlorine I have ingested. But I show up twice a week, and I have massively improved through trial and error and advice of other runners. I also have come to look forward to the quiet of the pool, where I can turn off my thoughts and move through a silent environment.<br />
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My long swim started at 800 meters (16 laps at a standard gym pool). and got to 1600 meters (32 laps at a standard gym pool). The second say was a shorter swim, 600-1000 meters. I did a myriad of swimming strokes to use different muscles. It gave me a nice cardio while offering a full body workout that I genuinely attribute to my success this training cycle.<br />
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Sometimes I would also add in a third day where I did body-weight training at home, and some yoga. I also tried to do at least a few minutes of abs 5-6 days a week, nothing major, just a few minutes. During the off-season I do 10-20 minutes, but I struggled to keep up that time commitment. But I didn't want to ignore them as a strong core helps you also keep a good posture when tired.<br />
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I also polled some other runners I know. What I found is that most of my fasthole run buddies and strong running partners also do 2-3 days a week of cross training. They also lift, focusing on upper body and leg work, abs work, yoga, swimming, and some do biking as well. There are some really great cross-training for runner workouts out there on the internet that one of my running buddy swears by. There is a running for yoga that several of my run buddies use and adore. Some runners use workouts created by at home challenge pages, some (like myself) kind of make it up as they go at the gym. But it all ends up the same. Cross Training Helps during training and on race day.<br />
Everyone who knows me well knows that I protect my gym days with some intensity. I will get up stupidly early to run so I can go to the gym, I will skip an easy run so I don't give up my gym day, and have even scheduled social plans around my gym time as well. I look forward to lifting and swimming twice a week.<br />
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So Rest, Recovery, and Cross-training. They are important. They will make you a stronger and healthier runner. And if you have the same mind-set I had for years of " I am healthy, why change anything", being pro-actively smart never hurt anyone.<br />
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Happy Running!Running with Ambyrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04779689998286866785noreply@blogger.com0